A junior soldier--Daniel--and I make up the vanguard for this section of the delve. We lead the group deeper whilst those behind us gather the lantern stones. Lord Fredrick is spending his time observing and writing notes in a little book he's been carrying with him the whole trip.

  "Maybe they're bats?"

  "What do you mean, Daniel?"

  "I mean those sounds. We can hear something moving, and I figure it could just be bats."

  I nod in agreement. Bats would make sense, given how far beneath the ground we are. I think that hypothesis disappoints Lord Fredrick, as he looks a little forlorn upon hearing Daniel's theory.

  There's an odd twanging noise followed by the gush of liquid being dumped out of a container.

  "Gah! What in the hells?!" Daniel shouts.

  I look over to see Daniel is completely doused in some shiny fluid. The smell of oil hits me, and I feel my blood run cold. The lantern Daniel is carrying lights the oils before he can think to drop it, and flames coat his body.

  "H-Help! Ah!"

  "Someone get me a piece of cloth! Now!" I bark.

  The soldiers fumble with their things for a moment before realizing the only option is for someone to offer me their clothing. I hiss in frustration, unbuckling my armor in a hurry to save Daniel's life.

  "No! Ah!" Daniel howls, his voice hoarse.

  I get my armor off, but it's far too late. Daniel attempts to put himself out by rolling on the stairs, and accidentally slips off the edge. We helplessly watch as his flaming body falls to the bottom of the shaft. There's a sickening thud when he hits the bottom.

  "I am making the executive decision to use the lantern stones moving forward," I say through gritted teeth.

  Lord Fredrick nods softly. It is not his fault this happened, as no one could predict being doused in oil. Hopefully Lord Fredrick does not blame himself for suggesting we use lanterns.

  Both the soldiers and I exchange our lanterns for some of the lantern stones we've gathered during this trip. This should prevent a repeat incident of what happened to Daniel.

  "Tanner, you're with me. Keep your wits about you. I'll lead by a half step."

  "Aye, Captain Dirk."

  Tanner's subdued reply is understandable. Nobody wants to take a dead man's post.

  We descend the stairs, my footsteps cautious and slow. It's difficult to see with the lantern stones not fully illuminating the stairwell. Hopefully I can spot the next trap before it does something nasty to me--like douse me in oil.

  "It's gotten quiet," Lord Fredrick whispers.

  I stop my advance to listen. He's right, the sounds of something moving have gotten quieter. I purse my lips as I look around us for any sign of danger.

  Unfortunately, I'm too slow.

  Movement erupts from the wall by Tanner, and a sickening crunch is heard right before Tanner gasps in shock. The man nearly falls off the edge, but I catch him with some difficulty.

  "There! A lizard!" Lord Fredrick exclaims.

  Following his finger, I see the strange dog sized lizard. Its feet cling to the wall without issue, and it stares at us from behind a broad blunt head. The lizard scampers away, climbing the wall and the stairs above us to slip out of sight before we can retaliate.

  Hissing in pain, Tanner speaks up "I think it broke my ankle, Captain Dirk."

  I nod in understanding "It likely did."

  Scooping Tanner up in my arms, I pull him onto my back so that he might be carried in a semi-dignified manner. He doesn't complain.

  "We're leaving. This place is far too unpredictable and dangerous."

  Lord Fredrick frowns, and offers his own opinion "I don't want to leave so soon, but I admit you are right. We must come prepared if we are to explore further."

  Relieved that Lord Fredrick is agreeing with me, however reluctantly, I move back up the steps to guide the group out.

  The return trip is far less eventful. We don't catch sight of the lizard, nor any new traps.

  When we arrive at the surface I make arrangements for Daniel's family to be given the news as well as compensated for his death. We will have a proper burial for the man when we retrieve his body--which we will do. There's no way I'd leave a good soldier in that deathtrap of a dungeon.

  My planning is interrupted when Lord Fredrick approaches me, his little book in hand.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  "How may I help, Lord Fredrick?"

  "Well, I had some ideas for how we can prevent future casualties."

  "And what might those ideas be?"

  Lord Fredrick shows me what he's been writing. It's a sort of guide, several tips and tricks for what to look out for and avoid. There are surprisingly decent illustrations of certain portions of the dungeon as well. Most of the information centers around what we saw in that large open spiral staircase. He even names the lizards "Bullhead Geckos" for some reason.

  "Why that name, Lord Fredrick?"

  "Bullhead geckos? Oh, it just felt right to call them that."

  Nodding, I agree "Yes, you're right. They do charge like bulls."

  Lord Fredrick tears out a few pages from his book--the ones we were just looking at--and hands them to me.

  "I want you to get these made into a booklet we can disseminate to the men."

  Eyebrows raised, I reply "This is not my usual fare, but I will see that it's done, Lord."

  Nodding in satisfaction, Lord Fredrick leaves me to my task.

  ~

  I think becoming whatever I am has been one of the worst things to happen to me. Watching Daniel get burnt alive and then fall down the passage was horrifying. At least Tanner didn't die, he just got a broken ankle. It's all so violent.

  Unfortunately, I need to protect myself and my creations.

  Speaking of my creations, Gu appears to be having trouble breathing. He just struggles to take proper breaths, as if he's not getting enough air-

  Oh no. There's not enough oxygen!

  I quell the growing panic in my mind as I move to rectify the issue before it can do anymore harm to Gu. The obvious solution is a vent of some kind leading to the surface.

  Moving to the open spiral staircase room, I create a round vent with bars crisscrossing the opening to prevent bullhead geckos from attempting to leave through it.

  I extend the vent all the way to the surface above, and add a very discreet vent cover identical to the one at the bottom. Thankfully the soldiers' camp isn't too close to prevent this.

  Next, I make a vent at the bottom of the open spiral staircase, right after I absorb Daniel's body--It's unsettling to leave it there, after all. This vent at the bottom of the stairs connects to my core room, albeit there are several twists and turns so it's not a straight shot. Both ends of the vent are grated to prevent intruders.

  Now I can see a smidge of airflow moving through me. The trouble is it's not enough to make a difference for Gu, or even my bullhead geckos.

  What am I missing?

  Modern ventilation shafts use fans to push around the air. I unfortunately don't know how to make electricity, nor do I know how to turn a fan if not with the magic of electricity.

  Wait. Magic?

  Maybe that's the answer. I can create things from nothing, even life. What is that if not magic?

  Taking what fills my core--no, taking the mana from my core--I attempt to make the air flow through my vents. It's similar to how I made my lantern stones, but more costly.

  I watch as the air flows through the vents like there's some unseen fan blowing it. It's perfect!

  Using this first magic vent, I create several more in the appropriate places. When I'm finished I have fresh air flowing from the surface into my cave. Actually, those soldiers called it a dungeon, so perhaps I'll call it one too. Certainly feels more accurate!

  Anyways, airflow.

  While I'm pulling in fresh air, I am not pushing out stale air. To remedy this I create a new magic vent at the deepest point of my dungeon--Gu's living area--and connect it to the surface, this magic vent positioned so it blows air out rather than in.

  Satisfied with my work, I enter my body.

  "Gu! I fixed the air!" I shout.

  I hear Gu scrabbling his little clawed feet on the stone floors as I jog down the corridor. He's in the communal play room, holding a stuffed elephant. He looks brighter, more energetic.

  "Gu!" He replies.

  "Yes, I fixed the air. It's great, isn't it?"

  He nods "Gu gu."

  Smiling at Gu, I approach him and pull him into a big hug. He's so gosh darn cute!

  Now that I'm thinking about it, I feel better too. Turns out my human body also needs fresh air to breathe. Who knew?

  ~

  I spent an hour or two playing with and entertaining Gu. He's learning rather fast, and uses his toilet without any issues. I only had to wash his clothes twice before he stopped soiling them!

  With my playtime with Gu over, I trudge back to my core room. The soft glow of my blue core is comforting to see.

  Touching it, I leave my body behind.

  First things first, those soldiers. They're still camped out above me, and they look to be tucking in for the night. Some of them are on guard duty, but the majority of them are sleeping. This is the perfect time to expand my dungeon.

  And my magic vents gave me the perfect solution to my safety problem.

  Moving down to where my core connects to the open spiral staircase, I extend the distance. Now I'm roughly fifteen storeys beneath the earth, which is forty five meters or one hundred and fifty feet.

  I sculpt the passage between me and the open spiral staircase into a large chamber with high ceilings, giving it a vaguely cathedral look to it. Rows of wooden pews fill the space, and a large stone podium dominates the far end. On the walls I carve elaborate artwork, depictions of a beautiful woman with a divine presence. One carving features that woman holding the hand of a gremlin, as if guiding it. Another carving is of the woman framed by vines and bullhead geckos.

  Yes, the carvings are depictions of me, and yes they're embarrassingly over exaggerated!

  Moving past my own ego, I carve out a massive picture of myself being locked in chains. Eyes blindfolded, hands bound by chains that seem to fill the carving. Beneath this carving--behind the podium--is the door to my core room. I don't leave it open, instead, I seal it completely.

  I couldn't do this before, as I needed the air to breathe. Now? Now I can simply create a ventilation shaft to give me that air.

  With discreet magic vents pushing air in and out, I'm fully capable of keeping my entry sealed from invasion.

  With this newfound peace of mind, I decorate the cathedral more. The pews get partially smashed up by boulders I drop on them. Pieces of the ceiling are ripped down so it appears to be in ruins. Vines identical to the ones in the previous staircase are placed throughout the space. Lantern stones populate the cathedral, illuminating it dimly. I make the decision to put my lantern stones behind stone bars from now on--ensuring those greedy soldiers can't take them.

  Finally, I increase my bullhead gecko population until I'm out of mana.

  With this, I've ensured both my safety and anonymity. They won't find me, instead they'll find an abandoned church with nothing but bullhead geckos to attend it.