The seventh floor had been finished for some time, but with the newly established Guardians, it felt complete. Valterra let his gaze roam over everything a final time before shifting his awareness to the eighth floor. His gaze rested on his High Danians, who had begun carving Calamvor’s desk into a new home. It was an impressive sight, and he felt bad for having ignored them for so long. Like his snake and mouse Guardians, this particular colony’s queen was the first of her kind to exist in his dungeon.

  It made sense, therefore, to give her a Name. The problem was that he didn’t know how it would affect her or her colony. He assumed the whole colony would be affected, but he didn’t want to make assumptions with one of his closest defenders. He resolved to ask Krat’Imos later, after he had finished the floor.

  Finishing his eighth floor would give him another 5% toward Core Ascension, but it was necessary to ensure his dungeon performed well against the delvers. It all came down to creatures, and there weren’t very many occupying the floor. He had his High Danians, and he had a single Nestkin that had made it down after it had Ascended. How it had gotten there was something of a mystery, but it had made its home in the old archmage’s closet. It had begun to make a nest for itself using shredded fabric, torn trees from the miniature forest, and anything else it could get its paws on.

  Valterra hummed and then activated the Swarming Nestkin Framework, pouring Aether into it to create more of them. The current Nestkin looked around wide-eyed as others of its kind came into being around it. With the addition of its kin, it would be able to craft a more pleasant abode in less time. Satisfied that the Swarming Nestkin had a decent presence on the floor, the Core moved on to choosing further Frameworks that would fit with the general theme.

  With a flex of his will, he called out to his three Aether-Mutated House Cats who still prowled the interior of the garden, summoning them to him. He would place them in the forest in one of the larger underground dens where he hoped they would be content. It certainly seemed like they would be, as their ears pricked up at his call and began making their way back to the house. The Core was glad he had made sure to have them be separate genders when he had first summoned them, as now he hoped they would be able to mate and have offspring.

  That being said, they weren’t the only ones he was going to add. It was time to create something new once more, an upgrade to his very first unique creation. His Wyvres had begun to hunt once more on the sixth floor, but they were no longer the top dogs. The higher Ascensions overshadowed them, and Valterra felt it was right to grant them something to look forward to. After all, despite the heavy competition, a couple of them were getting close to the threshold of the next stage.

  It was the Ascending Mouse Gorger that had given him the idea he would use. He had added a pouch under her tongue that would store mineral deposits, and now he would push that idea to its absolute limits. Valterra dove into his core and found the Framework he was looking for.

  Welcome to the Framework Helpdesk!

  He waved the Systems words aside and focused on bringing up the same space used for creature advancement. The System flowed smoothly to accommodate his will, and Valterra realized belatedly that he was understanding and utilizing the Helpdesk far easier than when he had first created his Wyvres. Now, equipped with new knowledge and vision, he would make the second stage.

  With flex of will, the image of a Juvenile Wyvre appeared, floating within the haze of the Helpdesk space. The difference was that this Wyvre did not represent a living one waiting for Ascension. There was no Pool of Ascension to draw from. He couldn’t go further than what the System allowed him to create. Still, having a stage for his creatures to Ascend into would be worth it, as well as give his eighth floor a powerful defender.

  His personal creation hung in the air, its mighty wings outstretched as if in flight. Valterra could sense the powerful blood coursing through its veins, the increased bone density, and the well-developed musculature. These weren’t what he focused on, however. No, the Core focused on the myriad loose affinities that swirled within its Aether Core. When he had first created the Wyvre, he had intended to give it complete mastery over every affinity.

  While that still might become the case, the Dungeon Core had realized that specialization might be more effective in the long run. The premier indicator of this was Wenigo. Despite having had his blade for a while now, the mouse had only used two of the four main elements he had access to. Fire had been his primary focus, followed recently by stone. Valterra had come to realize that time was his greatest resource, and it made sense for his creatures to follow the same rules.

  Any time that he could grant them was time they used for something else. So, instead of having his creatures be masters of all elements, he would let their varied affinities be a foundation to be built upon with a specialization. What he wanted was ambitious, but Valterra figured he could pull it off. He had a decent amount of practice creating these kinds of Frameworks at this point.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  He started by enhancing the Wyvres’ physicality rather than making them bigger. Any bigger and they would be shrunk by his title. There was also the fact that if he created a robust base Framework, then any extra Potential and Aether within an Ascending creature’s Pool of Ascension could thereby be used on their size instead of the more essential aspects. He increased the amount of Aether in their blood and then began working on his idea.

  The first thing he did was isolate all the various elements from each other, giving each of them the ability to become dominant depending on the whims of the animal in question. Beginning with the four main elements—fire, water, earth, and air —he began to craft specific organs to help facilitate those affinities. He split his Wyvre Framework into four separate but connected ones. The same creature, but different depending on where it decided to go. Fundamentally the same, but with various aspects that would hopefully allow them to coexist in the same roost without harming each other.

  That was the hope, at least. Valterra focused on the flame aspect and brought it to the fore, creating a fireproof sac of flesh that he placed in its throat. He fiddled with the creature, redesigning it to fill the sac with liquid fat from its kills, whatever was left. Then he added conduits that would mix the substance with Aether, creating something extremely flammable according to his instincts. Its throat and mouth he made tough and fire-resistant.

  A conduit ran the length of the tongue, ending in a small nub that would channel fire affinity to it. With a sort of gag reflex programmed into it, the sac would expel its contents, and the nub would light it, causing the Wyvre to belch fire. Now that he was thinking about it, it worked similarly to his Deeplight insects and their ability to belch acid. With fire done, Valterra turned to the rest.

  Three more to go.

  The next version was water. Rather than making it a full aquatic mammal, Valterra gave it a pouch of water that it could fill up every time it drank. With a careful application of pressure and Aether, the Wyvre would be able to shoot painful beams of water. That was the vision, at least. Earth received a similar mouth and pouch to the Murid Earth-Gulper. However, it shifted the ability from mincing things to being able to regurgitate compressed balls of material into its mouth, where a specialized tongue waited to fire it at high speed.

  That idea came from his Mouse Rangers and their slings. Air was last, receiving massively increased lung capacity and vocal cords capable of releasing a highly high-pitched blast of air. All of them received an increase to the corresponding affinity, and Valterra locked in his choices. The System chimed, power descending to rework parts of the beasts, though Valterra was gratified to see that the number of little fixes had diminished since the last time. With a thought, he named the new stage, and the System brought up a notification.

  New Path of Ascension synthesized from an existing Framework! The Framework “Juvenile Wyvre” may now Ascend into the following Framework:

  Adult Wyvre (Unique, Rank D - Iron)

  Adulthood doesn’t always come with a shift in size. Sometimes the shift is internal. This truth is embodied within the Adult Wyvre. The unique creation of Valterra Unok’Davaas, this winged apex predator is stronger, faster, and more deeply attuned to the flow of Aether that courses through its veins. While diverse in its affinities in youth, after reaching adulthood, this Wyvre seeks greater power through specialization. Armed with a singular greater affinity, its hunger for Aether will see it claim the skies with a vengeance.

  Note: This Framework consists of separate, parallel stages on the same Path of Ascension. Those stages are Flamebound, Earthbound, Waterbound, and Skybound.

  Would you like to confirm this Path of Ascension?

  Cost: 500 Divine Potential

  Yes/No

  Nice, it worked! Valterra cheered as he confirmed the payment of Divine Potential. He read over the System note again, investigating the differences between his newest Framework and that of his Danians. So, rather than being internal paths, they are parallel stages? I guess that makes sense. After all, when my Danians Ascend, queens don’t suddenly become workers or vice versa. Immediately seeking to test it out, Valterra turned to the eighth floor.

  Up in the canopy of the bed, he formed four Wyvres. He ensured that they were to be part of the same roost, but made sure each had a distinct affinity. Aether flashed as they came into existence, immediately taking in their surroundings with hungry expressions. They sized each other up but didn’t attack each other, content to lean forward and gaze down at the wider floor. Valterra hummed to himself, taking in their hungry expressions. He would perhaps need to increase his planned population of the floor.

  To that end, he fashioned another dozen Nestkin in the closet before moving to the tiny mountain across the way. On the mountain crag within a pit in the earth, he formed a full dozen Coppertip Moles. He made sure to create some copper deposits around for them to find. As soon as he had the time to work through all the Frameworks from the Garden, he would add a few more creatures, but until then, he figured this was enough. The seeds were set, and he would see what came of it.

  He completed the eighth floor with a thought and a command for the creatures to cement their nests and spread their species. His progression to Core Ascension went up by another five percent, leaving him at eighty. Never thought I’d see the day when I wished I progressed slower, Valterra sighed to himself. A snag in his awareness distracted him from those thoughts, his gaze being drawn to the party delving his halls, a party that was finally on the move.