Chrysalis Chapter 1782 - That’s Just Nasty

My initial approach yields less-than-ideal results, as expected. While the Gravity Bomb was once a universal fix for challenges faced higher in the Dungeon, its effectiveness has waned. The current density of mana makes problems disappearing into a black hole less potent than before. Furthermore, the formidable monsters here can frequently generate their own concentrated mana spheres.

In this encounter, the adversary eschews this tactic, instead accepting the approaching singularity. It envelops the phenomenon with its numerous tentacle appendages, causing it to vanish from sight. Perplexed, I observe, anticipating an explosion or similar event, but my mana sense provides a precise understanding of the ongoing situation.

It is absorbing it.

Not in a literal sense of consumption, but through its tentacles, it siphons away the mana at an astonishing pace. While some of these limbs are torn asunder, their destruction seems inconsequential, with tens of thousands more ready to take their place!

Once its apparent consumption of the mana I've provided is complete, clusters of tentacles emerge and retaliate, launching the energy back at me in murky, violet beams. I evade to the side as these lasers lacerate the ground, tearing it apart and sending cascades of mud and goop through the air.

Well, this is certainly a new development.

For a brief moment, I find myself uncertain about how to engage this creature. Should I launch more spells? To what end? If it can absorb and redirect them, am I not just exacerbating my own predicament?

Perhaps a direct confrontation is in order, where my mandibles can get to work.

Grounding my legs firmly, I descend rapidly, my movement a blur of speed and agility for a being of my substantial size as I maneuver to the right, jaws agape and poised to strike. Precisely where to deliver the blow, however, remains uncertain. Like a sessile marine organism, the monster is so heavily adorned with drifting cilia that its true body is completely obscured!

But who needs pinpoint accuracy?

Starcrusher!

My foe recoils in astonishment as I unleash the Skill. Blistering flames and intense suction erupt as my jaws clamp down on the nascent energy sphere between them. The monster emits a shriek, its limbs reaching towards me, splitting apart to reveal a horrifying, ring-shaped orifice lined with layer upon layer of teeth and what appear to be suction cups. Disgusting!

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My jaws clamp shut, and the immediate vicinity is consumed by fire, the devastating blast radiating outwards, directly towards the creature's head.

It cries out and withdraws, a fortunate reaction, as I then comprehend that my own mana had begun to deplete. Somehow, inexplicably, it managed to attach some of its cilia to me and, by some unknown means, was draining my mana!

How is this even possible? So, if I approach it too closely, it will drain the vital energy I require for survival, but if I maintain distance and attack with spells, it will simply absorb those as well?

My legs still ache, so I flex them slightly before retreating a few steps. Having just utilized my vestigial limbs, I must avoid overexerting them, which precludes attempting any further acrobatic maneuvers. This is truly inconvenient. If I cannot assault it with projectiles and am unable to outmaneuver it, it feels akin to battling a formidable monster with handicaps.

Fortunately, I possess four additional limbs!

It appears the monster sustained some damage from that initial bite. Several of its flailing tentacles are scorched, and numerous others have been burned away, yet their overall number seems negligibly reduced, if at all. This suggests the beast possesses a rapid limb regeneration or repair capability, which aligns with its primary strategy of draining mana from its adversaries.

How does that even function?! Manipulating another being's mana internally is exceptionally challenging. It's important to remember, it's foreign mana, not their own! My mandibles allow me to introduce my own energy into a foe, but I am not commandeering energy that does not belong to me.

Perhaps it's not true manipulation, but simply... absorption? This might be a unique loophole. It's at least tier eight, and any monster reaching that level is bound to possess some extraordinary ability, myself included.

Deciding that further intelligence is necessary, I begin to unleash a torrent of Dragon's Breath upon the monster.

Scorching, roaring flames erupt from between my mandibles like the exhaust from a jet engine. Thousands of cilia converge and... commence absorption. Regrettably, I find myself subjected to my own fiery attack in short order.

Simply delightful.

However, it's not a perfect replication. Upon closer inspection, I observe that the tentacles require direct physical contact with mana to absorb it, implying they are indeed sustaining burns. The critical issue, however, is my uncertainty regarding the extent of the damage they are suffering; counting such a vast quantity is impossible!