The army and the approaching elephant herd were now barely a hundred meters apart. A moment of tension settled over the battlefield.
But suddenly, the elephants stopped and pushed their young protectively into the center of the herd. The giants now fixed their wise eyes on the army. The air seemed to crackle with electric tension; the silence was palpable.
A gentle breeze swept through the scene, and I noticed I'd involuntarily held my breath.
I watched intently to see what would happen next, feeling like the world around me was collectively holding its breath.
The moment stretched like an elastic band, on the verge of snapping. The rising sun shone on the warriors' glistening armor, making the elephants' mighty tusks gleam in the light.
Suddenly, the silence shattered. The commander shouted something incomprehensible, and the army took a collective step forward.
Then another, and another.
But before a collision could occur, a figure emerged from the elephant ranks – a wise older and bigger female elephant with impressive tusks that gleamed and showed a mysterious pattern in the sunlight. A deep and big scar could be seen on one side of her back and her left ear was missing.
My eyes widened in amazement, because what I saw left me stunned.
"She's conscious," I muttered with joy.
The elephant lowered her head, emitting a soft, deep sound that resonated across the prairie. The herd behind her halted, as if respecting their leader. The elephant slowly advanced towards the army, her intelligent eyes seemingly piercing through the warriors.
In response, the Lizard commander – as I now called them – raised his hand, causing the army to freeze and their weapons to be hesitantly lowered.
The commander stepped forward, and now both leaders, human and elephant, stood facing each other.
The elephant seemed peaceful, yet her presence exuded a deep authority.
An older man I had seen earlier in the tent stepped beside the commander. He raised his hands in a gesture of respect and began speaking. While I couldn't understand the words, they sounded important, emphasized.
The elephant seemed to listen, and when the man finished his speech, it looked as if she nodded in agreement. Slowly, she lowered her head even further and then turned around. The herd followed her in an orderly retreat, as if they understood the message.
I watched as the herd of elephants pulled back and, only when they were a mere speck on the horizon and the trembling had ceased, seemed like a sigh of relief swept across the area.
Life returned to the surroundings, and collapsed tents were reassembled. The six commanders withdrew back into a new built tent.
I chose not to follow them this time, as I had something more important to attend to.
--------
[Status]
Name: Nalini
Title: Matriarch
---> Commands respect from other elephants and exudes an authoritative aura
Age: 100 Years 0 Months
Species: Big Quantum Elephant
Level: 2/5
Exp: 806/1000
Mana: 2000/2000
Muscle Strength: 42
Muscle Agility: 16
Body Control: 26
Stamina: 38
Skills: [Quantum Protection; Competency 31], [Memory; Competency 22],[Leadership; Competency 12]
--------
"Wow!"
"Even though I'm not entirely sure about the conversion of status points, this seems impressive!"
I also noticed that Nalini, the elephant's apparent name, was no longer a normal Quantum Elephant. She had indeed broken through the level cap, gaining consciousness.
Moreover, she had undergone a minor evolution and was now a Big Quantum Elephant.
"Hmm, this makes me think that mana can expedite and simplify evolution."
However, what interested me more was whether other beings on the first floor had gained consciousness. To investigate this thoroughly, I returned to the Control Room.
I opened the overview of the first floor, and as I suspected, it showed the number of conscious and unconscious animals. Additionally, I saw various statistics, like traditional migration routes of different herds.
At the moment, though, I wasn't particularly interested in this and refocused on my initial curiosity.
______
[Creatures:]
Total Count: 591,341,345,813,986
Conscious Creatures: 516
...
______
"Amazing!" I exclaimed in astonishment.
"In a hundred years, more has happened than I thought."
Usually, the number of creatures wouldn't surprise me, but only 100 years had passed!
"It's probably due to my [CS], which supports the proliferation of creatures on the first floor," I pondered.
Additionally, there's the sea, with double the volume of regular water. So, the creatures have a vast habitat to live in.
What I noticed as I went through the conscious beings was that they mostly held the role of leaders.
I observed 14 lion packs, 18 elephant herds, as well as horses and bison herds with conscious leaders. Only with the bison, there were multiple conscious beings besides the leader.
On the mainland, there were 89 conscious creatures, while the rest were all in the sea.
However, they all had one thing in common – they were 100 years old. This is likely because they descend from the original group that I created back then.
„That's fascinating! I wish I could ask what the experience in all the years and how they feel after being thrown into a unknown world!"
I looked at a few more data points, and when I was satisfied, 10 hours had already passed.
To compare, I quickly checked my status.
______
[Status]
Name: -
Age: 0 years, 0 months, 4 weeks, 0 days, 12 hours
Species: Dungeon Core
Level: 3/4
Exp: 36010.9 / 40000
EC: 83/450
______
"Damn!" I cursed.
I had been so fascinated that more time had passed than I thought.
This was frustrating because I wanted to witness the development and activities of the lizard people in my dungeon. After all, they were my first guests, and the information I gained from this could shape my next floor.
But now, with 10 hours gone, it's been 200 hours on the first floor, a little over 8 days!
So, I quickly teleported back to the first floor.
Upon arrival, I heard thunder and saw lightning. A storm was apparently approaching the intruders.
Since it was also nighttime, it was relatively dark. I could only see the sea faintly shimmering with mana and occasional flowers glowing as they were subjected to the cold storm.
Not finding the lizard people immediately, I looked at the map to see their location. To my surprise, they had moved.
They had followed the coastline for several kilometers and set up their camp in a bay, near the forest.
The bay was relatively large and could accommodate all 600 thousand intruders. Being hilly, it was practically enclosed from all sides – the sea in front and hills on the other sides.
What caught my attention was that the lizard people seemed to be preparing for something. I saw the beginnings of a wall on the hills. For now, it was only about a meter high.
"Looks like they're marking their territory," I smiled slightly.
However, since it was stormy and most of them were asleep, I returned to the Control Room and waited for 10 minutes.
Returning to the floor, the air was fresh, and I could almost see the grass growing.
I noticed the beginnings of houses in the bay, built from stone and wood. They had gone to the nearby spring tree forest to carefully fell trees for this purpose.
There were only three two-story houses so far, and I saw that the focus was more on the wall.
"Hmm?" I pondered. "What's that? Looks like a temple!"
Since there weren't many buildings yet, this one stood out.
It was simple, made of [Space Hardened Stone] and wood from [Small Spring Trees].
However, it reminded me of an ancient Greek temple as I looked at the small stone and wood temple.
The temple's walls were made of roughly hewn gray-violet stone, shimmering in the gentle sunlight.
The temple lacked a conventional entrance and instead had an open passage flanked by massive columns.
These columns made of rough stone supported a simple entablature, lending the temple a touch of ancient grace. Above the entablature, a roof made of fresh wooden planks provided shade from the sun and created a pleasant shadowy area inside the temple.
"Beautiful!" I said. "Let's see what it looks like from the inside!"
Inside the temple, a sight of simple beauty awaited. The stone floor had been attempted to be polished.
Even now, I see a lizard person sitting and trying to smooth it, exuding an aura of seriousness and steadfastness.
The walls bore traces of yet-to-be-made decorations. In the center of the temple rested a simple altar made of already smooth stone.
And on or in the small altar rested...
"A large glass marble?" I asked, bewildered.