Chapter 195: And You Get a Mana Orb!
Despite Laura’s initial thought that they were close to getting the gate running, their side had suffered a further complication involving the lack of mana flow. Quarilyn hadn’t been used to working in those environments, and while it was only a two-day delay, that did mean we were cutting it very close to our departure time. With nothing I could do to rush it, I resigned myself to forcing a sense of patience, or at least a distraction.
That was exactly how I had found myself back with all the spare mana orbs we had on hand. Considering how many of the Orcs we had slain during our time out in the world, we were nearly overflowing in the base six they handed out, which was good, as I had already decided I wanted to add two more elemental orbs into my repertoire.
I quickly discovered a problem with that plan, though. The vast majority of them had already been set to Elemental Mixture. And to make it worse, all but one of what were left had been set to fire. I had been hoping to add an earth-aligned one after what I had seen the Pachydresti pull off during the last Arena floor, but my only option at the moment was an air one. Since I was currently running low on spare skill ranks, I only invested enough into fundamental forces to make sure I had clear access to the air-related magic. The orb itself was only the first rank, so until I managed to rank it up a few times, I wouldn’t be able to do much with it anyway.
What I would have liked was the same mana siphon orb Elicec had earlier mentioned, but as we still didn’t have one or anything like it that was out as an option. There were the environmental orbs to consider, though. It was possible one of them could be useful around here. We had added deep cave, bog, and tropical rainforest to our selection of biomes. The only one I considered overly useful currently was the deep cave one, and that would be far more for construction than anything else. I noticed the streaks of yellow in its otherwise solid gray color as I socketed it.
| Mana Orb |
| ~Deep Cave (2)~ |
| -First Tier- |
| Spelunking (0) |
| Requirements: N/A |
| Whenever the host is below ground, they gain a bonus to all of their abilities. This bonus grows the deeper they venture. Further ranks increase the bonus gained. |
| Stone Speak (0) |
| Requirements: N/A |
| The memory of stone is long, but few are able to understand it. Stone Speak allows the host to commune with stone they are touching and try to understand what is said to them. Awakening the stone for such communication leaves them in a state of confusion, making it difficult to ascertain information. Further ranks allow for a better understanding and communication between the host and the stone. |
| ~Second Tier~ |
| Stone Passage (0) |
| Requirements: Stone Speak (10) |
| The host is able to use Stone Speak to grant their mana to the stone in order to allow it to shift itself and open new passageways. The stone must be willing to do as the host wishes. Further ranks allow for more mana to be granted to the stone. |
| ~Third Tier~ |
| Command the Stone (0) |
| Requirements: Stone Speak (25) |
| The host is able to use Stone Speak with authority. Previously awakened stone is much more willing to accept the commands of the host, and will begin to form a bond with them. Further ranks increase how much awakened stone may be influenced in this way. |
| No Crack too Small (0) |
| Requirements: Spelunking (25) |
| The host is able to slip their body through smaller and smaller cracks, allowing for them to explore and reach deeper parts of the underground. Further ranks allow for smaller cracks to be explored. |
| ~Fourth Tier~ |
| Stone Bond (0) |
| Requirements: Command the Stone (25) |
| The host is able to permanently awaken stone. This awakening bonds the host to the stone, allowing for the stone to remain in communication with the host as long as they remain on the same plane of existence. Further ranks increase the amount of bonds the host may have. |
| ~Fifth Tier~ |
| Golem (0) |
| Requirements: Stone Bond (25) |
| Golem allows Stone Bonds to begin the process of growing into their own fully sapient and independent creature. Their loyalty will initially remain to the host, but as they are their own thinking being, that can change. Further ranks increase the number of Golems that may exist bonded to the host. If a Golem chooses to leave the host, they will no longer count as a bonded Golem. |
