Watching its prey carefully the core guided its snake into position behind the latest intruder. The snake slithered silently into the chamber, careful not to disturb the room’s occupant, and then a brief flash of scales and fangs. The rabbit shrieked with pain at an astonishingly high pitch that vibrated throughout the dungeon. As the invader hopped away down the tunnel the snake let it go, there was no point to pursue the creature was already doomed.

After the core had unlocked the snake template it hadn’t been getting any new patterns for a while so it decided to enlarge its tunnels again. This allowed larger animals into the dungeon which the core had been a little uncertain about before now. The most common of the new invaders were the rabbits, and the core’s initial impression of them was correct; they were rather similar to mice.

The core had primarily started using its snakes to hunt down the rabbits, but for some reason whenever the hopping invaders saw a snake they would run in the other direction. This had been a bit frustrating for the core but eventually, it had made a series of smaller tunnels that let the snakes sneak through the dungeon and ambush the invaders. For the most part, the rabbits were a rather passive bunch, they wouldn’t attack anything and would just run away if confronted. The core had noticed that its mice behaved similarly if it left the critters alone. The snakes on the other hand were not so passive, most of the time the creatures were downright hostile. The core had a few close calls with its mice which was why the snakes stayed separated into their little areas with strict orders to stay there.

Other than the rabbits the other new invaders were foxes which were a lot larger than the rabbits. The core hadn’t been comfortable letting them into the dungeon at first but they could be killed just as easily as the rabbits. The core turned its attention briefly back to the dying rabbit still twitching weakly on the floor. The venom wasn’t especially quick but it got the job done. The core did have to make sure to not use the snakes right by the entrance, the first few times it had done that the rabbits had escaped back out the entrance robbing the core of its well-earned food and information. Not that the core was going to be using the rabbit template, the things were frankly terrible at fighting.

The core did want to get the fox template, but the foxes were rather unusual visitors to the dungeon. At least the rabbits were dumb and worth a good amount of food. Expansion had been going well for the core, it even had a breakthrough in its mana regeneration. It had found out that larger tunnels boosted mana regeneration, or maybe it was less rock. It wasn’t by a lot but the core had noticed that there had been a noticeable uptick in its mana regeneration after reconfiguring the tunnels to allow the foxes and rabbits in.

Although the actual size of the dungeon was larger than ever it still felt annoyingly small to the core. The larger tunnels were an improvement but it made the tunnels shorter and less confusingly windy. Not that the rabbits were avid explorers, most of the time the lazy things just napped in the core’s chambers while nibbling on any grass they could find. The scorpions were also apparently not going away anytime soon. The core had realized there were a few more of the things than it remembered and had eventually found quite a few scorpion eggs scattered around the tunnels. It was fine the core would just start feeding scorpions to the mice if things get out of hand.

The core’s intuition had been a little inconsistent lately, it had random thoughts popping up with increasing regularity… Scanning … It had no idea what scanning meant, it didn’t seem to be the name of anything but the core couldn’t get rid of the incessant thought. The core wasn’t even sure they were thoughts, to be honest… Scanning ...the words sat in its consciousness like a memory but wouldn’t fade like normal memories when the core was done with them. It was almost like the thoughts were coming from something other than the core.

...Scanning

...Requisite Spirit Integrity Detected

...Choose Starting Template: Eagle, Fish, Goblin, Pixie, Lesser Ooze, Wolf

...Beginning Countdown… 10, 9

Alright, the core was now certain 8 these weird thoughts were not coming from the core itself. 7 Carefully examining the area around the core 6 It couldn’t see anything touching the core; it even removed the surrounding stone to be sure. 5 With an uncomfortable conclusion it began examining the core itself 4 searching for any signs of tampering. 3 Why did numbers keep showing up, it was usually words 2 It didn’t understand a lot of the words that had been used but maybe it had something to do with templates?

...1 Randomizing Selection

...Selecting…

...Goblin Template Selected

...Beginning Integration…

What’s integration? The information hit the core’s consciousness like a hammer, knowledge that would normally be slowly absorbed over time was instead forced into the core all at once. Cracks raced through the core as its mind struggled to contain all of the information it was being shoved into its mind. Finally, with a surge of mana that left the core completely drained, a new template settled into place. The core groggily examined its new template, getting just enough time to marvel at the unexpected new creature before darkness claimed it.

Striding across the desolate mountains Magnus reached out with his mana sense carefully searching for the tiniest of disturbances in the ambient mana. Nothing, he sighed in disappointment he had been searching for such a long time but new dungeon cores were rare and often extremely vulnerable when first created. His bones ached and scales itched as he moved off across the mountains, the discomfort was a constant companion these days he was used to it.

The reaper had been dogging his steps for centuries now he needed to find a core soon. If only he had known, Magnus’ failed ascension haunted him to this day. For other races claiming immortality was simply another step forward but for those like Magnus it was far more difficult. Pointless, if I can’t find something soon I might as well start digging my own grave. Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts Magnus continued his trek constantly extending his senses as far as possible hoping against hope for salvation.

I need to get a hold of myself, it's not like I’m in danger of dropping dead, he stumbled slightly over an uneven rock. I am of the draconic bloodline, the blood of dragons I won’t succumb so easily to death. There were many benefits to such a bloodline but the ease of growth was not one of them. If I had been a part of any other race I would have reached the immortal tier several times over, but stronger races needed much more experience to level. The dragon line in particular was especially demanding, but I suppose that makes sense. Magnus crested yet another mountain staring around aimlessly at what had become a routinely stunning scene. If I had any other race I would also have been dead several times over too. Halting for the moment Magnus took a quick look at his status.

...Magnus Blackscale

Race: drake (level Max)

Class: archmage (level 356,000)...

Nothing had changed since last he had checked nothing on this continent could give him experience anymore, well for the most part. One particularly stupid bird chose that moment to commit suicide by taking a swipe at the old drakes head. The eagle’s claws scrabbled harmlessly against his mana shield and Magnus snorted, slapping the monster hard enough to turn it into meat paste. Stupid creature, it should have been able to tell how pointless that was.

Magnus felt the ambient mana ripple in the distance, not enough for most people to notice but this was exactly what he had been looking for. Honing in on the disturbance, Magnus hurriedly lifted into the air speeding to the southwest with all possible haste. This shouldn’t even count as flying, grumbled Magnus as scenery flashed by below him, it's just hovering that every idiot with wind mana can pull off. Once again he mourned the loss of his wings, he missed flying, truly flying not this pathetic imitation of the real thing. Drakes didn’t have wings but dragons did. So many of his problems would be solved if he could just evolve, it was driving him crazy. He had spent millennia on the threshold and was still no closer to fulfilling the evolutionary requirement.

Killing something that was already an immortal was a ridiculous requirement, but Magnus was pretty sure he had found a workaround. Settling down in the field the drake carefully observed the surrounding ambient mana. I can’t get my hopes up too much, it might be another false alarm. That was one reason he was so far away from the established kingdoms, set off a big enough spell and it disturbed the surrounding mana to make it look like a new dungeon core.

However, there was nothing really obvious around here to make Magnus think it was a false alarm. It was just a big empty field, and small dungeons were especially hard to spot. Carefully looking around Magnus found a small hole in the ground, if he didn’t know any better he would have dismissed it as just another fox den that dotted the plains. However from the entrance, there was a small but steady release of mana, it was just a trickle compared to what it would one day become but it was enough for Magnus to find it.

Using one of his racial abilities the old drake focused on his massive frame and tugged inwards. It would have been strange to watch if anyone had been around to see the massive black drake suddenly turn into a tiny lizard. Dragons were fantastic shapeshifters able to take the form of any race they encountered, and while Magnus wasn’t a dragon, yet, he still had a few tricks of his own.

Crawling into the dungeon Magnus carefully observed the rock around him, it gave off a dim pale glow. That meant this core was at least old enough to have started passively reinforcing the materials around it. He didn’t need the light to see anyway, but it was good to see the dungeon developing so well. Making his way deeper, Magnus brushed aside any of the creatures that attacked him but he was careful not to harm any of them.

Mice and snakes are a good start even if snakes aren’t my favorite. I don’t see any of the typical starting races around, it might not have gotten one yet from the system who knows. Making his way to the deeper parts of the dungeon Magnus found a scorpion chasing after a pair of frantically fleeing ants. Insects too, that should hopefully be enough for a good base.

Although he had to shrink himself down again to fit, Magnus finally made his way to the core. The clear white stone shimmered with dancing light, the living mana stone was an enthralling sight even to one as old as Magnus. Reaching into his personal storage space the drake withdrew his prized possession, which looked like a rather plain book. The book was tiny but still filled most of the core chamber, Magnus delicately flipped through double-checking the spell he was about to use one more time before closing the book. Carefully he opened the tiny spatial anomaly and tucked his book away, making sure to give the space a healthy dose of mana first, it should be fine for another few months.

Reaching out the drake delicately laid a claw on the surface of the core, he needed to be careful even in this form he still possessed enough strength to completely shatter the core with a careless motion. Carefully weaving his mana through the core, Magnus formed a bond between the core and the drake.

When the connection snapped into place Magnus was surprised to find the core was asleep, this might make things easier anyway. Reaching out to the mind of the core Magnus sent out the ideas, bond, safe, protection.

The unconscious mind of the core shifted in slumbered responding slowly. Bond? Intruder, unsafe, die.

Well, the core must be pretty smart to make that coherent response even while asleep, Magnus wasn't too worried though he had a trump card to play. Bond, food, knowledge, protection, bond.

That got its attention. Food, bond?

Magnus could almost feel his intelligence going down the longer this conversation went on but he carried on. Food, bond the drake affirmed.

Bond. Replied the stupid core, Magnus might be being a little harsh, the core was unconscious after all, but this was getting annoying. Power flooded down the link that Magnus had created, forging it, widening it. Turning the slender thread into an unbreakable bond that both creatures would have for the rest of their existences, a pact, a spirit bond.

Magnus basked in the sensation feeling the aches leave him, and his broken and faded scales return to the intricate black armor they once were. The shadow of death that had hung over him for years was at last lifted. It had worked, he was beyond death now, even if he wasn’t a dragon yet and probably wouldn’t be for a long time. Magnus watched with interest as the core before him visibly grew, its dull white glow growing stronger and stronger. The drake felt sweet relief sweep through him, he would rest his eyes, just for a moment, it was finally done.