"...The monster nests, sometimes called 'dungeons' by the explorers, pose a significant threat because of the creatures nurtured by dense mana.

The monsters residing in them not only multiply quickly but also absorb ambient mana in various ways, evolving and becoming stronger.

Fortunately, though, the 'masters' of the nests change often, with various monsters vying for control. However, if a monster manages to remain long enough unchallenged, its strength will outgrow all possible competitors.

Such monsters, often ironically called 'monster bosses' pose a significant threat to nearby settlements and are the reason for monster nests being a danger.

Slaying the 'boss' however, is highly rewarding due to..."

-A page from 'Mana, Monsters and Nests' by Joseph Larring, 35 AA

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The whole 'invasion' fiasco left Lan with a lot of things to consider.

First, his domain was all too vulnerable to external factors. If a strong enough invader appeared, then they could simply slaughter all his connected creatures, or simply avoid them, descending down unimpeded.

If the target was his Core, which for now remained concealed, then he would be even more doomed.

Also, if the world he was in had sapient species, mostly likely humans, then they could probably raze his entire domain to the ground, or regularly sweep out all strong creatures, cutting off his mental mana supply.

All this required Lan to seriously reconsider the structure of his domain.

The first thing that came to the Core's mind was to make some sort of barrier during descension, but that would block his creatures from going down too.

Then, after some thought, a feasible idea slowly took shape. Each chamber or floor must have its' own 'guardian', the strongest creature on the floor.

The guardian would occupy the only path of descension, not letting an invader to just breeze through ignoring everything, it would present a challenge.

It would not mind the small rodents, insects, or beings of similar strength from going further down, as they would be beneath its' notice, and required to support the ecosystem down below.

At the same time, the guardian would stop all beings above a certain mana threshold. It would battle them, stopping the descender, or dying in the process.

Although considering the whole 'kill or be killed', it would be favorable for the guardian to possess a whole mana body, in order for it to be theoretically possible to respawn it.

Lan stopped this thought process, as he hadn't even tested the whole 'respawn mechanic' yet. And to test it, he needed to find a mana-bodied creature. So, he quickly swept his 'gaze' through the domain.

At the bottommost layer, the first floor, the only notable inhabitant was the previously intruding cougar. It hid away in the further reaches of the floor, licking its' wounds.

Curiously enough, it lay near a wall that was closest to Lan's Core.

Yes, the first floor was deep enough to be on the same level as Lan's Core, 300 meters below the ground, but still not yet connected. While Lan could connect to the rest of his underground domain right now, the recent intruder made him apprehensive about exposing a potential weakness.

Examining the intruder in question though, Lan was surprised.

First of all, with the help of ambient neutral mana, the wounds of the big cat were healing rapidly. Second of all, the amounts of mental mana radiating off of it were the greatest compared to the rest of his creatures, signifying great intelligence.

'Wait... If it is so powerful and smart, wouldn't it make a perfect guardian for the floor? A perfect guardian for... Me?'

This thought prompted the thrilled Core to try and establish a mental link with it, immediately attempting so.

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The process however differed greatly from the one with unintelligent animals.

When the mental mana surged, the cougar flinched, seemingly disturbed. When the connection was being established, Lan could feel feelings of fear and unwillingness. And soon, like a thread stretched to the limit, it snapped.

'...Well, this didn't work how I thought it would.'

Lan tried several more times, each try yielding the same, perhaps even worse results, the feline growing startled and wary, not seeing the attacker, but being on guard nonetheless.

'Not going to work this way I guess... How do I make it work then?'

Lan began digging through his memories, trying to find a solution or a clue to it. After some time he remembered something promising.

When he controlled the herd of deer to go into the freshly dug entrance to the underground domain, he transmitted to them the feeling of home and safety, as he didn't possess absolute control over them. Maybe the same approach was needed in this situation as well.

But, the cougar was no peaceful herbivore, so its' desires would obviously be different.

'Now think... What would an overgrown cat want? Food to catch, a comfy place to laze around in, someone to lord over (usually humans). While he didn't have any sapient species to speak of in his domain, Lan did possess plenty of prey animals and he could build a nice place.

Having established the plan, he executed it.

Again the Core weaved a thread of mental mana toward the predator, not forcefully but slowly. This one, however, transmitted images and feelings instead of mere domination.

--------------------------(POV switch)--------------------------

The Huntress felt the foreign presence again. She felt it before, trying to dig into her head, open it, take control. She couldn't see it, she couldn't hunt and kill it, but she felt it.

She hated that, she was born to hunt, she was born to be free, and she would never be bound.

This time though, was different.

As the Huntress prepared to resist and expel it from her mind again, what she felt was not a heavy force, but a careful touch upon her mind.

A series of images flashed through her head.

In one of them, she was running among the greenery, chasing down various prey, stalking them, hunting them.

In others, she could be seen lying on a nest that she felt was softer than the fur of her mother, basking in the warmth of the sun.

She could see herself standing proudly, all unworthy prey trembling and running away at the mere sight of her, and other hunters could only bow their heads in respect.

The Huntress... Liked that.

She liked what she saw, a life of hunt, domination... And a little bit of comfort never hurt anyone.

All of those images gathered in her mind, and then transformed into another one, accompanied by sounds which she could understand the intent of.

The Huntress could see herself standing before... A crystal, one of teal-green color. She understood how various mana flowed from it, shaping the lands into the promised hunting grounds.

She understood the conveyed intent, the intent of the Core.

'Protect... Me... Recieve... The promised reward.'

The Huntress understood. She pondered as much as she could with her still limited mind. She came to a conclusion soon enough.

She will protect the Master of The Hunting Grounds.

--------------------------(POV change to Lan)--------------------------

As he conveyed the various images, feelings, and words filled with intent, Lan realized something.

'...It's kinda weird that the first living being I'm having a conversation with after being sort of reborn is a big cat.'

Although, this was less of a conversation and more of a negotiation. Lan hoped to get a boss for the floor and himself, the cougar had its' own needs as well.

Fortunately, though, the negotiations didn't fall through and no war was declared, the cat agreed to the conditions.

As Lan sighed in relief, the connection was finally established. But, it was different.

If the previous amounts of information received from the connected ones were like a sheet of paper, then the cougar was like a thin book.

While it was not overwhelming, the amount differed greatly.

The simple animals held simple instincts. The Steelhorns and the Lightning Horn could plan actions without stimuli.

The feline however had damn near coherent thoughts, just short of forming words, being more like intentions for now.

And this connection had two-sided communication, apparently, because the big cat also sent Lan its- no, her own messages.

First of all, Lan learned that she referred to herself as 'The Huntress', and she made a name for himself too, one which made him cringe a little.

'...Master of the Hunting Grounds?.. I can feel my inner weeb senses tingling.'

But still, she was the closest to a sapient creature he now had in his domain. Having someone to talk to is nice.

However, with the amounts of mental mana being radiated off of her, a long-forgotten problem became apparent.

The mental mana did not transmit through the ground that well. That was the whole reason he even began the undergound domain at first.

As all mental mana was absorbed by the Core, it first deftly flew through the various tunnels and chambers, losing close to no 'mass', however, a chunk was lost passing through the final wall separating the Floor from the Core.

Lan was reluctant to take down that last barrier, as that would fully reveal himself to the world, possibly endangering himself.

But, in the end, Lan convinced himself.

'...I can't hide forever. If I am to have such grand ambitions as to create an underground world, I can't just chicken out, right? Besides, I have a guardian of my own now, don't I?'

As he 'glanced' at the Huntress, she seemingly feeling his attention, glanced back at him.

Reaffirming his will, he slowly started making the tunnel from the first Floor to his small Core Chamber.

And, as soon as the final barrier disappeared, things happened.