I had decided that I was going to allow the ants to dig out their own colony and then I was going to carve out my own portion, being the actual dungeon. Of course, I am going to keep the majority of the actual colony inaccessible to outsiders. I don't want them to be getting close to the young or the food stockpiles and I will likely keep myself away from Cardinal's chambers whenever she eventually moves them. I need to be able to get from my sanctum to the courtyard relatively quickly in my avatar and if I am with Cardinal in the generally inaccessible portions of the colony then I won't be able to defend myself very well.

The area I do keep readily accessible to outsiders will be in a more traditional dungeon-esque atmosphere from what games I can remember, dimly lit, sharp blind corners, traps, and a few ant sized tunnels into the colony structure to allow my guardians to enter and exit quickly. The biggest goal for the dungeon however is that I am planning on having my sanctum in the center of the mountain behind my domain and the colony itself is going to live around my dungeon-esc cut out like an organic tangle of chambers and roots filling out the inside of the mountain. I will also be building more regular sized stone trees for the ants to build an external hive over the rocky slopes but the only stick in the proverbial spokes here is going to be extending my domain over the whole mountain. I currently hold less than a quarter of the slope down here so I will have to wait for the ants to claim it for me.

I plan on leaving the big tree where it stands because it will provide a decent amount of protection for my courtyard and entrance... And I really don't want to move it with how long it took to make, not to mention the heights I had to float. This leads me to the final part of my rough draft for this plan, I am going to have the giant stone redwoods in a star around the foot of the mountain. The one that is already built will be the top point of the star, and the as of yet to be built four will be the other four respective points of said star, providing a healthy amount of protection from basically all sides other than the direct opposite of my dungeon from the mountain.

And I mean, there is going to be an entire mountain of pissed off ants that someone will have to trudge over if they want to get to me from the far side, not to mention the tree just above the entrance and the actual dungeon interior. I think this defense should be able to deal with most enemy formations in this world. As far as I know, it's just infantry really, and probably cavalry.

Then again this place has magic so there could be something as absurd as a magic-powered APC but I guess I’ll have to find that out as I go and if that is the case then I get to partake in every field engineer's favorite pastime, improvise with explosives. Of course, that means I need to come up with some explosives to improvise with, I’ll add it to my to-do list along with everything else.

Stepping away from the impromptu map that I have carved into the wall of my sanctum, I call both Cardinal and Onyx to my chambers to discuss my plans with them and have to wait a few minutes for them to finish up whatever they are doing. Enough ants had their second hatching, as Cardinal calls it, while I was creating furnishings for the first couple of rooms that they can take over the vast majority of their duties, aside from hunting at least, there is still a constant need for more food and I have occasionally been providing some, though I am still missing one of the necessary aspects so it’s not as mana efficient as it could be.

My two royals get to my sanctum at the same time and I explain to them my plans for the future of the dungeon, Cardinal seems to agree with me on the decision to bar the majority of the colony from people who would want to plunder the dungeon, although was expectedly less happy about me keeping my sanctum separated from her chambers. After a bit of back and forth, we decided to place the queen’s chambers directly below my sanctum, that way she could stay close to my core.

Onyx also seemed relieved by the small alteration to the layout. Speaking of Onyx he was thrilled over the idea of having more giant stone trees to build on along with the prospect of turning the mountain itself into a giant external Hive but had a few pointers about the tunnel layouts leading to and the number of tunnel entrances into the dungeon, I will probably follow his advice and remap them later. His being a soldier made him much more easily convinced of the task than Cardinal but I was able to bring her around by telling her to start laying as many eggs as our food supplies would support which she seemed elated to hear.

They both scurried off to start doing whatever they do, Cardinal probably laying eggs and Onyx most likely going out to hunt. I float out into my dungeon and check on the fungi gardens. The silk column in the center is about as wide as my thigh and only getting bigger with the aid of other ants joining the firstborn in her struggle, yes it was a her.

I have begun to notice the subtle differences in sexual dimorphism between the worker ants, not nearly as extreme as the king and queen, or with people, but it's there. The males have slightly more squared mandibles, shorter antennae, and their abdomen is thinner. Whereas the females have the opposite, lightly rounded mandibles, longer antennae, and a more full looking abdomen.

The new ants have begun hanging the silk balls of budding fungi from the ceiling on ropes of silk and are forming the skeleton of a silk bridge from the doorway to the center column. Not a single strand is out of place or frayed and there seems to be no wasted silk in their building, very efficient. Back up the short stairs to the main hallway, there is another set of ants digging out the corridor, extending it. They have only been at work a couple of hours and they have already gouged a solid forty feet into the stone. Yeah, I don't think space will be a problem. I absorb a sample of the chemical spray they are using to soften the stone into a consistency like clay and decide to head over to my newly furnished foyer to take another look at my work.

The room is much more livable as opposed to the empty granite space it used to be, on the far wall there is a pair of beds with animal furs for padding and a couple of wardrobes and dressers including an immaculately polished copper mirror. In the middle of the room, a round oak table with six chairs, a brass candelabra holding eight permanently lit black wax candles that don't seem to burn any shorter is on the table bathing the entire space in a flickering yellow light.

On the wall opposite the beds is a small countertop holding wooden plates and bowls and a cupboard set into the wall, where I have a few wooden jars and large ant-wing jugs. The jars are full of mana root tea and the jugs are filled with fresh clean water. Next to the counter sits a triangle shaped indoor fire pit nestled into the corner of the room with raised sides and an iron grill. There is also a spot to place a kettle that is off of the grill so there is more space on it for meat. I cannot wait to use this grill once I respawn.

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

The wall to the left of the cooking area holds a row of hooks anchored deep into the stone where I am hanging my copper cookware and a couple leather bags that house my forks, knives and spoons. And finally below the hooks is a small storage chest where I have a small variety of meats bundled in neat leather parcels and tied shut with hemp twine. They are mostly a test to see if food will spoil while inside the dungeon.

I found a way to attach a grated iron door to the entrance, its hinges don't connect it to the doorframe, instead, it's just a door fused onto a solid iron rod that feeds into a hole in the ceiling and floor leaving a small gap between the door and the doorframe all the way around by about three inches, I think it technically makes it a "gate" instead of a "door".

I removed the hanging cudgel trap since I wasn’t able to get the timing down to swing only when the door was fully open, so I decided to go for passive defense instead of active, adding a simple sliding iron bar that seats into the granite like a deadbolt. I could feel the mana income drop slightly after installing it but not too much, probably because there was still airflow through the door. In the adjacent wall is a small tunnel for the ants to get to the surface unopposed by the door and also clears up traffic on the stairs for me, their tunnel comes out dead center in the courtyard.

The immediate empty room I converted into a storage space. Shelves, and chests, all filled to the brim with basic things like spare cutlery and dishes, cookware along with more packaged meats, a few more jars of tea and some jugs of water. For those who look hard enough, there is a silver necklace with an immaculately cut piece of quartz that almost passes for a large diamond set into the pendant in one of the chests. Gem crafting-I really came in clutch for that particular piece. Needless to say, basically everything solid in the area that I had made had my Celtic designs etched, or embossed into it, not completely covered though, that would have looked awful.

The table had a ring of knots around the lip and the chair's legs and backrests had the matching designs. The pots and pans and even the handles of the cutlery all had small Celtic designs and whatnot, really pulling everything together. The entire room looked like a matching set, even the candles. I get the feeling I will be spending a lot of time here in my avatar, just for the homey lived-in atmosphere. I float back to my sanctum and use discern on my core. The wait has felt longer than it really is and I want to know how much longer I have to suffer through it.

Level 12 Unnamed Rare Dungeon Core — Aspects: Terra II, Ignis II, Vitas III, Mors II, — Mana Volume: 83 of 100 Mana Density: 140 of 150 — Attribute Aether: 0 Attributes: Avatar Form III, Mana II, Metalworking II, Metallurgy I, Gem Crafting I, Alchemy I.— Mastery: Ignis, Vitas, Mors.— Bonded Creatures: 86, Named Creatures 2. 14:53

Fourteen hours and fifty-three minutes. Good god this is taking forever

After taking Mana-II earlier today, I think it was today it might be yesterday now actually, my mana recharge rate has gone up, it's not a whole lot but it’s noticeably on the positive side. If it hadn’t I would probably be in the low sixties or high fifties right now. I decide to go ahead and do some more experiments in my mindspace while I wait, maybe try and figure out how alchemy-I works

Onyx POV

Lord Lance's plan for the layout of the nest was concerning but understandable, I fear that the troops won't be able to enter the parts he refers to as 'the dungeon' fast enough to swarm and protect against an actual invading force, however, The overwhelming strength of our numbers outside should, in theory, more than make up for it. Especially if we could stop the outsiders before they even make it into the depths. I am currently standing at the spire of the stone tree and the view from here is magnificent, the surrounding area is all primarily wooded with occasional clearings out in the distance, a small river is cutting the woods down the middle and there are very few predators in the area to jeopardize the workers.

However, there is a patch of trees that is concerning, on the far side of the river sits a plume of glistening white, a misshapen dome of fibers that encompasses the surrounding trees in a relatively large area, this could be one of three things. The first and most unlikely, is our workers are constructing a satellite nest over the river. Our numbers are still few, about forty strong, and I haven't heard anything from the workers about constructing a new satellite nest. The second possible cause would be a new nest of hive builders, like me, who have recently started their nest in that area, but we only just had our second hatching because of the potent mana within our lord's domain.

If we aren't the only nest of ants with a heart of power in the area that could cause problems down the road for our liege and the colony as a whole. And third, probably the most troublesome and worrying, is we have a large nest of eight-legged devils in the area, the thought of their beady hungry eyes and fangs that can crack carapace sends a twitch through my antenna as I look at them through my ancestral memories. Too many eyes, too many legs, and the proportions are all wrong.

I adjust my wings and prepare for flight as a small gust kicks up and I fly back down to the entrance to the nest so I can go report my theory to Cardinal, and I can feel our lord has just left the dungeon again to do whatever it is he does for hours on end. We can still contact him but only by prodding the connection through our sigil. Making my way into her chambers I address Cardinal.

"My queen." I say in my usual formal tone

"Yes, Onyx?"

"I fear we may have some quite unsavory neighbors across the river, they are just outside our territory."

"Hmm, that sounds like it could be bothersome, is it another colony?" She asks, I can't quite place the tone in her voice.

"I don't believe so, I think that it could be a nest of devils, however, there is also the possibility for it to be a satellite nest from a more established hive-building colony."

"That is rather worrying, I'll keep it in mind for now, but once we have more workers I'll instruct some to fall a tree across the river so we can send some scouts."

"Shouldn't we inform Lord Lance of the possible threat?" I say.

"We will, just not right now while it is still a 'possible' threat. I don't want to worry him over it until we decide to send a scouting party, and I would appreciate it if you don't go behind my abdomen to tell him without me." I still can't place her tone but there is a slight feel of authority behind the final words.

"Of course my queen, my mandibles are sealed."

"I appreciate the loyalty Onyx, now come and rest with me, it's been far too long since either of us has slept with all the bustle. Now that the workers are managing I think we can take a break for an hour or so." I can hear the strain and tiredness in her voice now, that was the tone I couldn't place, exhaustion.

I relent to her wishes as I am also exhausted, I don't think I should sleep, but I will allow myself to take a break for a short while. Cardinal is asleep immediately and has her mandibles resting over mine, perhaps I could sleep for a short moment or two, I think as I feel my antenna wilt and the darkness of our home grows even darker.