I awoke after an indeterminate amount of time. I was still thrown for (through? Lake hasn't cleared that up) a loop; it was certainly a new experience. I wonder how Lake is doing. I mean, they're the reason I'm alive right now, which is… interesting, to consider.
Anyway, I'd better see what's happened to my Status.
Name
Race
Ræric
[Ice Dracobold]
Class
Level
[Kobold Protector]
14
Conditions
Titles
[Developing (Hatchling)]
[Great Dungeon of Kobolds], [Kobold Appreciation Club Founder], [Kobold Appreciation Club Leader], [Born into Slavery], [Chattel Slave]
Attributes
Skills
Health: 12/12
Stamina: 9/9
Points: 34
Mana: 422/422
[Monster Creation], [Kobold Specialty], [Monster Uplifting], [Kobold Breeding Grounds], [Enhance Monster], [Kobold Understanding], [Monster Evolution], [Marketplace of Ideas], [Avatar Generation], [Aura of Kobolds], [Avatar Possession], [Kobold Sense], [Avatar Integration], [Kobold Blood], [Anger Management (lv2)], [Exploration (lv1)]
Well, I suppose that makes some sense. Eggs don't tend to gain so much as a semblance of sentience until they're about to hatch. Welp. Best get to hatching.
I poked my snout through the eggshell. Feels weird to say that. Well, I won't exactly be thinking it often. “Hehehehehehehe hehehehehe,” I giggled at my own joke(?), falling back into the egg. While I was doing so, I heard a sharp gasp, followed by a pitterpatter of soft footwear moving fast. I had heard it from Lake a few times, even though they didn't technically have feet, nor did things necessarily make sound in the Styx. They had, of course, went the extra step (which sent me into another round of giggling, though no one else heard) for something that gave no tangible benefit to anyone. Well, it did sound nice, which could be argued as a tangible benefit. But the point still stands: they put more effort into things that had less benefit. What was I thinking about again?
Oh well. It'll come back to me.
~¤~¤~¤~
“Hey, dad?“ Came the voice of a young girl. Rubia Gerias Eidel. His daughter.
“Yes, sweety?“ Lord Gerias Helon Eidel asked, looking up from his work. It was largely scholarly in nature, not urgent in the slightest.
“The egg is hatching.“ She stated with that matter-of-factness that was unfortunately rare in everyone but children and drunkards.
Even more unfortunate was their shared tendency to get themselves in trouble.
“Ah, I'll be there right away!“ He declared with enthusiasm. He always loved spending time with his daughter. He had just spent around eighty gold on a Kobold egg, and he just couldn't wait to see how it turned out.
Rushing over to the little garden in which the egg was held, he could barely contain his excitement.
What awaited him, didn't put much of a damper on it.
The egg, with a single hole in it, about two thirds of the way up. A small amount of time later, and something odd happened. A white snout poked through the egg of what, by all means, should have been a red Kobold's egg.
Gerias' mind instantly caught fire with speculation. Did the auctioners lie? The rest of the Kobolds seemed to be normal Red Kobolds. Wait, they never specified what type of Kobold the egg had come from, had they?
Oh. Damn. They really hadn't had they? Oh well. It wasn't that bad, really, just hadn't been expecting it.
Soon, the Kobold had fully hatched. Hopefully, they could get it to “imprint” on them. He had read about it regularly enough to be sure it was probably maybe true. Unfortunately, the literature was terribly unreliable when it came to monsters. There was, quite simply, not enough researchers in the field who weren't crazy or stupid, as is encountered in most dangerous fields of study. Necromancy was the biggest victim of this effect, being outlawed in most places despite it not typically being nearly as bad as the churches would have one beleive. How did he know this? Well… it depends on who's asking, really.
Regardless of that potentially self-incriminating tangent, things would hopefuly go a lot smoother if the nobleman's latest unusual purchase viewed at least someone in his line as a parent.
Unfortunately…
~¤~¤~¤~
I crawled out of the eggshell. It was horrendously bright outside. I was never much of a fan of the daylight as a Dungeon, and Kobolds weren't much better with Veron. From what I could make out, there was a tall, figure standing against a grey wall or large object.
I screwed my eyes to help damper the blinding light. Whilst it may help with the brightness, it also reduced the clarity of it. Though, with what Lake had told me, bright light could cause blindness if you look directly at it. (They had told me that when they had made a Mana-light with too much Mana in it, after briefly yelling about “the love craftian horror!“, though I've still not figured out what that is.)
The person said something I couldn't understand in a gentle tone. They approached me. I noticed a brown thing in the middle of the grey thing, which was probably a door, unless these people didn't have those things.
I didn't for a good while, though hanging up cloth was a suitable alternative. First off, it's good for ventilation; very vital in caves, though that wasn't exactly necessary, given the innate magical powers of Dungeons. Secondly, they're a lot easier to get past quickly, making for more efficient supply chains, easier retreats, and just generally an easier day-to-day. Thirdly, they're a lot easier to put up. And that's just scratching the surface! I've never understood people's obsession with doors. They're basically just rocks that can swing! I've made some of those! Nobody liked those! So why does everyone care about doors!? DOORS! WHY DOORS!?
Okay, calm down. It's just doors. Don't get too worked up. Nothing but doors. Look on the bright side. Not everyone is so obsessed with them.
Skills
[Anger Management (lv1)] acquired!
I stared incredulously at the notification. I was not expecting this. How had this happened? Was this how my Kobolds got their Skills? Was this how my Delvers got their Skills? What did this mean? Could I still get Floor Abilities? Wait, what would happen to my old Floors? Is my Influence still there? Is it still active?
~¤~¤~¤~
The snow-coloured Kobold stumbled around for a bit, eyes closed, before looking angry, then confused. The nobleman thought it was rather amusing, if somewhat disconcerting. Then it clicked. He'd put the Kobold egg in a bright place to hatch. It was, simply put, the blunder of a lifetime. Specifically, the Kobold's lifetime. He gently picked the kobold up (after, of course, putting palm to face), asked his darling daughter to open the door for him, to which she obviously obliged, then brought the hatchling inside.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
It tried to get down from pretty much the moment it was picked up. This wasn't unusual; it was also true of the “cats” from the same continent. Also like a cat, the Kobold had relatively short fur compared to most of the wildlife around here. When he set it down, it walked around a bit more, then opened it's reptilian eyes.
It stood upon it's hind legs, taking a look around. It tried to walk forward whilst assuming this bipedal stance, but quickly ended up falling over. You see, much like Human infants, Kobold hatchlings can't walk immediately. They have to crawl around on the ground for a while. Well, with Kobolds it's moreso that they're quadrupedal for the first few years, until around two and a half years of age. Some of them can walk earlier than that, some need a while more.
The point I'm trying to get at is that the kobold looked adorable when trying to walk.
It started looking around the manor house soon enough.
~¤~¤~¤~
I had been in the door person's — the local lord's, if I had heard right — house for a few days now. I had settled into a largely nocturnal sleep cycle, something that was still pretty weird to me, though I knew that most people had to sleep a good chunk of the time. Wandering through the gardens, I let my Influence spread throughout the grounds. It twisted around the foreign Mana of the roots and worms, making sure I wouldn't be able to fuck with them too directly.
Still didn't stop me from hitting people in the face with doors. A wonderful joke for those little door weirdos.
As I was walking through the gardens, getting my “scent”, so to speak, all over the place. Hopefully this will get me a free Floor. It was certainly a larger space than most of my prior ones. Soon, the air was full of my Mana. Not too much; an important part of curating a surface Floor is making sure nobody notices the surface Floor. Much of this is through making sure nobody knows that Dungeons can expand above ground; everyone knows not to put Traps or Uplifteds up top. This is a secret so well-hidden, most Dungeons don't even know they can do it, and those who do hide it as best they can, or simply ignore it and keep digging down.
Floors
You have attained Floor 1 (House Eidel)! Consequently, you have gained [Monster Creation]
Error
[Monster Creation] already exists. Recalculating…
[Monster Creation] advanced to [Entity Creation].
That… Well, I'll have to have a look at that. Judging by the… well, everything, it's probably an advancement of [Monster Creation]. Well, by definition, it is. I'll have to have a look at that, especially in context of the original.
[Monster Creation]
Generate Mana-corrupted physical beings through the use of Mana.
[Entity Creation]
Generate beings through the use of Mana.
Oh. So… it's just [Monster Creation] less one clause? Well, it's the most important one, literally the one that defines it. Also the one I liked the phrasing of the least. Kobolds are not “corrupted”! The surface people are the corrupted ones, if anything! They keep going on and on about all these “wars” and “slaves” and “bribes”; apparantly, I was one of those middle ones, a person someone owns. Why would you do that?! It has no moral function, only furthering personal wealth, which, from what I've heard of the type of people who own slaves, they don't need in the slightest.
What was I thinking of again? Oh yeah, [Entity Creation]. I'll have to test that.
I decided to try something subtle. A worm. An ordinary, non-magical worm.
[Entity Creation]
Create 1 [Worm] for 1 Mana?
That's surprisingly cheap. Confirm.
At that point, a familiar-looking Mana-construct appeared, not a Kobold, as it often was, but solidifying into the vague, squiggly shape of a worm. In a moment's time, there was a worm. A worm made of my mana. Interesting.
I returned to the manor. It was almost dawn, and, by extension, dinner. Can't conquer a city on an empty stomach.
~¤~¤~¤~
Gerias had decided to make Rubia take the Kobold on a walk. While, yes, it was an awful idea for a young noble girl to walk through a city at night, he wasn't an idiot. He had, of course, delegated a small detatchment of his best men to guard her in these lizard-walking excursions. Was this a bit excessive? Yes. However, he had a good feeling about it.
This could only be a good idea.
~¤~¤~¤~
While I had intended to conquer the city by sneaking out at night. However, the lord hath decided to grace me with his city on a platter (Lake would be proud). This would make things much easier.
The irony was not lost on me that I was stealing someone's city by being walked around on a leash. By one of the owners of said city. The perfect crime.
I noticed, sweeping my Influence through the nearby houses, that one had a significant number of Kobolds. Or, at least, they were Kobolds. Now they're evolved, into more specialized forms. Most were Ice-Element, adapting to the northern cold, some were [Heavy Kobold]s, seemingly having been quite interested in strength. One was a [Darkness Kobold]. That was interesting. Taking a look at their status, they were a [Thief] named Lornen. Wonderful. I'm pretty sure that Lornen was involved in many an Adventurer losing their ill-gotten gains. Just for that, I decided to Enhance them.
Soon, I had a 2nd Floor again. Ah, those were the days. Not having to eat. Kobolds living in peace, barely an adventurer every 10 days.
Floors
You have attained Floor 2 (Vatarium City Noble Wing)! Consequently, you have gained a Specialization!
Specialization
Calculating…
You have gained [Kobold Specialization]!
Error
[Kobold Specialization] already exists. Recalculating…
[Kobold Specialization] advanced to [Kobold Focus]
Isn't that just the same thing as before? Well, one way to check
[Kobold Specialization]
More likely to gain Races, Classes, Titles, Conditions, and Skills related to the Kobolds.
[Kobold Focus]
Far more likely to gain Races, Classes, Titles, Conditions, and Skills related to the Kobolds. More likely to be in situations related to Kobolds.
Okay? That's a bit more of a change from the original, compared to Monster/Entity Creation. So, an extra word and… a vague sentence about “situations related to Kobolds”? What does that even mean? I am a Kobold! Does that mean any situation I'm in is Kobold-related? If that's the case, then it is, effectively “more likely to be in situations involving yourself,” which is a very self-fulfilling Skill description. More likely, it causes situations to happen more the more koboldy the situation is.
Now it was time to go back to the manor. Yaaaaaaayy.