Chapter 46: 43. Shriveled Lake Portal

My practice earlier pays off when I easily slip into my shadow. I look to Gene to see if she is impressed. She is, but she is acting like she isn't. I definitely thought she would be, given that she didn't explain this new process. Her expressionless face makes me believe she already saw me do this earlier.

Inside my shadow, I follow the steps to enter the Greater Realm. Carefully I maintain the shell of shadow surrounding my body so that I stay inside my realm and begin pulling out more mana. Unlike when I tried this outside my domain, the mana that I pool outside my body stays. When enough mana coalesces to form a portal, I step into the realm of the Greater Shadow. 

The land I step into is barren. I wasn't expecting the hut to be here, but not being in or on a mountain is surprising. Instead, I'm on the flat, dried dusty ground. The ground is segmented into random cracks. As I examine the floor closer, I can see the remains of shells and bones from aquatic creatures. Some of the shells are relatively large in size. 

I take a few steps away from my portal, continually observing the Greater Shadow Realm. Eerily everything is silent. It is as if silence wrapped its very hands around the land and forced everything to be still, the only defier being me and my cold, gentle breaths. I pull the hood over my head and allow Gloom to provide comforting warmth in this chilly desolate realm. 

Standing apart from the washed-up environment is my shadow portal. The oval exit from this realm is about six feet tall and four feet wide. Barely skimming the crusty floor's surface is the portal's bottom. Vibrant dark gray mana pulses from the portal, radiating energy that seems to have forsaken this place.

Resisting the draw of my portal, I survey the distant landscape to pick a direction. Off in the distance to the right of the portal are distant mountains. The path ahead and behind the portal is depressingly empty. The dried earth stretches for as far as the eye can see in either direction. I go on, and nope right out of either of those directions. 

Left of the portal appears to be the shortest route out of the lake bed. I head in that direction, hoping that it will get me out of what I assume to be a dried-out lake the soonest. Maybe east...I am heading east? There hasn't been any sun or moon here to clue me in on directions. Perhaps this realm doesn't even have an east. 

As Gene described, my portal acts as an anchor. It doesn't matter what direction I go. I can feel the slightest tug on my mana pulling me back to my portal. Even now, I can still feel the pull when I am far away.

About a mile from my portal, I walk out of the depression into a jungle. An awfully dried-up decrepit jungle. What must have been a lush habitat is now teetering on life. I am nonplussed with this realm if anyone is asking. Dead, dried up, cold, and still disturbingly quiet. 

I keep walking through the wasted jungle, holding a cheerful disposition in case any shade decides to pop out and say hello. Undoubtedly, the constant complaining in my mind keeps the smile alive. Dried-up lakes and jungles, barren lands, never-ending quests, mouthy bosses, order-taking basic grunt, and so on. Most of the complaints are directed at the environment. To make myself feel extra productive, I chalk the complaints up to constructive criticism. Can't make improvements if you can't find a problem. 

Complaining actually does help this time. I haven't a clue where to go. Gene already mentioned that the creatures of shadow will be attracted to my mana. So I might as well build a little fortification and hunker down. Rest and let the creatures do the work. Do more by doing less. 

I'm a big fan of my new plan. Less walking is always better. The only problem is I don't like my current surroundings. I want to be in the open to see what's coming for me and better execute Gene's suggestion to not die. Around one mile of backtracking later, I arrive at my portal in the Shriveled Lake. Now that I am back, it is time to get Shriveled Lake Portal open for business. 

Cautiously, I switch to my death mana, unsure what will happen when I am no longer cycling shadow mana. Fortunately, switching mana does not boot me from this realm. Using my summon skills is worth the risk of getting the boot.

Before I build my fort, I need to decide to either cover my portal and keep an easy exit route or let my vibrant portal light shine. If I know anything about fort building, location is key. I play it safe by allowing my portal to expose itself in its full glory. My tiny fortress will be built thirty yards away. 

Plan Shriveled Lake Portal is easy. The portal is the bait. I'm the delicious dangling hook...or maybe it is the other way around—Gene's instructions were a little unclear. Either way, the guest nibble on the bait, and I hook a shade.

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The fort I have in mind is the most basic of defenses. High walls and a platform to stand on. Since I can manipulate my summoned material, I do not bother with windows or doors. Besides, most of the time, I am planning to stand on the platform. So maybe this is more of a platform than a fortress.

Given that the lake is pretty flat for a good mile in all directions, I don't need much height. I summon bone walls, each twelve feet high, a foot in thickness, and eight feet in length. The walls create a triangle, with one point facing the portal and the other facing The Decrepit Jungle and the Nameless Mountains.

The thick walls have taken half of my available death mana. Thanks to my bronze core, even with the twenty-five percent energy dedicated to Bones, I have enough mana to build my shoddy fortress. The platform is another triangle that rests atop the thick walls. Putting my bone manipulation to work, I merge the walls and the platform, creating a solid structure. I add a smaller partition on my platform just shy of my chest for the finishing touches. 

I plan to stay on the roof and take out any hostile creatures with Bo. Just in case, I also have the steel swords at the ready, and for extra measure, I cover myself with blackened iron chitin armor. After absorbing armor and metals from the bugbears my chitin armor got a slight upgrade in durability. With mana to spare, I summon myself a chair. 

Letting my death mana replenish for potential future conflict, I switch to shadow mana and begin channeling it. Now is as good a time as any to get more familiar with the mana. I'm also hoping using the mana will lure in a shade.

I practice shaping the mana in my hand. Shadow is more malleable than the bone I have worked with; the downside is that it doesn't want to keep its form. The bigger the shape, the more the mana resists. After a few droopy sword tries, I decide that daggers and knives will be the best weapons I can form out of the mana. Of course, spoons, forks, and other small useful objects are also a possibility. Shadow mana is also very quick to my command taking a fraction of a time to form compared to the death mana.

After every shadow summons, I absorb most of the mana back, so I don't lose access to my portal. It seems like it will be a primary key in getting me out of this realm. I continue to practice with shadow long into the day. By now, all of my expended death mana has recovered, and I spend more time switching between death and shadow. The switch is almost instant. 

To be more proactive with my waiting strategy, I throw a few small lumps of shadow mana into the surrounding area. Hopefully, the extra mana will encourage the creatures in this realm to welcome me. Not sure what else to do, I lean back in my chair and relax.

I close my eyes and let my spirit sense take over. In a way, I can feel more than I can see. The mana around me is pulsing with power that matches the mana from the portal. While my shadow mana gives off a vibrant aura, the death aura is calm and chilly. The stark contrast between the two work together to create a more vivid signal of mana. This reassures me that waiting for my guests might actually work. I continue to use the energy sense, pushing the limits of what I can feel.  

Spikes of energy to the west alert me of my first guests. Fiery hounds are running aggressively towards me. Dismissing the energy sense, I look at the incoming dogs. Surprisingly they are not actually burning demon dogs. I turn the energy sense back on and see fiery energy coming off them. 

Trusting my gut I pull out Bo and draw an arrow from my quiver. I target the leading hound in the pack, pull back the arrow, and release. Streaking through the air at an incredible speed, the arrow pierces into the lead dog's open maw, causing it to crash to the ground. 

Radiating mana leaves the downed beast and lazily makes its way toward me. I repeat the shot three more times. Two arrows result in a quick death for two of the hounds. The other arrow only injures its intended target as it was clever enough to ditch running in a straight line at me. Still, it is too wounded to proceed and is now struggling to walk. 

Seeing the wounded pack member, the remaining three dogs turn on the easy prey and end its life with a vicious bite, absorbing the mana for themselves. That, in turn, cost them. Two more arrows claim two more hounds. The last one retreats in an irregular pattern. I pull back for a shot and notice that its energy isn't burning with aggression. Instead, the energy is calmly coursing through the beast. 

Another hour later my next guest saunters into my energy sense. Instead of the fiery energy radiating from the hounds, this solo beast has a calm aura. The wingless dragon creature takes its time inspecting my portal sparing no attention to me. It's not that I feel slighted. It's just that this is kind of my portal town, and it would be nice to not be overlooked for some landmark.

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