Dragonheart Core

I pondered Akkyst's words as I moved.

The new schemas burned in my core, enormous as they were. I was still far too empty of mana to try and create them, but a wriggling little thought in my mind told me I couldn't afford to make the remorhaz. It was just too large, too complex, too evolved—my maximum pool of mana wasn't enough to make it. And that wasn't all I needed mana for, damningly.

I swept through the Skylands, eating at the corpses remaining as soon as the Magelords finished gathering supplies and armour. Hopefully they would take those to better improve themselves, but I needed the mana, and I needed it now—my temporary fix wouldn't last forever.

A final hobgoblin corpse and then I flew to the back, intangible wings spreading wide; and I slammed ten points of mana directly into the hole.

Limestone bloomed like an avalanche, woven through with granite and iron veins for stability. I couldn't build it all the way back into the mountain, considering that was far beyond my control, but I could close the opening. Enough to at least stop those unknowing from walking right into my fucking floors again.

I ate through more of the scattered corpses, gnawing at their bones until they splintered apart into motes of silver light. I burrowed through my various floors until I emerged back into the desolation of the Hungering Reefs, the other entrance that had been blasted into what had previously been security, and wove another stopper there. The stone creaked and moaned as it forced itself into existence.

Then I settled back, a mere two points of mana left after all that destruction.

It had been a success, but it didn't feel like that. I was not a fan of Akkyst telling me this wasn't the full force of the War Horde. It made damning sense, considering Akkyst had been able to defeat their original stone-wurm when he was still an unevolved lunar cave bear, but the remorhaz seemed so much more powerful, the horde filled with ranks of those stronger. It should have been all.

But it wasn't. And I hated that.