I chose to look on the bright side.

Sure, the sun was setting. My clock had run down a full day, and the lack of Mana remaining in my core meant my consciousness was fuzzy, trying to slip away from me and enter a trance-like state to speed regeneration.

Which could take, oh, any amount of time. Maybe weeks!

But I’d built myself a statue, and a bell, and ooh, look, a lizard with an exploding tail! Surely the evil god coming to kill me would be shaking in his boots, his dick shriveling up like a tortoise trying to tuck into its shell, when he beheld my extremely skittish lizard.

There was a touch of bitterness in my soul when I regarded my creations. I was on the right track; the algae was breeding quickly, my Mana helping to breed vast colonies of the stuff, and this drew in small animals that became prey. Soul-fires flickered and were drawn into my core.

With a little more time I’d fill my capacity, and level.

A little more time and I could draw in the larger creatures of the desert, things with proper souls. I could expand. Layer defenses to capture the brightest and best.

Time time time…

It only moved faster the more I let myself panic.

Gods, for a better world - if there was more life to feed off my own growth would be exponentially faster. Even a small infusion of power now would mean days of time saved.

Goddamnit.

I was supposed to kill that old sack of bones. That’s why he was there - a sacrificial lamb. Whoever made me, who set me here, expected me to crack his skull like an egg while he slept, and eat his soul for my breakfast.

Instead I let him go. Saved him, actually, at the expense of dooming myself. Too kind for my own good. Ha.

And then, as I was berating myself, I saw him on the horizon. He was coming back, stumbling now, his wrists lashed together with crude ropes. A whole troop followed behind, seven in all. Tall, thin creatures that moved like predators, quick and darting with an efficiency of motion that made them seem almost supernaturally graceful.

One of them was cracking him across the back with a leather-wrapped club of bone every few steps. Not to make him move faster. No. Just to hurt him.

Well. I suspected my endless and all-encompassing sense of mercy wouldn’t compel me to save this lot. Oh no. Actually, I thought I’d rather enjoy licking the souls out of their broken bodies.

The bit where I killed them, though, was going to be a little difficult.

Lazarus surfaced, sending shockwaves of terror through the population of small animals at the pool’s edges. He was a leviathan thing unknown to them, a spiny, black-plated horror from the deep with a terrible hunger.

In moments, a serpent that had tried to wager its fangs against his armor was dead in his claws, fully beheaded. Rather than letting my creation feed, I devoured the corpse myself, pulling the flame of Mana out and into myself.

For the next few minutes Lazurus crawled over the rocks like a tide of death, capturing anything that he could to feed me a small reserve. Cannibalizing my own ecosystem was painful but-

I needed something. Some strength in my veins. I had a second Schema pick, and I needed both defenders. Lazarus could only bring out his full potential when his prey was unaware - so my second pick would need to serve as a distraction.

O’ Austere and Wonderful Core.

Endlessly Generous, He Without Fault.

Choose Your Second Schema.

Desert Lion [Unranked] - A smaller breed, this lion’s camouflaged hide and swift pouncing leaps make it an excellent predator. Surprisingly intelligent, they can work in packs to wear down stronger prey.

Jeweler Scarabs [Unranked] - Only dangerous in swarms, these tiny, beautifully shelled insects sport a fiercely poisonous bite that will slowly turn flesh to glass, leaving behind eerie statues of the dead. Unintelligent and small.

Skyraid Dragonfly [Unranked] - While even common dragonflies show exceptional speed and agility in the air, the Skyraid Dragonfly is by far the most elegant. Sporting wings as wide as a man’s arm and razor sharp limbs, this fragile creature hunts with single decisive strikes.

Jade Twin-Tail Scorpion [Bronze] - With poisoned spurs at the end of each tail, this enormous scorpion is a relentless predator that uses reach and unwavering speed to hunt down its prey. Using its keen sense of smell, it can follow an unlucky target for miles across the desert, running them to exhaustion before closing in.

Feathered Raptor [Silver] - Small, swift predators that are distantly related to hawks, the feathered raptor excels in speed, using its powerful legs to kick enemies to death, employing sharp talons and a relentless grip to finish the hunt by tearing out its enemy’s throat.

Soul-Devouring Hippo [Sacred] - Born when the flesh of a god was hurled into an ancient river, this holy creature is the guardian of temples and secret pools. Its body inscribed with hieroglyphics wards against evil, its thunderous cry strikes fear into evil hearts, even causing souls to break apart should they be found unworthy.

Oh.

Well that - Not much of a choice, hmm? There’s a time for being clever and choosing a lower grade option that fits your strengths, and there’s a time to take what’s being offered.

I reached out, and a mind connected to my own. Not a simple, concise mind like Lazarus, who was happy so long as he was allowed to snap things up with his claws and throw his weight around like the king of the desert.

The mind I found was ancient, like a deep pool of still water, slow and confident. I felt a calmness radiate through my soul as it reached back through the spiritual thread and grasped at my Mana.

In seconds everything I had accumulated was drained away - and it still wasn’t enough. The feeling of being truly drained was excruciating, like a bitter cold eating into my being, exhaustion clouding my vision. The spiritual thread felt unstable, liable to snap at any moment.

But the connection was made.

Don’t worry. The words rung through my mind. You aren’t alone.

Light cascaded, brilliant veils of Mana appearing in the air and slowly collapsing into flesh. The skeleton formed first. To see that terrible sharp-tusked skull you would have imagined a primordial boar, rampaging through the ancient earth. But as first muscle, then skin formed, the savage shape of its bones was obscured beneath heavy layers of fat and rubbery flesh, until the final creature looked like nothing more than an enormous grey water-cow.

It cocked an eyebrow, looking back at me with one placid eye.

Okay okay, I amended. A very handsome and holy cow. The golden designs on its skin, forming symbols of ancient meaning, were very fetching. On its forehead was a radiant eye that flared out like the sun, its pupil the blue of open sky surrounded by the jade of pure waters.

A symbol that meant Protection from Evil.

In the distance the group of elves could see me now. There was precious little time. The life that had been drawn into my oasis was scattering, sensing the violence in the air. I began a final line of defense.

Using my power to turn raw material to Mana, I hollowed out a space beneath the shore, leaving a thin shelf of stone over a water-filled drop. With more time I might have drained the water behind a second barrier and laid down spikes, so they would be impaled and then drowned, but-

Dammit it would have to do.

Lazarus and, uh-

Ramses. The creature replied, speaking into my mind directly.

Yes, Lazarus and Ramses were hidden in the waters, and I drew a veil of thick algae across the surface to hide their bodies beneath. I was with them, a simple stone lying on the floor of the oasis, hoping to be overlooked if the worst came to pass.

Moments ticked by as they moved across the sand, wary. They didn’t know about me, I hoped. The vagrant couldn’t possibly have known a dungeon core by sight, although he seemed to be aware I was something precious and sacred.

But they wouldn’t trust such a bounty of water. Surely, they would think, somebody would have claimed this place.

For what it was worth, they were right. I claimed myself.