Marianna had spent what must’ve been quite a few hours investigating her new abilities, and she had discovered a few things. And during that time, she had created a new Overseer birthing pod, and her energy had regenerated to full. The birthing pod itself took a little under an hour to create, and it was quite interesting to see how it occurred. Mari had been prompted to select a location for the birthing pod, and when looking through an Overseer viewport, she was shown a yellow cube that represented the eventual size of the pod. After moving the cube around, and selecting the wall opposite the previous pod, Marianna watched as a sapling seemed to grow out of the wall where she chose. The sapling matured throughout the hour, and grew to become an identical copy of the Red Core’s pod.

She also found that she could create hallways and rooms, simply by wishing it. And it was rather simple. By spending another 500 energy, she could design a cube with 10 meter dimensions. That was rather big, so she changed it to be a five meter cube. After deciding to spend the now 63 energy, she created a hollowed out room, with an automatically connected hallway. The rectangular hallway cost her another 10 energy, and it was two meters high as well as wide. It was also about five meters long, connected to the main branch not too far from the entrance of the cave.

Mari found that the mental commands she could employ were quite flexible, and potentially infinite. She started by assigning an energy tracker to the top right of her vision, and then found that she could actually force the viewports into a sort of three-dimensional view, with a perceivable version of her old body at the center. Of course, this was all happening in Mari’s mind, but it made using her new body easier for her. She could now simply wave a mental hand, and drag a viewport to another location. She rubbed her hand over her mental stomach, feeling the ache of hunger, but unsure how to quell it.

But she could now close her eyes. And that was important. Because Mari was exhausted. Now, she didn’t feel physically tired, like she would have after being up for almost a day, but she wasn’t used to thinking for such a long time with no rest, and needed to relax.

It was around the time Mari’s new Overseer birthing pod was finished growing when suddenly the Red Core began to pulse at a different rate than before. Previously, it had only ever pulsed at the same slow speed as Mari’s own core. But now, it was nearly blinking with light. It started to spin, faster than before, and then the pulsing stopped, the light shining bright and illuminating the room in red.

And then the core went dark.

And a single beam of red light was emitted from the front of the core. The beam grew, and became a thick red pillar of light carving itself into the wall, next to the door. The beam moved, and left a trail of red crystallized dirt behind. The Red Core continued to carve the wall, moving the beam in a circle, and when the circle connected, the light abruptly shut off.

And the core went dormant, slowly pulsing its red light, inverted in time to Marianna, once more.

Marianna stared wide-eyed at the core. While it casually spun in the same slow rotation both cores followed, she simply looked rapidly back and forth between it and the red circle on the wall. She decided to [Review] the new red-outlined circle.

Ruby Mine (Unfinished)

Created by a Dungeon Core, this mine will generate rubies, sometimes infused with magical properties. These rare minerals serve as bait for greedy species.

Time to completion: 40:59:24

Created by: Red Core (Unnamed)

Mari sat stunned for a moment, before another blue box appeared in her vision, shaking her out of it.

Overseer #2 (Unnamed) Notification

Unknown creatures approaching dungeon.

Mari quickly pulled that Overseer's viewport open in front of her, expanding its size until she could comfortably watch it in her mental fortress, as though it were a floating flat screen TV. The Overseer didn’t move as the furry creatures approached from the dark wood across the plain, but Marianna gasped. They weren’t human, and they certainly weren’t any kind of animal she’d ever seen.

It’s okay! She thought, as the group quickly closed in on the cave. I am a giant blue crystal, and they are fleshy animal-people… I’m sure I can fend them off, though I’m not sure with what… But confidence is key! Marianna recited her mother’s frequent saying, and watched with determination as the creatures arrived before her new home.

Peering over their long furry noses with yellow eyes, the hunched creatures analyzed the cave entrance before sniffing the air with their wet black noses. Covered in tattered rags, they numbered eleven, but four stood taller than the others and carried pointed wooden spears. One that seemed rather frail stepped forward, leaning on a long branch for support. Its eyes seemed to scan the area above Marianna’s Overseer, and she thought it had spotted her for a moment. Then it opened its mouth, filled with needle-sharp teeth, and spoke in a voice like sandpaper sliding across steel.

“Dun...jin… Maaarriiahhhhnaaah.”

Marianna jumped in surprise. Then, the frail beast pointed a clawed finger towards the top of the cave entrance, just beyond where Marianna could direct the Overseer to fly. It turned around and chattered to its companions, and they all proceeded to enter the cave. A new notification appeared when the first stepped over the boundary between her world, and the outside.

Overseer #2 (Unnamed) Notification

Analyze unknown creatures?

She immediately responded in the affirmative, and the Overseer removed a tentacle from the ceiling. Directing it towards the creatures, it launched a green smokey gas from its tip. They coughed, the two holding spears brandishing their weapons upwards in surprise, as the gas suddenly rushed into their lungs. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the green smoke left their small party, swirling back into the Overseer’s outstretched tentacle. Marianna didn’t even have time to react.

Overseer #2 (Unnamed) Notification

Analysis complete. Ratmen analyzed.

You may now [Review] the Ratmen.

The creatures chattered nervously amongst themselves, and Marianna quickly used [Review] while they were still peering towards the ceiling, attempting to locate the source of the green vapor.

Ratman

This creature is a Ratman. Something of a fusion between rat and human, this four-fingered creature is smarter than many demihumans, and suited to life in dark places.

Ratman Warrior

The Ratman warrior is a pride of its race. Used to life in the harshest of environments, this creature has trained in some of the toughest situations. It is abnormally strong, and can take on a fully equipped human with its bare hands.

Ratman Shaman

A rarity, the Ratman shaman is a capable leader. Requiring exceptionally high intelligence, a shaman can learn various languages, and has been educated in many subjects.

So the frail Ratman was a shaman. Marianna considered what that could mean for a second, before the shaman itself spoke again.

“Dunjin… Maaarriianna… Wee come furendily… Want goood laaaiiif. Need… hoooome.” The shaman raised its hands in a placating gesture towards the ceiling, completely away from the Overseer. She guessed it didn’t know where she could be watching from.

Her heart nearly broke when she heard it speak. They just wanted somewhere to live? Well, she did have that empty room she’d created not long ago, and after seeing them closer, and being able to size them more appropriately, all nine of them should be able to fit in it just fine. It was certainly large enough for the six smaller citizens and the frail shaman. And though the two larger warriors would take up more space, they should definitely fit there fine.

Alert

Accept wandering Ratman populace to your dungeon?

Too kind to deny homeless wanderers, Marianna mentally permitted their stay. The Ratmen glowed a light blue, and a simple bluish-white symbol became etched into the brown fur over their hearts. It was a square with a line which started above center of the square, reached through to the other side, and split into an upside-down ‘T’.

The Ratmen looked down at their new tattoos, and visibly relaxed. The shaman curled his lips back in what might have been a grateful smile, and said, “Thank you.”

The party slowly walked down the main tunnel, and when they encountered the hallway which lead to the side room Marianna had positioned a fourth Overseer in, the Shaman directed them down it. But he stayed in the tunnel, along with one of the large warriors, and was escorted by that warrior down towards her room.

When they finally saw the two glowing crystals, their eyes impressively went wider than before, now each the size of a softball, and they dropped to their knees before entering the room. The shaman waved his hand to the warrior, and the burly creature reached into a pouch on his waist, removing a small shape clad in a dark cloth. He handed it to the shaman, and the frail Ratman spoke again, removing the cloth.

“We offer this small token to you as tribute, Dungeon Marianna. Please accept our deepest gratitude for our new home.” He bowed again, and pushed what he was holding forward into the light of the twin cores.

She was shocked. Not only had he spoken fluently, and Marianna had perfectly understood him, but the shape he pushed forward was a small stone statue: a perfect representation of a Ratman.

[How can you speak so fluently?] She asked before realizing she had no mouth. But the shaman did not seem as though he hadn’t heard her. He brought a clawed finger to his lip, and thought about her question before answering.

“I suppose this is the language I was raised with, my lady.”

So she was able to communicate with him directly. Was it because of the mark on his shoulder? Did they bond?

[So what language are you speaking, then?] She asked. He looked puzzled, for a Ratman, but didn’t seem as though he was offended.

“I am speaking the language of the Rat, my lady.” He responded immediately. “Although I can speak a few different languages, my native one is, of course, my best.” Then Marianna realized she hadn’t even asked his name.

[I’m sorry. What are you called, Mr. Shaman?] And thank you for the gift! She couldn’t pick it up, but Mari really did appreciate the beauty of the small figurine. Even though it represented, dare she say it, an unattractive creature, the beauty was in its accuracy, and in the perfection of its carving.

“I am called Miradeen, my lady, the queen of this small civilization.” The shaman said, bowing deep.

It was then that Mari realized she was not speaking to a “he”, but actually a “she”.