Tiny Dungeon

Valterra knew he was close to evolution. Only one more floor and he would be ready to evolve again. Through his Dungeon Body, he could sense the truth of Tal’Irieth’s parting words. His Dungeon, now that he had fixed the horrendous Aether flow, was beginning to work properly. Aether flowed in and met his creatures who used it and various invaders to grow.

His Fourth Floor was looking healthier with the grasses growing taller and more vibrant now that they had more Aether to draw from. His Deeplight Belchers seemed happier and there were a lot more of them now than when he had first seeded them. His Great Tidal Whale was doing her best to cull their numbers but it seemed like a losing fight. The Deeplight Belchers were expanding rapidly throughout the Floor and while that was a good thing the Core also didn’t want them to think they owned the Floor.

Valterra decided to think and act at the same time. Even as he pondered what to do for his Sixth Floor he went about summoning more Whales. It still took a ton of Aether to do but he also wasn’t summoning complete adults. They were more like juveniles, halfway into adulthood. He notified the original even as the new whales slipped into the water. As she raced to meet them she seemed rather excited. Looking into the Schema, Valterra winced a little. Of course, she would be happy. Great Tidal Whales for all of their massive size and impressive powers were also part of a pod. They swam together, ate together, and hunted together. His lone matriarch had been without a pod for a while now.

Pleased with his work on the Fourth Floor he moved around checking on his previous work. Each Floor was working fine. There could be a bit more variety he supposed but that would come with time. At this point, he figured he could get away with a few experiments. He wasn’t fully set on what he wanted in his Sixth Floor but he had some ideas.

His first three Floors acted like concentric rings that drew invaders in. His Fourth Floor was a death trap in case anyone decided to try and dig their way to him. The Fifth Floor was a warzone between three different creatures and protected the East side of the House. His Aether Funnel stretched from the ceiling of the Living Room to the floor and descended straight down through the Fourth. The West Wing began where the Living Room ended and contained the Ritual Room, the Boiler Room, and the Bedroom. The Boiler Room in particular felt odd to his senses so he made a mental note to check it out after he evolved.

Each of these rooms could be utilized as Floors and some could be made into two if he so desired by separating the bottom from the top as he had with the Kitchen and his Fifth Floor. Right now the Dungeon was balanced and he needed for it to continue to flow to his Column so that it could reach his Core. Any Floors he placed in the West Wing would throw that balance into chaos.

'I could redo everything again I suppose?' He thought idly to himself. He shook off that thought as soon as he had it.

The main issue was that he lacked the Schema and the creative energy to create those extra Floors anyway. Then redo the Aether Flow on top of that? Forget it. For all that he wanted to play and create Valterra hadn’t really seen much of the world. He could see a little bit more of it now that the whole house was a part of him. He could see the clearing and the surrounding trees but that didn’t really give him an idea of what to create. So he settled on what he could do.

He still had some Divine Potential left. He knew that he could Name Creatures and he certainly wanted to. His Mouse Captain in particular came to mind as deserving of one. He knew that he could create a Divine Domain that would give him the ability to shape the space in any way he wanted without using Aether to do so. To be honest, though that wasn’t a major consideration at the moment.

Sighing to himself he turned to the space he had set up above the Fifth Floor. For now, this would be his Sixth Floor but it needed its own kind of ecosystem if it was going to be enough to push him to evolution.

Valterra reached for his new powers and froze as his Divine Potential activated. Reality shifted and his mind expanded to include concepts he had never heard before. Using his power to create his mouse guardian's artifacts paled in comparison to the raw data flooding his core at the thought of making a new Schema. Ideas like DNA and RNA mixed with other thoughts and concepts beyond his understanding. The composition of a Spark Matrix and the right way to connect it with a Nascent Spirit provided by the Maker. In a panic Valterra disconnected from the stream of Divinity. As he recovered he felt his System light up. Checking the screen he was surprised to find a message from Krat’Imos.

Hey there Little One. If using your Divine Potential to create creatures is too much for you at the moment I figured I would install a little help in the form of a new kind of system. I call it the Evolutionary Helpdesk.

The name needs some work but it should be ready for you to use. I look forward to seeing what you can create - Krat’Imos

Valterra sent a grateful feeling upwards and began looking for the new system. He found it as a new icon within the system, just above where his Schema rested within his soul. He gingerly permitted it to open and was relieved when all it did was open a new series of messages.