Yes, Valterra thought This will do nicely. He sent a feeling of gratitude up to Qual’Dorn as he had with Ile’Fen and then let his gaze drift back to the unfinished fourth floor. He would use the new Framework later but first, he had to prepare the floor properly.
Looking upon the fourth floor the Core realized he still had a slight problem but not one that he couldn’t fix. His new Deeplight Belcher was an omnivore but currently, the only source of meat for them was either cannibalism or the Tidal Whales and he wasn’t sure they would be able to take out one of the Apex predators. So he turned to a Framework that he hadn’t yet used or found a need for.
His Framework for Grass wasn’t much to look at, to be honest, and he hadn’t even glanced at it after he had gained sapience. But now he wondered if he could make use of it after all. It would just require a little tweaking. At this point, the water had risen to about seven feet or so in the top room of the basement and Valterra figured that the rest of the basement must be well and truly flooded by now which was all to the good.
He shut off the weather pattern producing water and instead shifted to earth, producing a rich loam beneath the surface of the water. This took far less time than the water as Valterra could already feel the compact stone of the basement since it was part of his body. Combining those senses with his new magic powers he simply summoned it right on top of the rock letting it settle into place as the water acclimated to the new mineral content.
Now for the final touch. Valterra dove into the Framework for grass and changed a few features. Rather than make a whole new species he simply increased its need for water while removing the need for sunlight and replacing it with Aether. This would have the added effect of causing the plants to light up as they metabolized the Aether content of the water. They would grow along the floor providing shelter for the Deeplight Belchers and acting as a food source for them.
His hope, in only changing it a little bit, was to prevent the loss of the Framework. The multiple paths of Ascension that Ile’Fen had given his mice had shown him that it could be done as long as he didn’t change too much at once causing it to be recognized as a whole new species. As he locked in the changes he breathed a mental sigh of relief as a line branched from the original Framework to form a new one, connected yet distinct.
Instead of feeling the divine presence from last time, Valterra felt the divinity in his Name activate, working to fix hidden errors in his new Dungeon plant.
A new stage on the path of Ascension has been synthesized from an existing Framework! The Framework “Grass” may now be automatically Ascended into the following Framework:
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Deeplight Aether-Grass (Rank F - Copper)
An Ascendant stage of its mundane form, this grass has been genetically modified to grow in water and feed off of Aether which causes it to glow various colors. Rich in nutrients and Aether, this plant has become an excellent food source, acting to bolster the consumer’s Aether conduits by a tiny amount. Due to their Aether content and needs these grasses grow much taller than normal to better sift Aether from the water.
Oh yes, Valterra was pleased. He immediately moved to seed his new underwater room with a carpet of his new grass, using a little Aether to get them to grow faster. Then he waited an hour until his Aether reserves recovered. It took some time and he contemplated moving his Aether Funnel to the center of his new Floor. He could form a giant pillar of stone in the center and create a truly massive funnel that way.
Perhaps a plan for the future. Regardless, I really am getting bigger if I’m thinking of moving already. Valterra thought as he unleashed his newly recovered Aether, both to increase his grass's growth once more and to finally summon his new creation.
Aether flashed in its strange blend of blue, purple, and yellow. Valterra watched in awe as a huge insect began to form. A solid core of Aether appeared first before ethereal cords began to expand from it. Watching closely, he realized that these were the creature’s Aether Conduits expanding outward from the Aether Core. Once the conduits were finished expanding ethereal flesh followed showing the innards of the creature with its special organs before the whole creature was covered in smooth chitin.
The head and legs followed the main portion of the body. Fierce looking mandibles extended from an insectoid head with protected compound eyes set into the skull. Antennae protruded from the top of the skull before curling back behind where they could read the scents and vibrations of the water around them. Its mighty legs came last, great long segments armored in chitin with membranes stretched between the segments.
Once the ethereal Framework was finished Aether flared from Valterra’s Core and, from the inside out, the Aethereal structure came alive. With a sploosh of water, the first living Deeplight Belcher sank into the depths of glowing grass. Valterra followed the creature as he watched it get used to its existence. Whatever instincts Qual’Dorn had included seemed to work perfectly as it wasn’t long before the magnificent insect began to munch contently on some of the grass nearby.
Satisfied, Valterra went about summoning another ten pairs of breeding adults and he commanded them to begin procreating immediately. They were beautiful creatures and they moved just how he had imagined they would, with undulating movements of their leg paddles. They also seemed to like the grass, nipping a few stalks to eat them but also to collect sections to build their underwater nests.
He would let them be for now, let them get used to their new environment before he added the apex predator. With that, the fourth floor was essentially done, lacking only that last thing. It wouldn’t be much longer until it was finished but Valterra pushed himself to be patient. There was a war to fight after all.