Farumi [66]
Small trickles of mana first caught my attention. I was cleaning things up in Woodrin when it started, and now I'm looking for the source. Aquartis. There are a few men traipsing through Rushwater Canyon. They're adventurers, or at least very experienced with combat.
I cringe at the sight of them slaughtering drakeflies by the dozens. The one I assume to be their leader is slicing the poor bugs apart like a knife through butter, his blade doing most of the work. The others bludgeon and stab the straggling drakeflies.
Their massacre goes on for nearly half the walk through the canyon. They've gotten cocky, overly so after slaughtering my monsters in mass quantities. The leader steps onto the first of the unreliable bridges with a self assured grin on his face.
One of his cronies actually notices something is amiss, but the warning comes too late. Their leader plunges into the water with a scowl on his face. I watch him try to attack a great pike. His movements are considerably too slow in the water, so all he does is make himself look like a fool. Soon enough he manages to get out of the river.
Unfortunately for the somewhat competent leader of the crew his men aren't as intelligent as he is. Two of his underlings falls into the water on an unstable bridge. The leader and his remaining subordinate both look ready to kill the others themselves, but they move to help regardless.
I'm still getting quite a lot of mana from the group. Each of their kills netted me mana as the creature's lives were ended. Their feelings of pride and victory also fed me, but now it was the fear of death and excitement of the situation that encouraged them to leak extra mana. Tons of the stuff is gushing off the two men flailing about in the river.
Soon enough the group is all on land again. They've lost some of their enthusiasm, but they press on toward the end of the canyon.
It looks like they're going to finish Rushwater Canyon without any trouble. I'm ready to turn away and spend some of the mana they've given me when I see one of the men rush toward the treasure blindly. He steps on an unsuitable part of the bridge and falls in, but he hits his head on the way down.
If I was in my body my eyes would be widening. This is the first time someone has set off the great pikes, and its quite the mess. There are only a few of the large fish this far downstream, but even so they really lay into the poor guy. Their sharp teeth pierce his limbs and body in several places. They can't tear away much of the flesh before he's pulled out of the water to relative safety.
But now what is he doing? He's acting as if he's a lot more injured than he really is?
I'm perplexed as I watch a bizarre situation unfold. The party look genuinely concerned for the man, but from my view he is fine. There's no internal injuries, nor particularly bad wounds on the man. Maybe he's just sensitive to pain.
The group has caught on that he isn't nearly as close to death as they thought. They're looking a bit frustrated with him, and now the leader is feeding the man a bit of water breathing potion. Oh, he isn't enjoying it. Now he's- He's fallen into the water, but only enough to breathe it in? How lucky of a coincidence is that?
I'm a bit dumbfounded by now. The group has discovered what the water breathing potion is through a bizarre twist of fate. Their clumsy liability of a team member has actually turned out to be a boon, in a roundabout way.
They're gathering their loot now. I'm guessing they'll leave and come back later, but that's fine by me. I've got more than enough mana to continue work on the newest section of the dungeon.
Thinking of what to do with the new level of the dungeon is a bit inconvenient when I have yet to name it. So, to rectify the issue, I'll name both the koi pond themed area and the connected abstract ocean space. For the koi pond inspired area Pearl requested I'll go with Farumi. It doesn't really mean anything, just a combination of the word 'far' and the Japanese word for ocean--paying a small homage to the fact koi is a Japanese term. As for the more abstract oceanic area, I'm naming it Kagami Sea. One again, just the Japanese term for mirror. Sounds nice and gets the point across.
With names for each area I can more easily plan and discuss them. Farumi is almost complete, it just needs a few finishing touches. The edges of the level are too easy to reach. There should be something keeping adventurers from simply sinking to the bottom of the abyssal depths with a water breathing potion. I think with this amount of mana I can create my first sea dragon.
My carvings in Kagami Sea serve as a good reminder for my design. I start by making the creature out of clay, having to change details as I work on such a massive being. The whole thing is over a kilometer in length. If it wanted to, it could wrap itself around the floating temple of Farumi easily. Its body is covered with scales. Each one is an iridescent shield, resistant to damage and impact while retaining a pearly beauty. No adventurer could possibly harm its body as things stand.
Translucent fins line the dragon's back, sharp and wavy, they menace onlookers from afar. I can already picture those fins striking fear into observers as the sea dragon breaches the surface of the water. The creature lacks any limbs, but it doesn't need them. Its snakelike body is capable of swimming and will be equipped with the capacity for mana manipulation. Rather than attack with claws it will crush with its body and use its maw to crush all that dares to face it.
Massive teeth the size of stalactites fill its mouth, With a tongue big enough to crush a man flat, the beast is fully capable of swallowing a small boat or large carriage. Each of its eyes are as big as cattle, with slit pupils and vibrant blue irises. The clay version is finally done.
I channel most of the mana I've gained from those adventurers into my next move. The clay is turned flesh and blood, each segment of the creature realized as I paint it with my mana. My core strains to finish the whole beast. As I'm finishing up the tail end I feel my mind ache with the strain of such a vast serpentine monster.
Mana turns to electric life as I finally animate the sea dragon. It's spawning throes create waves in Farumi that flood the whole of the temple, cataclysmic ripples in the faux infinite sea. The roaring of the beast is deafening as it opens its eyes for the first time. I gave it enough of a brain to be comparable to a human in intelligence, alongside some knowledge I normally only give to my custodians. It's fully capable of using mana to move through both air and water freely. Of course it will instinctively prefer moving close to or in water.
My lack of mana has my mind throbbing with discomfort. I watch the sea dragon get its bearings, swimming through the now roiling water with a scowl on its face. It takes in its surroundings with silent confusion.
With the very last of my remaining mana I etch a few important runes on the obelisk in Farumi. Enchantments encourage the dragon to remain on the edges of the area, and to not attack things that linger in the center near the temple. Its job is to be a guardian of the vast outer portion of the sea, not to terrorize and slaughter everything.
My consciousness fades with an ache. I move back into my body before anything too terrible can happen, my head pounding as I slump to the floor of my core room. I've got to go let Pearl know her area is finished.
Stumbling my way out of the core room, I tap my own catalyst in order to call my custodians. I wait there in the core room atop a bench at the foot of the cradle.
Minutes later, I hear a splash of water. Pearl was first to show up this time. She gives me a look. Her brow is raised, as if she's wondering why I look so exhausted. Instead of answering her unspoken question I announce what I've accomplished.
"The level you requested is complete, Pearl."
She perks right up "Oh! Really? Where is it? What's it called?"
"It's not yet connected to your canals... I've forgotten that step. It's Farumi, and it's a sea of sorts populated by quite remarkable specimens. I think you'll enjoy the area."
"You forgot the canal? Are you sure this isn't because I swam off before?"
My silence is answer enough. She coughs awkwardly, looking away with a slight red tint to her cheeks. I continue to explain Farumi to her as if she didn't mention her earlier mistake.
"I need to warn you, there is a sea dragon living there. While beautiful, it is very large and quite dangerous. It shouldn't attack you unprovoked, but I don't want you to be caught off guard."
"Sea dragon? Wow! What are they like?"
I purse my lips in contemplation. I'm not really sure what kind of personality the sea dragon has, but I know they're very physically intimidating. The beast doesn't have any defining features other than its size and ability to manipulate mana. I suppose it can introduce itself, since it can speak just fine.
"I'm not sure. You'll have to speak to it yourself."
"It can talk?!"
Smirking, I nod. Pearl turns away and dives beneath the water. I wait a few moments and she soon resurfaces, chewing her lip as she looks at me with narrowed eyes.
"Mom, please make an entrance!"
"Alright, alright."
I rise from the bench with a deep breath. I've probably regained enough mana to do that much. Some concern does linger at the back of my mind, not for my mana but for Silva. I called both custodians, so where is the usually punctual mammal at?
Pearl watches me step behind the cradle and out of her sight. Once hidden I enter the true core chamber. Here I calmly grab my core, leaving my body. I've gained a substantial amount of mana since departing! Why?
One look at Aquartis tells me exactly why. Those rough and tumble adventurers from earlier have moved into Upper Gunkthick Sewer. They're killing great rats left and right, and the whole ordeal is feeding me plenty of mana.
I'll have to look into that later, for now its time to give Pearl access to Farumi. I add a new passage onto the lowest reaches of the Farumi temple, ensuring it is in a place no sane adventurer would ever explore. Then I connect it with a spatial tunnel.
At some point during this process Pearl notices what's happened. She's swimming through it as I'm looking everything over. If I was in my body I'd be smirking at how eager she is.
Her expression is priceless. Once she's through the passage and looks up toward the surface she catches sight of schools of shine koi glowing softly in the water. The partly translucent bubble accompanied by the shadows of the aqualilies makes it a picturesque view.
Pearl only stops staring when she feels the water shift. The sea dragon is moving some distance behind her, eyeing her with quiet curiosity. She turns, using her fish tail to keep from being pushed away by its movements.
"Hello there! I'm Pearl!" She greets.