{dungeon core}
Looking over my other creatures of what I can add in the lower part of the 1st layer. Land leeches? Slimy tubes slithering trough the grass. Yes, let me create it. I changed the color of the leech to green and gave them the ability to life on land. Giving it the nature stealth trait, instead of marsh predator. I gave the leeches [enhanced agility], for fast leeches. With the gigantism trait, the leeches were 3 meters long. Big enough to swallow a smaller sapient.
Waiting for the creation of the many legged snakerat I began to create the next layer. The crystalline rift. I first started with creating the big crystals, starting from below. I began with metal crystals first. The ones at the bottom were cobalt quartz. Starting form 100 meters above the flat part. Sticking up to a max of 15 kilometers to the middle. Each crystal being around a kilometer wide. Then I created above the cobalt crystals tanzanite crystals where placed only 10 kilometers long. Each layer being around 1 kilometer high. Then the next part I made the crystals out of bismuth. Many layered folds of crystals. Making the crystals this big would make them normally collapse on them self’s, but with my gravity source crystals I made them light enough to hold their weight. For the next part I made is a bit more special.
The crystals were made of ruby, but I made the shapes not normal. The shapes I made them in were more erratic. Like ice crystals, these ruby’s branched of in many smaller arms. Creating a net of ruby’s for 20 kilometers to the middle. In some crystals I made lightonium, hoping it would make them glow. Surprisingly some rubies let out a concentrated beam of red light. Why these rubies did that I did not know. I copied these laser rubies, scattering beams of red light though the ruby layer.
The next layer the middle part of the crystal rift, I made the crystals there of diamond. This time I made 3 crystals big enough to fully gap the entire pits width. 1 diamond crystal fully grown to gap it, and 2 half fused in the middle. In this layer I added smaller bridging diamond pathways, and creating in the middle a kind of arena. In the walls of this part I made a few geodes. Small entrances and caves to reach them. In there I put a few source crystals that make precious gems. in a few I put some liquid mana, with the help of mana algae. Hoping that the gems might become magical indirectly.
The next part is going to be a metal crystal again. This time it will be galena, a crystal filled with lead and silver. Beck when I was I miner we found some galena, we got a bit of silver from that patch. The crystals didn’t grow that long mostly just thick and square. So this part is only 3 kilometers thick. I placed some pure silver source crystals, in some hidden caves and some underneath some bigger crystals.
The ruby part was interesting with its light. Thinking about when I was in the mine, we did come across a yellow crystal. When one of the miners glowed some light on it, I glowed green. I wasn’t certain what minerals this crystal was made of, so I started mixing all possible crystal combinations. Creating a thin ring of various crystals above the galena one. After a hour of mixing I found the one that glows after some light has been put on it. I think it is called autunite a solid green-yellow crystal, with round ends.
With the help of the gravity source crystals I made this ring of crystals 30 kilometers long, for it looks the most like regular rock. It is also quite a bit more fragile than the other crystals, creating a lot of dust when broken.
Now thinking about the next ring of crystals. Aren’t there organic crystals? Honey that some traders brought form above contained some crystals as well. Quite tasty as well, so lets make a ring of sugar crystals. With the help of source crystals to regenerate the sugar and let them grow big, a ring of sugar was made. Less thick around 10 kilometers. When some parts that fell on other crystals they both emitted a flash of blue light for some reason.
Lets now make a spikey ring of crystals! some of the crystals I made to find the autunite, were very spikey. So I picked some of the more beautiful ones and scaled them up. The longest spiked with support grow to about 40 kilometers, but most were around 10-20 kilometers. Some even captured light and distributed in rainbow colors.
Thinking about it, water can also be a crystal! With my source crystal producing cold I can make giant ice crystals. with a bit of trial and error I made big ice crystals powered by source crystals. with the normal temperature the ice crystals sometimes make a very loud noise. And sometimes a crystal get loose and flies around in this ice ring, until it touches another ice crystal and merge. Creating a slowly shifting ring, and if there is more water the crystals can grow until they fall off crashing down. Most of them hitting the diamond, shattering into a fine dust of snow. But sometimes it hits weaker crystals, so I added some source crystals to repair the damage.
Then I made it so that when a crystal hit the bottom of this layer, the crystals will stay for an hour before disappearing. If they fly deeper they will disappear immediately. Creating an unstable ground anywhere in the crystal rift. Any moment a large part of crystal might fall down.
Then the last ring of crystals, made of quartz. I made the quartz in many colorations and opacity. This ring of crystals goes from less long to longer. At the longest the crystals are 20 kilometers long.
Now the upper layer and middle layer have been created, it is time to make the crystal lakes. The lower part is a less steep 25 kilometer ring. Now I need to create a crystal forest. I can add [lesser crystalline shell] to cover the plants. Oh I can use that in combination with [superior starforged petals] to create crystal leaves, but the trunk would still be wood in the middle. Well then time to add a few trees in the hyper mutation chamber with those two trait, with the focus of getting a trait that turns it fully into crystal.
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In this part I recreated the stepped pools of the first floor. Covering every part of the 25 kilometer ring. Each wall made of a clear type of crystal. In most pools I made it so that the concentration of minerals was so high, that it would form crystals. I made it so that that wouldn’t happen, only when someone or something touches the water would the crystals form. Covering it in seconds, immobilizing if it grew too much. It still remains crystals so most can just be shattered off or just removed, since it most likely will stick to clothes more than skin.
Creating more of those pool around each layer, as traps. I made a few flow, and removed that restrictions of forming. Creating stalagmites and stalactites of various crystals. Making more smaller crystals fall from above. Sometimes the crystal would form midair, creating aerodynamic shapes as they fall.
I placed fern with the with [superior starforged petals] and [lesser crystalline shell] to create crystal ferns. The ferns are just on the outside crystal, but on the inside still organic. I placed different colored versions throughout the rings of crystals. barely growing by sticking themselves nest to the crystal pools.
The pools themselves look not like water. The water may be clear, but It looks very different. The first thing is that the water is way more reflective. Making it look like liquid metal from certain angles. The pools also have a slight discoloration depending on what mixture is in the pools.
The first creature I placed in the area is of course the crytalis beetle. They were quite boring, just sitting here and slowly moving. Shooting spikes if they see a threat. Let me just throw them as well into the hyper mutation chamber. I didn’t set any parameter for trait or appearance, gambling for what It will become.
Now the next thing to put here. Ah! The badger. I can put one here with a crystalline shell to create a crystal badger. I put them in the autunite, diamond and quartz region. Changing the shell to look like the region. Looking at the ruby region, the slowly shifting light mesmerizing me. This looks similar to my flashing amphibians. Wait, I can give the amphibians the ability to reflect light and keep the flashing ability, but then they wouldn’t be made of crystals. Hmm, not everything has to be made or partially be made of crystals. I can also dip them in the crystal pools to give them crystal armor.
So I created the crystal flashing amphibians. Giving them bigger claws for climbing and giving them suction feet. I saw in some caves lizards climbing very smooth walls. A shaman apprentice said that their feet suck the air out between the wall and their feet, letting them stick to walls. Then I changed their skin, so that parts accept crystal growth from the crystal pools. And other parts of skin that deny growth of crystals. so If a amphibian goes into a pool parts of their body get covered in crystals.
The traits I gave the amphibians were, [Greater gigantism], [minor light refraction] and [flashing rainbow skin]. Making them very good at creating and redirecting the strong beams of light. Hopefully blinding enemies.
I really need birds in this area and the forest above. Having colorful birds and crystal birds would be so interesting.
I took the flying bladesnake and made their scales look more crystalline. These scales weren’t actual crystal but looked like it. I also made them more aggressive this deep. Not much but if you anger them a little they will attack you. So even if you stay in the open and mind your own business they won’t attack.
Now that I think about it why don’t I just put every plant animal in the hyper mutation chamber. I already put a lot of things in there, so why not the rest. So I did, and I placed some gravitational source crystals, some increasing gravity and some reducing gravity. The increase and reduction was only 50%. At this level for a adventurer, should be fine to walk in a place with that much gravity.
Adding more stuff to this layer will probably be later when I either get new creatures, or something out of the hyper mutation chamber peaks my interest.
Onto the nest layer, The descend. The 20 kilometer sheer drop. Only some smaller caves in the walls of the layer. I placed some ferns and a little moss in placed where it should grow. Just the regular unmodified stuff. I created snaking tunnels in the walls. Most are too small to stand in, unless you are smaller than a meter. The tunnels are mostly barren and dry. Like a true dried out cave, with dead ends, sudden drops and more. In some placed I made a small source crystal that produced water. It barely produces enough water for one person.
In the water I putt the glowing algae. Making the water evaporate faster, but not fast enough to dry out the little pools. I did make 3 larger caves with lots of water in the upper 10 kilometer. More plant life in those and some normal hornbeetles. In some pathways you need to get out and climb in the descends outer wall. As adventurers do that, they might get attacked by the flying snakes. I made them even more aggressive here attacking anyone they see climbing down the outer wall.
At the halfway mark I created a ring 10 meter high all around the wall. I filled it with a dark purple rock. Making it so that stalactites and stalagmites block the sight of the flying snakes. The ring I made goes on average 40 meters into the wall. In the space I placed water and dirt. Planting glowing grass and some trees. Creating a resting spot for adventurers. This place has nothing special and is just a space for them to relax.
In the last 10 kilometers, I made the caves less common or more difficult to traverse then the first 10. In these caves 3 more high water caves were created. I also made a big cave 300 by 50 by 50 meters big. In here I created light and a small forest of irontrees. I also placed some passive creatures that respawned. Making it so whoever gets here can live here for as long as they need.
In both sections I placed some loot. Precious gems, liquid mana, some parts of high affinity creatures and metal tools. I also placed in the most furthest caves Starshard flowers. Not now, but later when I have more mana. Later when I get more flying creatures I will add them here as well. Maybe I should add some small annoying creatures that can be eaten by adventurer later as well.
what is your opinion of the HYPER MUTATION CHAMBER