Chương 85: Welcome to the internet, have a look around...

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On Mana Affinities. By Thorn Bradly. Mana affinities, "shades", "resonances", "flavours", "tones", whatever manner your species likes to designate different types of mana – henceforth referred to as "type" – can be condensed down to a single concept. Useful ones are plentiful, Plentiful ones are powerful. Higher concepts are a power all on their own. At the end of the day, What exactly is an affinity? What can be an affinity? Are there any rules about what the limits to a type of mana might be?

It turns out there are… but they have so many exceptions they tend to no longer matter. For example. Naming. A good rule of thumb is that a mana "type" is nearly always a single word. A concept that can be obtained within a single word – no sentences, no names that aren't already a word… the exception to this "rule" is of course due to a quirk of language. You see some languages have words that others don't.

When described by the system if a mana type uses one of those words it usually tries to translate these unknown names into conjunctions of other words. The second rule of thumb is the "difficulty" of a mana "type". There are a whole slew of components including the rarity, natural affinity and "Rank" of said mana type. Maybe you know "rank" by a different name.

The "quality level", the "grade", the "deepening", whatever "Apprentice, Journeyman, Master" is called – Authors note: I apologize for the unprofessionalism but I have an issue with that naming sequence. I've never quite understood it. How do you know what "journeyman" is? You're just supposed to know it's after "Apprentice"? What about "novice" Where does that fit? Why does that sequence stop at master? I know for a fact rank 4 mana exists do they just assume no one can use it so there's no point in mentioning it?

Madness. Anyways. Typically rank 1 mana types are pure elemental concepts. Nothing specific just pure elemental effects distilled down to their simplest form. Earth for example with concepts of "Solid" or "Physical" or "Ground". Fire with the concept of "Power" or "Consumption" or "Heat". Authors note: There's a funny story about the most common 4 rank 1 mana types that exist in our world. Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

There's quite a bit of evidence cooked up by our [scientists] and some replicable experiments created by our [Magi technicians] that claim those four mana types are not what they "should be". According to some analysis concepts and the study of mana concentrations and affinities in deep bedrock, the four simplest rank 1 mana types were originally "states of matter". Instead of Earth it was Solid mana, Water -> Liquid, Air -> Gas, Fire -> Plasma.

Because of the interaction between intent, understanding and affinity, setup early sapients didn't quite understand those "states of matter" and corrupted them to "elemental concepts" with their ignorance. Due to their view of "what the simplest elements that made up the world were", those base types solidified into similar but vastly different truths and my biased opinion thinks it's a shame. So many modern experiments would be simpler with those types on hand and easy to use. Rank 2 mana types are…

on average linked to life but more importantly what life does. What a living "thing" can "do". The most common elements are centred around the "Mind/Body/Soul" split with Mental mana, Kinetic mana, and Life mana. Creatures think, they move about, they grow and heal damage. It also tends to include a lot of elements that are concepts that living creatures "Use". Sapients use weapons, hence Sword and Spear manas which contain the sharpness and piercing concepts. Rank 3 is typically a series of pure reality elements.

The elements that make up reality are time and space but those are too large of a pair of concepts to be contained in a single mana type. Time is slowed or sped up. Space is shrunk or grown. Nearly all sapients have a higher affinity for space than any other and perhaps that has something to do with how useful bigger on the inside containers really are making it easier for everyone? Rank 4 is…

not something you hear about but is typically known as a series of what reality does – in a mirror of rank 2s relation to rank 1. Luck and Fate are the most well-known if only for their use in history. They are also typically known for the sole fact that this rank… is typically the realm of the gods. Nearly every single feat the gods have been known to perform can be attributed to these mana "types" and an insane amount of control.

The only known exception for the "able to use rank 4 before becoming a god" rule I can find is that Gremlins and Gnomes have a natural affinity for luck mana – one that manifests passively as a sort of slowly growing aura and is usually never properly used… but that can be manipulated at a high enough level into luck-based artifacts and spells.

A conclusion you might make after reading this paper, is that with such a simple set of rules for what mana "types" exist at what "rank" it should be easy to classify any mana type based solely on its name? Sadly you would be wrong. These simplified rules are also constantly broken. For example, Ice mana despite "Seeming" like it should fit in rank 1 is typically closer to rank 3 in both difficulty and strength for no reason that I or anyone else can determine.

Authors note: You'd think ice would be an even match for fire but ice wins 99/100. Always send an ice mage to capture or defeat a fire mage for ice mana seems to be able to eat fire mana for no reason we can determine. There is a common practice of adding "sub" and "super" modifiers to certain mana types based on how difficult they are to use… but its equally known that difficulty is at least in part related to scarcity along with its tier so I've ignored that practice for this paper.

With all this background information you can imagine just how hard it is for a cataloger to handle these sorts of inconsistencies can you not? Excerpt obtained from the research paper "Mana" – written by one lowly [scholar] 30s pre-death due to an unrelated cause. Innearth went through the new system dialogue options trying to find his chat panel – and a hopefully re-activated private message with FED. Everything was… different again. It was in different spots. It was weird-looking.

Text was a slightly different size – it felt like whoever designed the current iteration of the system really liked giving corners massive rounded edges. All in all, Innearth didn't like it. It was a change that was unneeded and unwanted. Overwrite that change… overwrite that one. Old system please. Okay, here's FED. Oh! He hasn't changed his name again, I half expected him to have. Innearth: Hey fed! I've caught up! Fated Eternal Design: Ah! You are the first to have advanced after I. How are you finding the web?

Innearth: I came straight here. Whats this web you're talking about? Fated Eternal Design: My friend! The fact that I'm the first thing you thought of warms my core. Innearth did not feel the need to mention he finished his initial mana testing first thing. ACTUALLY, That reminded him he had a [descent] to use as well... so he split off some attention to deal with that. Fated Eternal Design: Give me a bit and I'll send you some links to my favourite sites. Innearth: Sites? Fated Eternal Design: OH!

The welcome to the internet site's a good place to start I'll send that first. Fated Eternal Design: Click here! ~Easter egg~ The "Click here" was meant for Innearth not you readers... Innearth mentally selected the link FED sent and watched as a new panel expanded out – this one had so many sections one could focus on, the dungeon was briefly lost on where to start. Near the top was a bar displaying the name of the "site" – Welcome-to-the-internet.

dcs Below that were a series of rainbow text buttons and random moving graphics displayed on a pure black background. Innearth briefly attempted to customize it into a simpler manner that was easier to read… but found he couldn't edit it in the same ways he had been customizing his system up till now. Finally, he began opening new pages – clicking on the following button and beginning to read about the wonderful world of the internet. S t a r t H e r e!

The internet was a customizable expandable and shareable series of "sites" that were similar to the articles younger cores shared – but with vastly more capabilities. The components dungeon cores had been given in the lower ranks: real time chat, trading (complete with monitoring and reputation), streaming and recorded videos. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Those individual components could be broken apart and embedded into a page.

There were other rule-based controls that let cores create anything from password-protected sites, to title-based authentication, to… Essentially anything a Core could think of could be created on the internet. There were sites dedicated to hobbies or sharing knowledge. Sites based on games or gambling.

Sites that were glorified chat systems – replacing the standard chat system for cores that wanted to be "different", chats for cores that wanted to be "anonymous" Sites with collections or ranking systems – "The top 16s streams" for example which was dedicated to uploading short recordings and voting up or down ones already stored on it. There were sites dedicated to mental health – created and staffed by Cores who promised to listen and help with any problems you might have…

along with sites dedicated to sharing the goriest adventurer deaths or most horrifying creations. There were sites begging Cores to be safe – giving reasons to live and claiming they would be missed… right beside sites where Cores recorded themselves shattering their cores. Innearth watched several short streams of dungeon Cores killing themselves on a site called "Core-Leaks. dcs/best-shatters".

Several dungeons had designed giant nutcracker-like devices to crush their cores in an incredibly sudden and easy-looking manner. Others used curse mana to make MIMs – a ghastly form briefly appearing and swiping through the core cutting the stream a half second later... while still others played games with [SYSTEM LUCK] randomizing if they would die or not. It wasn't gory.

It was just a shattering of random crystals – they could be shattering randomly created monster cores not their actual "dungeon core" for all Innearth knew… but it still made Innearth uncomfortable. He wanted to believe they were fake, but they looked too… simple – too boring – to be fake... Innearth had to pull himself away from the site after a while. That shouldn't have been so easy to find. There was an abundance of content.

There were nearly 2000 years worth of stored and catalogued "sites" encompassing a massive spectrum – a Core could find themselves lost for ages on this "web". It was around this time that Innearth saw who exactly was in this "isolated section" of the system. Ranks 4 and 5 were combined into the final split-off section – Tiers 8-31.

"The rest of them". His status showed the next tier… but there were no added requirements this time. Nothing but the level requirement. Innearth (Dungeon Designation: Crossroad Link from Murek) Level 101 13/11322 exp to next level. System Access Level 8 -Level 122+ Stats Mana Regeneration 231. 23 personal unit/min Mana concentration 3. 30 AMU / personal unit Mana Storage 37342. 794/37342. 794 AMU Regeneration over time 12. 7109084 AMU/s Time to Full Mana 0.

0 Min Physical Storage 42% Capacity Age 11 years Current Year 2008 AS Distance underground 955 meters Number of floors 53 floors Titles. Earth Mana Specialization, Crystal Mana Specialization, Void Mana Specialization, Customization, Unique Dungeon, Cosmic Void Mana Specialization, Mature Dungeon. Innearth continued randomly surfing the internet while a large portion of his attention returned to FED. Innearth: What even is the internet. Fated Eternal Design: I'm glad you asked!

It's a place one can express themselves. You can find like-minded cores and interact with them in new ways! Fated Eternal Design: But also, I should warn you… it's not all as great. The site I just sent you is garishly decorated but is still wonderful in its content. There's some parts of the internet I'd stay away from. Don't start arguments no matter how WRONG some cores are. Even if you can now block cores from PM'ing you messed up slag you still have to receive it once before you block them. It's not worth it.

Innearth: Got it, heard and understood. I don't even think I interacted much with the other public systems I'll probably continue to lurk. Innearth: Did you make a new group for us? Fated Eternal Design: Oh! No sorry I haven't. I figured there was no point with just me… I'll set one up now if you want. suddenly Innearth felt a sort of rumble and a dull roar and wave of heat. Abe's connection in the facility released a shockwave of pure power that twisted into an almost physical form in the void.

Slowly everything settled and Innearth began worrying. What just happened? Is Abe alright? Innearth began writing stuff on walls in the facility. Attempting to breach the communication barrier and communicate without the system helping. After a few minutes, Amy responded to his messages claiming they didn't know what had happened either. Innearth sat worrying for literal hours before a message from Abe finally arrived. Abe: BROOOO. I do not recommend mixing Fire, Explosion, and Entropy mana.

You know I've heard too much of a good thing can be bad but never believed that till now. Innearth: Abe! You're okay! What happened?? Abe: … m8 I feel like my last message kind of hinted at it but okay. SO. I saw you advanced after managing a triplet mana type and figured I wanted to catch up. I made the type okay? It made a tinsy little chunk of a material. And THEN THAT MATERIAL BLEW A HUGE CHUNK OUT OF MY DUNGEON! Reinforced anti-explosive walls were vaporized. It got scarily close to my core m8.

Most of the fire and heat of that explosion was blocked but the shockwave ripped through so many hallways you don't even understand. Innearth:! … I don't even know how to respond. I'm glad you're safe? Abe: Yeah. And then because I made the material it got offered as an option for my rank up… Nuclear mana. NOPE. That slag scared me. I chose alcohol mana to help with my lil bro rutile. It seems smart enough. Synergises well with fire. I like explosions cause they are fun and look nice...

not because they can wipe me out if I'm not careful. Innearth: Oh! I got offered that as well. Alcohol mana I mean. My rank 4 type's ended up being cosmic void. Not sure what it does yet but that's part of the fun is it not? Oh! FED just sent me an invite to the new group chat let's move there. After advancing it felt briefly like he didn't have enough "splits" to properly take focus on everything he wanted to. Innearth would have been panicking… but it helped knowing that most things didn't have a time limit.

He had as much time as he wanted to explore the internet in the future. He didn't have to focus on cosmic void the exact second after he had advanced… he wanted to but he didn't need to. Slowly Innearth oriented himself with the place he now found himself. Priorities shifted about he juggled conversation, exploration, returned a large majority of his attention to watching adventurers and resetting his dungeon when they passed through…

While there were plenty of small events that happened many of them felt like "more of the same". Something new however was tied into his use of [Descent] He had over doubled his distance underground – 955 meters. That was basically a kilometer straight down… and it had been easy. The reason he had stopped was simply that he had gotten to the bottom of his dug out area and didn't want to move past that point. After it had been used up [Descent] had not simply dissapeared… but turned into a [Mature Dungeon] tag.

Mature Dungeon. Through a variety of circumstances you have found yourself finally reaching the state many would consider "Established". Whether it took you 50 years or 5 you have gained over a 100 levels and layers to your core. You have reached a proficiency in mana that has loosened system safeties like the added protection preventing your core from moving by accident. You can now attempt to move your core manually – and have the theoretical skill with mana to do so safely.

There is the understanding that having helped you [descend] previously and safely may have stunted your ability to do so, and so: once per level, a single [Descent-Aid] may be used – costing 8, 000 Personal mana + Variable channelling to complete. It is recommended you stick to descending at level-ups due to loosened bonds and excess essence aiding in the process.

Additionally – perhaps due to his location in an old dormant volcano but – at this ~1km distance underground, Innearth found parts of his influence were starting to get warmer. His expansion was breaking into channels with natural magma more and more frequently. The temperature was beginning to rise in the ground roughly at the center of his mountain... and was only getting hotter the further down he expanded. Now, 1km in a direction didn't feel that far anymore.

Innearth's dungeon expanded to roughly 15-20km in all directions in his upper floors after all... and around 10km at his lower ones… not to mention the facility where he had an entire sphere of levels roughly 10km in diameter. I've been relatively close to the surface haven't I? But it was still a significant change – plus with his newfound access to the internet replacing buying information packets… Innearth was quickly able to find out what he was experiencing was happening much much sooner than normal.

Typically dungeons could expand anywhere from 20 to 210km downwards before they reached what older cores knew as the "mantle". This was a distance so great even with maxed out uses of "descent" cores younger than rank 4 never reached it – or at least never shared their experiences. After R4 and with a frequent downward movement reaching it was inevitable and the knowledge widespread. This was the period of time most cores found out about changing states due to temperature affecting spells.

They would try to make something, find their raw material had melted and accidentally created something new. … so that knowledge was also widespread to the point of being free and a single search away. With this inevitability there was a new section of advice related to how to deal with the mantle – many cores simply stopped expanding downwards once they reached it, but others had whole series of engineered solutions to deal with it.

Additionally while the mantle started off just being incredibly hot it rapidly shifted to being liquid and incredibly hard to permanently expand into. The absolute best counter was ice mana… but relatively few cores could use it (only those who had a void affinity or a random mutation) and the ones who could, weren't typically known to trade thousands of kg of it just to help each other out. Void mana worked well and was slightly more common…

as did a whole series of insulation techniques with layered materials and empty "voids" that didn't conduct heat and its related mana types. Innearth's whole discovery of incredibly cold elements and solid liquids and gasses had already been done by older cores… as had a dedicated and detailed amount of research into optimal materials and shapes.

It turns out the best ones were all locked away to "being able to use Ice mana itself in single element combinations" instead of just the fire+void material spell Innearth used to make it himself. Cores had designed "Heat Sinks" – large ice mana cylinders that could be used in key positions to cool down a dungeon getting close to and moving into the mantle.

The exact composition size and shape of these heat sinks had been meticulously discovered over hundreds of years and now they were created and priced based on their "maximum heat rating" – the temperature that melted and broke a heat sink by overwhelming its unmelting ice materials. … all of this was to first say that Innearth was reaching something much much much sooner than most cores had to deal with. It was a grand problem he could try to solve…

and he had accidentally read about all the solutions that had already been discovered and "solved" it before it had ever become an issue. Kind of disappointing for a core who liked to solve things on his own... but Innearth could always experiment with potentially unoptimal solutions for fun. He didn't have to copy paste other's work just because it was "optimal" after all – and maybe he'd find out something even better than the combined effort of dozens of cores over hundreds of years. …

it was also a discovery that briefly made him regret not picking an ice affinity… but Innearth pushed those regrets away – he was happier with the knowledge that his mana affinity he had chosen hadn't been explored as meticulously. On that note, it looked like it was time to start experimenting with cosmic void!