Chapter 148: Labyrinth of Roots

Year 164

We kept digging into the depths, and I soon discovered a second limit. There was a limit of how far the chain of roots and trees can go underground. That range, as of now, was about 500 miles. I can go a max of 500 miles deep, or wide, or underground, or whichever, then I need to go back to the surface.  

 

That said, this also meant it may be possible to tunnel all the way to the other continents, as long as I make a little surface trip every 500 miles. Perhaps, a super tall tree from deep underwater, or a long vine that breaks through the earth and extends all the way to the surface, kinda like a super long kelp forest?

 

If there are island chains along the way, It’s still possible to make ‘hops’. Else, it’ll be like a whale surfacing to get a breath. 

 

Strange that the trees need such a thing. Perhaps it’s just some magical mambo-jumbo just to deal with such a loophole. Or maybe the system just decided that I shouldn’t be allowed to dig so deep. Hah!

 

In the depths, we soon found more long-forgotten cities. The Margmarian Dwarves were not the first, and those Dragon Bones were not that rare either. There seemed like there was a time when dragons were extremely common, though most of these bones were a lot smaller. Their magic had decayed over the eons. 

 

Sad.

 

-

 

I theorised that ancient civilisations would also choose to use ley lines as a form of natural power source, thus following the ley lines underground did lead to a few other interesting locations. 

 

We discovered a large tomb-like structure in the depths, filled with long-dead corpses, their bodies fully decayed. In fact, the bones pretty much disintegrated on contact, and they left behind some magical books and items, their magic also fading. 

 

This was when I felt torn. I either could call on the wider crowd of mages with the right ‘preservation’ and ‘ice’ skills to preserve or freeze these objects, and doing so would reveal these ancient sites to the wider world, or use the Valthorn’s own mages who are more combat focused. 

 

There were also strategic issues that would reveal how deep I could dig... in the end, I decided to use Valthorns, but equipped with magical artefacts that slow decay. As we kept digging, and followed the ley lines, eventually we discovered most of them had some old tombs, and ancient smaller cities. 

 

Most had some degree of magical protection, and some looked like the muck had flooded the entire city. It was a lot of work, trying to excavate such massive cities, and so much time had passed that the structures that made up the walls, and the muck itself is almost indistinguishable. 

 

-

 

“These ancient places are amazing, and they speak of gods that have long been forgotten.” A few of the Valthorn analysts came to the subterranean city. Alka, too, as my Chief Researcher. It was one of the inspiration trips. They had to be equipped with a whole set of artifacts just to tolerate the pressure, natural heat and the lack of breathable air. 

 

Even among the various races that call the Central Continent home, few are adapted to subterranean living. Treefolks suffered from walking in the depths a lot more than the others, their bodies seemed to despise going underground for long periods. Some groups of lizardpeople were much more fond of the underground, but only up to a certain level. Beyond that the heat is unbearable. Dwarves, true to their heritage as miners and diggers, performed the best, but even they needed artefacts.

 

The lense remained on its pedestal. I took it out temporarily to study it, and since then returned it. I still could not understand how its made. 

 

One of the thoughts shared with the Valthorns, was the use of this location as a hideout. True, they were functionally buried alive, but this ancient city is the perfect apocalypse bunker. The fact that it stood despite the eons was sufficient proof of it’s success as a bunker. 

 

“This is a rehash of Aeon’s old sewer bunker idea isn’t it?” One of the older Valthorns laughed. The history of New Freeka was not totally lost. 

 

“Indeed, but this space is significantly larger and uses a power source independent of Aeon.” 

 

There were kinks to work out, and the druids that made the trip down soon wanted to plant a wide range of fungi that generated light, and also some plants that could survive with the indirect light from fungi. I think the ultimate problem is one of comfort. The idea of living underground is appalling, that only dwarves and certain lizard-people subspecies would consider it for any decently long period of time. 

 

Centaurs and treefolks hate it with a passion, and I think maybe that’s why they will be the first to go extinct. Or maybe the gods will just repopulate the world with them based on some kind of cookie cutter racial template. 

 

-

 

Also on the line of ley lines and underground, I made a dungeon underground in an area with a few ley lines and somehow, this was my first Level 120 dungeon. It was a simple premise. Ley lines are more powerful underground, partly because the energies are concentrated. 

 

Because it’s so far hidden underground, I decided that this was a Valthorn-exclusive dungeon. Not that anyone else could even challenge it. 

 

In fact, right now, only Lumoof and Edna have any chance of surviving a battle with the monsters of this dungeon. Thankfully the dungeon wasn’t going to go wild, else I’d be dealing with Level 120 monsters. 

 

Their first reaction to seeing a Level 120 dungeon was pretty much, some variant of what-the-fuck. 

 

But, this was the best way to level up, so, out of the sheer value of farming a Level 120 dungeon, began the first recreation of the underground pre-dungeon savepoint. A large continent of Valthorns with all types of skills, including support and crafting skills, were chosen to set up this mini city. 

 

I even created a few additional artificial minds just to oversee this city’s administration. 

 

The thing is, when high level individuals are not spotted for long periods of time, it tends to fuel rumors of death. Thus began the first vanishing of Edna and Lumoof and a lot of other higher level Valthorns. They would camp down there, right outside the dungeons and make battle with the dungeon’s monsters. 

 

Eavesdropping on the conversations of foreign intelligence agents were part of my entertainment.

 

“Lady Edna vanished?” 

 

“No one has seen her for months!”

 

“Not just her. A large group of the best warriors have all disappeared!”

 

They fought hard, and even the level 80s and 90s levelled quickly when faced with Level 120 monsters. And they have not even fought the boss or the minibosses. 

 

“She has not reported in her home position in the Six Ports for months! The Valthorns have assigned new individuals to take over all their places.”

 

“But they are not listed as dead.”

 

The other temples would want to have a gauge on my combat strength, so they keep tabs on these individuals. I had thought of killing them altogether, but it’s better to lull them into a sense of complacency. I also noticed I learned a lot more about the other temples when they are alive, and they share information with other fellow agents. 

 

So, I let them live. It’s only when they tried something unacceptable that they would encounter some unfortunate coincidences and accidents.

 

I imagine the intelligence setup is kinda like a Venus flytrap. Let them venture a little too near and wham! Dead bugs. 

 

At the same time, a few of my artificial minds sorted data by their risk levels. I was willing to let foreign intelligence agents get certain information, after all, just like nuclear bombs, letting other countries know I have such nuclear weapons is a deterrent of its own. 

 

-

 

“What news do you have?” Kei asked Lausanne, on the war in the northern isles. She worried for her two friends, those two bastards that didn’t even come and help her. 

 

Lausanne shrugged. “They’re doing alright. The Demon King isn’t here yet, just regular ‘mobs’.” The elven girl had gotten used to Kei’s lingo, and even used some of their terms.

 

Kei nodded. “Ah yes. True. They won’t lose to regular mobs... right?” I still don’t understand why she’s worried. Heroes with their absurd stats won’t lose to regular demons. “What kind of demons have they met?”

 

“Seems to be some kind of worm. In addition to the regular hounds.”

 

“Worm?”

 

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“Yeah. A worm-demon. Big fat ugly slugs with horns and spikes. Attacks by spitting some acids, or by ramming. Moves incredibly fast for such an ugly thing.” Lausanne had drawings that were shared by our agents on the other continents, again, part of the mutual horse trading. 

 

Kei looked at the pictures, somehow disgusted. “If I had my powers I’d burn it with fire and blow them up. Truly a spawn of hell.”

Lausanne smiled. “Indeed, but spears and spikes work quite well against them. Their inner parts seem quite soft. I wonder whether they pop like worms when you pierce them.”

 

“Eww. Thanks for planting that image in my head.” 

 

“Or maybe they’ll just leak demon-juice.” 

 

“Eww.”

 

Lausanne smiled, and the two started their regular spar. Kei was a lot easier to defeat, since she’s just a crystal-golem without overpowered hero powers and stats. She gained a lot of levels then, and she is now about Level 75 as a crystal golem. She formed a team with Astia and Lausanne, to go dungeon diving, thought they mostly dived in the level 60-70 range. 

 

Statistically, the minds gathered data that most adventurers hit about level 40-50, and a small minority would reach level 80. It takes about 7 to 10 years to reach Level 80 if one takes on the dungeons regularly, without any experience-boosting powers. With the effect of experience boosts, or the powers of various leaders, it’s possible to reduce this time by more than half. The fastest level gain I have so far is 3 years to Level 80, without any of the experience seeds or my level 60 gift. 

 

This, of course, required tremendous dedication. Getting to level 80 in 3 years meant diving a dungeon of the appropriate challenge level every 2 to 3 days, and classing suitably. 

 

There are [Kings] that have powers to improve level gain, after all, leaders are famed for their passive ability to improve the strength of those around them, and they can give gifts too. But generally, the passive ability is only as strong as the [Kings] own levels. 

 

Anyway, Stella/Astia also received one of my familiars. I had hoped to eventually collect her [void mage] class, so that I could produce more of them. Her powers were surprisingly conventional, if not for the [void] title. In a way, a [void mage] is just a [poison mage] with some extra steps and effects. After all, [void] powers tend to leave a ‘stain’ that deals damage over time. That’s functionally a poison-type ability. 

 

She was frustrated that her attempts to teleport to the moon didn’t have any progress, so the dungeon diving was to gain levels, and build better equipment. Also, void items were very hard to make, because of their violent reactions to all things mana.

 

-

 

Anyway, the Northern Islands actually performed relatively well. The earlier bout of negativity and comparison of the Temples performance versus the Central Continent spurred a need by the temple’s senior leadership to be seen as performing their duties, so the 4 temples actually gathered their forces to help suppress the demonic incursions, and the 2 remaining heroes actually had to get out of their palaces and start slaying demons. 

 

A good change, compared to their previously uncoordinated response. 

 

They were still slow, of course, they didn’t have the benefit of a single unifying tree with continental overview, so deaths are aplenty, but at least the temples and heroes are seen trying. 

 

Our agents told us that the Northern Isles were quite lucky, their forces managed to activate on time, and the people were well armed. They also had groups of adventurers and warriors that could take on those worms. 

 

The demons kinda fucked up, too. They chose to invade the cold northern islands, where their worm’s performance is impaired somewhat. 

 

Still, I wonder how a worm-like Demon King will be? Is it going to be like some massive Dune-ish Sandworm? A snowworm? Or maybe a hydra? That’d be quite boring.

 

-

Year 165

Another year without the demon king. The war in the Northern Isles continued, and more rifts. I knew this because my magical sensors were pretty busy, the presence of the rifts were a constant thing. 

 

The heroes and the defenders remain on top of things, though the intensity and quantity of the rifts increased. More worms, and larger worm-variants. The champions and walkers of this episode of the demonic incursions had masses of giant multiple-building-sized worms that exploded into smaller worms when destroyed. It was horrible, and even so the heroes persisted in their battle. 

 

Soldiers that never had any emotion for such wriggly, wiggly creatures all emerged from battles hating worms to their core. They kept splitting, into smaller and smaller parts, but thankfully the smallest of these demon worms are still the size of dogs. 

 

Worms. I wondered how’d I’d fight them. No. I would just nuke them to death with all my magical bombs. Why use root strikes when a bomb would work?

 

Turned out, these demons were incredibly magic resistant, and physical damage was their general weakness. They survived fires, drowning, and most magical attacks. . 

 

The adaptability of these demons was honestly amazing. Where’d they find such anti-magic worms?

 

-

 

“What’s our strategy if the demonic incursion comes to our shores?” As with any decently competent military force, there is always a lot of simulation going on in the heads of the generals. 

 

“We’d make a massive wall of spears.”

 

“That’ll work for smaller demons. What about the building-sized demons?”

 

“Bigger spears?”

 

The druids apparently had an easier suggestion. Squash them with rocks. I wonder if that'll work, since worms could tunnel through earth. In fact, would my own root networks hold up if they attack the ground? Those were... good questions. I was reminded by my earlier days when we faced that giant centipede demon, are these demons a similar variant? Yet, back then, the giant centipede demon was actually incredibly resistant to physical damage. 

 

Perhaps... shrapnel weapons? Bombs that shoot up tiny spear-like projectiles? Or would my rooting fields be sufficient to deter these demons?

 

-

 

Edna gained a few levels, and she reached level 145. Lumoof too, as a [patreearch] was now about level 138, and the sort of healing powers he possessed was quite impressive. He too, received a [Court of the Deitree], but not one with any inherited skills. Perhaps, should he falls, this position in the Court would absorb his skills. 

 

They were... doing well, and fighting the monsters of the Level 120 dungeon was a lot more challenging than anyone gave them credit for. 

 

The underground city outside the level 120 dungeon grew to about 1,000 people, all Valthorns. A secret base accessed via my network of root tunnels. 

 

Lumoof would often perform sermons in a small underground temple, his blessings were incredibly powerful at his level. I still don’t get how [priests]’s blessings can stack with my own. I mean, logically, if a priest derives power from a god, a god’s blessings should automatically be superior to that of the priest. But the fact that they stack implies it is a system mechanic. 

 

Anyway, we’ll abuse it since it works that way. 

 

After a while, they recommended a few individuals for the ‘uplifting’, to unlock their level limit. 5 more individuals, a mix of rangers, druids and knights. 

 

The surface world remains oblivious to the existence of the dungeon, and rumors of the deaths of my senior leadership continued to swirl. Good point was, it seemed that my trust in my nobility to keep the secret was not entirely unfounded. Most of them kept their mouth shut about my dungeon-creation ability, and the fact that I had a super dungeon hidden underground was also a confidential matter known only to the senior Valthorns. 

 

But there are suspicions. 

 

There are classes out there, such as [earth mages] and other similar types that are particularly sensitive to underground tunnels, and there were suspicions. Many kingdoms have some individuals that had earth-detection skills, simply because my few-decade old tunnel raid on the Six Ports was still a strategy discussed even till today. 

 

Heck, even the temples had to design plans on the possibility of surprise raids, and that meant they could never fully commit an army to an invasion. Any force needs to be split to protect their rear, or they leave themselves open for a repeat of the tunnel disaster. Maybe that’s why they didn’t think another crusade was worthwhile? At least, not without the heroes. 

 

Edna, as she approached the first tier of divinity, Level 150, had many questions about what would happen, and honestly, I wasn’t sure either. Was her experience going to be similar? Surely, as a humanoid with classes, there should be some subtle differences?  

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