POV Obu

  Obu watched as her brother systematically tore through her First Room. She wasn’t upset by this in the least. The fact that her brother was powerful for his level and Rank was only a good thing in her mind. It stung a little that her creatures were so susceptible to his mind powers but then again they were only F(1) creatures. Technically, Razum was too but to compare them was a lesson in folly.

  Razum was a carefully cultivated mushroom brought to the heights of power for his kind and then raised to Sapience. Despite his loss of Rank, he kept much of what had made him such a powerful specimen within the Fungal Garden of their father. In fact, he was clearly handicapping himself as she saw no usage of the fungal powers that could bring the fallen back to life to serve him in cutting down her creatures.

  She felt proud and excited at the same time. As he grew in power he would in turn challenge her Dungeon, pushing her to innovate. While she couldn’t make things too difficult, she would be able to further design her Dungeon in ways that encouraged growth. The Experience that Razum generated would push him and her to new heights and the cycle would continue.

  Her thoughts returned to the System and its messages as Razum lured another Git away from the main group. She wanted to mentally kick herself as she remembered the message.

  She had almost let Razum into her Dungeon and wasted an opportunity for growth. Now that she knew what the corruption looked like she knew she couldn’t afford to do such a thing. She needed a powerful Dungeon in order to combat the corruption directly. Her father had purified one source of corruption but the Administrator had all but confirmed that there were others nearby and they would be seeking her new tree.

  She would need to work quickly to bring her monsters up to speed and her focus would need to be on the Slimelings. She had some ideas on that front but her goblins weren’t suited for purification. They might have a touch of the Waag but none of them could wield the sacred flame themselves and therefore wouldn’t be much help beyond fodder to throw at the enemy.

  The slimelings were already touching upon the concept of Purity and would be a prime defense against corruption. Now that she had their framework her mind buzzed with the possibilities they represented. She would wait to implement her plans until she was Rank E though, which meant she needed her brother to succeed in his Quest.

  Turning her attention back to the challenge she watched as Razum calmly finished off her remaining monsters. There was a scary moment when a stalactite trap was triggered, falling toward her brother with an inevitability that had Obu doubting whether or not Razum could get out of the way in time. Despite the lack of speed that his fruiting body normally displayed, apparently, it didn’t accurately describe how quickly he could move if he needed to.

  He barely avoided the trap, the stone shattering into shards that flew in all directions. Some of them struck Razum but he seemed to shrug them off with equanimity. The real danger came from the effect it had on the remaining Gits as the loud noise broke them free from the hold Razum had on their minds. The three remaining Gits howled in rage, shaking off the fog, before racing toward Razum like dogs on the hunt.

  Razum recovered quickly enough from what she could see, readying his body to face the incoming charge. Obu had a front-row seat to the moment her brother truly let loose. Right as her monsters passed some imaginary boundary, a green flicker of fire leaped from over Razums right shoulder and struck the lead Git in the face. The sudden attack had it screeching in pain, causing it to flail around as it tried to put out a flame that had already dissipated.

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  Its flailing caught the side of one of its companions, causing it to collapse in a crumpled heap wheezing for breath. The final remaining Git continued on but was met with a cloud of spores and a blade fashioned from Razum’s own flesh. The blade gleamed with Aether and it was obvious to her senses that it had been formed quickly. That didn’t keep it from performing its function of ending the git's life.

  Razum wasted no time in moving over to the gits on the floor. His body’s flesh rippled and shifted as his hands were reshaped. He grasped both creatures and lifted them bodily from the ground which had Obu’s eyes widening in shock. When in the world did he get so strong? With a heave, Razum launched a git across the cavern, where it slid over the damp ground until meeting the second of her traps.

  With a half-gargled screech, the git struggled to swim before sinking like a stone. From Razum’s stillness, she interpreted that his activation of the trap had not been his intent but most likely to separate his opponents while he dealt with the other. His stillness was an opening that her git made use of, its stone dagger flashing down to strike Razum on his cap. Obu winced, expecting to see Razum with a wicked gash but when she checked there was nothing but a small abrasion.

  It was like his sporecap was made of stone and the dagger had scuffed some of it. Obu stared in shock and it seemed Razum shared some incredulity. A hand came up to feel at the mark even as the git winded up for another strike. Razum didn’t let it finish, slamming the creature into the ground with a crack of flesh striking stone. The git didn’t get back up.

  Obu was drawn away from her staring by a System notification.

  Obu paused just long enough to make sure Razum had accepted his Ascension to Rank F(2) before she released the rest of his rewards. She didn’t want him to lose his hard won Experience after all. Once she had done that, she turned back to her status as new messages began scrolling.

  She let the feeling of Ascending wash over her before reading over the rewards for Ranking Up. While she had claimed the slimelings her father had purified, she hadn’t possessed an actual spawner for them so she was particularly pleased by that development. The Leaf-Covered Pit was simple but would definitely fit within her Hidden Floor.

  She had no idea what an Aspect was but she didn’t have to wait for long to find out. A presence descended on her but from within which was the strangest thing to experience. It was a warm presence, fatherly and protective, and yet also motherly and comforting. Then it departed, as quickly as it had come, leaving behind a sense of cleanliness. It wasn’t sterile like something had been scoured.

  Whatever the aspect was it was a number of things all rolled up into one. It was a heavy weight being removed, it was light chasing the darkness away, and it was a storm washing away the filth. All of this and more was left behind for Obu to process and she instinctively knew she could impart the feeling upon her monsters. At the same time, the flame of Waag that lay within her flared to life in response to the new Aspect she possessed, resonating with the ideas it expressed.

  Obu let all of these things wash over her and through her before turning her attention to her Dungeon. Razum was still there, probably processing his own gains and Obu figured she would leave him be. Instead of sticking around she let her mind transfer to her Hidden Floor where her father was still stumping around. She found him poking one of the slimelings, watching it jiggle back and forth.

  She giggled internally and left him to his fun, moving to place a slimeling spawner by the divine seed that had sprouted. Two spawners later she felt better about the defense of her Hidden Floor but she also wanted something more. The Slimelings were great but there was something else she had been given some time ago. Her father had used it to raise Razum to sapience and now Obu figured it was her turn. She pulled back from her Dungeon, sinking into the depths of her mind, plans for a new creature circling within.