Digging wasn't something the Core ever thought it would have so much trouble doing. The first few minutes of doing it had been quite easy after all, so there might have been some part of the Entity that had grown over-confident again, taking larger swaths of material from the middle of the room. That might also have been why the entire floor nearly caved in on itself.

As luck would have it, there were a lot of smaller air pockets on the floor. Very few were oxygen or nitrogen, being close to a mix of methane and other small things. Nothing too serious on its own. It was only the quantity that made it hard to get through. The very middle of the Core’s domain was one of the few places where this gas hadn't ruined the underground, making the area a weight-bearing place. This meant that after those first minutes of digging, things started to… shake a small bit. Not enough for any starting pains or anything. Things just bent at weird angles as the stone fell down a few centimetres to readjust to a small air pocket needing to be filled. Yet when those pockets numbered in the thousands, chaos soon regained all across the area.

The Core should really have seen that one coming. A good number of the gasses had already been within its sights from start, being more than enough of a starting warning about the dangers surrounding the idea of digging into the very place that didn't have them. No issues about cave-ins would be had if it had just went on the far edges instead of the middle but the Core just had to demand symmetry. Yet… there was no need to truly get angry at itself. Mistakes happened no matter what, and the place where the weight was being lifted could have been anywhere. It had just gotten unlucky, not able to see a few openings as dire warnings about the danger. Hindsight had the best vision, yet it simply failed to give the same to the future. The Entity did not appreciate that fact, but it wasn't like it could change things like that yet. Already knowing the following events just made it too easy to figure out the causes. The future didn’t have that advantage; it being in a state of constant unknown, more being revealed with time, yet even more possibilities growing with that information. It was a game of catch-up that would never truly work together.

Having to fill in all the places with gas had been a hard task, made even harder by the constant need to repair the ever-widening cracks on the floor. While it could handle both things, it had quite annoyed the Entity. Yet that did not matter in the end, annoyance likely being the sole cause of delays to begin with. Moving on and digging further down, an area became formed. Or the tunnel down to it, at the very least. From the plans created, the roof would need to be four meters away from the ground, further requiring it to have some extra space for hidden objects. That meant a minimum of six or seven meters straight down. And going at such an angle was truly possible since the ants needed to move up and down the tunnel with ease. While the creatures had some capability in scaling harsh angles, their larger bodies made it impossible on anything over seventy. So… sixty-five degrees were used instead. At least with the upper parts, since the bottom became more of an abrupt slope.

But making more than the tunnel down was quite impossible at the current moment. One thing standing in the way. And… that would be the panels put in place to contain the Mana from oozing out. The Entity had not made the panels intending to move them around so soon, yet it was clearer and clearer that this was needed to sustain growth. However… simply removing a path of them would create that Mana already built up throughout the last day being lost instantly. Instead, the Core had to build panels in place outside of the sphere already made to prepare for opening up more. And… that was quite the hard thing to do just yet since there wasn't any room dug out anyway. But to dig it out by hand, the Core would need access to it already.

… That felt very annoying to handle, to where it was borderline impossible without help. The Core was still very limited in its ways, no matter what it liked to think. While the panels of Mana had helped over time, there was still a limit to the expansions made. It couldn't be done by the Entity itself, meaning that it had to depend on the [Giant-Ants] in its repertoire. Luckily for the Core, those creatures were known for their larger capabilities in digging, their mandibles just about made for the task.

So… with the tunnel down to its maximum limit, the Core began on making sure that the creatures could work without fear of destroying the Panels already in place. Making a quick outline of where the tunnel needed to continue to, the panel in place was changed to one which didn't tether to its immediate material, instead of using the tethers of the panels beside it. This was further reinforced through an increased density and double-layering while also making sure that Mana could pass through easily. Only to the inside, however. None would get out without the Core’s direct permission.

Then came the point where the creatures were called in. Instead of making all seven remaining creatures get down to dig, two of the larger creatures were set to the task. All others were already busy tending to the [Moss] or being the fuel for the plant's variant’s growth. Having one level four and one level three busy themselves with digging through the solid stone for a few hours would do nothing but help the group.

But that did somewhat put a hamper on what could be done in the meanwhile. Even if a tether of Mana was given to each of the creatures, them then being given a constant does of Stamina so they could continually use the [Bite] skill to dig, it would still take a larger amount of time before the Panels could start being installed. Or, the Core supposed, it could help the process by splitting up the new room into different densities of Mana in the air. It would require making some rather wide Panels yet letting them be temporary for some time would allow for expansion to be much faster. Yes, it still wouldn't come close to the speed hoped for, yet it would still be swifter than the method before.

Deciding to use that strategy when the time came for it to be usable, the Core moved on to another problem in the meanwhile. The first second of the new room still had to be dug out and two strong ants digging out over twenty-five cubic meters was still going to take some time. Though… the Core could always put in a few more ants when the space allowed for it. While digging the tunnel itself, there wasn't much space where the ant could truly stand, the path being meant for a single file with the larger creatures, to begin with. Even thinking about making three ants dig at the same time would be the way to see a decrease in efficiency that the Core wouldn't even try and think about.

Instead, there was Mana not coming through the entrance properly. While manually boosting Mana-Regeneration, it was becoming more and more clear that the Mana sent in didn't keep up with the amount being used. This created bottlenecks on the speed that really didn't need to be there while also making it hard for the Core to work in peace. It could do it all better, faster, harder, and stronger yet the lack of Mana being sent in was creating a problem meant only for those who already had plenty. The Core didn't have enough at all.

Making the entrance itself be more open towards Mana was quite impossible, other consequences being met because of it. The Core had already been ordered to let in Mana from one side, which it was perfectly happy with doing. However, moving a smaller density of Mana through another by force made it all.. slow down proportionally to the difference of mass. Since the original entrance likely held the highest density ever seen in anything that the Core had wielded before, it was likely that the Mana from outside wouldn't be able to move that quickly at all.

This could technically be fixed by making the command to hasten the entry of Mana, yet that was just another problem ahead. Hastening movement cost energy, after all, which translated to the barrier slowly decreasing in density over time. That caused the whole thing to stop being independent, instead requiring time maintenance to work. And the gain wasn't even that much better, to begin with, the difference between the two methods nearly being nothing when the costs, later on, were taken into the equation. The loss due to slow speeds was just delayed in its presence rather than showing up instantly. And while the Core could see potential in that loaning of energy, it didn’t think it a good idea to decrease density at an actual level.

That was mainly because of the tethers perhaps detecting if such a chance ever happening but also because of the already enormous pressure put on the panel. If it was to decrease in strength, there was always the chance of it simply… breaking. Nothing could be done about it if the density was lowered below the breaking point. While trying to lower it just above that level would technically increase the flow of Mana going inside as well, the Core thought it obvious that it was a bad idea. Any increases in density inside the very domain would be able t cause destruction by that point and that chance just became direr and direr the longer the Entity thought about it.

No… changes to the structure were just what the Core didn't need. There were other solutions able to fix the issue of Mana not going through the single entrance that didn't involve changing the entrance at all. And, yes, that sounded quite peculiar but that didn't mean it was untrue. The Core held ideas that would work with time. It just came with some… new ideas.

On the back of the cavern, toward where the supposed way to the surface lay, the wall to the top was quite large, coming in at an astounding seven full meters. It was quite the achievement, though the Core believed the height to grow even more in that direction. But anything beyond that didn't matter too much, the Entity only wanting to focus on a few minor details surrounding it. The first was the fact that the Queen had no access to it without going through the Core’s domain, making that path almost entirely safe from every intrusion. The other point was that the ceiling was so high up that any openings made at that height wouldn't even be noticed. Which begged the question of why the Core had not exploited that fact yet?

Why had it not created a couple of longer openings just below the ceiling? They would be made thin, less than half a meter in height, but along the ceiling to create an area where the air could move in with no problems. The Core supposed it had just never gotten the time needed to think about it before. Yet that time had come now and it would try to use it to the best of its abilities.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

This did, of course, mean that it would be checking for any weight-bearing signs first, not wanting to destroy some piece of the wall that had the potential of removing the entire ceiling upon its manipulation. But, none were to be found, luckily enough. Having the wall be created by hand only recently allowed it to be less vital in the cave’s overall structure. The Core most certainly hoped that fact to remain standing further into its life since it would most certainly use similar techniques in the future.

However, with the Entity checking for weaknesses in the plan and finding none, the plan was a go. Doing just like it had done down below, the Panels alongside the ceiling were strengthened with an increase of density being almost double what it had been before. No chances were being taken, after all. And with that completed, the actual excavation began anew, the actual process of doing so taking less than ten seconds. With all the [Willpower] gained recently, there were no hardships felt in putting a larger pressure on the Mana. The Core only hoped that such a growth in ability would continue through more time. There were still some points that showed hardship. But this? This was easy.

Emptying the room of Mana quickly enough, the Core already having used a lot of what it had in its reserves to strengthen various Panels around the room, the Entity was happy to find that things seemed to work just fine. There were issues at some of the panels connecting, which allowed a very minor amount of Mana to seep out, but that was fixed within a moment of it being found. No decompression was allowed at the current time, for it would not benefit anybody at all.

Everything else seemed fine, however. Mana and air came back within a few moments of it being emptied, the [Moss] shown some minor movement from the regained requirement of growth. Even the ants seemed pleased by it, though that might also have been due to the larger amount of momentary deprivation. There was no way to tell since the Core refused to listen to either way. But, enough thought about such things. The current method was working fine, the air was getting through perfectly, and the Core could take more than it would even need.

There was a good chance that more openings would be needed later on but more would be created no matter what. The new entrance being made was proof that the open panel needed for that one likely provided more than a small bit of energy to the Core. It would be glorious when it was finished.

Getting a more in-depth look at how the [Giant-Ants] were doing down in the tunnel, the Core was surprised to find that they were done with that part. Now, they had started to move onto the room itself, taking the thing layer by layer. The first two meters of the first section were done before anything else. It was five meters to one side, five more to the next, and then seven meters in full height. That was section one of three. It was truly a massive project, one made even bigger by the fact that a seventy-meter long tunnel had to be created as well by the end, else the room wouldn't even matter that much. Yet, with how much had already been dug out, the Core thought it a fine time to move another one of the level three ants down there, letting the productivity increase by fifty whole percent. Looking at the [Moss] again, two full hours had passed now.

Twenty-two remained until they would reach the domain again. If the new room wasn't ready by then, the Core was afraid it would have to make the creatures wait outside until it was. And that then brought its issues along, Mana-Deprivation having a good chance of hitting hard. Yet that would hardly even matter, the idea of helping them fight the consequences being just as futile since it would allow Black Mana to grow and consume the creatures. If things got too long, without there being any way of them getting in after twelve hours overtime, the Core was afraid it would just have to kill them, not wanting to take the risk of allowing them entry without a thorough check-in a location away from the other creatures.

…

Thoughts like that, focused around the consequences of not working hard enough, was a part of why the Core knew it needed to shut up and start moving. Thinking about what happened brought nothing but anxiety. Doing something to fix it caused determination to flow. And that desire to fulfil the schedules, to make sure everything worked without flaw? It was fulfilling. It was greater than most, the instinctual desire to build and create and make a landscape of infinite complexity was the greatest emotion ever felt. The Core did not mind if that was a part of its instincts. It was better than most of the other ones. Though, the crackling in its mind whenever it tried to think too deeply was quite annoying.

With time, it truly did need to learn to control that changeover… Wait, the last crackle didn't make sense. It hadn't thought about anything related to the subject-that-didn’t-need-to-be-named. Was it not realizing what was truly being thought? How could it not have been realized? That must be a single… no, it wasn't being destroyed over time. And its thoughts felt weird. The Core could feel something moving inside, could feel it not working like it was meant to be-

“What are you reading?” a voice was heard saying from behind the Core vision. Which was weird since it could see everything in its domain. Yet… the Entity turned nonetheless. And it saw a face.

“A book,” came out of the Core’s mouth before it even realised it had one. It tried to turn its… hand over to the vocal organ yet found it hard to move. “Where am I?”

“You are where you were always meant to be.”

To be. The Core was meant to be a Core. It was a Core. It was not anything else. Turning its… head back towards the sight of the Entity’s domain, there was an attempt to forget what had just been felt. A face. A face with a smile. A face with a smile that dug deep into his- its throat, even though it didn't have such a thing. It was a crystalline ball, after all, able to do nothing but sit in a hole like it had always done. It had never been anything else, after all. Never had a body, never had a mouth, and never had fingers able to read a book. Because that made no sense at all and was therefore ignored.

Not thinking about anything related to that, the Core could feel the crackling dying down. Its mind was once again at peace. Worries about the ant-queen were back in full and reality had settled once again. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing to fear. Everything was as it was meant to be.

The room below had grown in the span of… three hours now. A whole hour had passed by without the Core’s notice. How peculiar. Not thinking much of it, the Entity instead focused on how the new installation was looking to be. The first part of the first section seemed to be looking finer with every second, the walls becoming smooth and the ants digging it away hard. Stone was gathered and brought to the inside of the Core’s domain, allowing it to turn it into Maana. That process had been going on for a while now, the Entity not even noticing it was doing it. Even weirder a thing to try out, it supposed. Sometimes things just didn't make as much sense as they wanted it to, the Core supposed. It was no matter, things still looked grand.

Another ant was sent down into the hole to work on the new room. It was given a tether a well so the progress could be observed from a new perspective. As had become more obvious through time, the ants weren't operating within the COre’s domain anymore. That meant that the luxuries of seeing all sudden wasn't present anymore to the same degree. The tethers put onto the creatures, however, were still working just fine. But not perfectly, however. Some parts of the Mana sent into the tethers fell out with time, going into the air around it. This was fixed while the tether was still within the Core’s domain, but the Entity was helpless when it came to doing that outside of its influence

Yet, it was also not the biggest loss in the world. Each tether granted the Core about a radius of constant vision around the longer tubes. Which… wasn't that bad if it was being entirely honest. The ability to see how the work was being done was quite the gift to have, and most certainly a good one when the Core hadn't yet been able to expand to see it in more detail. Some points were blind spots though, the three ants currently down there being able to be everywhere at once. Which was perfectly fine and all. The Core only hoped that it could see a bit more. Which was where the fourth ant came into the picture. The remaining space available in the new room being cut out was perfect for the last of the level three ants in its possession. With its help, the speed increased by a larger amount, it being set to the task of moving over the dug out stone. The Core even made it a smaller basket of Physical Arcane to carry around, it making it possible to gather more in less time. And with the arcane not requiring upkeep of any kind, it could even be used outside of the Core’s influence. Though… it did help that the Core could still have a look at it now and then, just to make sure it didn't need to be reinforced anymore. The newer abilities of [Mana-Sense] in terms of depth-vision allowed the Entity to see very small cracks in the Arcane. It seemed that the smallest ones could be had in larger amounts before it cracked, it only being the normal-sized ones that caused trouble. But those smaller ones could be cumulative as well, making it possible for the Arcane to be destroyed by weight it could technically hold indefinitely.

The Core supposed it was the [System]’s way of balancing it out, lest Physical Arcane would likely be floating around in the air at all moments, much created but never really bothered with after that. The Entity could have certainly thought of ways to annoy the enemy by creating thousands of pieces of Physical Aracne and filling up entire caves with them. It would be easy to destroy as ingle of them but the next ten thousand standing in one’s way would require quite a bit of time to give the same treatment.

Those ideas were useless now, though, the weaknesses found. Which was why it was still good to have the basket within sight every now and then since it allowed the Core to make sure there weren't any chances of it just falling apart at a random moment. It would certainly just create a mess best left for a time where it wouldn't matter. Which was the stressing part of it all. It most certainly did matter at the current moment. Time was running out faster than the Entity liked. They were already halfway through the fourth hour. Soon, only twenty more would remain.

Going away from the digging of the room, there were still things above that needed tending to. The remaining ants not made to feed the [Blood-Moss] were having quite the run of their lives, making sure that all the easy-to-get-to Moss was being tended to properly. Every few meters, some moisture was in the wrong levels, being either too high or too low or just made so terribly that it couldn't possibly be allowed to co-exist with the others. The Core did routinely wonder where that supposed imbalance came from. The changes normally seen was the ant’s themselves working, yet their actions were supposedly done to redo the correct balance. Was a time the reason behind the faults? Or the Entity supposed that the air could be the right reason, it had plenty of moisture coming in and out. And since a large amount of it was not constantly pushed onto the Moss, the Core supposed it could be the reason for the extra levels of stress seen.

No more time was allowed to ponder something like that, more important things taking hand, that being the other variant of Moss within the Core’s Domain. The [Blood-Moss] had been growing nicely as of late, plenty of increase in size since the Core had last paid attention to the mass. There had certainly been some amount of change in the distance it now spanned away from the walls, the ditches filled with the deadly plant. With time or even just a few hours more, it could perhaps cover two meters more into the rest of the place. And while more would perhaps be great to have, the Entity instead decided that the excess Moss would be used for… something different. As the thought of before, the new room below needed some [Blood-Moss] for its defences, to the point where the Core desired the covering of the entire ground on the first section along with the start of the tunnel up into the main room. It would be glorious and there was almost nothing stopping those ideas from working without issue. Or, well, nothing except for the fact that it would take a full week at the current rate to grow enough [Blood-Moss] to cover the size desired. It was a small issue overall when compared to the different levels of issues felt in other places, yet the Core still felt some small trifle with what was happening with the defences. The moss itself was more a precaution for the chance that enemies would first find the new entrance and then breakthrough four literal tons of stone while avoiding being crushed by just as large a weight. But, it was still a nice addition to the protections that the Core felt was necessary for its own sense of safety.

But for that, some extra changes needed to be made. And the Entity had just a few ideas.