37

Chapter 37: The Mana Reservoir

Subin descended the narrow stone path along the wall of the enormous chasm.

Far below him, the unstable mana reservoir continued to pulse.

Every pulse sent a wave of blue light through the darkness, briefly illuminating the surrounding walls before everything returned to shadow. The sheer scale of the reservoir was difficult to comprehend. It was larger than any lake Subin had seen, yet it floated within the depths of the dungeon without touching the surrounding rock.

Eleven million units of compressed mana.

And that was only the amount the system could currently estimate.

Subin kept one hand on Abyssal Emperor's Edge while descending. His other hand occasionally touched the wall to maintain balance.

The deeper he went, the stronger the pressure became.

At Level 34, his body was considerably stronger than when he had first entered the dungeon. Yet even he could feel the difference.

His breathing became heavier.

His skin tingled.

His mana circulation accelerated on its own.

Subin immediately slowed down.

"Don't fight it."

He closed his eyes for a moment.

The mana surrounding him was moving upward from the reservoir.

Rather than resisting it, he adjusted his body according to its movement.

Natural Flow.

His breathing stabilized.

The pressure became manageable again.

[Natural Flow proficiency increased.]

[Natural Flow: 24% → 29%]

Subin continued downward.

After several minutes, he reached a wide platform overlooking the reservoir.

The sight was magnificent.

The enormous sphere of compressed mana floated below him, surrounded by countless streams of energy. Some flowed into it from the upper dungeon while others were released through cracks in the surrounding earth.

It was constantly growing.

Slowly.

Naturally.

Subin studied it carefully.

"This is why the dungeon keeps producing stronger monsters."

The dungeon core wasn't simply creating monsters from nothing.

The enormous reservoir was one of its energy sources.

As mana accumulated, the dungeon's ecosystem became capable of supporting increasingly powerful creatures.

Subin looked at the system.

[Mana Reservoir]

[Current Stability: 81.3%]

[Compression: Increasing]

[Natural Release Rate: 0.03% per day]

[Estimated Stabilization: 18 years]

He frowned.

"Only 0.03%?"

That explained the warning from the dungeon core.

The reservoir had accumulated far more mana than the surrounding environment could naturally release.

Eventually, it would stabilize.

But that would take nearly two decades.

Subin wasn't interested in waiting eighteen years.

He was more interested in understanding why the reservoir had been allowed to become so large.

He walked around the platform.

Several enormous crystal pillars surrounded the reservoir.

Each pillar was connected to a different mana vein.

Subin examined the first.

[Mana Compression Pillar.]

The second.

[Mana Filtration Pillar.]

The third.

[Mana Distribution Pillar.]

The fourth.

[Mana Stabilization Pillar.]

Subin continued around the chamber.

There were twelve pillars in total.

All of them were working.

But one was damaged.

A deep crack ran through its center.

The system displayed:

[Mana Stabilization Pillar — Integrity: 41%]

Subin looked at the reservoir.

Then back at the pillar.

"So that's the problem."

The damaged pillar wasn't causing the reservoir to become dangerous immediately, but it was reducing the rate at which the excess mana could be stabilized and distributed.

Subin approached it.

The pillar was enormous, nearly five meters in diameter.

He placed his hand against it.

Mana rushed through his body.

He immediately pulled his hand away.

"Too much."

He examined the crack instead.

The damage wasn't recent.

It appeared to have happened years ago.

Perhaps during the dungeon's formation.

Perhaps during some battle long before humans awakened.

Subin didn't speculate further.

There was no reason to.

The important thing was that the pillar could potentially be repaired.

But he wasn't a craftsman.

He was a swordsman.

His solution was therefore simple.

He drew Simple Edge.

The sword's blade reflected the blue light from the reservoir.

Subin studied the damaged pillar.

The crack was irregular.

If he tried to cut it directly, he might destroy the entire structure.

Instead, he used Sword Comprehension.

He observed the mana flow.

The crack was interfering with the natural circulation.

He needed to remove the damaged section without touching the stable portions.

Precision.

Concentration.

One Absolute Edge.

Subin raised Simple Edge.

He breathed in.

Then exhaled.

The sword moved.

A thin line appeared across the damaged portion.

There was no explosion.

No shockwave.

The damaged crystal simply separated.

A section of the pillar fell away.

The remaining structure remained intact.

Subin immediately placed his hand against the exposed surface.

Mana flowed through it.

The pillar trembled.

Then its blue light strengthened.

[Damaged Mana Stabilization Pillar repaired.]

[Integrity: 41% → 78%]

Subin blinked.

He hadn't expected such a large improvement.

Then the reservoir changed.

The enormous sphere pulsed.

The next wave was different.

Instead of expanding violently, the mana compressed inward.

The pressure throughout the chamber decreased.

The surrounding crystals brightened.

[Mana Reservoir stability improved.]

[Stability: 81.3% → 89.7%]

Subin smiled.

"Better."

He hadn't gained an item.

He hadn't defeated a boss.

But he had improved the dungeon itself.

And that was useful.

A dungeon with greater stability would produce better resources over time.

Subin stepped away from the pillar.

Then a new notification appeared.

[Dungeon Contribution detected.]

[You have repaired a damaged core-support structure.]

[Reward available.]

Subin looked at the system.

[Reward options:]

[Option 1: 5,000 Mana]

[Option 2: Rare-grade Mana Crystal ×5]

[Option 3: Dungeon Resource Access Permission]

Subin immediately chose the third.

The first two were useful, but the third had long-term value.

The system confirmed his choice.

[Dungeon Resource Access Permission acquired.]

[Permission Level: Basic]

[Available functions:]

[Resource identification.]

[Resource location detection.]

[Safe extraction guidance.]

[Limited access to dungeon resource zones.]

Subin nodded.

This was exactly what he wanted.

He opened the resource map.

Several locations appeared.

Most were in the upper dungeon.

A few were near the natural valley.

But one location immediately caught his attention.

It was directly beneath the reservoir.

[Unstable Deep-Mana Crystal Formation detected.]

[Grade: Legendary potential.]

Subin looked down.

"Under the reservoir?"

He had to admit that interested him.

He began searching for a way downward.

The platform had several passages, but most were blocked.

Then he noticed something.

The reservoir itself wasn't completely solid.

There was a narrow opening in the rock beneath it.

Mana was flowing through that opening.

Subin walked toward it.

The pressure immediately increased.

His Sword Intent activated instinctively.

Simple Edge vibrated.

Again.

That strange resonance.

Subin stared at the sword.

The word Potential didn't appear this time.

But he could feel something.

The sword seemed to respond more strongly as he approached the reservoir.

He wasn't sure why.

He didn't need to know yet.

Subin entered the passage.

The tunnel descended almost vertically.

He had to use the rock walls to move safely.

After approximately fifty meters, the environment changed.

The blue mana became almost white.

The walls were covered in translucent crystals.

Subin's system displayed warning after warning.

[Mana density: 92.4%.]

[Danger.]

[Mana saturation threshold approaching.]

Subin slowed down.

His body was beginning to feel the pressure.

He couldn't remain here indefinitely.

Yet the resource map indicated that the crystal formation was close.

He continued.

Another twenty meters.

Then the passage opened.

Subin stepped into a small cavern.

There were no monsters.

No dungeon structures.

Only a gigantic crystal formation growing from the ground.

Its surface was perfectly transparent.

Inside it, blue-white mana moved like a slow ocean.

The system displayed:

[Deep-Mana Crystal.]

[Potential Grade: Legendary]

[Purity: 97.8%]

[Mana Content: 96,000]

Subin's eyes narrowed.

This was the highest-quality natural mana crystal he had encountered.

He approached carefully.

But before he could touch it, the crystal shook.

A crack appeared.

Subin immediately stepped back.

The crystal began absorbing surrounding mana.

The entire cavern vibrated.

The system displayed another warning.

[Deep-Mana Crystal undergoing natural compression.]

[Compression threshold reached.]

Subin understood.

The crystal wasn't attacking him.

It was evolving.

If he interrupted the process, he could destroy it.

So he waited.

For several minutes, nothing happened.

Then the crystal suddenly became completely silent.

A faint golden line appeared at its center.

Subin's eyes sharpened.

That wasn't ordinary mana.

It was something denser.

Something different.

The system finally updated.

[Deep-Mana Crystal compression complete.]

[Grade: Legendary]

[Purity: 99.3%]

[Mana Content: 121,600]

Subin stared at the crystal.

He didn't immediately take it.

Instead, he studied it.

Its structure was almost perfect.

He remembered the earlier training beside the condensed mana pool.

Stability.

Compression.

Precision.

The same principles appeared again.

Subin slowly drew Simple Edge.

This time, he didn't cut the crystal.

He simply touched its surface with the blade.

A soft vibration traveled through the sword.

The crystal responded.

[High-level resonance detected.]

[Simple Edge synchronization increasing.]

[Synchronization: 99.8% → 99.9%]

Subin's eyes widened.

For the first time, Simple Edge's unknown status changed.

A new line appeared.

[Potential: Awakening.]

Then another.

[Condition detected.]

[Complete synchronization required.]

Subin stared at the sword.

99.9%.

Only 0.1% remained.

But the system gave no indication of how to achieve it.

Subin smiled.

He didn't care.

If the sword required understanding, then he would understand.

He looked back at the Legendary crystal.

He carefully extracted it using a controlled cut, leaving the surrounding formation intact.

The crystal entered his storage.

Then the system displayed one final notification.

[Legendary resource acquired.]

[Dungeon Resource Access Permission has been utilized successfully.]

Subin looked toward the passage behind him.

The mana pressure was becoming uncomfortable.

He had spent too long in the deepest region.

It was time to leave.

He began walking upward.

As he climbed, his mind remained focused on the same thought.

Simple Edge.

A sword with no known grade.

No known attack power.

No listed abilities.

Only one inscription.

A sword is enough.

And now its synchronization was 99.9%.

Subin couldn't help smiling.

"Then I'll find the remaining 0.1% myself."

He continued toward the upper dungeon.

Behind him, the massive mana reservoir continued to stabilize.

Above it, the repaired pillar resumed its work.

And throughout the Stone Guardian Ruins, the flow of mana became slightly more balanced.

Subin didn't know it yet, but his actions had changed the dungeon's long-term development.

Not dramatically.

Not enough to transform it overnight.

But enough to ensure that the dungeon would continue producing resources and stronger creatures for years to come.

For Subin, however, there was only one thing that mattered.

His sword.

And the path ahead.