13 Hours Before Razum’s Awakening…
Obu looked over her Dungeon even as the image of her new brother beginning his Awakening reverberated through her mind. She had a lot to do to prepare her Dungeon to receive him and any future children he might have. The fact that her brother might have powers similar to hers was a source of interest and comfort to her. Perhaps they could work together or at the very least she might glean some information from him.
He was unique perhaps beyond herself since for all she knew other Dungeon Cores existed. How the System would handle Razum would be a source of knowledge in and of itself. Regardless he would need a place to practice his craft and she already had a few ideas. For one, she knew that Sapients could use her Dungeon to grow. Razum should, therefore, be able to use her Dungeon to grow himself and in the process, she would grow too.
This was a possible loophole in the System since she doubted such a situation had ever come up. Who would have thought that a Dungeon Core could be related to a Fungi with the ability to craft monsters? She mentally noted that a war between herself and her brother could prove to be an extremely valuable experience once they both grew some more.
She set aside such thoughts and instead homed in on creating her Third Room. She had already dug a new tunnel using a similar circuitous route as she had for the tunnel from the First to the Second. With this done she was now creating the cavern she needed. She started by making the cavern tall and long like the last time though she did increase its width while shortening the length to compensate. It ended up being 40 goblin feet wide, 70 goblin feet long, and 40 goblin feet high.
As she finished the System took over, smoothing everything out and adding the little details that made it a Cavern Biome. With that finished she was about to begin customizing things to her liking when the System acted again by sending her a [Building Plans] Quest. She had expected it but it was different in small ways that made her stop and stare in wonder.
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
New Quest Given!
[Building Plans]
Type: Chain, Repeatable
Step 1: Build a new Room [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
Step 2: Furnish your Room
Description: Furnish your room with the following to complete it:
* Miniboss Spawner 0 / 1
* Monster Spawner 0 / 2
* Traps 0 / 2
Stunned, Obu looked over the changes before sheer giddiness washed over her Core. Here was something new and it proved to be exciting. The only problem was as she tried to find out what a Miniboss Spawner was she came up empty. There was nothing in her tabs that said she had anything labeled as such. She thought about it some more before metaphorically shrugging and continuing on with furnishing her Room.
She now had the ability to furnish her Room with two Monster Spawners and she was going to do just that. Her original plan for the Room was to have goblins and a falling rock trap. Now though, she had a better idea. She set an alcove above where she placed another Aviary Spawner with Owlbats. Then, she placed a Goblinoid Spawner toward the back left side of the cavern where it would be out of the way.
Once that was done she confirmed her selections, making sure to have them be F(2) in Rank, and watched them come into being. Just as the first monsters were spawning Obu received a prompt from the System.
Multiple Monster Spawners detected…
Which of the following Frameworks would you like to be included in the Miniboss Spawner:
* Goblinoid
* Owlbat
Note: With this being your first time forming a Miniboss Spawner, System Assistance will help in its formation.
Obu looked at the prompt and mentally shrugged once more. “Both I suppose,” she said and watched as the System began to guide her through the motions. Apparently, it was quite a malleable process. She could do anything, from making the resulting creature a combination of traits of both frameworks to separating the creature into two although the resulting creatures would be less than if she combined them.
She decided to keep them separate although both versions were pretty robust compared to their lesser forms. When they crawled out of the Spawner she was pleased to see both were bigger than the other monsters she had so far with the goblin standing straighter and broader. It wasn’t much but even the System agreed that it was worthy of a different designation.
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Gitboss - Level 8
Greater Owlbat - Level 6
This excited Obu to no end. Her goblins could get stronger and become greater. A Gitboss was something she recognized from her memories. It was a title handed out among the lowest of the low. Oftentimes there was no need for such a title in smaller goblin tribes but in larger ones, there could be so many gits that a rough hierarchy would form.
The strongest would declare themselves the boss of the gits and if they could keep their title for long enough the chief of the tribe would make it official. A Gitboss would then serve the chief in corralling and controlling the gits which was a service long sought after by any chief with a sizable number of the little freaks. To have one herself meant that she was roughly climbing the hierarchy of goblin kind. Perhaps in the near future, she would even graduate from gits entirely.
It was almost too much for Obu to contemplate. For a time she lost herself in fantasies of true goblins populating her Dungeon, fierce, nasty, and ugly. She sighed in delight before returning to reality. It wouldn’t do any good pining after what she didn’t have. Instead, she needed to put in the work to get to that reality. So thinking, Obu turned to her new creatures.
Both of the creatures were F(2) though they weren’t extremely powerful individually. They were a pair and were meant to fight like that. She tested them against the other monsters and found that their connection was quite strong, allowing for them to overpower their lesser kin. At least they did until more numbers got involved. One level 7 wasn’t a match for them especially since the Grungy Gits didn’t have much in the way of weaponry.
The Gitboss came with a rough spear which it used to moderate effect. Well, to be frank, it was terrible. Each of her monsters were more savage than anything else. They often fought just as much with their sharp nails and teeth then they did with their actual weapons. Despite this, the Miniboss did quite well in using its spear to keep the others at bay. It mostly jabbed awkwardly but it was still better than the others.
When paired with its partner it did much better as the Owlbat’s divebombing proved effective at distracting the opponent. When multiple gits attacked, however, the result was less than pleasing. Either one or the other would get tied down and the levels weren’t too far apart as to be insurmountable. Obu pondered this as she watched the Gitboss face off against its lesser kin.
She decided that while her original idea was sound the execution needed more room to grow. Perhaps later when the amount of variability at her disposal was better she would give it a try. For now she made the Mini Boss return to its Spawner where she attempted to shift things around. To her surprise, it was actually quite easy.
There was no System Assistance this time but she could feel her Transformation Attribute activate within her soul. She dived into the Framework of her creatures and instead went with a combined approach. She left the goblin looking as much like a goblin as possible but made a secondary stage hidden within it. Once it got wounded enough it could partially transform some of its features into an Owlbat’s.
Its hands would become taloned paws and its face would partially elongate into a jagged beak. Its hearing and eyesight would improve as it changed. Feathery fur would sprout around its body as its skin toughened into a kind of hide. Satisfied, Obu pulled out and watched as her new creature crawled out of the Spawner. Immediately the differences were clear. The goblinoid stood even straighter and taller than the last one and its muscles were more clearly defined. It was still small in the way of all goblin kind but its eyes held a delightful gleam of cunning.
Gitboss Shifter - Level 10
Its level left Obu a bit disappointed, however. A mere 2 level increase didn’t seem worth it. It was at the maximum level for its Rank. Perhaps that meant more than she thought it did. With that in mind, she once more tested it against the other creatures and found to her delight that her suppositions were correct.
The goblinoid was tougher, faster, and stronger than its contemporaries. It still struggled against multiple opponents but its increased toughness kept it in the battle longer than its previous version. This was then increased when it transformed or shifted. There was a moment of weakness before the shift was completed but once done it became a whirlwind of devastation and ferocity. Its talons were sharp and the beak weapon it sprouted was used to incredible effect.
All in all, Obu was satisfied. It wasn’t the peerless defender she might have wanted, since it lost all signs of preservation once it shifted, but its name gave her a hint as to what might be down the road. It was a “mini” boss which meant that if she continued building Rooms she would eventually get a Boss Spawner and maybe even a Big Boss Spawner if that even existed.
Regardless, she was satisfied and watched as her monsters settled into the cavern. She then turned to the traps. She cleared a part of the cavern to contain a flat half-circle right in front of the door. She then placed pools of water around and made two of them into cavern traps. She figured that her miniboss might be able to use the space and was surprised when the creature in question marched right over and set himself in front of where she imagined the next door would go.
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]
Step 3 (Hidden): Establish a Miniboss Arena [Complete - Reward +100 Xp]
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
* You have enough Xp to ascend to Level 7!
* For completing a Quest you have been rewarded 100 Xp!
* 100 Xp from the Completion of [Building Plans]
Obu felt her Core gleam in triumph as everything settled. The hidden step of the quest intrigued her. Were there other hidden trophies around or was it just an incentive to continue innovating? She resolved to constantly test her limits. After all, she wouldn’t know what they were until she found them. Even as she had the thought she felt something stir at the edges of her awareness. It came from the fungal garden and she felt elation fill her. It was time to meet her new brother.