Department of Dungeon Studies: A Magic Academy LitRPG, page 17
Lillin cleaned the cauldron while Nox ate and prepared the essences for all the recovery brews. They separated the base into four batches. He turned the largest of them into healing potions. Nox made equal quantities of stamina and mana recovery brews. Finally, he mixed in relevant quantities of the counter-toxin. Instead of bottling them, he left them in the cooling flasks and sealed them for the aging process.
Finally, Nox worked on the empowering brews. He had to consume mana and stamina pills to keep going. Meanwhile, Lillin disappeared to fetch them a late lunch.
The buffing concoctions were the most challenging of Nox’s recipes. He had failed to procure exact ingredients and was forced to make substitutions. It took him all day to separate essences and extract them. He successfully completed Feline Grace and Sprinter’s High. However, Sniper’s Eye was a failure. Nox knew it was too inefficient and toxic to consume. The Sigil of Immunity would prevent the brew from killing him, but he’d still suffer a horrible stomach ache and then end up dealing with the consequences for days.
The work had him so occupied he ended up having lunch for dinner.
“You need to go to bed,” Lillin said when Nox started another brew.
“I need this,” Nox told her. “Things might get especially ugly in the rift if I don’t have any Shaping at all. We need this.”
“You’ve got me.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. Affectionate gestures of the kind felt alien coming from her. “No rift lord has a chance against us as long as I’m breathing.”
“That might be true, but I’m the only one in my class that’s not made any Shaping progress.”
“It’s the first week, Nox. You can’t expect to be at the top of every class straight away. Talk to the dean like Diya suggested.”
“Yes, but I need this, too. It’s been far too long since I last checked my sigils. Immunity already took matters into its own hands and made a decision for me. I can’t let Sigil of the Artisan do the same.”
“Fine.” Lillin sighed. “But I’m helping you.”
“Good. I don’t think I can pull this off without an Artisan Arm. I’m going to need you for this.”
“Spatial Lock?” Lillin asked.
Nox nodded. “We’re going to need a Spatial Lock.”
It was the fastest of Nox’s brew. However, it needed the most complicated spellform, and the materials were far more dangerous than anything Nox had used to date. Nox had consumed the concoction once before, but Mou had done the brewing.
Lillin conjured a gravity orb and used it to lift the volatile ingredients without touching them. Then she cast a second spell, which locked the cracked, glowing sphere in place. It only moved when the spell-casting hand moved. Nox cracked it gently with a hammer and extracted the fiery nucleus within. Then he cast Crystallize Essence and worked swiftly, hoping he didn’t screw up the process.
TWENTY-TWO
THE DANGERS OF MANA BURN
The Tincture of Sigil Awakening knocked Nox out straight away. He didn’t need its help going to sleep. By the time he finished the final concoction, he was on the verge of passing out. Nox ate a late, pre-bed snack, stripped, climbed under the covers, and then downed the concoction. Slumber took him within seconds of his head touching the pillow.
Instead of dreams, visions of an endless astral space filled Nox’s night. He stood on a stone island covered in pillars. The last time Nox visited the dreamscape, only one of them stood out from the rest. Now, runes covered two of them. The shapes they grew out of resembled Nox’s sigil tattoos.
Two sets of runes on the Sigil of Immunity pillar glowed. Nox’s mastery of the dead language had improved since his first visit. He already knew what the first of them read. The pillar called it Toxin Resistance. It granted resistance to naturally occurring toxins and diseases. Nox hadn’t suffered from food poisoning, reacted to snake bites, or fallen ill since receiving his sigil. Pallav’s gift had infused it with the power to resist poisons and venoms born of dungeons and dungeon lords.
Mou tracked the tattoo’s growth, and when it had enough arcane energy to evolve, she had Nox enter the astral space for the first time. Instead of picking a new resistance, Nox had matured Toxin Resistance to include alchemically brewed and all man-made poisons. A new, faint symbol now occupied the kite-shield sigil’s top-right section. It was a sphere with wisps growing out of it, and crystal fragments floated around it.
“Mana Burn Resistance.”
Only a fraction of the runes around the first emitted light. They appeared blurred, and Nox struggled to decipher them. His eyes darted to his forearms. Scars didn’t mark them in the dreamscape.
The godfall wasn’t the only time Nox had experienced mana burn. He had suffered minor versions of it while hunting magic beasts and more during brewing accidents. Nox guessed one such incident had driven the sigil to take command of its growth and picked the second resistance. Even though an eventual immunity to mana burn appealed to Nox, he disliked losing control over the sigil’s growth. He hadn’t planned the next resistance. In fact, Nox had spent years attempting to decide a direction for the tattoo but failed. Somehow, resistance to the cause of his arcane crippling never occurred to him.
The sigil had collected life energy during his excursions into the wilderness and battles with magical beasts. The process was slow, but it accumulated over time. Nox had enough energy to mature Toxin Resistance or make the basic Mana Burn Resistance more powerful. If he wanted, he could pick something for the sigil’s final section, too. Unfortunately, he didn’t know where to start. Dungeon delving would expose Nox to magical entities capable of further damaging his mana circuits. So he improved the kite shield’s top-right section. The blurriness around the surrounding runes reduced, but Nox still couldn’t read them.
The pillar hummed as more symbols gained luminesce. Nox traced the new shapes with his finger. He felt a new warmth, and his forearms tingled. He looked forward to the results. Nox knew little about sigils and had found few books about them. Eventually, he hoped to find someone from the research department to enlighten him. Fortunately, growing sigils were straightforward. The more Nox exposed himself to stimuli, the quicker the relevant resistance improved. He didn’t look forward to facing the brunt of arcane attacks but knew it would happen sooner or later.
Next, Nox moved on to the newest luminous pillar in the dreamscape. It featured Sigil of the Artisan. The tingling over consecutive days of alchemy and Shaping practice told him of the tattoo’s growth. It didn’t surprise him that the pillar had enough energy to give the sigil its first direction. Three runes stood out to Nox.
“Nimble Fingers. Eye For Detail. Arcane Acuity.”
The last surprised Nox. He knew artisans needed incredible dexterity and perception and expected upgrades along the same lines. However, improved mana control caught him off guard. Now that he thought about it, the option made sense. Sigil of the Artisan considered Shaping a craft. Alchemy demanded a fair deal of magic usage and mana control, too. The tattoo must’ve tracked his actions to pick the path of development.
Nox didn’t need to think about it for long. He picked Arcane Acuity, hoping the sigil would improve his Shaping skills.
Nox reported to Intermediate Dungeon Combat half an hour early the following morning. He wasn’t surprised to find Caitlin and Alexander already on site. They sat with their legs dangling over the terrace’s edge and an assortment of preserve-slathered rolls between them. The pair waved Nox over and offered him one, but he turned them down.
Instead, he stretched and practiced Shaping exercises. He hoped the sigil’s development would make things easier, but little changed. Mana flowed quicker, and the disc he conjured had sharper edges. Fewer vapors rose from it, too. His mastery over Shaping had inevitably improved, but Nox still failed to alter the fragments of essence glass in his pockets.
Caitlin and Alexander watched him practice. They didn’t disturb him and appeared content watching. They stiffened when Viktor, Roque, and Annabelle arrived. Her eyes appeared red and puffy from crying. However, the young woman had no visible wounds, and Nox took solace in the fact.
Fighting Professor Wolfhammer’s summon as a team of five wasn’t as challenging as the first day. They didn’t have the same unspoken understanding and coordination that Nox and Lillin shared. However, Roque and Victor shared a similar connection. Annabelle didn’t speak into the party’s heads as he had first assumed. Instead, she offered prompts. Nox instinctively knew where to look and step. It didn’t take long to figure out that the directions came from her.
After a couple of rounds against the wolf centaur, Nox noticed a pleasant development. The arrows from his bow no longer drained four mana from his star. It was still inconsistent, but he never used more than three units. It wasn’t a significant change but better than nothing. When Nox checked the manameter at the end of the lesson, he was pleased to find his maximum had increased by another point.
After lunch, Nox entered Shaping feeling tired but excited. Dean Woodson had them repeat the same exercises from the last class and walked around the class, commenting on people’s progress. Some students received compliments and more exercises. Nox waited with bated breath until she reached him, and then he presented the dean with his problem.
“Shaping essence alone is easy. Glass is more challenging but doable with a few extra steps. Shaping a focus that combines the two is certainly new.” She picked up a fragment and studied it closely. “You’re too weak to Shape essence glass.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” Nox sighed. “Is it too late to switch to Manipulation?”
Dean Woodson raised an eyebrow. “Let’s not be hasty, young man. I never said it’s impossible. Just difficult.”
“What’s the point of just Shaping raw essence? Should I focus my efforts on essence glass for now? I’m not giving up. If it’s too difficult right now, I just thought I could return to it later.”
“Or you can take this on as a challenge and emerge stronger on the other side.” Dean Woodson shot him a gentle smile with the same energy as Diya. She pulled a chair and sat opposite him. “No matter when you attempt developing a Shaping planet, you’ll face the same problems. Greater mana control will certainly make it easier, but your core’s spellform tells me you’re ready.”
“Let me guess. I need a three-dimensional spellform.”
“I guess Diya hasn’t covered looping multi-stage scripts yet, and you don’t come across as someone willing to wait,” Dean Woodson said. “Your planet needs to reach the apprentice stage before you can Shape straight essence glass. For now, you need to stick to shaping raw essence.”
“So I need to revert the essence to its natural form, shape it, and then stabilize it again?” Nox asked.
“Yes, but you don’t need to make the essence change state.” Dean Woodson traced her index finger through the air, leaving a trail of light in its wake. She drew a chain of circles linked by short lines. Then she poked one in the middle, and it wobbled. As the central circle bobbed, the connecting shapes followed. The dean agitated it more, and the movements grew more violent. “You will need to practice this and sharpen your mana control.”
“Instead of making the essence change state, I can destabilize it to make it easier to Shape?” The dean didn’t answer Nox’s question. She started at him, smiling and looking expectant. “If I make a mana framework while agitating the essence and then shape it, will the rest follow?”
“You’re on the right track,” the dean told him. “Destabilize the essence but not all the way, then build a mana cage and nudge the energy in the right direction. Once you have your desired shape, restabilize the essence. It won’t be an infinitely looping spellform like what you have in your star. Instead, it needs to be linear. Destabilize with a light touch of something like Mana Blast, Fire Dart, or Galvanizing Touch, build the cage, gently guide the essence, and stabilize it again. You can’t use gather and feedback runes to funnel loose mana back to the start of the process this time. The spellform needs to be airtight and your control precise.”
“This feels like a mighty project,” Nox mumbled. “If I pull this off, will you pass me? Diya said if I design a Shaping spell using my core and any two techniques from the syllabus, she’ll pass me.”
“Yes.” Dean Woodson laughed. “I’ll pass if you successfully complete the spell, build your first planet around it, and demonstrate complex Shaping.” She paused, studying Nox’s face thoughtfully. “Tell you what.” She took an arrow out of his quiver. “Make me an essence glass replica of this using nothing but a single spell, and I’ll give you your pass. I won’t turn you away next semester if you apply for Intermediate Essence Shaping, either.”
“It’s a deal,” Nox said. He wanted to feel gleeful, but the dean’s expression suggested it was a much harder task than she was letting on.
Dean Woodson stopped Nox when he started sketching the spellform. “Nope. This is a Shaping class. Save the spell weaving for Diya’s class, or do it on your own time. Show me your mana disc.”
Nox sighed and did as instructed.
The dean nodded, studying his conjuration. “Good job. Show me an equilateral triangle and then a rhombus.”
The new shapes came just as easily as the first.
“Excellent. I reckon you can start with three-dimensional shapes. They’re necessary for your mana cages. Start with spheres since they’re necessary for your defensive spells. Then work on pyramids. As your skill improves, you can modify the shape to make arrowheads.”
“Yes, Dean Woodson,” Nox replied and got to work. He wouldn’t be ready in time for the dungeon delve, but Nox had a direction. Instead of starting with the sphere, Nox created hollow pyramids and then used his Mage Hand cantrip to mold them into giant arrowheads. It made the task easier, and Nox felt Sigil of the Artisan tingle.
TWENTY-THREE
ARCANE PROGRESS
The following day, Nox struggled to stay awake through Beginner Dungeon Theory. He felt fine physically, but the mental exhaustion of the constant grind was catching up to him. First, he kept himself awake by listing all of his ingredients. He almost had everything he needed to make Sleeping Like the Dead. Reportedly Queen Mercer used the potion when the stress got too much. It knocked her out for twelve straight hours, and then she came out on the other side feeling refreshed. The brew also repaired minor tissue damage, purged impurities, and revitalized the skin.
It was tempting, but Nox didn’t want to use the same tools as his mother. He needed to sleep well until the day of the delve. After which, he’d take the next break day to rest. A part of him cursed Kris for the course load. At the same time, he was pleased with all of his classes and the professors. As he sat and practiced Shaping exercises under the table, he made plans to talk to Professor Das during his next open office hours.
“Dungeon Lords that didn’t start as gods is a complicated subject,” the professor said, introducing the first topic of the semester. Nox zoned in and out of her explanation while attempting to create an arrowhead-shaped mana cage without the aid of Mage Hand. “First, the beast needs to get strong or smart enough to leave their birthing dungeon. The rarity of such an occurrence is high enough to call the creature a statistically anomalous entity. Then it needs to survive the world outside while growing stronger. It needs to gather enough power for its mana zone to cover a sufficiently large area and the density to increase to the point that its magic passively warps the surrounding world. Can anyone tell me how a beast could achieve such a feat?”
“Consume mages,” someone in the giant lecture hall yelled out.
“That’s one way, but it’s slow and takes far too long. Our records suggest that most creatures who attempt to transcend to dungeon-lord strength only by consuming mages never make it. How else can aspiring dungeon lords gather strength?” The professor looked over the class. “Anyone?”
“Defeating boss-class monsters, dungeon or rift lords, and absorbing their essence gets them a lot more strength than consuming mages,” another student contributed.
“Succinctly put, Miss Smythe,” the professor said. “Unlike dungeon-born entities and the gods, we don’t contain essences. By default, we contain raw mana and then convert it into attuned essence using the spellforms stored in our stars and planets. I’m sure you’ve covered this in Beginner Mana System Theory or will soon.
“When a beast consumes us, they need to convert our mana into a form that their bodies can process. Meanwhile, they don’t suffer the same problem when consuming one another. They just need to meet two parameters. The essence they’re consuming can’t be born of the same dungeon lord that created them, and the essence type can’t conceptually conflict with their own. For example, a lightning-sling creature will get no arcane benefits by consuming something that naturally resists or neutralizes their magic.”
The lecture passed without Nox falling asleep. By the end of the four hours, he could successfully create an arrowhead-shaped mana cage without Mage Hand. He loved the cantrip and its utility but had little use in combat. Nox considered replacing it in his mind’s eye with something more combat-oriented. Mage Hand excelled with a large mana zone or when combined with a tool like Artisan’s Arm. However, he could still use it to feed himself cocktails without letting go of Ratra’s Bow. Because of the lack of space, Mage Hand wouldn’t throw Trap Foam far but could very well flick it at a charging beast. He left it alone for the time being and ate a quick lunch before reporting to his defensive spell class.
