Chapter 36: Chapter 34 – Designs Revised

I refrained from teleporting ahead. Mass Teleport looked far more appealing in hindsight, but I'm sure I would have time to learn it later. In the meantime, Geni sat on my shoulder and we 'raced' to the other room. It wasn't really much of a contest though. The Kindlesprite wasn't competitive, and she was also significantly faster than me. Still, we moved fairly quickly, and I only tripped once.

 

When we arrived, I huffed a little breath out from habit, then froze in my tracks. The entire room was different from before.

 

There was a pastel-colored cobblestone path leading between the stone structures in front of us. I wanted to say it was garish, but there was an optical illusion to it that made it look white when I wasn't looking directly at it. There was loose soil lining the sides of the path, which I assumed would be used to grow grass eventually. Flows of earth mana also traveled along the path, like plumbing or electrical lines under a road in the city.

 

Following those lines with my eyes, I saw that outside the 'city' area, there was a stretch of loam soil that led to the sandy shores of the river. There was a decent amount of water bubbling by, but it still didn't quite reach as high as I'd hoped. Looking upstream, I noticed that the lake was about half filled with crystal clear water. I briefly wondered why it was so clear when there should have been eroded sand in it, before I noticed the walls.

 

They were far taller than before. Thick stone ramps stretched in long clockwise twists across the walls, with dozens of Greater Rockworms digging in a huge spiral around the room. The spiral seemed to be centered on the location my Crystal Core once occupied, with some of the ramps even disappearing into the wall. The untouched stone inside the spiral was starting to turn into metal ores and crystals, presumably to be mined later. Above that though, was the ceiling.

 

Before, a portion of the room had been dedicated to Corina's place of power in the middle, with the remainder of the room being the same stone that filled the rest of the Dungeon. Now, however, all of the stone that wasn't being consumed by Rockworms was white marble. Small veins of pink-gold and bronze coloring wove across every surface in intricate patterns. Some of those patterns also had mana infused scrollwork running through them, showing they held purpose, but even they were formed in a way that emphasized aesthetic appeal. Thick pillars regularly reached down towards the floor, likewise engraved with magical patterns. 

 

Aside from the material, the ceiling also curved upward slightly towards the middle. The hole over the lake had been expanded, with an odd collection of engraved stalactites hanging down above it. Although it wasn't perfect, air mana was being directed around and through those protrusions. The result was a quiet whistling sound, as if someone were playing a tuneless melody from somewhere out of sight.

 

My eyes were naturally drawn towards the former center of the room, but I forced myself to look past it. On the far side of the river was a field of loose stones and large crystal formations. It looked as if the material was growing out of the ground, then simply falling once it reached a certain size. I could see multiple glints of shining metal in the stones, and I also noted the presence of uncut precious gems laying around like litter.

 

There were four Oreworms frolicking around the mineral field, eating up the valuable materials like candy. I smiled wryly at the sight, before giving an Order that they shouldn't eat ore from that location. They stopped immediately, confusion spreading through their auras. Then they turned as one and went towards the crystallizing wall behind me. Pfft. Stubborn things. I'll talk with Corina before dealing with them. Speaking of Corina...

 

Her place of power was the last thing I looked at. As before, it took the shape of a temple-like marble structure. A few short steps led up over thin, water filled channels. Columns were arranged in a circle to hold up an entirely new roof, each one decorated with obsidian inlay instead of the usual golden streaks the rest of the room used. The roof itself was formed of a dome covered in mosaics made of precious gems and polished obsidian statuettes. The entire structure radiated earth mana, which was quickly captured and flowed throughout the patterns under the ground.

 

I looked around a little longer, making sure I hadn't missed anything. There was still an unfinished feeling to everything, but it was so beautiful despite that. My anticipation to see the end result was so strong that I thought I might drown in it. I placed my hand over my chest and took slow, deep breaths... But as before, it changed nothing. I couldn't calm myself the way I used to. It took all my self control not to bound away and explore every little detail from up close.

 

Taking measured steps towards Corina's temple, I motioned for the Kindlesprite to follow. The 'cobblestone' was smooth as a normal sidewalk, with the texture coming from painted on shadows. Excessive detail in a place that didn't need it, but it made me smile.

 

As we got closer, the air started to feel heavier and there was a somewhat familiar flavor or scent. Like being near a stove as you waited for a baking pie. It was similar to standing too close to the necrified stone at the edge of the dungeon, only the feeling was comforting rather than alarming. Perhaps this was a quality of earth mana.

 

We moved up the stairs and into the temple. The floor and roof were covered in engravings and mosaics much like the outside, only these used the same optical illusion as the path to make themselves less eye catching. In a way, that made the throne stand out even more. It remained even if you looked at it from the corner of your eye, obsidian shaped into miniature cliffs and valleys. The only parts of the throne that weren't black crystal were a large prismatic gem set into the tip of the headrest, and a few white cushions to make the seating more comfortable.

 

Corina was standing on the left side of the room from where we entered, observing the place where the river disappeared underground. She strode towards us as soon as she noticed our entrance. Once she was close enough, she stopped and hugged the cushion she was holding. Then she gave a shy smile. "You had a chance to see the room on your way in, I hope. Is everything to your liking?"

 

I smiled back at her. She'd done good work, and I decided to tell her so. "It's amazing. I never expected-" I gestured around, suddenly not knowing how to explain myself. "Everything is so well made and beautiful." I was stuck again, anything I could think of just sounded so flat... Simple is best, then. "Well done, Corina."

 

She smiled brightly, stepping towards me a few times before the Kindlesprite interposed herself between us. Corina didn't seem to notice, just hugging her cushion until it looked like it might pop. She hummed to herself happily, then calmed down a little so she could answer. "Good, I'm glad." She tried to adopt a more serious expression, but she was still smiling. "There's still a lot of work to do, so if there's anything wrong, just say so and I'll fix it."

 

She gestured for us to follow her, then moved towards the side of the room facing the lake. Once we were there, she pointed up at the stalactites. "I was inspired by what you did with the river. I can't really control air mana, you'll need someone else for that. But these arrays should stir up the air itself, a little bit at least. I'm fairly sure that air mana gathers in places with high winds."

 

She gave a pleased nod up at her work, then looked at me for a reaction. She must have been satisfied, because she smiled again and pointed towards the mineral field. "Some of the ore veins will have to be reached through tunneling, but I was able to get a few to sprout into the space over there. I figured it would be better to leave the minerals over there and the farms on this side of the river, in case enemies managed to reach this far. Damaged crops are harder to use than damaged rocks."

 

Then she pointed out the walls with the Rockworms. "Mica is currently managing the Rockworms. We left some space inside the spiral for mining and for the Oreworm to eat. I think they'll repop more often if they eat ore instead of converting stone to ore first. As to using them to create ore like you wanted, I think it's just barely viable. If they eat common ores like iron, and then produce magical ores-" She scrunched up her nose with a little huff. "Well, that would probably slow their repopulation rate. But if you only have a percentage of the entire population creating ores, they should be quite helpful."

 

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I hesitantly held up a hand. "About that... The first batches of Oreworms and Elemental Rockworms just repopped. The Oreworms were eating in the field, but I ordered them not to. They went over there instead." I pointed out the ore rich wall. "What are the exact orders I should give them?"

 

"Ah." She thought about it. "Well, it's up to you but... That wall is meant to be dug out by the Oreworms, so it's fine to leave them to it. Or maybe you should order them to eat it, and then specify which ores they can eat afterwards, while forbidding the ores you want to use. Then you can order some of them to produce more of the ores you want."

 

She gave a weak smile. "I could make the same ores, but it would take longer and require a lot of my attention. Right now, the ores I'm making are forming somewhat naturally, so it's quite easy." A streak of nervousness went through her aura. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. With a final shake of her head, she forced a smile and looked at me again. "I sort of took you on a tour without thinking about anything, but did you have something you wanted to talk to me about?"

 

She was acting a little suspiciously, but I was the last person who'd force someone to talk about anything. I pushed aside my doubts and shifted my weight to my left. "I wanted to discuss the repopped creatures. We already covered the Oreworms, I guess. That just leaves the Elemental variants."

 

For a moment her eyes widened, then she nodded with a sigh. "Right, that makes sense. They're the best at tunneling of all the Rockworms, so you should probably have them doing the most important work." She shot a guilty look at me. "Ah but, what did you want to use them for?"

 

I smiled wryly at her. Aside from letting them dig out my Core room, the other options were to have them expand the Gate room or the Residential room. The second two options would mean they would be working with other types of Rockworm, which hadn't worked so well in the past. Or, I could swap them out so that whichever type they replaced would work on my Core room instead. I'd come here because I wanted outside input on the decision. Passing it back to me right away wasn't helpful.

 

I shifted my weight again. "The most important work is probably the Gate room, right? If nothing else gets done before the end of the month, I need to have that room prepared for battle. The reason I wanted to talk about it is because of the different repop rates. I have four Elemental Rockworms right now, and like three hundred Common Rockworms, or something. Is it really better to use the Elemental Variants?" This last I directed to both of my present creatures. I noticed with a little annoyance that Geni had disappeared at some point.

 

Corina gave a small noise of understanding, then closed her eyes for a moment. Then she gasped. "So many... There's a lot more than three hundred. At this rate, the Common Rockworms will significantly outperform the other species."

 

I looked at her incredulously for a moment. Then realization dawned on me. Enough time had passed for the second cycle of repops from the Common Rockworms. The first batch had been fourteen Rockworms creating four to eight eggs each. And every clutch after that had been larger. It wouldn't be surprising if they'd already reached a thousand.

 

I sighed. "So in the end, it's still better to leave the Common variant in the Gate room."

 

Corina nodded slightly. "For now, at least." She stopped talking, seemingly lost in thought.

 

I looked at the Kindlesprite. "What do you think about where each variant should be assigned?"

 

The Sprite seemed slightly surprised, but her answer was quick enough. "The current arrangement is acceptable. However..." She hesitated. After a moment of thought, she continued cautiously. "A maze to protect your Core is good, but I am unsure whether it is better than making a second defensive room between the Gate room and this room."

 

It was something I'd thought of already, but I could only dig out so much space. The question of whether I needed the second room or the maze was mostly dependent on the number of combat capable creatures I could deploy. There was no point in the second room if I didn't have anyone to defend it. The digging had already started, but there was no way to know how many creatures I would have by the time it was done. It was truly frustrating.

 

But... "My best guess is that we won't have enough creatures for that. Not in the first month." I shook my head. "But that isn't really important. In order for the enemy to reach my Core room, they would need to get through everything else. If that's the case, then there wouldn't be any point in defeating them at the last moment. I... won't aim for a pyrrhic victory." Looking at it like that, the choice was fairly obvious.

 

I pulled out the Interface, which automatically shifted to the Orders menu. A new Order appeared even as I thought it. 'Elemental Rockworms should create and expand a new room leading from the western edge of the 'Gate Room' and connect it to the 'Residential Room'.'

 

Hmm? Western edge? I could probably rely on the Interface's sense of direction. The side I'd been thinking of was left of the Gate... That would make north towards the Gate, and southeast towards my Core. The new room would be in the northwestern section of the Dungeon. I wasn't sure how smart the Chaos Beasts were, but sending them away from my Core was sort of obvious. Figuring out where they went next was a problem for another day.

 

A spark of regret ran through the Kindlesprite's aura. Most likely, weakening the defense in my Core room was unpleasant for her. But she simply nodded.

 

I turned my attention back to the Interface. "Well, there was another reason for coming here. We have enough CP to summon another Fairy now." I looked back up. "Shall we visit the lake?"