The Tower in the Shadows

My perception of reality shifted as I returned to my standard view of the world from refining my Core.

Everything was wobbly for a few seconds as my perception steadied once again.

I had run out of space in my Core when I gained Celestial Mana, but I could create a mana stone to hold it and did so. I spent the next 14 days creating new places within my Core to store the mana. I had lost another 2% of my core integrity to do it, taking me to 88%, but I was willing to make the trade-off.

I am now the proud owner of 11 types of mana after absorbing the mana stone with Celestial Mana within it. I then created several additional mana stones for future projects to hold excess celestial mana. I had one space left if I encountered any new types of mana.

After that, I returned to my Core and did some more refinement.

I had just finished another night of additional core refinement and exhausted my CP. Coming back to my standard view of reality was always a bit jarring. I knew I wouldn't get anything significant from the work I was doing just yet, and it would be a good few weeks before I had any positive results.

I looked across the 10th floor and noticed Maximus on the platforms above the space. None of the adventurers had come here yet, and he was bored. I knew that feeling.

The adventurers were moving as far as the seventh floor, with a few even braver ones going to the eighth. The ninth had not seen any action either. I was pretty surprised because I expected far more teams to at least risk those floors.

It appears that my change in rating from gold to platinum affected the teams visiting my Dungeon. My essence, but I was growing up slowly, primarily through passive absorption of skills and spells. There had not been many deaths in the last few weeks. The groups were more cautious overall.

Having some time off to think and plan for the future had been quite pleasant. The only problem was that the weird feeling was back and slowly getting stronger.

I feel tingly for some reason. That was the only way I could describe it.

"What the hell is this?"

## ## ## ## ##

Trixis glanced around the curtain at the crowd at the back of the warehouse, which they used for meetings. It was one of the largest they had ever seen. At least 70 people were standing around or sitting on various crates or stools they had brought.

"We need to think about seating." She said to herself.

The last few weeks have been tense and chaotic. Things have been changing so fast since the madness within the temple district. Her group was growing stronger in faith and numbers; many looked to her for answers to the strange things happening in the area. This increased even more when they discovered that the Dungeon was supplying the means to remove void corruption from those afflicted with it.

Several of those who had the corruption removed from them had even come to join her group. They have spoken of the traumatic experience of having the void corruption removed from their bodies. She shuddered at the stories and images that they invoked to explain what had happened to them.

She had hoped that more would have come, but it seemed that the trauma of what had to be done to them had turned many away from the Dungeon. She could understand it and did not hold it against anyone, as the memories were too hard to face again. She knew a little about that.

So much has changed within the city and the world since that day the void corrupted erupted from the temples of Oda. Astraus was no longer communicating or being felt by her followers, leading to even greater chaos and uncertainty. Many less devoted people were starting to be attracted to her group, and they welcomed them all. She knew that there were many others within the servants of the Pantheon who were growing concerned with her group, and she made sure that they were not kept at arm's length but welcomed to watch.

She had nothing to hide. The Dungeon had taught her to be open with her desires and goals. From there, she could work to make them real.

One of her aides gave her a slight nod—time to start.

She walked from behind the curtain dressed as she did every day. She did not attempt to make a show or statements through her garb. Actions were one of the core tenets of her belief. Talking was good, doing was better.

The room fell quiet, and everyone focused on her.

She still felt the thrill of fear every time she did this.

"The Dungeon hides not its intentions. It challenges and tests. For those who pass them, there are rewards." Her voice carried across the space. "The city is here because it exists. We have livelihoods and better prospects because of it."

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"It forces us not to face the dangers within it. It offers us an invitation for those who seek more." She paused, collecting herself.

"Many of you know my story. I was once a slave. Sold and bound by a magical contract. I was broken and lost. Then one day, my owner took me into a new dungeon. There, he found that his wealth and privilege meant nothing. There skill and determination were all." She looked out at the group as she spoke.

"I expected to die there. The others were dead or running. The fourth-floor boss had killed my master and approached me." Many had heard the story but were still on the edge of their seats. "It reached out. I thought that this was my death. When it grabbed my collar, I was confused. The Dungeon focused on my collar, and through it, the boss broke it."

"I was free." She paused and looked around. "Free. I was once bound by law and magic. Then I was no more."

There was a murmur through the group at her words. Divine-backed contracts were the backbone of the world's treaties and deals. Only another divine being could break them, even then, at a cost.

The fact that one had been broken for a mere slave was an unprecedented event that was being talked about across the continent. Some were even talking about it in faraway lands. All done for nothing in return.

Slaves whispered. Slaves told stories. Slaves had something they had not had in many, many years. Hope.

Her voice made the group silent again as they paid attention to her. "At first, I was lost and confused. I was incredibly happy and joyful; I was free, but what now? What would I be in this world?"

"It took time. Many days and nights, I wrestled with these thoughts. But over time, I came to understand. And through that understanding, I found my Path."

"What else could free me but a God?"

## ## ## ## ##

I was still feeling strange.

It had become a constant, like a background noise I had learned to ignore. I was still aware of it, but I could keep on working. Back to work.

I was thinking about changing my core room.

My alcove was no longer fit for purpose. I had crammed as many mana stones as I could. Change was required.

But what?

I thought about this while my CP was regenerating.

I need more space. That was obvious now, but how could I reorganise my core room to accommodate that? I need to come up with a new setup.

I want to keep the stairwell, but I will change it.

I have a room around the stairwell that connects to the walls. My Core Guardian is hidden in one wall. Moving my Core into a wall in a larger space is an option. But would that be too obvious?

I thought about the above. I had to rule that out as it would not be enough space and would interfere with the route between floors.

I looked down. Here was an option.

I could build a hidden subroom. This would increase the space available; I would have to ensure the stair column was in the room.

The more I thought about it, the more practical it seemed.

I went through the rules of a Core Room listed in my Wiki. It allowed me to do this, but I had to factor in a way for someone to access this space. I couldn't seal it off, which was a nuisance.

Circle or square?

The stairwell room was a square, and I could just copy it. It would not be as tall, maybe two meters at most.

That would be easier to make.

I had spent hours mulling this over. The day had passed, and the adventurers were leaving with the miners. They had not gone to the silver vein, as it had not been restored yet. The tin and copper were mined out as usual.

My CP was back to full.

There was no time like the present, so I set about working on the extension. The great thing was that I could change the Core Room as I willed it, whenever I wanted.

Creating the space was easy. I added a two-meter-deep section under the floor and a ramp to take you down into it. I placed the ramp against a wall that should be ignored. The wall with the ramp in the room would not have any stones at the moment. When finished, I would cover it with a layer of stone to help conceal it. This would allow Larry entry.

Talking about Larry, I would have to bring him down to move me.

Next, the mana stones were moved into the new space. I had ten of each with another ten empty ones to be filled with any new mana types discovered. This would give me a reasonable reserve and room to expand if needed.

The stairwell column was located in the centre, and I hollowed out an alcove facing away from the ramp. That is where I would be placed. The mana stones were far enough away not to crowd me like above, but close enough not to have their regeneration rates affected.

"Looking good."

The room was lit with the different colours the stones produced. It was quite the light show. Larry had arrived, followed by Puck, who came to see what was going on. I had him move me down to the new alcove. Once placed, I sealed the old alcove and replaced the missing stone in the column above.

The room was almost finished, and I had been working on it for several hours, allowing my CP not to deplete completely. I had been thinking about void stones. I would need to have prepared some in case they are required in the future. If my core maximum was in danger of being reached, I could, in theory, shift some to them.

Dawn has arrived, and the first adventurers are here. Larry was back upstairs along with Puck. I sealed the entry ramp and looked around again. The Core Room Guardian was still in stasis, but ready when needed.

Had I missed anything?

I counted everything I had done and reviewed to see if there was anything else I needed to add.

I could not see anything.

That might change in the future.

Now that I had nothing to distract me, I was left thinking about the strange feeling I was getting.

"What the hell is this?"

## ## ## ## ##

Ranus was sitting with Nextom in his meeting room.

The conversation was not pleasant and tense.

"Astraus may be dead," Nextom said, giving the words a voice since he had learned of the fact to someone outside the temples.

"Are we sure of that?" Ranus asked, still trying to understand what he had just said. Members of the divine Pantheon going silent was not an unknown occurrence.

"There has been no confirmation from the Pantheon, but all the evidence points to it. We have not lost any pantheon members in this era, but records from the last indicate what the signs are." Nextom was exhausted as the last few months had been hectic at best.

"What signs of those?"

"The lack of her clergy to summon upon their divine powers was the first. There are others, but the Pantheon's lack of transparency and communication was the biggest indicator."

"What will this mean for us?" Ranus was still wrestling with the implications.

"It means the next few years are going to be very unsettled."

Ranus looked at him for a few seconds, then laughed.

"Unsettled! Unsettled! We've been living like that since the Folly. I am honestly surprised that we are not in a new era." Ranus said after finally controlling his mirth. "We will have to deal with any problems when they arise."

"That is all we can do, Lord Goldwind," Nextom said sadly.