Dungeon:

:ETHER[INTRA]:

:ETHER[INTER]:

Ouch. What a fall...

Alrightyyyy... I've got more Ether, and a blank canvas begging for a Dungeon.

What are we working with...?

<<~GIANT~SELECTION:~FLOOR[2]~>>

ETTIN

ETTIN are an unnatural product of Ogre mutation by scientific, magical, or divine interference. Born with the strength of two Ogres, and the same number of heads, ETTIN are often more dangerous to their cannibalistic selves than any opponent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dungeon-Born ETTIN are created with enough survival instincts to not eat themselves, allowing the massive brutes to fully display why two heads are better than one.

VERBEEG

VERBEEG are also known as human behemoths for their close resemblance to humans. This similarity is more than skin-deep, as VERBEEG are largely considered one of the most intelligent Giant subspecies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dungeon-Born VERBEEG, while hosting a lesser intellect than their natural cousins, are known for their trickery and full utilization of everything at their disposal.

FLOOR[1]

HALF-OGRE

OGRILLON

OGRE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previous Floor Creatures accessible at reduced cost

Reduced cost...? How reduced are we talking...?

I guess there's really only one way to find out.

~~~Objectives~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Create Floor[2] CORE ROOM DEFENSE LAYER ROOMS TUNNELS CREATURES ENHANCEMENTS BOSS Begin Next Floor RECONSTRUCT[*----]

To work...

???:

The sly fox was... a fox. Sly for a beast, yes. But... to claim it as anything more than an animal would be incorrect.

It smelled meat and mana, and instinctually understood it NEEDED it.

Yet this fox had not survived so many winters without learning caution. It sniffed about the new hole, searching for a way to slink its way downwards, preferably undetected from any who might steal its feast.

Mystiq had dramatically changed the Entrance however. A yawning pit, so deep as to fade into darkness, provided no easy entry to the now obsessed fox.

It HAD to go down there...

And so, against its better, if limited, judgement... it carefully attempted to creep its way into the hole.

The unfortunate fox immediately failed to grip the walls around it, plummeting downwards with a high-pitched, drawn out yelp.

And while most of the BrokeKnife Bandits failed to care even the slightest bit, one drunk Ranger licked their lips...

Daydreaming of roasted fox...

Dungeon:

The core was hard at work, pressing its environmental Ether into expanding its first room on Floor[2].

With its abundance of Ether, it decided to go big. It spent enough Ether for this early room to count as two normal ones before shuttling itself away into a smaller core room.

:ETHER[INTRA]:

Already the young gem was seeing the increased potential for its new Floor. Its Ether seemed more potent, doing more with less... even though it had even more!

This is incredible! I can't wait to see what I'm like on the next Floor!

Little did the core know how much of this strength came from Mystiq. Even with its low potential, the Elder Goddess had removed most of the handicaps meant to make Dungeons "fair" for her mortal followers. There was no longer a need, considering she no longer had any...

Before the gem could begin playing with testing out its new creatures, its focus was forcibly dragged back to the first floor.

Oh! So that's what Bosses are for...

Around both the Entrances leading to the surface and Floor[2] a latticework of Dungeon Stone had erupted. It was as if the walls, floor, and even the ceiling had reached out to halt the...

INVADER

The young gem had never experienced a true invasion before. If it had, it never would have confused Mystiq as being hostile. It new, from the edges of its facets to the depths of its swirling soul, that this... thing... meant him harm.

But in another twist of good fortune, a fox is not a cat. No matter how sly, they do not always land on their feet.

This particular tumbling fox landed on its ankles, shattering a number of bones, and leaving it unable to walk.

It was barely the work of a moment for an Ogrillon to saunter over. In a sudden, swift motion the Dungeon's first creature lunged. Both of its fists slammed downwards in a punishing blow.

The fox was instantly killed, its skull shattered. Yet, the Ogrillon was not left unscathed. All along its arms and upper back, massive bruises bloomed like rotting violets. Its strength was simply too much for its (relatively) diminutive form.

Hmm. Perhaps... I don't need more Ogrillons...

With the death of the Invader, the core was quick to calm. It watched as its injured creature was healed by remnant Ether, and the...

What?

The dead fox was... leaking. Well, physically yes, obviously. Serious injuries tend to do that. But metaphysically as well, the fox was suddenly a font of overwhelming mana, qi, soul, divinity, vita, and innumerable other energies that were so esoteric the core couldn't keep track of them, let alone name them.

Most of the immaterial erupting from the dead invader dissipated immediately, or fluttered it's way up and out of the Dungeon.

But some remained. And of what remained, some began to congregate around two creatures.

The killer and... The Boss? Interesting...

<<~INVASION~REPELLED~>>

OGRILLON[NOVICE*]

HALF-OGRE[NOVICE*]

Although slight, the death of the fox had empowered its creatures. Mind you, a single sly fox cannot make a Titan of an Ogrillon... But it was a first step.

As the gem returned to forming its second floor, the newly enhanced Ogrillon dragged its new prize back to its rudimentary camp. Butchering the beast, the creature set to roasting fox fillets. And as the carcass regrew its lost flesh and bones, the scent of cooking meat drifted out of the Dungeon's Entrance...

Mystiq:

The once Elder Goddess turned Dungeon Guide didn't even look up from her work when she was alerted to the feeble Invader.

The kid can handle it.

With the removal of enough... no longer applicable systems, Mystiq hoped to more directly enhance herself and her lone source of faith. Whilst it had provided her and it with a modest boost in capability, the costs of maintaining the Reconstruction system and Entrance ritual were higher than she had hoped.

If I'm to reclaim my true status as the Elder Goddess of Magic sometime this millennia... I... I require aid.

Divine aid.

There is no grand trick to attract the attention of the divine. Mortals did it quite often, one simply needed to sincerely call out to a deity in a place of worship.

But Mystiq didn't want the attention of just any deity. She would have preferred to call out to her Elder siblings, but reaching out to vast cosmic forces was a fool's errand. Even if you managed to force enough will into your plea to reach them, the likelihood of a conceptual being the size of multiple multiverses reacting to a lone mortal... Well while it wasn't zero it might as well have been.

The New Gods were much easier to reach... Which was actually a problem. If Arthur or his cronies caught wind of her prayer as it crossed unto the heavens... It would not end well.

The only thing Mystiq had going for her was that the New Gods were not as united as the so-called "King of Gods" pretended. There were few who chose not to join him in his crusade against her, but there was certainly one who could aid her: Miss Fortune.

Hells, considering this Dungeon's good luck so far, its not unlikely that she's already paying attention...

Miss Fortune, while still a New God, enjoyed a rather strange role in the grand scheme of things. Her purview over luck would seem to clash with Father Fate, the Elder God of Destiny. Yet the two had managed to... bond over their similar roles.

Some would say they bonded too well... Their children number in the- of course!

Mystiq was good friends with her sibling, Father Fate. And through him she had met and befriended Miss Fortune. They had mingled quite often, as Mystiq was one of the few Elder Gods to maintain a physical form more than once a millennium in the modern age.

Of course she would not side with Arthur against me! And of course she would convince her children to do the same...

Hopefully that didn't come back to bite her... Arthur is not the forgiving type...

In any case, Mystiq knew what needed to be done. With the aid of a simple shrine, she could call upon her bond with Miss Fortune to connect with a friendly deity.

And as a plus, she might respond within a year's time. Ugh. The timescales of the Gods...