" Ygh... the first thing I will do when I get out of here is buy a decent bed." - Ramiel awoke from his sleep and groaned nervously. His body had been giving him a hard time since morning, or evening. It was hard to tell, after all, he was underground. His only clue was a sand hourglass.
"8 hours, not too bad. " - Ramiel muttered while checking the time. "It will take more than two days to activate the dungeon... What the hell am I supposed to do during that time? " - Ramiel reflected after a few minutes
" No, the question should be where to start... I desperately need mana, but mana won't give me much without proper conditioning. "
" Sigh... " - Ramiel sighed heavily. " Slowly with small steps. "
Ramiel got up and looked around the room. He hadn't paid much attention to it before. Not that he was ignorant. It's just that yesterday had been a dynamic day. A lot had happened and even more things had to be assimilated and put together in his mind.
After all, it wasn't every day that someone returned from the embrace of the Grim Reaper.
The Dungeon of Damnation wasn't very large. Apart from the core, it didn't resemble a dungeon at all, just a dingy room measuring 10x10 meters, hollowed out of some rock of unknown origin. Several crystals sprouted from the walls, emitting a dark blue glow.
" I wouldn't call it led bulbs, but it's better than nothing. " - Ramiel thought.
Aside from the core of the dungeon, the column that held it up, and a flimsy imitation of a throne, which was damn uncomfortable, there was nothing else here.
Ramiel shifted his gaze to a group of sleeping goblins. Behind them lay a pile of bones on the ground. He could make out pieces of green flesh on some of them. With proper management, this supply should last them for two weeks.
Goblins weren't a very voracious race. One meal was enough for them to survive seven days of hard grind. This made them ideal workers for the dirty work.
Well... almost perfect. The problem lay in their abnormal sex drive. They can fuck anything of the opposite sex if they aren't kept short on a leash. Not to mention their hideous mouths.
Ramiel felt disgust and pity for the goblins. Under normal circumstances, he would have killed the inferior creatures long ago, but now, he needed their help.
" I need to find work for them. A good goblin is a working goblin. I don't need freeloaders here. " - Ramiel stated coolly.
Thinking about the future task for the green creatures, he looked at the two sleeping beauties in the middle of the dungeon. Asme and Caera slept as if they had been killed. They weren't even disturbed by the terrible snoring of the goblins. But they couldn't be surprised. For the first time in three weeks, the women were able to let down their guard and sleep peacefully.
All thanks to Ramiel. His power over the lower creatures in the dungeon is absolute. These limited creatures will give their lives for him if he says so.
" Caera has the makings of a good scout. The problem is her insecurity and low self-esteem... " - Ramiel muttered under his breath. " There must be a reason. Maybe a trauma from the past? "
" It's complicated... " - He sighed as he felt an impending headache in the future. Caera is like an unpolished diamond. It takes an enormous amount of resources and work to bring out the dazzling jewel.
Here is where the next problem arises. Ramiel's aura, if he doesn't find a way to suppress it, can dream of approaching an elfess. The problem turned out to be bigger than the man assumed. He had never had a problem with manipulating the influence he exerts on the environment.
However, after experiencing death countless times, something in him changed. The aura stuck to him, like irritating rubber to the sole of a shoe.
Ramiel shifted his gaze to Asme, more specifically to her voluptuous buttocks. Her skimpy clothing, or rather lack thereof, mostly exposed a lot. He didn't know whether he was looking at very short shorts or black underwear.
Losing himself in his imagination, he felt a familiar sensation in his crotch. Nevertheless, he quickly came back to reality.
" This woman is dangerous. Giving her too much freedom could be fatal. " - Ramiel had high expectations of Asme. First of all, she was intelligent and clever. In addition, she can think soberly under pressure. Who knows, maybe she will be one of the pillars of the dungeon in the future. If she lives to see it, of course.
Ramiel walked away towards the core of the dungeon, sitting down next to it. He already knew what he had to do. His priority was to increase his mana reserves. The more of it he had, the faster his body would improve.
He decided to devote 50% of his current time to increasing his mana reserves and 20% to physical training. For the rest of the time, he planned to slowly approach women in order to manipulate them.
Increasing internal mana was difficult and time-consuming. It requires using it constantly and then regenerating it in greater amounts.
However, Ramiel wasn't going to spend his entire life on it. Until recently, he had been one of the strongest people on Earth, at least officially. Of course, over the years he had developed his own methods and ways to increase his mana reserves.
Therefore, he took his place among the top ten hunters. The amount of mana he had at his disposal was equivalent to the reserves of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of ordinary hunters.
It took Ramiel four years to find his own method. He spent the next three refining it. Despite the many improvements, he still felt there was room for more. It was a little short of perfection. But it didn't take long before he got stuck.
No matter what he tried, no matter how hard he tried, he hit an insurmountable wall. This annoyed him, but he didn't have to worry about it for now. It would become problematic when he regained his lost strength.
Ramiel closed his eyes and looked deep into his body for traces of internal mana. When he found them an ugly grimace appeared on his face.
" These reserves are pathetic... Even when I started, it wasn't so bad. " - Ramiel snapped visibly angry. He had lost everything he had worked so hard for over the years. Worst of all, he didn't know the exact cause; he could only speculate.
With frustration written all over his face, Ramiel decided to focus on the process.
Nothing good will come from self-pity. - He said to himself and closed his eyes again.
The first stage was to stimulate the mana to move. The mana, once transformed into its inner form, would spread throughout the body, remaining stagnant thereafter waiting to be used.
Leaving it stagnant is sheer stupidity, but you'll see that a little later.
Ramiel slowly began to bring his mana to life. He couldn't jump into top gear right away, that would cause havoc on his body. The energy particles moved sluggishly with his help.
Their speed... well... the snail moved faster than they did. However, Ramiel didn't mind. At first, he wanted to get his body used to the movement of mana.
After an hour he increased the speed, and the progress began to be noticeable. The energy particles moved in an orderly fashion, from his left leg to his right leg, from his right leg through his internal organs to his right hand, from his hand to his head, from his head to his left hand, from his left hand to his left leg.
He repeated the process over and over again. He only stopped when the mana circulated without his help.
The second stage was more complicated. Using his internal mana, Ramiel created a miniature vortex in the center of his chest. This vortex was designed to draw external mana into the body faster.
The circular movement of mana induced by Ramiel in the first process made it easier for him.
The external mana present in the vortex was transformed under the influence of internal mana. It was accumulated, and then after reaching the appropriate threshold of the vortex, it was released spreading throughout the body. Thus joining the cycle of circulation.
Imagine the ripples on a sheet of water caused by a falling raindrop. This is what the emission of mana through the vortex looked like.
Of course, maintaining the vortex as well as creating it, consumes small amounts of internal mana. However, the tide it provided greatly compensated for this, leaving a sizable surplus.
In order to speed up the mana consumption, Ramiel created several spheres around himself based on the element of darkness. These objects moved in the same orbit centered on Ramiel.
After many years of research, he came to an interesting and intriguing conclusion. Namely, he discovered the secret behind the efficiency associated with increasing mana reserves.
The secret isn't in using up mana as quickly as possible and then replenishing it, as many people thought. It is to reduce the amount of mana available in the body as slowly as possible. I already explain this.
If a person depleted their reserves in ten minutes and replenished them for half a day, it was less beneficial than slowly depleting their reserves so that the loss was minimally greater than the regeneration.
This was due to mana itself. The longer it is used, the greater the effect on the body, and the changes that occur passively are much faster. This is why the first and second stages are so important.
The continuous circulation of mana in the body caused it to improve faster, and the vortex caused it to regenerate faster. Of course, these aren't the only stages. There are many more, but right now, Ramiel can't afford them. His body can't take the strain. At worst, it will explode like an inflated balloon
After about five hours, the man stopped playing, dispersing the balls of darkness. His mana reserves had reached the bottom.
He no longer had to worry about maintaining the circulation of mana or the vortex. For him, after so many years, these activities were breathing.
Ramiel stood up, stretched his sluggish muscles, and took another look around the dungeon. Everything seemed in order. The goblins sat politely in a corner, peering through a pile of bones. The women were instead taking care of themselves.
Caera was sharpening two daggers, she seemed terribly absorbed in her current occupation. Asme, for her part, took care of fresh water. She created ice cubes, which she then melted in a pot while humming a pleasant melody.
Ramiel liked both the timbre of the horned beauty's voice and the melody of the stranger's song. Something was captivating about them. As he listened to them, he felt himself relax. The pain caused by sleeping on the hard ground was gone, and his mind functioned better.
Suddenly, an unpleasant shiver ran through Caera's back. She felt as if someone was watching her from a hidden place. The gaze didn't seem lewd, but it sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.
Curious about the source, the elfess looked around and then encountered Ramiel. He was sitting on the ground and looking straight at her.
" Good morning Master. " - Fired a nervous Caera in a whisper. The elfess panicked a little. She didn't know why Ramiel was looking at her so intensely, but she also didn't want to offend him by asking directly why.
Funnily enough, there was a small misunderstanding. Ramiel was simply looking at Asme, who was sitting directly behind the elfess.
Asme had enjoyed singing for as long as she could remember. It was the one thing that set her apart from her siblings. Music provided her an escape from the sad and gray reality.
She often hummed her favorite songs during simple activities. This time was no different. While creating a water supply, she hummed one of her favorite childhood songs. It lulled the listeners into a blissful state of melancholy and relaxation.
Just as the horned beauty was about to begin singing, she heard Caera greeting Ramiel. Without a moment's thought, Asme interrupted and followed in the elf's footsteps. After all, the man was her new master and should be respected.
" Hello, Master. " ~ A seductive voice caressed Ramiel's ears. Asme didn't do it consciously. Such was her nature as a succubus. Her every gesture, her every word, her every look, was designed to seduce the opposite sex.
In greeting Ramiel, Asme showed no pretense of submission or adoration. After yesterday's conversation, she decided to just be herself. It might work out better for her in the long run. Besides, she didn't want to annoy her new master anymore. She didn't know him yet and didn't know how much she could afford.
Ramiel got slightly upset when Asme interrupted the concert, but he hid his emotions behind a poker face. He nodded his head in greeting and approached the two women. If he wasn't mistaken, it was almost noon.