At my current rate, a full primal ascension was about four days worth of mana. Certainly not breaking the bank, but that was mana that could be spent on anything else. It would take every ounce of my capacity, leaving nothing behind until I had time to regenerate.

A little risky. I doubted anything serious would happen in the few hours it would take to get a workable amount of mana stored again, but life had a funny way of making worst-case scenarios far more common than they had any right to be.

“Ephi’s useful for a lot more than just sneaking, so that’s not exactly the ace that you seem to think it is,” I replied to Libra, “She’s a higher level than you and she’s proven herself to work well under pressure a few times already.”

She waited silently, her tail rigid and straight. “…But?”

“…But, I’ll admit that her ability to sneak around has come in handy several times. I’m not about to eliminate her from the running on something this major just for that, though. If I only wanted her as a spy, I wouldn’t have chosen an ascension that made her bigger. There are a hundred different ways that she could still contribute if she loses that. And besides, you didn’t tell me why you wanted it. You only told me why I shouldn’t give it to Ephi.”

She straightened her posture, sitting quietly as she formulated a response.

“He was powerful—the one that we brought the tea to. Even when we first met him, I could sense some sort of presence in the air surrounding him, though at the time I did not understand what I felt,” she began to explain, remaining motionless, “It was only as I began to practice my magic further that I recognized it. It is the same power that flows around the false suns that I create, but unimaginably different in magnitude. A pebble compared to a mountain. Is it not natural to wish to become stronger, knowing beings such as him exist? If the path he took brought him to such heights, then there is sense in copying it, yes?”

It made sense, at least, though I was almost surprised that her answer was so direct. Self-serving as far as motivations go, but at the same time I could understand where she was coming from. Standing on our own, we were certainly weaker than a human would be, and Cheshire stood quite a bit higher than that. It had to be a sobering experience to meet someone powerful enough that they could end her existence without so much as blinking.

Considering that he’d once teleported directly into the innermost sanctum of our home, I knew the feeling.

“I get where you’re coming from, but I want you to be realistic in your expectations. As far as we know, Cheshire’s been around for ages. Competing directly against him like that is just setting yourself up for disappointment,” I explained, trying not to sound too discouraging, “That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing to try to get stronger, just that it’s not going to be as easy as giving you a few ascensions and calling it a day.”

She nodded. “I understand as much, but I would still like to try.”

At least I had a proper understanding of her motives at this point. Getting some additional insight into how she thought was certainly useful, too. Still, having to decide between which of them would get the first pick at ascension was troublesome.

It needed to be done eventually, I knew that much. There were just considerations that I had been hung up on. Would they require additional food afterward? If so, then our reserves might be stretched thin and the greenhouse might not be able to keep up in its current state. Would they be able to jump right into working again, or would they need time to adjust? What if this new form wasn’t as resilient against the cold? I’d need to make proper clothing, and that would be difficult in its own right. Parts of the dungeon were specifically tailored around the diminutive sizes of Ephi and Libra—if they ended up bigger, then I’d need a proper entrance for someone ‘human-sized’, which would in turn need defenses.

On top of that, I couldn’t help but feel it might discourage whoever didn’t get picked first—as if I were playing favorites. All I could do was make my decision based on practical reasons and hope that they both understood.

My mind raced at the unknown. It was clear that I was overthinking it, but I couldn’t help it. It would be a big change, and it was a risky time to make such a big leap. At the same time, each day spent pushing it off was only shoving the problem down the road.

At some point, I needed to just be decisive and take action. Ideally in a way that would not expose us to any unneeded risks.

“Look, I’m going to promise you something. I don’t know if I’m going to ascend you first, but I promise you that whatever I pick, I’ll help you get stronger. If I don’t pick you this time, then we’ll make it a high priority to do it soon. That sound fair?”

Her eyes narrowed and her fur bristled at my response. “Very well,” she replied, hardly bothering to hide her disappointment, “I will defer to your judgment. How will you decide such a thing?”

“Once Ephi wakes up, we’re going to have a meeting to discuss our options. We’re going to be handling this today.”

It was several more hours before our resident rodent finally awoke. I had Libra tend to the plants in the meantime—it wasn’t the chore she was best suited for, but she was surprisingly eager to jump into the task.

Must’ve been trying to score some extra points with me.

I gave Ephi some time to wake up and eat before I began to barrage her with our daily agenda. Our first order of business was handling her level-up. It had technically occurred during our wagon train heist, but with all that had been going on, we hadn’t taken the time to discuss her options for spending her skill points. I’d brushed the notification off, hardly even looking at it in the moment so as to not get distracted.

Experience Requirements Met.

MOUSE RUNT has increased to LVL 5.

MOUSE RUNT has gained 2 skill points.

STRENGTH has increased by 1.

VITALITY has increased by 1.

“Before you pick anything, it’s only fair that I bring you into the loop on today’s plan,” I chimed in over our link, taking some time to fill her in on what I’d already gone over with Libra, focusing mostly on my concerns for our long-term survival and our ability to defend ourselves.

“I think I understand, although I don’t really see the rush. If you think that now is the time to move forward with that, then I don’t see any reason not to. I’m sure that you’ve already done enough planning on it to cover anything Libra and I combined could add,” she replied while taking her morning laps around the greenhouse, “And you’re not sure who to pick?”

“Yep. You’ll both get it eventually, but we’ll have to see how badly this stretches our food reserves before committing to two ascensions this winter.”

She slowed her pace, seemingly inspecting the newly-tended crops. “Hm. Well, if you believe Libra to be the better choice, I won’t argue.”

“What, are you dropping out of the running? Really?”, I questioned.

“No. I would be interested in it, of course. You already said that you’re going to try to be impartial with your choice, and I trust that you won’t leave me behind. I just don’t want you to feel bad if you have to make a choice that seems like it might upset me,” she remarked, picking up her pace again.

“Huh. Well, I appreciate the concern. Don’t worry about me too much. Anyways, let’s go over your skills, yeah?”

She nodded at this, pausing her exercise to give her full attention to me while I relayed a portion of the countless choices she had available. Despite her seemingly low interest in the ‘fight’ for the first proper promotion, I couldn’t help but take notice of her picks.

⬘ Enhanced Dexterity I ⬘

Gives +1 to Dexterity. In addition, provides a multiplier to base dexterity values, increasing movement speed, accuracy with ranged and melee weaponry, agility, and balance. Grants a small bonus to reaction speed.

TYPE:

Passive

CATEGORY:

Proficiency

Conditions Met. Combining skills.

[Enhanced Strength I] 🡆

[Enhanced Physicality I]

[Enhanced Vitality I] 🡆 [Enhanced Dexterity I] 🡆 ⬘ Enhanced Physicality I ⬘

Encompasses the effects of Enhanced Strength I, Enhanced Vitality I, and Enhanced Dexterity I. Grants the effects of all three. Can replace its component skills as a prerequisite for any skills requiring them.

TYPE:

Passive

CATEGORY:

Proficiency

⬘ Stealth I ⬘

Grants the bearer of this skill an increase in their abilities to move silently and hide from sight. Increases the difficulty for any creature attempting to track this skill's bearer. In addition, the bearer of this skill gains better passive insight into nearby hiding spots.

TYPE:

Passive

CATEGORY:

Proficiency

“Good choices,” I said in approval, dropping her skill points on them, “Focusing a bit on sneakiness, I see.”

She nodded. “We’ve had to skulk around several times, so being able to do that better makes sense. Improving my agility seemed like it would help with that while still helping in other ways.”

And it would eliminate one of the biggest issues I’d potentially have with giving her the ascension. She wasn’t dumb, even if she tried to downplay her interest.

“Makes sense, I completely agree. Anyways, now that we’ve got that settled I think it’s time for our meeting. I’m going to call Libra over, we can just hold it here until we get a proper room set up for it.”

The fox and the mouse rested just a short distance away from one another, silently awaiting my decision.

Libra had ambition, and her magic was single-handedly keeping our crops alive through the brutal snow. She was patient, quick to learn, and didn’t mind picking up additional work if it helped the group. At the same time, she was several levels short of Ephi and the newest addition to our group. In truth, she had come at me with one of the best arguments she could have: that Ephi might simply be too good at her job to promote right this moment. That was the single biggest point leaning in her favor, as much as I hated to admit it.

On the other hand, Ephi was earnest. She said what was on her mind and tended to act before thinking. While she wasn’t technically my first employee—the crow was still out there somewhere—that didn’t matter all that much. As far as I was concerned, that badge was hers. She was loyal, hard-working, and a genuine friend. Sure, she might not always listen, but it was almost always when I was being too wishy-washy or overly protective.

It wasn’t any easy choice, but it was one I’d just have to live with.

“Before we begin, I just want to reiterate that this isn’t a one-time thing. Once we hit it big, we’re probably going to be handing ascensions like this out left and right. Still, I know there’s a bit of excitement that comes with getting something first. So, with that settled, I’m just going to start with my choice.”

“I’m going with Ephi for our first ascension,” I stated, “I think that she’ll be the choice that brings us the most benefits in the short-term—since again, you’ll be able to ascend soon too, Libra. Ephi knows the lay of the land better and has more experience dealing with the threats outside: beasts, monsters, and humans. Since this position is almost certainly going to involve combat at some point, Ephi seems like our best candidate. I think that a demihuman ascension will be our best way forward, assuming it’s available, as this will also potentially open up the chance for us to trade.”

I did my best to gauge their reactions.

Libra’s body lowered a bit, tail resting down on the ground only for a moment. Her eyes darted to the side towards Ephi, before quickly fixing themselves back to staring forwards. Disappointed, though trying not to show it.

Ephi hardly reacted at all, simply bobbing her head up and down once. Her feelings were harder to guess on it.

“I’m still two mana short of being able to do it, so go grab some food and rest for a bit. Come to the core-room once you’re ready. Are we all good with this? No objections?”

The mouse gave a short bow. “None.”

Libra remained still, her eyes shifting about, deep in thought. “I will accept this. Next time, though—please,” she replied a moment later, before standing up and slinking off towards her quarters.

I didn’t hold her bit of moping against her. It was clear that she’d really wanted it, perhaps she’d even gone into the meeting assured of her victory.

Ephi ate and cleaned herself before finally making her way to the sanctum, laying in front of the shimmering blue gem that was the closest thing to a heart I had.

“…What is it like, being human?”, she asked after a few moments of silence.

“Look, I’m gonna be fully honest with you here. I could tell you how it was for me, but it probably won’t compare well. It was a totally different place with totally different rules. Are demihumans all that different from regular humans? We’re both going into this blind,” I explained.

“That is normal for us, so I’m not very worried. Are you ready to do it?”, she asked, trepidation leaking into her tone despite her attempts to remain calm.

I pulled up my sheet, checking. “One left. Should just be a few minutes. If anything, I should be the one asking you if you’re ready, though. Any second thoughts?”

She shook her head, her body resting flat on the ground. “I’m nervous. It will be a big change, and I know that I won’t be able to go back. I know that it might make my life harder for a while. But if it helps you, then there’s no question. I’m ready.”

Huh. I wasn’t really quite sure how to process that kind of devotion, even if I was almost… relieved to hear it. We had been together for most of her life so far. Maybe it wasn’t that extraordinary for her to trust me.

“One last thing, though. When you’re ready to do it, do it. I think I’m going to close my eyes and rest for a while,” she added, curling up tight and getting comfortable.

“Sure thing. See you on the other side, Ephi.”

It didn’t take much longer for the time to come.

My mana reached its capacity, and I checked Ephi’s stat block one last time. She was resting peacefully, not quite asleep but not quite fully awake either.

Doing as she asked, I poured my mana forth, feeling an almost chilling sensation as the gradually-stored energy within myself all rushed out at once, a flow so dense that it formed a crackling, snapping blue fog between us.

Only briefly, though.

PRIMAL ASCENSION IN PROGRESS. Alpha Ascension:

Requires [Gigantism] trait or greater.

Drastic increase to strength and vitality. Increases leadership abilities.

Reduction to mental stats. Drastic increase in caloric upkeep.

Chimeric Ascension:

Requires two [Core] skills or greater.

Increase to physical stats. Grants two free random traits which can be from any species. Increases health regeneration.

Permanently binds creature to the core for sustenance. Takes damage from prolonged time away from the Core's mana field.

Demihuman Ascension:

Requires [Forged Sapience] trait or greater.

Minor increase to cognitive stats and vitality. Increases ability to utilize tools and weapons.

Reduces XP gain rate. Reduces MP regeneration. Reduces perception.

Elemental Infusion:

Life-Elemental Ascension:

Requires [Life Magic I] skill or greater.

Vastly increases aptitude for life magic. Grants full resistance to life-aspected damage.

Grants extreme vulnerability to death-aspected damage.

We had our plan. While I made note of the other options, I wasn’t about to even consider any of them now that Ephi was well and truly unconscious. Going against her expectations just sounded cruel.

Making my choice, the prompt faded away, as the residual energy still lingering in the air around the mouse’s form began to spread out, the cloud growing larger and more opaque, forming something almost akin to a cocoon of energy around her. It solidified further and further until I could see little else but the shadow of her form through it. It coalesced into a jagged, crystalline shape, still humming with latent energy.

It was only a matter of waiting now, even if I felt a bit apprehensive about how different this was from all the previous ones. Ascension had a nasty habit of knocking its target out cold for a bit, but this was a step up from that. I could only hope that everything was alright.

The first day without Ephi there was the most difficult for me. Often, I found myself taking notice of her absence, impulsively wondering where she was or what she was doing. It usually only took a split second to remember why.

[Core Link] was unresponsive from her end. I couldn’t communicate with her, and my attempts to see through her eyes returned a migraine-inducing barrage of psionic static.

The chrysalis surrounding her grew at a disturbing pace—not quite fast enough to be visible to the naked eye, but it seemed that every time I checked back on it, the shroud of impenetrable energy had swelled outwards another inch or two. I tried to busy myself with tasks around the base or by talking with Libra to distract myself from it.

She didn’t bother asking about Ephi’s state, though it wasn’t as if she could go without noticing the mouse’s absence. Still, she filled in for Ephi’s work without complaint, continuing to tend to the crops in the meantime. She was clearly still sour over not being picked; it wasn’t as if she made any attempt to hide her disappointment, though by the end of the first day her mood seemed to have turned upwards a bit.

I worked on human-proofing our home in the meantime. Ceilings needed raising, hallways needed expanding, and I’d need to make proper sleeping quarters for her now. She’d certainly need clothing, armor, and tools as well, but I wouldn’t be able to make much progress on that without her here.

The last thing would be an exit that she’d be able to use. This would need to be well-hidden, and easy to fortify or defend in a worst-case scenario. Eventually, I settled on a cascade a little way upriver from us, using the rest of my free time to dig over to it from the long tunnel connecting to our roadside outpost. Tree cover was a little sparse in the immediate area due to the rocky earth, but the entrance could be easily concealed with foliage and earth. While it would be inconvenient for us as well, I made the entrance tunnel awkward to traverse, with the ceiling occasionally dipping low enough to concuss anyone trying to blindly rush through and the floor uneven and rocky.

Small touches, but ones that would hopefully slow down any invading force if we ever found ourselves in the unenviable situation of being attacked.

Using a similar tech to the owl-smasher I’d made back before winter had fallen, I added a thick stone door that could be raised and lowered, doing my best to blend it into the surrounding rock. It wasn’t perfect, but it would take a discerning eye to notice the gap around its edges on the rock face. To a less keen observer, it would hopefully just look like cracks in the granite.

Even with all of those precautions, having such an entrance felt wrong. I did my best to brush the feeling off, but being down to a single employee while also having a human-sized entrance to the outside world felt a bit like how I might’ve felt going to bed with my front door wide open back in my past life.

The cocoon continued to grow throughout the second day, only finally stabilizing in size on the third. I didn’t dare interfere with it for fear of interrupting the process.

On the third evening, the entire thing shook, my attention instantly diverting away from clearing away snow from the greenhouse’s covered dome. Its clouded, glass-like surface rippled as if it was liquid, before rapidly starting to melt away like a cube of ice dropped into hot tea.

I watched dumbstruck as Ephi emerged from the chrysalis. With each passing second, more of my employee’s new form became visible, along with an alert cheerfully popping up to announce the success of the process.

PRIMAL ASCENSION SUCCESSFUL DIRE MOUSE RUNT has ascended into DIRE DEMIMOUSE RUNT.

Strength increased by 2.

Vitality increased by 2.

Intellect increased by 2.

Wisdom increased by 2.

Perception decreased by 1.

[Forged Sapience] trait consumed from ascension. CORE-TOUCHED DIRE DEMIMOUSE (RUNT) LVL: 5 NAME: "Ephilia"

Traits:

[Gigantism]

Skills:

[Core Link II]

[Core Bond I]

[Scavenge]

[Festering Bite]

[Enhanced Physicality I]

[Athletics I]

[Self-Catalyzation]

[Life Magic I]

[Stealth I]

Spells:

[Rapid Bloom I]

Equipped:

HP: 18 / 18 CATEGORY: Employee MP: 0 / 3 SPECIES: Field Mousekin SP: 8 / 8 SIZE: Large XP: 0% GENDER: ♀ STR VIT DEX INT WIS PER 8 9 6 7 5 6

A mousekin under the auric influence of a dungeon core. Possesses moderate physical stats and enhanced stature. Force Level-Up Cost: 30 MP Criteria for Next Ascension Tier:

Cost: 100 MP

My vision glazed over for a moment, tiredly trying to make some sense of the numbers popping up before me.

Things hadn’t gone exactly as planned, unfortunately. An oversight on my part perhaps, or simply a lack of knowledge.

Slowly, Ephi’s new form began to stir to life from its position sprawled on the floor, hands clumsily sliding across the floor as she pushed herself to a seated position.

“…Boss? Are you there?”, she asked over our link, letting out a shaky yawn, “I feel… different. Cold. Hungry. Boss?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I replied, still a bit bewildered, “It’s probably going to take some getting used to. For both of us.”

My little mouse was gone, and where she’d once sat was a woman—or something close enough to one, anyways. Her hands reached upwards, shakily uneasily as she got used to these new appendages. Uneasy fingers brushed through her hair, a mess of black and white much like the pattern of her old fur coat, eventually finding the pair of large, rat-like ears atop her head. As if testing them, she pinched down lightly and gave them a tug, her tail twitching on the floor like a snake.

“I guess so. Do I look human, then? Did it work?”, she asked, examining herself as she tried—and miserably failed—to rise to her feet.

“…In a way. The ears and tail will give you away, though Cheshire did mention that demihumans exist in some capacity so that might not be too bad. There was something we didn’t account for, though.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”, she chimed in, worried.

Pulling up her sheet again, I couldn’t help but sigh at making such a mistake. All of our plans would need revising.

“I don’t know how to break this to you, but I think your sneaking days might be over for now. I didn’t think that your previous traits would have such a drastic effect. It’s hard to tell exactly, but you’re probably a full foot or two taller than any other person we’ve met so far.”

She blinked, jaw agape as she stared at my core.

“Oh, huh. Cool. I'm gonna go grab some food," she remarked, barely listening. She stood up on wobbling legs, took a single step, and tripped and fell flat on her face.

CURRENT PROGRESS:

BOSS

FRAGMENT OF COALESCED WILL LVL: 4 NAME: "Boss"

Traits:

Skills:

[Horticulture I]

[Biology I]

[Creator's Insight]

[Mech. Engineering II]

[Textiles I]

[Transmutation I]

[Mining I]

[Core Metalworking]

[Eidetic Blueprinting]

Features:

[Manamite Creation]

[Self-Synthesis]

[Manamite Specialization I]

[Material Infusion]

HP: 18 / 18 CATEGORY: Elemental MP: 61 / 100 SPECIES: Dungeon Core MP Rate: +27 daily SIZE: Tiny WEALTH: 6 XP: 25% STR VIT DEX INT WIS PER 0 6 0 10 9 8

Nascent heart of a world-born entity, crystallized from soul energy. Exerts control over a localized area.

Manamite Horde (155 / 177):

145 Manamites

1 Managermites (-3 MP/d)

Boiler Squad (5 / 20):

5 Manamites

Memorymites (3)

Criteria for Next Ascension Tier:

Level: 5

Wealth: 25

Employees: 3

Cost: 100 MP

Facility: Prison Virtual Hoard:

[COMMON MATERIALS]

➤1241.4 Raw Stone

➤418.0 Loose Soil

➤65.1 Biological Material

➤201.1 Raw Lumber

➤24.7 Plant Fiber

➤0.0 Raw Crystal

➤12.4 Iron Ore

➤30.9 Copper Ore

[RARE MATERIALS]

➤6.1 Moonstone

➤0.5 Shimmerwood

➤4 Stellarite

➤2.2 Orichalcum

EPHILIA

CORE-TOUCHED DIRE DEMIMOUSE (RUNT) LVL: 5 NAME: "Ephilia"

Traits:

[Gigantism]

Skills:

[Core Link II]

[Core Bond I]

[Scavenge]

[Festering Bite]

[Enhanced Physicality I]

[Athletics I]

[Self-Catalyzation]

[Life Magic I]

[Stealth I]

Spells:

[Rapid Bloom I]

Equipped:

HP: 18 / 18 CATEGORY: Employee MP: 0 / 3 SPECIES: Field Mousekin SP: 8 / 8 SIZE: Large XP: 0% GENDER: ♀ STR VIT DEX INT WIS PER 8 9 6 7 5 6

A mousekin under the auric influence of a dungeon core. Possesses moderate physical stats and enhanced stature. Force Level-Up Cost: 30 MP Criteria for Next Ascension Tier:

Cost: 100 MP

LIBRA

CORE-TOUCHED FOX KIT LVL: 3 NAME: "Libra"

Traits:

[Forged Sapience]

[Mana Processing]

Skills:

[Core Link I]

[Core Bond I]

[Stealth I]

[Evasion I]

[Self-Catalyzation]

[Light Magic I]

Spells:

[Sunlight Orb II]

Equipped:

🞚 Moonlit Silver Opal Ring-Amulet

HP: 9 / 9 CATEGORY: Employee MP: 2 / 2 SPECIES: Fox SP: 5 / 5 SIZE: Small XP: 45% GENDER: ♀ STR VIT DEX INT WIS PER 3 3 5 6 (+1) 4 7

A common red fox imbued with the auric touch of a dungeon core. A cunning and playful beast that's known for causing mischief. Force Level-Up Cost: 30 MP Criteria for Next Ascension Tier:

PRIMAL ASCENSION

Cost: 100 MP