Valterra let the sensation of claiming another Location of Power wash over him even as he looked over the results through the System.

Congratulations Valterra Unok’Davaas!

You have claimed a Location of Power, The Pond of Hidden Depths.

The Pond of Hidden Depths (Rare)

Once a common pond, this body of water has been transformed by the presence of a Shard of the Deep. The Shard is far changed from its original nature, being another failed experiment by the Archmage Calamvor to craft a Dungeon Core. Like a Dungeon Core, it stores the Schemas of those within its territory and is capable of unconscious changes to said Schemas over time. Future evolutions for creatures within its boundaries have a higher chance of aquatic mutation, specifically adaptations for facing the extreme cold and pressure of the depths.

New Schema Acquired!

Shardbound Snapping Turtle (Unique - Exotic)

A unique existence among freshwater turtles, this creature has been bound to a Shard of the Deep and forcefully elevated in rarity. With increased power and Aether reserves, it is a terrifying foe to face while in its watery domain as it is capable of firing beams of concentrated water affinity from its jaws. Placed by the Archmage Calamvor as the protector of a Location of Power, this creature has great Potential for growth while remaining bound to the Shard.

New Schemas Acquired!

Valterra dismissed the flood of other Schemas. He would have time to go through them later though when that would be he didn’t know for sure. There was so much to be done after all and with his own evolution drawing ever closer he felt as though he was running out of time. He needed to know what the Delvers thought of his Dungeon and there was a part of him that was worried about his safety once it became known that he was in the area.

Would Natalia be able or even willing to defend him while he slept? While he loved his creatures and quite a few of them were growing in power, he wasn’t about to deceive himself. If more Delvers of the same caliber as his niece showed up they wouldn’t be able to keep him safe. The little fae people of the forest hadn’t shown up but he suspected they were nearby and he wasn’t sure if the force they had sent was one of their strongest or not.

For all he knew there was a whole society of the little people who would be chomping at the bit to invade and were simply gathering a larger force with which to do so. Hopefully, there was enough time for his own Sapients to begin growing in power and number.

The Risen would begin to challenge his Dungeon if Geckodo could be believed and both sets of rats would eventually awaken from their slumbers. With the Rakali he would have another Sapient race but he wasn’t sure how they would match up against a possible invasion by Delvers. He also didn’t know if the Delvers had any way of breaking through the wards that had so far protected his Dungeon from being invaded by larger creatures.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Iskra’Seher and his clan were extremely intelligent to the point of Psuedo-Sapience but it would be some time before they would be able to evolve. There was also the concern that the seer would be quite mad when he did end up evolving but Valterra was confident in his ability to curb that madness. He wouldn’t be able to get rid of it completely but he could lessen its effects or turn its power toward benefitting his Dungeon.

All of these possible troubles had Valterra questioning the wisdom of evolving. If his calculations were correct then his next evolution would take one to two months to complete. During that time he would be vulnerable to invasion and he knew by experience that a lot could happen in the span of a few months.

Taking a moment to center himself, the Core pushed aside his doubts. There would be time to plan before he evolved. For now, though, he would continue to work on his Dungeon, especially since another Location of Power was now available. He refrained from turning it into another Hidden Floor for the moment as he was unsure if that would put him over the edge for evolution but he did look over it.

Now that his Awareness was unhindered, the pond was revealed to be a place of beauty and wonder. Various water plants grew from the shallows while a specific variety seemed to grow from the silty floor upward before blooming outward in a flat platform of greenery. Various creatures darted here and there among the undergrowth and the Dungeon could spy various aquatic and semi-aquatic animals living in and around the water.

The pond was quite deep which was surprising for its size. Considering the fact that a Shard of the Deep was responsible for the Location of Power, Valterra was reasonably sure that the depth was artificial or simply one of the consequences of the pseudo-Core’s influence. Still, the depths held prizes all on their own so he wasn’t complaining. It would also allow his whales more freedom in their swimming and he knew they were enjoying themselves.

While he didn’t necessarily want to wade through the Schemas he had just received he saw quite a few creatures that were pleasing to see. A number of fish had survived the assault by the whale pod and the differing species would provide his underwater places with a decent amount of flexibility and finally provide proper food for the pod and his Deeplight Belchers. He quickly summoned a few in the deeper basement levels where he would be keeping water.

The decision to drain the majority of the water from the basement was a decision he wasn’t ready to make quite yet but he could prepare. He would also have to move his Core and shift his Aether Funnel so that his Dungeon had a clear method of descent. His Seventh and Eighth Floor respectively would suffer from the shift in Aether but a few well-placed Aether Pylons would help with it. Perhaps they would become specialized Floors in the future where he could keep creatures he specifically wanted to keep alive and grow before letting them head deeper.

Now that some of his creatures were getting properly big his rooms would need to be bigger as well. While larger Dungeons in particular would need massive rooms Valterra suspected that his Dungeon would always remain on the small side. The first large basement room would be reconfigured as a melting pot of everything he had gained so far. Perhaps he could even keep the water as a means of including his new Schemas.

His mind envisioned a large river cutting through the center from a pool he could build nearby. Then, he could connect the pool to the Pond, and any creatures that wanted to could come and join the battle to delve deeper. Every successive Floor could have its own miniature pond and river which would eventually make its way to the completely submerged section. Nothing prohibited him from making the small underground rooms larger so that is what he would do.

Making plans as he was for the basement a commotion on the Fifth Floor grabbed his attention. His Awareness snapped to the place and he found Natalia’s group of Delvers facing off against the fortress of mice. Mouse Guards and Mouse Soldiers lined the walls and the three mages with their staves were on a tower each. There was also a tickle in the back of his Core that told him the Mouse Berserkers were finally waking up. He chuckled to himself happily and settled in to watch. This should be fun.