"When you return with your catch, you'll have to bring it to the scanning structure. I haven't built it yet because I don't know where I should place it - the node room of the fourth floor would have the advantage of being near to the entrances and the disadvantage that the adventurers could reach it early and connect it to a shrine of Pilia and that would be bad."

"Oh mighty core, why is that a problem? Do we have to prepare for a holy assault by the gods? I thought you have the favor of Bareen?"

"No, naga, I don't have anything against the gods..."

A quiet muttering is heard from the desk where Gunny sits "but if we find something that works against them, we'll tell you."

"... and yes, I am in Favour of Bareen - in fact I work for her as she has given me important quests. The problem is how the surfacers use the aspects of some gods to make controlling dungeons easier for them. I have some ideas how to prevent that, but those ideas take time to implement. That's why I don't want a shrine to Pilia to be made on my first floor."

"Then why don't you build a shrine to Bareen on the floor? Even we naga sometimes pray to Bareen in her aspect as a healer for our children."

"Unfortunately I can't do anything like that, only a priest can consecrate a shrine to his or her god or goddess. As a dungeon core that is completely outside my options."

"Not so fast General, don't dismiss that idea yet - humans are creatures of habit after all. What if we paint some symbols of Bareen into the free room and you use your request to have Her confirm them. I doubt that any priest would want to create a temple for a different God there - not unless those gods are opposed to each other."

"Worth a try Gunny - but you'll have to do it because you're the contracted living being here. All dungeon spawns would be similiarly constricted as me. But if the naga want to pray to Bareen - I think I'll enlarge the room that ends on the other side of the temple-to-be-wall. It's not the same as going into the true shrine, but you'll be nearer to that true shrine if you want to pray."

"OK, next point - when the teams return from scouting everyone will have to take a place on the fourth floor as a defender. I don't like to use people as cannon fodder and I'll replace you and move you down as fast as possible, but at the beginning I simply don't have a choice. That is another reason why animals capable of fighting are a target of the scouting."

"Oh mighty core" comes from the lizardman-spawn "we have no problems with giving our lives for the one who created us."

"Perhaps not, but that is how the system wired spawns and their cores. It is not something I approve of and I will try to make it better in this dungeon."

"Then that rumor I heard might be true? you really want to bestow each of us the honor of a name?"

"Long-term, yes. I just don't have the mana to start that way. But I want all my sapient spawns and their children both named and be given class-cores. Unfortunately even a [Limited]-rank class core costs 500 mana to create, and I can't even spare the naming cost yet. But after the scout teams return I'll start the naming for the first few, beginning with the more successful ones. Just don't let that go to your head - you can't be named if you're dead, so don't take unneccessary risks during the scout mission."

"Another question, General: What exactly are the effects of LifeForce Poisoning? If it is something minor we might be able to handle it if that means you can use more mana before opening - especially if the effects drop quickly enough on opening."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Good Question - Booble?"

"OK, I think we can handle a single stage if we do nothing - two stages would mean no way to replenish mana and be useless. So one day before opening the General can use up to 39 mana and that would require him to rest for 36 hours to get that power back. And we wouldn't be able to do anything while we wait, because we wouldn't be able to heal until later. How much later, Booble?"

"OK, if no one has any other question then that would be it."

"Meeting dismissed"

...

For several days, everyone continued with their work. The core by slowly exvacating the rest of the floors four to six and putting some refinements to the hidden areas on floors one to three, the gunny by training with the six spawns and trying to teach them tactics and what to do.

But the training didn't go as the gunny expected, and finally he goes to the core in his frustration.

"General, can you explain something to me? I tried to improve our chances by training with the others, and it doesn't work. Not only can't they understand what I'm trying to tell them - today they have even forgotten tactics they used yesterday."

"Oops, sorry gunny - I was occupied with designing additional floors in the floor crystals. Otherwise I would have explained it to you."

"It's the reason why everyone wants to gain class-cores instead of the spawn-cores they currently have. Spawn-cores can't handle experience, instead they automatically adjust levels according to floor number. That is why all spawns like to wander lower if they can - they become stronger and better if they do. But if they move up in the floors they become weaker again."

"A class core on the other hand doesn't increase by changing floors, it increases by experience and training - and keeps that experience even when going up. Your last training was in one of the higher floors than your previous ones, that's why they suddenly were weaker."

"However that also means that you should train on the first floor only - since that is the floor when they leave, they will all be at that level. And I'll better assign two silver foxes as some form of bodyguards to every naga or lizardman that I send out."

"That's not good, sir - any chance we can get something better for the missions?"

"Not really - theoretically I still have the new scout charge I gained from the rank-up, but sending that out would not guarantee a result and I'm still low on DP. I want to save that charge as long as possible, perhaps even use it for spying instead of searching for templates."

"I might be able to improve one or two of them by declaring them bosses, but that would bind them to the defense of the fifth or sixth floor - an almost certain death sentence later when the adventurers come in, because I won't be able to unbind them for several months."

"You still might have to do that General - they are soldiers and would volunteer, and we both know there will be losses on the way. And this might make the difference between loosing one volunteer or loosing two or three regulars, perhaps even the mission."

"With the way the system has created the minds of spawn that isn't really volunteering, but I have to agree that it would be helpfull to have a stronger boss or two. By the way - I'm finally on level 12 and gained the skill Node Improvement. I would like you to go to floor 4 and use the node to create a lot of lake water. It will flow down into the basins, and every bit that you create by node will be less mana from me to fill everything up."

Four Months later

"OK, everyone in position and ready? The silver fox scouts will sprint out first to form a perimeter around the transfer gate for three points, the first gate however will be handled by the naga alone. After the foxes, everyone goes through and splits up on the other side of the gate - don't block your fellows by standing and gaping in the middle of the gateway."

"Aaaand GO!"