Inga was strangely quiet.
<Are you okay?> he asked.
Her response was immediate and somber. <I am. I think you can access my matrix. Why don’t you look it over, and I can answer any questions.>
<<<>>>
Astral Moth
Astral Moth Guardians are as rare a sight as an Interplanar Eclipse. These beautiful-winged creatures have a unique ability to traverse the multiverse without the aid of the interplanar BYE (Branches that Yield Everywhere) System. With enough concentrated Luminosus Apothos, Astral Moths can migrate along the solar currents, tending to the Tree of Souls wherever the need is greatest. Though their appearance may make them seem harmless, Astral Moths can harness the power of the Thousand Moons, shaping it to their will. They can also call upon the deadly insectile inhabitants of the Pteryx Hive Enclave, unleashing pincers, poison, and thousand-legged horrors against would-be invaders.
<<< ※ >>>
Inga Thosa Therian
Guardian Core Matrix
Base Race: Astral Moth
Current Evolution: Mothmancer
Cultivator Class: Iron Trunk Cultivator; C-Class, Rank 3
Primary Elemental Affinities: Vita/Luminosus
Racial Abilities:
Flight, Astral Migration
Racial Skill:
Breed
- Golden Centipedes
- Spike Flies
Path of Transformation:
- Reflective Sight
- Chrysalis Swords
- Metamorphosis
Path of Propagation:
- Insect Infection
- Lepidopteral Reflex
Path of the Moon:
- Moonlance
- Lunar Aura
<<< ※ >>>
Logan saw how her matrix was similar to his. Of course, she had more options, since she was an Iron Trunk cultivator, and a fairly high-ranked one at that.
Inga’s body stood stock still. Her gem, however, was alive and active. <Is everything all right? Do you see anything that troubles you?>
<No, I’m just impressed with how much you can do.> Logan was also stunned by how easy it was to take over the Tartarucha Cells. Back in the Under Stump dungeon, the experience had been overwhelming. Since then, he’d progressed a long way, and now he had Inga’s core to keep him steady.
Inga’s voice was amused. <Yes, my countless hours of work and study has paid off. As you well know. So, let’s get to work. For now, we’ll keep it simple—a simple room and a simple trap that combines both our powers.>
Logan thought that was a great idea. Best to learn to walk before trying to run a marathon. <Let’s create a room off this one so we can practice hallways. Why don’t you open a corridor on the west wall?>
He was met with Inga’s dorky laughter. <I can’t do much in this situation. You’re the primary core. I’m your infected thrall. My sinuses are never going to be the same.>
<Funny. And slightly troubling,> Logan sent. <Okay, where can we access the blueprints to craft a hallway?>
Inga’s gem clicked against his. Her moth form tapped his mushroom body on the head. <The Tartarucha Cells are merely simulation, so the items don’t exist in any real sense. This is perfect for us since we don’t have as much Apothos as some of the more advanced dungeon cores . Remember how you created that little mushroom in the Under Stump? It will work similarly here, but will require far less Apothos since we are not actually engaging in Endogenous Apothos Manifestation.>
<Someone’s been paying attention in our Fiendish Fabrication class.>
Logan had gotten good at channeling Apothos through the meridians in his fungaloid form, so it was easy to concentrate on the western wall and open a hallway there. The dungeon was his body now and had meridians of its own. He chose a wide, friendly corridor with vaulted ceilings, wide arches, and iron candelabras jutting from the walls at evenly spaced intervals. Professor Arketa said that an inviting wide space was good because it gave dungeoneers a false sense of security. A narrow hallway often meant a trap.
He extended his corridor out twenty feet, then shaped a room on the other side. Doing this by himself would’ve weakened him completely. Maybe even incapacitated him. However, he was sharing resources with Inga, which made all the difference in the world.
He added a pit in the center of the room, then threw in some flourishes for good measure: alcoves in the walls, some shelves where he could grow mushrooms, and a few ornate stone cornices. He and Inga moved their guardian forms into the room, but there was a sense that the moth and mushroom were just more aspects of the dungeon. They each controlled their own guardian form respectively, but at this point, he and Inga were really more stone than flesh.
<The moth and the mushroom?> he thought. <That sounds like a new show on Disney Plus.>
Inga wasn’t amused. <Culturally specific references will not aid me in liking you more. I feel both ignorant and alienated.>
<Sorry.>
Inga had other suggestions. <From the reading I did on the Tartarucha Cells, you need to add an entrance, then, from there, we can choose a simulated dungeoneer. We only need one at this point, though as we advance, we can add more. From my exhaustive studies of the available practice dungeoneers, we should choose Sir Rosencrantz Brandybutter. He’s an old favorite, a Cavalier Mage from Bharoosh. We’ll keep that character class, and we’ll make him a low-ranked, B-Class raider, with good strength and good intelligence.>
<Since you’ve obviously invested a lot more time into this than I have, I’ll defer to you. Sir Rosencrantz Brandybutter it is.>
Logan quickly crafted an entrance with a nice big archway set into the stone and a very narrow staircase descending to their trap room. With luck, Sir Brandybutter would waste a spell on the staircase and then die in their trap room without ever getting close to the inner sanctum.
With a thought, Logan summoned the Cavalier Mage, who stood under the archway in silver plate mail. He had a big backpack, a bit cartoony, a kite shield, and a thin silvered rapier sheathed at his side. A thick head of salt-and-pepper hair matched an equally salted goatee. The only thing wizardly about him was the gnarled staff in his right hand. He stood there, not moving, a scowl etched into the lines of his face. Logan would trigger him once they had their trap room set.
He re-centered his consciousness in the trap room.
Regarding the trap room, Inga was positively full of ideas. <We should grow a great many mushrooms in the alcoves on either side of the corridor that leads to the inner sanctum. Then we can hide there and pounce on the raider if he gets past our trap. I can breed Golden Centipedes for the pit, which you can then conceal with a fine layer of Mucal Film.>
Logan packed the alcoves on either side of the inner corridor with Opal Truffles. The Truffles littering his attic room had taken days to get large enough to harvest, but he hoped these would grow tall enough to hide them. Was it hope or wishful thinking?
Inga stood in front of the pit. She reached into the pocket of her robe. Tiny centipedes scuttled around her fingers. She dropped the insects into the pit with a flick of her dainty wrist. They immediately grew into four-foot-long monsters with dagger-like mandibles and hooked, razor-sharp feet. Since between them, they had plenty of Apothos, Logan added spikes. It was a six-foot drop to the bottom, and if Brandybutter survived the spikes, he’d have to fight the giant insects.