Dungeon:

:ETHER[INTRA]:

:ETHER[INTER]:

Having seen the effects of Bosses on invaders, it made sure to redesign its newest entrance to accommodate.

Adding stone, rather than simply carving it away, was a bit of a strange experience. A momentary feeling of emptiness precluded a slight downtick in Ether. The moment passed, and the walls reached outwards as desired.

Looking good, looking good...

I hope this works...

The Dungeon had been hard at work prepping for its grand vision of Floor[2].

Two Chiefs... Two Generals! A clash between factions!

It wanted its newest Floor split in two, with one of its new creatures in "control" of each half. Yet, it knew how difficult it was for its different creatures to commingle.

Thus did the core experiment with its tunnels. How small could they be? Where could they be placed?

Floor[2] took shape quickly, with oddly shaped rooms made in an attempt to manipulate its tunnel lengths. The few obvious tunnels it did have were oddly formed, the relatively smooth walls of Floor[1] had been traded for strange bulging gouges in the walls and floor. The Dungeon had merely been testing its abilities, but it made for a treacherous battleground of uneven footing and inconspicuous niches.

Wait... what are generals...?

The Reconstruction system was initially designed as a hypothetical, a "what if" for a bored Elder Goddess. The unfortunately diminished finger had done its best to modify this ancient design for its current situation. What she needed right now was a host of enhanced worshippers, and at the time all she had was a baby Dungeon. Ether, with a divine hand- or finger -to guide it, could do many things. In this case, it hastened the growth and development of a young gem. With that growth came knowledge.

They're the big important creatures in the back!

Kinda.

???:

A BrokeKnife Bandit paused while he did his daily trap check. While the latest "haul" came with enough food to last the camp a month, the raid had stolen an unfortunate lack of meat.

Well, after the night before it also had an unfortunate lack of alcohol.

This was coincidentally why this bandit, a Ranger, had been moving a bit behind schedule today. The sun was high in the sky, and here he was just getting around to checking on his variety of snares.

However, the unfortunate reality of living in a forest meant that a change in schedule could mean becoming lunch. Or in this case, losing it.

The Ranger, growing more and more frustrated at doing chores while hungover, only grew more upset to find that the few snares which had caught anything were ripped to pieces. Whatever they had snagged had already been looted by some lucky forest predator.

Instead of a future rabbit stew, the BrokeKnife Bandit found more chores: making new snares to replace those shredded by wild animals.

Now in a terrible mood, trudging back to camp, he caught a whiff of something in the air. Someone was roasting meat nearby!

Somebody had meat... probably from one of his snares...

And broke 'em so they could steal it for themselves!

Angrier than he had been in a long time, the Ranger stomped his way forward, following the smell of cooking meat. As he grew closer and closer to camp, he still managed to carefully search for whatever nook or cranny they had used to hide away his food!

He was so furious, so focused, that he barely noticed how he had moved his way up onto the cliff overlooking the camp.

There he found a dark hole in the ground.

Muttering curses to himself, he moved back into camp for some rope and a few buddies to beat the hell out of whoever stole his meat!

Dungeon:

The Dungeon made the wise decision to summon its generals one at a time, having considered the problems it had with its creatures on Floor[1].

<<~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.

A now familiar crack appeared in a wall of the core room. It leaked its light and resealed. It sounded out the grind of aching stone. It summoned its pointed tower of stone.

Same old, same old.

And then it erupted into a massive form. A hulking mound of pale, patchy flesh broke free in a sudden burst of strength, sending chips of stone flying about the room. The few that hit the core softened upon impact, sloughing off into a puddle beneath it.

Great.

Looking over its first general, the Dungeon thought that the Ettin fit its role to a 't.' It was incredibly broad, its frame easily fitting not only its two heads but also double the muscle of its Ogre. It still maintained the large gut, tusked maw, beady eyes, and gnarled probably-claws of its Floor[1] counterpart.

But where the Ogre was fully hairless, the Ettin had patches of matted hair dotted about its body. Each head had one of those patches. Yet where the left head sported a rotting beard, the right showed off a knotted clump of fuzz just above its brow... which did not reach the top of its scalp. It was the only visible difference between the two heads, which were eyeing each other with suspicion.

Perfect! It's plenty big! Now I gotta make it important... and put it in the back...

The gem directed it away to the far left room, fulfilling another of its general obligations.

Next up was the Verbeeg.

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

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.

As the next stalagmite rose, the Dungeon was in high spirits. It was apparent that the Ettin would be a tremendously strong protector, leading to high expectations for its next general.

The Verbeeg did not force its way into existence, arriving with the natural shatter of its Floor[1] creatures. It was... shockingly thin. It was muscled, yes, but compared to an Ogre or even an Ogrillon...

This thing isn't even 9 feet tall! What's it weigh, barely 300 pounds?! How is it supposed to be a general like that!

The Verbeeg was downright gangly compared to its previous creatures. Yet, this was partially due to its greater height. It still held all of the strength of a Half-Ogre, but when stretched out over its taller body it looked deceptively weak.

Also like a Half-Ogre, the Verbeeg was fully clothed. It was wrapped in well-treated furs which were tied neatly around its torso and limbs with strips of leather, ending in unclawed hands or simple leather boots on their feet.

Its face was far different that anything it had ever seen. It was strangely expressive, and untusked! It had long hair surrounding said face, it flowed freely with minimal knots or tangling!

Its eyes were far more than what any of its other creatures had. A circle of white surrounded the normal beads of black it was used to, which seemed to dart all about. They were searching, feeling, knowing...

How strange. Perhaps... You can be a general, yet.

The Dungeon directed its Verbeeg onwards, to the furthest right room. Before the creature had even arrived, it had somehow managed to fashion a rudimentary flail with strips of leather from its clothing and a rock swiped from the ground.

Which was interesting, as the core did not remember there being any rocks, despite Floor[2]'s rough design.

:ETHER[INTRA]:

:ETHER[INTER]:

Alright.

Now... How "reduced" is our new cost...?

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

FLOOR[1]

HALF-OGRE

OGRILLON

OGRE

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

Previous Floor Creatures accessible at reduced cost

A moment, a lightshow, and some dust later... a new Half-Ogre was poking its way around the core room.

:ETHER[INTER]:

... huh.

Another one.

And so appeared another Half-Ogre.

:ETHER[INTER]:

Two Half-Ogres were standing in the core room.

At the cost of one Ettin or Verbeeg.

Two-for-one?

Yeah.

I can work with that...