With what remains, I need to start shopping for my cash-in option. There’s so much to choose from. After I take the mandibles and carapace off the table, there are only a few main body parts for me to play with. In the end, I decide to focus on my antennae. It might seem like nothing, but my antennae have evolved to become a key component of my build. The future sight alone pulls its weight and is something I will absolutely reinvest in once I can. I’m a bit disappointed to see that the Spectrum Crystal is outside of my budget. That would have been a real nice pickup. Sadly, it isn’t to be. Instead, I look through the possible options that are within my limits, and there are many.
Most of these shiny new antennae are clearly from the third stratum, with titles like Infernal Lattice Antennae, or Weave of Greed Antennae. As little as I like the idea of these demonic-sounding names being attached to me, I’m sure there’s something I can find that’s going to serve my purpose. I’m pretty open to the benefits, and I don’t mind if it’s something that helps my future sight, or something that helps my spellcasting, or even just improves my sense of smell to a high degree.
There’s a heap of options that give weird stuff. Like my antennae having the ability to blast enemies with fire, or turn any fire spell channelled through them into a more powerful infernal flame variant, even one that allows me to sense, of all things, people’s inner desires. What the heck do I care about people’s inner desires? I already get the wants of my family seeping into my head through the Vestibule! People outside of the family don’t matter to the point I need to peek inside their heads!
Bah. There has to be something good…
Aha! What have we here?
[Twilight Filament: A material with extreme sensitivity to vibrations that reacts to sensory input of all kinds.]
All kinds, eh? Including THE ECHOES OF THE FUTURE? I’m getting the sense—heh—that it will, based on that vague, all-encompassing description. I feel good about it, and I’m happy to dodge some of the more bizarre and evil-sounding options. What’s up with these demons! Lock that in.
Huh, what do you know? A little more energy left over after that one, which is a happy surprise. I think I’ll make use of that and bulk up my physical stats a little more. This will be the evolution where I finally stamp my authority as a physical and mental powerhouse!
Muahahahahaaaa! No longer a weak little hatchling, I’m going to be so mighty!
I eagerly look over my selections. I cannot wait to evolve!
19. That Blinding Beard
I check my options one last time before confirming everything. I have to say, the ol’ status sheet is looking pretty darn good. A massive boost in stats, my brains becoming mutable, a heck of a lot more physical power, and the benefits of expanding my Vestibule setup to become even more of an enduring powerhouse. I can hardly wait!
Not to mention the slow process of reforging my body into something better than what I started with is quite exciting. It may only be the antennae and Vestibule so far, but eventually the whole body will be remade! We can make it better! Faster! Stronger! We have the technology!
Satisfied with my new display, I confirm the options and once more feel my consciousness falling into the now-familiar sinkhole of nothingness. The sensation of having your awareness circling a drain filled with a black void is a little disconcerting. But as the saying goes, you can adapt to anything, so it’s more of a detached fascination that I feel as I fall down and down until I come into the presence of the great bearded one once more.
[I don’t actually have a beard, you know.]
The voice echoes through my mind, sounding mildly amused.
Look, Gandalf has a beard. Gandalf without a beard just isn’t a thing. I don’t think my mind could even comprehend it. Like… fire without heat or water without wet. If Gandalf didn’t have a beard, would he even be Gandalf? Actually, this is getting deep…
[I am not this Gandalf that you keep calling me. You do realise that, don’t you?]
Are you going to tell me your name this time?
[No.]
Gandalf you remain.
[…I suppose that’s fair enough. In terms of the level of delusion those in your position usually possess, this is quite minor, all things considered.]
Yeah, that’s a question I have, actually. How many of my kind are kicking around down here? Since the last time we spoke, I’ve met three. Three! It’s not like I’ve covered a wide range of territory either, only a tiny sliver of the world. Are you constantly snatching souls from Earth? What’s your deal, man?
[The collection and injection of souls into the world is not something I handle directly. It is mere happenstance that your world aligns closely with this one. When a suitable soul is detected, it is drawn here and reborn into the Dungeon. It is simply a thing that is.]
Huh. You’ve mentioned this before, but ‘suitable’ tends to mean ‘a bit nuts’, from what I understand.
[Most minds are not capable of surviving the transition to a monstrous form. The following challenge of having to endure within the Dungeon breaks the rest.]
It sounds like you have experience with this…
[Oh, yes. It was quite some time before the filter could determine who had the better chance of survival. The first generations of transplanted souls were… disappointing, to say the least.]
Sounds like a relatively mild way of describing people suffering breakdowns and getting eaten by monsters…
[As I said, it isn’t something I control directly, it is merely part of the working.]
Uh-huh. Well, thank goodness the Dungeon is filled with crazies, eh? So much more stable and easy to deal with. You weren’t lying about Garralosh, by the way, she was completely gone. Fully nuts. To be honest, if it weren’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have survived fighting her.
[It’s true that she had suffered long. She showed much early promise, but her savagery was not tempered by cunning. She grew too fast and did not hide her strength from those who would do her harm. Any monster that shows such rapid growth is marked with a target, something she failed to grasp until it was far too late.]
Do I have that same target painted on my back now, seeing as I was the one who killed her?
[To some extent, perhaps. You have already drawn to your side those that would see you grow to your full potential.]
Do you mean Granin and the Triad? You know about the Cult? Or should I say, cults?
[Of course. There is nothing that happens on this world that is outside of my purview, should I wish it to be so.]
Then I suppose you would know all about the Ancients and the stuff they have going on?
[Of course. Everything the System touches is within my scope.] The voice sounds rather smug at this. [Regardless of what they might wish, they are bound by it still.]
You make it sound as if they want to break out of the System. Is something like that even possible?
[Should I fill in all the blanks for you? What reason would I have to answer such a question?]
…Because you’re super nice?
Well, that got a laugh out of him.
[You are an interesting specimen, I must admit. Your species has become quite a force, and you yourself continue to rise from strength to strength. Your current path of evolution has you on a powerful trajectory. I am curious, however, on how comfortable you are with tying so much of your strength into the survival of your species. Without them, you will only possess a fraction of the strength.]