Uno

The die has been cast. Ratlings already ran towards the surface and what happens - happens. Hopefully, they will adapt and overcome. On that topic - my vision outside the dungeon was non-existent. Maybe I should start developing a mobile version of eye-cameras? The tunnels certainly have enough space to easily include the wires needed for that.

Then again - if I saw an eyeball staring at me, while I was taking a walk, my first thought would be to destroy the damn thing. And since most of my creations were more or less accidental then recreating a camera with less terrifying flair would probably take a lot of time to get right.

Not to mention that while underground they’re hidden from sight by the bone lichen patches. I would have to think about different camouflage when considering the surface. Yet all I could come up with was a tree with eye-like fruits. Which would be somewhat… unnatural? And not to mention creepy as hell.

Not worth it.

At least not while my second level was getting submerged.

How did that happen?

Well, my plan for the second floor was simple - a long hallway (about twenty meters) leading southeast towards a large room in the middle, which then would branch in the four cardinal directions. At least cardinal according to my sense of north-south, since I still didn’t have any magnetized metals to create a compass.

And while I could use electricity to create them there was another problem - did this world even have magnetic poles?

Anyway.

This main room was similar to Colosseum in design, filling the floor with sand covering the stone, adding a high ceiling, and generously sprinkling any form of flora I had access to, with priority given to the non-lethal kind.

Because of that both large Silver Ironbarks and slender Ax Conifers were used as wall supports, while knife-bushes spread far and wide, hiding Ratling tunnels entrance here and there. Besides that Bone Ferns and Copper Grass covered every flat surface, creating a white-brown carpet, yet due to high humidity, the said grass was already turning green. Despite being a plant its behavior was still influenced by the type of metal it was created from. Curious.

And said humidity came from a stream flowing through the middle of my western tunnel. Which was the only dig site on this level. For now. I was after all a follower of concentrated strength doctrine. The entrance was slowly submerged and spilling water towards the central room. Its depth already spanned about twenty centimeters and was rising fast.

I hurried into the tunnel and soon saw the problem's crux - a large hole spewing out blue liquid at high pressure. The Drones tried to patch up the resulting damage, but it was a Sisyphean task.

Due to my immaterial form, I could easily enter, not being stopped by something like dirt or water. What greeted me on the other side was… darkness.

Upon further reflection, it was obvious that the lake, cistern, or whatever else it was would lack any light sources on account of being underground and all that.

So I did the only thing I could. I floated upward. Soon air replaced the water. Levitating above the surface allowed me to summon an electric spark, which in turn brightened my surroundings. I could see at last!

In the end, what greeted me was nothing interesting - a neatly serpentine underground lake with a mini-waterfall situated on my right. The way the stream entered this place was placed about a meter above the current water table and was slowly dripping down more water just a few meters away from my position. Since the whole cave seemed hermetically sealed before, with no additional rooms present, it was a logical conclusion that there should be an exit too. And since I couldn’t see right away there was a high chance that it was located underwater.

That, in turn, meant that until the water level stabilized my problem with flooding wouldn’t go away. Which was quite bad. The plants would probably survive underwater for some time, the Lebirs and drones were safe too, but ultimately most of my flora would end up dead.

I returned to the dungeon proper and ordered the Drones to dig out a ditch in the middle of the tunnel. It naturally gathered the water sloshing about and guided it toward the main room. In there the remaining Drones were asked to dig down, creating an artificial pond in the middle.

What went on after that was a race between my diligent minions and endlessly pouring water. I added to the challenge by creating a few Lebirs (the first ones on this floor) and directing them to bash down the wall separating the dungeon from the lake. They managed to do it pretty quickly and only three of them ended up swept by the current.

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Good enough.

This however also meant that even more workers were redirected towards this new frontier. Well, it was not like they had anything better to do. Hours flew by and the pond grew deeper and deeper, making it impossible to escape from.

Motions of the Drones grew sluggish and wide underwater, but being inanimate and without a need to breathe made them surprisingly durable, even when continuing this grueling task.

In these few hours pretty much all the water above had drained into the pond, slowly stabilizing the water table between two environs. I laughed to myself, seeing that my nightmare of being turned into the underwater dungeon was averted.

I could theoretically do it, sure, yet somehow this idea made me cringe on a cellular level. Maybe it was my affinity speaking? Maybe something else? Who knows.

There was another thing I was thinking about now.

Namely...

I was craving fish.

Not for any gourmet reason, though. Just to gain the ability to make them on my own.

All this water in one place just begged for such dwellers.

The exploration of the lake proved me wrong, however. Conversely - the fish were craving me. Or rather anything that they could sense would be devoured with their eyeless maws. It was then that I first encountered this strange, nearly see-through animal, which chomped down on the Lebir while it was trying to dislodge some dirt from the wall. The fish's shape was partially up to question as said assailant had a translucent body and much too agile movements. Not to mention the low light environment which fucked with my vision. Yet the hungry teeth it sported were visible. Even too much.

Note to self: remember to install both Chandeliers and cameras first before expanding. If possible.

Anyway.

Its first attack cut the Lebir leg cleanly off, while the second hooked an arm up and then dragged the poor monster towards the depths. Since the Lebirs weren’t the brightest minions on Yana, it took them a while to recognize the type of danger. Or even that there was a danger at all.

Translation: I lost five more to the same fish before they even started reacting, while the bastard was having an all-you-can-eat abomination buffet. The problem was the type of their reaction too. Smacking it on the head with clubs was not very effective. The attacks simply slid off the translucent scales.

I could swear that I saw it grin. It was probably just all those teeth.

This situation continued until my Lebir Captain strolled by. Luckily it was chosen as the next snack, but after being half-eaten it managed to place a good enough hit with a Crackling mace. It was enough to paralyze the fucker for a long enough time. Thanks to this my Lebirs and Drones in a joint effort managed to drag it ashore.

Now it was in MY territory. And it was time for the fish to feel helpless.

Except nothing epic happened. No confrontation, lasers, or trump cards. Nope. It simply died, suffocating, while my minions watched from afar. Anti-climatic.

Due to this, I was able to assimilate a very tasty specimen. Firstly Analyze corrected me. It was not a fish.

Glass Snake Maw

This underwater juvenile snake stays competitive using both its translucent body and stronger-than-steel teeth. While blind, the other senses it uses are unnaturally sharp and give a great advantage when it comes to finding and chasing prey over large distances. Unlike most snakes, Glass Maw are not equipped with lungs, but gills instead. This curtails its ability to hunt on land, but otherwise, it's an animal perfectly suited to large, underground water basins.

It lives in packs and usually, the largest specimens tend to grow a maximum of two meters in length, which happens over the course of many years. As aggressive animals, Glass Snake Maws tend to exterminate most of the other lifeforms in their habitat and sometimes even cannibalize members of their own race. At least until it consumes enough to become a Glass Progenitor.

Threat level: D (for an individual)

Uh-oh.

So there were more of them?

Wait.

Weren’t there, like twenty Lebirs around me? Why I can see only fifteen now?!

Just what the hell happened…

As I was panicking another minion disappeared - yet this time I saw it all - it was soundlessly and nearly comically dragged into the depths - by a two-meter long snake no less…

I knew that not giving them mouths was a mistake!

In a moment of terror, I peered down the lake, brightening the water with an electric spark. About fifty slithering forms greeted my gaze, their twirling forms waiting expectantly for something, anything to get close enough to the water.

For once I was glad that my Lebirs didn’t breathe.

[RETREAT!] I shouted mentally and started to retreat myself.

Reacting to the order the armored figures of my minions turned back, slowly and clumsily waddling to their destination. As usual. This time it was however much too lackasidial reaction. The surrounding snakes were waiting for this moment and sprang from the water like cannonballs.

Damn accurate cannonballs.

One or even two were beaten down by the wildly swung club, but the rest got what they came for - sweet, succulent meat of the Lebirs.

As I floated back to the dungeon in a daze one random thought was knocking around my emptied head.

Were the undead even edible?