Alistair watch the children run through the dirt street for a moment. He knew he had done the right thing when he heard the children laugh without a care. As Alistair kept increasing his wisdom, he began to realize that it was these little moments in life that nurtured the soul. Taking a sideways look at Herma, he realized that she too was taking the moment to listen to the laughter. Quietly Herma spoke to him, “You did a good thing today. I don’t agree with all your decisions and you make choices with little or no thought, but no one can take away this.”

Alistair nodded as the two children moved out of sight, and then a thought came to him. “Where are the children going to stay, Herma?”

Herma gave Alistair a small laugh, “You decide to ask that question now?” Herma shook her head for a moment. “The children can stay in my house for now. Perhaps you should focus some of the mana to make a few more rooms for us? I figure with the Summoning Circle leveling you can probably create a floor maybe two and have enough mana to take care of some upgrades here in the pocket dimension.” Alistair turned his head to look at the fountain in the middle of the circle, that the houses were placed around. The fountain had a faint golden glow coming from it and as he got closer the glow began to intensify. A blue prompt came up in front of him.

Event!Your Summoning Circle had leveled!Enough mana, capturing of key points within your dungeon, and quests have been done to level your Summoning Circle. By choosing to level your Summoning Circle you will be casting a Great Magical Work.Would you like to start casting a Great Magical Work?YesNo

Alistair looked at the prompt, and right before he pressed Yes, he stopped himself and called over Herma. They both looked at the prompt for a moment and Herma shrugged. “Alistair, I don’t know what to tell you. Hardune didn’t tell me everything and the General Help Aspect said that there are things only a Dungeon Demon is to know. Remember, think on your decisions before making them, and don’t try to rush an answer.” Alistair nodded at Herma and pressed Yes.

Alistairs vision faded to black. He felt he was floating in eternal darkness as his heartbeat hammered in his ears. He called out for Herma only to realize that no sound came out of his mouth. Minutes began to stretch into hours or so his mind believed, and Alistair kept calling out and calling out for help, for Herma, for Callum, for anyone. His fear was starting to make him fail about. Yet with nothing to push himself against or touch, he couldn’t tell if anything was happening. Alistair was pretty sure he was weeping from the feeling of helplessness when something touched him.

Whatever had touched Alistair it felt cold and damp, leaving some kind of moisture on his skin where it touched him. Alistair panicked and reached out for the damp cold thing that had touched him. Yet, he had no idea where it was or what it was. For a time Alistair thought he had imagined the touch, or that some great beast was ready to kill him. His mind came up with thousands of horrors that could be coming for him, and then he saw the something in the dark void. A light the size of the head of a pin appeared. Alistair scrambled, tried swimming, and tried everything in his mind to move towards it; until a sense of falling came over him. He felt like he was moving at a tremendous speed towards the light. Faster and faster he felt like he was going as wind began to fly past him. He realized that he was afraid that the monster was at the light. However the thought of staying in the void was even more terrify as he wouldn’t even be able to see it. As Alistair came hurling to the light. he saw that it was a campfire on a black sand beach. Alistair closed his eyes and started screaming as the he knew he was going to hit the sand and die.

Alistair stopped screaming when he felt the cold sand on his face, hands and belly. Somehow he had survived the fall, and as he looked up an old gray haired man sat looking at him with a smile. Alistair immediately felt like a fool and out of anger snapped at the man, “What are you looking at Old Man?!”

The Old Man smirked and said, “I am looking at a lie that has yet to see the truth.”

Alistair got up and dusted off the sand that clung to him. Looking at old man, he felt small again and perhaps his riddle for an answer was appropriate. After all, he had been taught that when you were afraid of a Mana Monster, get angry at the fear and monster. For once, he knew that he had rude. “Sorry sir, I didn’t mean to disrespect you, the terror I felt at falling made me act without thinking. My name is Alistair, what’s yours?”

The Old Man simply nodded and then returned his gaze to the fire. Alistair looked around and saw a black log opposite of the old man’s and sat down, the old man spoke again. “My Name is Socrates. Your anger at being afraid is fine, but anger without focus hurts all. I feel that your greatest anger is always being thought of as a fool. So, please tell me, what is the truth of this fire?”

Alistair looked at flame and wondered what did he mean by truth? The flame exists, it provides heat and eats up coal, wood, or cloth to continue living. Maybe he meant about the mana in it, or what does this fire have in common with fire mana? Alistair pondered a great time over the question, finally he spoke. “The fire lives for a moment in time and will die when nothing is there to feed it.” Alistair had decided on speaking an answer that spoke to him. The truth was that all things were alive for a brief moment and then die if it no longer had anything to support it.

Socrates chuckled at the comment. “There is truth in your words, but not with the flame.” Socrates waved his wrinkled hand and the flames froze in the air. With another wave of his hand the world vanished and ribbons of mana as large as roads could be seen. “The red fire mana is but one thread in a greater bundle. Look, do you see the white threads of Air and golden threads of Light? What about the small black glittering Death mana at its edges? The truth of the Fire is that its nature is violence and movement. This one thread of Fire mana breads itself with other types of mana and creates movement within them.” Alistair began to sense small shapes in the thread, breaking apart and releasing energy as the shapes moved quickly around in void of its own.

Taking Alistair hand, the old man flew downward stopping at the base of road of mana. The sight that greeted Alistair was something altogether different. Brown Earth Mana and Green Life Mana were intermixed as the Fire mana ribbon danced on it. “The logs were made of earth and life at one point, but as the fire mixes with it, the logs began to change into the white Air mana, Fire mana, Light mana and Death mana that you saw. As such the fire mana continues on, changing the air mana with violence and increasing its movement. The air breaks down giving the fire a hold on it, allowing heat to be carried, and due to this violence, Light mana is separated traveling like a tidal wave at great speed.” Alistair began to understand that the shaped compactly arranged on the logs broke free from them and were carried into the air mana. Then once again this shapes began to break apart and release energy. Mana was just the pathways that these shapes took.

Socrates looked at Alistair, “If you seek to do a great work of Magic, you must understand the forces you are working with.” With another wave of his hand the Socrates showed Alistair his Magma Pools. Without the Mana Focus, the pools would be have a hard shell over them, cooled enough to walk on, but still dangerously hot in the air. Poisonous gases would build under the shell and eventually it would explode moving lava along the tubes and killing everything in its wake. Instead the focus kept some of the elements in balance. Alistair’s outcropping channeled Fire Mana through them instead of letting them become entangled in the rock. Due to these channels, the rock didn’t melt, while the Fire mana was reinvested into the Magma keeping it bubbling and liquid. The problem was heat and the air, Alistair didn’t know it but the whole chamber was flooded with such heat and poisonous air that no Adventurer could have survived getting to the circle. Slowly the knowledge came to Alistair that the only reason why he had been able to summon Fire Mana Creatures was that they were native to the plane of fire and these horrible conditions were actually a pleasant change for them.

Alistair saw a Fire Salamander jump into the magma pool. The earth and fire mana liquid that made the magma up began to separate in the Fire Salamanders aura. The aura circled fire mana around its body, breaking down the earth mana quickly as the Salamander swam in an almost water like mixture. Slowly bits of earth mana clung to the salamander aura and as it hopped out of the magma, the earth mana began to form around the rock outcropping creating channels for heat to bypass them and be reinvest into the pool. The realization that the Tiny Fire Salamanders were helping the Mana Focus by moving the heat that normally would melt the stone into the air so that it acted as a barrier from losing heat in the mana pools.

Quietly, a Fire Wisp floated about the summoning circle. Alistair saw that it worked just like the salamander. The Fire Wisp took fire mana from the air along with some of the earth mana and circled it around its aura. When it came close to the Fire Mana Stones, or a reflective surface the fire and earth mana would distill itself into a gemstone. The gemstone was tiny, less than a grain of sand, but as the Fire Wisp moved around mana floated from them to the seed gems that had already been started and growing them slightly. The fire wisp help purify the air slightly be taking the fire mana and earth mana out creating a Mana Stone from it. Alistair saw the Mana Focus began to create a great spider web of fire mana anchored to the gemstone to help capture the heat from escaping. Socrates tapped Alistair on the shoulder, “Tell me what do you see?”

Alistair looked around and spoke, “I see harmony between the world and the mana monsters I have summoned. Each seems to have its purpose and helps the dungeon maintain balance. Yet, my dungeon can only support Adventurers in the outer caverns, after that gases and heat will slowly kill them.”

Socrates nodded at what Alistair had said, and then asked, “Why is it important to have Adventurers?”

Alistair stared at the magma pools around him and thought, “Because when they take loot and experience out of a dungeon, they take mana with them as well. When they pray to the Gods and Goddesses, a small amount of mana is released to Them and they can use it in miracles.” Alistair realized that he had no idea where that answer had come from. He knew that he had talk about with Herma and Callum, but this was perhaps the first time he had ever thought about mana and prayers.

Socrates nodded once again, “This is an ancient truth that is passed down to every Dungeon Demon. The choice is yours as to how you wish to serve the Gods and Goddesses. So tell me, what first great working must you do?”

Alistair looked through his dungeon with fresh eyes and saw that the poisonous air extended a great deal further then the heat. If he was able to somehow make the air breathable then Adventurers could come down further into his dungeon, before the dangerous heat in the air stopped them. “I must find a way to make the air breathable. Looking at the Air mana outside the Magma Pools it is entangled with Earth, and Death mana. I must lay down a spell on the Mana Focus to balance the air, but how?”

Socrates smiled and changed their view to a Fire Wisp. Slowly as if cupping a baby’s head Socrates brought out his left hand and the Fire Wisp landed on it. Carefully, he took his right hand and began to move it around the Wisp. Fire Mana began to be removed from the Wisps Matrix and Air Mana began to seep into its place. The red light slowly changed into a small cloud of fog and as the Old Man twisted off the last piece of Fire mana the Wisp sat transformed. Softly, the Old Man lifted the Wisp up in the air and a blue prompt appeared in front of Alistair.

Event!One of your mana monsters has become a Variant!Today, a Fire Wisp became an Air Wisp. As this has naturally occurred with a captured monster your spell Mana Monster Summoning Spell has been altered to allow you to summon this variant. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 2.As you didn’t battle this creature the following description has been provided.Monster Description:The Air Wisp is a small being of Mist made from the elemental mana of Air. Its simple mind is attracted to strong wind currents as it feels like it is flying. Its natural instincts are to lure curious Adventurers down dangerous paths and into traps as it looks like a ball of smoke. Normally, this mana creature will never attack someone outright, for its only protection is the small poisonous gas aura it has.Dungeon Advantage:Monster has a 10% to led Rank F Adventurer into a Trap. Each rank above F decreases this chance by one half. Example: Rank E = 5%, Rank D = 2.5%, Rank C = 1.25%. When not in combat, Wisps will float along the natural Mana pathways and refine them. This will increase your Summoning Circle Mana Generation and will add different types of Mana to the area. Additionally, if a Wisp is undisturbed near a small tunnel in which air currents blast through. The tunnel stone will have a chance to be converted into Air Mana Stones.Mana Cost:2

Alistair dismissed the prompt and saw what the Air Wisp was doing. Slowly it floated up to the shaft hole in the middle of the Magma pool chamber. The bubbling air from the Magma pools rising upward to the shaft and creating a wind tunnel of dangerous flumes. As soon as the Wisp entered the head of the shaft, it shoot upward like a bird in flight. Alistair watched the Air Wisp fly upward, its aura slowly taking in the earth and death mana creating breathable hot air. Finally it reached the end of the tunnel, as it popped out into a lava tube. Floating about it seemed to be heading to a new crack in the wall. As it moved, the death mana began to fall off of it and decay the rock that it touched grit. While a stream of earth mana took root across the tunnel and started forming the start of a copper vein. Other impurities in the air started to float to the Air Wisp and then float to concentrate in other areas.

Alistair realized that the Great Working he was supposed to do was to cast a spell much like the Air Wisps aura on the Mana Focus. Alistair began to look at the great Mana Focus and saw it almost like a giant tree. The trunk of the tree formed the great channel in which the mana flowed up and out into the world, on the top of the channel were branches bringing in mana to help stabilize the trunk and sending mana to the outside world. Below the trunk were roots that dug deeply into the Magma sucking up fire mana so that the magma pools would erupt. Alistair looked at the branches and had a hunch that he needed to add the aura close to there. With a wave of his hand and a half circle step, Alistair allowed his mind to feel the movement of the spell. He saw, felt, and even tasted how the fire mana in the ground melted metals, rock, and smaller minerals into a liquid. Then the fire mana began to break down even the liquid into a gas. Slowly, the gas worked its way up through the viscous liquid, forming an air pocket that would burst through the weight and strength of the surface.

Alistair began to scoop with his hand as he felt his legs stretch deeper in the stance. The bubbles now began to form near his pathways, and with natural rhythm would belch hot magma onto the paths. From there Alistair began twisting the threads of the poisonous air mana into the focus. As the threads continued through the trunk of the tree, branches that carried ore in its earth mana started to grow into the stone walls throughout his dungeon. The death mana began to carry itself into the top branches, the mana began forming small holes the size of a human head, making a vast network of fast moving air chutes. The one Air Wisp now traveled throughout the dungeon through these small tunnels. Alistair knew that once all the death mana was taken out of the air, the decay of the small chutes would stop and Air Wisps could began spreading clean air everywhere.

Alistair’s arms were tried and his thighs were sore, yet he felt that the spell was not done. Large amounts of death mana was still in the focus and began swirling in its trunk. Alistair performed a dramatic gesture sending his hand crashing downward, as the Death Mana like an arrow began to funnel down. Magma began to cool, and form hard rocks that would float up to the dungeon floor. Some of the rocks anchored themselves together but only showed a tiny flat surface, while randomly a rock would merely float in the pathway creating a natural trap is someone would step on it.

However, the pathways were not the only purpose that Alistair felt the death mana to be used for. Alistair could feel another small Mana focus off in the distance. It was deeper in the ground and as the Magma cooled into rock to be melted again, the death mana opened a small lava vent in an underground chamber. It was a hole the size of a foot and the water in the pool began to steam. Air began to push itself in to the chamber lowering the pool more until it covered a hole in the wall that slowly was feeding the pool. Alistair could feel the magic of the summoning circle work and everything began to stabilize. The lava vent shrunk till the gas that was escaping the water as was replenished by the water sweeping in. The air at the new summoning circle was hot and humid. Sudden Alistair looked around in his demon form and realized that he was in a new summoning circle in a new part of his dungeon. He looked around for Socrates but he was nowhere to be found. Finally a prompt came up.

Event!Your dungeon now has a second level!You have used the death mana that was found in the poisoned air of your dungeon to create a mana portal to a new level. The underground grotto is partially filled with sea water allowing all kinds of life to grow down in this level. Additionally there are several lava vents that feed hot steam into the air. The Mana Portal and Summoning Circle will began to equalize air pressure and air quality to continue with your great work of Air Purification. The Grotto has deep mana channels that you can dig up to your first floor or down several more. Congratulations!

Authors note: Well it seems like Growl predicted what I was going to do. Yes, I like to use science to help with the story, and I hope I explained the great magical working to everyone. Basically, Fire is about increasing movement and energy in matter. So Fire Mana are locations where that is occurring, gathering it up and putting it someplace else is magic. So, Alistair created a spell to strip the poison gases and metals from the air and reseed it throughout the dungeon, but was not able to strip the heat yet. I know, there can be sulfur, complex salts, all kind of chemical junk in the air that isn’t a metal… I tried to explain that it was being placed into the rock to form impurities. Hopefully, it all makes sense and is a good read. If not please give me a heads up on where it gets choppy.