The moss had been uprooted in the Tempest. Only a few scattered patches of moss were still clinging to the walls. The Node had been returned to its place by the gardeners, and the soft light was already beginning to pulse again.
LUMMI MOSS Node LV 5
A special kind of bioluminescent moss that unlike many other neon glowing cave plants is completely non-toxic.
Unused Stat Points: 0
Taste: 2
Toxicity: 0
Glow: 3
Spread: 4
Growth: 4.5
HP: 3/3
Alignment: ((BENIGN))
EXP: 0/100
There wasn’t a line for affinities, but Empress decided that it had to have them. It said in the definition for affinities that Nodes could gain them. Light, and maybe Life? Did something need to have Life to be a plant? Her ants were bugs but didn’t have the Ento affinity yet. Was that a dungeon thing or normal?
“((EXPAND))” Empress said,
The text box shuddered and contorted for a moment, before opening a secondary tab.
AFFINITIES:
A classification for what type of MAGIC, SPAWNERS, NODES, EVOLUTIONS ((EXPAND?)) A being will receive. Fire affinity will gain fire resistance etc. To gain affinities, a being could have a deep understanding of the affinity, or gain the affinity due to species, location, or magical items and plants.
((LUMMI MOSS Node LV 5)) can gain the affinities
ENTO: 50% (+50% due to Dungeon-Touched trait)Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
WATER: 50% (+50 due to Dungeon-Touched trait)
NATURE: 30%
HEAL: 16%
PSY: 5%
FIRE: 0%
ELEC: 0%
LIFE: 0%
DEATH: 0%
((EXPAND?))
Oh, Nature, that made more sense. The Node hadn’t gained an affinity yet. She didn’t have any Mana left after her spending spree, but she didn’t think she would need more than she was regenerating for this. She reached out, carefully inspecting the different percentages. Then with a mental flick she shifted the UI to show the ((CODE)) instead of the polished systematic. She pressed looked over the now expanded list.
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…
And so on.
She picked a sequence at random, 41737472616C, and began to dissect it. She pulled apart each letter and inspected it, memorizing the faint mana signature it had. She hummed and slowly made her way through the word. ((CODE)) wasn’t as instinctual to her as systematic, she could read it, but it didn’t quite make words. It was more like a complicated set of directions, and, from what Empress could gather, ((CODE)) activated when those ‘directions’ where met. Which, theoretically, meant that all she needed to do to in order to gain a affinity was to figure out how to replicate the set of directions that told the ((SYSTEM)) that she had gained percentage in that affinity.
Empress doubted that it would work more than once. The last time she had tried something like this, the ((SYSTEM)) had patched it almost instantly. That meant she needed to find a good target, she wasn’t going to waste her newly discovered exploit on the moss, so… that left the spawners. She was instantly inclined toward the ant spawner. Empress had barely had the mosquito spawner for… what was it, 17 cycles of 300 now? She shook her gaze, and dropped the ((CODE)), the ((MENU)) shifted back to systematic and for a moment the affinity Astral floated in the air where the string of ((CODE)) had been.
She sighed. Then perked up. The glow of her gaze brightening to an even greater intensity than the bedraggled moss around her. Could she give herself an affinity? Her excited thoughts where suddenly interrupted by a hesitant and rather embarrassed clack from Saferoom. Empress turned toward the leader ant in confusion.