With the advent of Ego Smithing, a new category of life has been created, the Construct. But to which Archon does this life belong? Not to Abraxas, for they are not its spawn. Not to Logos, for they are merely the product of man and not man itself. In the past, all life was under the domain of a god, and it was good, it was righteous! These Constructs lay outside this system which has defined our place in the universe for so long. Having no god to ordain their fate, they violate the harmony of creation so painstakingly designed for us by the Archons. Only ruin can come from desecrating the plans of the divine. The creation of Constructs is a sin against the almighty. I fully believe these beings to be a greater threat to this world than even the demons of the unknowable. Even the method of crafting is an affront to the divine; manipulating the free souls to create life is the domain of the gods, not of mortals! I urge the church to make clear the correct morals on this matter. Outlaw the creation of these Contracts, and call for an immediate campaign of extermination against those already crafted.

-Open letter to the Church of the Venerable Gnostics by Archbishop Praed, founder of the Sect of the Split Rune, 241 EC

Although the victory came without injury, it was clear that Mud could not yet kill these Corpse Worms without significant effort. Where the golem to be attacked by multiple Worms at the same time, fleeing might be the only option. Each of the magical beasts long, undulating arms was fully capable of ripping a limb off of Mud or tearing away parts of its body if it didn't react perfectly. For the time being, Mud would simply hunt the top layer.

And so, Mud and Jabrax cut through seemingly endless hundreds of Giant Caterpillar. Occasionally, a single Corpse Worm would be encountered, always heading in the direction of the ramp downward. The area covered by the cave complex was truly massive, covering an area that seemed nearly half as large as the entire city above. Considering the size of the complex and the density of enemies, a truly staggering number of insects.

And that was just the first floor; according to information from the Association, this dungeon was a full five floors deep. Floor size and monster volume was said to decrease greatly with each level, although the monsters grew stronger and more clever to compensate. Indeed, the greatest threat during the wave would not be the hordes of Giant Caterpillar, but rather the truly monstrous things lurking in the deepest layers.

Such threats would need to be left to others, thought Mud. Trying to face a tier five would simply be suicidal. Hunting here on the first floor, contributing by clearing the fodder was the proper place for Mud. Disposing of garbage was the golem's specialty, after all.

At that moment, Mud had a revelation. Was not killing pests and unwanted beasts and an important part of caring for a home? Indeed, vital to a great home was a great caretaker for the home. Someone capable of ridding it of unwanted pests. In that sense, slaughtering the Goblins from before, these caterpillars, and even the mice behind the mansion were in service of protecting the Cithlar estate in a direct way.

[Household Mastery Skill increased to level 4]

[Household Magic Skill increased to level 2]

[Kill Pest Spell obtained]

Learning from its past mistakes, Mud did not immediately use its new understanding of the Ideal of Home to attack a nearby Giant Caterpillar. Instead, it checked its description first.

Mud sent a question to Jabrax. "Are human cities a Domain?"

Not pausing from biting into a monster as she replied, the demon's words were slightly hard to make out. "Yeah, hu'ans 'ake der big tows inta 'omains."

Deciding it was safe, Mud corrupted some of its mana with the Ideal of Home. For now, it was keeping half of its mana preemptively corrupted with the Ideal of Control to save time in combat, while leaving the other half uncorrupted. Taking aim at a nearby enemy, Mud imprinted the concept of removing the uninvited onto its corrupted mana.

A brownish gas immerged from Mud and began flowing outward slowly.

[hp reduced by 1]

[hp reduced by 1]

[hp reduced by 1]

[hp reduced by 1]

Immediately, Mud deactivated the spell and fled from the cloud of vapor it had produced. Thankfully, once outside the cloud Mud's health stopped depleting. The rate of health reduction was shockingly fast, Mud haven't only produced a tiny amount of the gas and only lingering within for a fraction of a second. Although it was fully within the remaining vapor, the Giant Caterpillar Mud had been clinging to seemed to not notice it, and showed no signs of pain.

Considering the events that transpired, Mud realized its mistake. The Domain it was in right now was not the City of Geltheas; this is the Dungeon of Geltheas. Here in the dungeon, Mud is the unwanted outsider, and the insects are the proper residents. This spell would not be useful until the wave, it seemed. At least the spell felt strong, though.

As for the other skill increase, Mud was enjoying the increased power of its own Domain. Having a sudden burst of inspiration, Mud attempted to project its mana into its far distant Domain. Unfortunately, the effort proved futile. Perhaps it would be possible once it strengthed its control, though. The idea of defending the Cithlar estate from anywhere in the world by blasting out gusts of Kill Pest was highly attractive.

Continuing its slaughter, Mud meditated further on the Ideals it knew, hoping for new insight. Unfortunately for the golem, none came, and it continued hunting in the dungeon late into the afternoon. After killing seven more lone Corpse Worms over the course of day Mud gained another level, and chose to strengthen its soul.

[Mud Golem Species increased to Level 8]

Nearing sunset, Mud decided to take a break from the dungeon to handle other business. Jabrax had been complaining for a few hours about wanting a break, and Mud wanted to check in on the blacksmith. According to the Almanac, the scheduled time for completion was not too far off. There was also the matter of the subjugation bounty on Dungeon monsters which Mud had spotted on the bill wall.

When Mud told Jabrax they would finally stop hunting, her speed at killing increased sharply, and the pair made their way rapidly towards the stairs. Leading the way in the most direct path towards the exit, the demon cut a rapid path past several startled groups of Delvers. Moments later, the pair arrived at the stairs to the surface.

"Finally! I'm so sick of being covered in bug guts!" Jabrax lifted her fists triumphantly towards the ceiling.

"After I complete my business, we are returning to hunt more. If everything goes as predicted, we will return in three hours."

The demon's arms flopped to her sides and her head fell to her chest. "Of course you would say that."

With much less enthusiasm than a moment ago, the demon led the way up the stairs, Mud directly behind.