Year 160 (part 1)

The ruins of the Demon King Tigash were converted into a memorial for the dead. I felt it was appropriate, now that my powers have gradually restored the damaged terrain to almost 90% of its former self. It was just a little memento, to remember those who sacrificed themselves in war. Once the terrain was restored, it would be hard to tell this place was once a hellscape.

A city would be built here, over time. A war focused one, of course. At the same time, this place, now that I’ve undid the damage, actually did have residual magical energy that could be used, so I made a dungeon.

Its just sweet petty revenge on my part. I will train multiple generations here, with the energies of the demon king.

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On the topic of leylines and dungeons, we also explored ways of enhancing these magical but naturally occurring geological features. Ley lines seemed to be the mana-magical equivalent of ‘sun spots’, and now that I have a massive map of the central continent’s ley lines, it did seem somewhat evenly distributed across the continent. Somewhat, and that did imply areas where there is a particular ‘lack’ of ley lines, and areas that have lumps.

What are ley lines?

When dealing with only a few ley lines, this was a particularly pointless question to ask. But with a continent’s worth of ley lines, I could start making some inferences.

“Ley Lines naturally occurring.” Akrenaf, the wolf. “Creating them is impossible.”

I disagreed with that. The fact that there’s so many of them across the world implied something. One, it was something created from the land itself, perhaps by way of agglomeration of energies. Two, the ‘sun spot’ analogy suggests that the world’s core has some kind of mana-field that creates these ley lines.

Lilies explained one day.

Again, ley lines can move over long periods of time. This clearly suggested a mana-magnetosphere kind of mechanic deep in the planet. A mana-tosphere. This is quite like how magnetic poles can shift over time. If these ley lines have no polarity, then it makes sense that it’s distribution is random since there is no repelling force?

“Could the elemental features or colors of the ley lines be a way these ley lines differentiate itself?” Patreeck theorised that the colors are a kind of ‘polarity’, so instead of just north and south for magnets. Manas have multiple poles, perhaps?

This theory was dispelled when we analysed the colors of the ley lines. Black and blue dominated the colors of the ley lines. There were also ‘neutral’ ley lines with no coloration to it, and these were by far the most common source. If there is a polarity, there should be a lumpy distribution of the colors, but that’s not what we are seeing. It’s random.

“Perhaps it’s more of an electricity-like mechanic. The core is just a source, and there’s something on the surface that causes the mana from the core to arc to the surface.”

This would be like plasma globes. The plasma filaments are thus the ley lines. Also possible, but does not explain coloration.

Our research into ley lines were primarily driven by two things.

One. Can I supercharge ley lines to make super powerful weapons? The existing ley lines are not powerful enough, so, can I, using my natural powers, influence or cause the energies to gather in such a way that the ley lines become significantly more powerful than they normally are. This thought process is a bit like attempting to use canals and channels to accumulate multiple smaller streams into a larger river?

Two. Can I use multiple ley lines, or enhance ley lines, to create dungeons with significantly higher level cap. This would allow my Level 125ers to level up quickly, and thus achieve the level needed to counter the demon king’s next attempt.

Firstly, how do I interact with ley lines? So far, I have been on the receiving end of the ley lines energies. Are there historical records where mages attempted to meddle with ley lines?

I sent out an order to the Valthorns, and then to the various mage guilds. I got close to nothing. Very few people ever recorded their meddlings with ley lines. I’m sure multiple mages have considered whether it is possible to tap into such natural circumstances for power. It’s likely most of them died when exposed to such power.

I tried meddling with ley lines. I went back to the earlier ley lines, like the ones that held my [threetrees of mana]. I extended my roots, attempting to follow the flow of mana deep into the ground. I went as deep as I could, following the subtle fluctuations of mana.

I’ve gotten a lot better at sensing and following the traces of mana, after all that practice. My roots can also stretch deeper than before. The ley lines seemed to all head to the center. There must be something down there, no?

The distance to the core is massive, I reckon. Assuming this world is no larger than earth, that’s still some 6,000km of distance. Could I dig that far down?

Yet, I felt this challenge was one I was incredibly well suited for. I have various tunneling skills, and abilities to extend my roots. If I could create little microclimates and ‘pockets’ as I dug downwards, I’d run into whatever’s down there.

Perhaps even magma or the planet’s mantle? I should be able to break past the crust.

So I did.

A tree’s journey to the center of the planet.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I felt that now was a good time to try.

I would dig tunnels with my roots, and eventually, at the limit of the roots range, I would create a large pocket of space. I would then spawn a Giant Attendant Tree there. This renewed my root’s range, and allowed me to extend it further. The roots supplied water and minerals for the attendant trees to survive, and the tunnels itself supplied air.

It was a long, laborious and somewhat boring process. But I eventually gotten deep. Minerals and strange metallic ores, crystals of all kinds were here. And that damned black as coal Blackstar Gems were aplenty. Gems. hah. They might as well call it Blackstar Coal. That’s a better name for it.

It also got hotter.

And hotter.

I dug.

And I dug.

I dug for weeks. The heat was still manageable. Thank goodness for my various resistances. Then, I broke through the hard crust, and if I could say my jaw dropped, it did.

I had stumbled into a pocket of space down below the crust, and instead of just rock and minerals, I saw the remains of a civilization I did not recognise. Deep down here, it’s dark and without light. There is hardly any oxygen, save those that somehow managed to make it down here through my root tunnels.

But my spiritual senses could still see the structures, ancient.

Preserved, buried in such depths. This was at least a hundred miles below the crust!

[Title : Rediscoverer of the Margmarian Dwarf City earned.]

“Magmarian Dwarves.” I thought to myself. All the people that once lived here were all dead. Long, long ago. But their massive towers and structures remained, mostly made of a metal I did not recognise. There were no bodies, no one on the streets. The structures looked like they’ve been untouched for eons.

I spawned a Giant Attendant Tree here, at the edge of their ancient city. The earth seemed to have caved in on them? Was this my fate if the demon king’s corruptions overwhelmed us? Did a similar event happen to them?

I noticed how the curvature of the rock above their city was almost perfectly round. They must have had a barrier or something of that sort that shielded them.

My roots spread through their ancient city. It felt like I was in a post apocalyptic movie, the last man walking down a deserted city. There was little sign of chaos, the ancient structures looked beautifully preserved with hardly any damage. It seemed no war happened here. Their city was quite large, and I kept going.

My roots spread through the city’s tiled roads. The tiles were old and easily gave way to my roots. I could use this city as a secret hideout for the people.

There were all kinds of buildings. I spawned beetles, my heat-resistant variant. Down here the heat and pressure was quite high, and my spiders would not do. The beetles then fanned out, searching for life.

Would there be survivors?

I think not. There were no vegetation in this area, certainly these magmarian dwarves did not survive without food. Unless they ate rock. Maybe they ate rock. My beetles highlighted some buildings of interest.

My roots followed.

Temples, ancient, massive temples. Made of an even stranger metal. No. Crystal. My roots approached, and I felt something push back. Magic.

The temple surrounded by steps, like a pyramid. Crystalline columns surrounded the temples, each had a statue on it. Statue of creatures. A four-winged bird, a scorpion, a dragon with a halo on its head. A dog with two balls of flame. All sculpted out of crystal.

Were these dwarves some kind of egyptian equivalent? What levels of wealth did they reach to do so?

The temple itself was the first building I saw in this entire city that crumbled. My vines snaked up the stairs and then, as with vines, crawled up all the crumbled walls. I saw a large broken statue inside, a humanoid structure with its head gone.

There were words on the building walls that I did not recognise. All scrubbed off.

What happened here?

Another group of beetles highlighted something else. Another set of temples. These temples were still intact. They were also made with the same materials, and the same crystalline structures.

There were no statues inside.

My roots spread and then we reached the center of this city. There was a vast domed building, solid and made of a mix of crystal and metal. It had no entrances, no holes.

It looked like... a tomb.

I had to know, so my roots attacked it. The crystal was strong, and it held through the first hit. And the second. And the third. And the tenth. But it cracked at the twentieth root strike, and my roots now had a hole where it could enter.

And for the first time, bodies. Ancient bodies all preserved in crystal. At least ten thousand bodies. I sensed no life in them, their souls have long since departed. At the center, was another crystal, but this crystal seemed like an equipment, rather than a structure. There was a lot more intricate, and I sensed fluctuations in its energy. It was reacting to my spiritual sight.

My vines then touched it, and the crystal attempted to draw mana from me. I decided to give it a bit.

The crystal glowed and responded to the mana, and then, from it... an apparition appeared, it floated right above the crystal. It was a hologram! A magical hologram!

“Today is the 24th year since the fall of the Daemos Comet. We remain trapped underneath the Daemos Comet’s tremendous magical sludge, and our attempts to break through the sludge has not been successful. Our archmages theorise it would take at least 10,000 years for the chaotic energies from the sludge to dissipate.”

Magical sludge? But it’s all dirt to me.

“Our fellow sister cities are all equally trapped by the sludge.”

It paused.

It was that same man, but he looked a lot older. “Today is the 46th year since the fall. Our food stockpiles have run out. Our archmages have been working hard daily to create food, maintain vegetation and keep us alive. But things are honestly bleak. We expect not to survive for long. I’ve called on the archmages to start our self entombment. We may as well give ourselves a peaceful death.”

It paused again, and it flicked to a different scene. A different person.

“Chancellor Mar has been entombed. Honestly, at this point, everyone’s given up, and well, me too. We’re trapped in this hell. Who would have thought a comet would have ended our world so easily. Our prayers to our gods have all yielded nothing. Eras, Geis, and Deyar, we prayed to you.” He sobbed. “But nothing. Not a word. Why have you forsaken us? Doomed us to this!”

It flicked again, a different person.

“We pray to the Gods Eras, Geis and Deyar, may we be protected even in death.”

It flickered again, and another person appeared.

“I am the last one here, the last mage-priest of the Marga. I assented to the wish of the others for their peaceful death. In my anger and hatred for our fate, I destroyed the temple of Eras. Eras has abandoned us in our time of need. Where was he when we needed him? Is this it? Trapped in a city underneath a massive layer of molten sludge?”

It paused, the same person then continued.

“The Jewel of the Margma’s protective barriers continued to hold. I had attempted to disable it, but I failed. The Jewel remains untouched, underneath this dome. I refuse to die. I will continue to experiment on the jewel.”

That was the last image. There’s another jewel!

My roots quickly explored beneath the dome, and indeed, there was a large subterranean structure, a series of tunnels and walkways. These dwarves built relatively sophisticated cities!

Then I saw it, about a few hundred feet beneath the dome, through walkways and stairways.

A bright blue crystal, still faintly glowing, but slightly off center. It was no longer on the pedestal, but still on the platform. There were a few bodies around it, all dead.

My roots and vines reached out, and briefly touched it.

[You have obtained an ancient relic, Ley Line Lense - Focusing Shield Gem]

A ley line lense? Such a thing existed in the ancient world? I spawned a few more attendant trees outside around this ancient city, this time, I attuned them to the magic in the area. Indeed, I’ve been following the ley line all the way down.

I spread my roots, and then noticed that there were other ley lines that converged here. The ley lines on the surface were like streams of a river, and here, in this very ancient city, those streams converged. Taking that logic that all the leylines we saw on the surface were nothing more than little branches of the same whole, the core would thus be the great ocean.

The ley lines here were a strong, robust blue and also black. Multiple colors mixed here. But over the millennia, it had moved, shifted slightly. Like how rivers reshaped the land, and like how magnetic polarities moved.

The ley line lense was now off center, no longer along where the ley lines were focused.

I moved the Ley Line Lense, placing it back on its pedestal, properly. At first, nothing. I adjusted the pedestal, moving it until it was focused along the invisible paths of the ley lines. It suddenly glowed, and then, it emitted a vast, powerful shield that covered the entirety of the ancient city. Yet, it did not cut off my roots. It had somehow taken to my roots’ signature, identifying I am a friendly party.

The shield was back.

If the ley lines remained, surely the shield would last. If so, the city clearly outlasted its inhabitants.

The shields’ restoration also seemed to bring certain structures in the city back online. My roots sensed mana flows in the city itself, and my roots retraced those flows to large buildings that housed other additional crystals that ‘harvest’ energies from the shield, as a form of power. These were things I’ve not seen before, a unique set of runes and power. My roots connected to the structures, and I wanted to study them.

I spent days studying these ancient runes and the formations they used, and also the crystals. They were regular crystals, but programmed by the runes and formations to function as an ambient mana absorber. It’s really cool, and after about two months of studying, my subsidiary trees unlocked new functions.

[New subsidiary tree variant obtained : Crystalline Mana Trees. Crystalline mana trees are trees with crystals in them. The crystals can store mana, and also be tailored to perform specific functions. Each tree can have only a single crystal type.]

[Tuberous storage upgraded : Crystalline Potatoes. Potato mana storage now comes with crystals, and this increases capacity and also ability to store different kinds of mana!]

[New lab variant obtained : Underground Living Crystal Labs. Allows creation of crystals in a lab.]

Somehow, the studies meant I had rediscovered the ways to grow crystals in a lab. That’s not exactly groundbreaking, I mean, I knew that was possible from earth, but this was hell of a roundabout way of rediscovering it.

Surely, if I needed to make massive crystal lattices, what better way than to grow the necessary crystals myself, than actually hoping to find those crystals out in the wild? Thanks ancient civilisation, I’m one step closer to lab-grown crystal superbombs!

At the same time, there must be something further down there?

The discovery of an ancient city so deep underground, I wondered, could this world actually just be layers upon layers, that millions of years ago, this planet was very very small, and each of these disasters just added a layer of earth and crust over it?

Is this just a slice of layer cake all the way down?

I had to know, so I traced the ley lines, and kept digging.

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