The first Expansion (1/2)

"Ok, it's been reset so let's try again.." I said, taking a step back. A small Amber Jelly hopped inside the open cave, passing through a narrow corridor. The moment the slime entered the room, a net of silk sprang up beneath its blubbery mass, entrapping it! The net raised itself almost magically near the ceiling, keeping the slime suspended. "Good job Fisher!" I called out towards the ceiling, raising a thumb to the huge Arachnid that crept out of the shadows. Fisher was helping me install some traps in these newly created rooms and corridors. It had been four days since our victory over the giant bird and things were once again slow for our Dungeon life. A welcome change of pace for now. After taking two days off and a third simply organizing expeditions, I was finally ready to expand my domain by adding two more rooms. The process required for me to imbue the rock and earth with my Mana and when it had been saturated, assimilate it. This not only hollowed out the earth but also made the newly created cave part of my domain. This took some time due to my Dungeon Manipulation Skill being so low level but the rooms turned out fine in the end.

I had decided these two new spaces would be on the same level as the rest of my Dungeon. I would move my Altar one level lower, to separate my Core from the other rooms and install some safety measures in between. Where my Altar Room used to be, now lay a Boss room for Fisher. The arachnid's room was a spacious cave with hollow walls and ceiling, full of holes through which, Fisher's lesser kin could crawl around undetected. The space was littered with webs and sticky traps, made from silk, imbued with the Fire Resistance trait. This guaranteed that no one would be able to destroy the entire room with a matchbox. The silk could still be burned but at least now it wasn't as flammable and would keep the flames from spreading. The smaller Dire Cave Fishers would roam around the cave through its hollow passageways, trapping and ensnaring trespassers. Fisher's home would be at the ceiling's center. Coming down to bring terror to whoever managed to survive the cave's other challenges.

As a Rank 2, Superior Dungeon Core, I now had the ability to magically assign drops and loot to my minions. These chosen items would drop by chance when someone killed my summons. This was a Dungeon's way of enticing adventurers to keep coming back. The more people came into your domain, the more of them were likely to die. The more a Dungeon killed and assimilated, the faster it grew. But I decided against it for now. Firstly, because I was too bitter about losing my creatures to even consider awarding the person who killed them! Secondly, I wasn't very keen on becoming a famous Dungeon, one that people would return to on a weekly basis, trying to earn more and more from me. I was building my Dungeon to be a fortress of my own and not a challenge to others. Maybe at some point I would try to taunt or bait, some people into exploring my domain with the promise of treasure and adventure, but not yet.

Now, Fisher's room hid the entrance to my Altar but also another corridor. This new pathway led to a well lit room full of bunk beds, a dining area and a bathroom. This living space was capable of housing 20 people, quite comfortably. It was well equipped, with regulated temperature and water heated by a Fire Sigil, powered by Mana. Fatna and Sumiré moved into the room once it was complete and were very pleased with their new living arrangements. There was however the issue of having to walk through the Cave Fisher room, in order for all of us to reach our living spaces but sadly I hadn't come up with a shortcut yet. These new living quarters would hopefully house other humanoids that would become my followers. After hiring the two women and defeating the Raiders, I had finally realized that I was unable to summon humans in my Dungeon. This ability was not beyond dungeons in general but, as I had recently learned, all dungeons adhered to certain "affinities" which dictated what kind of creatures we had the power to summon.

By touching my crystal core, I could review my Traits and Affinities. Trishda had given me some unexpected limitations when they chose my Affinities as well as a few surprises. Humans for example were out as well as all the civilised humanoid races, such as the Arsani for example. Undead were not an option as well as Fiends and Constructs. Fiends were the denizens of the planes of Hell, devils that made bargains with mortals and conspired against Sulteros until they could ultimately conquer it. Constructs were magically powered Golems and automatons. Even Elementals appeared as a grey blur on my display, meaning they were unavailable to me. Elementals included a wide range of amazing creatures that were entirely comprised of the four basic elements as well as combinations of them! Then.. then there were dragons. Now this one stung quite a bit. Every nerd I've ever known liked dragons, they're just so damn cool! But.. no dice.. they were off my list as well.

Now what I DID have, were Beasts, of course. That meant, every naturally occurring animal, mutated or not. For example Fisher and Fiona were beasts as well as my Wyvern. Oozes were on the list and were the first thing Trishda sent my way.. My Amber Jelly was apparently just one of many different types of Ooze that roamed the world of Sulteros. They were a relative of the Elemental species, more closely tied with the physical plane of existence. Monsters and Monstrous Races were also on the table.. That included magical beasts and monster kin. On Earth, Orcs could be considered monster kin in our fantasy literature. But here they didn't exist.. Vorska were supposed to be Monster kin but I hadn't been able to assimilate them, after our horrifying encounter and appeared as Undead in my System! This was worth looking into..

Lastly I had three pretty surprising choices in my arsenal. Abberants, Demons and Celestial! Ok, Demons I could understand.. Trishda was considered a "demon" of chaos in this world. Demons came from a dark abyss under the world and sought only to bring destruction and upset the balance, so in a way, it made sense for Champion of Chaos to have them available as summons. Abberants were literally extraterrestrial creatures! And finally Celestial were beings of light and holiness from the Divine planes! What the hell was I supposed to do with that? How would I even obtain such a species for later summoning?

I retreated to my Altar after a day's hard work. Sumiré and Fatna were waiting for me there, in the company of some of my summons. "My Lady! Welcome.." said Fatna with courtly manners, standing up as she saw me enter. Sumiré mimicked her mother but shot me an innocent smile behind her back. "Hello ladies, are you ready?" I replied seeing their travel attire and full backpacks by their feet. "We are prepared my Lady! Thank you for the extra provisions and our generous salary! If we begin soon we should arrive at the caves by tomorrow morning." Continued the mother with the bearings of a soldier, ready to undertake a mission. We had spotted some rocky formations, less than a mile South and had decided to check out their caves and general vicinity. Fatna and Sumiré would be escorted by Fiona and her 3 wolf-pack members. All the pups now had Monster Cores for this purpose. It had cost me but we finally had a pack of beasts that could freely travel and escort us on missions. I didn't like the idea of sending off allies on missions without me but.. that was the point of having allies, sharing the load and undertaking different tasks.

We spent the next hour simply sharing a meal and talking about Acamar, recounting our moments here in the past three weeks and teasing Sumiré for her cute snoring. When it was time, I wished my new subordinates good luck and sent them on their way. Sumiré took my hands in her own and placed them on her forehead reverently. After that, the young girl approached the Altar and chanted a small prayer to Trishda, asking them to protect us and our new home. I was quite touched. Sumiré was growing so fond of me and her new life here, it almost scared me. I didn't want to disappoint her.. and I most certainly didn't want anything to happen to her or Fatna. Fiona interrupted the beautiful moment by literally jumping me. I nearly fell to the ground but managed to support the large wolf in the end. She licked my face and rubbed her entire body against mine as if trying to cram, all the affection she would miss out on for the following days, in just this moment. I patted her and let her back down gently. "Keep your nose to the ground and your eyes open, ok? I'm counting on you!" I told her while shmooshing her face. "Yes Master!!" She replied with an excited wag of her tail!

When they finally left, my Dungeon became still and silent. Ever so often I would hear the dripping stalactites, the scurrying of Cave Fishers and the breeze traveling through my almost empty corridors. I had a few hours until nightfall and decided not to let them go by wastefully. I trained, pushing my body to its limits, studied my swordplay manual and expended some Mana to work on my Fire magic as well. After three full hours I was sweaty, tired and ready to call it a day. I had so much time on my hands, I finally decided to check out the drops I had obtained when we defeated the giant bird. Before me were a pile of glistening black feathers, 40cm in length and a small violet crystal ball.

[ Iron Feather ×23 "The feathers of a giant bird of prey. Hardened by the creature's exceptional Mana, these feathers provide a decent defence as well as a boost in its wing attacks." Material. ]

[ Rank 6, Monster Core. Quality: Degraded."Cores can be sold for high prices in organised markets. Dungeons can absorb Monster Cores in order to benefit from their power. This may result in an increase of Experience, Stats, Skills or even gaining the ability to summon the monster, the Core came from. ]

I almost immediately wanted to shatter the Core in my hand. Money was always good but I lived in the middle of a desert, having power was more pressing. Besides, the idea of being able to summon a creature, like that bird really intrigued me! I pressed hard on the crystal ball, breaking it into pieces. It was like shattering a lightbulb! Releasing a cloud of purple energy, the Core faded into nothing, until only its power remained. My core started absorbing all the ambient energy in the room until it was a part of me!

[ Great Terror Bird Core absorbed! Assimilating power. You gain: 1) 350 XP, 2) 2 Skill Points, 3) Skill: Bound (Rank 1) ]

[ *PING* Level Up! Level 8 reached! 1 free Attribute Point awarded for allocation. ]

[ Bound: You may not have flight but you sure can jump. Bolstering your leap with faint traces of Wind element Magic, you can cover bigger distances and survive greater falls. At Rank 1 your jump's height and distance are increased by x1.2. By expending 5 Mana you can double your jump's height and distance. You can fall from 4 meters height without sustaining damage. ]