Who would have thought accidentally spilling the carbonated drink could lead to a new facility? At least I didn't expect it, but either way, it seemed like just lifting the restriction didn't mean we could install it right away.
"10,000 liters of carbonated water and 3 million mana units, huh?......"
Basically, to create a spring with limitless carbonated water, I would need the base material, carbonated water, in large quantities.
"Majou-sama, something is flashing below it."
Below the dark brown display of the carbonated water which indicated it was impossible to create as of now, there was a flickering entry.
"------. So we can also convert mana into materials and vice-versa."
In this instance, creating one liter of carbonated water would consume 30 mana units stored in the dungeon core. Once the required stock of material and mana reaches the necessary amount, we could create said establishment.
"30 mana unit consumption in exchange for one liter of carbonated water, huh? ------ Carbonated water....... Eh, the creation cost is basically the same."
As long as I exclude the cost of the sugar in the drink, its container - a small bottle, and the process of making the drink itself, the cost to make carbonated water with was the same.
"Preparing materials will cost 3 million mana units, the same amount to create the facility."
"With Majou-sama's magic, it's easie-peasie!"
As I winced at the mana cost while watching the carbonated water I created with be absorbed by the dungeon, Teto spoke out to encourage me.
The dungeon core's upper limit to store mana was 30 million, which was quite a lot, to be honest.
I could indeed create the facility with my mana capacity as Teto said, but there was still a mountain of things I had to ascertain first before I actually proceeded with it.
"Materials can be converted into mana as well."
That seemed to be a function of the dungeon that my didn't have. It could convert mana into various things and conversely, break down acquired items into mana.
There have also been anecdotes in the past of adventurers and other people dumping too many unnecessary items in the dungeon and as a result, they incurred the wrath of the dungeon and perished under a stampede.
Considering how dungeons created monsters to release the excess mana into the surroundings after converting leftover items into mana, this was not too far off from the actual reason.
The catch here, however, was that it wasn't as efficient in converting items into mana as compared to creating them. Additionally, installation of the facility couldn't be done without mana as well.
"------Creation and Destruction, huh? And with how destruction and mana consumption cost more, it prevents anyone from taking advantage of the system to easily create and destroy. They really have put thought into teaching about the importance of balance in world management and fostering a cautious attitude."
Aside from those, by having the dungeons incorporate tools that gods like Liliel and her sisters make with their own divine power, the things that were impossible to create even with the dungeon function would no longer be a mere dream.
"What's next, Majou-sama?"
"I am going to test a couple more things. ------ Iron Ingot!"
Next, I created and dropped the iron lump on the dungeon floor. Unsurprisingly, it was taken in by the dungeon, and following that, another new entry appeared.
There was a list of several types of iron weapons available, and even a facility called iron ore vein.
"This also needs a specific amount of materials and mana."
The striking part about this was I would just need to arrange the required amount of materials and mana, as well as the mana to sustain the running costs, and we would immediately have an inexhaustible supply of iron ores.
This was really a game changer------, no wait, does that mean…?
"Does that mean the world is slowly but gradually expanding?"
"Hmm? What do you mean, Majou-sama?"
"No, just, whether it's my or the dungeon function, both have been producing things or monsters. So in that sense, the world's mass is gradually increasing in proportion to them."
"What's the problem with that?"
I guess my explanation was a bit complex as Teto cocked her head in cluelessness, and asked back.
Well yeah, it wasn't a problem worth giving attention and all. But-------
"Just what actually is mana? It can be converted to substance, causes natural phenomena, lifeforms feed on it, and it then disappears."
Mana was an indispensable key for the survival of this world.
This planet, its human beings, vegetation, and monsters emitted it as they followed their way of life. This begged the question, what actually happened with the mana that got consumed by them? Spontaneously emitted mana got released into the atmosphere, and the mana poured into mana potions exhibited the same properties as a water-soluble. The ability to flow through metals and be stored was somewhat akin to heat. Within the bodies of monsters, the condensed magical energies took on a solid form known as a mana stone.
Alas, the knowledge I had inherited from my previous life lacked specialized knowledge such as physics, so I couldn't arrive at any hypothetical conclusion. But just thinking about the mysteries behind mana was so intriguing that I couldn't help myself from thinking about it.
"Umm, sure enough, it's far from Teto's level to understand! Ah, but Majou-sama's mana is delicious!"
"And it also has flavor and beings have different preferences for it as well which is another mystery in itself."
Truly, mana was a bag full of wonder.
Well, I wasn't the type to endlessly contemplate like a philosopher so while I found the topic fascinating, I tossed it in a corner of my mind as I continued the tests with Teto by creating many things with and letting the dungeon absorb it.
"Let's continue, !"
I continued to create every material and object I could recall and tossed them to the dungeon for it to take. I first started with the materials that came from the land like metal ores, sand, sandstones, rocks, jewels, red clay, and humus.
I further added magic metals like mithril, adamantine, and orichalcum as well as magic minerals like mana crystals and floating stones to unlock their respective veins. Though of course, nothing was free in the world hence they required an enormous amount of mana, and if that wasn't enough, some also slightly crossed the upper limit of the dungeon core's mana capacity.
After metals and minerals, I proceeded to add plant seeds, fully developed plants, leftover bread from earlier, and the corpses of monsters stored in my magic bag which unlocked the vegetation we could set up and the types of floors like grassland and forest area.
But there were also some exceptions, like adding the seed of the world tree or its branches did not unlock anything new to install. Instead, I could directly plant a world tree sapling inside the dungeon. So, it was like a growable entity in the dungeon rather than an object reproduced by the dungeon.
Aside from that, the things that couldn't be utilized were dismantled and reduced to other materials. For example, the monster corpses were separated into flesh, blood, and bones and the genetic information from them became the base to increase the variety of summonable monsters.
"I wonder, if a human being died in the dungeon, would they also be converted into materials?"
There were skeletons among the monsters that use bones as material, so corpses could potentially be resources for the dungeon's operation. Still, it wasn't a pleasant thought.
Afterwards, I continued to try various things and confirmed the dungeon's functions but Teto mumbled in between that she was getting bored, so I had to make a huge rock using a dungeon feature so that she could try out her sword.
After going through the evolution process in the mud cocoon, it wasn't just her abilities that improved, even her magic sword had been further enhanced. Now, that magic sword was cutting through the huge rock like a hot knife through butter.
"But it seems like not even your power can destroy the dungeon room."
The dungeon core room was still completely scratchless, maybe it had an indestructible attribute?
As I continued to make experiments and speculations about the dungeon, my gaze spotted a certain entry.
", and its cost is....... 300 million mana units. Wow, talk about a sky-high price."
It was apparently a seed-like item that could give birth to a new dungeon in the place it was planted.
It was so ridiculously expensive that I ran my gaze over the price once again to see if my eyes had mistakenly seen too many zeros, and the result was that I didn't.
"So an item that costs a whopping 300 million mana units, huh? Not to mention the fact that I don't have the mana to spare for it, but I also didn't intend to increase the dungeon's numbers anyway."
I assumed this item, albeit unaffordable, was listed to show the ultimate goal of dungeon creation. It was either a glimpse to serve as motivation or maybe it was easily achievable in a mana-abundant world before the demise of the ancient magic civilization.
Well, everything about the ancient past had been buried in the river of time but maybe, there used to be such an era where the gods created dungeons as trials for humans and where ancient dragons like Dragon Grandpa or a portion of mankind themselves became dungeon masters......
