Chapter 570
Now that he was in the high Mana density area the first thing Ajax did was focus on his [Sense Mana], he wanted to get a clear picture of just how dense the Mana was. The maps he had mentioned would be around the level sixty equivalent of a dungeon floor but that could always change.
Feeling the Mana Ajax noticed that the Mana potency had in fact grown compared to what the maps indicated, it was now close to a level eighty dungeon floor, a substantial increase and something he very much planned to report back to Gryndor with. According to the age of the maps this was a long lasting high Mana density zone, but considering how far it is and how dangerous any expeditions would be it wasn’t worth it all that much before. Knowing that not only it grey substantially but that it would likely also keep growing made it a much higher priority.
With the Mana density checked Ajax wrapped himself in Shadow Mana once more as he pushed his [Stealth] Skill doing his best to become undetectable. It has been a long time since he last headed in blind in a high Mana density area but he very much remembered his meeting with the killers of Fluffy’s father. The bear and the fish had formed a monopoly on the lake before Ajax had killed them.
“Time to find out what stage this place is in.” Ajax said to himself as he started moving deeper in the Mana dense area.
Ajax had learnt more about high Mana density areas in the Academy and he had gone through a refresher before he came out here knowing it was very likely he would encounter them. High Mana density zones were usually in one of three states.
The first state was one of predatory dominance. This was the most common state and the lake inside his duchy also fit into this category back when Ajax first found it, it was one of the rarer cooperative dual predatory dominance but it still fell into the category of having a carnivore at the top of the food chain dominating the area and claiming the territory for itself.
The second state the area could be in was the prey dominance or passive dominance. This occurred when a territorial herbivore or pacifistic omnivore became the strongest creature in the area. These states were the most valuable as most such creatures instinctively knew to care for and cultivate high quality food for themselves out of the local plantlife leading to a large variety of Mana infused potential ingredients.
The third and final state was the war state. This was the least common to find as it didn’t usually last long before it turned into one of the other two. A battle for supremacy that would lead to one of the first two states or occupation by a colonizing species, something like humans or goblins who would bask in the high Mana density and remove the natural order of the wilds.
Despite the war state lasting so shortly it was one that a high Density area would go through with some regularity. If the dominant predator didn’t have offspring a war state could kick off with its death. The same applies to dominant herbivore though that could also change into a dominant predator state if one happens to kill the current dominant occupant. The war state is the state most high Mana density areas are left in after humanoids pass through and they decide not to occupy the space after killing the dominant creature and harvesting what they want.
Carefully making his way through the trees Ajax pretty quickly finds himself at a small waterfall. It couldn’t be more than ninety feet tall and the water isn’t infused with more Mana than the rest of the place so Ajax makes a note of it and distances himself to better scout out the rest of the area.
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One big difference between dungeon floors and high Mana density areas is the size of them. While almost all dungeon floors would take days to explore even for some of the smallest ones, most high Mana density areas would take about half a day to a day to fully explore even with a cautious approach, the amount of area they cover is simply not that large. The lake Ajax found was a particular small example only extending to the lake and the river that flowed from it.
Over the next two hours Ajax could confidently remove the passive dominance state from the list of options. Unlike a predatory dominance or a war state the passive dominance was the easiest to find since the territorial dominant creature actively announced its presence to deter any unwelcome guests. More than that while Ajax did spot a number of good quality ingredients he had yet to find anything more than slightly higher in Mana density than the rest of the area.
Ajax knew this meant that the area was most likely in a state of war for supremacy. This was both good and bad. It was good as it meant he wouldn’t have to deal with an experienced and powerful dominant creature. It was also bad since in the struggle for supremacy all resources were consumed for even the smallest benefit. With either dominant states there would be more valuable plants to be found, either because of the herbivore growing them out for later eating or the predator growing them out as bait for stronger prey.
While the Mana density matched a level eighty dungeon floor the level range most creatures present spanned was a lot larger than the five level rage present in the dungeons. According to what he saw Ajax put the low end of the range around sixty five, having seen a snake that was only level sixty six slithering through trees looking for food. The upper range he saw was in the low nineties having seen a level ninety two owl sleeping in a tree.
Returning to the waterfall after mapping out the area Ajax was surprised to find that it wasn’t actually in the center of the high Mana density area, not only that but the area was towards the larger end of the scale, that along with the increase in Mana density over time told Ajax that whatever was causing the Mana density increase was not only still around but also still active.
This could be a real prize, especially if he could move whatever was causing the area to form. There would be no way he would be able to keep whatever it was even if he could move it, items or plants like that were so valuable that the crown would invoke its authority and claim it for the kingdom but he would get certain privileges and plenty of rewards for it.
The one problem with his theory was that he had scouted the area pretty well and [Sense Mana] and [Mana Syphon] hadn’t managed to find even a trace of whatever it was that was causing this.
Taking another look at the waterfall something clicked for Ajax. His Earthly gamer senses were tingling, a waterfall like that, off center for the area. In all the games he played something like this would almost surely lead to a cavern with the entrance either behind the waterfall or underneath it leading to a hidden cavern that was isolated by a dive.
This realization also put Ajax a little more on edge. With the area potentially leading underground it also changed the possible scenarios he could be dealing with. It could be that the dominant creature was one that spent its time predominantly underground, this would lead to a feeding frenzy whenever it wasn’t present that could explain the apparent war state of the area.
Ajax took a moment to think through his next move. The first thing he had to do was check and make sure his theory of their being an entrance to an underground cavern or series of tunnels was actually correct. This barely took a few minutes as Ajax carefully approached the waterfall before using Wind Mana to split the waterfall in two and take a look behind it. He could have also used Water Mana to get the same effect but he was worried about doing so starting a fight should there be something already with a grip on the water and seeing his intervention as a challenge.
Ajax wasn’t sure if he was excited or annoyed to find out that his conjecture had been right, there was a cavern behind the waterfall and it did seem to lead into a tunnel that headed underground. But after taking a moment to think about it and extending both [Mana Syphon] and [Sense Mana] to their limits and not finding anything stronger than what he had found before Ajax decided on his course for the last few hours he had in the day.
Instead of heading in the cave to explore Ajax collected some of the Mana infused water and he backtracked his way out of the Mana dense area while making sure to collect a few reagents on the way out. It was time to do some more alchemy.
Ajax knew he could start exploring the cave already but there was no rush for that, more than that doing so would be risky. By grabbing reagents and exiting the area Ajax was checking to see if something wasn’t following and looking for the best moment to pounce.
After he was decently sure he hadn’t been followed out of the high Mana density area Ajax found himself another good tree underneath which he built his small little chamber. This one however wasn’t as well hidden as the others he had made, since he planned on doing some alchemy Ajax prioritised better ventilation of the space of the extra stealth.