Reincarnated With A Glitched System: Why Is My MP Not Running Out?

The party walked through the second floor, although very distracted by the paintings and carvings on the walls, which showed what seemed to be a once flourishing empire or kingdom made by these sea snail-like people.

They had large shells on their backs, and they seemed to decorate with all kinds of ores, paint, and jewels. The carvings showed them working on water fields, taking care of coral gardens and making sure their fish would reproduce, controlling how many eggs they lay and helping them breed.

The paintings showed more glorious things, one of them was a more colorful than usual snail, someone whose entire body was bright and rainbow, with a golden shell on their back, and another over their humanoid head, resembling a crown.

They sat down over a throne made of colorful coral, while various subjects kneeled before them. Aquarina and her friends couldn’t quite tell if this was a King or a Queen, all snail people looked androgynous.

“So this was once a big empire?” wondered Silvia.

“Perhaps this dungeon is a part of that empire, which must have buried for a while now,” said Aquarina.

“If we are in the desert right now, I suppose that pretty much means this was some sort of underwater kingdom or empire or whatever, right?” wondered Justicio.

“Yeah, deserts were once great oceans,” nodded Agua. “This is why there are still sea water underground. And why the oasis might be more salty than fresh water too. This part of the continent was once submerged into the oceans.”

“And perhaps that’s where these people built their home, now it’s buried under a lot of sand and stones, and perhaps their entire city had been destroyed,” said Aquarina, crossing her arms. “Well, I guess that’s how life is. Nothing is eternal right?”

“I-I guess, but the way you say it…” Silvia sighed. “It’s a bit cold… Don’t you feel sorry for them?”

“I mean… Well, it was so long ago, I don’t really think I got the emotional strength to feel sorry for them,” said Aquarina. “Look around you, Silvia. There’s a bunch of stuff they did. Statues, paintings, carvings, treasure. I mean, they did everything they could and prospered. Let’s think about the good things they achieved.”

“The hero is right,” said Agua, nodding. “Although it might be a bit sad, I believe this snail people lived in the oceans hundreds of thousands of years ago, if not millions of years ago. This dungeon by itself is an incredible archeological find, and a glimpse of the civilizations that once thrived in prehistory, most likely.”

“T-That many years?” Justicio wondered. “How is that even possible?”

“Don’t you know, the world takes millions of years to move and shape itself over time,” explained Aquarina. “It’s something Sylphy told me about. And also why very old elves would say that some places looked very different before. Its like… just how the world is. It keeps moving, the climate keeps changing the landscape, and so on. For the ocean to move and the entire continent here to resurface would take millions of years! So these people, which lived in these dried oceans, are very old.”

“Wow…” Silvia muttered. “I never imagined they would be THAT old… Despite how our tribe might live for several thousands of years, I guess it still feels like nothing to the great scheme of things, and this enormous world that is so very ancient.”

“The only living beings I would find ancient enough would probably be the Gods…” said Aquarina. “Both those up on the stars and the gods of this world.”

“Hmm…” Agua nodded. “I do wonder sometimes, how it could feel like to live for so long? Millions of years, perhaps even billions of years of age… How would their minds be? What thoughts pass through such ancient beings? They must have so many memories… How can they store them all in a single head?”

“Well, they’re very different than us, so they could find a way,” shrugged Aquarina. “Though I wouldn’t say the Gods are very brilliant or something, most of them are kind of weird, creepy, or outright insane. I don’t think living for so long… is actually a good thing. No matter how strong they are, their minds feel… deteriorated. As if they’re slowly growing senile.”

“Perhaps holding so many memories for billions of years must have indeed made them go a bit crazy,” nodded Pyuku at her side. “I also don’t find it natural to live for eternity… Even though, like any other person, I wouldn’t really like to die or something but… Yeah.”

“I remember that many of them slumbered for many years,” said Khepri. “Perhaps sleeping helps them keep their subconscious free from the weight of gaining even more memories and knowledge. No matter how strong, even the gods need to sleep and rest. Sometimes for their own good, so they don’t turn insane by living.”

“Hm…” Silvia nodded. “Damn, I didn’t think this conversation would get so deep.”

“I mean, it helps that no monsters have appeared so far,” said Justicio.

“Wait, Khepri, do you remember anything more from the Gods?” wondered Silvia. “Like what they were like and stuff?”

“Not much at all, I don’t think I ever interacted with any of them directly, and only followed orders, but I remember words from other of their servants, words shared with… me,” Khepri muttered. “Ah, my damn memories are still fuzzy though. I need the last ornament so I can regain them fully! If that happens you can ask me anything you want, Silvia.”

“Nice! Then let’s get it! Where is it? Are we getting closer?” Silvia asked.

“We are a few hundred of meters from it by now, yes, so we should keep moving!” Khepri nodded.

“However, it’s weird, we’ve been walking for the corridor for a while, but there aren’t any monsters showing up,” said Justicio. “Is it because the Dungeon is “young” or something?”

“There’s definitely a much smaller density of monsters than in other dungeons,” Aquarina nodded. “But there must still be a few around… Hmm, actually. I kind of sense something over there. Come!”

Aquarina led the party to a forking path that led to the west, as they reached an open area which had a huge saltwater pool surrounded by many colorful corals.

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