Frostbound

Chris

"So this is it? This is a dungeon?" I asked after arriving at the place Austin indicated.

Hal was a bit miffed that he spent hours searching for it only to have Austin find it rather than him, but that went to show the power of professions. Hal's Dismantler profession was never going to beat out Austin's Explorer at finding something no one had found before.

"Yep, this is it baby!" Austin said proudly, hands at his sides as we gazed at his discovery.

All three of us, Hal, Austin, and me, stood and examined the place around us. The dungeon looked little different than a random hole in the ground, but it was markedly different to any mana sense.

It glowed when looked at through that lens, taking in more mana than I had in me by several orders of magnitude. I wasn't sure of the science behind it, but just by looking at it, it was easy to tell why the mana density rose around the area.

"Why does it siphon mana from the area like that?" Hal asked as we all stood and watched.

It flowed... not gently but with enough speed to be noticeable toward where the ground opened. Gravity had no effect on the flow, as some of the mana was coming from down the slope we were standing on.

"I think it's supposed to be a filter for it or something," Austin voiced his opinion.

"No, I thought it needed mana to grow and spawn monsters," I rebutted.

A new voice interrupted our conversation from behind us. One I really should have seen coming.

"No, you idiots. If you actually listened when I spoke you would know the answer already." Abigail said while carrying Gabriel on her back.