The first thing Valterra noticed was that he had absorbed the corpses of other creatures but hadn’t received the Frameworks for them. While he was grateful to have received the three Frameworks that he had, he was a little frustrated that he hadn’t received the others. Diving into the feeling he quickly figured out that he needed more information than what he had gained.
The information he had gained was similar to how he obtained inklings of the exotic Frameworks he had been offered when he had finished evolving. He didn’t know exactly how it would work but he was certain that he would have to choose one to receive the full thing.
Upon looking at the matter further, another factor that stood out seemed to be the length of time between the creature being killed and him absorbing its corpse. Evidently, some manner of rapid decomposition was occurring that prevented him from claiming the full Framework.
From the feeling he got, even a couple of minutes spelled the difference and he wondered why that was. Yet three had been whole enough and soon enough that when he had absorbed them whole he had acquired their Framework. And what beauties they were. He had more bugs to play with! Strictly speaking, one was an arachnid but his young mind couldn’t be bothered with the difference.
Not only were they new but two of them were even F Rank! He didn’t quite know how that all worked or why [Copper] followed after the Rank but even his new brain could figure out the difference between something having a Rank and not having one. Besides, there would be time later to figure everything out as his creatures grew in power.
Valterra hummed with pleasure at that thought and immediately set about thinking about how to use his new creatures. Where would they fit? He didn’t know. That was okay, maybe he could summon them first and then figure it out from there.
With that thought in mind, he hollowed out a room in the basement stone and summoned one of each. To his surprise they immediately turned on each other, battling ferociously. When he commanded them to stop they did but it was clear they did not share the same equanimity that his other guardians did.
The Phoenix Cockroach glowed faintly with internal light which lent it a somewhat grotesque appearance with its innards being noticeable through its carapace. It was around 3 inches long which was big for a bug. The Jeweled Skitterer on the other hand was beautiful with a carapace colored a particularly brilliant shade of blue and stood two inches tall and around four inches long. It towered above its other bugs with an imperious nature.
The Wolf Spider though just looked vicious, with sharp fangs and brown striped patterning on its back. It was lean and powerful with eight legs as opposed to the other bugs which had six. It was big too at around two inches long when its legs were fully spread out.
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The Core frowned as he looked at them. He was unsure of where to use them or even if they would function well in his Dungeon as it was. Valterra thought about it some more and then made a passage for the Wolf Spider to leave. He had it exit and then return to the turf war. It was a predator so he figured he would have it hunt for new Frameworks for him to absorb.
Show me your worth. Hunt new creatures for me to absorb. Notify me when you have done so.
Leaving that message with the spider after he received a hazy confirmation, he returned to the other two bugs who were still eyeing each other with violent tendencies.
Now what will I do with you two? He thought quietly.
Being so near the basement he couldn’t help but check on it and found that the water was rising steadily. It was on looking at this that he had a thought.
My Tidal Whales will need to eat something and I don’t want them to eat each other. I don’t think just my Aether alone will be able to sustain their population. But how big would I need to make the buggies so that they would be big enough for a proper meal?
Valterra thought about it some more and figured he would experiment.
So he promptly pushed both bugs into the water to see what would happen.
The Jeweled Skitterer landed with a plop and simply sank, a vague feeling of annoyance wafting from it. The Phoenix Cockroach had a more… explosive response. As it hit the water it promptly vomited, spewing its internal chemicals into the water. Valterra watched in fascination as it wrapped the substance around itself forming a little bubble that swiftly made its way back to the surface.
Once there it stuck its back legs through the bubble and sort of swam its way back to the wall, where the bubble stuck. It then climbed out of the bubble and made its way up the wall in a surprising display of agility. The Core noticed idly that the bug's internal light was somewhat reduced, having used much of its payload.
The Jeweled Skitterer however was more mundane in its approach. It simply seemed to hold its breath and climbed back out once it made its way to the basement wall. It was largely unaffected by the water and didn’t seem any worse for wear because of its swim. It had seemed a bit blind while walking along the basement floor but had seemed to move better once the cockroach had released its glowing payload.
That gave the Core an idea. He liked the two Frameworks and the fact that they could survive in water pleased him to a certain degree. But he figured he could do better for his new whales.
What happened next sent Trik’Weri howling with laughter and Tal’Irieth tut-tutting as Valterra Unok’Davaas, the Playground of the Gods, combined one of the worst pests in the known world with one of the most beautiful pets kept by the civilized races.