Lair

Chapter 010 - Wisp

By Skalsar

Yesterday was really a very special day!

I'm overjoyed just thinking about it.

No, I'm not even able to descripe my thoughts about what happened!

I have to focus. We will never talk about the things from yesterday again!

There is work to do!

After taking a few breaths I slowly calm down again.

"Hivemind" laughs at my childish excitement.

But I don't mind.

On the other hand, the [Drones] I send, finally found a [Wisp].

They are carefully circling around it.

Blocking off its escape ways.

There was one hour before, but it escaped.

I learned from that.

The way they escape is illusion magic.

Circling around them with [Drones] is therefore effective.

They collect the magic power from the wisp, wherever it turns.

Making it impossible to use such weak magic.

The [Wisp] is even shivering. But the [Drones] shoot needles nontheless.

I don't need the [Wisp] to be alive.

Dead it can't escape.

Being pierced by six needles and overdosed with paralysis poison, the [Wisp] instantly dies.

Ready to be taken by the [Drones] and delivered to me.

They really should hurry. I'm excited again!

I already made plans how to improve the [Hoarders].

My assistant breeder and I will make it a bit smaller, but faster.

With the ability to use illusion magic once a day.

They will run through the rooms fast, only to collect treasure and human tools.

If spotted, it will instantly cast its illusion magic and run away.

When the creature isn't near a human, "Hivemind" can transport it everywhere in his body.

But the bigger and stronger the creature, the harder to do so.

Consuming more magic power and having problems to keep the creature under control.

On deeper layers that problem seems not to appear, because it's near him.

But on lower layers that is troublesome.

Again, that doesn't seem to be a problem when transporting me.

Since I have a consciousness, I won't rampage.

Because of the magic power I saved up and the strong bond to "Hivemind" I can even help with the transporting and the keeping control.

Oh! Finally. The [Wisp] arrived.

"Hivemind" says I should devour it myself.

According to him, that will help me understand its features faster and more precicely.

"Hivemind" really is generous!

I wonder how it will taste. Because it has a delicate small body, I have to do it carefully.

First I pick up the little fingers, then the arms. They don't really have feet, just pointy legs.

The body looks a bit like a small egg. It tastes weird. The head only has two black little eyeholes.

In it, a light was glowing when it was alive.

A [Wisp] doesn't really have a physical body in the normal meaning.

It's a lump of earth, covering magic power.

The magic power is originating from some kind of consciousness.

I believe it's from the fragments of memory of humans who died in swamps or forests.

These memories take form and try to stay in our world.

Moonlight strenghtens their magic power.

Oh! That is an interesting thing!

I wonder if I can use that somehow.

"Hivemind" says it's interesting, too.

Looks like he wants me to try giving that ability to the [Drone].

But I'm not quite sure how to do that yet.

Maybe later.

For now we start working on the [Hoarders].

After fiddling with the "core" for a hour or two.. Maybe five, we finally get some results.

The [Hoarder] variant will be called [Collector].

It will only be used in special cases, so the term of a collector fits it more.

A small "core" is his origin. Around it, magic power is kept in the body, covered by earth.

When magic power is used, it shrinks down a bit.

The "core" connects it to the dungeon, allowing it to be easily transported by "Hivemind".

Oh! I get what a "core" really is now.

The humans have a term for the consciousness that resides in a body, too. Calling it a [Soul].

And the physical body has something called a brain. Which stores the [Soul].

If the brain is damaged, it's really dangerous for the body.

The [Soul] might even leave the body.

The core is similar to the brain.

It can store magic power and in rare cases a [lesser Soul].

With time, the [lesser Soul] might develop a consciousness and turn into a complete [Soul].

That is what happened to me, too.

For normal creatures, "Hivemind" is acting as the consciousness.

Through the core, he can control the creatures.

He can comunicate through it, too.

The core is something closely connected to the hive it originates from.

"Hivemind" has a core with a special name, called a [Dungeon Heart].

It's extremely powerful!

He gave me a mental image about it.

And while the hive is his body, he has a special substitute body to guard it.

The so called [Dungeon Lord].

A powerful creature that stays right in front of the [Dungeon Heart] on the deepest layer.

The [Dungeon Lord] even has three cores!

Entwined with each other to make casting magic easier.

Humans and monsters have to use words with this weird voices of theirs.

Creatures can conjure them with the core.

Transforming the magic power directly.

With the entwined cores, [Dungeon Lord] can cast two magics at the same time.

Allowing him to create even more complex magic.

The third core supports the other two cores.

Not that it matters for me. I can't use magic.

Converting magic power, that is possible.

I need to do so to create cores. But other than that, nothing.

Sure, there is the black portal I can open up, but that isn't really magic either.

It's a skill with the name [Dungeon Walk].

Producing a core is a skill, too.

[Creation - Crystal Heart] is the name of it.

Well. I will look more into that later.