So here's the thing about being small and weird and glowy:
People ignore you… until you start glowing just a bit too much.
He realized this when a nearby snail, of all things, stared at him with full suspicion.
It didn't have eyebrows. But if it did, they'd be furrowed.
"You got a problem?" he whispered.
The snail blinked once. Then retreated into its shell like it had seen a demon.
Fair.
He was glowing more than usual lately. His core shimmered with faint pulses of mana, each one louder than before. He wasn't sure if it was dangerous or dramatic, but either way, it made him feel kind of cool.
[Current Evolution Progress: 36/300]
Slow and steady.
But progress wasn't the only thing he wanted now. He wanted… a place.
Somewhere to call his own. Somewhere he could rest without getting eaten or drifting into a frog's nostril.
So he went exploring again. Deeper into the river, past cracked rocks and glowing moss, until he found it.
A rock.
But not just any rock. This one was big. Like big big. Flat on one side, curved on the other, with a hollow little dip underneath like a cozy cave for something small and desperate.
"Home," he whispered reverently.
[Claim Structure? Name: Unnamed Boulder]
"Boulder? No. No, no. That's boring. Let me name it."
[Awaiting Name.]
He thought for a moment.
"Rocky."
[Confirmed: Home Base – Rocky.]
He laughed to himself. "I have a base now. Suck it, gravity."
The system didn't reply. It was probably embarrassed on his behalf.
He spent the next few… hours? Days? It was hard to tell — fortifying his new home.
Okay, not "fortifying" in the dramatic, castle-wall sense. More like "eating all the bugs inside so it stopped smelling like death" and "absorbing the moss to make the walls hum with weak magical energy."
It was small progress.
But his progress.
He also figured out how to mark territory using a new skill.
[New Skill: Core Claim Lv.1 – You may bind objects or areas as extensions of your presence.]
"Oh, that's dangerous."
So of course he used it immediately.
He bound Rocky. Then the ground around it. Then the water above it. It started as a little circle, then grew until it was a cozy little pocket of claimed space.
[You have created: Micro-Domain]
[Domain Effect: Core Regeneration +10% | Energy Leak -5% | Minor Fear Aura]
"…Fear aura?" he muttered.
A bug crawled into the edge of the zone… paused… then noped out instantly.
"Oh. That's awesome."
He now had a haunted fish cave. A regenerating mana hut. A one-dot dominion.
All it needed was a flag.
Or maybe a beanbag chair.
But then — because peace never lasts in fantasy worlds — something entered his domain.
And it was not a bug.
It was shaped like a tadpole. Except huge. Too huge. A walking baby nightmare with fins, teeth, and probably tax evasion.
It waddled into the edge of Rocky's territory, sniffed the air, then burbled something in proto-language.
[Entity Detected: Swamp Broodling – Tier 1.5]
[Aggression Level: Moderate. Brain Power: Questionable.]
"Seek," he muttered, "why does it look like a meat balloon with teeth?"
[Unclear. But it is violating your domain.]
"Oh, it's ON."
He compressed his body tight, gathered every bit of mana he could without blowing a fuse, and launched.
First strike: direct hit. The broodling made a squishy noise that should've been illegal.
Second strike: it fought back, whipping its tail. His core got bounced like a pinball, but he recovered.
Third strike: he absorbed its saliva.
Not on purpose.
"Ugh, this tastes like wet nightmares."
Still, bit by bit, he wore it down. Slam, dodge, pulse, compress — until finally…
[Enemy Defeated.]
[You Absorbed: Swamp Broodling – Tier 1.5]
[Progress: 61/300]
[New Passive: Adaptive Coating – Minor Defense vs. Physical Attacks]
He floated there for a second, panting internally.
"Did I just win a boss fight… over my rock?"
[Correct. Your rock remains yours.]
He pulsed with pride.
Then panic.
"…What if more come?"
[They probably will.]
"Cool cool cool," he muttered, already plotting how to weaponize kelp.
But deep inside, he smiled.
Because this wasn't just surviving anymore.
He had a home.
He had defenses.
He had fear aura.
And he'd just fought his first real battle as a proto-core.
From dot to domain owner.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.