Shira's Loss

"Great.. I'm out of a job. Why did I even attempt to protect that skeleton? Is it because it didn't attack me? That's silly, it'd attack me if it had the chance!" Shira muttered to herself as she walked down the street, scanning the area for any potential job opportunities.

She eventually stumbled upon a local weapon store, the sound of clanging swords and the smell of freshly sharpened blades wafting through the air. As she entered, she overheard a group of men gossiping nearby.

"Did you hear? The mana just vanished from the dungeon," one guy said, his voice filled with excitement.

"Yeah, right after a bunch of new monsters appeared. I heard there's a new Dungeon Lord!" another chimed in, eagerly nodding his head.

Shira rolled her eyes at their words, thinking to herself, "You guys are idiots.. if the mana disappeared how would there be a new Dungeon Lord?"

Shira's heart raced as she overheard the men's conversation about the dungeon. The realization hit her hard as she put the pieces together, "Wait.. if the mana's gone, that means that the mana pool, which is the Dungeon's Heart, is gone too! How will the local towns survive if the Dungeon dies?"

She started to panic, her mind racing with different scenarios and potential outcomes. She couldn't fathom the thought of the Dungeon dying and what it would mean for the surrounding areas.

Desperate for answers, Shira knew there was only one thing she could do. She had to seek out the skeleton. Maybe there'd be an answer within it.

As she walked, a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Come to think of it.. wasn't the skeleton the same color as mana? No, couldn't be. Absorbing direct pure mana is impossible, even if they were a god!" Shira shook her head, facepalming at herself for thinking of something so ridiculous.

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Siverra's POV

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Siverra could feel a strange sensation rippling through his body, an inexplicable energy that seemed to be drawn to him like a magnet. His hollow bones rattled with excitement as he tried to make sense of it all. "It seems all the nearby pure energy is being absorbed and circulated by whatever is in my body," he thought, his voice echoing inside his skull. "From my dimension I gained the knowledge this energy is called Mana. Very interesting."

But Siverra was lost and disoriented, unsure of where he was going or what he was supposed to do next. "I need to set up some sort of base," he mused, his thoughts swirling with uncertainty. "Which will be difficult considering I'm a monster and any nearby humans will hunt me down."

He weighed his options carefully, considering the risks and rewards of each. "My dimension would work," he thought, "but I can't bring any resources back with me and I'm unable to evolve there. It has to be in the real world."

The more he thought about it, the more stressed he became. His bony fingers clenched and unclenched, and his eye sockets glowed with an eerie light. "I guess my only current option is to go back into a different cave and evolve until I can conceal myself, or I could just create a base underground," he muttered, his voice laced with frustration and doubt.

Just as he was about to give up hope, a voice spoke to him, filling his mind with ancient wisdom and dark promises. "I know what you are. I know where you are. Come to me, I will guide you," the voice whispered, its words like a serpent's hiss.

Siverra froze, his body trembling with fear and anticipation. He had never heard a voice like this before, so powerful and mysterious. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling with excitement and fear.

But the voice said nothing more, leaving Siverra to wonder and worry. "Just as I think I'm making progress it's always ruined," he thought, his mind racing with possibilities and doubts. "I need to hide, now. I don't feel safe with that voice knowing where I am. For now, I'll create an underground base and attempt to control this mana to aid me in doing this."