A sense of wonder I never felt before runs through me as I find a way out, and I have to open an entrance.
How many distinct creatures are out there I never paid attention to before? How many different patterns will I get soon? How many interesting environments will I conceive?
I almost carve the last few centimeters out when I forcibly stop myself. My instincts scream at me as well, telling me I need protection before I make myself vulnerable like this.
Why do dungeon cores have so many contradicting urges?
Instead of making a plan without any information and doing something reckless, I check how much mana I have left.
Current Mana: 10.3/20
Okay, it's not that bad. I will just have to wait until I'm full again; ten hours of delay is nothing.
Before selecting my first creation and guardian, I expand until I cannot anymore without scraping the thin blockage, and examine the small area inside my domain on the other side. I concentrate my magical senses on that point, and I parse through the various information.
There is some kind of greenish glowing moss attached to my old wood, the only light source; various small mundane insects are crawling inside the moss; I can hear water slowly dripping down, the amount of liquid in the air unusually high; and the air is really stale.
There wasn't that much to discover, huh.
I guess it is time to choose. I would have liked to know more about what is around me. What if I make a mistake?
Congratulations! You have shaped your First Dungeon Room!
Neutral patterns converted to attuned variants.
Please choose a pattern.
Wood - Wood Spinner (Common): The spider order is incredibly extensive, with millions of different species or variations. While some of its cousins are much more venomous or capable of hiding much better, the Wood Spinner specializes in catching its prey with its spiral wheel-shaped web instead of any other method. Prolific builders, Wood Spinners can fill entire forests with their almost invisible and sticky cobwebs in a matter of days. To kill their prey, they usually suffocate it to death with their web instead of going for a bite and risk retaliation.
Water - Natatory Wasp (Common): The Natatory Wasp is a bizarre and unusual species within the wasp family. It is rather prolific, aggressive, and much bigger than its mundane cousins, reaching 20 centimeters in body length as an adult. Since they are much larger and fecund, they require a significant amount of food as well. This species adapted and overcame the relatively small insect's limitation on prey, seeking large animals and fishes in groups. Natatory Wasps usually live near bodies of water in huge colonies. What sets them apart from other wasps is their ability to dive and stay underwater for a long time, where they swiftly swim and use their long stinger to inject their potent venom deep into their prey's bodies, usually killing them instantly. This doesn't indicate they don't seek and kill land's prey as well; everything is fair game for these greedy creatures.
Earth - Vamuff (Uncommon): The Vamuff is a cunning and voracious ambush predator, capable of silently devouring entire herds of unsuspecting large herbivores in a matter of days. It usually lives in swamps or marshes, using the dark green pigmentation of its long fur to camouflage its big body in wait for its prey to come closer and swallow it in one bite. It is not to be underestimated even in a straight fight; his big fangs and claws are sharp and carry many diseases, and its long spiked tail is a weapon Vamuff younglings learn to use rather quickly throughout their first hunts. A Vamuff would be a much deadlier hunter if not for its substantial weight and round body, making it pretty slow in prolonged chases.
Water - Searing Mobula (Uncommon): Sometimes called birds of the deep sea, Mobulas are beautiful and elegant creatures. They usually swim in a pack, living and defending themselves together, hunting for small fish. Mobulas are peaceful and rarely attack if not provoked, but are truly ruthless against whoever injures or kills one of the group, following and hunting for the perpetrator for thousands of kilometers until it is dead. Since they hunt and travel in a group, their bodies are accustomed to high speed and energy conservation. Their only weapons are the sharp blade at the end of their tail and lateral claws.
This variant has a mana gland inside the blade at the end of its tail. The organ can heat the appendage over high temperatures when the Mobula stabs the weapon inside the prey body, boiling it from the inside.
Wood/Life - Dryad (Rare): Spirits of Nature, Forest Nymphs are beings of magic and plant matter in the shape of a young woman. They live in symbiosis with their chosen tree, growing stronger together with them as time goes by. Dryads are extremely defensive about the tree they bond with, even willing to defend it to death. When the linked tree perishes, the dryad usually dies as well. Some might believe they are immortal, and while that is not correct, it is the truth that they age remarkably slow. With experience, they can become superb fighters with their above-average physical strength, and exceptional caster of nature magic, able to animate and control entire swaths of woodlands or poison their enemies.
That is a lot of information.
My attention immediately goes to the Forest Nymph. It's the only Rare creature between the five, and while rarity doesn't always mean more strength, it is a good indication of general power. I'm still rather attached to nature creatures as well. I know them intimately and understand them better than any other creation.
And because of that, I recognize that selecting the Dryad would be the incorrect decision now.
I don't know if grasping a pattern will give me the ability to create a full adult or an infant, but even an adult Dryad would be rather weak in these circumstances. Forest Nymphs grow slower than most other creatures since they are part mortals, and a large part of their power is linked to their chosen tree. The stronger the tree is, the stronger the Nymph as well. And I do not have even a mundane tree nearby right now, not even thinking about a Common or Uncommon one.
Also, a Common tree would not give almost any power to a Nymph. They usually link with an Uncommon Tree and help it evolve to a Rare one. Unfortunately, a dead trunk like my body is not suitable, not that a mere Dryad would be able to link with an alive Legendary tree. Even with a connected Uncommon tree, A Nymph would need decades to reach the level of power worthy of a Rare creature.
It's so hard to pass on a Rare monster, though. Maybe if none of the other options is more suitable...
The two Uncommon creatures are Searing Mobula and Vamuff, and I never heard of them. Still, I can immediately dismiss the Searing Mobula. While it seems interesting, I'm nowhere near the sea. I would not have any idea about what a sea or ocean even is without the knowledge the Akashic Records supplied me when they presented the choice.
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Moreover, reading the description of the Vamuff, I like it more and more. There is something in my instincts that finds the idea of a strong ambusher waiting between me and intruders or enemies perfect. And I should be able to make up for its weakness pretty smoothly as well.
Still, I want to check the two other options before choosing.
I was a Common creature as well, once upon a time. I know the advantage of being born as the lowest monster better than anyone else. Reviewing my memories with this newfound focus, I realized that the Akashic Records rewarded me Traits and Titles much more often when I was a Common creature than a Legendary one. Even if I spent many more years as an Elder Tree than as a Jade Ash Tree. That must mean something.
So, Common creatures: Wood Spinner and Natatory Wasp. I had never seen or heard about those two either. If this particular spider was in my grove and I sensed it, I probably forgot about it. There were millions of different creatures, and I never truly paid attention to them.
In the end, the Wood Spinner sounds pretty similar to a Vamuff. Both of them are ambush predators, and while the idea of setting down traps to capture whoever tries to kill me sounds fantastic, it doesn't make up for the lack of strength if the snare doesn't work, and the spider seems worthless in a fight with another creature. The Vamuff would be much more reliable.
Why am I thinking about invaders and traps, though? It's like my instincts are in defense mode now that the way out is almost open, and a good part of my consciousness is multitasking and making plans upon plans.
Are dungeons attacked? Maybe?
I can remember some Hero begging me for a tiny branch to make some kind of epic weapon, telling me that he needed to slay a crazy and powerful dungeon. After he paid the price with my children and guardians, I simply gave it to him. If I don't remember wrong, the Nymphs kept him for a few years or decades to play around and reproduce.
That means I have to consider that aspect as well. I set a multitasking thought to ponder about future plans to defend myself against mortals. It will probably be in the long future, though. I was pretty far from them.
I refocus on the decision, inspecting the Natatory Wasp. While the description says they are pretty big, 20 centimeters do not feel that much to me. And yet, the more I think about the creature, the more I like it. Even if they need lots of food, I can probably obtain the pattern of some kind of prey and feed them that way. And they seem strong too, able to hunt and fight all sorts of different creatures. They are incredibly versatile, which sounds wonderful since I don't know what is happening outside my first room.
With this creature as a possibility, the Wood Spinner is clearly out.
That leaves the choice between the Dryad, Vamuff, and Natatory Wasp. In the end, the other two options seem too good and suitable, and while the Forest Nymph has more potential than them, that is not enough right now.
Only two left. This is much harder; I have to choose between an all-around small practical creature or a big and strong protector.
Can't I choose them both? No? Mmmm. This is fascinating; I never felt so alive, not even when I was a Life-Attuned Legendary Tree.
Decisions, decisions.
I don't know if I can reuse this pattern and summon as many creations as I want. I know that is how it works from the patterns I gain from the creatures slain inside my domain, but there is a chance the pattern the Akashic Records will provide me is different. Still, there are so many unknowns, I have to assume something. Also, it would be pretty odd if these were different anyway.
This, plus the fact that I don't know at which stage of development I can create my creatures, makes the two monsters pretty equal. I think a wasp would grow much faster than a huge creature, but the Vamuff is still an Uncommon monster.
I still have the annoying problem of getting the creature out of the first room too. There is no way a Vamuff, with that description, can move through the small hole or fit inside here, and I don't know how much it would be able to freely move outside as well. I can't sense any light from the Sun or stars, only the moss, so I'm somehow still inside my trunk or in some kind of cave. What if the big creature is completely useless for years?
In the end, what truly convinces me is my only Trait. If I can summon more creatures, I will be safer as well, and a Common monster should cost me much less mana than a rarer one since the mana necessary to evolve is much less in lower stages. Moreover, enemies will need to kill all of them before being able to find my core, and a wasp should be much harder to find than a large predator.
You have chosen the Natatory Wasp, are you sure?
Yes? Maybe?
Congratulations! You have acquired your first pattern, Natatory Wasp.
Knowledge rushes inside my mind, and I now know how to shape my mana to create a creature. I can determine maturity, sex, and use the pattern as many times as I want. Good enough.
I excitedly push mana out of my core and follow the design of the Natatory Wasp. I attune the mana necessary to the Water element and start to shape the creature.
I'm starting to get a feel for how much mana I'm using relative to the numbers on my new status without even checking, and I understand that to create a Natatory Wasp I need more or less 1 unit.
If I did choose the Nymph or Vamuff, I would probably have to wait multiple times to regenerate, if that is possible at all. I will have to check if I can halt the process and keep it stable for hours before choosing the pattern of a creature I cannot create all at once.
In a minute or so, the mana snaps in position and shakes once, quickly giving birth to a mature sterile female Wasp.
I admire my first monster, emotions I never felt this strongly before rushing through my core; pride, excitement, and anticipation.
The little creature is 22 centimeters long, without taking into account the 5 centimeters stinger. It has six lengthy and articulated limbs, all ending in sharp talons. Completely dark blue and black, what catches my senses is the slender and segmented abdomen which almost reminds me more of a caterpillar than a wasp. The Wasp looks agile and sharp.
However, as it tries to fly, it immediately falls down and starts to shudder near my core.
What is happening?
The newborn creature keeps shaking and quivering, and I try to connect to it somehow. I know I can give them orders, but it's not like I can command it to live when it's clearly dying. After a minute of not understanding what is happening, I receive a message.
Your sterile female Natatory Wasp has died.
One hour of mana regeneration was wasted like that.
I quickly divide a small thought process to keep notice of this type of message in the future. I don't want my main consciousness to keep being bothered if this happens multiple times in a row. It will get my attention if a creature I see as vital dies.
Watching and analyzing the body for a while, I realize the Wasp suffocated to death.
Ah. Animals need air, and there is none here.
In the end, I still have to open an entrance before creating a guardian, or they will all die. I really don't like this, but I have no choice. I wait 10 hours until my mana is completely full, and start grinding the last few centimeters. As I slowly reach the aperture, I carve a cone instead of a cylinder, breaking the wood just enough to let air inside and not other creatures.
As I cut the last grain and connect to the outside world, stale and humid air starts to quickly enter my first room, and I receive another message.
Congratulations! You have earned a Title: The Ballsy.
The Ballsy: Your peculiar choice of a spherical shape for your first room, and the daring decision of opening the way to the outside without any creature in defense of your core, has granted you this Title. When your core is within a spherical room, and you have no creatures inside that specific room, your Mana Regeneration is increased by +50%.
I feel something shift inside my core, mana flowing out of it faster than before.
The Ballsy Dungeon - Unnamed
Species: Viridescent Dungeon Core (Unique)
Titles: The Ballsy.
Traits: A leaf amongst thousands.
Current Mana: 19.9/20
Mana Regeneration: +1.5/hour
Nice. Maybe the Wasp dying was a blessing in disguise. I didn't expect to receive a Title or Trait this early. It has been only a few days since I evolved, and I am growing quicker than I thought.
Time to work on my defenders before something happens, though. My instincts don't like when I am this vulnerable, and I'm of the same mind as well.