Mage Tank

Before I could make much progress in my new world, I needed a new wardrobe.

My feather boa and leather vest were fancy and magical, but given the state of my pants, boots, hair and beard, overall I looked like a homeless guy that’d just robbed a fashion-forward glam-rock vocalist. I spent the rest of the day finding new threads and personal hygiene products, then spent the evening having a relaxed meal, where Grotto harangued me further with petitions to begin building a new Delve.

Once we’d gotten situated into some temporary accommodations, I finally acquiesced to Grotto’s demand that we scout out the Pocket Closet and spent one minute concentrating on opening the door to my new inventory dimension. A tear in space formed a thin, bright line about seven feet high, which stretched outward and created a doorway about five feet wide.

Through the door was a dark space with hundreds of glowing poison essences floating in a grid along the wall. When I walked into the room, it was filled with dim light from no discernable source. A notification window appeared.

You have entered your Pocket Closet! You have gained access to the Pocket Closet interface.

Pocket Closet Interface:

Quick Access space: 1,000 cubic yards

Total Closet space: 2,000 cubic yards

You may meditate while inside the Closet to dedicate your mana regeneration toward increasing the space available.

Current cost to upgrade: 10 mana per cubic yard

Current features: None

At least it wasn’t complicated. I walked around the edges of the room, which were lined by all the items in my inventory hovering in the air. Nine-hundred-and-one poison essences, four pairs of clothes, four pairs of shoes, miscellaneous personal goods, ruby and emerald chips, stacks of Hiwardian notes, and Hognay’s backpack.

That last one reminded me that I was still carrying around the Bag of Refreshments slung over my shoulder, and hadn’t investigated it yet. I reached out and Hognay’s pack floated down from where it was hovering, the strap finding its way into my grip. I sat it on the ground, then turned to Grotto.

[Whaddya think?]

[The dimensional forces within this space are superb. Harnessing them would yield fertile mana upon which to seed a new Delve.]

At the mention of dimensional forces, I checked out my mana regeneration, which got a boost from absorbing dimensional energy. It was currently sitting at forty, which was the highest I’d ever seen it.

Grotto went to the middle of the space, and looked up.

[I would prefer the ceiling to be higher, but I can begin assembling a basic obelisk in this space. It can begin by harvesting the ambient dimensional mana. Then we can work on ways to improve the density of mana.]

[Ok, so what do you want to do with a new Delve?]

[Many things can be accomplished. The only limitation is the availability of resources and the scruples of those engaging in the Delve’s operation.]

[What was your old Delve for?]

[Aside from serving as a whetstone against which new Delvers were sharpened, it was dedicated to the production of these essences you stole.]

[Acquired.]

[Looted.]

[Sure. So, we could use a Delve to grow more poison essences?]

[That is possible. You possess a significant amount of essences for use in seeding such an endeavor. Of course, the space required is more significant than what we are presented with here.]

[What about other types of essences?]

[Any essence is possible, though each requires particular conditions. Poison essence thrives in more toxic environments, which is why a portion of each essence’s yield was dedicated to toxifying the air of the Delve.]

[Ah. For this to be an effective poison essence farm, we’d need to fill it up with poison fog again.]

[Or poisonous plants, venomous creatures, toxic materials, preferably all of the above.]

[I don’t think I want to have my inventory sharing space with something like that.]

Grotto hovered over to a row of the floating items. He ran a feeler through the air around one of the essences.

[I believe this is a form of stasis. I doubt any items held in this quick access space would be affected or damaged by the external environment.]

[I still don’t understand what you get out of this. Why do you want to make a Delve?]

Grotto’s eyes narrowed.

[It is the purpose of a Delve Core to maintain its Delve. If its Delve is destroyed, the core must found a new one. Beyond that, I will grow in power alongside the Delve that I am linked to.]

[I see. Is that your long term escape plan? Get strong enough to mind control me or something?]

[You misunderstand. We are bonded to one another. I already grow stronger when you acquire power. The same can be said from the other direction.]

[You’re saying that I can draw energy from a new Delve?]

[What I am saying is that you will become far more dangerous if I am allowed to grow in the way that best suits me. The Delve can serve any number of functions, be it growing essences, cultivating the growth of mana monsters, or compressing mana into chips. Tell me what it is that you seek, and I can carve a path to deliver it. Beyond the material wealth of essences and chips, the more powerful that I become, the more powerful you will be for having me as a bonded familiar.]

[What about stats and levels?]

[That would be inefficient. It takes time to amass the mana needed for a platinum level distribution, and would still result in you being awarded a Delver level. You may as well go out and conquer a different Delve so that you might plunder its resources instead.]

[Ok. Then how does producing mana chips work?]

[Mana can be harvested via the ambient mana absorption of the Delve. Another excellent source is living organisms.]

[What kind of organisms?]

[The most lucrative kinds are other Delvers.]

[Aside from that.]

[Mana monsters. They are drawn to high mana regions, and we could encourage the growth of a horde within the Delve. They consume mana for food, and naturally condense it within themselves over time.]

[Is that what the c’thon was doing?]

[No. A c’thon is a mana fiend. A mana fiend consumes other materials for food, such as meat, but can fill itself with mana to grow stronger endlessly. Mana monsters can only grow so strong before they reach a natural limit.]

[Since… Delvers absorb mana from Delves to grow stronger, but require other resources to live, like food, does that make Delvers mana fiends?]

Grotto floated over to me.

[An interesting conclusion.]

I crossed my arms and considered.

[Let me get this straight. You’re saying that if I let you build a Delve, we can set it up to produce a regular output of chips, making me rich, or a regular output of essences, also making me rich, or anything else my heart so desires, which is to be absurdly rich, among other things.]

Grotto rubbed his feathered feelers together, dark eyes glinting.

[That, and so much more.]

******

I dug through Hognay’s pack as I ran Grotto’s ideas through my head. I was a big fan of passive income, and Grotto was adamant that the Delve could be used to make all sorts of useful products, it was just a matter of figuring out the best utility based on the dimensional space we’d be building within.

The only weird thing was that he kept talking about all the traps he was going to install.

There wasn’t much inside Hognay’s pack, aside from some dirty clothes and a variety of camping and mountaineering supplies. I separated the items into one pile to keep and one pile to burn to ashes, lest any of Hognay’s stank infect my new inventory space. There was one item that interested me, which was a stack of envelopes bundled together with twine. Inside each was a letter written in a script I didn’t understand. I went over them for half an hour or so, before giving up on deciphering them and deciding they’d be better off in the hands of Lito or someone else with a detective bent.

I opened the Bag of Refreshments and emptied out the contents. It was all food goods, like I’d seen before: bread, cheese, dried meats, fruit and nut mix. There was a canteen full of what looked like water, but I put it aside, unwilling to trust anything that Hognay’s mouth had touched.

I munched on some of the food, keeping an eye out for debuffs, but none came. They were simple, but tasty. Nothing I’d turn down at a party if found on a charcuterie board. In fact, this was all the essentials for a decent board. Maybe some honey, a softer cheese, and a bottle of wine. Bam! Charcuterie.

I went over the list of materials Grotto needed to get started on the Delve, still trying to decide if I really wanted to let him do this. From what I’d heard and seen so far, the Delves in and of themselves weren’t nefarious. If anything, they provided huge benefits to Hiwardian society, and were necessary for Delvers to get stronger.

They were dangerous, sure, and I knew Grotto was keeping a host of secrets from me, but I was more curious than anything. I kept munching on my pilfered snacks and before I knew it, they were all gone. I stuffed the canteen back into the bag, wondering how something like that could be considered a spatial item. There was no more secret food hidden inside, and the interior was exactly as big as it looked from the outside. Figuring it out went on The List, and I got ready to call it for the night.

[Grotto,] I thought to the Core as I went back outside to my rented room, [if I let you build the Delve, do you promise not to lure any unsuspecting people to their deaths?]

[There is no need to lure Delvers into a Delve. They come of their own volition, and the challenges they face are commensurate with the rewards they reap.]

[Right, but just so that we’re on the same page, I’m in charge of what we can and cannot do with the Delve.]

There was a long moment of silence before Grotto finally replied.

[Very well.]

I bit my lip, still wrestling with the risks of letting Grotto build his ancient, mysterious constructs in my inventory. I heaved a sigh and made my decision.

[I’ll start grabbing what you need tomorrow.]