Vorinus ‘blinked’ mentally, a pulse of mana blocking its vision. It turned its focus toward the new area it had been constructing, holding off until the adventurers above had progressed far enough.

The Cosmos Below.

Enormous, lengthy caverns were excavated beneath the Rakahn village, humid air was shunted into the chambers, and Vorinus developed some new mobs.

Another Hypercancer Kit, this time fused with the psychic organs of the Lesser Psychic Axolotl. It pulsed with an alien azure light, shifting and warping as it became a pod-covered stalk took root, lines of blue energy blinking with every quivering of the mass. Tendril-like roots burrowed into the ground, working their way through solid stone as if it were dirt.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: PSIONIC PODSTALK}

This bizarre example of Core-spawned life thrives in humid, wet environments, extremely strong roots firmly anchoring it to any solid surface. The many pods covering the central stalk are filled with partially conscious neural matter, capable of unleashing devastating psychic attacks when combined, and directed by the core brain column.

The ‘Psionic Podstalk’ was a truly intriguing specimen, and Vorinus was inspired to create new varieties. How could it not for such a unique creature?

This time, the Podstalk was fused with a Flesh Graft Kit. The many pods began to shrivel and atrophy, no longer needed, and were cannibalized by their own body. Raw flesh burst from every area, morphing into something truly monstrous. A bundle of bones, muscles, and scattered limbs was all that remained. A gaping maw cut the mass in half, and clusters of wild eyes glared hatefully at everything in sight. It struggled to its many limbs, and began to prowl its corridors.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: POD AMALGAM}

This terrifying mass of alien flesh is directly controlled by nearby Podstalks, possessing no will of its own, hobbling and skittering along, the perfect defense against those that would harm its controller. Its flesh is highly regenerative, and resists all damage. However, if the singular neural pod in its center is destroyed, the Killer is left aimless, easily slain.

It was interesting. The dependency on the Podstalks gave it a counterbalance against its regeneration, and Vorinus could see a lot of use in it, clusters patrolling the hallways of the Cosmos Below in an endless vigil over the Podstalks. Now, it was time for a new creation.

Another fusion with the Podstalk, this time a Bioengineering Kit. Instantly, the pods began to twitch, contracting into a dense cluster, and melding into a much smaller mass at the base of the stalk. The roots contorted and fused into muscular, serrated tails, thrashing violently back and forth. Finally, a nest of tendrils shot from every exposed surface, writhing and squirming as if separate entities. Just like that, it was complete.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: POD DREADNOUGHT}

This massive Core-spawned creature possesses immense psionic power, capable of levitating itself, and even causing instant madness if exposed enough. Its serrated tails protect it from most harm, and its tendrils allow it to manipulate its environment, and choke attackers. Within its center, the massive pod allows it to command its own Pod Amalgams, communicate with many Podstalks, and govern its own thoughts. Simply put, the Dreadnought is a foe to be feared.

Vorinus was in awe. The Dreadnought was larger than any other mob it had created so far. Floating in the middle of the massive tunnel, it silently watched everything below, even mentally hjacking a few Amalgams, its tail placing them on its back. Perhaps it would make good Boss material, but Vorinus decided that this floor needed to be different. Stronger.

Podstalks were quickly littered about the dark floor, pulsing eerily as they controlled swarms of Amalgams. Multiple Dreadnoughts were allowed to roam the floor freely, their oppressive auras causing the Amalgams to shrink in fear. It was perfect, but it needed a Boss to finish everything off.

Vorinus thought idly about what it could use for the Boss. Suddenly, it recalled the Assimilators. It had been quite a long time since it had done much with them, despite having a soft place in its pulsating heart. Vorinus called up the basic Assimilator blueprint. The strange orb of writhing tendrils was highly interesting, even though it had little actual combat power. All it needed to do was get inside a host, and it was Vorinus’. Combined with a Hypercancer Kit and Podstalk, anything could be possible.

It began work, fusing the ethereal pattern within its mind with the makeup of the Hypercancer Kit and Podstalk pattern, watching as the pattern started to swell, almost bursting as the new tumorous growths practically overwhelmed the Assimilator’s tendrils. Even as Vorinus watched, the tendrils fused completely with swiftly growing internal pods, becoming a neural network that pulsed with psionic energy. By the time the transformation was done, the assimilator was nothing but a blob of churning flesh, and Vorinus could tell that the slightest touch against a creature would assume control of its body.

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{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: PSYCHIC FLESH}

This bizarre, quivering creature is an example of a highly dangerous Corespawn. Its amorphous body can absorb most damage, even surviving being split in half. In addition, the Flesh can assume control of any creature it touches, its latent psionic abilities hijacking the nervous system of its host. Only fire can harm the Flesh in any meaningful way.

Satisfied, Vorinus poured more and more mana into the the Psychic Flesh, watching as it swelled and grew even further, the fleshy mass becoming a flood of tissue, and its neural web thickened immensely, projecting its influence a short distance away from its bulk. Vorinus could even detect primitive sentience stirring within its network. Simple thoughts, but still self-awareness. Vorinus reached out as it heard the Flesh speak.

{WHAT…AM…I?}

“You are mine.”

{WHAT…ARE…YOU?}

“I am your Master.”

{HOW…SERVE…YOU?}

“Guard. Kill intruders.”

{I…UNDERSTAND…MASTER}

With that done, Vorinus guided the Flesh to it’s new home, a humid, massive cavern covered in carefully nurtured tumors, ones that Vorinus regarded as rather artful. It seemed quite happy to squelch around the chamber, repeating Vorinus’ instructions over and over.

Vorinus noticed some adventurers sneaking in, similar to the irritating robed figure. Tiredly, I watched as the figures began to breeze through my floors, briefly pausing in the kelp room, before one with a dark red headband made a violent gesture and a burst of fire consumed the prisoners and idols in seconds. Vorinus sighed mentally.

This time, the blue headband took the lead, though the entire group froze in awe as the Kelp Argentdrake slithered toward them, roaring loudly. However, the blue headband recovered quickly, and made a sweeping gesture. Water rose from the pool, and restrained the thrashing Boss. Finally, the black headband made a series of cutting gestures, as black shadows rose from the ground, slashing the poor creature. It died after three strikes.

They grabbed the loot that dropped, before racing to the Wurm’s room, and another figure, this time with a yellow headband made a circular motion, and a ray of blinding light caused the beast to flinch, allowing the black headband to perform their methodical cutting. The red headband joined in, but the Wurm was able to tear the arm off the blue headband before they could act.

After the Wurm died, the group stopped, but seemed to use their hands to communicate. The blue headband’s gestures were frantic, but the rest seemed to decide to leave them behind. Dejected, they slunk out, after conjuring a ‘bandage’ of water to stop the bleeding. The rest pressed on.

However, when the figures encountered the submerged caverns, they shifted awkwardly, probably wishing they had kept the blue headband around. The group made several frustrated and finally stormed out.

Vorinus ‘smirked’, and waited for the day to actually begin for the adventurers.

A few hours later, the first official group strolled in, steamrolling the early rooms as they reached the Kelp Prisoners. Instantly, their smug and casual stance changed as they entered the more challenging section of the dungeon. One, with a horned helmet and strange glowing axe, took the lead, eyes darting from thicket to thicket of kelp.

When the Prisoners leapt at him, his axe was already moving, shredding the kelp strands of their bodies with a single sweeping arc. The rest moved forward as the axe-wielder took a steadying breath. Another of those blasted robed figures sprinted into the next room, grappling with the Argentdrake as they pierced its head over and over with a serrated dagger. The axe-wielder stepped up to help again, chopping the mob in half. Vorinus hissed.

When the group came across the Wurm, everyone pitched in. The figure kept its attention by stabbing it in its underbelly occasionally, the axe-wielder did actual damage with his strange axe that seemed to pass right through the creature’s protection, an archer shot volleys of toxin arrows into the rapidly widening gaps in the Wurm’s armor, and a white-robed bald woman with a golden staff seemed to infuse the rest with a energetic fervor.

At last, the Wurm died, and the adventurers claimed the loot. After a quiet discussion, the bald woman raised her staff and an air bubble coalesced around the party’s heads. They dived into the part of the dungeon none but Vorinus itself had been. Besides the mobs, anyway.

Instantly, Slarn raced towards the party, causing them to flinch as it opened its mouth disturbingly wide. The axe-wielder managed to slowly bring his axe through the water, just barely knocking the beast onto the figure’s waiting knife. The party shared a grim look, and pressed deeper.

More and more Slarn started to tire out the party when they at least reached the Kelp Prisoners. Compared to their performance above, the adventurers were slow to react, and a Prisoner managed to pierce the archer in the chest. Instantly, the bald woman was there to heal the wound, though she seemed even more tired than the rest.

Vorinus needed to take her out.

It directed every remaining Slarn, Prisoner, Shaman, and Rider besides the boss towards the woman, and she was obliterated under the sheer force of the attack. Suddenly, the party’s protection failed, and the archer’s wound returned. Vorinus watched them frantically reach the surface, heaving. It had thought humans had more dignity, but they ran away just the same.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: HUMAN ASCETIC}

Interesting, Vorinus thought. It was hungry for more.