Chapter 167 The finer vegetation, compressed. (1/2)

We continue to progress further into the Dungeon, ensuring we stick with the larger paths at every opportunity. Even though we walk pa.s.sed dozens of smaller tunnels we ignore them all. If we want to quickly progress downwards or locate an expanse then by far the best way, according to what I've learned from my interrogation, is to stick to the larger pa.s.sages. The bigger the better.

Not wanting to hand about too much and waste time I let Tiny smash his way through the various plant creatures that fill the tunnel on the way. Able to pulp these vegies with one fist the big fellow doesn't even appear to be getting tired when we start to encounter some more nasty looking creatures.

It really does give a different vibe these plant filled sections of Dungeon. Used to seeing cold stone, dark earth and waves of beast or insect type creatures its almost refres.h.i.+ng to have such a leafy environment. Never mind the fact that such plants would obviously normally require access to sunlight in order to survive. I presume that since they eat Bioma.s.s like everything else in the Dungeon there really isn't any need for them to photosynthesise. That being the case then, why are they still so leafy?

After an hour of pus.h.i.+ng through the riff raff and following the many bends in the Dungeon we finally encounter some creatures that I suspect have evolved once.

Larger flowers with mouths, a bushy plant that actually rushed about on its roots as if they were legs, even a bizarre reed type creature that cast water spells at us, great jets of water blasting out of thin air.

Tiny punched all of it to heck and we even collected a core from the magic one.

Every now and again I continue to flick on my mana sense to inspect the creatures growing within the walls. They are clearly still there and growing. Every now and again we see a plant monster push its way out of the wall and fly at us in a rage.

What's curious is that the regular plant type monsters we find don't seem to attack each other much. I can only presume they feed on something else that comes this way that just isn't present at this moment in time.

Constantly doing this has thankfully levelled my mana sense up to level 5. With every level the range and sensitivity of that strange sense becomes sharper and more useful.

Eventually we reach a wide tunnel s.p.a.ce filled with greenery and vegetation, large plant monsters dotting every surface with other more mobile creatures wandering about seeking prey. I can see some fairly nasty looking individuals in here, this might be good enough.

Quickly checking my Tunnel Map I can see that we stuck to the plan and roughly descended down beneath were the colony has settled. In terms of lateral distance we have moved about one kilometre despite rus.h.i.+ng into the Dungeon for two hours.

This is the spot.

[Ok! Tiny, this is the next feast zone. I hope you're hungry]

Tiny nods his head rapidly as he stares at the monsters before him. You'd think he hadn't eaten in days.

[Tiny ready to eat!]

[Go get 'em!]

Unleas.h.i.+ng a fearsome bellow, Tiny leaps forward with shocking speed, raising both fists over his head and bringing them down with a tremendous cras.h.!.+ That's one mashed vegie…

Time for this ant to get into the fight! I've been getting bored watching Tiny smash his way through the Dungeon with ease. Charging up my mandibles with gravitational mana I try to test their effectiveness on a large, dark purple flower on the opposite side of the tunnel.

YOINK!

…

Or not?

The creature is pulled from the wall and clearly distressed but it's many roots cling tenaciously to the rock and soil. Even that might not have been enough had the plant not lashed out with its vines and grabbed hold of any rock pillar it could reach to hold itself in place.

I cut off the flow of mana to my mandibles and release the pressure on the plant. Looks they can hold on tight enough to stop me pulling them out of the ground…

Let's try something else then.

I quickly begin to fas.h.i.+on a gravity bolt in my mind. Constructing the mind bending shape with threads of mana at a much faster speed than I could manage originally. Behold the effect of my daily practice! Every moment I get the spare time I've been practicing my shaping skills, becoming more and more familiar with these basic spell shapes. How many thousands of Gravity Bolts have I constructed, only to let the shape dissipate and start over again? Not even I can tell you!

The practice is paying off though. Although I still need to focus and push my mind to manipulate the mana, the extensive training has made the process more reflexive and faster. Where it may have taken me a minute or more the first time I used the spell I can now slam one together in about six seconds!

Gravity Bolt!

Targeting the same plant on the wall I fire off the gravity bolt and keenly await the result of this experiment. I've been wanting to see something like this for a while now, a creature able to resist my gravity to some extent.

The gravity spell strikes home easily since, after all, a plant can't dodge too effectively. Once the magic takes effect the purple flower, which is rooted in the wall roughly halfway up, begins to feel the powerful force dragging it towards the tunnel floor.

Once more the plant digs in, literally! Every root and vine, every available fibre is tasked with keeping the flower firmly attached to the wall but even so the struggle is real! If plants could sweat this tunnel would be underwater by now.

Still, the flower manages to hold on, leaves and petals drooping with exhaustion yet somehow emitting a triumphant feeling, the plant creature has held on against my spell.