POV Emerald Adder

  The Emerald Adder, the former guardian of the verdant underplace, was restless. He had lain curled around his master’s central pillar for many days. Some of those were for recuperation, and the others because he instinctively knew he could not return to where he was from. Perhaps he could have once. But now that he had tasted the sweet Aether that lay thick in this place, he found himself more and more reticent.

  His instincts told him that he was close to that state of almost more when his master would decide his future, and he would enter the sleep that denoted a change. It was like an itch, the kind of itch he instinctively felt that shedding his skin would be like. For all that he was close to it, the change seemed out of reach. The snake’s tongue flicked outward, flicking the scents of the room he found himself in back into his pits. Blood from the battle still lay thick in the air even after it had long since dried, mixed with the ozone-like smell of magic.

  All at once, he stilled as a presence washed over him. His master became almost tangible as his voice boomed out in his mind.

  “I Name you Gründaag, The Verdant Death, and I name you Guardian of this Dungeon.”

  The adder shuddered as radiant light exploded around him before it began seeping into his scales. He felt his Name snap into place like something had been missing all this time. The connection to his master intensified to the point of being overwhelming. The snake, Gründaag, lifted his head to stare at the place where his master’s Awareness hung in the air. The sudden joy of his master, through the bond they shared, sent a shudder through the serpent. That joy remained even as the presence moved on.

  The snake watched his master’s Awareness depart before uncurling from around the pillar where he had lain. He could feel the power of his new Name coiling within him. It was time to hunt once more. Perhaps there was a floor he could claim, or possibly his master would create a new one. Regardless, Gründaag had waited long enough.

  POV Valterra Unok’Davaas

  Valterra couldn’t control his joy and excitement as he flitted around his Dungeon. It worked! He could feel the connection between himself and his two Named creatures blazing strong, even as he examined his floors for possible Guardian candidates. As much as he wanted to Name his first colony of Danians, he wasn’t sure how that worked, and he didn’t want to do anything rash with his new power while they were getting settled in a new place.

  He pulled up his Emerald Adder’s Framework and looked it over again, barely keeping himself from whooping at the sight.

  Gründaag, The Verdant Death (Guardian, Rank D - Iron)

  Named by Valterra Unok’Davaas, Gründaag, The Verdant Death is an Emerald Adder of prodigious strength and speed. Armed with the adder’s deadly poison and powerful coiling strike, this Guardian is a potent and fearsome opponent for any would-be delver. Deadlier still, Gründaag, The Verdant Death possesses enhanced visual hypnosis, which has an increased chance of freezing his prey in the moments before he strikes.

  Valterra couldn’t stop reading the words. This changed everything. It had taken only one hundred Potential to Name his serpent, and he had plenty of Potential left over from his father’s gift. The issue now was keeping himself from Naming everything. He felt the temptation, but he also remembered the warning on his Boon. Whichever creature he chose as a Guardian would be connected irrevocably to himself and his core.

  Not only that, but they would also be able to return from death. As much as he would love to make his whole Dungeon into an undying horde, he knew that would be a mistake. His creatures needed to fight to grow. If they died too many times in rapid succession, then they might become actual monsters, and Valterra had no desire to have that happen.

  Still, he could afford to play around a bit. Ish’Matar had mentioned he could create Guardians without Naming things and figured it was time to experiment with that function. The first thing he did was check on his first two floors for any possible candidates. What he found was as surprising as it was beneficial. His first floor was a riotous place with every beast fighting every other for the chance to climb higher. It was mostly filled with mundane or F-Rank creatures.

  Since the reshuffling, Valterra had not paid much attention to his lower floors, but was gratified to see that his plans were bearing fruit. A number of his lower-ranked creatures were getting close to Ascension, and if he chose a few to be Guardians, then their Pool of Ascension was sure to be increased when they did so. The surprisingly beneficial environment of his first and second floors lay in the dens that contained his Aether Pools. They were spread around, but each one was a hotly contested arena of combat.

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  Any creature that claimed such an area would find its reserves of Aether rising rapidly, but only if it could keep them. Valterra found a few cases where a creature held onto it for an extended period. Out of the dozen or so dens on the first floor, Valterra found two instances where the denizens had proven tenacious enough to scrape out a rough sort of territory with the Aether Pool den at the center.

  The first case was a familiar female mouse that was massive in a way that defied expectations. A higher Ascension than most other creatures on the first floor, it was safe to say that she could have tried to climb higher. Looking at her thoughts, however, he realized she would never do so unless forced to. For one thing, the Aether Pool she had laid claim to would help in that regard, as the Aether density was sufficient for her needs. Second, she would never abandon her brood, though that was for less sentimental reasons than he might have wished.

  She was as tyrannical as ever and now with an appetite to match. It took everything for her little group to keep her fed, even with her helping from time to time—such a perfect specimen for testing. So Valterra went ahead and made her a Guardian, watching in rapt fascination as the title settled over her. She twitched as the power of it settled on her before looking around with wide eyes. He could practically see a new kind of awareness light within her eyes before she returned to snapping at her brood, who had stopped to stare at her.

  Valterra opened up her new Framework profile.

  Mouse Gorger (Guardian, Rank E - Bronze)

  Chosen by the Dungeon Valterra Unok’Davaas to be a Guardian, this mouse has exhibited all the traits of a tyrant. Ruling over her brood with an iron paw, she commands their utter loyalty. She is highly territorial and will fight tooth and claw to defend her brood and nest. With her strengthened jaws, sharp claws, and massive muscular frame, she is a fearsome predator.

  He hummed thoughtfully, looking at her new profile and comparing it to the normal mice around her. It was interesting to him that the System, along with the boon he had been given, was so adept at taking in the individual characters of the creatures he made into Guardians. That, more than anything, convinced him to keep their number small. Though the choosing hadn’t cost much Potential at all, fifty in total, he could see it becoming tedious to keep track of every creature’s unique situation within his Dungeon.

  No, he determined to himself. He would let his dungeon pick out the worthy for him. As it was, his dungeon was already acting like it was supposed to. It was a process of weeding out the weak and promoting the strong. He would then bless the strong to make them stronger, and if he got some unique creatures out of the mix, then so much the better.

  It was with this thought that Valterra moved on to the next creature that had caught his eye. Or rather…he supposed it was more like an environmental hazard than a creature. What he found inside the den was a large, thriving patch of Aetherdew Mold around the Aether Pool at the center, which was surprising since he didn’t remember introducing that Framework to the first floor. Using his new System, it was easier than he would have thought to dive through his memories to figure out how it had gotten there.

  In the chaos of the invasion with the tiny Fae, a couple of them had stumbled upon the Aetherdew Mold when charging toward the fortress of mice. These Fae had become infected by spores and had retreated from the battle, rightly figuring they had contracted something that needed treatment. They had fled back across the bridge and back underneath the porch, but hadn’t made it any farther. Unseen, the spores had propagated and spread through different targets that had come to feast on the Fae remains until their newest target had found the Aether Pool.

  It was here that the fungus had found fertile soil, so to speak, on which to plant itself, and it had done so, no longer needing fresh victims to sustain itself. Having encapsulated the Aether Pool, it was now able to attract new targets without issue. An interesting, though weird, ecosystem had spread out around it. Newer mundane creatures often fell victim to the mold’s spore attack after trying to collect its Aether-Dew. Still, the older and more experienced mundanes and even a few commons had found that if they were careful, they could steal the Aether-Dew and dodge the ensuing spore attack.

  What interested Valterra was the rate at which the creatures were growing and gathering Aether. Not to mention the fact that the majority of those creatures were Sylcyne Catapillers, so it wouldn’t be long until he had a new influx of Ascensions, despite it only being the first floor where the Aether was thin. That such a thing was only possible because of the mold was undeniable. So he made it a Guardian and watched as the strands of mycelium quivered and the Aether-Dew droplets gleamed. Then it was done, and he was pulling up its description.

  Aether-Dew Mold (Guardian, Rank F - Copper)

  Once a mundane Mold, this fungus has come a long way. From the nooks of the fifth floor, it has infected its way to the first, where it is no longer at the bottom of the food chain but near the top. Stationary as it is, its dichotomous nature of benevolence and infectious death has reaped a notable harvest for its dungeon, and so it has been granted Guardian status. Time will tell how this deadly environmental trap will grow.

  With this, Valterra was satisfied. He would revisit the topic of Guardians at a later date for his other floors, but before he could get started on choosing more creatures, he felt something shift inside his core, and his System blared at him.

  Claimancy in Progress!

  A new sapient race is in the process of being claimed! As the one doing the claiming and as head administrator of this version of the System, would you like to deny other possible claimants?