Obu breathed deeply, drawing in Aether before blowing it out again, using it to chisel away at the stone and earth before her. She hummed happily as she did so and the sound reverberated through her Dungeon causing her creatures to perk up. She didn’t notice the two Grungy Gits who looked on in wonder as she carved a hallway out of bare rock. They gibbered to themselves in a harsh guttural language that only partially resembled goblinoid. Their master was a wondrous being indeed.
The Dungeon Core took no heed of this as she dug deeper. Once she felt the hallway was sufficiently long enough she went back through and changed it. She worked her Transformation statistic to its limits as she made the hallway a twisted thing with drops, dips, and steep inclines. She also added water that dripped from stalactites to the ground below forming a slick environment. Taking a metaphysical step back she nodded in satisfaction. Now the challengers or invaders would have to go slowly in order to watch their footing.
Heading to the end of the hallway she began building her new room. Using her new statistics she was able to make the room a tad larger, around 30 goblin feet wide, 80 feet long, and 40 feet tall. The reason she made it taller was because she had a different idea for this room. She decorated it the same and made sure the Cavern Biome fit and watched as Aether washed over the room transforming it. Pools formed, water started dripping, and stalactites and stalagmites gained a more natural form.
Notifications from the System attempted to get her attention but she put them aside as she moved to implement her new idea. High in the walls she dug out a little cave and placed her newest Monster Spawner, the Aviary. To her surprise the System sent her a message.
What framework would you like to place in this Spawner?
* Available Spawners:
* Owlbat
* Avian Swarm (Tiny)
If Obu could have clapped she would have. The message confirmed something she had been wondering about. The Avian Spawner’s description hadn’t told her which Framework it would be using, only that it had been created out of the assembled Frameworks she had collected. Now she could customize her Monster Spawners with more Frameworks if she could collect them.
That thought actually made her a little sad. She didn’t have more options when it came to her Goblinoid Spawner, it just spat out Grungy Gits. How was she going to make a true goblin Dungeon for her father if she couldn’t collect more Frameworks? She shook herself, causing her Dungeon to rumble slightly, before giving herself the Dungeon Core equivalent of a twin cheek slap. She wouldn’t be deterred from her goal that easily. She would do it and make her father proud.
After cheering herself up she turned to the System prompt and selected Owlbats. That was the whole goal of putting the Aviary in the Cavern Biome after all. She had examined the Framework she had gotten and found that the creatures had excellent night vision and would be perfect for hiding up in between the stalactites before ambushing their prey. It was the same reason she had made the ceiling a little higher as well so the creatures had places to roost.
Ignoring the ensuing System notification Obu turned to creating traps. She made one of the stalactite traps from before and then tried her hand at using her new variant type. The Sinkhole Traps were interesting in the way that they functioned. In simple terms, they were traps that were formed from soft earth or mud that caused creatures who stepped into them to become trapped but it was a bit more than that. The feeling she got from the System was that they were also usable for hidden pit traps where the top layer of earth was thin and hid a large hole. Anyone who would step on it would break the barrier, plunging the person into a long fall.
This was the trap that Obu ended up going with. Once her Owlbats began attacking, any invaders or challengers would be looking up rather than down and if they strayed from the main path they were in danger of falling. In fact, with that in mind she went back on her earlier decision of a stalactite trap and just made another hidden sinkhole.
It fit the strategy of the Room better and if the people were always looking up for more foes then they would see the Stalactite fall and would just move out of the way. That did give her an idea for a later room but she shelved it for now, the System making a note at her insistence. As she locked in her choices she heard another chime and finally opened her System notifications.
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
New Quest Given!
[Building Plans]
Type: Chain, Repeatable
Step 1: Build a new Room [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Step 2: Furnish your Room
Description: Furnish your room with the following to complete it:
* Monster Spawner 0 / 1
* Traps 0 / 2
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
* You have completed the Quest [Building Plans] as shown below!
[Building Plans]
Type: Chain, Repeatable
Step 1: Build a new Room [Complete - Reward +100 Xp]
Step 2: Furnish your Room [Complete - Reward +100 Xp]
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
* You have enough Xp to ascend to Level 6!
* For completing a Quest you have been rewarded 100 Xp!
* 100 Xp from the Completion of [Building Plans]
Obu let her Aether twirl in what she imagined to be a happy dance as she read of her level increase. She was on her way to a new Rank already. She quickly opened her System Report and gazed at her statistics.
The Obulwaag
Race:
Dungeon Core
Chosen Name:
Obu
Bond:
Dug Shardaal (Non-System Entity)
Cornerstone:
Jack of All Stones
Rank: F(2)
Level: 5
Experience: 500/400
Core Attributes
Rooted: 3 (+)
Measures the Core’s overall capability of digging deeper and expanding its Dungeon.
Empowered: 2 (+)
Measures the Core’s direct power in regard to its Monsters, Traps, and Environment.
United: 2 (+)
Measures the Core’s ability to better coordinate its Dungeon’s defenses.
Transformed: 2 (+)
Measures the Core’s ability to modify its Dungeon in all aspects.
The sight pleased her even as she looked towards the back of her new room to check something. Slowly taking shape was a wrought stone doorway. She made her Aether dance once more at her correct assumption. Each additional point of Rooted would let her make another Room. Looking at her Rank reminded her of something and she made sure to upgrade her Aviary Spawner to Rank F(2). She left her first Goblinoid Spawner as it was. She wanted her Dungeon to rise in strength gradually, otherwise, the Talpi and Muskeera might have a hard time.
Going back to her System Report, Obu looked over her statistics before trying to upgrade Rooted again. She found herself blocked and the System sent words scrolling across her Core.
Attention Dungeon Core!
* Due to chosen Cornerstone each Statistic must be increased equally before one can be raised higher.
Obu frowned at this new information but inevitably gave the equivalent of a shrug and moved on. She wouldn’t change her Cornerstone for the simple expediency of being able to build more rooms. So she returned to viewing her Report and looked over the remaining Statistics. Each one would be useful but she tried to imagine which one would be more useful to her right now. She thought back to each Experience she had had and used them as the basis for her decision.
Once she decided she made her choice immediately feeling the Experience activate. Once more she felt her Dungeon become malleable, like she could transform it into anything and everything. She basked in the sensation and tried to learn everything she could from it before it dissipated. Eventually it did and she sighed as she came back down to earth. The reason for her choice was simple. Her Transform Statistic would help her in designing her third Room.
As she was moving to start, she felt her father pick her up and begin moving. Sending her awareness over to where he was, she found him stumping deeper into his tunnels heading for where she knew his fungal gardens were located. Breathing deeply she began claiming more territory as he moved, something he noticed but didn’t comment on. In a strange turn of events, the territory she claimed wasn’t quite hers. It was resistant to her attempts to change it when she tried and as she examined further she realized it was because she didn’t really own it. She had claimed it with her powers but the ownership of it and therefore the right to change it was Dug’s.
In fact, the only reason she was able to claim it at all was because of their bond. Obu wondered, idly, if she could change it if she asked her father’s permission first. Before she could do so they entered his fungal gardens and her gaze immediately locked on the beautiful sight. Row upon row of carefully regulated and divided fungi spread out before her, at least, what little she could see. She knew from her memories that it was far larger than what she could see currently.
Her father moved carefully and lovingly through his garden stopping here and there to check and make sure that each plot was doing well. His power over spores and fungi helped them survive in the underground environment even when they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. That and the organism that lay in the heart of the garden. Dug eventually made his way back to where the Tome of Spores lay on its pedestal and Obu felt it was time to speak up.
“Hey dad? Whatchya doin?”