When the Core recovered from the flood of new information it got to work, its instincts prodding it forward. With a steady stream of Aether flowing in through its entrance, the Core could begin to expand its influence. Feeling its way subconsciously, it began to expand upward seeking a place where its newest monsters could have a home.
The Core began to shape its second floor, claiming more and more of the inner wooden wall to do so. Inside the wall, a couple feet or so up from the ground, it carved out an alcove for his new creatures to begin their new existence. From that alcove, a small tunnel led in a spiral downward until it reached the rocky foundation where the Core crafted a small opening.
Once the Core finished with the dimensions of its new Floor it poured Aether into the Framework given by its new knowledge. An ant formed but one larger than the one that had intruded. Roughly an inch long this ant had a regal bearing that had been lacking in the one that its mouse had defeated.
The Core did not wonder at this. Its new knowledge told it that this was a queen. It would act like a Core but for ants, giving birth to new ones like the Core birthed the queen. So it simply soothed the new creature with Aether before leaving it with a command to propagate. In the future, the queen would need the help of its drones to propagate but for the first batch of ants, it did not need help just the Core’s Aether.
Another phantom chime sounded in the air and for the first time, the Core had the barest inkling of a thought about what it might be before ignoring it and continuing to work. It expanded some more, both up and down, and found that as it expanded the amount of Aether it needed to draw on to sustain itself was greatly increased.
Soon the Aether was drying up and the Core as simple as it was, knew it needed to fix the issue. Acting on a set of instincts it hadn’t known it had possessed until now The Core began to control the Aether flowing from its entrance, condensing it down. The process of condensing it forced the Aether to flow faster, drawing in a storm of the life-giving substance.
The Core shaped the stone in front of its pedestal and changed it into a large pillar stretching almost to the ceiling. Next, it carved bowls into the pillar, separated by channels between each bowl. Finally, above the first bowl, it formed a tiny stalactite where the storm of condensing Aether was directed.
Gradually but with increasing speed, the Aether became a vapor that further condensed around the stalactite. Ever so slowly a single drop formed and *Plink!*, fell into one of the bowls. Over the next few hours, the stream of Aether flowing into the Dungeon quickened and the storm bottled up around the stalactite condensed faster. Soon, the bowls were filled and a steady stream of liquid Aether was flowing toward the Core’s pedestal where it drew the Aether up like a funnel.
With that taken care of and no longer feeling like it would starve the Core turned back to its dungeon only to be surprised by the goings-on. The first floor was bustling with activity as the six baby mice tussled with each other, playing as the older mouse guarded the now-transformed pedestal.
The Core felt the stirrings of what might have been gratitude at the stalwart nature of its first dungeon monster. Those stirrings faded as it turned its attention outward to its entrance. There had been no further invaders since the carpenter ant had come but the Dungeon’s subconscious wouldn’t let it rest, with an overall feeling of danger accompanying the passage of time.
Its gaze was drawn a few feet above the first floor where the second was filled with new life as twenty eggs lay around the queen's chamber. The queen was tending to them diligently in a way that was profound to the dungeon. The image was imprinted upon its nascent mind as something important and it struggled to process it properly.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
In time the thoughts faded but the image remained and its instincts sought to act upon it. Latching onto the knowledge of the ant and somewhat inspired by its mouse guardian, it began to subconsciously forge a new Stage of Ascension for the humble carpenter ant. Working mostly by instinct the Dungeon Core chose one of the paths already available to it.
The drones had one goal within the Carpenter Ant Framework. They helped the queen propagate the next line of workers and drones before dying. To the Core, that was a colossal waste. It did not need defenders who died without ever defending the Dungeon. So if the Framework prevented the ants from living long enough to defend the Dungeon, then the Dungeon would change the Framework to suit its needs.
This was only possible due to the novelty of using the ants as monsters. Though it did not know it, carpenter ants were not truly monsters nor normally chosen as a Dungeon’s defenders. This meant that the System in charge of Frameworks needed to fashion a brand new Framework for the Dungeon’s specific use.
The humble carpenter ant now had a method of growth that had been denied to it before this moment, tied to the very Dungeon that had chosen to utilize it. This gave the Dungeon the ability to change it as it saw fit, an ability that it put to use now. Within the Framework, using the drone’s current stage of the Path of Ascension, the Core bisected the ant right where its thorax was, turning it into two separate parts. It strengthened those segments and lengthened the front section to be longer. It then sat the head on a thick stocky neck to give it some reach while also lengthening and bulking up the two arms and giving them hands similar to the mice’s paws. It strengthened the lower four legs for stability, reshaping the wings it had before and adjusting them for their new form.
It replayed the fight with the mouse in its mind and gave the barest hint of satisfaction. Now that it could stand on its last four legs and grapple like the mouse perhaps it wouldn’t lose as easily. Its final contributions were to enlarge it slightly and add wicked barbs to the mandibles. Then it imprinted the image of the queen upon the path while also imprinting the image of the steadfast mouse guardian. The two images melded together into an ant standing guard over the queen and the colony.
Exhausted mentally, the Core pulled back and let the knowledge fade away. It heard another phantom chime but ignored it in favor of making sure the new path stuck. Three of the twenty eggs began to glow as the Core watched, absorbing Aether greedily and growing larger to hold the newly improved creature.
The Core didn’t expect to see all of the eggs grow larger and glow. Then the queen followed as Aether continued to flood the tiny room. The queen, after making sure the eggs were all fine, went into the center of them and settled down, glowing steadily with an inner light. The Core, filled with something akin to awe, kept watching until its attention was rudely grabbed by an intruder.
End of Chapter Notifications:
Floor 2 Created!
Warning! Aether Starvation is Imminent! Aether Funnel Formed! Aether Starvation Averted!
Ascendant Variant of the Framework “Carpenter Ant” Created! You have created a never-before-seen creature using your ingenuity. In acknowledgment of your imagination the High Council offers your existing “Carpenter Ants” the ability to Ascend to this new stage through Aetheric Transfer.
Warning! Due to a lack of Divine Potential, this will sacrifice the Framework “Carpenter Ant” from your Core and you will be unable to receive it again. Do you still wish to proceed? Path of Direction chosen. The High Council has accepted on the Core’s behalf. The resulting Framework falls under the Title “Tiny Dungeon and will still be moldable.
Transfer Complete! “Carpenter Ant Queen” Ascending to “Danian Queen”. “Carpenter Ant Worker” Ascending to “Danian Worker”. The Ascendant Variant “Danian Noble” has been established in place of the “Carpenter Ant Drone”.
The Core has created its second floor and created an entirely new species to serve as a Dungeon Monster.
Progress to Core Ascension:
66.67%