《Doomed Dungeon》 Chapter One, Hangin’ Around the Campfire Oh Goddess, what happened? There is so much pain. Bastill awoke with a heaving breath in. The aches and pains he felt contrasted with the warmth seeping from his surrounding environment. He became aware of a bright light flickering playfully beyond his lidded eyes. The ragged, shallow breath of a creature fighting for its continued survival permeated the atmosphere. Every piece of him felt like lead. His muscles all felt uncooperative as his attempts to move. His mind was in a constant groggy state. Bastill could feel himself lying on a hard, unrelenting surface, with his legs and feet held firmly in place. Painfully and ever-so-slowly, he tried prying his heavy eyelids open to peer into the room and get a sense of where he was, but it was to no avail. He continued to lie there. Desperately trying to settle his ragged breath into a steady natural rhythm. With each breath he drew, he would inhale the acrid smell and putrid taste of an overpowering sulfuric smoke. I just need to calm down; everything will be fine. After what felt like several grueling years in his painful state of mind, he eventually summoned the strength to open his eyes and peered into his environment. His pupils contracted to a pin¡¯s point as a raging ceremonial fire roared around him, amalgamating into an archaic, demonic pattern. He could not recall ever seeing anything like it before. The shadows of flames danced along curved walls of stone. He turned his head as best he could, attempting to get an idea of where he was. The room that held the fire was perfectly circular with a singular door leading to goddess knows where. The hard surface he lay on turned out to be a large stone slab centered in the middle of the room; it was surrounded by fire. Right next to the slab of stone was a vicious looking dagger, and several bowls filled to the brim with murky ingredients, all positioned upon a small wooden table. To top it all off, he was naked. ¡°Shit shit shit, what have I gotten myself into? Everything is not fine. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!¡± Bastill started yelling in defiance. He was sent into a spiraling panic at the various scenarios that he had begun to imagine. Nothing in Bastill¡¯s twenty-one years of living could have mentally prepared him for this, and he somehow knew the worst had yet to come. He struggled against the now apparent heavy, iron-rusted shackles that bound him; however, despite struggling until they bit into his flesh, nothing he did gave him any hope of escape. The last memory he could recall before waking in this hell hole was of him having a bit of fun in the local tavern until his mental faculties took a vacation. ¡°All I did was have one ale at the tavern,¡± he began to mutter in a stupor, ¡°Someone must have drugged my drink¡­¡± At that moment Bastill realized that he must have been drugged and brought to this goddess forsaken dismal room. In addition, judging by the abrasions he felt, he was not taken here gently, but dragged over a couple hundred miles of rough terrain. His life had been going so well until this happened. He had just finished his apprenticeship with the Artisan Guild that month. Beginning his apprenticeship at the age of fifteen, he had spent the last six years under the tutelage of his master. He had just moved into the Expert ranking in the Sculpting skill and had finally made it out of the Apprenticeship and on to Journeyman, which required a core skill to be at the Expert level. Expert was, indeed, very good; however, it still did not propel him into the higher end of society. At most, his status was just enough to give him an official position within the Artisan Guild. He still lacked prestige and power. That was fine with him though. He just cared for the art and the joy that came with the craft. The Artisan Guild was one of the five main guilds: There was the Merchant Guild, the Adventurer Guild, the Warrior Guild, the Mage Guild, and lastly the Artisan Guild. There were also several lesser guilds. Each guild had different values and focal point. The Merchant Guild was responsible for increased commerce and a grander economy. It contains the most successful businesses, and joining it provides better benefits and alliances among countries. The Adventurer Guild was one the largest importers of rare plants, animals, and equipment. It also received and trained apprentices from the mage and warrior guilds to give them the experience to level up. Killing creatures was one the best ways to gain experience, making the Adventurer Guild the best leveling Guild. The Warrior Guild was responsible for maintaining an army and having guards available for towns and caravans. The Mage Guild brought up some of the most talented youth in the use of spells and mana manipulation. Some were conscripted into the army, others joined and improved other guilds, while the rest spent time researching and teaching. The Artisan Guild specialized in creating a plethora of equipment and the best buildings. Its members were blacksmiths, crafters, alchemists, builders, and more. Six years of hard painstaking work in perfecting his craft and now on the precipice of being independent, and Bastill was now strapped to a freaking slab of stone in the middle of what looked like a demonic sacrifice. Thoughts were whipping around in his mind as fast as his brain¡¯s synapses could fire. This couldn¡¯t be the end of him... he had so many goals to fulfill still. He was never going to get the opportunity to ask Natasha out on the town, let alone start a family even. He was definitely going to end up dead in the middle of this goddess forsaken stone prison considering how things were looking. Probably sacrificed to some cruel defecating sex goddess worshipped by a crazy cult. He tried taking deep breaths and thinking more positively.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Maybe whoever drugged me and chained me to this slab of stone had good intentions¡­ Not very likely, but maybe it¡¯s all an elaborate and very messed up prank. Okay, okay. Deep breaths. Instead of accepting the inevitable, I will try to get free. And preferably dressed. Bastill decided the best strategy was to go over his assortment of skills in his Stat Menu to figure out what he had that could help. The Stat Menu held all the information that made up his entire being. Funny how an entire screen could make a whole person. With the starting standard of 10 points in each characteristic, it would show you where you stood in the society and what skills you had innate talent in. By working hard enough, you could raise them yourself to an extent. For example, if a person worked out often, then their strength would slowly rise, or if someone read frequently, then their intelligence would marginally increase. However, one could also increase their characteristics another way. By increasing level, it became possible to break past the humans¡¯ limits and become stronger, quicker, and smarter. Each level also gave 3 points to add to the characteristics of the leveler¡¯s choosing. Leveling was achieved by gaining experience through killing creatures, successfully leveling up a skill, or even crafting something. Stat Menu Level: 10, Race: Human, Name: Bastill, Age: 21, Vocation: Sculptor, Gender: Male Characteristics Strength: 17, Constitution: 12, Dexterity: 25, Intelligence: 24, Wisdom: 13, Charisma: 9 Traits Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Skills Sculpting: 53, Expert; Stealth: 22, Intermediate; Pick Pocketing: 21, Intermediate; Lock Picking: 18, Novice; Hiding: 23, Intermediate; Knife Mastery: 7, Novice; Trading: 6, Novice; Cooking: 19, Novice; Observing: 29, Intermediate Bastill was currently at level ten; the average for non-combatants was nine to nineteen, which had him resting on the low end. Having prioritized his dexterity and Intelligence above all else, the two showed as his strongest characteristics. He also had an arrangement of skills from novice to expert. Skills were ranked from Novice to Grandmaster, with six ranks in total. By leveling a skill to twenty it would cease being a novice rank and begin being a Intermediate rank. In this manner, each rank had different levels at which they would progress. Advanced was achieved at forty, Expert at fifty, Master at seventy, and Grandmaster at one-hundred. Going over his skills, Bastill remembered how rough his start had been. His skillset certainly told a story. Children would typically develop certain kinds of skills from helping out their parents with various chores, such as Gathering. Bastill grew up in an orphanage and didn¡¯t receive any of the normal skills a child would obtain. Instead, he joined a street gang and spent his time thieving, until he turned his life around and started sculpting. Having never liked that life, Bastille was happy to get out of it. He turned a new page, put that life behind him, and threw his whole being into the work of sculpting. Because of this, sculpting quickly became his biggest passion in life. One of his proudest moments was gaining the Trait Stone Touch, which gave his work an extra radiance that couldn¡¯t be created naturally. Not that it was any help now. ¡°Crrrk, Bang!¡± The sound of the door screeching open and slamming shut startled Bastill out of his thoughts. ¡°Well hello there, darling. Looks like you had a decent nap, eh? Ready for a little experiment? I haven¡¯t ever tried this ritual before, to be honest. I mean, after gathering all the ingredients, along with a sacrifice, a ritual is never easy to just throw together. Took a bit of planning and time if I am being completely honest,¡± The newcomer said in a feminine voice. It¡¯s her! Bits and pieces of forgotten memory started coming back. There had been a flirtacious girl drinking with him at the tavern that night. She must have been the one who had drugged him, and now here she was! She had a beautiful face, with cold, dark blue eyes and lusty, deep brown hair. When she entered the chamber, Bastill began to take in a hint of roses swirling into the sickening, sulfuric smoke. She still had on her tight, revealing, vibrant red dress that she had worn that night. It looked like he was also right about this being some insane sacrifice. At least he had a clear view of the asshat that did all of this to him. ¡°Any chance we can talk this out a bit?¡± Bastill asked, barely restraining himself. ¡°Sorry, no can do,¡± she said offhandedly, while mixing some foul smelling components near him. Bastill realized that, whatever her plan might be, it was going to be set into motion soon. He doubted that she would be willing to talk it out, but it was worth a shot. After all, don¡¯t villains love explaining their plans in detail, allowing the hero enough time to save the day? His only tactic now was to stall for more time. With more time, he would be able to come up with an actual plan. ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we trade names at least? I¡¯m Bastill. Maybe tell me why you are doing this? Even better, how about you get me some clothes,¡± he said while letting some of his vitriolic feelings leak into his voice. The nameless woman was quickly moving through the ritual. At this point, the flames started to blaze more fiercely. The smell of sulfur grew overwhelming. Her movements quickened. She came over to him and started drawing erratic symbols across his body. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m a bit busy right now. Talk to you later though, sweetie,¡± she said, nonchalantly grabbing the knife and plunging it into his heart. The last thought to go through his head was: That¡­ Bitch... Chapter Two, The Core Issue I guess this is the afterlife. Everything in heaven is darker than I thought. Bastill¡¯s awareness slowly began to stir. He couldn¡¯t see anything around him. He couldn¡¯t hear or feel anything around him. He could faintly sense something around him but that was all. This was his life now. He imagined heaven would be bright or at least decently lit. Not this complete darkness that he was immersed in. Only two different senses were available: his own thoughts and this gently humming force that brushed against him. It really wasn¡¯t like any heaven he would have dreamed or hoped for. This situation was bleak. It couldn¡¯t be heaven, which left only one other choice. Well, I guess this must be hell then. I guess my karma was quite shit after all I did earlier in my life. You can¡¯t run away from your past, it seems. Bastill could still feel an energy surrounding his being, simply touching against him. Since he figured he had an eternity in this hell, he decided to try to occupy his mind. He could feel the energy on him and began to draw it into himself. The energy he felt pushing against him was slowly pulled into him. After hours upon hours of pulling the energy, something finally changed. Suddenly, a Status Notification came up in his mind. He looked at it: Level Up! Current Level: 1 Congratulations! You have become aware of the mana touching in the area. New Abilities: +Expand Consciousness. You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost 1 mana per every cubed foot. +Passive Mana Absorption. You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate +1/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. +Next Level Requirements: Expand Consciousness, Fill Mana Capacity. Level one? No, I¡¯m level 10¡­ aren¡¯t I? What is happening? Am I even dead? Maybe I¡¯m Just blind. I swore I was stabbed right in the chest. Bastill decided that there was a small chance that he still might be alive. If he was still alive, then his only hopes lay upon these new abilities that he had gained. Thinking over the notification he just received, he realized that the energy he had felt must have been mana. The energy magical beings used to cast spells. He tried opening his Stat Menu: Stat Menu Level: 1, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 1/10, Mana Absorption: 1/day, Creatures: 0, Rooms: 0, Floors: 0 Abilities Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost 1 mana per every cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate +1/Day. To increase, grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence, your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. What the crap? My levels, my skills, my characteristics... are all gone?! What on earth happened? I¡¯m a Dungeon Core? That can¡¯t be right. Bastill didn¡¯t completely believe what he saw on his Stats Menu; however, he needed to find out what was going on. No matter what was really happening, he needed to escape this place. He only option was to try expanding his consciousness using his new ability. After that, he might have more options to escape this room. He began to push his awareness beyond himself. He extended his mind into the area around him. For a moment, he was able to see everything around him. He saw everything within about half a foot for three full seconds, before he fell unconscious. ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Bastill awoke in a panic. He was still able to see in his small sphere of influence, which seemed to roughly make up a cubic foot. He had a couple notifications waiting for him as well.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I need to stop blacking out, or it will become a habit, and if I wake up like this anymore, then there is a chance that I am going to have a heart attack. In his cubic foot of influence Bastill could see, feel, and understand everything. He was still on the stone slab. He couldn¡¯t sense anything beyond the air and the stone slab, except for blood and a small jewel in the middle of the table. It was an amethyst. Which was perfect, because many hold superstitions about amethysts having the power to prevent drunkenness in those who wear it. Just what he needed. Could have used it a lot sooner. There was still a major problem though. Where was his body? As he continued to examine the small domain of influence, he realized that its center point was, in fact, the jewel. He came to a conclusion. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I can¡¯t be a gem. Is that what a dungeon core is then? He began to laugh as he remembered the Artisan Guild Master, when the man had discovered his talent for sculpting. ¡°Looks like we have found ourselves a real gem here; you have a great talent kid! Come work for our guild. You will do great things,¡± The man had said back then. If only the Master could see him now. How true he had been. He, of course, had used it as a colloquialism, but now, it appeared to be reality. It was time to accept things as they were. He struggled; this wasn¡¯t the easiest thing to accept, after all. Not everyone wakes up to realize that their entire being is held within a small purple jewel. He didn¡¯t have time to just complain and mope about. He needed to stay optimistic and establish a plan. He wasn¡¯t dead yet and didn¡¯t plan on dying anytime soon. Might as well accept the challenges and move on. He checked his notifications: Your Influence Increased Passive Mana Regeneration Increased to 10 per day. Level Up! Current Level: 2 Congratulations! You successfully expanded your consciousness and filled mana to capacity. + Passive Mana Regeneration Increased to 24 per day. +Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. + Next Level Requirements: 1 Room, Fill Mana Capacity. Bastill realized he must have blacked out due to using all available mana. Then, he had gained another 10, meaning he had been unconscious for at least a day, before waking up, gaining enough to level up. He currently held thirteen mana, meaning another three hours passed after he leveled up. He had been unconscious for twenty-seven hours. He decided it would be best not to blackout in the future. Only use what you have. Next time, he could black out longer or even die. He didn¡¯t know the first thing about being a dungeon core, but there was no point in risking it. One thing he did know was that he needed a faster mana Absorption. The best way to do this was to continue to grow. It might also help fill the requirement for gaining a room. He wasn¡¯t sure what the requirements for a room were, but gaining mana faster seemed like the best plan. The Observe ability could come in use if that woman or someone else came by. It would be a great way to gauge his chances. His dungeon felt bare. It was lacking life all around him. He felt it was his duty to bring his dungeon to life. He decided that he would put it on his to-do list to complete in the near future. After all, what was a dungeon without the defenses of its monsters? He went back to the first task he needed to complete, long before he could make creatures for his dungeon: to start off, he needed more room and a larger mana absorption rate. Bastill began investing his mana into the room he was in. Before expanding his consciousness into the room, he tried to calculate how long it would take; he figured it would take him about 449 mana to fill up. At his current rate, it would take him just over eighteen days to fill, but his mana absorption rate increased with every added cubed foot. Bastill decided to always leave some extra mana in him, so he wouldn¡¯t black out. He quickly filled in the five mana he wanted to use, leaving the remaining one with himself. The mana rate didn¡¯t increase by as much as it had been previously, and Bastill realized it would decrease its effect after constant use. The first time, it had jumped from one to ten, he had only been absorbing what his gem was touching, so jumping up to a full cubed foot greatly increased his overall influence. He was an hour away from finishing when the woman came back. He was gaining a little under two mana every hour now, and he had around three remaining feet to fill. She ripped open the door and came right up to his core. Her eye was inches away from his little gem. He was completely infuriated. This was the woman that stabbed his heart and turned him into a bloody jewel in the first place. Literally, because the table was still covered in blood that didn¡¯t seem to be able to dry. Now, he wished he had focused on creatures, so he could have attacked her, but this whole time he just focused on expanding his awareness across the room. The only thing left was for him to do was watch her invade the whole length of the dungeon to his jewel. He was absolutely seething. ¡°Well, looks like it was successful, which is a relief, don¡¯t want to do that ceremony again. Sooo time consuming. I wonder if you still hold intelligence¡± she said to him in a smiling voice, ¡°Can you understand me?¡± There was absolutely nothing he could do. Mentally, he was shaking in rage. She had done this to him. She had taken his body away. Despite being inches apart, he couldn¡¯t do a thing, let alone respond. In a spark of inspiration, he remembered the Observe ability. He would be able to see what he was dealing with and destroy her, given enough time! He activated the ability: Observe Analysis Level: 67 Race: Human Name: Claire Estrand Age: 41 Vocation: Dark Sorcerer I am absolutely screwed. There is no way I could take her on in a million years¡­ Ranking of level went from F to A, with three special ranks of S, SS, and SSS. Rank F was level nine and below, Rank E was level nineteen and below, Rank D was level twenty-nine and below, Rank C was level thirty-nine and below, Rank B was level forty-nine and below, Rank A was level fifty-nine and below, Rank S was level seventy-nine and below, Rank SS was level ninety-nine and below, Rank SSS was level one-hundred and up. He had barely been Rank E, while she was currently a rank S. You don¡¯t even mess with people one rank above you, because they can easily beat you. An E against a S was like a mosquito being slapped. Not to mention, he was now back to level two and rank F. All thoughts of destroying this woman or even harming her vanished. His only hope was that he could appease her somehow. It didn¡¯t help that he couldn¡¯t even talk. How do stones bloody talk? He had to find a way to please her. She began to talk again, ¡°I guess not, eh? Not that it would matter anyways. I will leave you here to mature for a bit and return in about five years to collect you. You¡¯re going to be a very important ingredient in a very important ritual in the years to come.¡± With that, she left the room.
...And shit. There goes any hope.
Chapter Three, Losing Their Head I am dead. So dead. An S rank wants me dead. I should have dropped a rock on her head or something. I wonder if that would work. The worse part for Bastill was the agony of having to wait five more years until his death. At least when you¡¯re living it¡¯s not a countdown. If anything, each year is a miracle and a blessing, but there is something different about knowing exactly when you will die. Like when someone gets a terminal illness. They knew they were going to die, but now they know they won¡¯t live past a certain time. He did have plenty of time. About 1,825 days left. He could start counting down and slowly go insane. Then his death would be a mercy kill. What was he thinking? Yes, S rank was difficult to beat, well really impossible, however he had to try at least. It would also help to keep himself from going insane. Having a delusional goal. Isn¡¯t that what all humans do anyways? Sounds like a pretty solid goal. Of course, he was also a dungeon core, which he knew nothing about. However, that may be a good thing. He knew that if he was a human still there would be no way he could beat her in that amount of time. Maybe being a dungeon core would give him an advantage that he didn¡¯t know about. He decided to open the door in hopes he may gain something, but there was a problem. He couldn¡¯t actually open the door, but he resolved this problem by dissolving it with his influence, which netted him one mana. New Ability Learned! Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Learned Door Door x 1 Mana This was a nice little surprise to Bastill. First it turned out that he could learn skills, meaning he didn¡¯t always have to wait until leveling. Second it turned out that the door was directly connected to the outside. He couldn¡¯t actually see outside, he could only see in his area of influence, but as a couple leaves blew into the room he made the connection of where it led. He was able Learn things by absorbing them and was able to gain the mana that it would cost to create it. He quickly made a random door against a wall leading to nowhere spending one mana, then dissolved it and gained the mana back. He dissolved the couple leaves that had drifted in gaining him point one mana for each, while also learning how to create a leaf. On instinct he decided to dissolve the ever-wet blood that had been bothering him on the table. He Learned Ceremonial Blood from it, however he didn¡¯t gain any mana from it and couldn¡¯t seem to recreate it either. The table was still horrible stained by the substance He tried experimenting with the new ability to dissolve matter, but it seemed to only work on non-animated objects. He learned this after trying repeatedly on these annoying birds that seemed to be building a nest on his wall. It was really too bad that he couldn¡¯t dissolve living beings, otherwise he would just dissolve Claire when she came back. Guess it couldn¡¯t be that easy though. That would have solved all his problems. It turned out that the birds had really started irritating him with their presence, however he couldn¡¯t directly interact with living beings. He realized this after spending an hour trying to kill two birds with a stone, but it wouldn¡¯t budge when he tried. Whether it was a rule of the universe or his own powers felt his intent and prevented him from doing it, he didn¡¯t know. With blind hope guiding him he started to finish filling the room up. When he had finished he got a notification. You Have 1 Room +Mana absorption increased to 36/day Bastill wasn¡¯t sure what he needed to do next. He could try extending his domain of influence which would increase his mana absorption rate but use his current mana on hand. Since he could only absorb non-living objects, he created pitfalls to catch small animals. This might be a lead on creating creatures, but it would use mana and not increase its rate. He could also just sit here and wait for his capacity to fill up to one hundred. He already had thirty-two mana currently, only sixty-eight more to go, which would take around two days. It would also result in new abilities he could use, and a faster absorption rate. He felt that waiting was the right move logically to improve faster, however he hated being defenseless. His own Insecurities might be the end of him. He was still regretting how close the woman had gotten earlier. He needed to have a way to keep others away from him. Despite feeling it was a big mistake to his growth, he began to make pitfall traps in the room with jagged rocks at the bottom. He learned how to make Granite. He earned one mana for absorbing five cubed feet of granite, which wasn¡¯t super helpful since it cost one mana to spread downwards for each cubed foot. In the end five cubed feet only cost him four mana instead of five mana, because he absorbed it all and gained one back. Each trap was ten feet deep and one foot wide and thick. He ended up creating five in all. He got a notification that he had created a new trap after the first one was made. He ended up spending forty-five mana. It took him a while to complete because he had to pause to absorb enough mana to get it done. When he was all finished he was down to four mana. The birds had been equally busy. They manage to build a decent sized mud nest high against the wall of his room, but he had taken to ignoring them. They didn¡¯t seem like a real threat after all. They were just trying to live in safety like he was. He didn¡¯t realize that they came in due to the dense mana atmosphere the dungeons where known for making. Given time they could possibly evolve into something else. Everything was capable of evolving. Being in a dense mana environment quickens the natural evolution process. With it all finished, he realized he would have to wait for something dumb enough to fall in a giant gaping whole. As a solution he covered each hole with a fragile layer of granite, costing less than one mana to make. He realized that it helped his mind to be busy with a task. Anytime he even tried to rest his mind would get chaotic and he would start hyperventilating. Well he couldn¡¯t breathe at all, because he was a stone, but his mind would start freaking out. He had plenty of time and didn¡¯t want to spend it waiting for his mana capacity to fill up, while he was panicking. He needed to stay sane, which involved not giving himself any spare time. With only four mana to spare, he couldn¡¯t do a whole lot. He could dig into the wall and start to make another wall, but he had barely any room to spare. All of a sudden, the one of the birds swooped down and snatched up his amethyst, bringing it up to the mud nest in the room. Bastill panicked at first, but eventually stopped. The bird had finally stopped trying to eat him. He ended up being pushed off into the corner of the nest. He now hated the birds but didn¡¯t have any way to deal with them. If he did anything to the nest he would be sent falling to the ground. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure how strong amethysts were and didn¡¯t want to be damaged. A new goal was added to his list. His biggest goal was to destroy Claire the Rank S. His second biggest goal was now to destroy these birds, which were¡­ rank F. He might be killed by the lowest rank before he accomplished anything. He had plans of destroying an all-powerful dark sorcerer and at the moment he couldn¡¯t even handle two birds.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. My two mortal enemy¡¯s¡­ A S ranked dark sorceress. And a pair of mating birds¡­ Still with no way to solve either question he changed his mind to what to do now. He looked back at where he had been on the table. Well he didn¡¯t look. He had every piece of the room in his vision at all times. Instead he was just focusing on the stone slab. If he was still a human, he could have probably use the table to display a massive sculpture. That¡¯s it! I still have my Stone Touch Trait, although it¡¯s an ability now¡­ I think I can still be a sculptor! He created a massive block of granite that reached the ceiling and had a width and length of five feet. Then he began to tune himself to the stone. Feeling its imperfections and stress lines. He slowly began dissolving and carving pieces away. Since it was already in his influence it didn¡¯t cost anything to dissolve it, instead he gained a slight bit back. But it was hardly noticeable since it followed the same conversion of every five cubic feet equals one mana for granite. He had a vision in his mind of what he could feel the block wanted to become. He saw a beautiful angelic goddess with wings slighting wrapping her back and sides like a cloak. He went into the same blank state of mind that he used to as a human. He was entirely captured by the stone and put every though and action into its creation. After a solid seven days of uninterrupted focus he looked at his work. It was a absolute master piece. He had never before created anything that could even compete with it. It had a radiant glow around it giving it the aura of a goddess. The entire sculpture was white like it was carved from pure marble and not a mix of grey, white, and black granite. There was not a single flaw to be see. The beautiful goddess stood in reverence and exuded elegance. Even his old master would have been blown away by the detail and craftsmanship. No mortal man could possibly make such a thing from rock. Bastill was beyond pleased with himself. Shocked that a week had passed by so fast. He was beyond joyous that he could still carry on his passion without his human body. He realized that with all the time he should have gained enough mana to get to level three. He noticed he had a few new notifications to look at. Bastille focused on his new Notifications that he had gotten while he was busy sculpting the beautiful goddess. Animal Deaths 3 Grey Squirrels x 10 mana Grey Squirrel Learned 10 Common Spiders x .1 mana Common Spiders Learned Total Mana: 31 Yes! The pit fall traps were a success after all. Level Up! Current Level: 3 Congratulations you successfully gained 1 room and filled mana to capacity. + Passive Mana Regeneration Increased to 50/day. +Expand Consciousness rate lowered to 1 mana every 4 cubic feet + Next Level Requirements: 3 Rooms, 5 Creatures, Fill Mana Capacity. Another Tamed Creatures 2 Birds Blue Bird Learned Sculpture Completed Blood-Teared Goddess of The Dungeon Effects- If gifts are given that catches the dungeons favor then there is a 1% to 25% Buff to all Characteristics depending on the dungeon¡¯s analysis for the next twenty-four hours. Accepted Items are dissolved, while rejected items burst into flame. As he looked back at the Goddess he noticed the blood that couldn¡¯t dry was slowly leaking from its left eye only to be absorbed by the stone and leaked again. It made the Statue look like it was constantly crying red tears. He decided to give it a plaque for others to read so they would understand it¡¯s ability. The Plaque read, ¡°Here I stand, the Goddess of The Dungeon, I weep for those Adventurers who fall, gift to me and I will it in kind, I will watch over you. For I am the Goddess of The Dungeon.¡± This would be a very valuable way to get new items into the dungeon. If they weren¡¯t new they would still be valuable to absorb for the mana they would give. Bastill was shocked at all that had happened in a week. His new capacity was 250. He had filled it by 231 mana already. He had never had this much mana before. It was truly astounding. He now had learned how to make different creatures! He cleaned the traps and reset them. He decided to stay in the bird nest for now, because he didn¡¯t have any creatures capable of fighting, which made it the safest hidden area. He mentally ordered the two tamed birds to attempt to lure creatures to his domain that his pitfalls could easily subdue. He specifically told the birds as best he could, ¡°Lure small animals in here. Okay? They have to fit in the traps I have in here. Nothing bigger than a fox. Got it?¡± The birds physically nodded their heads in agreement as they headed to look for something to lure back to the dungeon. Unknown to Bastill the birds had shortened his speech to something they could remember. It helped the birds to cut out the confusing words. In their minds they repeated the phrase, ¡°Lure animals bigger than a fox.¡± He began thinking that in order to grow he needed human involvement eventually. For better or worse humans always rapidly changed the environment. He didn¡¯t really understand where this thought of human involvement came from. It almost felt like a base instinct. However, he couldn¡¯t even protect himself from two birds then a single adventurer would be his downfall. He needed the adventurers, but he needed to be defensible first. Though emotionally he didn¡¯t feel completely right about bringing humans here. If he had creatures in place, then they might end up injuring the adventurers. Bastill didn¡¯t feel good about hurting innocent people that hadn¡¯t harmed him. Getting into contact with humans would be a huge step in his plans. Claire probably thought he was still here expanding his consciousness, without any ability to communicate to the outside world. He would show her how wrong she was. He would grow stronger and he would be ready for when she came back. Bastill just hoped that he¡¯d be able to be strong enough to vanquish her in time. Claire was the one human he didn¡¯t have any qualms about killing. She deserved it and it was really in self-defense, which he didn¡¯t feel bad about. It was all about survival after all. Next on his priority list was reaching the next level, but he couldn¡¯t reach the next level right now. He needed to meet the other requirements of owning five creatures and three rooms. This meant that maxing out his mana capacity right now would be absolutely useless to him. In short, he needed to spend mana to make mana. If he reached his max the rest that he earned would simply escape his grasp and disappear. He still needed two more rooms and 3 more creatures. His two birds that took up residence had been tamed and now counted towards his creatures. With this in mind, he went about carving two more rooms one connecting to this main room, and the other leading off the new one. He began digging into the wall. He was able to accomplish more then he thought he would when he came across new materials that gave him more mana than usual. He learned the following: Marble, Coal, Dirt, Agate, and Quartz. He ended up creating two large rooms. Leaving him with a leftover of fifty mana. Bastill quickly created three grey squirrels, costing thirty mana total, and ordered them to go fetch plants from the outside so he could learn them. After an hour of continuously only bringing acorns in, he finally was able to have them bring back better plants that could be used for alchemy. He then went about planning how he was going to lavishly decorate the sides and the ceilings. He imagined he would have plenty of time to decorate later. His mana absorption had increased to seventy-five mana a day which he would reach the max capacity needed to level in about two and a half days. Meanwhile he could enjoy his passion. However, the birds where more successful then he thought. In fact, too successful. They had long since found a creature to back to the dungeon. They were slowly working their way back to the Dungeon. The dungeon core was about to be in a bit of surprise when the new intruder entered. The birds had managed to find something that wouldn¡¯t fit in his one square foot pit fall. They were bringing back an adventurer. Bastill had managed to carve out four medium display areas, two in each new room. One for each side. He was just putting the finishing on a carving of an angel when suddenly he felt an intruder enter his dungeon. He was so startled that he accidentally chopped the head off the poor angel sculpture he had just finished. Who in the hell just entered! They made me decapitate the angel¡­ Fucking bids messed up. I specifically said not bigger than a fox¡­ Chapter Four, The Dungeon of Castration Bastill watched as the sculpture¡¯s head dissolved on the ground, the rest of the statue took on a radiant red glow. Despite being the statue being headless he still oozed a sense of accomplishment, as if it had won the battle. A notification popped into Bastill¡¯s view. He briefly checked it before turning his attention to his uninvited guest who had caused him to decapitate his creation. As he mumbled to himself in his mind. Sculpture Completed Headless Winged Angel of Victory Effects- Creatures of this room that are of this domain are capable of continuing fighting with their heads cut off for up to two minutes. Now my dungeon will be known for headless creatures. Just Perfect. I know I don¡¯t know everything about dungeons, but I do know headless creatures are supposed to die. Not run around with their head cut off for two minutes. ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** Alice¡¯s blue eyes were currently tracking the most peculiar birds she had ever seen through a heavily forested area. She noticed them staring at her, while they rested on a branch. She ignored them for a while. After watching her for a while they began to land near where she was picking herbs. When she went over to them, they would casually fly over to another area. When looking at the area they had been in, she noticed rarer herbs. This happened twenty more times until it freaked her out. It was almost like they were learning her habits. After she decided these weren¡¯t ordinary birds she decided to follow them. They seemed to have realized this and started to fly off into the wilderness only resting to let her catch up. They also would come back if she got lost. She was officially freaked out. These birds could be leading to my death, but I will be on my guard. Besides a little danger always gives you more rewards. Plus, anything is better than picking herbs every day for the next couple months. To get further you need to risk it. Alice had just joined the adventurer¡¯s guild this month. So far, the only thing they let her do was collect herbs, which could be turned in for rewards and Guild points. She would only need to make about twenty more herb trips to be taken seriously and taken on a dangerous mission where she could actually kill some creatures. She had been out traveling for the last week. She had taken her horse about three days away from the city of Azul. The city of Azul was a medium sized mining town that drew a decent amount of iron and copper. Of course, the herb gathering was a safe quest to partake. There were occasional animal attacks, but they were mostly harmless. Still it was not ranked as a hard mission and the harder missions rewarded far more coin and experience. Alice could certainly handle a couple wolves with the spear she had sheathed onto her back. Not that it was ever sheathed for long. When she wasn¡¯t kneeling to gather herbs, she was quick drawing and spinning it with incredible skill and dexterity. While following the birds she quickly glanced at her Stat Menu. Stat Menu Level:12, Race: Human, Name: Alice Everglade, Age: 15, Gender: Female, Vocation: Vanguard Characteristics Strength:15, Constitution:19, Dexterity:26, Intelligence:17, Wisdom:10, Charisma:12 Traits Spear Goddess- Your non-stopped handling of the spear from a young age has lead you to create some of your very own spear moves. You level Skill Spear Mastery 50% faster than most. You also gain the Skill Spear Ingenuity. Skills Spear Mastery: 45, Advanced, Herb Gathering: 29, Intermediate, Spear Ingenuity: 23, Intermediate, Sewing: 18, Novice, Forestry: 7, Novice, Tracking: 8, Novice, Cooking: 26, Intermediate, Observing: 27, Intermediate Most adventurers were around level nineteen to thirty-nine. Rank B and up were harder to get into. Alice¡¯s skill level in spear mastery was rare among beginner members. Her father had also used the spear and she had been taught and trained ever since she was young. The Vanguard Vocation focused are on being the assaulting and absorbing damage also known as tanking. In this case she usually wouldn¡¯t do any tanking since she didn¡¯t have any armor yet, however she could still draw all the attention and dodge nearly every attack with her high dexterity and reflex¡¯s. She was quite the rare beginning adventurer. Some were even just starting their weapon training. Yet they still got taken on some of the more dangerous missions. Part of the reason she wasn¡¯t going on better missions was due to the fact that her father refused to give her any special treatment and no one knew who her father was, because she kept that secret. She went by a different last name currently to hide her lineage. The rest of the reason was due to their prejudice against females being on the front line. They didn¡¯t think females were very effective in combat. Something about not strong enough, too emotional, and the typical period comments. If they had known who her father was they would have sucked up to her and been kinder, but she didn¡¯t want to carve a path with her father¡¯s name. She hid their relationship and therefore they treated her like shit, even though she could probably beat those a rank above her. The birds had finally lead her to a clearing that was snug against a mountainside. What truly shook her core though was the small doorway leading inside the mountain. She was rather wary now. Remembering stories of cults carving lairs and ceremonial rooms into mountains to carry out horrid rituals out of sight from society. She began to worry that someone had controlled the birds in order to lure her to an early grave or long torture. Despite her worry she decided to take a risk and continued to the door frame. She dismounted from her steed and tied it off on a nearby tree. She couldn¡¯t imagine what a small room would be doing in the side of the hill, but she felt an irrational need to check it. If it was something she felt she couldn¡¯t handle, then she would retreat and go tell the Adventurer Guild. She walked across the clearing and approached the door. As she stepped into the room her gaze instantly went right to the giant glowing goddess that was shedding tears of blood. She had never seen anything so beautiful. She stumbled forward and went to her knees as she gazed upon the goddess. It took her several minutes to realize that it was actually a statue and not alive. She realized that her attention to her surrounding had completely left, and she had been wide open for any attack. Since nothing had decided to attack her she guessed it wasn¡¯t all an elaborate trap. She noticed the plaque and read it out loud, ¡°Here I stand, the Goddess of The Dungeon, I weep for those Adventurers who fall, gift to me and I will it in kind, I will watch over you. For I am the Goddess of The Dungeon.¡± Alice then realized this was a dungeon. The closest dungeon before had been about a month away by horse. Finding a new one was quite fortuitous. She hadn¡¯t recognized the dense mana due to having been completely captivated by the Statue of the goddess. Dungeons were huge boons when discovered in a region. The finder was always offered a generous prize reward and increased reputation. She would be able to buy herself decent armor and even a great spear. Although dungeons were known to be very dangerous, it wasn¡¯t uncommon for dungeons to have a safe area, which is what she suspected this area was. After all someone had enough time to sculpt an amazing sculpture in the middle of the room. Deciding that this area was safe zone in the dungeon after peering around the rest of the room. The only other thing in the room was a bird nest. If the dungeon didn¡¯t get rid of such an average creature then the room must certainly be pretty safe. Intrigued by the plaque she decided to give it a try and went to go gather some things from her horse. Nearly injuring herself as half her leg fell into a pitfall trap. Luckily it was only one foot wide and long, otherwise she would have been done in. She reminded herself to pay attention and didn¡¯t fall for the remaining four. It was a miracle she hadn¡¯t triggered any traps the first time. She rushed out to her horse, grabbed all the herbs she had spent the last week gathering and headed back inside. Upon approaching she bowed to the goddess and presented the herbs. Then she spoke to the statue, ¡°For you the Goddess of The Dungeon, I present these herbs that I have spent the last week gathering, please accept my offering and continue to watch over me. I do pray for your tears to dry.¡± With that she tossed the herbs upon the stone platform she knelt upon. Instantly all the herbs dissolved. For a solid minute the statue stopped crying. Alice was completely mesmerized again. After the minute of dryness, the tears began to streak again. When they started again, Alice received a notification. Offering Accepted Thank you for your offering. +Bonus for being the first: Unknown Reward in the future +25% to all characterizes for the next 24 hours She was simply amazed at this generous reward. Not direct points added, but a percentage, meaning it would be incredibly beneficial for others, especially those at higher levels. Most increases in characteristics, while not only on the rare side, normally only increased one or two characteristic by a set number. This however gave it as a percentage and a massive one based off of what you already have. For someone that had all characteristics around 10 their stats would jump up to 12.5. For someone they had all characteristics around 30, their stats would jump up to 37.5. It was simply amazing. What really caught her eye was the bonus and the promise of an Unknown Reward in the future. She simply couldn¡¯t imagine what it could be after receiving the other reward. It was sure to be amazing. She wondered how long it would take to get the reward.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. If she had known this was a dungeon in the first place she wouldn¡¯t have entered, however the door was so ordinary that she hadn¡¯t thought it through. She had been expecting to slay some evil doing sorcerer or sorceress. The birds were quite peculiar to lead her to such a treasure. She saddled back up and headed back to the city of Azul to report the finding to the Adventurer Guild Master. They would be able to take a team to test the dungeon in about a week. Three days back, one day to get the team together, and the last three days to travel back here. She hoped she could be on the team to test the dungeon, after all she did find it. I guess those stories of evil sorcerers and sorceresses are just childish tales. ** ** ** Bastill ** ** ** I get you¡¯re happy about that Unknown Reward in the future. Now I just need to make sure that its equal parts punishment and reward. After all you beheaded my angel. Offering Accepted 54 (Common) Toad Stool x .1 mana Learned Toad Stool 28 (Uncommon) Moon Shade x.5 mana Learned Moon Shade 10 (Rare) Mandrake root x 1 mana Learned Mandrake root Total: 29.4 Mana The girl, which he had observed as Alice, had started to leave. While he had been extremely interested when she had been here he quickly lost interest. First, she was most likely bringing back more adventures, and second something very interesting had been going on in Bastill¡¯s mind. Alice had managed to scare a fox into his dungeon before going in. He was quite aware that the Red Fox was much brighter than the other creatures he had. If it hadn¡¯t been running in fear it would have never fallen for his pit fall traps. He knew this because a younger fox had come in before but had always been wary and avoided his traps. However, this fox had been more scared of Alice and ran into the dungeon for cover only to fall to its death. The death of the fox not only let him learn how to make a Red Fox but gave him thirty-five mana. This was more than any other creature so far. Bastill assumed either size or intelligence was responsible for it. He knew it was supposed to be wrong, but he was starting to wonder what would happen if he killed a human. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t purposely try to kill a human, but this was his home and if his creatures killed them in self-defense then he wasn¡¯t evil, was he? Bastill was simply protecting himself. It felt like the right thing to do. He knew it was wrong, but it just felt right. There¡¯s no problem planning to kill things in self-defense, besides they still weren¡¯t here yet. He has enough time to finalize the ethics and morality of this later. For now, he would just assume that his aim was to kill for self-defense. He could change his mind later With Alice bringing back more adventurers, he needed to be ready for them. Everything needed to be perfect. The adventures would come in here in their standard groups of weapon swingers, healers, and maybe a mage or two. They would probably give him offerings in the first room. In the second room they will walk on through and continue to the last room where they will laugh at his headless statue. Then they would turn around and leave. Wait something seemed wrong with his plan¡­ Maybe I need more rooms? I have no god damn monsters to fight them¡­ The whole plan was for groups to come here and fight, but he had nothing to fight them. He did happen to have three Grey Squirrels and two birds¡­ Perfect the birds can shit on them and while they are distracted the squirrels will go for the nuts¡­ All this will achieve is castrating all the male adventures and possibly giving them a serious eye infection. They definitely won¡¯t die and worse no one else will challenge the dungeon. No sane adventure would travel into a dungeon that held super weak creatures that planned on shitting on them and castrating them. He seriously needed to have something capable of fighting them. He still hadn¡¯t figured out whether killing them is right or not, but if he died before he got to decide then it would all be pointless. So it seems my philosophy is kill the adventures so I have enough time to figure out if killing them is the right choice. NO. This is self-defense. I am only doing this to ensure survival. I am not killing them for my own selfish gain. Or is killing them to live selfish? Bastill had recently learned how to make foxes, however they seemed happier to go after smaller prey and using their wits to ambush them. Realistically they would hardly be a threat to a group of adventurers. He realized that his only real option to protect himself was to reach level four. When he reached the next level, he would earn a new power, which hopefully could summon some powerful creatures. Maybe an elemental creature or a cunning spirit. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what he would be able to create. He now had about one and a half more days until his mana capacity was filled and the next level would come. To be productive during this time he decided to do some sculpting. He decided to create two sculptures to the second room. He was amazed that the statues he had created so far seemed to each have a unique power. He loved making new creations and couldn¡¯t wait to see the next result. He was still hoping that he would be able to summon a more powerful creature when he leveled up. If he couldn¡¯t get any creatures before the adventures got here, he would be destroyed or simply ignored. He checked his Stat Menu briefly before he began sculpting the rooms to the stones desire. Stat Menu Level:3, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 100/250, Mana Absorption: 75/day, Creatures:5, Rooms:3, Floors:1 Abilities Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost: 1 mana per every 4 cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 75/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Coal: 20, Dirt: .1, Agate:5, Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Creatures Grey Squirrel:10, Common Spider:.1, Blue Bird:15, Red Fox: 35 Objects Door:1, Leaf: .1, Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1 Unknown Ceremonial Blood?? ** ** ** ** ** ** ** After a day and a half of sculpting in the second room his two statues glowed. One silver and one yellow. As soon as he had finished he remembered that he had send the three squirrels to collect plants. He had ignored them after their large argument about picking important plants and not picking¡­ God dammit. The squirrels filled all the pitfalls with acorns. Maybe the Gods hate me. Bastill absorbed all the plants the squirrels had gathered. The majority mainly consisting of acorns even after their long discussion. I guess getting into arguments with squirrels wasn¡¯t quite the sanest activity. The over a thousand acorns and plants, but mostly acorns, managed to net him a little over a hundred mana, which spilled over into his new capacity. He learned acorn, fern, elder berry bush, whistling leaf, and elves ear. He had broken into the fourth level but hadn¡¯t had any time to glance it. He stupidly realized with all the useless acorns he probably could have reached level four in half the time, but he enjoyed sculpting. In the future he needed to work on passively absorbing things that were put in his area of influence. He had managed to finish the two statues in the second room. He didn¡¯t want to make one in the third room yet because he didn¡¯t know what statue he could create that could counter balance his headless angel. The first statue he made was a silver glowing knight in armor with a beautiful shield on its back and a sword piercing the ground with both his hand on the handle. Across from the knight was the second statue. It showed a mother cradling a swaddled baby. She had her face gazing upon the infant with it drawn up close to her face. She glowed with a yellow gleam. They were still skillfully made but they didn¡¯t have the same level as the initial statue. Of course, he hadn¡¯t put as much time into these two. He was just lucky that they had their heads. Bastill had several notifications to attend to now. He had been waiting for this moment for a while. He was crossing his fingers hoping he would be able to summon something with a draconic heritage. Or maybe a new unknown creature. The only thing he would not want was undead or demons. He wanted to keep morals in check. He wanted to protect himself. He felt that having stronger creatures was important, but he didn¡¯t want to be evil. He wouldn¡¯t use vile means to protect himself. He would never resort to using necromancy or demonic creatures. He checked his notifications and was glad to see that the first few involved his recently sculptured creations and their effects. Statue Complete Guardian Knight of Honor Effect- Creatures in this room have increased armor and attack. They have a greater sense of duty. Statue Complete Caring Mother of Fertility Effect- Creatures in this room have a greatly increased pregnancy rate, with a decreased gestation and maturing period. Both Statues turned out to be pretty decent. He didn¡¯t understand how increased sense of duty would help his creatures, but he felt proud about it. He liked the thought of having creatures with a sense of honor. The Caring Mother of Fertility would be great as well. He could create a side area attached to the room that only the animals can get to. He would make it a breeding ground for the creatures. Of course, it only worked for one room, but he would be able to populate it easier, while saving him some mana in the long run. Now came the important notification. His fourth level. It was time to see what type of amazing creatures he would be able to cast. He wasn¡¯t completely sure if he would be able to, but he had put all his hope on this moment. It was time to look now. Level Up! Current Level: 4 Congratulations you successfully gained 1 room and filled mana to capacity. + Passive Mana Regeneration Increased to 100/day. + Forced Evolution- Ability to inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. + Next Level Requirements: Second Floor, Create a Floor Boss, Fill Mana Capacity. Dear gods, if you are listening right now. I want to apologize about being picky with my summons. I would very much appreciate demons or even undead. I don¡¯t mind being evil after all. I was self-righteous before, but I am a changed man¡­dungeon core. I just want to live a little longer. I hope that isn¡¯t too much to ask. After taking fifteen minutes to catch his breath. He glances back at the notification and also checked his Stat Menu. Yep, he had no summoning ability only a Forced Evolution ability. Well I guess the gods are all dead or deaf. When you can¡¯t rely on the gods what else can you do but rely on squirrels. SQUIRRELS, come here. Chapter Five, Stronger, Faster, Smarter, Dead... I need to make it stronger! ¡°Boom!¡± I need to make it faster! ¡°Boom!¡± I need to make it smarter! ¡°Boom!¡± And now I need to make more squirrels¡­ Bastill had tried using his new ability Forced Evolution by injecting mana into characteristics. Each attempt so far had ended up with an exploding squirrel, which was quite disappointing. However, he did get the ten mana for each deceased squirrel. He didn¡¯t however gain back the mana he had tried injecting. He had tried 10 the first time, but seeing it go to waste, he started using just one point of mana. After he created a half a dozen more squirrels he went through each characteristic with just one mana to see the results, which all ended up being quite explosive. He conclusion was injecting mana into characteristics either needed a better creature or he just wasn¡¯t skilled enough at it yet. With this in mind he reread the abilities description, ¡°Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities.¡± Creature Death 11 Fleas x .05 Learned Flea 3 Ticks x .05 Learned Tick Apparently, the squirrels also had some parasites on them. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to do with them. With the new Learned creatures put to the back of his mind for the moment he went on with his next task. It seemed that he would have to try injecting it into body parts and hope they didn¡¯t explode. However, he wanted to have a more eclectic arrangement of creatures to test with. Before he started he created a Red Fox, bringing his mana total to ninety-nine. He told it to go out and bring back smaller animals that he could use. With the fox off on its excursion Bastille looked at all the animals he had learned. Creatures Grey Squirrel:10, Common Spider:.1, Blue Bird:15, Red Fox: 35, Flea: .05, Tick: .05 He could see some potential in the Common Spider, and the Red Fox. If he could get the spider large enough it would be just like the old stories of oversized spiders. Not to mention that they also scare the living crap out of humans. Spiders had never bothered him, but he knew some people that would leave if they saw one. Not to mention their armored outer exoskeleton. The fox happened to be a member of the dog family with its ancestry connecting to the wolves. With a bit of changes, he imagined he could turn them into a tertiaryconsumer. This simple Red Fox wouldn¡¯t hunt smaller prey but be a mighty defender. It also helped that they were rather smart to begin with, since he didn¡¯t want to explode it by adding Intelligence. Bastill was wondering what on earth he would be able to create with the remaining creatures. The ticks and fleas were just so small. He wasn¡¯t sure he would be able to make them big enough. Meanwhile the bird had such a fragile low bone density to help it sustain flight. He could probably make them more hawk like with sharp claws and beaks. He just wasn¡¯t sure if it would be enough to make it any danger to help protect him. The last creature he had was the squirrel. And it was horribly obsessed with nuts. He could give it better teeth. Just then the fox brought back a living creature in its maw. The fox bit down and killed the wiggling creature, ending its suffering. It then dropped it on the ground letting me absorb it. I learned how to create a Common Gardner Snake, which cost five mana. Bastill still had an evil flash in his eyes, or rather gem, when he thought of a great plan for the new creature. If he could make this creature bigger then it would be a decent defender. He planned for this to be the guardian of the third room. His Headless Winged Angel of Victory would sync up with this creature perfectly. Since this thing was mainly just a head and a tail, if it was cut in half anywhere it had a chance of living for up to another two minutes. That would be a frightening defender. With spiders and snakes that can fight headless he might just end up scaring adventurers away. So far, he only had thoughts of what to make. Now it was time to see if any of these ideas would work. He had the fox stand still. Decided to make it bigger first. To make it bigger than it needs a larger bone structure. He began to slowly inject mana into the bones. The fox started whimpering. As he continued the whimpering turned into howls of pain as its bones grew and ripped the muscles and organs in place. The poor fox finally collapsed on the ground. I¡¯m so sorry little fox. I promise to make sure your suffering isn¡¯t in vain. He felt bad for hurting the fox. He didn¡¯t feel as bad about the exploding squirrels, because they had managed to irk him several times. He cleared his mind and focused on the little fox. It had started at about two feet tall and three and a half feet long including its tail. It had recently grown a couple¡¯s inches however all of its muscles and organs where stretched or torn. He increased the size of its innards as he began to mend them, then further strengthening them. It went slower now as he focused on expanding the muscles along with the other organs. The finished product was a fox that was four feet tall and six feet long. It still had its sleek appearance with its red over coat and white underside. He glanced at the mana consumption. He had spent thirty mana overall to grow the fox, leaving him with an additional sixty-six mana. He wasn¡¯t finished yet. He sank an additional fifteen mana in making the muscles superior in quality. Then he pushed another twenty mana into the creature¡¯s retractable claws and teeth. He knew he wanted something to set it apart. He had thirty-one more mana to use but didn¡¯t know what he could do to make it unique. Don¡¯t worry ¡°Kitsune¡± I will make you a warrior. New Dungeon Floor Boss: Kitsune -Add usable catalyst -All mana will be consumed He didn¡¯t know where he had pulled the name from it had just felt right. Shocked by the new notification he didn¡¯t know what to use as a catalyst. It might be able to use some of his herbs so he decided to checked all learned items to see what he might be able to use.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Coal: 20, Dirt: .1, Agate:5, Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Creatures Grey Squirrel:10, Common Spider:.1, Blue Bird:15, Red Fox: 35, Flea: .05, Tick: .05, Common Gardner Snake:5 Objects Door:1, Leaf: .1, Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1, acorn:.1, fern: .1, elder berry bush: .1, whistling leaf: .1, and elves ear: .5 Unknown Ceremonial Blood:31+??? He noticed that the Ceremonial Blood had mana by it this time. He hadn¡¯t tried creating any in a while, but this was definitely the first time he had seen anything about it changed. He decided it was worth a shot. He did feel responsible for the fox and hated how he had hurt it earlier. This was the least he could do. It would use every last drop of mana he had though. Last time he had blacked out from using all his mana. He decided to wait until his mana went up to thirty-two before he attempted creating Ceremonial Blood. Once it went up he started creating the catalyst. He had never struggled creating anything before, but this was an enormous strange straining. He watched as his mana slowly drain as he continued to try to create it. 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. A small drop began to form in the air, and then his mana hit 0. Bastill fell unconscious as the drop of ceremonial blood fell onto the fox. ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** Alice had traveled back to the City of Azul taking three days to return. She stored her horse in the stables near the guild and started on her way to give her report. As she walked towards her destination she took in the sight of the city. It wasn¡¯t the bustling hectic sight you would see at the capital city on Aldian. Instead it had a pleasant feel with a slow and steady stream of lives walking to and from there own ending destination. Some stopping along the way to seek out shopkeepers before the end of the day. The sun had just passed over the horizon which signaled the night life to take charge, bringing out darker beings with detestable desires. This was also the sign for the miners to switch their shifts. You could see energetic men and women heading to the mines with their picks in their hand as well as those tired souls heading back home or to the tavern for a drink. The city wasn¡¯t crawling with criminals, but like every city it did have a thief guild and a couple gangs. Thief Guilds were one of the lesser guilds. They weren¡¯t inherently bad, but they made profit by being paid for their marks. If someone paid them to steal from a good man they would just as easily as they would an evil man. The Thief Guild only acted out of business, while the gangs in the city were cruel and merciless. They played a similar game, but their game involved torture, murder, in addition to stealing. They weren¡¯t paid to do anything. The gangs simply looked to gain power. As long as you stayed out of the sketchier parts of town and didn¡¯t purposely walk into dark ally¡¯s alone, then you were generally safe. The gangs mainly fought amongst each other. Alice quickly moved herself through the city and arrived at the Adventurer Guild¡¯s Building. It was a two-story building with the purpose of housing the Guild Leader on the second story while leaving the bottom floor for adventurers to pick up and drop off assignments and chat. They had access to the city¡¯s housing at a discount and free use of the training grounds. The building was just where you filed reports and gathered intel. She entered in and noticed some of the other new members that had come in this month with her as well. There was Jack, who was training in the sword, Zaine, who was an amateur magic user focusing in water, and Jemmet who was training the shield and spear combo. To be blunt, they were shit heads. When they saw her, they began whispering ill remarks and laughing at ribald humor. Alice just ignored them and went to the assistant in charge. Today it was one of the members of the Adventurer Guild Council for Azul City. His name was Daniel Langton; He was a phenomenal dual sword wielder and an A Guild Ranked adventurer. He was one of the few that respected her here. ¡°Hello Miss Janet,¡± Daniel said, ¡°I hear you have been stuck on the wonderful flower gardening for a while now. I could try convincing some of the senior members to let you tag along on a higher mission, or maybe move up your testing Guild Rank date¡± Any other day that would have been music to her ears. Rank in the guild allowed you to take on more difficult missions. Normally they would pair you up with decent teams to let you develop faster and safely. Zaine, Jemmet, and Jack had already been taken on several. The reason she hadn¡¯t was due to the majority of the seniors in the guild not trusting her in combat due to be a female. They didn¡¯t mind if you used magic or were a healer but focus on a blade and they don¡¯t want you. Janet was her alias as a last name currently. It had been her mother¡¯s maiden name. Guild Rank wasn¡¯t equal to your actual rank, which confused a lot of people. They instead add you level and skill proficiently to determine you Guild ranked. This helped prevent too many adventures from dying. There were still tons of deaths each year. It was a dangerous profession. Lots of people joined every year and they were weeded out by their own deaths. They tried to reduce the deaths with the Guild Ranking system. Having Daniel offer to help her get into a better mission or a moved up date was a real blessing, however she had more pressing matters to attend to at first. ¡°You know I¡¯d really love to have the test moved up sooner, but for now I need to see the Guild Master. I found a new dungeon that is three days from the city during my last gardening expedition,¡± Alice replied. Daniel¡¯s eyes clearly widened when she mentioned the dungeon. He quickly broke out into a broad grin. He began speaking, ¡°Well Janet why don¡¯t you follow me up to the Guild Master¡¯s office, while we talk. That¡¯s a very impressive find I must admit. Any details you can spare me?¡± They began heading up the stairs to the office as she replied, ¡°Well I actually didn¡¯t realize that it was a dungeon at first to be honest. The first room seems to be a safe room besides a couple pitfalls. There is also the most beautiful sculpture in the middle of that first room, but even more amazing is that it gave me a bonus percentage to all my characteristics for twenty-four hours after I gave it a offering. It said it was the Goddess of the Dungeon.¡± She didn¡¯t mention the bonus she was promised. Since no one else would get it she didn¡¯t want to become a target. They had arrived at the door when Daniel spoke, ¡°That is absolutely astounding. That is a truly unique find. I haven¡¯t heard of the Goddess of the Dungeon before. I hate to change topics, but if you would like to wait here for just a second. I like giving the Guild Master a heads up before bringing in members. He hates people catching him while he is drooling.¡± Alice muffled her laughter as Daniel quickly knocked and entered. He opened the door five minutes later letting her in. As she walked in he left and closed the door behind him. The guild master spoke, ¡°So I hear you found a dungeon. Rest assured you will be properly compensated. Please tell me everything about it and the location.¡± No one really knew the Guild Masters rank or name. They all referred to him using his title. She occasionally heard people refer to him as E, but they were always higher ups. The Guild Master wasn¡¯t rude like other elders were in the city. He was just too busy to notice the younger generation, because he was busy working on Guild wide projects and running this city branch. Alice relayed her story and indicated on a map where it was. She also answered several questions that she didn¡¯t understand or think of. Like did she pay attention to the sounds in the dungeon or animal tracks outside or the aura it gave off or if she felt like she was being watched. He seemed content as she tried to answer them to the best of her ability. She mentally promised to keep those questions in her mind in the future to help give her an edge. At the end he seemed satisfied as he said, ¡°Very good, very good. Daniel has your reward that you can pick up on your way out. Speaking of Daniel, I gave him the mission to investigate the dungeon. He spoke very highly of you. Would you like to join his team for this mission?¡± Alice was absolutely ecstatic. She had to mentally stop herself from jumping up and down. She spoke as calmly as she could, ¡°I accept the offer sir. Thank you very much Guild Master.¡± He smiled for the first time, ¡°They leave first thing tomorrow morning, meet here before first light. It¡¯s pretty late but try seeing if you can talk a shop keeper into outfitting you with armor and my friends just call me E. You have a bright future Janet.¡± Chapter Six, The Itsy Bitsy... FUCK! ** ** ** Bastill ** ** ** Well that could have been worse. I could have been shackled to a stone slab naked about to be stabbed in the heart by a psycho cultist. He really needed to stop doing that. He checked his mana to determine how long he¡¯d been unconscious. He had one hundred and fifty mana, which calculated to a day and a half. It had been three days since the girl had been here. There was bound to be others coming to test him. He needed to be prepared. He looked for the fox, but it wasn¡¯t around at all. That wasn¡¯t good. He hoped he hadn¡¯t killed it¡­ He rather liked that fox. He looked at his notifications while trying to wrap his mind over his next plan of action. New Floor Boss Named: Kitsune +Revivable New Ability Learned! Magic-Blood Magic New Creature Evolved Learned Bloody Fox This was great news! He now knew how to create a deadly creatur. It cost ninety mana to create, which was rather expensive. He had absolutely no clue what this blood magic was. He would need to check that out later. While he was pondering over what his next step was he felt the presence of Kitsune come into the dungeon. Focusing on the beast, for that is what it was now, he noted that its head would now reach the height of a man¡¯s shoulders. It¡¯s upper red coat was a deep dark red, while its stomach was no longer white but a pitch black. In its mouth it had managed to drag back an injured boar. The animal was on its last leg, but Kitsune quickly killed it when he was inside the cave by causally swiping its paw through the dying creatures throat. ¡°A gift for you my creator, I thought it would be a pleasant surprise to have a new beast. I was worried when you didn¡¯t respond after I awoke.¡± New Ability Learned! Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Kitsune now was not only loyal, but far superior in intelligence than he had been before. It had already been the smartest animal he was able to create, but now its intellect and wisdom had clearly gone up by leaps and bounds. Being able to bring back a large creature without killing it outright and dragging it all the way here was already quite an achievement. He dissolved the animal on the floor. He was also excited to have something intelligent to talk to. The squirrels never seemed to understand him, and the birds were always busy, not to mention lacking intelligence. He responded, ¡°Why thank you Kitsune, it¡¯s great to see you and please, creator is too formal call me Bastill. Sorry I wasn¡¯t awake, I normally don¡¯t rest but giving you your power took a lot out of me. Is there anything I that I can help you with before I get to work making protectors?¡± Animal Death Forest Boar x 35 mana Learned Forest Boar Finally having someone to talk to was a load off of Bastill¡¯s mind. Kitsune responded, ¡°I understand and am deeply grateful Bastill. I only have one request. I don¡¯t want to be the only one of my kind. Could you create me a companion?¡± He felt that was a valid request. Kitsune was a truly beautiful creature. Before he created a new Bloody Fox, he used Observe as he pulled up its stats to see what its abilities were. Stat Menu Level: 20, Race: Bloody Fox, Name: Kitsune, Age: 1, Gender: Male, Vocation: Floor Boss Characteristics Strength:15, Constitution:15, Dexterity:20, Intelligence:25, Wisdom:20, Charisma:10 Traits Blood Magic-Sparked by a catalyst, this creature now can control blood magic. Revivable- Able to be created with all its memories and power. Spells Blood Sap- The taste of blood gives a temporary 10% increase to creature¡¯s characteristics until the end of the fight. Innate Abilities Retractable claws-Can withdraw claws, Claws-Slash, Advanced, Maw- Bite, Advanced It appeared that the Ceremonial blood must had sparked the blood magic ability, which in turn allowed him to gain it. He was quite impressed with his creature¡¯s ability. He was D ranked and would have easily been able to defend against that adventurer that stumbled in here before. He still couldn¡¯t believe those birds had lead a human here. They were probably trying to kill him. He thought they had been tamed but he was having second thoughts now. An interesting thing he noticed was that instead of skills it had Innate Abilities, which seemed to list their effectiveness or skill. By making another Bloody Fox his mana available went down to ninety-five. He decided to compare the two stats of the two Bloody foxes he had now. He observed the newly made creature. Stat Menu Level: 15, Race: Bloody Fox, Name: (Not Named) , Age: 1 , Gender: Female, Vocation: Common Monster Characteristics Strength:11, Constitution:12, Dexterity:22, Intelligence:23, Wisdom:17, Charisma:10 Traits Blood Magic-Sparked by a catalyst, this creature now can control blood magic. Spells Blood Sip- The taste of blood gives a temporary 5% increase to creature¡¯s characteristics until the end of the fight. Innate Abilities Retractable claws-Can withdraw claws, Claws-Slash, Intermediate, Maw- Bite, Intermediate It seemed that his floor boss had stronger innate abilities and a larger level. He was also revivable which pleased him. He would hate to lose what was becoming his only friend. The new fox wasn¡¯t named and was female instead of male. It still had the blood magic; however, its spell was a lot weaker. The Common Bloody Fox was half a foot shorter than the floor boss. His favorite part of the foxes was their large wisdom and intellect. Kitsune thanked him graciously, ¡°Thank you very much we will scout the area and occasionally bring back any creatures that we think will be helpful. We will also let you know if you have any approaching adventurers. Also, we thought we could take the second room. I went in there earlier and it felt right.¡± Bastill agreed with Kitsune. Honestly, he couldn¡¯t have said it any better or rather probably wouldn¡¯t have. Over the next hour he worked on his next creation. The Common Spider to giant spider. He spent fifty mana to raise it too two feet tall and four feet wide. He then invested twenty mana in its barely existent venom. Then he put another thirty mana into its carapace, hardening it to a large degree. Then for fun he put ten mana into its tiny body hairs, which now where six inches long making it look much bigger than it really was. It wasn¡¯t a usable feature, but it would surely creep the hell out of invaders. He had put a total of one hundred and ten mana in the project. He managed to afford it due to five more boars being dragged in and killed by the fox couple. He checked the new notification he had gotten after completing the spider, then he observed his newly made spider. New Creature Evolved Learned Furry Giant Spider It cost seventy to create. He assumed it cost so much to evolve due to how long it would take for those natural changes to occur. After all it had increased in size by an enormous amount. Stat Menu Level: 9, Race: Furry Giant Spider, Name: (Not Named) , Age: 1, Gender: Female, Vocation: Common Monster Characteristics Strength:19, Constitution:17, Dexterity:14, Intelligence:8, Wisdom:8, Charisma:8 Innate Abilities Maw- Bite, Numbing effect, Intermediate, Toxin- Numbing Effect, Novice, Web-Capable of making living corridors or shot at enemy to entangle, Intermediate It was more focused on strength and constitution and had a low level as well. It also sadly didn¡¯t have any traits, but the venom ended up gaining a weak numbing effect. He also wasn¡¯t sure how to give it blood magic and didn¡¯t want to get knocked out again so didn¡¯t attempt anything. Bastill tried bouncing ideas off of Kitsune when he was in the cave. Kitsune had mentioned how they birthed in large quantities and to try using that. Bastill decided he should make a second one but make it male. Making a second one brought his mana down to one hundred. He then used fifty more to make a crack in the ceiling in the second room that lead to a massive area above the room. His hope was that they would breed quickly due to the Caring Mother of Fertility Statue. He proceeded to extend more space into the second room. He ended up extending past both statues on either side of the room an additional thirty feet. The statues were now sitting isolated on a circular pedestal. This put the second room at a dimension of thirty feet wide and ninety feet long. He put a large hole under the pedestal with the Guardian Knight of Honor on top of it. He made it big enough for the Kitsune to get in while putting it out of view of the doors entrance. The room felt sparse, so he tried planting a couple ferns. Adding ten for ten mana bringing his total down to forty. He had placed them equally apart, but it was very unimpressive. He tried injecting each with one mana, bringing his total down to thirty. He didn¡¯t have time to focus on a task that was so useless, so he abandoned the project. Instead he started making more rooms that expanded from the second room and the third room. He had the new male spider assist the foxes. His first spider had tragically died and even worse Bastill had witnessed the horrifying scene. He had unfortunately focused right on the spiders while they were finishing their mating. The male spider certainly moved faster than he thought it would. What shocked him more was when he watched the female eat the male spider. Talk about a one-sided unhealthy relationship. Luckily, he gained back the mana to re-make it. His plan was to increase his passive mana consumption. He hoped he would be able to constantly keep making new rooms until he had a network of five rooms with the last leading down to another five on a second floor. He was constantly extending his influence and carving out rooms. He was only capable of keeping up this astounding rate by having the foxes and spider constantly bringing in new animals to kill. He realized he wouldn¡¯t get chances to let his creatures wander around outside the dungeon in the future. Might as well use the resource now while he could. He imagined any adventurer would be rather concerned if they noticed a floor boss wondering around. This would be the best opportunity to gather new creatures. He ordered the two birds to bring back live insects and kill them in the cave. While he occasionally made an extra Blood Fox to help. ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** Alice and the rest of the team sent to investigate the dungeon made good time in their travels. They arrived late at night on the third day and decided to set up camp for the night before going inside the dungeon. The team was composed of Daniel Langton, the dual sword wielder as team captain and three additional members. Daniel was a capable leader and had quickly picked up partners he had adventured with before. He picked up a healer, a mage, and an axe wielder. The Healer in the group was named Stelle, she ranked B and practiced basic magical healing as well as other mundane approaches. She was quite accomplished with alchemy, although she didn¡¯t actively fight, she was well acquainted with a spiked mace that she used to protect herself when situations got out of hand. She was rather kind and loved demonstrating different uses for herbs. Alice got along well with her and spent most of the time talking to her.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Next was the support mage Carter. He didn¡¯t talk very often, but she had been told he specialized in affecting large areas with his spells. He was also B ranked. He didn¡¯t seem to have mana preference though. It was common for magic users to specialize in a certain elemental source of mana. The basic sources were Light, Dark, Fire, Earth, Water, Air. Light and Dark were occasionally referred to as holy or unholy, because light in an altered form can become life magic, while dark can become death magic. The last man was Derk. He was a small giant. He occasionally would make the dumbest jokes which seemed to amuse Daniel. She really hated his sense of humor. He had a massive kite shield as well as a battle axe, which he wielded one handed. He was ranked C. It was truly impressive to watch him go through several battle drills. His shield was always in a guarded position while his axe weaved itself through the air. Not as fast as a sword blade traveled, but you could hear it hum with all the force that it carried. She could imagine that no one would want to be on the receiving end of such a blow. In the morning they all prepared for the dungeon dive. Alice put on her brand-new armor that she had managed to pick up right after talking to E, the guild Master. It was a medium set of plate armor, with a half helmet so that her vision wasn¡¯t obscured at all. It weighed down her movement slightly, but she would work on fixing that. She made sure to oil all the overlapping bits, to make sure it moved as smoothly as it could. She had been practicing each night in the new suit of armor to get ready. When everyone was ready they gathered up in the middle of camp, before making a quick plan of action and heading out to the dungeon. They arranged themselves, with Daniel taking the forward position. With the axe wielding Derk the right side, while Alice took the left side. Between them were the mage and the healer. The two sides where responsible for not only guarding against flanking, but on watch out for rear ambushes as well. Daniel had taken the front, because they weren¡¯t sure about the level of creatures that they would be dealing with yet. He was there to test the strength before giving any others a chance. This way he could determine whether or not they could safely fight the creatures without assistance. As they stepped foot in the main room they noticed the beautiful statue. Even after seeing it the first time she was still shocked and amazed. She noticed that the pitfalls seemed to have been removed from the room. Each stepped up to give an offering to the statue. Each gaining a twenty-four percent boost to all their characteristics. Daniel had offered a High-Quality Steel Dagger, while Stelle offered a medium strength Healing Potion, Derk tossed in his half empty flask, Carter had placed in a mysterious metal totem that he had been messing with the whole trip, and Alice had offered her old spear, because she had bought a new spear from the market along with her armor. Her new spear had an additional four inches of bladed metal at the tip giving it a total of ten inches. It wasn¡¯t as broad as the other blade had been. One of the bladed edges didn¡¯t flare out as far out, giving it the look of a short knife blade attached to the shaft. This caused an increase to its deadliness and added an alluring flair to her already mesmerizing talent with the spear. They decided to try to explore the rest of the dungeon. The next room Held two more statues that faintly glowed. They were nowhere near the beauty of the Dungeon Goddess; however, they were still much more beautiful than any that could be found in their city of Azul. The two depicted a Knight and a Mother. The rest of the room had ten enormous overgrown ferns with fifteen of so medium sized ferns surrounding each, obscuring a lot of their vision. After investigating the statues for a few minutes, they didn¡¯t seem to have any effect. Just when they were heading for the next room, two shadowy figures lunged at them from behind just as Daniel began to yell a warning. Alice was the first to react. The figure had seemed quite large and she wasn¡¯t sure the thrust of her spear would be able to prevent it from bowling her over and knocking their support element down. To make up for this she stuck the butt of the shaft onto the ground while shoving her right foot against it. Her left leg took a step back a knelt onto the ground. She had her hands spread wide with her right arm holding the bottom and her left arm up higher controlling the direction of the spear head. The figure impaled itself onto her spear since it couldn¡¯t change direction and its entire weight was used to puncture its thick fur. She was soon face to face with the largest fox she had ever seen in her life. It had a deep red coat. But what really caught her attention was its beautiful purple eyes. Derk had been half a step behind her in his reaction. He had bashed his shield forward with his massive strength while also starting to swing his battle axe knocking it back momentarily. Before the wolf could move the axe swing came into contact with the beast cutting deep through its shoulder. Derk chose this time to speak, ¡°Well luckily they didn¡¯t out fox us, eh, right Daniel?¡± Daniel gave a little chuckle as he replied, ¡°Good thing indeed Derk. Well it looks like we have some idea of what¡¯s in this dungeon. I didn¡¯t get a good read on their strength, but they seem to be in the E range as far as Monsters go. They were rather crafty even for foxes. I wasn¡¯t aware of them until the last seconds. Let¡¯s try to harvest some of the more important parts of it too look at later.¡± The captain had a fancy storage pack that could hold a near infinite number of items and barely weigh a thing. The healer was currently holding it. Since she was also had the most knowledge of crafting she took the liberty of carving up the fox¡¯s parts to store. She also showed Alice which parts she though would be important, while the others held vigilance. In the end they collected a couple mysterious organs, the eyes, the claws, the teeth, a bone, and one of the least damaged pelts Meanwhile they were attacked twice more by the foxes. Daniel ended up defeating both, playing a little bit to get a feel for their strength. Carter talked for the first time to simply comment that the creatures were called Blood Foxes and seemed to have some weak Blood Magic affinities. He didn¡¯t comment anymore leaving her to wonder which source blood magic would fall under. In the next room there were no plants. There was only one simple statue against one of the walls. It was far more exquisite then the last too and nearly life like as the Dungeon Goddess had been, however it was missing a rather important part. It had no head. Alice was so angry at the obviously ruined statue that she spoke out loud, ¡°Who would dare decapitate such a beautiful piece of art?¡± ** ** ** Bastill ** ** ** WHO WOULD DARE RUIN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART!? I SWEAR TO GOD THAT UNKNOWN REWARD WILL GET YOU BACK FOR WHAT YOU MADE ME DO. Bastill mind blew up in anger after hearing her comment. After her initial reaction to the Goddess of the Dungeon he had been so pleased and had even forgotten about the old headless statue. It was now a permanent stain on his dungeon. He considered removing her head and placing on the statue. This came across his mind for two reasons. One she really did have an angelic face. Second because SHE CAUSED HIM TO CHOP OFF THE ANGEL¡¯S HEAD, which made replacing it with her own a reasonable request. Though he imagined the blood would stain it horribly¡­ Well and the fact that her head would slowly rot on top of the statue, but besides that he considered it a decent plan. Thinking of how angelic her face was he was struck with a genius way to not only fulfil the reward honestly, but also get his vengeance. It would be a surprise for the next time she visited. His last day and a half had been very fruitful. Bastill had managed to finish the network of five rooms on the first floor but was only able to complete two on the second floor. He had ended up making and maintaining eleven more Blood foxes along with nine more female spiders, each of which would force his male spiders to join them in their dirty little crevice where they would eventually eat them. He was not a fan of spider relationships. His failed fern project had amazing taken off during his time working. Each fern now reached the fifteen-foot ceiling. Each had more medium sized ferns around it reaching four feet tall. He was very pleased with this occurrence and planned to plant more herbs around his dungeon after these adventures left. It seemed that the natural dense mana naturally speed things up and injecting one mana had an enormous effect. Another thing that happened during his construction is his passive mana absorption went up to a huge margin. It was now at five hundred. The second he decided to take a break he would be sure to bump up to the next level. But between building rooms, creating creatures, he hadn¡¯t stopped yet. Other things happened in the last day and a half. He had gained several new creatures from the foxes and spider, such as: Hedge Hog, Racon, Deer, Lizard, Wolf, Bear, Goat, Hare, Beaver, Weasel. The Bear had taken several foxes and ended in a few deaths. The birds had brought back a few interesting specimens as well. He had also gotten a Leaf Imitator, Stick Bug, Praying Mantis, Centipede, Frog, Rat, Scorpion, Pill Bug, Beetle, Butterfly, Worm. In reality, he had gotten a lot of worms. The two birds also managed to work together and drag a young bat in the cave. He noticed that his creatures could eat but being in his dungeon the mana seemed to satiate their hunger. Due to the adventures he was now down to eight of his Blood Foxes. They were all Hidden around the first floor. Kitsune was in the last room on the second floor. This is where Bastill had moved his core. He had the birds move him to the new location after he dissolved their nest. He created a new one in the new room. He had started to enjoy his little perch. The new offerings had been great. He had learned High Quality Steel Dagger, Medium Healing Potion, flask, Fire water, which had been in the flask, and Steel Spear. The totem that was tossed in turned out to be imbued with magic, but not of specific type. It was called Mana Infused Iron, he wasn¡¯t sure what it did, so he decided to play with it later. The Adventures meanwhile had been steadily progressing through the rooms. He was now down to two Blood Fox¡¯s but decided to let them hide in their den after the adventurers began heading down to the second floor. One of the two blood foxes was the first he had created. He also suspected it was pregnant and didn¡¯t want it to go out and battle. It had started getting quite fat but didn¡¯t want to ask it. It had always been taboo to ask women if they were pregnant. After asking and being wrong he had never asked another woman. Things were seemed to be going well. He was pretty well defended. Despite the fact that the adventurers were pretty much easily wiping out every single challenge they faced. Even their bloody healer bashed into two skulls of the foxes with a gnarly mace. After noticing that she was ranked B it made more sense. The only person that didn¡¯t do a thing was the Mage they had. He decided to use observe all of them besides Alice. He was already well acquainted with her he thought as he remembered his headless angel. Observe Analysis Level:49 Race: Human Name: Daniel Langton Age: 45 Vocation: Dual Wielder Gender: Male Level:35 Race: Human Name: Stelle Gronde Age: 39 Vocation: Healer Gender: Female Level:50 Race: Human Name: Carter Tisher Age: 50 Vocation: Large Scale Sorcery Gender: Male Level:29 Race: Human Name: Derk McClain Age: 25 Vocation: Barbarian Gender: Male Damn they are pretty powerful. An A ranked member, a B ranked, a C ranked, a D ranked, and Alice the Beheader is an E. He caught bits and pieces of Derk talking about breaking into the C rank this month which confused Bastill at first until the man started elaborating about how his skill had been just too formidable to stay at the D ranked. With that in mind he pieced together that the guild must have their own ranking system. That would make it harder for him to really know an individual¡¯s strength. However, a rough estimate was better than nothing. He decided to check his stats while the adventurer¡¯s proceeded. They weren¡¯t that interesting to watch. Stat Menu Level:4, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 200/350, Mana Absorption: 500/day, Creatures:15, Rooms:12, Floors:2 Abilities Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost: 1 mana per every 4 cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 500/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Magic- Blood Magic Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Coal: 20, Dirt: .1, Agate:5, Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Fire Water: 5 Creatures Insects- Common Spider:.1, Flea: .05, Tick: .05, Leaf Imitator: .2, Stick Bug: .2, Praying Mantis: .3, Centipede: .3, Scorpion: .3, Pill Bug: .1, Beetle: .1, Butterfly: .1, Worm: .1 Animals- Grey Squirrel:10, Blue Bird:15, Red Fox: 35, Common Gardner Snake:5, Forest Boar:40, Hedge Hog: 12, Racon: 25, Deer: 40, Lizard: 5, wolf: 45, Bear: 60, goat: 35, Hare: 12, Beaver: 20, weasel: 12, Frog: 4, Rat: 8, Bat: 8 Created Beasts- Bloody Fox: 90, Furry Giant Spider:70 Objects Door:1, Leaf: .1, Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1, acorn:.1, fern: .1, elder berry bush: .1, whistling leaf: .1, and elves ear: .5, Bird Nest: 2, High Steel Dagger: 20, Flask: 5, Steel Spear: 20, Mana Infused Iron: 100 Fluid- Per Bottle Fire water: 5, Medium Health Potion: 20 Catalysts Ceremonial Blood?? They defeated a couple spiders he had on the first room second floor easily, however the big barbarian that liked to brag seemed to avoid fighting them. Leaving the battle to two ¨C the sword wielding fanatic and the spear wielding manic. He suspected this Derk character was not a fan of spiders, which he found quite amusing. The spiders despite some odd traditions were staring to grow on him, they weren¡¯t too bad after all. They began to approach the last room with the floor boss. Right before they arrived, a catastrophe erupted. Ten very pregnant spiders let out a fierce cry. Bastill had been really curious when the Spiders didn¡¯t lay eggs in the beginning but now he was terrified. He had at first thought that eating the father had been cruel and out of line. That was before watching one hundred baby spiders cannibalize their mother ten times in a row. They ate her alive as they began crawling outside of her body. One thousand spiders rapidly started developing until they reached a foot tall, where their growth persisted but vastly slowed down. They would still grow to two feet given another day. Several of the females began mating and consuming their mate. About fifty spiders were eaten while the fifty soon to be mothers went comatose preparing to give birth a day and a half from now. Another five thousand spiders would be hatched in the days to come. Oh god no... NO NO NO. I need to get rid of these or at the very least remove them from the room increasing fertility and growth. He didn¡¯t like spiders anymore. He needed to curtail the population of spiders immediately. Having a spider predator would be a great idea. Anything that would eat spiders naturally would now most definitely be eaten by the spiders. With the behemoth increase in monsters he began to lose his grip on them. He had never had over thirty creatures under his control. In under ten seconds one thousand spiders had been birthed at once. He completely lost control of all spiders in his dungeon. He just couldn¡¯t make mentally hold onto them. Nine hundred spiders began to spill out of the small crack in the second room. Creature Control Has Been Lost -Furry Giant Spiders x 950 Oh shit, oh shit. Too many. He warned the two hidden Blood Foxes to run to the Floor Boss room. The spiders were out of control and started swarming after the two vixens. The adventures meanwhile had stopped after hearing the sound. They were trying to decide what one earth was happening. They had a defensive formation set in the room as they waited to see what was going on. They saw two Blood Fox¡¯s Sprinting with their ears flat and tails tucked. Seeing the fox¡¯s odd behavior, Bastill watched as the man named Carter made everyone stand down. The foxes quickly past them and into the other room holding Kitsune. Thirty seconds later the spiders came into view of the group of adventurers. He watched several things happen. First the man named Derk let out a blood curdling scream, which proved his fear of spiders. The swordsman swore as he began giving out orders and conversing with the mage who had a deep frown on his face. The only facial change he had seen the entire time from the weird man. The healer let out a deep sigh as she prepared herself. Last was Alice who simply took on a determined look. Oh, those adventures are so screwed. However, I won¡¯t really be at fault since I don¡¯t have control over the spiders. Well that¡¯s the way of life. Sorry you drew the short straw. Bastill knew he was just fooling himself. This whole thing was his fault. Also, the rest of his creatures were in danger as well. I mean it was okay if Alice died she ruined his statue, but these other adventurers hadn¡¯t done anything to him. This was wrong and his fault. He didn¡¯t know what to do so he turned to his only friend for guidance, ¡°Kitsune, what am I supposed to do?¡± Kitsune Replied, ¡°Bastill we do the honorable thing. We brace ourselves and fight for we know it¡¯s the right thing.¡± If only I had a water spout this problem could all be washed away. Chapter Seven, Going Out With a BANG! There is only over nine-hundred little fuzzy fuckers charging over here not a big deal. He noticed he had a couple notifications blinking. The last two spiders that had been under his control had pushed his available mana to ten away from the next level. In addition to that, the initial deaths from the ten male spiders that were devoured by their mates gave him an additional seven hundred mana to deal with. He wasn¡¯t sure what the requirements or capacity for the next level would be, which meant he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to make an additional level. While the adventurers where about to start dealing with the first wave of spiders he checked the notifications. He had three awaiting his attention. Level Up! Current Level: 5 Congratulations you successfully gained a second floor, created a floor boss, and filled mana to capacity. + Passive Mana Regeneration Increased to 600/day. + Select One Ability - Dungeons Aura -Mysterious Journal -Summon + Next Level Requirements: 7 Rooms, 25 Creatures, Fill Mana Capacity to 450. Without making any decisions yet he quickly looked it over the notification. The selection was an important decision and not something to be rushed. It really made it difficult to decide since none of the abilities had a description. He would need to choose carefully, it might take him a couple hours of brain storming to decide. He had only a vague idea of what the abilities might be, however he didn¡¯t have time to reflect on the choice right now. He knew he currently only had five animals under his control, so he couldn¡¯t have level up. He never had issues with having too much mana. It had always been not enough. He wasn¡¯t sure what this would result in. He Checked out the next notification. Mana Capacity Full -Need 20 More Creatures to Level -Over Flowed By 240 -Unknown Consequences May Follow - Currently Holding 690/450 Aw well shit I didn¡¯t get bumped up an additional level that kind of sucked. It was really unfortunate that he had all the extra mana. Was it supposed to dissipate? Overflow into the Dungeon? It always assumed it would just disappear and be an unfortunate loss. He could feel his ore shaking uncontrollably. He needed to get rid of this excess mana. He also needed to help the adventures as they would begin engaging the enemy any second now, which he realized which just result in more wasted mana. As long as he created more creatures now. Not only was he for sure going to level up, but he would be able to help them fight. He checked the last notification Warning! -30 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion -25 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion -20 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion -15 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion -10 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion -5 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion FFFFF -4 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion UUUUU -3 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion CCCCC -2 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion KKKKK -1 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion !!!!! Bastill pumped out seven Bloody Fox¡¯s out in record time, dropping his mana down to sixty mana. He very nearly exploded. He promised from then on to watch his mana very carefully. He would never let such an event happen again. Just then a massive mana surge happened in the other room. His core started vibrating again. He felt like he was about to shatter. He focused in and noticed that the mage in their group had sent off a devastating area of effect spell frying the first twenty spiders that swarmed towards him. He Already had more blinking notifications. Mana Capacity Full -Need 13 More Creatures to Level -Over Flowed By 240 -Unknown Consequences May Follow - Currently Holding 1460/450 Warning! -30 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion -25 seconds until Spontaneous Combustion This just isn¡¯t my day¡­ He made fifteen more bloody foxes, which would now allow him to level up in the next surge. He watched as the adventures fought. In barely no time he leveled up. But after reading the new requirements he knew he wouldn¡¯t be leveling up again after that. Level Up! Current Level: 6 Congratulations you successfully gained a 7 rooms, 25 creatures, and filled mana to capacity. + Passive Mana Regeneration Increased to 700/day. + Pick a Catalyst - Demon Heart -Angel Feather -Cinders of PhoenixLove what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. -Mermaid Tear -Bottled Hurricane -Living Diamond + Next Level Requirements: 2 Floor Bosses, Fill Mana Capacity to 550. The last floor boss I made Knocked me out for over a day. If I stop paying attention for thirty seconds I will freaking blow up right now. As more spiders died, he continued to make more fox¡¯s. He needed to keep making creatures and keep himself out of the blowing up mana range. Once again he didn¡¯t have time to make the decision about what catalyst to choose, He needed to focus on staying alive. He glanced at the adventurers. A couple of the them were doing well despite the odds however the youngest ones where stringing. He was sure even the older ones wouldn¡¯t fare well against the number eventually. The first wave of spiders had been pretty weak. He felt the next wave was even larger and their simple spider brains were raging at the death of their kin. He had never seen them so angry before. They were already reaching the peak of their max height, which made them stronger then the last wave as well. He didn¡¯t know why but he felt it was his responsibility to help the adventurers. He spoke to his loyal companion, ¡°Kitsune go help the adventurers, I will continue to send out reinforcements.¡± Kitsune charged into the next room with every Bloody Fox available. ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** Alice could feel the dense mana in the dungeon vibrating angrily. Derk had completely lost his mind when he saw the hordes of spiders approaching, ¡°Why the hell did it have to be spiders? Is the dungeon pissed off or something? Can dungeons get pissed off?¡± Carter seriously replied to the group, ¡°Dungeons are known to hate a very deep-seated hatred for adventures that who use puns against it¡¯s creatures. One of use probably smarted off with poor humor.¡± The mage had always been very stoic, with the only ever speaking to give detailed information about the creatures they were fighting and their weaknesses. At first, she had nodded her head, she had never heard about dungeons being overly emotional about bad wit. She frowned at that thought. Derk started freaking out more, ¡°Shit I said a fox pun earlier you don¡¯t think that I¡­¡± He was interrupted as Daniel started laughing more then he had during the whole trip. He actually started crying a little. Stelle had quickly joined in. Soon followed by Alice herself. Derk realizing he was the butt of the joke got pretty pissed off until he started to chuckle as well. Carter continued preparing for the wave of spiders with complete seriousness, however Alice could have sworn that she had seen one side on his lips tweak into a grin. It was gone before she was certain though. She knew that she liked Carters sense of humor now. They were currently arranged much like how they had been while traveling though the dungeon, with Alice and Derk up much closer to Daniel. A slight variation however was that the two supports were now on the front line as well. Stelle was by Alice, while Carter was beside Derk. They were backed against a corner and staggered in an arrow formation. The mana in the air seemed to stabilize. When the first wave of spiders came into range, about twenty feet away, she heard Daniel order Carter to battle, ¡°Carter old pal? Why don¡¯t you show the younglings how you start the party for old times¡¯ sake, eh?¡± The man whipped out a staff from nowhere with a wave of his hand. The ring on his hand sparkled as he did the move. Then massive mana surged out of the tip of the staff sending a booming aura. It looked like a ghostly ball of fire, yet it held no heat. That was until it landed in the middle of the first wave of spiders where it blew up and sent a wave of heat coursing back to the group. He decimated at least fifteen of the spiders as far as she could tell, while also injuring a ton more. The mana in the air was chaotic once again. It seemed to hum with power. Until it calmed down. The uninjured spiders arrived at the group first. Alice couldn¡¯t be distracted by focusing on others. She would occasionally see in her peripherals Stelle bashing in some of the skulls of the spiders in a spin, or Daniel swords afterimages, but that was all she saw. The rest was all a dance of a spear. The head slicing at joints and stabbing into weaker areas of the carapace. The wooden shaft wood bend under the pressure ever so slightly, which increased the devastation it delivered as it connected in a strike. Her thrusts held slight turns that would nearly drill into the creature when it made contact, she would continue turning a bit quicker and harder upon entry to the body, which caused it to rip apart. She was quick. She was unstoppable. She was the Spear Goddess. She knew no defeat. Only victory. Her enemies would tremb¡­. Son of a bitch! It fucking spit webbing in my eyes. Forgetting any sense of arrogance, she quickly called out to Stelle, ¡°Webbing in the eye¡¯s, can you help?¡± She continued using slashes in front of her trying to remember where they had been. They had almost finished up this wave with only ten or so remaining. She heard a voice behind her, ¡°Alice stop flailing the spear and don¡¯t move. Everyone else shift over for a second and cover us.¡± She was pulled to the side and stele helped clear the web out of her face. Looking back, she saw the ground littered with spiders. She felt exhausted. She had gone through about seventy-five spiders in all. That had been a tough fight. She noticed Derk had his Axe in the arm that used to hold the kite shield, with the kite shield tossed to the side, while his right arm was limp at his side. He saw her looking and smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t let them bite you, it has a numbing agent. Feels worse than having your legs fall asleep.¡± She nodded back, noticing he had several cuts on his body. She looked down and noticed she also had a few. The rest were practically untouched. Derk looked over to Daniel and Carter and asked, ¡°So is it over or are we totally fucked?¡± Daniel began to talk, ¡°The are pretty weak around rank F, but the ability to swarm us with numbers will even take me out eventually. I¡¯m hoping that was most of them, but I don¡¯t think we will be that lucky. However, I don¡¯t think we should give up hope so easily.¡± Just as he finished speaking we heard a marching and within the next couple seconds another wave appeared. They looked bigger reaching two feet tall. There were more then there had been last time. Instead of marching through the doorway on the ground like they had before. They emerged from every angle from the door. Instantly spilling out onto the ceiling and walls. All headed to their location. There was at least two hundred charging. They also looked amazingly pissed off. I hate to think this, but I agree with Derk. We are totally screwed. Carter was just about to launch another blast of mana when they heard loud Growling coming from the other room. Suddenly the biggest bloody fucking Blood Fox they had ever seen leaped out of the next room and looked directly at them. It had a dominating aura and eyes filled with a dark purple. Carter seemed to always pick the best moments to talk. He once again in the most serious voice said, ¡°Damnit Derk, this is why you don¡¯t make Bloody Fox puns. Team say hello the Floor Boss. Looks like his name is Kitsune.¡± Stelle looked at the menacing beast. Trying to keep the doomsday bright and chipper she tried adding to there current gallows humor. She was shaking in fear but spoke none the less, ¡°W..we..ll maybe it jus..jus..st wants to play?¡± Daniel joined in,¡± Here kitty kitty!¡± The fox looked directly at him and snarled. Alice chose now to speak up, ¡°It¡¯s actually from the dog family...¡± Then tens of smaller forms sprinted past it and entered a brawl with the spiders. The whole team was shocked as the watched the spiders get shredded apart. Daniel spoke, ¡°Lets not waste this chance. Give them hell.¡± Carter launched several exploding spells to decimate the ranks and tried his best to avoid hitting the foxes. The largest fox spent his time aiding any fox or human that started to get over whelmed. They pushed the spiders back and began fighting at the door, which helped lower the amount that could attack at once. If they had known they were about to be ambushed by so many they would have tried to secure this location earlier. The mana in the dungeon seemed to be inconstant fluctuation. It would feel like it could explode until it calmed down. While Alice fought she noticed a fatter fox fighting by her side. They all did their best, but they couldn¡¯t hold the position. The spiders slowly pushed them back as the numbers grew larger and larger. There were now tens upon tens of the foxes out helping. Several had just died in the last minute, which seemed to make the energy in the room vibrate even harder. Carter released five massive missiles of aura in rapid succession each targeting the heaviest spots of infestation. The vibrations in the room suddenly stopped as a massive explosion sounded down the hall. It felt like the universe had just been ripped in half. All the creatures stopped. Even the spiders. They began to retreat back upstairs. Alice looked down at her side to see the fat old fox lay dying at her feet. She bent down to comfort it. Stelle went around to attend everyone¡¯s injuries. She applied magic where it was serious and used more mundane methods when it wasn¡¯t life threatening. Alice continued to pet the poor dying creature as she herself bled from a several different wounds. She had several area¡¯s where she was just completely numb. She was soon joined by the floor boss who sat down on his haunches by her side. She felt immensely intimidated until she saw small tears forming in it¡¯s eyes as it licked the fox¡¯s wounds. When they were all patched up they attempted to go to the surface but were met with hundreds of spiders marching around the first floor. They only attack when the group stepped onto the floor. The group decided their best bet was to stay below and hope for a change above. As they came back down the stairs they saw several fox¡¯s dragging the fat old fox to the last room with the floor boss at the front. The Fox seemed to no longer have any interest in the adventures. They were all solemnly heading back to the last room. They all seemed rather upset and mopey to her. Without many other options, Alice and her group followed the remaining foxes in. There was around a hundred of them wondering around. They looked around the room and saw a hole in the floor and the ceiling. The ceiling hole was starting to close, though they could see spiders wandering around up there. Apparently, it kicked into a room on the over floor. With nothing better to do everyone went about trying to keep their mind off the situation they were in. No sense lamenting over being stuck in a dungeon. They had plenty of food still and decided to start planning an escape in the morning. The team split up and went about their own coping mechanism. Carter started playing with the hole in the floor, casting balls of light down only to have them disappear eventually. It was agreed that they wouldn¡¯t sleep near it for fear of falling in. Derk went right to sleep. Unknown to him, several foxes joined him forming a massive puddle of cuddling. Alice was sure he¡¯d probably freak out when he woke. Stelle actually joined the floor boss with the dying fox. There was nothing she could do to save its life, but she said she could rescue the kit foxes and have them grow up healthy. The massive Floor Boss seemed to understand and nodded approval. While she performed the C section, Daniel was lost in a journal. He was obviously already making up plans to present tomorrow. He also currently had a perpetual frown, which made her think that they didn¡¯t have many options. Alice wondered around the floor until she came across something interesting. She walked over to Carter to show him, because he seemed the most knowledgeable and she also didn¡¯t want to distract Stelle or Daniel right now. As she arrived next to Carter, still playing with the deep hole, she held out her hand and said, ¡°Hey Carter, I found this over by the back wall and thought you might find it interesting. It looks like a well-cut Amethyst; however it¡¯s cracked and missing half of the gem.¡± Chapter Eight, ???Bastill??? ** ** ** ???Bastill ** ** ** Bastill was startled awake by the sounds of pained screaming. He had a light headache, but nothing he couldn¡¯t ignore. Looking around he couldn¡¯t see anything in trouble. He had foxes everywhere and strangely he also had adventures looking around for the noise. When the hell did they get here? The sound seemed to be coming from up above, but for some reason he couldn¡¯t view his first floor. The adventurers seemed to be getting along with the foxes, so he left them alone for now. They seemed harmless enough. The Last things he remembered were fighting against hordes of spiders and trying to get rid of all the mana from the deaths after losing control of them. Had the adventurer¡¯s helped? He had struggled to get rid of the mana only to be over filled once again. The deaths had just filled it up too quickly for him to alleviate it. He remembered his last-ditch effort had been drilling his mana straight down as a last-ditch effort. There had been around three hundred spider deaths in all and the last couple had been killed too quickly for him to control the mana output. Looking around he couldn¡¯t sense anymore spiders. Remembering he had been out for a while he quickly checked his notification to make sure he wasn¡¯t overflowing again. He didn¡¯t want another occurrence of whatever had happened. Status -Fractured -Effect unknown. Well shit, this can¡¯t be good. He had no clue what it meant but fractured was akin to being broken. Before wasting more time, he checked his next notification. Mana Capacity Full -You need one more Floor Bosses - Currently Holding 550/550 -Excess Mana Leaking Out Well he was not going to explode at least. Or had he already? He felt that there might be a chance since he was apparently fractured. He would try to work healing his mind and core in a bit. He had sent some foxes to explore upstairs, while he looked at the notifications, but they just whimpered saying they couldn¡¯t do it. He decided the noise he had heard was from the spiders that were still upstairs. Since it didn¡¯t seem like his creatures could leave and not wanting the spiders to attack again he sealed off the staircase with granite. Deciding to put that to the side for now he looked at the next notification. Choices to Make + Pick a Catalyst - Demon Heart -Angel Feather -Cinders of Phoenix -Mermaid Tear -Bottled Hurricane -Living Diamond + Select One Ability - Dungeons Aura -Mysterious Journal -Summon That¡¯s right I leveled up! Spending the mana was important so that he wasn¡¯t wasteful. Seeing as he already had plenty of animals he found it was his best interest to expand his influence. He attempted to reclaim his first floor, but he was unable to. Something was preventing him. He felt it push back against his consciousness, when he focused on it he felt that it was angry. Whatever happened must have made it non-reclaimable. Well when you can¡¯t go up just keep going forward. He decided his best strategy was to excavate to the other side of the mountain. It would help to put this disaster behind him and focus on the positive. He felt it was the right decision. He didn¡¯t make the decision immediately. He didn¡¯t want to just jump to conclusions recklessly after all. One needed to be thoughtful in order to be productive. He began digging and expanding his conscious to the other side of the mountain. He would be able to open a new cave there, he thought rationally. He began to go into deep thought as he mind numbingly expanded his conscious. Expanding seemed to help reduce the head pain to nothing. He debated what option from the choices he should choose. After a good hour he decided on Dungeons Aura and Angel Feather. They seemed to follow the pattern of the basic elemental sources he had heard about once. A Demon Heart was from an unholy creature which made it related to darkness, Angel Feather was from a holy creature which meant light, Cinders of Phoenix was from a fire creature, Mermaid Tear was from a water creature, Bottled Hurricane was a natural wind disaster, and Living Diamond must have been part of the earth. He honestly wanted all of them, but it¡¯s better to be grateful for what you are given. No sense getting mad at what you can¡¯t have. He chose angel feather for he had never heard of people ever meeting angels. He had always been curious about heaven. He chose the dungeon aura because he felt that might help him grow stronger as a core, as well for his creatures. Thoughtfully he looked upon kitsune. He would need to make another floor boss soon if he wanted to advance to the next level. As he began his meditative state of expanding his mind and thinking upon his life. Some memories came back. He remembered the adventurers now. Alice had been here before. He began to reflect on his behavior since becoming a core. He couldn¡¯t tell if he was more prone to vengeance then before or if it was the act of being sacrificed to from a dungeon core that cause all the anger he seemed to be feeling. He always seemed to be lashing out at the nearest being that irked him. It wasn¡¯t so long ago that he had threatened to kill a pair of birds that he preceded to live next to. Then there was also the case of wanting to behead the girl that not only discovered him and could help him gain more strength by bringing more adventures. Not to mention that he went to wanting to kill the intruder, to promising some mysterious bonus gift, to wanting to behead her. It had seemed like such a great idea at the time. He was beginning to fear that maybe not all of him made it into the amethyst during the sacrificial ceremony. But he must have been getting better, before he couldn¡¯t even relax in his own thoughts without panicking. Given that he did have just under five years now to beat an over powered dark sorceress. Maybe this was a rational reaction. It probably didn¡¯t help that he couldn¡¯t move at all. Not having legs and arms was definitely not favorable at all. However, now he enjoyed basking in his thoughts. He enjoyed the deep philosophical train of thought he had. It was very meditative and healing. He reflected on his past and present lives. Remembering the way his master had trained him in the art of sculpting. By focusing the mind and easing into a mental state that would allow him not to create what he wanted, but what needed to be made. It was these calming thoughts that reformed and sculpted his mind. Easing the pains he had had earlier. What would master want me to do? It¡¯s always important to move forward. Let¡¯s see what I can do. Remembering the birds, he decided to re make them. His plan was to make a ranged scout to report to him. It would help him when he made a new entrance on the other side of this mountain. Focusing on the image of them he began to push the thought of them into the creation process, but his mana didn¡¯t move. Nothing happened. Mentally frowning he decided to check his stat menu. Stat Menu Level:6 Race: Dungeon Core Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 550/550 Mana Absorption: 200/day Creatures:100 Rooms:2 Floors:1 Abilities Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost: 1 mana per every 4 cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 200/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Creatures Insects- Leaf Imitator: .2, Stick Bug: .2, Praying Mantis: .3, Centipede: .3, Animals- Grey Squirrel:10, Red Fox: 35, Hedge Hog: 12, Racon: 25, Deer: 40, wolf: 45, Bear: 60, goat: 35, Hare: 12, Beaver: 20, Created Beasts- Bloody Fox: 90 Objects Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1, acorn:.1, fern: .1, elder berry bush: .1, whistling leaf: .1, and elves ear: .5. Fluid- Per Bottle Medium Health Potion: 20 Catalysts Ceremonial Blood?? This must be related to being fractured. He noticed that several learned patterns were missing. Even his magic ability was gone. His passive mana absorption was greatly lowered, but that was to be expected since he lost an entire floor and five rooms. That was really too bad. But no sense in getting worked up over it. He was alive after all and that was the important piece. Continuing his expansion to the other side of the mountain to make a new first floor and exit to the dungeon.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. It''s important to keep my masters words in mind. They will guide me to a brighter future. I need to develop as a dungeon to protect myself, but what can I use? ** ** ** Bastill??? ** ** ** Ughh my fucking head! I feel like I downed the whole tavern last night. What happened last night? He couldn¡¯t seem to get his thoughts or memoires in order. Turning his awareness out towards his domain, he was welcomed by the sight of spiders crawling all over. They were everywhere. On the walls, ceilings. A large majority of his rooms were composed of large nests of webbing. He could feel about four-hundred and fifty spiders crawling around him. Which absolutely didn¡¯t feel creepy at all¡­ Ahh well fuck I guess I am a spider dungeon after all¡­ I feel like I¡¯m missing something important. Oh Dear Living God Of Everything Holy! WHAT IS THAT?! In a small crack in a room of his room that he decided to check he was welcome to a sight of fifty little furry fuckers being cannibalized from the inside out by a hundred spiders each. I can¡¯t believe you little fuckers do that. Either learn to lay FUCKING EGGS or GET THE FUCK OUT! All five-thousand-four-hundred spiders stopped skittering around immediately. Then five seconds later they were heading for the door in mass. He didn¡¯t believe he had control of them before, ¡°Stop.¡± Well this is interesting. They seem to listen to me. They all stopped moving as one. He thought this was rather fun. Despite their nasty ass birthing methods he had personally witnessed for the first time, they were quite fun to watch move around in unison. Focusing in on his own position in the dungeon he noticed that he was lying on a table underneath a beautiful statue of a goddess. Captivated he continued to look it over before reading the plaque, ¡°Here I stand, the Goddess of The Dungeon, I weep for those Adventurers who fall, gift to me and I will it in kind, I will watch over you. For I am the Goddess of The Dungeon.¡± A few synapses formed in his beaten down core. He had been whole before. He had been fine before hand without with pain. Adventures¡­ Adventures¡­ The fucking adventures did this! That¡¯s right! Those living pieces of digested cow intestines! Where have they gone? I will rip their damn heads off. Some more memories came back to him in rapid succession giving him a enormous eruptions of pain in his mind. Oh for the love of furry spider fucks! Make the pain stop. The pain reduced down to a back ground pain. He could finally process mentally beyond just pain. He remembered those damn adventures had come in here. They came in here fucked with his creatures and then he woke up with this massive headache. They better not have messed with Kitsune. Despite using all his mental capabilities he could not find his lovely fox anymore. He ordered his spiders to look. They stampeded across the floor looking for the fox. Where is kitsune¡­ ¡°Kitsune? Can you hear me? Little fox?¡± The spiders hadn¡¯t reported anything back to him and he still could feel any sense of his precious friend. He finally came to the conclusion that Kitsune had died. He¡¯s dead¡­ Those fuckers must have killed him¡­ No matter he is revivable. I will just bring him back and everything will be fine. He knew the fox was his only friend he had now. It was the only name besides Claire that he could remember. But who the hell was Claire? He had a weird thought that he had only about five years left, but he couldn¡¯t quite place why that could be. Something inside just felt wrong, but with the blazing headache he couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong. All he knew was he couldn¡¯t be left alone with his own thoughts. He decided to look at his current notifications before he started planning. Status -Fractured -Effect unknown. Well that would explain why everything hurt. He must have been damaged by the damn adventurers. It just further intensified his hatred for any and all adventurers. I¡¯m not bloody fractured! He looked at his core. It was indeed fractured. His little purple gym was spilt in half jaggedly. Changing any faint hope he had that the status was wrong. Well shit I guess I am¡­ He was very unhappy with this situation, but with nothing else to due but grumble about his misfortune he moved on to the next notification. Mana Capacity Full -You need two more Floor Bosses - Currently Holding 550/550 -Excess Mana Leaking Out Well that sucks, but it could be worse I imagine. For some reason he had a thought of exploding, however that didn¡¯t make any sense and just made his head hurt more. He dismissed that thought and turned his attention to the next notification. Choices to Make + Pick a Catalyst - Demon Heart -Angel Feather -Cinders of Phoenix -Mermaid Tear -Bottled Hurricane -Living Diamond + Select One Ability - Dungeons Aura -Mysterious Journal -Summon Well that was a pleasant surprise for once. He couldn¡¯t put a finger on why he got these options, but hey he wasn¡¯t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He figured that he must have managed to level up. Before something Changed he quickly grabbed the first two that looked appealing. He grabbed the Mysterious Journal and the demon heart. He didn¡¯t feel like thinking about his choice too much. Now how on earth do I revive Kitsune? I probably need to remake a Bloody Fox body him. There might be some answers in the Stat Menu. Stat Menu Level:6 Race: Dungeon Core Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 550/550 Mana Absorption: 500/day Creatures:5400 Rooms:5 Floors:1 Abilities Mysterious Journal- Unknown Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 500/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Magic- Blood Magic Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Coal: 20, Dirt: .1, Agate:5, Creatures Insects- Common Spider:.1, Flea: .05, Tick: .05, Scorpion: .3, Pill Bug: .1, Beetle: .1, Butterfly: .1, Worm: .1 Animals-, Blue Bird:15, Common Gardner Snake:5, Lizard: 5, weasel: 12, Frog: 4, Rat: 8, Bat: 8 Created Beasts- Furry Giant Spider:70 Objects Door:1, Leaf: .1, Bird Nest: 2, High Steel Dagger: 20, Flask: 5, Steel Spear: 20, Fluid- Per Bottle Fire water: 5 Catalysts Mana Infused Iron Demon Heart Where the FUCK is my Bloody Fox? DAMNIT, DAMNIT, DAMNIT. He noticed that he was down to one floor as well. He tried to push his awareness down, but it met resistance. He couldn¡¯t extend his awareness down at all. He didn¡¯t remember leveling up to six, but he wasn¡¯t about to argue over the good mistakes. There were so few learned objects. He could have sworn he had more. Everything hurt and felt fuzzy. Half his memories were just gone. Even his bloody learned stuff wasn¡¯t all there. He could have sworn he had an ability to help him carve but looking through his abilities he saw nothing. He did gain the Mysterious Journal ability, he would need to investigate that in a bit. He did have blood magic though. What on earth had happened to him? He didn¡¯t even have the ability to expand his domain. He was ruined. He tried sending spiders down to the stairs where his second floor used to be, however they would get right to the edge of the stair case before halting and refusing. It just didn¡¯t make sense. It was those cursed humans! It was all fine before they were here and now it¡¯s all a mess. I will wipe out every adventurer on the earth. Those vile heathens tried to subdue me. I will show them. I will not be destroyed so easily. As he was filled with rage he remembered a time. It was before he had become a dungeon core. He had been a human before. He remembered being ten years old stealthily creeping around the corners of his home city. He couldn¡¯t quite remember which city, but he focuses in on the memory. He relaxed his anxious mind and let the memory take over his thoughts ** ** * Young Bastill Memory * ** ** The sky was dark and murky like the depths of the shadow. A younger young kid sat in the corner of a corner waiting. It was a young bastill. While waiting in the shadows of the alley he lay in his mind did not lay still unlike his body. Suddenly a even younger lad came sliding down one of the buildings siding right beside Bastill. He whispered his message over, ¡°Leader found a target. We are gonna go with ¡®Harvest¡¯.¡± Bastill couldn¡¯t see anything besides the outline of the kid. The kid wouldn¡¯t have even found him if his position wasn¡¯t mapped out. He asked the most important question, ¡°What¡¯s the mark look like.¡± The kid clearly struggled to remember, however since his memory relied on him being fed he quickly came to and recited what he had been told, ¡°It¡¯s a she, blue silk dress, coin purse underneath a fold on her right side. Minet and Spade should be tailing her.¡± After going through the information a few times in his mind and deciding that he understood everything well enough he gave the kid a curt dismissal. The runner quickly climbed back up the building to report back to the center of the plan, the leader. ¡®Harvest¡¯ was a simple plan. It put one person in a dangerous position. This happened to be Bastill for this plan. He was after all their best sleight of hand with the best leveled pick pocket skill. Looking down the street from around the alleys corner he saw his target walking towards him with two kids a dozen feet back. They had to keep their distance to avoid suspicion. Jade and Minet were expert at this. They always found ways to look inconspicuous. They would hurry to different street carts showing hungry and desiring eyes just to rush over to the next. They looked hungrily innocent. As his mark came into range he started walking not directly at her, but making his way near her at an angle that would pass her at a distance. He would pass by her left side. As he was half a foot from passing her Minet acted her part as the distraction, ¡°Lady! Lady! Lady! You dropped something behind you.¡± As the target turned around she put Bastill in her blind spot with her right side closest. Now it was his turn the blade of the operation. With a flick of a dagger he gracefully sliced the cord of the coin purse from her belt and caught it with the same hand. He tried began to walk away, but then he heard the sign of his discovery,¡±Thief! Thief! Guards help me!¡± He was sure he had pulled it off flawlessly, but now was no time for doubts. He sprinted off into the nearest alley to hide stealthily hide away. ** ** * End of Memory * ** ** I cant be a thief anymore. I need to take charge. These spiders are just young runners. They have no control or plan. I need to get my Center Piece, my Distraction, and my Knife. I need a plan. He spoke to all his creatures, ¡°I am calling forth the strongest of my brethren. Come forth.¡± After a bit of chittering among the denizens of the dungeon they seemed to come to an agreement and three spiders crawled forward unto the goddess of the dungeon. Each had scars among them from fighting, but they had turned out to be stronger through the experience. He through more feel then actual thought he began injecting mana into them. It would have been easier to get it done all at once starting one and finishing it then moving to the next, but he wanted strong creatures. To be strong you had to understand suffering. He understood suffering. The adventurers saw to that. He spoke into their minds as he worked, ¡°I will name you three Thanatos, Nyx, and Hades. Hades you shall be my ruler. Thanatos you shall be my distractor. Nyx you shall be my knife. They think they can fuck with a dungeon well let¡¯s give them a chance to think again,¡± the Spiders meanwhile were squealing in pain as he spoke to them. To Thanatos he made his legs like scythes. Every single leg became a sharpened weapon. He increased the muscle tone to make the little beast capable at moving at amazing speed with a startling strength. He was grown to four feet tall. However even more frightening where his legs which were elongated and now double jointed. He was stretched out over eighteen feet. His fur was removed, but his carapace was pitch black. If it wasn¡¯t bright then he was practically invisible. His webbing was now hardened and contained a potent toxin to cause immense pain, which couldn¡¯t rival the fangs which could kill the victim with its pain alone. If someone got that close they probably should already be dead, due to the terrifying eight bladed legs. He personified the very visage of death. Nyx ended up shrinking in size. He became on foot tall and one-foot long. His legs where made sturdy. He was capable of jumping short distances away now. His fur was further evolved. They now started to actively mix in the back ground he hid in. He was capable of hiding in light of day without being seen. His toxin was capable of paralyzing victims for up to an hour. It acted extremely quickly through the blood stream. His webbing was enhanced to be extra adhesive, which would be perfect for trap making. He would be the unseen scout. Hades looked much like the original version of the spider, but he towered at a staggering ten feet tall, with a twenty foot length. He was grey with a symbol of a massive white of a skull with a crown on his back. He was a behemoth. The most impressive part of the beast was the enormous brain that was in his skull. Bastill even had to widen the skull cavity to make more room. The carapace of his beast was strengthened a dozen times over making it as hard as High Steel. He would be the king and ruler of his little underworld. He had gifted Thanatos with a catalyst of Mana Infused Iron. Feeling it best for his deadly scythe legs. To Nyx and Hades he used the demon heart as a catalyst. They were a sight to see. The other spiders cowered in reverence and respect before the three specimens. ¡°It¡¯s time to fight back my brethren. We will not be defeated by the humans. I present you your new leaders. Nyx of Darkness, Thanatos of Death, and the ruler of all, Hades the Underlord.¡± New Floor Boss Named: Thanatos of Death Named: Nyx of Darkness Named: Hades the Underlord +Revivable Great I have made new floor bosses! New Creature Evolved Learned Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider New Creature Evolved Learned Concealed Giant Jumping Spider New Creature Evolved Learned Overlord Giant Fringed Spider Having learned how to make them he could also make common forms of them. They would be much weaker then the floor bosses, but that could only be expected. Well if I can¡¯t expand my conscious downwards anymore then I will just expand my creatures across the earth. I will get my revenge on the humans who dared take my only friend away. I am done waiting. Its time for action. It¡¯s time for¡­ New Ability Learned! Corrupt Dungeon- Spread your awareness through expanding your creatures across the surface. If dungeons could smile he would have. It¡¯s time for a Harvest. Chapter Nine, Small Jewels Matter Too Alice and her company did not spend the days moping around, while they were stuck in the dungeon. Despite the bleak situation they were currently entrapped in, they tried to stay optimistic. However, being stuck underground got a damper on the overall mood. They spent each morning brain storming ideas of what to do. They had checked several times up above them to see if they could make it back. However, it was even worse each time. With ebbing shrinking the visibility and mobility. They came up with ideas of charge through straight out the dungeon but rationalized they would be swarmed upon immediately. They theorized digging out, but it turned out the dungeon walls are much harder than the material would be naturally. There really weren¡¯t many options. They had a lot of food and water, because of the fancy storage pack that could hold a near infinite number of items, called a bag of holding. The food and water weren¡¯t infinite like the bag of holding though. It would run out eventually, which is what they worried about. The foxes were acting rather sulky at first, almost as if they had lost their passion. The majority moping around with their tails tucked and heads down. That was until the massive beast Kitsune started growling and howling. This appeared to motivate the foxes to keep their head up. They ventured in the boss room and out to the first room on this level as well, but they never went up the stairs. They spent their time playing and wrestling. They also eight new baby fox kits that another vixen took over under the watchful eye of Kitsune. Several foxes would approach him only to be growled at and kicked in the face. Their buffs eventually ended as the twenty- four hours had ended. When Alice and her teammates weren¡¯t planning they were practicing. Alice spent hours in the armor twirling her spear like a typhoon. She had always known that she was rather advanced for her rank and level but after the last fight she knew that no matter how strong she was she could still encounter great tribulations that she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle. She would spend hours spinning, slashing, and stabbing her spear with needle-threading precision. She would only call it over after collapsing in exhaustion. Derk at suggested leveling up by killing a fox or two. It was a dungeon after all. He had Kitsune in his face growling before he could even finish his sentence, which was enough of an answer for everyone else. After the first night with all the foxes snuggling up to Derk, the poor boy had woken up the next morning face to face with a bloody fox that was still sleeping. Alice wanted to say that he had screamed like a girl, but even little girls have more dignity and a lower vocal range then that. Derk spent most his time going through his shield and axe forms, while interrupting it with body conditioning. He would finish a swing and go right into pushups or sprints. It was really quite impressive. He would also occasionally wrestle with the foxes after he got accustomed to them. After Carter looked at the cracked amethyst, he said it was most likely the remains of this dungeons core. This focused around our largest hope and plan. He had said that in it¡¯s current shape there was a good chance for it to resuscitate itself. If it did then it would be able to vanquish the remaining spiders. They ended up handing it over to Kitsune who carried it over to the new litter of kits. After that Carter didn¡¯t talk. He would sit around and meditate or write in a journal. Stelle spent her time reading through alchemist books as well as basic magic books. Alice occasionally joined her to have lengthy discussions with her and try to learn a few new types to improve. Stelle eventually offered to teach Alice a little bit of magic. Stelle¡¯s reasoning was that it was known that teaching would better help her own understanding, while giving Alice a more versatile arsenal. By not learning magic you were limiting your full potential, plus it was a great way to develop additional strength, ¡°Alice you are obviously very skilled with your spear, but with even a little assistance of magic you can increase your strength and versatility ten-fold.¡± After giving it some thought, Alice readily agreed and added magic, under the tutelage of Stelle, to her routine. At first, she thought this was a great way to increase her versatility. There was no reason to have points in the strength and intelligence stat if you were only going to use it for planning. Even the most basic magic would increase her battle proficiency. This was until Alice discovered what type of versatility Stelle had in mind. This was also how she was fooled into laundry duty, ¡°What do mean I can¡¯t learn another spell until I master this one? It¡¯s a freaking cleaning spell! How is that helping my versatility or strength?¡± Stelle had just laughed it off and only helped her with things related to the cleaning spell. She was very determined to learn this as quick as possible. She was not going to remain their wash board the entire time they were stuck. Daniel spent his time going through his sword forms. It seemed he also felt inept with his current skill and strength. He wove his two swords through a frightening dance as he practiced. He would occasionally watch over Alice¡¯s and Derk¡¯s training and give them tips as well sparing with them. He didn¡¯t let Derk or Alice spar each other for he felt that their lack of experience might end up in a major wound. He allowed himself to spar with them for he felt that he could fold back his strength while avoiding any major damage. When he wasn¡¯t practicing or lending a hand in others practice he would be sitting around and trying to figure a way out of their current situation. With the passing of a day and a half after the initial attack of the spiders, there was finally new activity within the dungeon. He heard lots of screaming followed by lots of spider feet thundering around until they all halted. The sounds were echoing down to their floor. They thought they were under attack and gathered up everyone to get ready. More pained screaming commenced. It was continuous. The foxes seemed a lot more chipper as they started wagging their tales around. A few went to the stair case, however they just whimpered and retreated. Then a large amount of granite sealed the stair case trapping them in here, but also removing the sound of screaming and sounds of feet. Daniel spoke, ¡°Well that¡¯s one less plan to worry about, plus I think the dungeon is awake now.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. An hour passed before it happened. All of a sudden, a new doorway started to form leading out of the second room. It seemed like the granite just dissolved. It continued for a while. Eventually it came to a halt after creating five more rooms total. They would occasionally come into each new room after being built. It was a slow pace, but progress was progress. On the fifth and final room it struck a under water aquafer. At first there was panic until it was plugged by granite. Then several trenches where built in each room cutting through it diagonally. In the end each room had a stream going through it. In the second room there was even a large pond. This ended up solving the water problem, but they were going to run out of food. They were concerned about suffocating at first until Carter reassured them that the dense mana in the dungeon was designed to help the creatures live and would end up creating new air. ** ** ** The House of the Fox ** ** ** Master has been busy. Kitsune gleefully watched his master carve out more rooms in the dungeon. He was so pleased. Bastill had yet to say anything, but he knew it wasn¡¯t his place to interrupt the masters thoughts. He understood that any creature would be quite distraught after finding out he wasn¡¯t as big as he used to be. Kitsune himself never had such problems of course. He was the alpha, but he had hold from the vixen that some of the other foxes were quite insecure about having smaller and therefore inferior parts. Poor poor Bastill and his tiny jewel. Kitsune after finding the gem with the humans had hidden it away with his new litter. He didn¡¯t want his Master to wake and be a laughing stock of the dungeon. He looked at his offspring thoughtfully. They¡¯re like just like their mother. They were all a light crimson with a dark red belly. But what captivated him was their little bright purple eyes. His own were a darker purple. Turning back to the room he watched the humans continue into each new room. This was good. It had been cramped and the humans smelled awful. Luckily the sharp stick wielder had started learning magic and would wash everything. She was decent as far as humans went. She had fought alongside his wife, and additionally comforted her when she was dying. If it came to it he would be lenient to that one. If he had to kill her it would be quick and painless. He was a kind fox. He growled at a female as she approached in a sultry manner, ¡°Get the fuck away Bitch. Can¡¯t you see I am spending time with my kits.¡± He had learned several interesting words from Bastill whenever he had gotten a bit upset. Like when the squirrels had filled the pit fall traps with acorns. The other Foxes didn¡¯t seem to understand the concept of the words, but that didn¡¯t stop kitsune from using them. The vixen he cussed out looked at him, while trying to figure out the swear words. Seeing her hesitation, he kicked her in the face in order to get the message across. It seemed to work as she scampered away. He did not want female attention right now. He still missed his old wife so much. Plus he had to train the little ones. She would have wanted that, ¡°Little ones would you like to hear another story about your mother?¡± Little kits that been rolling around and rough housing all ran up to kitsune, ¡°YES! YES! YES! Another story! Please! Yay! I¡¯m here! Please!¡± All eight little kits began speaking at once, ¡°Hush down younglings. This is story of your Mothers first hunt with me. Ruby and I were on a mission to gather the fiercest creatures in the realm for the master. I was spending more of my time tracking her sent then tracking the trails, but your mother was always focuses and alert. She noticed a change in the atmosphere. A bear came¡­¡± He was interrupted by one of the kit¡¯s, ¡°What¡¯s a bear?¡± It was the one he had named after his wife, ¡°Well little Ruby a bear is an enormous predator, in fact it¡¯s the apex predator. Except if it came to monsters, but we never came across any of those. Back to the story. It was coming right for me and I had still been distracted by Ruby and hadn¡¯t noticed it. She lunged at it to stop it from hitting me, but it tossed her aside and kept coming. The bear and I fought tooth and nail for a while. I was at my end and thought I was all alone, until your mother broke a branch up in a tree. Both your mother and the tree massive tree branch she had fell onto the bears head knocking it out. We enjoyed a romantic walk home as we dragged the unconscious bear back to the dungeon. From that day on I knew that not only was she the cleverest fox in the word, but she would never leave me behind.¡± The happy little kits were all cuddled up at this point. Ruby asked another question, ¡°Where is mom now?¡± Kitsune shook the tear from his eye and nuzzle the little kit and gave it a lick, ¡°She is a long way from here now, but don¡¯t worry nothing can hurt her. Remember she is always focused and alert. She is the cleverest fox out there. Now go to bed little one.¡± When all the kits had gone to sleep he heard his master¡¯s voice in his head, ¡°Hello Kitsune, sorry I didn¡¯t say anything sooner. I had a lot on my mind. I finished my current expansion project. Is there anything you can think of that I should work on? I notice you have some little ones with you now.¡± Kitsune thought for a minute, ¡°I think it would be beneficial to make more plants around here and maybe some wildlife. It would do the kits well to practice hunting. It would also greatly please the other foxes. I know we don¡¯t have to eat, but it still is a pleasure and a learning experience.¡± His master Replied, ¡°That is a great idea, I¡¯ll get on that project before I start expanding more. It will be easier on the mana. I can always count on you my old friend. It feels like I have known you forever.¡± Kitsune smiled, ¡°I at least have known you forever, you created me after all.¡± His master thanked him graciously, ¡°Thanks Kitsune for being here for me. I¡¯ve had a lot happen to me that I didn¡¯t expect.¡± As Kitsune wrapped himself around his kits he continued to mentally reply, ¡°You¡¯re not any less of a dungeon core master. I have kept the secret from the other foxes.¡± His master seemed genuinely confused, ¡°What secret?¡± Kitsune responded, ¡°Master there is no shame in small jewels. I hear it¡¯s how you use them that¡¯s important.¡± Chapter Ten, The Calm and The Crazy Chapter Ten, ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** I am practically a god! I mean I don¡¯t know what else an compare to the creation of life. Bastill looked around at the work he had completed. Per Kitsunes suggestion he had gone about populating the dungeon with natural plant and animal life. He currently had eight rooms in his dungeon due to his prior project, when he struck the underground aquafer and he made another for the project he just finished. After hitting the aquafer, he learned how to make mineral water! The hardest part had been diverting the water to flow through each tunnel without flooding and drowning everyone, but he managed to make connect each room and allowing the water to continue on to its destination. He could come back later and divert the water more if he wanted to place it in his future rooms. Too be honest nearly flooded his entire dungeon when he had first struck the water source. He had watched the adventures and foxes panic when the water rose above their heads. It reminded him of the old story of one of the gods that his master once told him about. The story went like this. One of the newer gods having recently been brought into the word from the Goddess of Creation. He had just been given the title of the God of Kindness. As he gazed upon the world in all its majesty all he saw was kindness being abused. All around the world the kind humans were in worse condition then the mean ones. The people living his virtues suffered and he couldn¡¯t tolerate that. His solution he decided was flooding the world to rid the world, so the kind weren¡¯t oppressed. He cohorted with the God of Storms and they flooded the world. To this day the followers of the God of Kindness are known to be one of the most merciless if angered. Thinking about the Goddess reminded him of the Goddess of the Dungeon statue. He was down trodden that it had been lost to the upper floors. He would need to try to remake it eventually. He added it to his long list of things to get done. His current projects were to finish extending his dungeon to the other side of the mountain, continue healing his mind, figure out more about catalysts, try the new dungeon aura, make another floor boss, level up, recreate the Goddess of the Dungeon, figure out the effects of being fractured, deal with the massive covered holes that he had in one of his rooms. So much to do, but I need to have priorities. He had decided that the top project was excavating more rooms and to get a new exit built. He wanted to get away from the spiders and put that whole incident behind him. Making new rooms would increase his mana absorption. He had currently bumped his passive mana absorption up to four hundred and fifty mana a day. However, he was currently making a bit more than that. The spider catastrophe had taught him a lot. First thing he learned was never use spiders ever again. The second thing was that by having a fast reproducing animal he could gain more mana due to if they died, while not having to repopulate them at all. The project he had just finished was the one that Kitsune suggested. What he ended up spending a half a day recreating the Caring Mother of Fertility with the effect of having greatly increased pregnancy, with a decreased gestation and maturing period for his animals. Instead of placing a terrifying monster in this new room he turned it into a Hare warren. He made the room only accessible to the rabbits and connected small rabbit holes to every room. He planted toad stools, moon shades, mandrake roots, ferns, elder berry bushes, whistling leafs, and elves ears in all the other rooms. He also injected each with mana which caused them to either rapidly grow and produce smaller ones around, or just rapidly produce highly potent normal sized plants. In order for the Hares to eat they had to leave the warren and adventure into the other rooms where they encountered predators. Some survived the death hunt and became stronger, while others lead to a pleased and fed fox. Bastill looked around at the new successful plants and seeing the results of the forced evolution. The toad stools ended up growing larger creating a beautiful landscape of over grown mushrooms. The ferns were similar to the toad stools as he knew from previous attempts. He pared the two together creating perfect hiding places for the foxes to set up ambushes for an unexpecting Hare. The elves ears were the perfect vine plant and were covering the walls and ceiling hiding away the rocky granite that ha been exposed before. They created a beautiful cover. The moon shades and mandrake roots became more potent and spread more rapidly. The Hares especially like the mandrake roots. The elder berry bushes grew taller and produced berries that were not only sweeter but as large as apples. The adventures were most excited about this development, apparently, they mainly had travel rations. The adventurers also took to hunting rabbits for the fresh meat after seeing the foxes doing it. His favorite plant personally so far was the whistling leaves. They were more of a grass. At first, he had been horrified for they made an eerie careening sound in the ear every few hours. Most plants actively release oxygen into the air, but the whistling leaf built it up in a reservoir within themselves, until they released all that oxygen into the air for a minute. After injecting forced evolution their careening turned into a beautiful hum. He found the hum relaxing. It also helped mask the sound of the predator¡¯s movements, not that there was much sound to begin with. The improved whistling leaf now carpeted the dungeon. In his second room with the pond he added an acorn which turned into a massive tree. He had to extend his roof as far as he could. At fifty feet tall he couldn¡¯t raise it any further due to the old floor above that he couldn¡¯t reclaim. Since his plants weren¡¯t really creatures he hadn¡¯t been able to see their effects. He knew the one called Stelle was an alchemist and had taken to using some of the ingredients found in the room. As soon as she set the chemistry book down on his dungeon floor he planned to absorb it to figure out more about ingredients or maybe if he kept trying he¡¯d find an ability to let him understand the plants better. Despite that he looked around his rooms with pride in his core. Pleased with how the project looked he checked his ever-present notification. No matter how many times he checked it, nothing ever changed. Status -Fractured -Effect unknown. Hhhhhhhh, well I can¡¯t be perfect I guess. It¡¯s better to improve the things I can rather then lament what I can¡¯t. He had a lot to do and get done with. He planned on developing another five rooms before trying to create another floor boss, so he could reach level seven. He was thinking about using his new catalyst, he had discussed the topic with interest with Kitsune. His reasoning was that he wanted to see the effects of the Angel Feather but he felt that for this purpose the Ceremonial Blood was more practical. He checked his Stat menu before he went to work. Stat Menu Level:6, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 550/550, Mana Absorption: 450/day, Creatures:100, Rooms:8, Floors:1 Abilities Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost: 1 mana per every 4 cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 450/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Dungeon Aura-Unknown Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Creatures Insects- Leaf Imitator: .2, Stick Bug: .2, Praying Mantis: .3, Centipede: .3, Animals- Grey Squirrel:10, Red Fox: 35, Hedge Hog: 12, Racon: 25, Deer: 40, wolf: 45, Bear: 60, goat: 35, Hare: 12, Beaver: 20, Created Beasts- Bloody Fox: 90 Objects Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1, acorn:.1, fern: .1, elder berry bush: .1, whistling leaf: .1, and elves ear: .5. Fluid- Per Bottle Medium Health Potion: 20, Mineral Water: .01 Catalysts Ceremonial Blood?? Angel Feather Back to digging in the dirt. I still don¡¯t know what on this dirt I am going to do about that massive hole. Investigating it isn¡¯t high on the list of things to do. I will just leave it covered by granite for now. ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** Status -Fractured -Effect unknown. WHAT THE LIVING SHIT IS WRONG WITH THIS!!! Status -Fractured -Effect unknown. I SWEAR I WILL SHIT ON EVERYTHING THAT MOVES! No matter how many times he looked at the notification it never left. It sat there taunting him. He didn¡¯t know what it meant, and it gave him no advice over what it could possibly be. He checked one more time for a good measure.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. GOD DAMINT, LICK BUTTER FROM MY ASS YOU PIECE OF SHIT. Status -Fractured -Effect unknown. I¡¯m not fucking fractured, I work perfectly the way I god damn am! Calming thoughts, Calming thoughts. Kitsune, Statues, Floor bosses, all good thoughts, killing humanity. I¡¯m okay. Im fine. I am perfect just the way I am. Nothings wrong. Absolutely teetering on the edge of livid, Bastill pulled himself together mentally. It pissed him off tono end. Luckily the searing head ache no longer bothered him. It hadn¡¯t dispersed, but he had earned he could ignore it by keeping busy. He always kept himself busy, but never with his own thoughts. Turning to his thoughts caused him to be aware of the pain. He had begun perfecting the art of being spontaneous, but the agony was still there. It would occasionally diminish, but it would frequently flair up occasionally with memories attached. After creating the floor bosses, he had decided that he needed more Giant Furry Spiders along with common versions of the floor bosses. When they had begun the reproduction process he had been bumped up a level due to the spider''s process. He was equally excited and disgusted when it had happened. On one hand he had increased to level seven, but on the other hand he had watched the female spiders cannibalize their mates after copulating. What the hell is wrong with these spiders? Talk about domestic abuse¡­ He had been waiting the last day and a half for the new spiders to be born and developed. They were currently on the last phase of development after having been born an hour ago. Interestingly when he leveled up his new requirement to level up again was to kill twenty-five humans. He now received six-hundred mana a day along with gaining a new ability named Sacrifice. It involved sacrificing humans to the goddess of his choosing, but it could only be performed by a floor boss in the dungeon room that held his core. Killing humans? Kitsune would agree that these wretches deserve nothing less than death, after all they killed him. Revenge is perfectly rational. Plus, they made me fractured. I don¡¯t know what they did, but it has to be their fault and they will pay. It didn¡¯t say what the sacrifice would grant him, but he was very curious about what it would give him. He was thoughtful and understanding. There deaths wouldn¡¯t be meaningless. He was hoping they would give him more power and grow his strength. The word sacrifice struck a chord with him for some unbeknownst reason to him. Sacrifice¡­ Sacrifice¡­ Sacrifice¡­ Why is that so familiar. The pain in his head furiously erupted causing him to grit and squeeze his thoughts in order to bare through it. His thoughts were sent into darkness. Very slowly memories appeared in the darkness. He watched them replay in his head. ** Bastill stepped back from a chunk of granite. It was no longer the block of granite that he had started with. In it¡¯s place was a skillfully crafted statue. The statue depicted that of an angel, however the face was left blank. He had yet to be form it, because he felt his inspiration was lacking still. After he had finished looking over his work he proceeded to put his selected chisel and hammer back in a stone box that had other hammers and chisels of varying shapes and sizes. Unlike the angel his own face was highly detailed with a wide smile, dripping sweat on the forehead, and eyes glowing with happiness and delight. There was no amount of money on the world that could ever get his face to shine with this type of genuine happiness. It was simple and strong. I will never tire of this work. Each time it feels different and unique. There is nothing that quite compares to sculpting. He was about to call out to his master, but he remembered he had recently finished his training under him. He no longer worked under that man. His master had been a great instructor. Bastill hadn¡¯t been his only student, but he liked to believe he was the man¡¯s favorite. I think I miss having the old man watching me. It feels better working in someone¡¯s presence. His current creation was not for his own eyes. It was contracted work for one of the wealthier families in the city. The statue currently sat on a wooden plant that would be tied securely before the movers came to pick it up from his work shop. He would have to go visit them tomorrow to get an idea of the face he would sculpt into the statue. While the majority of work was done, the hardest part was just starting. The face was the most important part to craft in Bastill¡¯s mind. It couldn¡¯t just be a blank face. It needed inspiration. It was late, which is the reason for him putting the project off tomorrow. Well I think I deserve a little celebration. A little ale will calm my mind and I don¡¯t need steady hands tonight. I wonder if Natasha will be at the ¡®Leakey Tankard¡¯ tonight? I wouldn¡¯t mind going just to see her. With thoughts of love or lust on his mind, he attempted to clean up his current dusty-grey body. He wanted to look presentable before making his way over to the ¡®Leaky Tankard¡¯. ¡­ The memory cleared up as his mind started to relax. His mind opened back up to his dungeon. He had never felt so relaxed and pain free before. Before he could utter a thought, suddenly the pain came searing back into his core and he spiraled back into his memories. ¡­ I can¡¯t believe how lucky I am. She is practically rivaling the ¡®Goddess of Beauty¡¯ in that red dress and all she wants to discuss is me. I think I hit the jack pot! Forget Natasha this girl is my destiny. I guess love at the first acquaintance is real after all. I¡¯m almost skeptical of her interest in me, but I am not rich nor have any political sway. Is the Goddess of Love finally given me mercy? His gaze was fully enveloped upon the beautifully figured brunet with stark blue eyes. He wasn¡¯t quite sure what her name was but was to nervous to ask now. They had been talking for the past hour and it might remind her that they didn¡¯t even know each other. He didn¡¯t want to scare her away. She began to talk again, but it was rather a near incomprehensible mutter, ¡°Hmmm I think this is a good choice, just a newly appointed journeyman sculptor. No one special, no one will go looking for you. It¡¯s not rare for journey men to flock over to a new city. That¡¯s what they will believe.¡± He was quite alarmed with her analysis of his life, mixed in with confusion of what she was talking about. Finding some bravery, he put his tongue on the line as he went to infer what she was muttering about, ¡®I¡¯m actually quite skilled no one else can craft like me. You make it sound like I am unimportant. I am also confused about what you were saying. I don¡¯t think I will be traveling to a new city anytime soon I rather like iii-t heeree. Iiiiii tinnk Iiiiii¡± His brave tongue began to fail him. Was he drunk? He had tried not to drink too much, because he didn¡¯t want to affect his night time exploits in case she felt the desire to spend the night. His gaze began to get blurry and he felt his mind beginning to slip. She smiled with him with the beautifully full set of lips that had been mesmerizing him all night, ¡°Oh relax silly you are very important to me. After all you are going to help this kingdom out greatly with your contribution.¡± He slumped over in his seat and began to slip to the ground, ¡°Barkeeper me and my lover seemed to have a bit too much to drink. Mind helping him and I to the wagon?¡± ** The pain fled again as he returned to his dungeon mind only to be lost in the torrent of pain again. The next scene went through his death in slow motion. He was forced to watch every single second of his death over again. When he finally returned back to his dungeon he spent a full thirty minutes just existing. Not scheming, or cursing, or planning, or meditating, or even thinking. He just laid there and existed. When he finally came out of his stupor he couldn¡¯t even gather the anger for how he felt. He remembered who Claire was. She was a Bitch. Also, the root cause for all of his current problems. He had a lot of different emotions swirling around in his mind. He had a precise goal for what he needed to do. For one, he needed to kill that bitch. Not only to serve deserved justice, but in order to live. I only have two years left to live before she returns to kill me. When she comes for my core I won¡¯t kill her though. Well not immediately at least. She needs to understand that I remember first. She needs to feel what pain is. She needs to know what I have gone through. There were more thoughts in his head besides justice and revenge. He saw his old passion of sculpting. He had created beauty from stone in the past. He had been a sculptor. He had seen the expression of joy and love on his human face as he had gazed upon his work. I was a sculptor¡­ No, I am a sculptor still. This must have been my work. He looked at Goddess of the Dungeon statue the, which he was living out his life hour by hour at the feet of in the dungeon. He focused in on it as he reveled in its own beauty. He could feel the delicate care it had been crafted in. It was absolutely beautiful in every definition. He had three other statues. Only one of them was immensely helpful though. Not that he cared. He loved every single statue as if it was a treasure trove. None of them were as beautiful as the Goddess of the Dungeon. It simply was incomparable. The useful statue helped his forces grow faster, which due to this his current army composed of ten thousand furry giant spiders. He had also created some lesser versions of Thanatos, Nyx, and hades. He had an additional one hundred of each at the moment. There was only one statue that he was not happy with. In fact, it was a major pain in his ass. The thorn in his side was non-other then aptly named statue, the ¡®Headless Winged Angel of Victory¡¯. Why was it named that? Because it had no god damn head, that¡¯s why. Who the fuck doesn¡¯t make a head on a fucking angel? What on earth was I thinking. It can¡¯t be the fucking Angel of Victory. The angel of victory would have two god damn heads. He would first keep his own head attached to his neck and second, he would hold up the decapitated enemies head. To be victorious to him meant defeating your enemies and living yourself. They die while you live. He promised himself that he would restore the head. He would continue to practice the art of sculpting. He would be victorious. The effect was quite impressive never the less. He would have made this room for snakes he decided. They are practically just a head and tail, which would have been very effective. I have a purpose in life! I will create the most beautiful statues this world has ever seen. That is why I will live. I will survive so that I can happily live out a life of creating masterpieces. He had Relearned Granite and put up five different pedestals around his favorite room with large blocks of granite in them. To begin with he was at a complete loss of what to create. He just couldn¡¯t find an ounce of inspiration. He decided to create a head for the headless Angel. After lots of attempts he came back with nothing but failures. He tried to feel the stone with his soul and mind. Yet, each time he tried his mind would pound harder and harder with pain growing hotter and hotter. By the end of his attempts all he had managed to create was shoddy chipped lumpy blocks of granite. He had been relentlessly trying with all he had, but in the end, he got nothing in return besides scrap rock. Just great, fucking great. It¡¯s okay I¡¯m probably rusty. I will continue developing and attempt after I feel more inspiration. It will come back to me. I am after all a Sculptor. In a foul mood Bastill tried to keep his mind on other things. He looked upon his beasts swarming around and building their nests in the four other rooms instead of his failed sculptures. His dungeon was an assortment of webs in all the rooms except in the first room. He refused to let them build in the first room where he preferred to stay. He didn¡¯t want them to circumvent the Goddess of the Dungeon¡¯s glamour. With nothing better to do he inspected his three floor bosses. Stat Menu Level: 35, Race: Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider, Name: Thanatos of Death Age: 1, Gender: Male, Vocation: Floor Boss Characteristics Strength:40, Constitution:21, Dexterity:53, Intelligence:12, Wisdom:12, Charisma:8 Traits Mana Infused Iron Body- Whole body fortified with Mana Infused Iron. Making it both harder and sharper. Revivable- Able to be created with all its memories and power. Innate Abilities Maw- Bite, Pain, Advanced, Toxin- Numbing Effect, Advanced, Web-Sharp Shards of hardened toxic web, Intermediate, Legs-Scythed, Slice, Advanced ¡­ Stat Menu Level: 30, Race: Concealed Giant Jumping Spider, Name: Nyx of Darkness, Age: 1, Gender: Male, Vocation: Floor Boss Characteristics Strength:19, Constitution:17, Dexterity:70, Intelligence:15, Wisdom:10, Charisma:8 Traits Black Hearted Duplicate-Can make an identical copy for up to an thirty minutes Revivable- Able to be created with all its memories and power. Innate Abilities Maw- Bite, Knockout, Advanced, Toxin- Knockout Effect, Time a hour, Intermediate, Web-Enforced Stickiness, Intermediate, Legs-Jump,15 feet, Intermediate, Active Camo-Unseen in daylight if still, Unseen during night if moving, Advanced ¡­ Stat Menu Level: 40, Race: Overlord Giant Fringed Spider, Name: Hades the Underlord Age: 1, Gender: Male , Vocation: Floor Boss Characteristics Strength:40, Constitution:40, Dexterity:24, Intelligence:48, Wisdom:8, Charisma:8 Traits Black Hearted Mind-Able to control spiders hordes of up one thousand-five-hundred, with fine-tuned coordination Revivable- Able to be created with all its memories and power. Innate Abilities Maw- Bite, Numbing effect, Advanced, Toxin- Numbing Effect, Advanced, Web-Capable of making living corridors or shot at enemy to entangle, Expert, Brain-Communicate with spiders, Advanced My beasts, my three princes of death, darkness, and everything below. You will make me proud I am sure. He turned his attention to his newest troops. They were at their peaks. They were quite magnificent for spiders that is. They were still no math for his majestic Blood Foxes. His heart tightened in a ball as he remembered his ¡®little fox¡¯. Nothing could ever compare he was sure, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to remain alone for the rest of his life. Thanatos and his lesser forms, which was meant to be a flashy and distract attention turned out to be quite deadly. More so then he had thought so. He was a very explosively dangerous and volatile ¡®distraction¡¯ he mused. They common versions of the Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider, the Overlord Giant Fringed Spider, and the Concealed Giant Jumping Spider where very similar except they were all five levels below them. Their abilities were greatly reduced. The common Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider had less infusion from the mana infusion, while the common Concealed Giant Jumping Spider could only retain a copy for ten minutes, and lastly the common Overlord Giant Fringed Spider could only control up to one hundred. In addition, their innate ability all dropped down to the next rank. Meaning instead of advanced it would receive intermediate. He continued to watch the spiders crawl around and have an occasional skirmish. He encouraged fighting amongst each other. It made them gain levels and grow stronger. Not to mentioned he gained mana. They were replaceable after all. They were all either replaceable or revivable in some cases. He didn¡¯t love them though. They weren¡¯t Kitsune. All attempts of talking to them would end in shambles. They were great at taking orders and that was it. Even Hades, with his more elite and powerful mind, was only created to carry out plans and strategy. There were no intricacies in their exchanges, just deliberate and dull affirmatives. There was no desire to talk. Internally sighing he mentally prepped himself. Well regardless, I will march on. I will avenge my ¡®little fox¡¯. These floor boss can¡¯t even compare to him, not that I tried to have them. These pale imitations cannot emulate a friend in any shape or form. The soldiers appear to be fully developed, it¡¯s time. He looked at his princes, ¡° My dear sorry excuses for sons, Nyx of Darkness, Thanatos of Death, and Hades the Underlord. Go forth with the armies and capture land and lets began the sacrifices of scum for Kitsune¡¯s honor and my power.¡± He watched them leave out his dungeon, but as they walked outside he saw what was beyond. With each and every sharp spidery legged step he could sense his influence spreading further. He had started to see the world outside of his small little dungeon. Various plants where abundant and he could feel the sun beat down on his beasts. The dirt was marginally damp, causing the every tip of each spider leg would stab into the earth a bit. He began to see the forest that surrounded him. The same forest that Kitsune hunted upon in days past. This is what he must have scene each time he ventured out. It¡¯s just so¡­ It¡¯s absolutely hideous land. I will turn this horror into beauty though, for you of course ¡®little fox¡¯. Chapter Eleven, When Treasure Bears Fangs! Chapter Eleven, ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** Oh my lords I can finally breath fresh air!!! I¡¯ve reached the surface! Well actually there isn¡¯t a notable difference, but at least the adventures can finally leave and stop violating the sanctity and basic principles between dungeon monster¡¯s beasts and adventures. After a month of constantly expanding his domain he had reached the other side of the mountain. He made a first floor above the very last room that lead out to the outside world. I will add more floors to the first and eventually. I will need to come up with a solution to that because right now there is a problem with adding more to the first floor. If he added more rooms to the first floor, then he would need to move the connection between the first and second floor. The further the first floor moves out in the future. The closer to his core room it would be. He would probably just need to move his core room to the room right below the current first floor room eventually. He¡¯d have to think on this more. He might make it loop back to near the first room where it would then connect to the second floor. In his mind he had several labyrinth ideas. He would have to get back to this idea in the future. Currently he was rather done expanding his influence. He had been constantly expanding all month except for a short break where he created another floor boss. He ended up with a total of sixty-one rooms. Four of the rooms were what he had deemed breeding rooms, which were off to the side. The breeder rooms were made to only be accessible to specific creatures. They were also hidden away from any possible adventures intrusion. Some were small tunnels, while others were insanely hidden. The predators, the foxes and hares, respected the breeders rooms entrances, due to Bastill¡¯s request. The next fifty-six rooms, which were also on the second-floor lead to the other side of the mountain in a straight line. With the remaining room being on the first floor and leading out to what his foxes said was a beautiful lake. The reason he took a break to create a floor boss was because his passive mana absorption grew to a greater rate. It currently sat at four-thousand mana a day. After creating another floor boss, which he needed to level up, he proceeded to jump up three more levels to level nine. He was on the cusp of turning into an E ranked Dungeon. I feel that the ranking system isn¡¯t quite accurate for the actual power of the dungeon. Similar to how the adventures rank their own members using level and skill. I feel dungeons are more ranked off of their creatures and traps, which reminds me I don¡¯t have any traps currently. He felt stronger than E ranked. He guessed he would discover his actual strength when more adventurers readily came to test their me mettle within his dungeon. He could put trap making off for now since they were easy enough to make basic ones. He felt a resistance to being a basic dungeon. He had been human once he didn¡¯t want to be just like any other dungeon. He felt the need to be unique. It must be the human side of him speaking. Humans always strived to be unique and different. I guess some parts of me are still quite human. His aim wasn¡¯t to injure adventures, but he did need self-defense. It was a symbiotic relationship. The adventurers grow stronger due to his danger and also earn money. There needed to be danger just to keep him from being taken advantage of. Not to mention his end goal was to defend off a S ranked villain from destroying him. Not to mention his creatures were beings too. Not human, but they had their own lives and he felt responsible for that. He wouldn¡¯t purposely try to kill adventures, but if it happened then it happened. He had come to terms with his new life style and form. His new floor boss ended up being evolved from the Hare, which he had also removed from the breeder rooms. He didn¡¯t want less evolved creatures living as well. It didn¡¯t feel right to him. The new boss was no longer considered a Hare. It was classified as a Vampiric Rabbit Queen, he had named it Wenet; he had created her using the ceremonial blood catalyst. He used the Ceremonial Blood because it just felt right in his core. After meditating on the idea. He had settled on the idea. He had taken the oldest Hare that had survived the foxes and transformed her into a beast. He figured that between the foxes continually hunting down their species and their species smaller birthing rates that is wouldn¡¯t turn into a disaster. Wenet curiously laid intricate painted eggs, which he found curious. Her offspring from the painted eggs were different then herself, even their classification was different. They were all male, which left Wenet as the only one in their reproduction line. It appeared she didn¡¯t need to copulate for reproduction, which after the spider debacle was quite the relief. Well this is a big improvement on those little furry cannibalistic fuckers, though they still have awfully long fangs. He ended up putting the very last room he had, right after his core room. The rest of the Hare rabidly died out, but the Vampiric Rabbit Queen brought out a new species with her. They were named Dracula Hares. She was the only species of their kind that was able to produce. Both she and the Dracula Hares looked alike. Their fur turned blood red and their eyes got larger. Their front teeth got bigger and turned dagger-sharp. They were faster and stronger than their far decedents. The Dracula hares had yellow eyes and reached four feet tall, while the Queen reached five feet high with purple eyes. He tried looking at the bright side. The foxes still played a role in their crowd control and were stronger than the Dracula Hares. However, the normal blood foxes would be no match for the queen. Hares no longer ate vegetation, but rather feasted on the blood of the living. It was slightly terrifying. The breeding rooms now separately produced Grey Squirrels, Hedge Hogs, Racoons and Beavers. The beavers were harder to catch and had begun building damns in the various streams, which he had deepened to fifteen feet. He voiced his thoughts to kitsune, ¡°Luckily, I have made a more stable ecosystem within the caves, but why do I always make such weird creatures. I mean at least your kind turned fine Kitsune.¡± Kitsune chipperly supplied with a slightly haughty voice, ¡°No need to be so humble Bastill. The ¡®House of the Fox¡¯ is absolutely flawless thanks to your guiding hand in our creation, with me of course at the peak of all. It was a painful experience to evolve, but as you promised you made the perfect warrior. There isn¡¯t a single mistake.¡± Kitsune¡¯s proud talk was also quite touching to Bastill. He had felt so bad when he brought pain to that little fox, but he had solidly followed through on his word and hearing Kitsune¡¯s testimony made him feel lighter with joy. Kitsune always knows what to say to help. The suggestions about the new introductions of each animal had come from input by Kitsune. With his finer understanding of the animal kingdoms ecosystem he always helped supply Bastill with efficient information. This is what lead to the developed ecosystem within the cave system. He thought back on his first major error. It was simple with reflection how horrible spider mess had been. It had all been a huge mistake, but at last he had removed himself from the area and put the mess behind him. It was a mental load off. I was barely ready for these adventures when they first came, but luckily, they are gone now. Next time the adventures come I will have more creatures and actual treasure for them to get. I can¡¯t blame myself for this small error. As my master always said everything takes practice and I haven¡¯t been a dungeon for very long. I will get better with each experience. He had been so focused on creating creatures the first time that he had neglected one of the huge purposes of a dungeon. Giving out loot! He would fix this especially with the help of one of the three new abilities he had gotten when he leveled up. It was called Loot Distribution. He wasn¡¯t sure why dungeons gave out loot.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Before he had become a dungeon, he had always assumed other adventures had hid it or the beasts of the dungeon had collected it from deceased adventures. He felt that the reason might be to lure people inside. Because dungeons would gain mana from the deaths. He had suspicions that due to the complexity of humans, that the mana received by their death would be quite large, but he didn¡¯t plan on growing stronger by purposely killing humans. If anything he would be strengthening them and teaching them to survive. Before the adventures left he had left them with a small collection of gifts to help appease their desire. He had given out some medium strength potions and an abundance of all the rare herbs he could produce and some jewels. It wasn¡¯t much, but he had lost a lot of the old objects he could produce. The jewels he had discovered while digging the tunnels. He had stumbled upon opal, diamond, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire, jade, moonstone, and topaz. They seemed to have accept his peace offering when they left. He hoped they would give a good report. He liked the idea of being good at what he was now. Once more he felt that it was his human side of him trying to be proficient in his new vocation as a dungeon core. Now, the real question is what to do next? There is still a massive hole. I mean technically it¡¯s covered, but there are still too many pressing priorities. He had currently finished the large-scale project of extending his dungeon to the other side of the mountain. He looked at remaining things to. He needed to continue healing his mind, figure out more about catalysts, try the new dungeon aura, recreate the Goddess of the Dungeon, and figure out the effects of being fractured, new abilities, leveling up usual, and the hole¡¯s investigation. He decided to name it for now. He called it the Abyss. Figuring out the effects of being fractured was also going to take a lot of time and wouldn¡¯t help him immediately. He currently didn¡¯t know what fractured meant. It could even have detrimental effects in the future. However, focusing all his time on finding out would put him back on his growth. So he wasn¡¯t expecting to work on it anytime soon, but it would eventually need to be attended to. Healing his mind was a continuous effort that he always was trying. Just by continually moving forward and reflecting on himself helped. The catalysts would take time and experience to figure out. A lot of them seemed to connect to his abilities. He currently knew that they could be used to create floor bosses. Other possibilities still existed. Did infusing a catalyst to a creature have to cause it to be a floor boss? Could it be used on things other creatures? The possibilities seemed endless. He did want to recreate the Goddess, so he move it towards one of the larger priorities. He was also interested in just making more statues in general. They would help his creatures and he still deeply enjoyed the process. Leveling up was always important. It would make him stronger. Increasing his mana absorption rate along with new abilities. He currently needed to make a third floor in order to rank up, but he wanted to make a better first floor before that. However, he was currently tired of making rooms. The new abilities and the dungeon aura also seemed like they were important. They would better prepare him for the new adventurers. It was great to get new abilities, but if he didn¡¯t learn the ones he had and better understand them then his worth would be very shallow depth with a large range. A deeper depth of understanding with fewer abilities would make him much harder to contend with. Currently he still didn¡¯t have to many abilities though. He wasn¡¯t worried about becoming shallow in skill. In the end he decided to start with experimenting with his new abilities. His new abilities were Loot Distribution, Statue Copy, and Statue Animation, and the old level up reward Dungeon Aura. He had already used Statue Copy to create the statues to help improve the three additional breeding rooms. It was capable of copying existing statues for a mana cost. The remaining he hadn¡¯t tired yet. Loot Distribution said that it was used to spawn treasure in chests and drops from killing beasts. Statue Animation said that it could be used to give souls to sculptures. While Dungeon Aura did not have any description. He began to play around with the Loot Distribution. First thing he did was sculpt a Marble chest. It reminded him of his first sculpture under the tutelage of his master. He had ended up making a simple granite box, which he used for the rest of his human life to store his tools. How the times had changed. He glanced at the notification to check out the sculptures stats. Sculpture Completed Marble Chest Effect- Holds objects, Openable top. Well it¡¯s effects aren¡¯t very amazing¡­ Then again it is just a chest! It serves its purpose. He almost moved on to preceded to use Statue Copy on it, but he hesitated. It just didn¡¯t feel completed. He looked at the poor little sparse chest. Inspiration struck him! He had jewels at his disposable and he planned to put them to use. He tried attempting to embed diamonds onto the chest. Sculpture Modified Marble Chest of Diamond Effect- Holds objects, Openable top. Those who Guard it get a ten percent boost to all characteristics. Well that¡¯s more like it! It felt half-finished and I¡¯m glad I followed that feeling. He copied it eleven times with the Statue Copy Ability and put one in the back of the rooms, putting one every five rooms. Each one cost fifty mana to copy. Leaving him with just one-hundred and fifty. He wasn¡¯t too worried since he made a little bit over one-hundred-sixty every hour. If anything, he was having trouble spending it all. I should just make one room into the third floor, so I can level up. I will work on that after I am done experimenting with these abilities. With the Loot Distribution Ability, he made it spawn jewels mixed in with healing potions. I can¡¯t tell if I am over doing it or not¡­ They need to have a dungeon core guide book. He altered it to drop one healing potion and one gem, while each chest that went further would give an additional gem. The reason for this is he planned to have his dungeon get increasingly harder. He set up the creatures so that the Hare¡¯s came first, then Wenent as a boss, followed by blood foxes in the next rooms, with Kitsune as the final boss. This way the difficulty to get a chest further in the dungeon increased. He then looked at the option for the beasts drops. Loot Chests-Healing Potion:1, Diamond: x (1st chest 1, 2nd chest 2¡­.) Kitsune- Unassigned Wenet- Unassigned Blood Fox- Unassigned Dracula Hare- Unassigned Well I don¡¯t really have a lot of things to give besides the jewels to give out. I guess I can always change it later. He assigned a few jewels for each beast. In respect for Kitsune¡¯s deceased wife, he had blood foxes drop rubies. The other gems were divided between the Foxes and the Hares. With the common creatures dropping one of the boss¡¯s gems. The only duplicated gym was between kitsune and the chests, which used the diamonds. He would change it once he had a new treasurable item. Loot Chests-Healing Potion:1, Diamond: x (1st chest 1, 2nd chest 2¡­.) Kitsune-amethyst:2, ruby:2, emerald:2, sapphire:2, jade:2 Wenet- opal:2, diamond:2, moonstone:2, topaz:2 Blood Fox- Ruby: 2 Dracula Hare- moonstone:2 Well this ability is a lot easier to use then I imagined. With some actual treasure to offer I feel like a real Man¡­ I mean, a real dungeon! He decided to try using the Statue Animation. The only current statues he had was the Caring Mother of Fertility, which he had in each breeder room, and the Marble Chest of Diamond. He tried it on one of the Caring Mother of Fertility¡¯s first. After activating the ability, he ended up sinking one-hundred mana into the project. The end result modified his sculpture. Sculpture Modified Caring Mother of Fertility Effect- Creatures in this room have a greatly increased pregnancy, with a decreased gestation and maturing period. Now is run by a soul, can move around. Gives a bonus 1% to all creature¡¯s characteristics for up to twenty minutes. He watched as his statue literally came alive before his eyes and began to walk around the room and pet the creatures within. At first the creatures were startled but they finally settled in and accepted it after thirty minutes. They found out that leaving their room for long periods of time was suicide, while this new stone beast didn¡¯t smell bad or attack them. Well it seems to let statues have movement and it also seems to give additional features added on. The additional characteristics boost for twenty minutes is just enough for them to go out and eat. Haha, my master would probably shit himself if he could see the stats the statues, not to mention them gaining souls. I wonder if there is a chance he might wonder in the dungeon. Never mind that¡¯s silly. Craftsmen would never be found exploring the depths of the dungeon unless they decided to learn combat. Hardly any of them ever did. It was simply too dangerous. After spending a life away from battle, not many would attempt to dive right in to a dungeon. Unless they learned a crafting skill as a hobby. He was pleased with the result and when his mana recovered enough he would give the remaining breeding room statues animation. It wasn¡¯t fair to only scare the racoon¡¯s half to death after all. He turned his attention to one of the Marble Chest of Diamond¡¯s. It was the very last one. He was curious what the effect of animating it would be. It didn¡¯t really have legs to walk. With more curiosity in mind he put fifty mana into the chest using the Statue Animation ability. Immediately the chest opened its lid revealing its newly teethed edges and proceeded to hop around the room with Wenet. He decided to check the new notification that pooped up. Sculpture Modified Marble Chest of Diamond Effect- Holds objects, Openable top. Those who Guard it get a 100% boost to all characteristics. Now with Teeth! Well shit¡­ He watched as it proceeded to leave the room. I made another monster¡­ Why does this always happen to me? It better not leave the dungeon. ** ** ** ** Claire Estrand** ** ** ** A feminine yet firm voice rang out ¡°, Report please now!¡± The brunet¡¯s cold tone was only rivalry was her own icy cold dark blue eyes. In her small petite office stood a small boy came in quivering ¡°, M-mam, this just came i-inn¡± He barely finished talking before he shakingly handed a scroll over. The women grabbed it and read the title, ¡°Dungeon Status Report, From the Guild.¡± She looked over to the shivering frightened boy,¡± You know I don¡¯t bite, but stay longer, and that might change.¡± The boy booked it from the room. Claire lightly laughed at the boy¡¯s reaction. She had only meant to tease him. She didn¡¯t know why she seemed to frighten everyone so easily. What a sweet kid¡­ Good the young group of adventurers have finally returned with their report. It sure took them god damn long enough. I know E asked them to be thorough, but damn. I wonder how the dungeon has been maturing. When the Guild heads over its development will grow even faster, which is all in line with our organizations plan. She continued to read the report. She began to get concerned, ¡°What they haven¡¯t returned yet?¡± Damnit, they haven¡¯t even returned. What are they doing. This dungeon is important. The other dungeons cores are to well hidden or protected. The fate of this kingdom¡¯s existence will depend on this dungeons growth in the future. She continued on reading along until her face became very pale. Eventually she burst out loud, ¡°WHERE DID ALL THESE GOD DAMN SPIDERS COME FROM?! WHO THE HELL WOULD RELEASE SUCH MONSTRONSITIES?!! It couldn¡¯t be¡­ Could it?¡± Chapter Twelve, The Story of the Mysterious... ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** Oh Kitsune I wish you were here. You not only spoke to me but you talked to me. I didn¡¯t know the difference until you were gone. You genuinely talked to me. You understood me. Even better you anticipated me. ¡°You certainly wouldn¡¯t mess up orders, like by BRINGING THE WRONG SPECIES! FOR THE LOVE OF THE SHIT EATING GODDESS YOU PRAY TO! I SAID BRING ME GODDAMN HUMANS!! NOT A FUCKING STRAY DOG!!!¡± The Dog in question that met with the fierce atmosphere of the Dungeon promptly peed itself in front of the Goddess of the Dungeon statue. It just sat their shaking in fright due to the several Furry Giant Spiders that surrounded it. Poor thing. It¡¯s not its fault. It¡¯s the damn SPIDERS. Do I even need to wonder why I have a headache nearly all the time? If it wasn¡¯t from being fractured, I would still be here due to the level of incompetence that surrounds me. Bastill was furious with the intellect of the majority of the spiders. If it hadn¡¯t been for Hades and the Overlord Giant Fringed Spiders, then nothing around here would get done properly. He had been successfully bringing back civilians from a nearby small village that was four miles away. It was right at the edge and end of the forest that he had spent his time conquering. The spiders were supposed to be bringing back villagers to use the sacrifice ability on, but every once in a while, they would mess up. He had so far sacrificed over one hundred humans though. His spiders were quite adept at capturing them and bringing them back. With the Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spiders killing anything that proved too difficult to bring back. He reflected on his first sacrifice. **The first sacrifice** ¡°Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Come on get into the spirit of things!¡± The spiders that surrounded the statue began to unrhythmically stab their legs down wards creating an enchanting echo of sharp feet striking granite. Sparks flew about the room as a young man with a strappingly sturdy body was dragged in wrapped in a cocoon of webbing. Due to being dragged several miles the webbing had torn in multiple area allowing you to see the lad inside. He was currently unconscious. He had shit brown hair and had been working a hoe righteously until the spiders had snatched him away the muscle structure and fop of hair. Bastill roared in delight, ¡°Step on forward! Bring him up front and cut his bindings of web!¡± The lad was brought forth and unbound. It was at this moment the Concealed Giant Jumping Spider venom began to wear off. The kid woke up. His sight opened upon a glowing cave with sparks flying about filled with monstrously enormous and equally terrifying spiders. He screamed and shat himself all at once, ¡°SHIT, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, NO THIS CAN¡¯T BE HAPPENING. WAKE UP, WAKEUP, WAKEUP. IT¡¯S JUST A DREAM, IT¡¯S JUST A DREAM!¡± Bastill tired of the meaningless squabble that poured from the youth¡¯s mouth. It was proceeded with a bunch of curses, prayers to the gods, and cries for his mother. Just lighten up a little. This is for the greater good you know. My greater good. Did you really have to shit as well? I¡¯m going to have to learn human shit now¡­ Thanks asshole. ¡±Nyx of Darkness! My furry little knife the honors is yours. Don¡¯t fuck it up,¡± Bastill spoke too his beasts. The chaotic unrhythmic feet¡¯s tempo picked up their unsynchronized pounding. The sparks flew faster and brighter about the room as Nyx skittered forward and with an elegantly sweeping blow slit the kids throat. Bastill instantly gained a new notification that he checked. Sacrifice +Gained skill: Cooking Amazing! Simply amazing and¡­ AND ABSOUTLY DAMN USLESS. I CAN¡¯T EAT LET ALONE USE MY GODDAMN HANDS TO COOK. What am I supposed to use this skill with? Well whatever at least the mana is decent I just earned five hundred mana by doing practically nothing. I guess humans aren¡¯t half bad after all. I have plenty of mana to practice Sculpting now. This will speed up my Outpost production greatly or I can make a bigger coliseum. Hmmm The sacrifice had been rather fun. He was quite impressed with his spiders¡¯ leg pounding. The sparks had been great! However, his commendations for spiders didn¡¯t go beyond that. Looking around at all the spiders standing around emotionless he shouted, ¡°Well bring in the next one! I¡¯m not waiting all day!¡± Creature Death Human x 500mana Learned Zombie Hmm a Zombie? I wonder why I didn¡¯t learn the schematic for humans? I can¡¯t believe it to be some nonsense about the complexities of the soul. These humans are soulless swine after all. They¡¯d kill me off without batting an eye. Claire did it once and plans to do it again. They are all the same. ** Each sacrifice to the statue would capture some of the knowledge from the human. The first sacrifice even let him learn how to create a zombie. He couldn¡¯t make a living human, making an undead was the closet he could get. He didn¡¯t know the reason for that, but he had suspicions they were protected by the gods and goddesses. The sacrifice ability at first wasn¡¯t too impressive. Although it did give him plenty of knowledge there was no benefit. He would learn detailed information on skills like swordsmanship or archery or stealth. Some were extremely useless like poetry or cooking. It was entirely useless to him, that was until he leveled up. After the first twenty-five humans were killed he met the requirement and quickly leveled up. The new level came with a new ability called Skill Book Creation, which allowed him to create a skill book using the knowledge he had. With the sacrifice ability giving him new knowledge about various skills with each kill, it was suddenly substantially more valuable. The spiders weren¡¯t able to learn the skills but with the new humanoid zombies he had the ability to create, the arsenal of skills he now had was quite valuable. Bastill glance back to the dog that the spiders had brought to him. What the shit am I going to do with a dog? I could just kill it gain the slight mana from the kill and learn it¡¯s schematics. He was about to order the dogs death, but as he continued to look at the scared beast he decided against it. He couldn¡¯t kill this creature. It was practically harmless to him and the mana he received from it would be negligible in the grand scheme of everything. As he weighed the creature¡¯s life in his mind he felt his mind began to darken until it was completely empty. Unlike the last memory he had, there was no pain when this one came about. Only sweet bliss spurred in his mind as the memory became to materializing in his mind, replacing the darkness. ** ** * Young Bastill Memory * ** ** The ever dark and murky atmosphere blossomed about. The sky was always dark when Bastill was active. Operating during the day was asking for a shortened life. If you want to use your Hide and Stealth the darkness will be your best friend. Bastill had just left the sorry excuse of an orphanage. The shoddy place barely gave them bedding. The owner took the checks given to him from the city to run the orphanage, however the kids never saw a single copper of it. They got a roof over their head. Bedding in any form needed to scrapped together our your own. Not to mention food. Bastill was currently on going his fourth day of his unwanted fast. He was hungry but had to lie low for a few days in order for the residents of the city to forget his face. none of the other kids brought him food. It was every kid for themselves. Sure, they¡¯d smile and joke, but the second your weakened, better off, or lucky they gut you like a fish. The reason for lying low is his last heist he had been on, while successful in the end, had almost got him caught. The second the other kids found out that he had to hide from the guards and had money they had beat the living shit out him until they got it all. He had instantly had handed it over trying to avoid a beating, but they suspected he was hiding more and tried to beat it out of him. He hadn¡¯t hidden any. He had been honest and really just hadn¡¯t wanted a beating. But as the sun rains down light upon the earth each day, so did their fists and feet. He felt awful. His stomach had stopped growling after the second day. Now it just ached. He figured that he¡¯d never grow very tall in life, because he was always lacking nutrient meals. His plan was to go scavenge around for scraps near any trash deposits. If he failed to find any scraps, then he would have to resort on nastier means. Possibly snag something dexterously through one of the bakeries. He walked down the street with his head tilted forward and his eye¡¯s down cast. As he was sulking his way along he suddenly heard a kind high-pitched feminine voice call out to him, ¡°Hiya there, whatcha up to?¡± Raising his gaze to beyond refuse on the street he met the eyes of a young of a girl a year or two above his own age. She was leaning out of a window in the building beside the road. It was one of the better bakeries in the city. She had a cute quirky smile which could be seen occasionally between bites out of a loaf of bread. She had cascading black hair and her eyes twinkled with a kindred light as she watched Bastill. As he was about to reply suddenly a shout could be heard, ¡°Natasha! You better not be eating anything from my new batch. Get in here now. Natasha?¡± The girl Hollard back, ¡°Coming!¡± She quickly tossed him the rest of the loaf. Before she scrambled back inside. She spoke to him, ¡°Keep it so I don¡¯t get in trouble, maybe I will see you tomorrow?¡± With that she made her way inside with her black hair swishing back and forth. Bastill had no words. He was completely dumbfounded. He quickly checked his surroundings. Seeing as no one seemed to be paying attention to him, he slipped off into an alley. He used Stealth along the way until he found the perfect place to Hide. He spent the rest of the night with tears soaking into the bread as he devoured it. Only after finishing it all did he travel back to the barn he called home for the night. Meanwhile his brain was still addled. ¡­Natasha¡­ ** ** * End of Memory * ** ** Just like that night his brain became rattled and he couldn¡¯t think right for a moment until a dull ache returned to the background of his mind. It hurt, but it was lighter than normal. Natasha¡­ The Mutt most likely doesn¡¯t even have more than twenty-five mana. He kinda looks hungry. I am merciful and reasonable after all. But I can¡¯t just do nothing¡­ Someone is responsible. ¡°Kill the idiot who brought the dog,¡± he ordered mentally to one of the Overlord Giant Fringed Spiders. One of the Overlord Giant Fringed Spider¡¯s closest to the one who caused the problem raised his front leg up with mechanical precision and brought it down powerfully and mercilessly. The giant Furry Giant Spider that had been responsible for the accident didn¡¯t have time to move or even give a squeamish chitter before it was skewered by the leg. The Overlord Fringed Spider didn¡¯t even remove the carcass from his leg before he walked away. The result was a thud each time he brought down the leg with the giant furry carapace attached to it. Without giving it much thought Bastill Intoned, ¡°Bring the mutt over by me for now.¡± He had been interrupted during his favorite hobby, which was the reason for his furry. That and the fact that he was absolutely horrible at the only thing that he wanted to do. He was currently trying to make a statue modeling after his old human self, however they never turned out well. Just clumps of malformed figures. He hadn¡¯t yet given up, but no matter what he always lost his temper when dealing with the granite. He looked at the jagged malformed human shaped statue he tried to create, but no notification rang out when he was done. He had never been successful thus far but that wouldn¡¯t stop him. Maybe he¡¯d be able to get an ability that would help him create statues. I know I can sculpt, my bloody work is all around me. It¡¯s just mocking me now. Kitsune would know what¡¯s wrong. He always did. Hey Mutt do you have any suggestions? Never mind, you can¡¯t hear me¡­ Currently to level up he needed to kill one-hundred humans and gain one-mile radius and activate the Mysterious Journal and max his mana. His stat menu no longer read out how many rooms or floors he had. It was now calculated in square miles and outposts. He had captured five square miles along twenty-five outposts. The land he had captured was all in the forest. The outposts helped formulate his boundaries and strengthen his defenses. Each square mile added five-hundred mana to his passive mana absorption. When he wasn¡¯t failing at sculpting he was making outposts. It was the only thing he created so far that he took pride in. However, they didn¡¯t count as statues. He liked to pretend that they were his monuments. His mana had currently been spent on making the outposts. Each cost around ten-thousand mana. He could have formed simple buildings but, he had promised to transform the hideous land they stood on and this was his first step. To him they were magnificent. The reason for the high cost is that he would make each little fortress out of Star Iron. He had found a small meteorite in the forest when he first began capturing the forest. He had several dozen spiders drag it back. Then he proceeded to place coal all around it. After a lot of trial and error he managed to get the spiders to light the coal. Then he proceeded to smelt the meteorite to get the pure Star Iron. In order to pay for it all he ended up breeding tons of Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spiders and had them battle in a large gladiator like granite coliseum to death. The coliseum was right outside of his cave entrance and filled the clearing. He could have killed them in an easier way, but he personally enjoyed having the games. The other spiders would occasionally watch as well, plus he saw an increase in the victorious spider¡¯s levels. Some had increased by ten levels after numerous victories. The best was Thanatos who now stayed off the front line and spent all the time fighting his brethren in the death games. Bastill¡¯s reasoning for having him off the front line was to have a floor boss near his core incase enemies got to lose, and in the future he would use him instead of Nyx for sacrifices.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He turned attention to his granite coliseum. He used granite for the majority of the structure, but the fighting floor was made from a now red tinted Star Iron. Thanatos was currently in the ring with a lesser version of himself. Thanatos and the Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider squared off before charging. Legs swept in at all angles as the two fought. Thanatos¡¯s opponent had recently been through countless battles by the look of his dented and scratched carapace. While his opponents efforts were quite impressive, its strength and sharpness was no comparison to Thanatos¡¯s. With a thunderous slash he sliced the spiders head in two. His opponent hit the ground and didn¡¯t get back up. From the death Bastill netted one-hundred and forty mana. On the sides of the coliseum the spiders watching chittered away and tapped their legs in a thunderous display of respect and excitement. Thanatos is improving rapidly, the battles are getting more and more intriguing to watch, but I can¡¯t waste time watching battles all day. Their purpose is more mana at a controlled death pace. It¡¯s time to continue the building more Outposts. The outposts made of Star Iron had an illustrious shine to them. They were pitch black but with a bright metallic glimmer to it. Each outpost soared thousands of feet in to the air. There were hollowed out spires that reached great heights into the air. Bastill liked to imagine it was a monument with a simple message to display. ¡°I¡¯m right here and alive and stronger than ever.¡± The hollowed-out sections of each outpost collectively housed around a thousand spiders. For the most part the spiders would sleep until they were needed. It was effective to house them in the outposts, because he had troops all over the land he controlled. In case of enemy attacks he had enforcement spread out over his territory. There was three spires total for each outpost, each of differing heights. The rose up into the air menacingly and were a sight of awe and horror. Each hole in the spire would have millions of strands of webbing spreading out into the forest below. This created a sparkling sensation around the spire and coated the forest in white webs. His next remaining prerequisite to level up was activating the Mysterious Journal, which currently he had trouble completing. He had tried everything so far. He had tried invoking its name, creating it, summoning it, channeling mana into the ability and even the idea, but nothing worked so far. He was at a loss of how this ability was supposed to work. When he wasn¡¯t pushing mana into making outposts, or attempting to sculpt, he would be trying to activate the Mysterious Journal Ability. It was to no avail currently. As he attempted to activate it once again he began to curse in anger before giving up once again and turning his focus on the stray dog. Well what do you think I should do Mutt? The Mutt never replied since he couldn¡¯t even hear the mental discussion. He couldn¡¯t speak to it mentally like his other creatures so instead he played a game where he would ask it questions in his own head and looked at the dog¡¯s current reactions as the answer. It still relaxed Bastill. He had his own little pet that stayed by him and let him vent out his thoughts. The dog was currently shitting in the corner. He dissolved the shit to get rid of it with the unfortunate consequence of learning how to create more shit. Yes, yes. I see your point of view, but that¡¯s not what I was thinking of to be honest. What am I supposed to do about the Mysterious Journal? The dog proceeded to scamper back over to the dungeon core. He took his time to sniff around the Dungeon. Hmmm, so your saying I should follow my instincts? I agree. However once again Mutt I am incapable of sniffing out what to do about this shit. You know we¡¯ve known each other for about three whole hours, but I have yet to ever ask you about your family. How are they doing? The dog after satisfying his bowels and his nose sat down beside the core. It was still nervously glancing at the spiders that would walk near. Yeah it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t remember or want to talk about it. I don¡¯t remember everything about my own life, but perhaps that is for the best. I know you don¡¯t really enjoy the spiders, and to be honest I agree with your opinion. They never try to just talk to me. Don¡¯t tell anyone this, but it gets rather lonely here sometimes. Sometimes you just want someone to talk to. The dog meanwhile had long since nodded off to sleep, while the core was rattling on. It felt nice having someone to bounce ideas off of. Even though he never got feedback. The Mutt had more emotion and personality then all his spiders put together in his opinion. Also, he wouldn¡¯t tell anyone, but the Mutt was nicer to look at then the bleak and deadly spiders. You¡¯ve had a long day I know. Get some sleep Mutt. It was a simple one-sided conversation, but he didn¡¯t mind. It wasn¡¯t much but it was something. As he turned his attention back to the construction of his next outpost he was interrupted by the dimming of his mind. He recognized the blackness in his mind as another memory and readily accepted it. His mind was calmed as the blackness took over. The blackness left as quickly as it came and in its place an old memory resurfaced. ** ** * Young Bastill Memory * ** ** Looking into the sky there was no darkness nor murk. It was still rather light outside as Bastill walked along a flowered path. He was in his favorite place in the entire city. It was one square mile of unmolested land were the plants and trees grew ruggedly beautiful. It was called a park but to Bastill it was paradise. His path currently was working its way up a hillside and approaching the top. The park resided in the middle of the city and was the pleasure of many. It¡¯s natural beauty and lack of human involvement made it a great location to relax and meditate and enjoy a picnic. That privilege was of course only enjoyed by the wealthier families. He didn¡¯t have food to share nor consume himself for the majority of the time. Bastill had a secret hideout he would visit. As he was about to walk past his spot he looked around for anyone watching. Seeing that no one was present or watching he skillfully worked himself into a large bush at the top of the hill. Most civilians didn¡¯t stop up on the hill, because of all the brush obscuring the view, but it was a nice walking trail for some. To Bastill it was his sanctuary. Nestled in the bristly bush lay a den of his own making. He had spent several years carving out plenty of room inside with his rusty iron knife. It was a comfortable place to lay low and think. He was currently spending time here due to some heat on the gang he was affiliated with. They were even checking the orphanage. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time sleeping here. He had a tattered tarp to curl up in and the brush kept most the rain off in stormy weather. He also had some coin hidden here from times when he decided to brave a few beatings, before learning his lesson. Now it remained as his emergency funds. It consisted of seventy-one coppers. Although he loved that the place was all his own, that fact was not what held it so close to his heart. The true pearl of this den was the view. He had cut out just enough thickets to give him a view of the meadow below and the city beyond. It was a wondrous view and he marveled at the families picnicking and the smallness of the city beyond. He loved watching the mothers attending to their children. Mothering them with love in care. His heart would tremble when he thought about his own parents. Who were they? Why did they abandon him? Did they even care. He could only watch and wish for better things. Why do I have to be alone? I just want someone to talk to. Someone to care about me. Is that truly too much to ask for? ** ** * End of Memory * ** ** As his consciousness rolled back into him with a negated headache, something else ached as well. Completely different from the physically decapitating mental pain he had felt before. It was a different feeling that was gritted in himself. He couldn¡¯t place the exact location of the pain, but it was worse than all other pains. It wasn¡¯t overwhelmingly debilitating. In fact, it was easily lived through and lived with, but he hated the feeling worse than another pain. It was small and almost unnoticeable if he focused on something else, but the second he thought about it he felt awful inside. It was similar to the feeling he had when he knew he couldn¡¯t revive Kitsune. It was loneliness. Dejectedly Bastill noticed he had received a notification. He wasn¡¯t sure what the hell it could be for. Since he wasn¡¯t expecting one and hadn¡¯t done anything to get one. He honestly didn¡¯t really care but decided to check it anyways. Mysterious Journal +Activated He didn¡¯t really care, but trying to stay more upbeat he mentally voiced his thoughts to everything in his dwelling. He couldn¡¯t let his creatures know he had felt or still did feel any weakness, ¡°What the freaking dog shit? I have tried activating this for the last month with failure after failure and now it works!? I didn¡¯t even do anything this time? Mutt did you do it? Good boy He couldn¡¯t fathom would have caused the Journal to open. His only idea laid upon the dog. He might have been overestimating the dog, but he liked the thought that the Mutt had helped him. It reinforced his belief in talking to it. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just how life works though? Life isn¡¯t meant to be lived by being forceful, but by being open and accepting. Nothing ever really happens the way you want it to, so you should always live with what you have.¡± - Mysterious Journal What in the name of the God of Shit?! You can hear me? What are you? Why are you here? Why didn¡¯t you talk sooner? I don¡¯t think I like you. You made me wait frustratingly all this time. ¡°You¡¯re a rumbustious Dungeon Core I can tell. Yes, I can hear you. I am helpful and knowledgeable. I am here because you selected this ability and I spoke when I was able.¡± - Mysterious Journal Helpful and knowledgeable is not a thing. I bet my Mutt is more helpful then you could ever be and I meant what ¡®are¡¯ you? ¡°I am a spirit of a long-forgotten king. I spent many of my years¡­¡± - Mysterious Journal Oh so your dead! That¡¯s easy to understand. Sooooo, what exactly do you do? ¡°Well¡­Whatever I am needed to do. Back to my story though. I spent many of my years¡­¡± - Mysterious Journal Make me level one-hundred! Also give me stronger creatures, preferably not spiders! Give more catalysts, I rather like them. Lots of gold coins! I can¡¯t really do anything with them, but I still want them. Also I want¡­¡± ¡°You are really trying my patience child! Sorry¡­. I can¡¯t do any of those I¡¯m afraid. What I can do is give you advise and guidance. One thing you should know is that being a Corrupt Dungeon is a dangerous game that will end poorly for you.¡± - Mysterious Journal Awww, so your absolutely useless! Why didn¡¯t you just say so. I knew the Mutt was more helpful. The whole corrupt dungeon game I am playing is actually going really well for your information. I can¡¯t believe I got a useless old king that ¡®spent many of his years¡¯ learning useless things so that he could be useless to me. ¡°Shhh listen young one. Wisdom is not useless my young Dungeon Core. In fact one might say that it is the greatest gift for all those thing you desire I can help you obtain in time. Now if you¡¯d be polite for just a minute and fully listen and try to understand what I am saying then we might be able to get somewhere. Are you ready to learn?¡± - Mysterious Journal Yes yes¡­. I¡¯m sorry for being rude and interrupting you. I¡¯ve just been waiting for this a while and well I haven¡¯t had anyone to talk to in a while. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I forgive you. Now I think you¡¯d really get a lot of valuable information if you listen to my story. I spent many of my years as a king reading and reading. Surprisingly my favorite topic to read about was Dungeon Cores, which is how I landed this job in the afterlife. Now I managed to get a very rare book from one of the best researchers of my¡­- Mysterious Journal OH MY GOD!!! I just remembered that I can level up now!!! ¡°¡­¡±-Mysterious Journal Level Up! Current Level: 8 Congratulations you successfully expanded to at least one square mile, killed one-hundred humans, activated mysterious journal and filled mana to capacity. + Passive Mana Regeneration Increased +Elite Creature Assign - Able to give a creature an elite status. Allows them to revive after 24 hours. + Next Level Requirements: 2 miles, Fill Mana Capacity, 5 Outposts. Stat Menu Level:8, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 1/750, Mana Absorption: 3100/day, Creatures:50301, Miles(square):5, Outposts:25 Abilities Skill Book Creation- Ability to Create skill books from the knowledge you have. Sacrifice- Sacrifice humans to any god of your choosing in your dungeon core room. Must be performed by a floor boss Mysterious Journal- Unknown Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 3000/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Magic- Blood Magic Corrupt Dungeon- Spread your awareness through expanding your creatures across the surface. Elite Creature Assign- Able to give a creature an elite status. Allows them to revive after 24 hours. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Coal: 20, Dirt: .1, Agate:5, iron:, steel: , Star Iron:50 Creatures Insects- Common Spider:.1, Flea: .05, Tick: .05, Scorpion: .3, Pill Bug: .1, Beetle: .1, Butterfly: .1, Worm: .1 Animals-, Blue Bird:15, Common Gardner Snake:5, Lizard: 5, weasel: 12, Frog: 4, Rat: 8, Bat: 8 Created Beasts- Furry Giant Spider:70, Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider:140, Concealed Giant Jumping Spider:120, Overlord Giant Fringed Spider:170, Zombie:80 Objects Door:1, Leaf: .1, Bird Nest: 2, High Steel Dagger: 20, Flask: 5, Steel Spear: 20, Dog Shit: .5, Fluid- Per Bottle Fire water: 5 Catalysts Mana Infused Iron Demon Heart ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** It took her an extra day to get back to the city of Azul. Making the trip back four days long. They didn¡¯t stop for anything or take any delays. When they arrived at the city it was currently in an uproar. All around there were triple the amount of Guild members from the Warrior Guild, Adventurer Guild, and the Mage Guild in the town. With the majority either just arriving or about to be leaving. Derk said, ¡°Well as important as I think I am I don¡¯t think there are this many people set out to look for us.¡± Daniel was looking around as he answered, ¡°It probably has something to do with the enormous metallic towers we saw coming out from the forest, when we passed it on our way back. I also have a gut feeling that the spiders we encountered are involved. They are awfully near the old dungeon entrance.¡± The group continued on their way to report to the Adventurer Guild as they looked at the influx of guild members around them. Alice took this time to glace at her stats again. She had managed to level up seven times when she had been in the dungeon. A lot of this had been from the spiders that they had killed but hunting down Dracula Hare¡¯s also helped level her up, as well as increase her skills. Stat Menu Level:19, Race: Human, Name: Alice Everglade, Age: 15 , Gender: Female, Vocation: Vanguard Characteristics Strength:20, Constitution:20, Dexterity:36, Intelligence:20, Wisdom:12, Charisma:12 Traits Spear Goddess- Your non-stopped handling of the spear from a young age has lead you to create some of your very own spear move. You level Skill Spear Mastery 50% faster than most. You also gain the Skill Spear Ingenuity. Magic: CapacityINT*5+WSD*.1)=102/102 RestorationWSD*.4)=4.8 per minute General- Clean(Used to clean):2(Mastered); Mend(Heals Wound, Heath +1): 5 (Novice) Skills Spear Mastery: 49, Advanced Herb Gathering: 35, Intermediate Spear Ingenuity: 34, Intermediate Sewing: 19, Novice Forestry: 9, Novice Tracking: 9, Novice Cooking: 30, Intermediate Observing: 32, Intermediate As she looked over her stats she cringed when she remembered the pain of perfecting Clean. All those times they tossed their dirty clothes to her to clean. All that time practicing the magic over all those dirty clothes. She regretted her decision to learn it. She managed to master it eventually and had gotten the new skill Mend. Mend would increase in power as she leveled it, but since it was just a general skill it would never be very strong. Healing one health point wasn¡¯t very helpful. She regenerated one health point every minute anyways. That was standard for humans. Other species heal by different degrees. Her health could also be calculated by taking her constitution and multiplying it by two and taking strength and multiplying it by point five. This gave her a total of fifty health. If she was able to get a specific type of magic it would be a lot stronger and end up being a lot more effective. She didn¡¯t know what type she wanted to utilize yet though. She also needed to get the right books to help her learn, which would in turn cost more money. She would consider checking out some magic books after she got paid. She didn¡¯t want to become a mage or anything. She just wanted to have some extra magic to boost her combat ability. After all if she was going to have intelligence and wisdom the magic capacity and restoration it gave her might as well go to use. No reason to waste the characteristics that god gave you. She was quite content with her level. It normally took newly joined members a year or two to get as far as she had. That was due to most of the time spent training for survival and combat. They got sparse experience until they were allowed to take on harder quests that involved killing. The made their way into the Adventurer Guild building and were promptly led upstairs by the assistant at the front desk. Within seconds they were faced to face with the Guild Master. Upon entering the room there was hardly even a millisecond pause before the Master began to speak, ¡°We have a spider infestation problem. It¡¯s currently destroying one of the towns. Furthermore, it¡¯s not even five miles from where you explored the dungeon. Report what happened. I have a feeling that your lengthy return from the dungeon and these new spider attacks are related.¡± The Guild Master as astute as ever had been correct about the correlation and the Daniel the team leader quickly filled him in on what had gone on in the dungeon. After that he told us about the four types of spiders that had been reported thus far. One was very generic, and it was the same type we had faced the other three were horrific. The largest seemed to be able to control and lead the smaller spiders with effect planning while they themselves were very formidable. However, they were too smart to every be attacked. The next type was not as large but had bladed legs that quickly cut down any defenders. Maiming some while instantly killing those that proved to difficult to take easily, which was another thing. They took survivors. They would drag living humans off into the woods. The last type had only been seen once as it pounced on a large group and with one bite had sent the man down. Out of the group there was only one survivor and he couldn¡¯t give a detailed review of what the spider looked like. All he had seen was his friends head blend in with the back ground before it returned as he fell to the ground. The rest of the teammates got stuck in a web trap. How could these monstrosities have developed? It was more horrifying then Alice could ever believe. The Guild Master said he knew they were probably tired and he gave them the night to rest up and be paid for their quest at the counter on the first floor, ¡°Come back here tomorrow at noon Alice. We will give you a Ranking test and Daniel I will have you take on the spider subjugation quest that several others are participating in.¡± With that the team went to sleep the night off. Alice couldn¡¯t sleep well with all the dreams of spiders snatching people off into the night. Chapter Thirteen, Evolutions Myth Origin of the Platypus ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** It¡¯s time to make sure I am ready for the next wave of adventures that come. I¡¯m not sure how much time I will have before several groups show up. I need to be fully prepared. After slowing his influence expansion pace to a sudden halt, he had a lot more mana then he knew what to do with. He spent the constant influx on creating new creatures. The first that he started with where the creatures in the breeder rooms. Since the Hares now had vampiric powers and bred quite fast by using their one and only Queen, Wenent. After discussing with Kistune, Bastill decided that he would be a fair dungeon and give the other creatures an equal opportunity to live and thrive. Currently the Blood Foxes and the Dracula Hares were at a stale mate. The Blood foxes at first had been more powerful, due to living and fighting longer, but after a week of several Dracula Hares surviving. They had begun to fight back. The two sides battled and would occasionally have deaths on both sides. The reproduced at about the same pace as well which lead to the stale mate. In order for there to not be mass war Bastill had made Den¡¯s for both of his creatures. His two floor bosses Wenet and Kitsune didn¡¯t have any interest in fighting each other or any others. Wenet focused on producing more Dracula Hares, while Kitsune would watch over his kits that were already grown up. Bastill noticed that Kitsunes eight offspring would occasionally split up to ambush the Dracula Hares. There stealth attacks were always cunning and when they needed to retreat they were quite elusive. Though they only retreated once when one of them got injured, due to reinforcements from the Dracula Hares that caught them off guard. They even used a simple distraction, which reminded Bastill of his silly younger years. He had grown up from that life though. Other than that, they all seemed to have different methods of fighting, which intrigued Bastill. However, he could spend time watching them in detail after he had a better set up dungeon. Currently he felt he wasn¡¯t prepared. His master had always had high expectations causing him to either spend hours crafting what he had thought was already finished. Apparently, it¡¯s not finished when you thinking but when it feels like it. Bastill used that same feeling and knew he was still lacking as a dungeon. The breeder room creatures however were constantly slaughtered. They stood no chance. The Grey Squirrels, Hedge Hogs, Racoons were ravaged daily. The Beavers had an easier time due to living in the streams. In fact, there breeding room now directly connected to the streams underground. However, in order to build their armored dams, they had to harvest the large ferns. They also needed to eat, which would lead to death. To help the creatures out he went about forcing their evolution. He also learned how to knock out the creature before he began to inject it with mana. All he had to do was pour in mana and swell certain parts of the brain first, which would cause it to collapse unconscious. For the Beavers he gave them spurs on hind legs that produce a numbing venom. Nothing too serious just enough to slow down predators. He increased the durability of its pelt. He altered its muscle structure making it sleeker and quicker yet stronger as well. He increased its size to two feet tall doubling its size. The teeth he found to be very ineffective for harvesting ferns not to mention self-defense. To fix this he altered its face for higher proficiency. By reconstructing the teeth, he turned them into what looked like a bird¡¯s beak. He made it rather flat and slightly wide. He made one side a sleek smooth blade while the other side was a jagged saw blade. Just for giggles he made them also lay eggs. New Creature Evolved Learned Serrated-Billed Platypus To the Grey Squirrels he heavily upgraded their fur¡¯s armor. The squirrels always died the easiest. They were just too dumb. He had attempted to make them smarter but every time they woke up they would go and drown themselves in the stream. Apparently, they were smart enough to know that their existence was useless. It was quite tragic to see several squirrels commit suicide one after another. With that failure he changed his approach. When you can¡¯t fix stupid, just make it stronger. Instead of making them smarter he made them bigger and stronger. He had created giants at the end. He sunk more mana into their fur coat making it dense and impenetrable without great effort. He gave them hulking strength and size. Each now stood at twelve feet tall, while on all four feet they were six feet tall. They were true monstrosities now. To give them another fighting chance for their great stupidity he increased their regeneration speed to one health point every five seconds, giving them a total of twelve every minute. The average human only regained one each minute. New Creature Evolved Learned Troll Squirrel He was quite pleased with the Hedge Hogs¡¯ natural defense however he felt that it was still lacking. The hedge hogs had tiny spikes all along its back and could tuck up into a ball. However, the spikes still quite effective enough to protect them. In fact, they could be easily rolled into any nearby stream and drowned. Most the creatures had long teeth which also could easily puncture their fur and not be affected by the spikes. He decided that he would turn the defense into an offense. He made the hedge hogs reach a foot tall, since their current size was pathetic. He further increased the spikes to harden, become more numerous, and to become needle thin. The biggest improvements that used the most mana was the increase in lean muscle mass. He also created new muscles that would further the path of speed and dexterity. The end result was quicker than the Dracula Hares and Blood Foxes. They also had a nasty habit of attacking by charging and jumping at their opponent. Then at last second, they would curl up in a ball. The attacking creature then would receive a face full of needles right in the face. Bastille was quite pleased with the result. New Creature Evolved Learned Stone-Hedge Hog Finally, with the Racoons he had an entirely different idea. They were already quite clever and sneaky. He altered their bone structure to where they stood up on too legs. He then made them four feet tall. He increased their fur to be slightly more durable. He also expanded the size of their skull and brain. He gave them a highly functional brain, but the biggest change and most drastic alteration was the opposable thumbs. He was happy with the end result. New Creature Evolved Learned Racoonoids The new creatures had a better survival rate that made the hunting more strenuous. They made the other creatures work for their kills and got kills themselves, however they were still plant eaters. They only killed in self-defense. They still ended up dying occasionally, but the difficulty they caused made the Bloody Foxes and Dracula Hares stop the infighting between each other. Now that the creatures from the breeder rooms could kill the predators, the predators entered into a hesitant truce. Bastill moved onto to the next project, which was the Dungeon Aura. He still hadn¡¯t figured out the Dungeon Aura Ability. But after playing god for a while by creating new creatures he felt that he knew what he needed. I probably need to incorporate a catalyst into it for it to work. The real question now was which to use. He thought that the Angel feather was sacred and quite rare, but he felt a strong sense of nostalgia with the Ceremonial Blood. It had come from his death as a human and birth as a dungeon core. He hadn¡¯t yet used the Angel Feather and was looking forward to seeing it in action. However, that didn¡¯t mean now was the right time to use it. Deciding to go with the feeling he had in his core he decided to go with the Ceremonial Blood. Focusing on the Ceremonial Blood he brought the feeling of it into himself as he began to focus on the Dungeon Aura Ability. He could feel his mana capacity drop suddenly as the dense mana in the air began to take on changes. It got thicker and rippled with power. There was another change to the consistency of it however. It felt different. It felt unique and similar to him. He looked at the new notification he had received throughout the process.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Dungeon Aura +Activated Well that explains the changes, I wonder how it affects me. He noticed that the description in the ability had changed. It no longer just said unknown. He thoroughly checked it out. Dungeon Aura -Awoken with the power of Ceremonial Blood from your past. Dungeon Aura in its current state has increased effects growing and developing your creatures. As well as a 15% bonus to the dungeon creatures combat ability, and a 10% bonus in dungeon creatures¡¯ characteristics. I guess using the Ceremonial Blood was a good mood. It seems like the Dungeon Aura can be increased by how it says current state. I wonder how I increase it. Well nothing I can do about that now. I will discover it as time flows. With another task added to his never-ending task list, it might seem daunting to some, but he enjoyed the work. It kept him busy and gave him goals to obtain. He moved on with his next two goals. First, was to make one room onto the third floor so he could level up. Second, re-making the Goddess of the Dungeon in the entrance room. He checked his Stat Menu before going to work. Having the Goddess of the Dungeon in the first room will be a grand feature for the next adventurers. He decided to construct the third floor first despite his weariness from building rooms. It would give him some leeway when he started crafting his angel. Within the first few minutes of making the room he discovered the skeleton of a large mammal buried in the room. I wonder if this could be useful? Stat Menu Level:9, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 1/850, Mana Absorption: 4000/day, Creatures:656, Rooms:61, Floors:2 Abilities Statue Copy- Capable of copying existing statues for a mana cost. Statue Animation- Used to give souls to sculptures. Loot Distribution- Used to spawn treasure in chests and drops from killing beasts. Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost: 1 mana per every 4 cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 4000/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Dungeon Aura- Awoken with the power of Ceremonial Blood from your past. Dungeon Aura in its current state has increased effects growing and developing your creatures. As well as a 15% bonus to the dungeon creatures combat ability, and a 10% bonus in dungeon creature¡¯s characteristics. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Creatures Insects- Leaf Imitator: .2, Stick Bug: .2, Praying Mantis: .3, Centipede: .3, Animals- Grey Squirrel:10, Red Fox: 35, Hedge Hog: 12, Racon: 25, Deer: 40, wolf: 45, Bear: 60, goat: 35, Hare: 12, Beaver: 20, Created Beasts- Bloody Fox: 90, Dracula Hare:80, Vampiric Rabbit Queen:120, Racoonoids:80, Stone-Hedge Hog:70, Troll Squirrel:90, Serrated-Billed Platypus:75 Objects Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1, acorn:.1, fern: .1, elder berry bush: .1, whistling leaf: .1, and elves ear: .5, opal:5, diamond:5, amethyst:5, ruby:5, emerald:5, sapphire:5, jade: 5, moonstone: 5, topaz: 5 Fluid- Per Bottle Medium Health Potion: 20, Mineral Water: .01 Catalysts Ceremonial Blood?? Angel Feather ** ** ** House of the Fox ** ** ** Though Bastill found the environment and ecosystem intriguing. He never put in the thought and ideas that Kitsune provided him. Kitsune would give him updates of the situation in the dungeon letting him know what needed to be adjusted. He was the one that suggested to increase the prey¡¯s difficulty. After all his kits would grow soft with weak prey. Now that the master finished the Misson ¡®Deadly Prey¡¯ that I suggested, it looks like he will be fully enthralled in the next Mission ¡®Playing With Rocks¡¯. For as powerful as Bastill is he plays around a lot, but with power comes pleasure so it¡¯s only fair. Kitsune was currently watching his kits Hunt. He called them his kits, but they were fully grown now. To him they would always be his kits though. Due to being in a dungeon they matured at a much faster rate and thrived in the battle against the Dracula Hares. Well at least they had, but currently the Dracula Hares and the Blood Foxes had a truce. They all wanted to focus on the more formidable prey. Since the prey has breeding rooms with masters weird ¡®Sex Drive¡¯ statues they reproduce at a greater rate. The truce was a logical decision on my half to propose to Wenent so that the ¡®Improved Meat¡¯ didn¡¯t take over. Wenet and Kitsune didn¡¯t hate each other. They respected and understood each other¡¯s positions. They had let their underlings fight each other to grow stronger. That was there job to have strong citizens to protect Bastill after all. Kitsune rather enjoyed talking to the large rabbit. He had nicknamed her the swift one, for her speed surpassed his. She truly was a glorious warrior. He often would travel over to her domain to hat and bounce ideas off her. She wasn¡¯t as clever as the Kitsune, but in his opinion two brains are more productive as one. She had also agreed with his ¡®Improved Meat¡¯ concept. He also had brought his kits with him several times so that they could meet the other Floor Boss. This helped teach them that the Hares and Rabbit were not the enemy but merely a competitive partner who had the same goals. She would occasionally spar with them to teach them a bit about humility. Wenet went easier on the ¡®Kits¡¯ for she knew Kitsune held them dear to her. She seemed to enjoy the sparring sessions with them and would often chat with them after and give them life advice. The sparring was really one sided. It also wasn¡¯t supposed to be too violent. She would often just deliver a sick kick, which would cause them to fly into the wall if they weren¡¯t paying attention. Per Kitsune¡¯s instruction she also sent them flying if they got to arrogant. Good, Good. It¡¯s an immensely valuable lesson. After all an arrogant fox is a dead fox. Ruby I will make them all strong for you darling. Another idea he had given to Wenet was creating Elites. He hadn¡¯t named his own elites yet but he was working on it. He personally was grooming his offspring for the position, but he wasn¡¯t going to pamper them. Wenet also decided to work on the Idea as well with his guidance. Love can¡¯t be smothering. They need to earn what is their¡¯s. Besides they take after their Mom and I. They don¡¯t need pampering. He turned his focus onto his eight kits. They were currently some of the most powerful Blood Foxes besides Kitsune himself. Kitsune had named them all after gems, since his spouse was named Ruby. There was Ruby, her namesake, Topaz, Opal, Diamond, Amethyst, Emerald, Sapphire, and Jade. He loved them all equally and pushed them all to get stronger. He didn¡¯t want to lose any. When they hunted, they would hunt as a group. Out of all the foxes that teamed up they were the most coordinated and fluid. While most Blood Foxes started a level fifteen, the majority would rise of two level eighteen, with the strongest at twenty. The kitsune¡¯s kits were currently all-around level twenty-five. Kitsune had recently reached level thirty-five. He probably would be higher, but he spent his time watching his younglings. His Blood Sap had turned into Blood Drain giving him twenty-five percent boost characteristics while also gaining him back five percent of his health with each additional taste of blood. While the kits had upgraded from Blood Sip to Blood Sap, which gave a ten percent boost to characteristics. These effects lasted until the battle faded. His kits were currently taking on a Troll Squirrel, with Ruby leading them into battle. Each of them had different methods and behaviors in battle. Ruby would use all of her assets and even through in a few moves that Kitsune wouldn¡¯t have thought of. She was a natural planner and leader. Topaz¡¯s claws could always be seen in the fray of the fight. He loved to swipe and scrape with lighting fast procession. Opal contributed with his thoughtful tricks and cleverness. He and Ruby would always converse over the plan before taking initiative. Diamond focused more on his constitution and enjoyed brawling on the front line. Amethyst was known to bite down and not surrender her grip. She would always go for the throat. Emerald and Jade both liked to time their attacks together. Typically involving Emerald feinting while Jade would make the attack. Sapphire had a habit of always assisting others that were in danger. She was prone to lunge at the enemy to knock it back before it could hurt her siblings. Ruby came trotting up, behind her siblings on their way to go see Kitsune.She listened into their discussion as they began to quietly discuss what was on their minds. ¡°I don''t know what he did to the squirrels, but I think Bastill somehow managed to make them dumber,¡± said Amethyst. Opal replied, ¡°I wouldn''t let him hear you say that. I heard when he got angry he caused a bunch of squirrels to kill themselves.¡± ¡°He wouldn''t do that, after all I am Amethyst, so I am probably his favorite creature,¡± said Amethyst. Topaz joined in, ¡°Bastill doesn''t have favorites. If he did it would more likely be one of the floor bosses.¡± Diamond joined in as well, ¡°Amethyst can¡¯t be his favorite after all I am his favorite. He promised that he would make me the next floor boss. He even said he would use the angel feather that dad hears him muttering about using.¡± ¡°What?! No way he did not say that,¡± Sapphire silently added. ¡°Why would he chose you!?,¡± Emerald andJade added in together. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re the dumbest and slowest. You sunk a lot of your characteristic points into constitution and strength,¡± Amethyst spat. Opal decided to invite Ruby into their conversation a well, ¡°What do you think Ruby?¡± Everyone waited to listen to her input. After all she and Opal always came up with the most insightful observations, ¡°I think I want to get dad¡¯s opinion on our performance, so we can go hunt again. If we are talking promotion though I did here dad talking to Wenent about forming an elite team, but he hasn''t said anything about it to us yet. That¡¯s what I am focusing on.¡± This incited a lot more intrigue between her siblings. Diamond cut in again, ¡°You don''t think he is considering other foxes, do you?¡± ¡°No way we are family he has to choose us,¡± Amethyst contributed. Opal decided it was his time to chime in again, ¡°But knowing him he would only pick those that earn it.¡± Kitsune watched his kits as they tried to stealthy make their way over to where he lay. He had heard their entire conversation, but in an effort to keep the mystery about his selection didn¡¯t say anything. It is better to let them think I won''t choose them. It''ll make them work harder. Hmm I wonder if I should mention that ¡®giant hole of death¡¯ in Bastill¡¯s main room to him. I hope he didn¡¯t forget about it. You can¡¯t just cover it and call it good. He does realize, that right? Maybe he forgot. I will ask him later about it. He seems busy now ¡®playing with rocks¡¯. There could even be new prey down there. Hmmm more ¡®walking meat¡¯. Chapter Fourteen, Skilled Stiffs ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** ¡°And how does that make you feel?¡± -Mysterious Journal ¡°If you ask me one more time how something makes me bloody feel I swear on my mother¡¯s left nipple that I will find a way to desecrate your grave.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you just listen?¡± -Mysterious Journal Bastill had gained four levels after unlocking the useless Mysterious Journal ability including the level that gained him the new ability elite assign. He now sat at level eleven. The Mysterious Journal only ever wanted to talk about was his own past life or his future plans. He made it a habit to interrupt the man whenever he began to talk about himself. He had no desire to listening to some old king¡¯s spirit. What on earth would a blasted king know about dungeons? ¡®Oh I used to read lots of books back in my day.¡¯ For the love of my mother¡¯s taint, I wish he would shut up. When he began talking about the future, Bastill still did not care to really listen. In addition to wanting to talk about the future he also kept bringing up certain phrases such as: ¡®Maybe you shouldn¡¯t violently massacre the town nearby¡¯ or ¡®Why do you keep the stray dog around¡¯ or his least favorite ¡®how does that make you feel?¡¯. He was serious about finding the old kings grave and desecrating it. However, the Mysterious Journal refused to give him his name. ¡°How long will you try to ignore me this time? You do realize I can¡¯t go anywhere.¡± -Mysterious Journal I will eventually get that name from him and then my new pets will personally go to his grave. What better then Zombies in a graveyard? Glancing over to the mutt sleeping by his core he began his enjoyable habit of talking to someone who wouldn¡¯t annoy him with dumb words unlike the Mysterious Journal. He preferred the Mutt¡¯s mute acceptance then the insistent advice. He didn¡¯t need advice, he had been doing great before hand and he would naturally continue to. Can you believe this guy Mutt? Up on his throne thinking he knows more than us. I won¡¯t let him come between us though. You he actually suggested killing you so that I could learn how to make you, but when it comes to humans it¡¯s wrong. What a hypocrite, am I right Mutt? The dog continued to sleep. He took this time to look over at his newest creation. His recently created zombies. They looked quite similar to the first human he had killed to learn it. The first had been a young strapping farm hand that his spiders had ensnared and brought to him. The difference in appearance was that the zombies¡¯ eyes were completely black and unblinking. They also didn¡¯t piss and shit themselves in the presence of the giant spiders. A very welcome difference that he valued. I am just so done with things defecating in my core room. The zombie¡¯s hair was different than the original shit brown hair. It now was bleached a stark white that contrasted greatly with the eyes and complemented the pasty pale skin. He had also used the ability Skill Book Creation to give the zombies an edge. He had the following combat abilities: Sword Mastery, Spear Mastery, Bow Mastery, Small Blade Mastery, Axe Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Light Armor, Heavy Armor, Shield Mastery, Dual Wield. He also had lesser abilities such as Observing, Sewing, Herb Gathering, Forestry, Tracking, Cooking, Traps, Alchemy, Herb Lore, Trade, Perception, Construction, General Magic, Stealth, Scribing, Riding, Masonry, Sculpting, Acrobatics, Ancient History, Hunting, Animal Handling, Farming, Artistry, Blacksmith, Folklore, Hide, Tailor, and Administration. He created a total of thirteen zombies that he would focus on. They were his elite zombies. He had an additional thirteen-hundred non-elite zombie underlings that he wasn¡¯t focuses on. The common zombies he had were gall given the following skills: Sword Mastery, Dual Wield, Shield Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Heavy Armor, Archery Mastery, Observing, Forestry, Tracking, Traps, Perception, Construction, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Herb Gathering and Hunting. He put one of the elite zombies in charge of what they all did. His plan on giving them so many skills was he wanted a versatile warrior. He thought he¡¯d be disgusted by the zombies before creating them but he actually found them pleant to be around. They reminded him of himself. Their co nstant training and grinding of their skills. It was just like his past life. Currently no matter how much he personally attempted to sculpt he was having no luck which vexed him to no end. By giving the zombie the Administration Skill, he was a lot more effective. Not to mention he imbued the Demon Heart catalyst into the elites which made them far more effective. Each had a varied and specific skill set. Unlike the versatile but abundant skills the common Zombies had ones had. The thirteen-hundred common zombies were constantly practicing. He would occasionally check on were always rotating between Hunting/Herb Gathering/Trapping in the woods, to practicing with their bows, to participating in the coliseum. The hunting helped improve their Archery Mastery, Observing, Forestry, Tracking, Traps, Perception, Construction, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Herb Gathering and Hunting skills. While the coliseum helped level their Sword Mastery, Dual Wield, Shield Mastery, Unarmed Combat, and Heavy Armor skills. In the coliseum he had made his administrative elite reinforce the method of battle that he wished for. They would start off with two swords each and they would attack their opponent ferociously until they dropped their sword, or one was too injured to fight. If one sword was dropped, then they would grab their shields from their back and continue. Some fights ended with the zombies bare fisted and brawling each other. There fervent fights were admirable. He also loved how they held the elites in veneration, giving them the respect, they deserved. His little Zombie civilization had formed its own customs of respect. He suspected they picked it up from the spiders tapping, but when being spoken to by an elite they would grab both swords in a reverse grip and thrust them tip down in the ground while kneeling. They would also join in the spider tapping in the coliseum when they watched a battle by alternated stabbing the earth. Those spiders are a horrible influence, but I can¡¯t be mad at the Zombies unique quirky customs. Although they were fascinating to watch his favorites to watch were the thirteen elite zombies he had assigned. His thirteen generals were a master piece. Their eyes ended up being bright glowing red. With their levels ten level above the common zombies which all started at level ten. The weapons they had weren¡¯t great. He had managed to get the spiders to get some basic weapons dragged back from the village he had been attacking. Right now, the zombies weren¡¯t too strong, but he knew they would only grow stronger the more they drilled their skills daily. They could also level up through hunting. For his elites he had one focused on organizing the lesser zombies, seven focusing on close combat, three focusing on becoming stealthy rangers, one focusing on healing and herbs, with the last focusing on building and sculpting. He had a love hate relationship with the sculpting elite. He loved the thought that he had a way to create new sculptures, but he wanted to do it himself. Son of a bitch makes it look so easy doesn¡¯t he. Hey Mutt, Sick him! Attack! Or roll over and let him rub your belly¡­ Traitor. He ignored the other generals as they honed their craft only focusing on the one sculpting. It was magnificent! He didn¡¯t create beautiful creations, but he still was successful. That was the important part. He enviously watched the sculptor hoping to gleam insight. He constantly had the Zombie elite sculpting. The creations were in fact less then amazing. Looking at the skill level of the Sculptor¡¯s skill it was currently at level seven in sculpting. He also would always create the same statue. It was a crudely made hand crafted from granite that appeared to be erupting from the ground. Ha pathetic, apparently that the extent of your skill as soon as I figure out how to sculpt again I will show you what real sculpting is. Keeping making your shitty little hands. I wonder what the stats are. Lets see¡­ Sculpture Completed Graveyard Hand Zombie Shrine Effects- Zombies learn skills 5% faster. Within fifteen feet of the Sculpture. Hmmm not bad, I can actually use this. He had the zombie divide the coliseum into thirteen rings that were completely surrounded by the statues. The result was a stacked effect that gave the zombies in the ring an incredible learning rate. Three of the rings were completely dedicated to his elites and were constantly in use by the seven combat orientated elites. There were always two one-on-one fights going on, with an additional two-on-one fight in progress. On the side lines was the herb and healing Focused elite that would be practicing medicine close by and healing up the others back to a combat ready condition. Currently the matches that were set up were an Elite Zombie Knight equipped with sword and shield against Elite Zombie Beserker that used an axe, and another Elite Zombie Knight against an Elite Zombie Vanguard with a Spear. The last elite battle going one was an Elite Zombie Beserker and Elite Zombie Vanguard teamed up against his favorite combatant the Elite Zombie Dualist.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Elite Zombie Dualist was always thrilling to watch. He was always pared off against two opponents which cause him a harder battle and leveled up his skills at a faster rate. He would also face off against ten giant Furry Spiders. He wasn¡¯t quite adept to take on any tougher spiders yet, but Bastill hoped he would turn into his most powerful combatant eventually. He ended up creating a coliseum at each outpost for his spiders to compete at. Though they did still compete at the original occasionally facing off against Zombies. The zombies that ended up dying would be reported to Bastill so he could make new ones. Leveling up to level elven had brought him three new abilities, which he decided to turn his focus onto. He didn¡¯t earn any abilities, when he leveled up to eleven and on top of that his mana capacity which was at nine-hundred and fifty at level ten jumped all the way up to one-thousand-five-hundred and he had not gained any ability at level eleven., which concerned him. He hoped that the levels didn¡¯t continually disappoint him with no new abilities. He enjoyed getting new abilities. He currently had three newer abilities that he had yet to fully understand other than elite Creature Assign. That ability was pretty straight forward. The three abilities he had gained were Town Control, Elite Creature Assign, and Creatures Menu. He had already used Elite Creature Assign on his thirteen Elite Zombies. It was quite a unique ability allowing the elite creatures the revive ability after twenty-four hours had passed from their death. This would allow them to continue gaining strength despite death. The only troublesome part was the time delay and it didn¡¯t give them a superior boost besides the additional ten level boost. The Creatures Menu he decided to finally try out today. He pulled it up and looked at the information on the screen. Well this is actually quite helpful! He decided to only look over his current Zombies Information by using the Creature Menu. It was quite impressive to view his creatures using the Menu Creatures Menu Elite Creature: Elite Zombies Rangers: Average Level: 20 Average Skill Level: 7 Amount:3 Skills: Bow Mastery, Small Blade Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Light Armor, Traps, Forestry, Tracking, Perception, Dual Wield, Alchemy, Herb Lore, Acrobatics, Hunting, Animal Handling, General Magic, Stealth, Hide Elite Zombie Healer: Level: 16 Average Skill Level: 5 Amount:1 Skills: Observing, Sewing, Cooking, Alchemy, Herb Lore, Perception, General Magic, Stealth, Hide Elite Zombie Administrator: Level:16 Average Skill Level: 5 Amount:1 Skills: Trade, Perception, General Magic, Scribing, Ancient History, Folklore Administration. Elite Zombie Artisan:Level: 16 Average Skill Level: 5 Amount:1 Skills: Observing, Sewing, Perception, Construction, General Magic, Scribing, Masonry, Sculpting, Ancient History, Artistry, Blacksmith, Folklore, Tailor Elite Zombie Dualist: Average Level: 20 Average Skill Level: 12 Amount:1 Skills: Sword Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Heavy Armor, Dual Wield, Observing, Perception, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Riding, Acrobatics Elite Zombie Knight: Average Level: 20 Average Skill Level: 7 Amount:2 Skills: Sword Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Heavy Armor, Shield Mastery, Observing, Perception, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Riding, Acrobatics Elite Zombie Vanguard: Average Level:20 Average Skill Level:9 Amount:2 Skills: Spear Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Heavy Armor, Shield Mastery, Dual Wield, Observing, Perception, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Riding, Acrobatics Elite Zombie Berserker: Average Level:20 Average Skill Level:8 Amount:2 Skills: Axe Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Heavy Armor, Observing, Perception, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Riding, Acrobatics Common Creature: Zombies: Average Level: 7 Average Skill Level: 2 Amount:13,000 Skills: Sword Mastery, Dual Wield, Shield Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Heavy Armor, Archery Mastery, Observing, Forestry, Tracking, Traps, Perception, Construction, General Magic, Stealth, Hide, Herb Gathering, and Hunting. Well that really helps me come to grips with my attack force which brings me to my newest ability! The last ability, Town Control, allowed him to ¡®bring a town under the control of the dungeons influence¡¯. He wasn¡¯t one-hundred percent sure what that meant but he was extremely excited to find out. His little mutt finally awoke from its nap. I see someone is excited to subjugate the human race, aren¡¯t you? Yes you are! What a good little Mutt. Now roll over! The dog in question, which couldn¡¯t actually hear the dungeon cores rambling, looked around the dungeon before tuckering back down for a nap again. That¡¯s okay we will work on that one¡­ Now NAP! That¡¯s a good little Mutt! Turning his attention back to the mission on hand. Reaching his conscience out to his star iron spire outposts he felt the reserve spiders he had. He awoke the beings within several spires and rallied his spiders to prepare for battle. Now my little spidery fucks! It is time to capture the town for good! ¡°Bastill we have talked about this. If you continue to attack humans there will be severe consequences in the future. Just cut your ties off and abandon this project¡± -Mysterious Journal GODDESS OF MERCY HOW DOES HE ALWAYS KNOW WHAT I AM DOING?!?! ¡°*SIGH* Bastill I am part of the dungeon now. Resulting in me knowing when your forces are moving. How long will you continue to ignore me?¡± -Mysterious Journal ¡°What do you want me to do then? Spend my days talking to you instead of growing stronger by any means necessary? I would like to use this lifetime to live a little longer then my last life and so far, I have less than five FUCKING YEARS LEFT. I swear to whatever cauliflower-eared god you pray to that I don¡¯t have time for talking about the past and future. I have one blasting thing to do. That is to grow stronger, so I can survive. Once that is assured we can unite the world in bloody peace or whatever, but for now just fuck off. I don¡¯t have time to dawdle about and play the ¡®Tree Hugging Hippie Orgy¡¯ game with a king.¡± ¡°Listen I understand you are scared and¡­¡±-Mysterious Journal ¡°I AM NOT FUCKING SCARED. Keep your chamber pot of a mouth closed. I am sick of all the shit you spew out each day. I am fine. If anything, I am pissed.¡± ¡°We can try talking about this later when you have calmed down a little more.¡± -Mysterious Journal ¡°Very unfucking likely I¡­ WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE GOD¡¯S CONCUBINES IS HAPPENING IN THE TOWN?¡± He had slacked off the attacks on the village recently when he focused on the zombie creation and now the town was a fortress. In the town he had surrounded by his army of spiders was stone walls and more than a thousand times more guards then he had ever encountered. Just what on earth is happening? ¡°I know you won¡¯t abandon the assault, but if you¡¯d like military guidance I will help you in this endeavor.¡± -Mysterious Journal ¡°Shut UP!¡± Giving it a slight bit of consideration, he realized that more battle advice would be quite helpful, but he was very reluctant to listen to the king. However, the fat remained he was no general and had next to no knowledge on the battlefield. ¡°Maybe, we will see what you have to offer.¡± This must be the Guilds from other cities setting up some quest to vanquish the spiders and protect the village. I thought this would be a simple cleanup of the remaining two hundred or so citizens, but this is now a two-sided war. ¡°In this situation your spiders have advantage at night. Night will fall in two hours. Wait until then. I¡¯d start with guerrilla tactics using the Concealed Giant Jumping Spider during the night to subdue the scouts and pared with the Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider to charge in as vanguard charge deep into the enemy¡¯s boundary. However, you only want to do charge in after the Concealed Giant Jumping Spiders have spent a good deal of time subduing those on watch. After the initial charge of the Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spiders you should send in some swarms of the lesser spiders. Use six Overlord Giant Fringed Spiders to control the three-hundred Concealed Giant Jumping Spiders and the three-hundred Scythed Legged Giant Huntsman Spiders. With the remaining ninety-four Overlord Giant Fringed Spiders you can control nine-thousand-four-hundred Furry Giant Spiders. I¡¯d also pull your floor bosses back to protect your core. Also send in your combat orientated elites. You can always revive them later, however a real battle will be beneficial for them¡± -Mysterious Journal ¡°Hmmm I see your usefulness now. You should talk like this more often. I think we¡¯d be good friends then.¡± ¡°I think that is my first compliment. I am only giving this information to you because if you didn¡¯t have it your attack plan might result in a defeat or major loss in troops, which in turn will lead to our death. Yes, our death cause I¡¯m stuck to a murder crazed Dungeon. Now the plan sounds flawless but plans always fall apart and it¡¯s good to have back up plans. Plus, they are bound to have mages. Before we start the attack, we need to go over the attack strategies with the Overlord Giant Fringed Spiders so they can utilize their soldiers in the best way.¡± -Mysterious Journal ¡°Well let¡¯s get to work then.¡± He glanced at his stat menu as preparation for the war council. Stat Menu Level:11, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 600/1500, Mana Absorption: 3400/day, Creatures:50301, Miles(square):5, Outposts:25 Abilities Skill Book Creation- Ability to Create skill books from the knowledge you have. Skills Available: Sword Mastery, Spear Mastery, Bow Mastery, Small Blade Mastery, Axe Mastery, Unarmed Combat, Light Armor, Heavy Armor, Shield Mastery, Dual Wield, Observing, Sewing, Herb Gathering, Forestry, Tracking, Cooking, Traps, Alchemy, Herb Lore, Trade, Perception, Construction, General Magic, Stealth, Scribing, Riding, Masonry, Sculpting, Acrobatics, Ancient History, Hunting, Animal Handling, Farming, Artistry, Blacksmith, Folklore, Hide, Tailor, and Administration. Sacrifice- Sacrifice humans to any god of your choosing in your dungeon core room. Must be performed by a floor boss Mysterious Journal- Unknown Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 3400/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Magic- Blood Magic Corrupt Dungeon- Spread your awareness through expanding your creatures across the surface. Town Control- Ability to bring a town under the control of the dungeons influence. Elite Creature Assign- Able to give a creature an elite status. Allows them to revive after 24 hours. Creatures Menu- Easier status display of the dungeon creatures. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Coal: 20, Dirt: .1, Agate:5, Star Iron:50, Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Creatures Insects- Common Spider:.1, Flea: .05, Tick: .05, Scorpion: .3, Pill Bug: .1, Beetle: .1, Butterfly: .1, Worm: .1 Animals-, Blue Bird:15, Common Gardner Snake:5, Lizard: 5, weasel: 12, Frog: 4, Rat: 8, Bat: 8 Created Beasts- Furry Giant Spider:70, Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider:140, Concealed Giant Jumping Spider:120, Overlord Giant Fringed Spider:170, Zombie:80, Elite Zombie:100 Objects Door:1, Leaf: .1, Bird Nest: 2, Flask: 5, Dog Shit: .5, Weapons High Steel Dagger: 20, Iron Spear:15, Iron Knife:5, Wood-Bound Kite Shield:10, Wooden-Round Buckler:5, Hunting Bow:10, Heavy Iron Amor Set:20, Light Leather Armor Set;15, Steel Broad-Sword:20, Steel Spear: 20 Fluid- Per Bottle Fire water: 5 Catalysts Mana Infused Iron Demon Heart Chapter Fifteen, Busting Nuts In Holes ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** As Bastill looked around at the balanced ecosystem that he created within the confines of his dungeon he felt pleased with himself. He had just finished his week-long Sculpting project in the entrance room to the dungeon. He had ended up expanding his influence on a small room below the last room on the second floor, which created the third floor. This allowed him to level up by meeting the requirements. He met the next requirements to level up two more times leveling up to level twelve. The largest changes in the levels he noticed was that level change from eleven to twelve added another thousand to his mana capacity. He also didn¡¯t gain any abilities at level eleven, however he did gain one at level twelve. He believed that he must gain a skill every two levels now. His ability gained at level ten was Elite Creature Assign, while the ability gained at level twelve was Ecosystem Menu. Elite Creature Assign allowed him to select creatures a give them an elite status. This would allow them to be revived after a twenty-four-hour count down. He knew Kitsune and Wenet were both developing their own elites. He decided to inform Kitsune, ¡°Wenet, Kitsune, I know you have been talking about making elites. I recently gained an ability to make elites. It allows them to be revived after twenty-four hours.¡± Kitsune was the first to respond as always, ¡°I see you finally put down your rocks. That is just the ability we need Bastill. I will let you know when I am ready for you.¡± Wenet took a pause before answering, ¡°Likewise, I will need some time.¡± Wenet was never one to initiate conversations or to drag them out any longer then absolutely necessary. She was quite stoic that way. Bastill wanted to look at the Ecosystem Menu, but he wanted to reflect upon his newly made statues first. He had managed to recreate the Blood-Teared Goddess of The Dungeon after some difficulty. He realized that it must have absorbed the residual blood from the platform last time and managed to bound the material with same Ceremonial Blood catalyst it had absorbed last time. Another change in the creation process was this time he did not make it out of Granite, but instead out of Onyx-Marble. He had discovered several things in the newest third floor room. The first was the Onyx-Marble, which was whiter then even the Marble. It had a lusty glow even before he began sculpting it. The second discovery in his 62nd room was the Mammoth Skeleton, which by itself I quite useless. However, thanks to a bit of broken off tusk he managed to learn the material Ivory, which he had plans for in the future. He gazed at the brilliant Goddess of The Dungeon inside of the dungeon once more. It was once again on a pedestal within the center of the room. Despite making in half the time as the original it was even more heaven defying. The material was also vastly superior, which could be seen in the increase in percentage boost and the added effect. Sculpture Completed Blood-Teared Goddess of The Dungeon Effects- If gifts are given that catches the dungeons favor then there is a 1% to 50% Buff to all Characteristics depending on the dungeon¡¯s analysis for the next twenty-four hours. Accepted Items are dissolved, while rejected items burst into flame. Those who pray to the Blood-Teared Goddess of The Dungeon daily and showed continued patronage can become Apostles of the Goddess. He added in the plaque but changed it slightly from the original. It now read, ¡°Here I stand, the Goddess of The Dungeon, I weep for those Adventurers who fall, gift to me and I will it in kind, I will watch over you. For I am the Goddess of The Dungeon. Pledge allegiance to my shrine and pray to me always. Those who are devout will gain my power.¡± It was a huge improvement compared to the old one. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure of the ramifications of becoming an Apostle, but he was definitely intrigued about the prospect. He kept the term vague in the plaque. No sense putting the effect down word from word. It was better to keep an enigmatic atmosphere around his statues. He didn¡¯t want adventures to ever truly understand what was happening. After all, keeping the mystical appeal was quite entertaining to him. The Goddess of The Dungeon Statue was not the only addition he added to the main entrance. Another feature was the cave ceiling which he had first layered with Marble before carving into. He had managed to craft a beautiful ceiling piece in the first room that showed the night sky. Despite being made of Marble, which was known to be white, it had turned outpitch black with bright lit glowing white stars. He also made the ceiling concave which further emphasized the illusion of the bending night sky lit with stars. This addition pulled greater attention to the angel-white Crying Goddess even more startling. He planned to eventually extent the night sky to the walls of the room, since he hadn¡¯t it labeled it as only half finished. The walls were pith black but lacked the stars that he would eventually sculpt into it. He looked at its notification. Sculpted Scene Half-Complete Night Sky of the Goddess Current Effect- At night every creature under your control gains +25% increase to all characteristics. Unfinished- Unknown It¡¯s interesting how the effect it has on the creatures. I can¡¯t imagine what it will end up doing when it is completed. It was a beautiful sight and contrasted the Goddess of The Dungeon to an astounding degree. He couldn¡¯t wait to complete it all, but sadly it would half to wait. For some reason he felt he wasn¡¯t ready to complete it yet. It was a core feeling he had. He was missing something. He needed to gather a greater understanding before he proceeded on it, but for now he was content. There were four additional statues in the room. The first was made by him and the remaining three he had used the Copy Statue ability to make. The statues in question were all on the same platform as the Goddess of The Dungeon. Each occupied a corner of the pedestal which had been extruded down words. It gave each of them their own platform attached to the main platform yet lower by a foot. Each was around five foot and seven inches. They were all created in the form of a lithe human. Each face was angelically carved out of ivory and shaped just like an adventurer he had come across. The eyes were colored by sapphire that had been created into the Ivory before he started sculpting. They were then sculpted and reveled only in the iris. It would be impossible to for any human sculptor to be able to achieve this let alone find material to work with like this. Only with Bastill¡¯s ability was he able to pull off this master piece. This Statue he decided would be Alice¡¯s bonus reward he had promised. What could be better than a tribute to her in the form of the sculptures that she loved to see. Plus, she would be pleased to see all the heads attached. Each statue had an elegantly sculpted ivory spear in their hands. The spear had scenes of war crafted onto their cavasses. The spear was in fact crafted separately then the human female sculptures. They could even be removed. However, he highly doubted any would try. Each was posed in a different dexterous striking form, their blue eye¡¯s glinted intelligence and life. With the idea from the Goddess of The Dungeon he had also imbued the Angel Feather Catalyst into this creation. He also used the Ceremonial Blood on the spear. On top utilizing the Angel Feather he used his Statue Animation skill. They were no longer just Ivory Statues. They were living and moving statues. If the situation occurred where he needed to mete out order in the entrance room, these statues would jump off their pedestals and into action. They really were the guardians of the Goddess of The Dungeon. The only difference between Alice and the statues were the more ornate and provocative carving of the armor and the wings on their back. He glanced at the notifications for the spear and statues. Sculpture Completed Blood-Ivory War Spear Effect- Spear gains additional levels to Spear Mastery with each kill. The wielder gains these additional skill levels. Spear Mastery: 1 Sculpture Completed Ivory Spear Angel Effect- Golem Creature; Level: 35; Strength:35; Constitution:30; Dexterity:30;Intelligence:30; Wisdom:30; Charisma:14, Spear Mastery Skill:40. I can¡¯t believe this ended up becoming a golem. They are so incredibly rare and guarded creation. I guess I probably didn¡¯t create one in the average way. I wonder how civilization created these without the powers I have. The Important thing though is that these creatures are quite strong. I think I am starting to gain more help about my hopes about my survival. He never got over his amazement after seeing these dazzling beings. He doubted he could use their wings effectively or at all since they were solid ivory. The spears also were quite fascinating. His only worry was that people would discover that they were in fact a real weapon with such a frightening ability. He had only ever heard of legendary weapons with such abilities. Of course, it wasn¡¯t very strong now, but it had the ability for infinite growth. That was a dangerous thing to hold. It¡¯s dangerous to keep, but it might also end up giving me the edge to face that dark sorceress. I just need to make sure known of the adventures discover the spears. I will need to reflect more on this later, but for now I really want to check out my latest skill Ecosystem Menu He opened up the latest menu and watched the new data flow over in his mind. It had never even occurred to him all the information that flashed across the screen. He imagined a lot of this data was what Kitsune often mentioned to him about. It brought up the different creatures and their status in the dungeon. With this he would have noticed the need to upgrade the creatures sooner. It simply covered topics he hadn¡¯t realized before. Happiness of the creatures, their average death rate and reproduction. It was fascinating and incredibly useful. Ecosystem Menu House of the Fox Alliances: House of the Long-Ear Mood: 10/10 Kitsune(Vixen Slayer)- Level:36 Role: Leader Birth RateUninterested in Bitches) Death rate: N/A Prey: Anything that bothers Him Habits: Watches His Kits, Kicking Vixen in the Face Loyalty: Bastill, Wenet, His Kits The Kits Role: Candidates for Elite Death rate/Birth Rate: N/A Prey: Racoonoids, Stone-Hedge Hog, Troll Squirrel, Serrated-Billed Platypus Loyalty: Bastill, Wenet, Other Kits Ruby- Level:26 Habits: Every Asset, Leadership, Planner, Clever Topaz- Level:25 Habits: Fast Precise Claws Opal- Level:26 Habits: Tricky, Clever, Planning, Wise Diamond- Leve:l25 Habits: Constitution, Brawling Amethyst- Level:25 Habits: Biting Death grip, Goes for the Throat Emerald- Level:25 Habits: Works with Jade, Feinting, In Sync Jade- Level:25 Habits: Works with Emerald, Attack, In SyncThis narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sapphire- Level:25 Habits: Assisting Others, Lunging, Protective Blood Fox - Average Level:18 Role: Apex Predators Birth Rate:30/week Death rate:15/week Prey: Racoonoids, Stone-Hedge Hog, Troll Squirrel, Serrated-Billed Platypus Habits: Hunting, Ambushes, Clever Population:158 Loylty: House of the Fox, Bastill House of the Long-Ear Alliances: House of the Fox Mood: 8/10 Wenet(The Swift One)- Level:41 Role: Leader Birth Rate: 50/week Prey: N/A Habits: Birthing, Talking to Kitsune Loyalty: Bastill, Wenet, His Kits, Dracula Hare¡¯s Dracula Hare- Average Level:15 Role: Apex Predators Birth Rate: Infertile Death rate: 40/week Prey: Racoonoids, Stone-Hedge Hog, Troll Squirrel, Serrated-Billed Platypus Habits: Hunting, Blood Sucking, Pack Mentality Population:352 Loyalty-House of the Long-Ear, Bastill House of the Feeder- Role: Food Source Racoonoids- Average Level:12 Birth Rate: 100/week Death rate: 90/week Food: Mandrake Roots, Elder Berry Habits: Human Emulation Population:500 Loyalty- N/A Mood: 1/10 Stone-Hedge Hog- Average Level:14 Birth Rate: 80/week Death rate: 70/week Food: Mandrake Roots, Elder Berry Habits: Spike Ball Lunge Population:350 Loyalty-N/A Mood: 1/10 Troll Squirrel- Average Level:16 Birth Rate: 70/week Death rate: 60/week Food: Acorn Habits: Acorn, Stupidity Population:100 Loyalty-Acorn Mood: 11/10 Serrated-Billed Platypus- Average Level:15 Birth Rate: 50/week Death rate: 40/week Food: Mandrake Roots, Elder Berry Habits: Dams, Swimming Population:300 Loyalty- N/A Mood: 1/10 House of the Flora ¡­ He skipped over the details for the ¡®House of the Flora¡¯ at the moment. He had a lot of things to consider in the mean time and he could always explore that section in more detail later on. It was nice to be able to see what his creatures were going through. He found it very interesting that they were divided into four houses. The Foxes and the Hares were both in separate hoses which made sense. He had heard Kitsune mention the House of the Fox in some passing conversations before, but it was different to actually see it and see the different loyalty and habits of the creatures. It seemed that the Floor bosses generally had loyalty towards him, each other, their own species and the kits. This brought him to another interesting point, the kits. He had heard Kitsune mention his kits before however he had never seen any information on them before. They appeared to be rather strong. At least far superior to the rest of the Blood Foxes. He enjoyed reading their habits as well. It appeared to be their fighting habits. Each one was unique in their own way. The other creatures also had habits, however not many were that eye popping. The only ones that really reached out to him was the one about Kitsune kicking female foxes in the face. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what that was about and when he asked kitsune the only answer he received was that he had been busy, and they kept bothering him. The last two habits that he found intriguing or at least peculiar was the Racoonoids and the Troll Squirrel. The Racoonoids had an intriguing habit of imitating humans which he found intriguing. He might be able to do something with that. The Troll Squirrels had a peculiar acorn habit, which he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of. He had another habit named stupidity, which honestly didn¡¯t surprise him. The dumb animals only loyalty was acorns. Why on earth would they have a loyalty to acorns? They are hopeless¡­ The mod stat helped him understand how his creatures were doing in his dungeon most of them were doing quite good. The freaking Troll Squirrel was even off the charts content. There was definitely something wrong with squirrels. However the Stone-Hedge Hog, Serrated-Billed Platypus, and Racoonoids were doing very poor. He wasn¡¯t sure what on earth could be wrong with them, but figured the Kitsune¡¯s counsel would be enlightening, ¡°Hey Kitsune I am using a new ability to see the conditions of the ecosystem in the dungeon and some of the creatures aren¡¯t doing so well. Do you have any idea why that might be?¡± Prompt as always Kitsune responded, ¡°Aww you must be referring the ¡®messed up beavers¡¯, ¡®prickly shit bags¡¯, and the ¡®masked ones¡¯.¡± It took Bastill a few seconds to translate the names over. Kitsune always had a very elaborate way of describing different things. He thought it had to be related to still being an animal. What surprised him was that Kitsune was spot on with his guesses. Realizing that Kitsune must know something he didn¡¯t he pressed on with the Kitsune, ¡°Yes those three are the issue. I¡¯m impressed you could figure it out. Could you clue me in on what is wrong? I haven¡¯t figured it out yet.¡± He could hear the confusion in Kitsune¡¯s voice as he answered, ¡°Well you are torturing the poor bastards after all so I am not really that surprised.¡± Bastille was shocked, ¡°What?! Torturing? I haven¡¯t done anything to them. Why would I torture them and how am I?¡± He could have sworn he could hear a smile in the next mentally projected response from Kitsune, ¡°Yes you are dishing out a quite elaborate punishment. I just assumed you had been doing it because they were inferior, or you had a grudge against them. After all you did make the squirrels commit mass suicide for a while.¡± Bastill couldn¡¯t help himself as he interrupted,¡± I told you that was a total accident! Now what exactly am I doing wrong?¡± Kitsune provided him with the missing link,¡± Well to put it simply all the other creatures are content with their food or prey. While we don¡¯t need to eat per se it still quite enjoyable. The creatures in question are probably more on the meat side of omnivore. I¡¯m sure the ¡®messed up beavers¡¯ were originally ¡®plant munchers¡¯ but with the new evolution I believe they are probably expecting to hunt underwater creatures. So, in short they want to feed properly.¡± It just hadn¡¯t occurred to him that they didn¡¯t eat anything other than plants, ¡°Well that explains it. Thanks, Kitsune I will try to straighten that out. I think I will need to create some creatures they can hunt.¡± He had come to the conclusion that the Breeder animals couldn¡¯t really hunt each other. The battles would be too difficult and they would end up being picked off by the predators. He also needed something else aquatic. He really did need to create some new creatures that could be eaten by the Breeder animal. He mentally went over his learned creatures that he hadn¡¯t exploited yet. He had some insects and animals. He rea There was Leaf Imitator, Stick Bug, Praying Mantis, Centipede, Deer, wolf, Bear, goat. He was rather hesitant to use insects. After the spider incident. He would just need to make sure not to make them too big. If he did make them large then he would make them mostly harmless. That would be a subtle compromise. The animals were also too big and two of them were ferocious predators, which he didn¡¯t think the breeder animals could handle. With a clear goal in mind he picked the Leaf Imitator, Stick Bug, and the Goat. He felt these would be the best three to adapt into the dungeon. He now needed to come up with a plan for their evolutions. As he tried to get inspiration on what to make He realize he would need to make three more additional rooms for these creatures along with using statue copy to increase their rate of birth. He internally sighed in his mind. Every time I solve a problem I seem to just make more work or problems. I still have those spears that I may need to hide from sight. His mind shifted focus as he began meditating on the decision to hide the spears or not. As he continued to ponder it he realized that he was getting distracted. He had a task to get done. One task at a time. Multitasking would lead to a path to nowhere. If you don¡¯t start and finish the task, then more will get stacked up and unfinished. It was a viscous cycle, which he was slightly afraid he might already have fallen into. Just as he was about to focus on the task on hand he noticed a Marble Chest of Diamond wondering into the entrance room. It didn¡¯t exactly have legs. Instead it utilized the wait and momentum of the lid to help it hop throughout his dungeon. After it entered the room it apparently changed its mind and began leaping back into the other room. After the incident of the fanged chest he had made a new chest to replace it in the room. He had twelve stationary chests with one wandering chest as he called it. He also gave it a greater reward inside. It would be a pleasant surprise for adventures. Just imagine finding a wandering chest with a huge reward! Well unless it bites off one of their hands. That could put a definite hamper on their mood. Well the reward must be equal to the risk. It¡¯s a healthy balance. He glanced at his Loot options just to refresh his mind over what he had given the wandering chest. He would often check different Stats just for fresh mental thoughts. He liked the constant input helped boost creativity. He might also get a new idea and decide to adjust different features. Loot Chests-Healing Potion:1, Diamond: x (1st chest 1, 2nd chest 2¡­.12th chest 12) Wandering Chest- Healing Potion:1, amethyst:100 Kitsune-amethyst:2, ruby:2, emerald:2, sapphire:2, jade:2 Wenet- opal:2, diamond:2, moonstone:2, topaz:2 Blood Fox- Ruby: 2 Dracula Hare- moonstone:2 Racoonoids, Stone-Hedge Hog, Troll Squirrel, Serrated-Billed Platypus-N/A He realized that he didn¡¯t have any loot for the Breeder room animals. He had long since ran out of any creative options. In retrospect they were easier to kill so no reward isn¡¯t that shocking. He was slightly disappointed with the wandering chests gifts. He hastily tried to throw together something unique. If you were going to lose a hand you better get something unique out of it. He started off with a cubic foot of ivory. As he began his work he noticed some Racoonoids gathering about to watch the process. He sculpted piece by piece until he was left with an elegantly crafted knife. Deciding to honor it with a name he had engraved the word ¡°Ichory,¡± after the word Ichor, which people believed the gods bled. Sculpture Completed Ichory the Ebony Dagger Effect- Grants user 25% increased Intelligence, and the Skill Leadership. He was quite impressed with its result. He considered it was worthy to lose an arm to gain the blade. Upon finishing the Blade, he put it in the chest, which the Racoonoids began to swarm about and attack. There attacks were quite useless and failed. Nevertheless, they continued their assault of the movable chest. The Chest didn¡¯t care as it continued moving about in its hoping fashion. After ten minutes of watching the Racoonoids attempts, Bastill berated himself for getting distracted again. It was just so easy to lose focus somedays. He was normally quite focused, but this day seemed to throw new things at him which he wasn¡¯t prepared for. Taking a deep mental breath he prepared his mind to take on the task of making the new creatures. I¡¯ve got this. All I need to do is evolve some creatures. It¡¯s easy as that. I just need to decide what I want them to be like and get to work. Okay, I¡¯m ready. On the count of three. One. Two. Thr¡­ Kitsune accidentally picked this time to interrupt him, ¡°Hey Bastill, you didn¡¯t forget about the ¡®hole of death¡¯ did you? I mean it could lead somewhere important, or maybe hold something unique at the bottom. We should probably investigate it. It¡¯s been there for an awfully long time.¡± Bastill lost his calm mind for a spilt second as he lost focus on the task at hand, ¡°For the love of everything good and decent. Why on earth will the Goddess¡¯s not let me focus today. Sorry Kitsune¡­ Listen I¡¯m trying to create some creatures so that I am not torturing half the creatures living in here, but I am having a really hard time. I guess the Abyss is important to investigate, but I just don¡¯t know what I should do?¡± Kitsune releasing the dungeon was on its last edges of sanity for the day he tried encouraging the idea a little more. He had meant to do it gently, but he wasn¡¯t very effective, ¡°It might be worth giving it an investigation. There might be new ¡®walking meat¡¯ or ¡®jumping meat¡¯. I mean the possibilities are endless. Plus, the freaking ¡®beefed-up nut munchers¡¯ have their acorn tree in that room. I don¡¯t trust them around the ¡®hole of death¡¯. Do you think you can check it out?¡± Bastill was done, ¡°Just push one of the beefed-up nut munchers down the hole and see if it crawls out. I¡¯m busy.¡± This appeared to be the answer Kitsune was looking for. Not even a second latter he could sense the granite crumbling, along with a low wail of one of the Troll Squirrels as it toppled into the hole. Bastill sighed as he continued with his distracted state. Maybe I need a small break? I¡¯m only human. Stat Menu Level:12, Race: Dungeon Core, Name: Bastill Characteristics Mana Capacity: 250/2500, Mana Absorption: 4800/day, Creatures:1770, Rooms:62, Floors:3 Abilities Statue Copy- Capable of copying existing statues for a mana cost. Statue Animation- Used to give souls to sculptures. Loot Distribution- Used to spawn treasure in chests and drops from killing beasts. Expand Consciousness- You can now use mana to expand your body around you, which in turn gives you a greater area of control. Current mana cost: 1 mana per every 4 cubic foot. Passive Mana Absorption- You no longer need to pull mana to you. It is now naturally drawn towards your core. Current rate 4800/Day. To increase grow stronger or larger. Stone Touch- Due to your talent and diligence your ability working with stone has increased. You have a great understanding of the stone you work and are able to make stone you work on glow with radiance. Dungeon Aura- Awoken with the power of Ceremonial Blood from your past. Dungeon Aura in its current state has increased effects growing and developing your creatures. As well as a 15% bonus to the dungeon creatures combat ability, and a 10% bonus in dungeon creature¡¯s characteristics. Observe- Ability to see the level and vocation of other creatures, while seeing the whole stat menu of dungeon creatures. Forced Evolution- Ability to see inject mana into a creature body part or characteristic, which will evolve the creature and raise its level and abilities. Dissolve- Lets you dissolve matter and recreate learned matter with mana. Mind Speak- More complex form of basic communication with lesser creatures. Elite Creature Assign- Able to give a creature an elite status. Allows them to revive after 24 hours. Learned Materials -1 cubic foot Quartz:5, Granite: .2, Marble:10, Ivory: 25, Onyx-Marble:55 Creatures Insects- Leaf Imitator: .2, Stick Bug: .2, Praying Mantis: .3, Centipede: .3, Animals- Grey Squirrel:10, Red Fox: 35, Hedge Hog: 12, Racon: 25, Deer: 40, wolf: 45, Bear: 60, goat: 35, Hare: 12, Beaver: 20, Created Beasts- Bloody Fox: 90, Dracula Hare:80, Vampiric Rabbit Queen:120, Racoonoids:80, Stone-Hedge Hog:70, Troll Squirrel:90, Serrated-Billed Platypus:75 Objects Toad Stool: .1, Moon Shade: .5, Mandrake root: 1, acorn:.1, fern: .1, elder berry bush: .1, whistling leaf: .1, and elves ear: .5, opal:5, diamond:5, amethyst:5, ruby:5, emerald:5, sapphire:5, jade: 5, moonstone: 5, topaz: 5, Mammoth Skeleton:500. Fluid- Per Bottle Medium Health Potion: 20, Mineral Water: .01 Chapter Sixteen, Beheaded In The Wrong Direction ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** ¡°I declare this as the first official war council. Yes, come gather around. I don¡¯t bite, but you piss me off and my Mutt will. No stop begging. Bad Dog. Ignore him for now everyone and no scraps. I swear to the goddess that I will instigate a guillotine in my dungeon where the first person feeding the Mutt will have their heads roll,¡± He looked around at the unexpressive faces. ¡°I think you should move on please. I don¡¯t think they would feed it scraps, so you don¡¯t need to worry¡±- Mysterious Journal ¡°Right. I will begin with the introductions. The person you just heard was the Mysterious Journal, he is to be ignored the best you can. He is judgmental and unhelpful. He will only give you ulcers. If you listen to him or obey any order given from him the punishment is beheading as well,¡± none of the faces had twitched in the slightest. Wow¡­ Tough crowd¡­ I hope they haven¡¯t all gone deaf. ¡°You all know the Mutt, here is the Elite Zombie Administrator, in charge of everything undead. We also have Nyx, Thanatos, and Hades. Of course me myself. If I need to introduce my name we will seriously need a guillotine for insubordination,¡±He watched as the Zombie Elite shifted awkwardly to the side. Sorta hiding his face away from the Goddess of the Dungeon¡¯s face. In preparation for the meeting he had the Elite Zombie Sculptor desecrate the statue. Just a little. He was now placed in the right eye of the Goddess of the Dungeon. Its effect took a slight toll from the eye gouging. However, he liked his new placement. Why shouldn¡¯t he be imbedded in the most beautiful statue? He would learn how to sculpt a new one eventually. Once he figured out how to sculpt¡­ Groaning mentally Bastill realized that he had never introduced himself to the Zombie Elite. It wasn¡¯t his fault. How often were you supposed to refer to yourself in third person? ¡°Bastill is very glad that you all could make it here today,¡± he said which seemed to raise even more confusion among his leaders. The spiders looked around, while the Zombie found words to speak. His voice was soft yet firm,¡± Um¡­ Master, which one is Bastill again?¡± Goddess of Virginity I¡¯m totally fucked. None of them know my freaking NAME!!! ¡°I AM BASTILL,¡± he wasn¡¯t used to the zombie being so talkative. He had of course always been rather busy building outposts. He had never really taken the time to talk to any of the Zombies before, not to mention they didn¡¯t ever directly ask him anything. They had always just taken orders from him. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about this talkative Administrator. Speak of the devil he had began speaking again, ¡°Yes, of course, Mistress Bastill, our beautiful leader.¡± Why the hell would he think I am a woman¡­ Oh yeah the statue¡­ That was poorly planned¡­ I feel so emasculated now. The war council was off to a rough start. He realized that he had been horrible antisocial. That of course was the spiders fault. He lamented. The spiders had no conversational skills so he had figured that the Zombies would be similar. He was proved wrong by the Elite Zombie in front of him. Since when were the undead so lively? That has to be an error¡­ Outlining the plan went by quicker than the introductions. Nyx and Thanatos only had to remember to guard the entrance to his core room, while Hades communicated the remaining orders to the one-hundred Overlord Giant Fringed Spider¡¯s that would be controlling the attack forces. He did have to remind Hades several times to stay and guard as well. Apparently, he wanted to battle. The administrator simply had to organize the seven battle orientated Elites, the Healer Elite, and the three Elite Zombie Rangers. The administrator pointed out that that riding the scythe spiders to the battle and into the battle itself would be an efficient plan. This caused Bastill to change the worsening opinion of the Administration to a more favorable one. The seven close quarter fights already had the Riding skill. He created four more riding skill books for the Healer and the rangers. The creation of the skill books was actually quite exhilarating for Bastill. He had needed to create tons for all of the common Zombies due to their numbers and amount of skills. He had grown to enjoy the method immensely. He focused on the knowledge of the skill he wanted and by drawing mana into the thought of it a simple book was made. He could even draw several skills into one book. The Administrator and the Sculptor would of course remain here. The Sculptor had no battle purpose and the Administrator purpose was to train the common zombies. He relayed the information of mounts to Hades. Making sure the spiders came by to pick them up. The forces began preparing for assault. Eleven Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider¡¯s picked up and transported just outside of the sight of the town they would invade.With all the actions in roll Bastill began to distract himself my continuing the building of an outpost, but he was interrupted by the Administrator, ¡°Master Bastill? Why are we attacking the town?¡± He turned his attention on the courageous Administrator who was multitasking. He was currently keeping the common zombies in their rotation, while mentally communication. Bastill had decided that he liked the Elite. Yes he was questioning his reasoning, but it wasn¡¯t hostile like the Mysterious Journal who deliberated stated his actions were wrong. The Administrator seemed genuinely curious. For that he decided two grant the Elite two favors. One, he could keep his head for now. Two, he¡¯d give him an honest answer, ¡°Well Admin, the answer is on one-thousand seven-hundred and seventy-five. There are exactly one-thousand seven-hundred and seventy-five days left until a catastrophe falls upon me. We all will have to endure a great tribulation. A very strong foe promised my death fifty days ago when I was first born.¡± ¡°What? You never told me this? I thought you were just being dramatic when you said you had five years left. You should have told me. This changes everything! First you need to¡­¡± -Mysterious Journal Oh now he seems to care. Too bad there is no changing my opinion now. He hadn¡¯t ever mentioned his impending death to the Mysterious journal. He preferred to not think about it. As long as he strived forward and made steady progress, he could almost pretend that he was normal. The Elite responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know. Just know that your forces will be ready when the time comes. We will work to death for you¡± Except I¡¯m not normal. I¡¯m a Dungeon Core. Kitsune is dead and not coming back. I HEAR FREAKING VOICES OF A DEAD KING IN MY MIND. That can¡¯t be normal. Oh and he was having a conversation with an undead. He was definitely not normal. His favorite conversationalist was a Mutt that couldn¡¯t understand him¡­ Well that was actually the most human attribute he had. To top it off he had the wrath of some S ranked bitch gunning for his death. The Mysterious Journal had continued to talk to Bastill about whatever. Bastill didn¡¯t know because he had tuned the asshole out. All he did was critic every little misstep Bastill displayed. The only use he had given Bastill was the attack plan. Every other word was narcissistically about his past or shit advice. He had the nerve to ask Bastill to kill the Mutt. Who the hell kills an innocent dog? What type of filthy murder would do such a thing? Sure Bastill had contemplated it but even he changed his mind. That must just prove how unreliable the ¡®king¡¯ was. There is only room for one King in this Dungeon. He reads a bunch of books and thinks he knows what the hell dungeons are and what they need to do. one-thousand seven-hundred and seventy-five ¡­ I can make it in time. I will make it. The sun has fallen, it¡¯s time for battle. It sucks that it is out of my range to watch. My forces will be fine. I am strong, and they are part of me. Obviously, the spiders were made from a slightly uglier part of me. I mean my back was never that hairy. I can¡¯t watch, but I can still get reports from theOverlord Giant Fringed Spiders leading the battle. ** ** ** Town of Ecressam ** ** **You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The Concealed Giant Jumping Spider¡¯s crept forward with surprising speed and yet no sound. They were impossible to see with the curtain of night out. However the torches were still dark so the Overlord Giant Fringed Spider in charge of his one hundred Concealed Giant Jumping Spider¡¯s made sure to be careful. There were two other groups creeping up as well. Failure on the mission would result in facing Thanatos in the coliseum after all. The Spiders approached the magically risen wall that surrounded the town of ¡®meat sacks¡¯. They could tell it was magical in nature due to the mana that resided within the wall. They leaped up the thirty-foot wall landing half way up. With one more leap they were at the very top, peeking over the wall they could see the wall walk. There just barely enough room for three men to walk abreast around the wall. There were numerous of the ¡®meat sacks¡¯ that loved attacking with the fast and long ranged projectiles. Their leader informed them that they were considered archers or classes of scouts or rangers according the master of their leader who they had never spoken too. The master was known to be ill tempered and unpredictable. He might kill you or reward you based off his reward. If you weren¡¯t an elite or a floor boss you kept your mouth shut. Numerous spiders had been subjected to the coliseums, which could be a great benefit, unless you faced off with Thanatos. Luckily the Concealed Giant Jumping Spiders were never threatened. The mysterious master seemed to consider them on his good side, but they had watched many ¡®Scythed Ones¡¯ and ¡®Furry Ones¡¯ fall on his bad side. They didn¡¯t want to risk his furry. Waiting for the ¡®meat sacks¡¯ to grow unfocused or distracted they waited impatiently. When a bit of weakness was shown they leapt. They continued a pattern of subduing the meat sacks with their venom. It would only last thirty minutes so they had to act fast after their first attack. They had the forces on the wall walk down to a quarter. Only twenty-five remained. They peaceful little take over was suddenly destroyed by a loud scream,¡±SPIDERS ON THE WALLL. ALL FORCES SPIDERS ON THE ARG.¡± The ¡®screaming meat sack¡¯ fell as he was swiftly taken down, but not before alerting the other ¡®meat sacks¡¯ that also began screaming things. They were ordered to retreat back to an outpost while the second phase of the attack took place ¡­ The Elite Dualist Zombie took spear point position in the formation astride his spider. On the left and right of him were both the spear wielding Vanguards. The remaining Zombies were just behind them focusing on keeping the Healer safe. The Rangers were right next to the healers firing shots on their spidery steeds. The Concealed Jumping Spiders began retreating off to west side of the wall with humans following behind them to drive them off. At this moment the Scythe legged Huntsman Spiders being controlled by the Fringed Overlord Spiders began their assault on the southern wall. They were quick and covered ground fast. Within thirty seconds of breaking cover they had made it to the wall and had begun to scale it. The humans were flanked as soon as the spiders made it over the wall and onto the wall walk. They had been focusing their efforts off on the west wall and were not prepared. The spiders rushed into town and began to eliminate the humans. They caught up to the tail end of the human defenders driving off the concealed Jumping Spiders and began to cleave their way through the surprised Guards Mages, and Adventures. After the initial shock the humans gathered their wits and began to fight fervently. The error in the plan began to show its self at this moment. Once the spiders were within the town they could be surrounded in their formation. Taking initiative, the remaining ninety-four Fringed Overlord Spiders began to pour their forces into the town from all sides. Suddenly the humans who had gained the advantage had lost it. The spiders were quite impressive, but the humans were no weaklings. The five hundred humans that had come to reinforce the town dwindled over the forces. Some began to doubt their success and took off on horses. This only hurt their chances further. In the end the humans had no chance. Between the absurd number of Furry Giant Spiders that surrounded them, and the elite scythe legged Huntsman spiders, the humans began to taste defeat. The coordination the spiders displayed was just too frightening. It was like they were one entire entity moving in synch. Legs would swing, fangs bared, webbing shooting in faces. The most terrifying part was the long-scythed legs that would sweep in vehemently. It was like they posed the physique of the Rage Goddess. They attacked relentlessly. A single death would be negligible as another would step forward. Another bizarre scene would be the humanoid figures upon a few of the spiders, there couldn¡¯t have been more than ten in all, but there added strength decimated the humans. They didn¡¯t appear to be humans when they peered into their red eyes, but their bodies resembled humans perfectly. It just added horror into the ranks of the humans. ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** Bastill received feedback from the Fringed Overlord Spiders in charge of the forces. It looked to be going well. In fact, he felt that victory was minutes away from happening. If he could have done a little dance, he would have. He would soon have his own town, which he imagined would greatly improve his strength. Five years? I think I will only need two years. After two years I will simply hunt down the Bitch myself with my armies! I shall need to make a monument to this glorious battle. It¡¯s a stepping stone to greatness. I will see if the Sculptor can do it¡­ No I will do it myself! I have been practicing and I feel like I am close! Isn¡¯t that right Mutt? He noticed a new presence within his Dungeon. It was a force of five humans heading straight for the entrance to the room. They were still pretty far off, about two miles but they were making steady progress. What scared him was they were traveling in a line, which would put them on a direct collision course with his core. How do they know where to go? Could it be some of the retreating humans from the battle? Maybe I should call more forces to me. He had roughly forty-thousand Giant spiders that weren¡¯t participating in the battle. He immediately ordered them to leave their respective spires and head to the clearing in front of his cavern. He couldn¡¯t help but be careful. He also mentally told the remaining two-hundred Fringed Overlord Spider not involved in the battle to come as well. The last ones to be ordered back were the three-hundred Concealed Jumping Spiders that were done with the battle. He knew he was being paranoid. He had yet to even observe the five humans. His first reaction was to simply bring his forces not engaged in battle closer to him. He had a deep irrational fear pulsing through his core. There were only five of them, but he was still damaged after the last encounter with a group of adventures in his dungeon. He was fractured and lost his most beloved companion. Well it can¡¯t be that bad. There is only five. They are probably retreating without even realizing they are approaching more danger. I bet even you could take them on Mutt. Would do you say you wanna go battle? He used Observe on the first individual. His good humor beforehand left him. Normally when he lost his good humor it was due to being cast into fury, but not this time. Instead he was cast into something new, Fear. Observe Analysis Level: 72, Race: Human, Name: Claire Estrand, Age: 42, Vocation: Dark Sorcerer But I have one-thousand seven-hundred and seventy-five days¡­ This can¡¯t be happening¡­ I¡¯m dreaming aren¡¯t? I don¡¯t sleep¡­ Why would she appear now? She had a couple more levels than the last time he had met her. He hadn¡¯t even considered her growing stronger. Her companions were equally as strong. Just a level or two below her. He had thought he would be able to gain strength to compete with her, but if she came for him now he was doomed. He hadn¡¯t even considered more than one power house coming in to finish him off, but apparently, she didn¡¯t take chances. Bastill was anxiously trying to solve the crisis. He spoke to his Elite, ¡°Admin, ready all the soldiers. The time has come. Calamity is upon us.¡± Wanting a better understanding of his forces he checked in the Creature Menu. He needed to double check the spider¡¯s numbers and abilities. Creature Menu Common Creature: Scythe Legged Giant Huntsman Spider:Level:32 Amount: 300 Skills: Lesser Mana Infused Iron Body- Whole body fortified with Mana Infused Iron. Making it both harder and sharper; Maw- Bite, Pain, Intermediate; Toxin- Numbing Effect, Intermediate; Web-Sharp Shards of hardened toxic web, Novice; Legs-Scythed, Slice, Intermediate Concealed Giant Jumping Spider:Level:28 Amount: 300 Skills: Black Hearted Duplicate-Can make an identical copy for up to ten minutes; Maw- Bite, Knockout, Intermediate; Toxin- Knockout Effect, Time thirty minutes, Novice; Web-Enforced Stickiness, Novice; Legs-Jump,15 feet, Novice; Active Camo-Unseen in daylight if still, Unseen during night if moving, Intermediate Furry Giant Spider:Level: 13 Amount: 48,085 Skills: Maw- Bite, Numbing effect, Intermediate; Toxin- Numbing Effect, Novice; Web-Capable of making living corridors or shot at enemy to entangle, Intermediate Overlord Giant Fringed Spider:Level:36 Amount: 300 Skills: Black Hearted Mind-Able to control spiders hordes of up one hundred, with fine-tuned coordination; Maw- Bite, Numbing effect, Intermediate; Toxin- Numbing Effect, Intermediate; Web-Capable of making living corridors or shot at enemy to entangle, Advanced; Brain-Communicate with spiders, Intermediate The spider¡¯s and zombies still fighting are too far away to assist in the battle. I will have to use what I have. The Concealed Jumping Spiders also won¡¯t make it in time. The Mysterious Journal might be my only hope. I can¡¯t believe I am even resorting to his council. Given the circumstance available he decided to use all the options he had. He gritted his mind as he voiced his inquiry, ¡°Mysterious Journal! I know I haven¡¯t treated you to well, but if there is anything that might help me please. I promise¡­ I promise I will be more cooperative in the future. Five S ranked humans are traveling here at the moment to end me. If you have any advice, please let me know.¡± ¡°Ha so now that you¡¯re officially screwed you come crawling to me for help? Perfect! You never listened to me, never cared, you treated a Mutt better than me. Why should I help you? Maybe I should have you beg. Maybe your death wouldn¡¯t be so bad. It might benefit me you filthy creature.¡± Mysterious Journal Bastill couldn¡¯t believe the level of hostility the Mysterious Journal displayed. He had never treated Bastill that way before. He had always been a pain in his ass, but he never been deliberately hostile. Apparently, the Mysterious Journal¡¯s previous personality had been a fa?ade. He now revealed his true colors. Thank goddesses Bastill had never trusted the asshole, ¡°Name your price you corrupt king.¡± He didn¡¯t want to negotiate with him, but he was running out of options. The attack on the town had gone very successful do to the king¡¯s plan. If he had another strategy in his sleeve, then he was willing to grit his teeth and beg for help. However, he fully planned to get his revenge. If he managed to survive. The King responded, ¡°There is only one thing you can do. I will tell you if you make me a body. I don¡¯t care how you do it, just get it done.¡± Make a body for the spirit? He wasn¡¯t even sure he could do that but given the pressure he was under he came up with a solution. First, he searched his dungeon for the wisp of essence that was the Mysterious Journal. He hadn¡¯t even been aware that there was essence. He only found it due to urgency and focus. He then gave it a membrane of mana. The last step required a construct or body to place it in. He could use his own creatures, but he still didn¡¯t trust the king. All though his new body should be spineless. Headless will work just as well. He forced the mana membrane with the essence in it into the Headless Winged Angel of Victory. The statue struggled alive. It began to step off the pedestal and stroll through the rooms. After entering the core room he continued walking out.,¡± What¡¯s the only thing I can do? Are you going to just leave me here? Is the word of a King nothing?¡± Bastill expected treachery, but it was still difficult to swallow. Now that the Mysterious Journal had a body he could just walk away from the situation. The king surprised him, when he stopped at the exit, ¡°Have fun dying. With this new body I am no longer bound to you. I will be taking my leave, but I would never go back on my word child. There is only one thing you can do. Die.¡± With that the statue walked out with Bastill¡¯s last inch of hope. He had given the awful king his own means of betraying him. He had done it to himself. He should have realized it, but he was too busy grasping for the hope of survival. He ignored the man¡¯s escape. He had to prepare. Not a second could be wasted. Chapter Seventeen, What Makes a House a Home ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** After the fall of one of the Troll Squirrels, Bastill came to realize that he needed a break. He was always busy now. He would complete task after task with a simple plan in mind. He never took any time to relax and think deeply. He would occasionally meditate, but it seemed to always be forced. He really just needed to relax. With the stress of trying to perfect his Dungeon in the way he sculpts, only stopping until the statue was perfect, he was building up unwanted stress and anxiety. That would lead him to rash decision making, which would have a negative effect on his work and efficiency. It was hard to just sit back and relax. He had an expiration date after all. He had less than five years at the moment until Claire returned. He needed to be as strong as he could be, but getting things done quickly without thought wouldn¡¯t make him any stronger. The best ideas needed time to develop. Besides what¡¯s the point of living if you are always digging in the dirt. At some point you need to stop and smell the roses. Ideas are what make someone strong. They have a foundation. The greatest people throughout history had a dream and a desire. Before Bastill continued on with his task it was time for him to think about why he was trying to live. What was his point of existence. In his past life his desire was to sculpt and create beauty. He loved it and he still did, but there was nothing behind that. It was a career, but it was simple. He had greater aspirations then merely sculpting beauty every day. He had wanted a family. Natasha was the one on his mind when he wasn¡¯t sculpting. He never had a family growing up in the orphanage, but this life would be different. He looked around his cave and realized he already had a family now, but he hadn¡¯t taken the time to get to know them now. He barely even knew kitsune¡¯s Kits. He had made his very own family in the dungeon and it was time to get to know them. He decided to start at the very bottom as he opened up the Ecosystem Menu and smelled the flowers. He planned to look at the other creatures in his dungeon after inspecting the House of the Flora. Ecosystem Menu House of the Flora Giant Toad Stool- Description: Large Mushroom, Red with white spots, Grows up to fifteen feet tall, grows in patches, Purpose: Great for ambushes, Effects: Releases spores to reproduce Enhanced Moon Shade- Description: Wide Circular Dark green Leaves, grows abundantly around, Grows one foot tall, Purpose: Food Source, alchemic ingredient, Effects: When eaten increased strength Enhanced Mandrake- Description: Long thick green grass, with large tubular roots, Grass grows half a foot tall, roots can grow up to a half foot diameter, Purpose:Food Source, alchemic ingredient, Effects: When eaten heals common ailments and increased sexual prowess Massive Oak- Description: Large tree, restricted by the fifty foot ceiling, produces large nuts, green leaves, Purpose: Nuts are a food source, Troll Squirrel Deity Effects:Nuts are used to reproduce Giant Fern- Description: Large green fronds, fifteen feet tall, grows in patches, Purpose: Used for building damns, great for ambushes Effects: Spores on the underside reproduce Enhanced Elder Berry Bush- Description: Large thicket growing bush, grows dense and ten feet tall, can cover tens of ground, large berries with four inch diameter, Purpose: Perfect for making a den in the middle of the patches, Effects: Berries contain all vitamins Enhanced Whistling Leaf- Description: green grass, carpets the floor, releases a hum, Purpose: Humming calms the mind, Effects:, Oxygen released Enhanced Elves Ear- Description: Green red vine with small leaves, covers the walls and ceiling, Purpose: , Effects: When eaten magic restoration ** ** ** House of the Long-Ear ** ** ** Wenet peered out over her kingdom of Hares. She was their queen and though she rarely left her room, she made an exception for today. After talking to the Kitsune, she had become attached to the idea of Elites. She chose today to be her personal rest from bringing forth the younger generation. Instead she would be inspecting her kingdom to see who would be up to the job of elite. The Dracula Hares were slightly larger than the forms they had come from. They stood two feet tall with magnificent mahogany fluffy coats. Their two elongated teeth drew in her attention with the contrast of bright white against their coats. She herself stood at three and a half feet tall. As the queen it was of course necessary to not only stand above her kingdom, but also have the most power. The top creatures were bound to be on the top of the hierarchy. It was the way of the environment. In her contemplation she was interrupted by Bastill, ¡°It¡¯s rare to see you outside of your cave, what brings you out?¡± Of course he wants to know, might as well answer I guess. ¡°I¡¯m looking around,¡± she replied. All it does is ask questions instead of using some ingenuity, but it must be difficult to think when you¡¯re a small gem. It¡¯s not its own fault. I¡¯m not it¡¯s mother. She owed her evolution to Bastill, but they were still so different to relate to each other. Bastill always came to her and Kitsune for advice for his problems. For a little rock it sure had a ton of problems. She didn¡¯t hate Bastill though. Life is hard. It¡¯s harder when you¡¯re stupid. She knew Kitsune loved to talk to the Dungeon Core, but she just didn¡¯t find the appeal. Occasionally good things came out of it though. For example when the prey grew stronger her subjects stopped having skirmishes with the foxes. She never understood why they fought to begin with. She had gotten along with Kitsune to begin with. He would also instigate friendly battles with his offspring. She had found it weird that he only had eight children. She herself was a mother to all her subjects. She reasoned that foxes and hares were bound to be different. After listening to Kitsune she also discovered that some of the original creatures had even more bizarre birthing techniques from the spider¡¯s. Through hearing the detailed account, she had accepted Kitsunes own methods to be saner. Eating your own mother? The children depend on their mother for guidance.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She noticed one of her newer youngsters coming up to her, ¡°Mother! Mother! Mother! I caught and ate one of the ¡®water rats¡¯ with my siblings! Its blood was great! We were thinking of going after one of the ¡®spike ball¡¯s¡¯ later. Can you give me any guidance to take back to my siblings?¡± She smiled at her little one, ¡°Be swifter little one.¡± The little Dracula Hare nodded and continued,¡± Thank you mother, what about the ¡®nut crazy ones¡¯?¡± She smiled at her little one again, ¡°Be swifter little one.¡± The little Dracula Hare continued to nod, ¡°What about the weird ¡®two-legged masked ones¡¯?¡± She smiled a little bit more as she looked at her little one, ¡°Be swifter little one.¡± Aww to be young¡­ She watched her little hare bound off to rejoin his brothers and sisters. She knew they would grow up well. They had her as a mother after all. She continued her search for some older Dracula Hares. She wanted her elites to be the best of the best. The older stronger ones would be the best for this decision. She came upon a battle of between four Dracula Hares and a Troll Squirrel. The Giant beast held no chance against the four veteran Dracula hares. As she had instilled into all of her children, they were swift. Even the foxes could no longer compete with their speed. They could keep their cleverness, but never would they be swift like her little Dracula Hares. The leader of the group could be picked out from the battle. He was the swiftest of course. His long ears slicked back as he bound cross the ground towards his foe. He also bared a noticeable white tip at the end of his feet. It created an illusion of him floating off little clouds when he ran. Just the group I was looking for. They can spar with Kitsune¡¯s children later. It is decided that they will be my elites. Hmmm¡­ My four winds. Better call Kitsune over. ** ** ** House of the Fox ** ** ** Freaking ¡®Nut Munchers¡¯¡­. Just staring at their god damn tree all day long¡­ They are just asking for it I know it¡­ I should have the Kit¡¯s wipe them all out. I sure Bastill wouldn¡¯t mind one missing species. Kitsune was watching the Troll Squirrels walk around the Oak Tree. Occasionally ramming their heads into to bring down some acorns. He constantly sent glowering looks over to them. He was just waiting for them to mess up. If they gave him any reason at all then he would slaughter them all. He was completely disgusted in them. They were the dumbest things he had ever seen, and he didn¡¯t trust things that dumb. He knew dumb things made mistakes. He didn¡¯t want to deal with the consequences. The one he had kicked down the ¡®pit of death¡¯ had not come up yet, but that didn¡¯t stop kitsune from vigilantly keeping watch. I know the problem there is just one tree, which concentrates them all in this one area. If I mention this to Bastill he can help spread more trees out. There problem solved. He had noticed ¡®The Swift One¡¯ wander into the room to watch some of her children fight the ¡®nut munchers¡¯. He was quite pleased by their abilities and choice of prey. Kitsune suspected that she had come in here to select them for the elites. He knew that although her own swiftness had surpassed him, he still had the upper hand in his cleverness and sneaking around. As he lay in the thick brush that Bastill called ¡®Enhanced Elder Berry Bush¡¯, he heard Wenet mentally project herself to him, ¡°Kitsune I was wondering if your Kit¡¯s would be up to a little sparring match with some of my own children.¡± Kitsune silently crawled out of the ¡®big berry bush¡¯ hoping to give Wenet a little surprise, but her large ears caught on to the slightest rustling and she turned towards him, ¡°I should have known you¡¯d be snooping around here. Anyways let your children know to come over. I want to see how my own little children compete against yours.¡± Kitsune let out a loud howl which was replicated eight more times from somewhere else in the dungeon. Before not to long the Kits were present and eagerly looking forward to whatever Kitsune had in store. Ruby was the first to speak, ¡°Does Wenet wish to play today dad?¡± He looked at Ruby with her light purple eye¡¯s shining brightly as ever, ¡°Yes and no. She wants to play a different game. She has some prospective Dracula Hares she wants to watch you play with. Go listen to what she has to say.¡± He watched as his Kit¡¯s turned their attention towards Wenet, ¡°Now I considered having you fight against each other, however your numbers heavily outnumber my children. I came up with another idea that Kitsune brought to me earlier. We will have a hunting contest between you and my ¡®Four Winds¡¯. The winner between you two will be the first to become an elite from the Dungeon Core. Let¡¯s see if your cleverness can keep up with my children¡¯s swiftness. You will have twelve hours to hunt as much as you can. What do you say?¡± Kitsune had hatched the idea to hold a contest for the right to become the first elite. He hadn¡¯t left the dungeon in a while, but nothing else had come to investigate. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring in new creatures for Bastill and test his Kit¡¯s strength. He wouldn¡¯t get many more chances like this. Once the humans officially set up, they would have no chances of walking out of the dungeon worry free. Watching his Kits¡¯ nod emphatically he decided to not waste a second longer, ¡°Begin!¡± The Dracula Hares had already left the room while the Kits were scampering to their feet and dashing out of the room. Let them hunt safely. ** ** ** House of the Mask ** ** ** Chicane crept around the outer exterior of the room that housed the Large Oak Trees. Keeping his stealth activated he crept around the room. He saw the Floor boss of the ¡®House of the Long-Ear¡¯ hop into the room. He figured she was probably here to watch her children who fought the Troll Squirrels. Chicane remembered how the discussions of Elite¡¯s was listed in their library of fern scrolls, which they kept in their safe room. As he continued to watch all of a sudden the second Floor Boss from the ¡®House of the Fox¡¯ crept out of the Elder Berry bushes to the left of him. Shit shit shit. I didn¡¯t even know he was there! Chicane kept calm to prevent himself from losing his stealth. He had worked hard to gain this skill and level it. There were only five others with the skill. He was irreplaceable to the House. He continued to watch and listen as he discovered the plans for the contest. As soon as it began he booked it as stealthy as he could back to the safe zone. When he had finally finished crawling his way through the small tunnel he came out on all of fours to be greeted with a large moving statue with a feminine figure holding a child. He nodded in respect to the being. Her head had a whistling leaf woven crown that hummed a beautiful tone as she moved through the air. The rest of the room was covered in little fern huts. They had yet to find a better method of housing and were growing out of room to house others. They had even designated a new job of Digger to extend the walls of the safe zone. He went to seek out the chieftain Afeard to report his findings. The chieftain was one of the oldest of his kind alive. He was the wisest of them all and it had been unanimous when he was voted in. Chieftain Afeard had large cruel scars that blinded his right eye. Four long claw marks proudly displayed across his face like a badge of honor. Since he now had to lead their house he couldn¡¯t leave the safe zone anymore. When Chicane got to largest fern hut in the village he was stopped at the door by two guards. He gave one of them his report instead and left. He had to respect the Guards, because not only could they make his life harder, but they also served their house and risked a lot. The position of Guard was one of the easiest to lose your life in. They fought on the front lines and would even hunt for real food. Food had been a constant problem for them. There was plenty of greens and berries, you can¡¯t grow strong on berries and roots alone. One needed meat for that. This is at least what the top leading researcher had concluded in the weekly board. Chicane was just about to head to the board to see if there was any missions or new information for him to read, but a new commotion had broken through the calmness of the safe zone. When he looked around for the noise he noticed it was headed in his direction. He quickly got out the way. He noticed one the oldest Guards making his way towards the chieftain¡¯s Hut. His name was Niccolo and behind him his team of four other Guards followed. What really caught his eye was the well-known Artifact that had been discovered recently. The God of this world had created a beautiful white Artifact and hid it away in the moving Fanged Chest. He knew chieftain Afeard had been trying to get his hand on the Artifact. It would bring great power to their house. Now here it was! They had retrieved it at last! The two guards watching chieftain Afeard¡¯s door quickly went to fetch their leader. The chieftain walked out with his half-marred face and looked at the approaching Artifact in delight with his one good eye. One could see the joy upon his face. It nearly glowed like the moving statue. Niccolo walked up to the leader and knelt down before him while holding out the dagger in his open hands. Chieftain Afeard walked up with a skip in his step as he went to claim it, but quicker then ¡®The Swift One¡¯ herself Niccolo regripped the handle and swept it forward fluidly like one of the streams throughout the dungeon. Blood spurted forward as the chieftain¡¯s throat was savagely torn open. The remaining good eye he had closed as he slumped ungraciously into a puddle of his own blood. Niccolo raised the originally bright white dagger up in the air. The red blood of the Afeard stained it now. Niccolo spoke out, ¡°No longer will we hide in the shadows! They think of us as prey out there! We couldn¡¯t continue living in fear all our lives behind that timid old man. I will lead this generation to victory! I WILL MAKE THE HOUSE OF THE MASK A REALITY! Brethren and sisters, stand with me or be killed like the weak scum you are! We Racoonoids Will Stand Strong!¡± Chicane watching the among the assembly watching entered stealth as he made his escape. Chapter Eighteen, Wake Up Call ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** Bastill spent the day absorbed in his creature¡¯s antics and activities. The Hares and Foxes were preying on animals while the higher ups seemed to be holding a contest to decide who would become the first elites. The Platypi spent there day trying to build their fern damns bigger. The Troll Squirrels strolled around as dumb and happy as ever. The Stone-Hedge Hogs were busy grazing when they could and speeding towards predators while tucked up in a spiked ball flying through the air. The greatest shock was when he looked at the development of the Racoonoids. They had created their own language and rules behind his back. He had even watched their last ruler get dethroned after the Racoonoids finally snatched it out of the walking chest¡¯s mouth. He watched as their tiny little world was divided by the little dagger he had made for adventures. The blade would reappear in the walking chest, though he suspected the Racoonoids didn¡¯t know. He felt a sting of pain in his core as he watched the division in the breeder room. There were those that didn¡¯t agree with the new dictator that wanted to rule through fear and power. Bastill never considered that his actions could have led to such a situation to occur. He watched as one of the Racoonoids used stealth to glide away from the turmoil boiling in his old home. It felt wrong to do nothing, but he couldn¡¯t directly fix the problem without mercilessly killings the new dictator. Instead of directly interfering he decided to only assist slightly. He made another Breeder room further away from the original Racoonoid breeding room. Pushing thoughts of the path to follow he lead the stealthy Racoonoid to the new breeder room. Inside he left several simple tools and designs etched on marbled tablets. The tools were sculpting tools and designs were statues that could be crafted. In the designs there was Kitsune and his Kits, Wenet with her eggs, and all the other creatures in the dungeon. He had left out several granite blocks for them to practice with as well. He also left a map of marble blocks that he had left around the dungeon. After going through some of the Racoonoids records Bastill had managed to grasp their basic language and left instructions. The instructions stated that gifts from the gods would be bestowed upon them after completing sculptures and advancing in their craft. It also gave advise on how to start practicing the skill. He felt better after giving a new home and profession for the Raoonoids. He watched as the little Racoonoid scampered out of the new room to gather those that had fled from the new leader. Bastill felt satisfied with the result. The dungeon would now slowly develop new statues at the hands of the new clan of Racoonoids. After reflecting on his creatures and watching their daily lives he came to better ingrain the fact that it wasn¡¯t just him anymore. He had others trying to live out their lives within his depths. His aspirations to survive and continue on the life of a dungeon core were reinvigorated. He wouldn¡¯t give up on himself or his creatures. They were his creations and they had their own daily struggles and problems. He wouldn¡¯t neglect them or fail them. He would continue on stronger than ever. The contest for elites was already underway as Bastill kicked his mind into gear and started to complete his tasks with new fervor. The first task was making the new creatures. He had no clue how to give a creature gills. But managed to skirt around the problem by not having the creature live under the water but on top of it. He took the stick bug and lengthened out its limbs giving it a span of around half a foot. He then went about redesigning its original slow twitch muscles into fast twitch muscles. It was no longer a slow moving motionless twig looking like bug but a fast and active water speeder. By using the surface tension on the water and by making sure the stick bug was rather low in density he made it so that it could remain above the water. He then developed its habitat further by making little ponds in each room that was connected to the streams. He also gave them a small breeding pool room. He created the entrance so that only a bit of water would appear in a long tunnel allowing them to flow gently on top through it. He hoped it would give the Serrated-Billed Platypus a better meal and a way to hone their reactions. The Water Skater, which he named it, wouldn¡¯t need to eat since it would be fed naturally by the dungeons aura The next creature design was the leaf imitator, he rather liked the design already. He changed it just enough to perfectly blend in with the Elder Berry Bushes ad also increased its side to half a foot so it would match in size. It was simple yet effective. He didn¡¯t even create a new breeder room he just created a smaller version of the Caring Mother of Fertility which only effected a certain range of feet. He then placed it in the middle of one of the largest elder berry bush patches. He expected this Elder Berry Leaf Imitator to help the Stone-Hedge Hog work on its perception.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The last creation was for the Racoonoids. Seeing how closely they copied humans own civilization he felt the best solution was to give them a taste of human life. He ended up shrinking the goats size and setting a small heard of ten in each of the Racoonoid breeder rooms. He would leave it up to them to raise them for slaughter or to milk them. He turned his attention back to the two factions of Racoonoids. One built on betrayal and death wielding the first bladed weapon in its species, while the other built on survival with a new purpose and way of life to follow. The one he discovered was named Niccolo was gathering up his followers under the knifes blade. He was taking over the largest fern hut and taking note of everyone they had and who was missing. A lot had fled but he sat down with four of his closest Guards and discussed plans to hunt them down. Chicane, meanwhile with the help of four other Shadows, helped guide those seeking refuge to the new Safe Zone. The Shadows were those who could use stealth it turned out. He had managed to bring the Researcher, ten guards, and twenty families with them. Each family had around ten members. They had a total of two-hundred and seventeen citizens. A little under half of the original population. Despite the atrocity that had just occurred they continued forward taking to the new sculpting. Some grasped the skill easily after hard practice, while others struggled, but they ended up sculpting several bricks and the began to build houses with that. They were doing the best they could. Reflecting on the Racoonoids he realized how similar they were to humans. The acted not on instincts, but on emotions and feelings, which made them unpredictable and dangerous. They really do resemble humanoid racoons. There human characteristics are spot on too. Betrayal¡­ They kill each other over nothing and no nothing in reality. Identical to those humans. Just like I was killed for no reason. The weak fall and the strong live and strive. I will be strong this time around. He had never felt such bitterness towards humans before. Reflection has its bad parts as well he realized. Upon reflection on the Racoonoids lives he had developed a little bit of resentment towards the human who put him in this condition, but it was more than that it extended to more of humanity. He could grow rather cynical in nature if he didn¡¯t watch his thoughts carefully. He cleared his mind and pushed such negative thoughts away. It won¡¯t do me any good to give in to anger. Not when there are things to do and promises to keep. He tried thinking more positively and recognized that Chicane¡¯s group despite their conditions continued forward regardless. That was the characteristics he wanted to focus on. Not the back stabbing, but the perseverance. He was just about to continue onwards when he felt the presence of someone come into his dungeon. On reflex he observed the newcomer. He could hear Kitsune howling in rage, but turned away from it. Observe Analysis Level: 70, Race: Half Dwarf, Name: Jefferem Blight Age: 42, Vocation: Paladin Well shit who is this? They better just be here for a peak¡­ He couldn¡¯t believe the analysis he saw, but a second later his fear was increased. The next figure to step through was none other than his doomsayer Claire. She had also grown several levels. It makes no sense! I should still have plenty I time¡­ A year from the five hasn¡¯t even past yet. He snapped out of his boggled mind and paid attention to the two. His rekindled life could end here without his focus. He listened to their discussion, ¡°I am not really sure to be honest. The original dungeon entrance was that one floored shit hole we just came from, but all that shit hole was shallow as hell. All that¡¯s left of that dungeon is the floor bosses now. I guess this is where the real dungeon core is. Still confused about what happened, but hey don¡¯t cry over dead undead right? The spider infestation should be over. We will inform the guild and let them know that the dungeon isn¡¯t a concern. The spiders won¡¯t be a problem anymore now that the statues are gone. We should get them started on developing this dungeon. It doesn¡¯t like it¡¯s ready. It¡¯s really quite weak still; I can tell just by its aura. It¡¯s still missing a lot. Let¡¯s head back for now.¡± He was trying to make sense of what all was happening. It seemed he was safe for now, but Claire was waiting for him to grow before killing him a second time. Alice must have reported back, and the spiders must have fled and cause a lot of destruction, which led to her checking up on me. That was a close call. Talk about a wakeup call. As soon as they had entered he could tell that Kitsune was going insane. He had ignored it at first due to the situation and needing to pay attention to every detail of what they said, but now he turned his attention to Kitsune who was fleeing out of the dungeon. Wenet was coming with him. Even though Wenet was much faster than Kitsune, she still lagged behind by ten feet. He had never seen Kitsune so frantic and desperate in his life. The Blood Fox raced with every ounce of strength it had out of the dungeon as Bastille made the connection. Oh no, the Kits¡­ Chapter Nineteen, Stop Doesnt Mean Stop ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** Well how hard can a couple of S ranked individuals be? I could just be overreacting to the whole thing. I have numbers on my side. He had all his spiders hiding in the trees surrounding the edge of the meadow ready to pounce on the trespassers. He constructed a granite wall with a narrow door to surround his entrance. The zombies manned the walls and hid inside. He constructed additional defensible granite covers all over the clearing. His floor bosses stayed in his core room with the Sculptor and the Administrator. If they want a battle, then I will give them a taste of what I have. The group was fast approaching. It consisted of the Dark Sorceress herself, a Runed-Beserker covered in tattoos with a large claymore sword as long as he, a Holy Healer in white glowing robes, a Paladin with a massively large and thick kite shield, and a Pyromancer that was bare chested with red glowing eyes. When Claire¡¯s group approached the clearing, they started the battle with the Pyromancer lighting up the trees. They had noticed the hiding spiders and taken the liberty of torching up the entire forest around the area. The spiders were immensely weak to fire. They screamed in pain as the burned to death and fell to the ground. Tens of thousands of spiders died with one attack. I stand absolutely no chance¡­ I can¡¯t just walk away like the Mysterious Journal... Or can I? The group of five was slowly making its way through the zombies. A massive heal spell would tear the zombies apart. A claymore moved with more speed than Bastill imagined possible would cleave them in the middle. Some just burned up with the casual flick of wrist and a massive fire ball. The Paladin didn¡¯t even attempt to kill anything. He had actually curled up under a tree and fallen asleep. Claire meanwhile kept stride with the other fighters and approached the dungeon core¡¯s cave at a leisurely pace. The dungeon core meanwhile had excavated a tunnel to the outside about a mile away. He spoke to his small group of monsters around him, ¡°Well there isn¡¯t any reason to stay! Sculptor pick me out of the statue. Admin go grab the Mutt. Here is the Riding skill, we are riding Hades and Thanatos out of here. Nyx don¡¯t fall behind.¡± The Sculptor tore him out of the statue without any precision whatsoever. It left the entire right side of the statue with a marred appearance. The Admin scooped up the mutt and leapt onto Hades, while the Sculptor crawled up onto Thanatos. Bastill mentally screamed at them, ¡°Haul your asses out of here! Fucking run! That Bitch isn¡¯t winning this.¡± With that they scurried out of the tunnel as fast as their spidery legs would allow them. The tunnel wasn¡¯t spacious, but the spiders made it work as the Zombie Elites ducked their heads down. Bastill didn¡¯t plan on dying today. I will be the first motherfucking mobile Dungeon in existence! I will survive this and kill her and every fucking adventurer. I am a fucking Dungeon after all! A notification popped into appearance as he made his retreat. With nothing better to do he focused in on it to see what it was. Gained a Town! Congratulations you successfully gained control of a town. More Options available to the Owner. +Select Ownership -Bastill -Floor Boss -Elite -Other??? My luck just gets better and better! That Bitch thought she was going to have me, but I am just going to get stronger and stronger! She Can Go Ahead And Just Suck My Oversized Rock! The town was now fully captured by his remaining uncharred spiders. With his escape in progress he would be able to grow stronger in hiding until he was ready to destroy S level adventures. He wasn¡¯t sure why he hadn¡¯t thought of this plan beforehand. It was pure genius! Now he could develop on his own time and become invincible! He would be the most dangerous thing walking the lands. He would be the undefeatable monster of the surface. He would be the¡­ Ability Lost +Mysterious Journal has left your domain +Consequences -Mental Damage Sustained -Loss of Consciousness WELL FUCK HIM. THAT PIECE OF SHIT! It¡¯s fine it doesn¡¯t matter. In fact it barely even hurts. Guess he wasn¡¯t worth much after¡­ Pain burst into his mind. He thought it was bad before. But this was the worst experience yet. He would have rather sustained the constant sharp bewildering pain compared to this. He was mentally screaming in his mind for it to stop. His spiders misunderstood it and stopped themselves. He couldn¡¯t stop now. There were S ranked assholes coming for him. He desperately tried pulling his mind together. FOCUS DAMINT FOCUS ON THE GOAL. ESCAPE. SURVIVAL, ¡°FUCKING RUN DAMNIT. DON¡¯T STOP FOR ANYTHING OR I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF.¡± With the fear of their own creator instilled in them the spiders once again took off with new vigor. Bastill muttered to himself as he tried to keep the pain out of his mind. ¡°I will not be restrained and chained by pain. I was held against my will once and I won¡¯t let it happen again. I only need to be a sacrificial piece once. Try holding me back you damn goddesses. Well I guess that¡¯s what ¡®mental damage sustained¡¯ means. Don¡¯t need a second lesson on it ever again. Well it looks like I only receive one of the effects. I guess being an Amethyst finally gave me some tolerance to blacking out. Those foolish superstitions finally came throu¡­. He blacked out¡­ ** Bastill was not a fan of waking up after black outs. It never brought about good effects for him. He was just hoping that this time would be different. As he came to he noticed that they were out of the impromptu dug cave and now running along the edge of the mountain. Seconds after gaining consciousness he was abruptly presented with another notification. Don¡¯t be trouble, don¡¯t be trouble. Maybe it¡¯s a reward! Yes, it must be a reward for my ingenuity! Fate surely wouldn¡¯t fail me at this point? The Goddesses can only be so cruel to me. My luck will finally have turned! While on his spidery ride he took the time to open up the notification needing his attention. Mentally crossing his mind in his core hoping for good news. He finally focuses in on it. Leaving Dungeon! -500 feet to the edge -Consequences May Vary ¡­And no prizes. All I get is ominous messages. Is leaving good? Consequences don¡¯t sound good at all. Yep the Goddesses intentionally fuck me over constantly. I feel like I am their personal concubine apparently. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The distance to the edge of the Dungeon¡¯s influence was quickly devoured by the spiders¡¯ fast pace. Meanwhile Bastill considered the right course of action. Warning! *Giggle* -300 feet to the edge your so fucked ¡®Little Dungeon¡¯ Did my Warning just fucking giggle at me? Not important, priorities Bastill, priorities. I Got this. it seems crossing over the edge is a bad idea. Time to change plans. We need to stop and hide within my influence. Warning! -200 feet to the edge you should make a quick decision. Fuck it is talking to me, ¡°Nyx! Thanatos! Hades! Stop right now! We can¡¯t go any further.¡± Bastill forgot his last command before blacking out. His floor bosses didn¡¯t stop. They still remembered his last threats to them. They wouldn¡¯t stop. Warning! -100 feet to the edge. Btw those adventures finished investigating the dungeon and are hot on your tail again. No Pyromancer puns intended HAHA! WHO LIVING FUCK HAD THE ABILITY TO HARASS ME IN MY WARNING NOTIFICATIONS?!?! Better yet how do I stop¡­ ¡°SPIDERS STOP! HAULT! CEASE RUNING! LET ME GO! FUCKING STOP RUNNING! DIVERET COURSE! CHANGE DIRECTION. GO RIGHT! GO LEFT¡± He couldn¡¯t cross the line, but he couldn¡¯t stop them even if he wanted to. If he did stop them then the adventurers would catch up to him. His new plan was to divert the course and travel along the line further in his area of influence. Warning! -50 feet to the edge. I would start praying for forgiveness at this rate. The spiders never stopped or changed direction they just continued forward at a steady pace. The spiders did however ask Bastill a question, ¡°Master where is ¡®right¡¯ and ¡®left¡¯?¡± Warning! -Bahahaha! They are directionally challenged! How does it feel to be the smartest one in the room? -Oh, almost forgot 25 feet to the edge. You gonna do something? How were you supposed to explain directions to arachnids when you are given barely five seconds to react? ¡°..Ehhh fuck. Its.. Just.. Which ever hand makes a ¡°L¡¯ shape¡­ It¡¯s your dominate hand¡­ JUST FUCKING TURN TO THE SIDE DAMNIT!¡± The spiders started to turn. Warning! -Past the Edge. They were already past the edge. The spiders veered away from the edge of the curving mountain and began stampeding off into the deeper parts of the trees. A flair of activity flared up in Bastill¡¯s mind. He winced in expectation of the pain to follow. However, a different outcome surprised him. Instead of the pain he was accustomed to, he went through an alarming peace and calm sensation. He was brimming with serenity as he began to fuse to the Sculptor who held him. Status -Combined with Elite Zombie Sculptor -Effect unknown. Well heck that wasn¡¯t too bad? I¡¯m honestly surprised. Nicely done! His Amethyst Core was now halfway implanted inside of the zombie that had been holding him. He had been clutched firmly against the monster¡¯s chest and now was imbedded into its chest. He was now physically looking through the eyes of the Zombie. He could feel the thoughts and mind of the Zombie. It tried to mentally communicate with him, but Bastill smashed the other entity to pieces and took full control of the body and mind. For the first time since becoming a Dungeon Core, Bastill gazed upon the world through a pair of eye¡¯s instead of his influence. He could see the vivid colors of brown and green swim past him in a blur as the traveled deeper into the forest. He had never thought of brown being particularly vivid, but it that was before he had his sight taken and replaced with his influence. Status -You Lost Your Area of Influence You Silly ¡®Little Dungeon¡¯. He had felt the area of Influence diminish from his mind and knew he had lost his old domain, before the sarcastic message had appeared. He now considered these messages since some entity deemed him worthy of ridicule. It really didn¡¯t bother him. He was too busy taking in colors to really care. Well shit I¡¯m alive. Better yet I am inside the Sculptor! I can now officially begin sculpting when I regain a safe area to grow. I thought the Goddesses hated me, but they seem to smile upon me instead. I was actually given a body that was made to sculpt! There are so many new questions to consider that I never even considered. Who sends the messages to me? They were in my old life as well, but I never remember them ever being so sarcastic¡­ Never the less I really can¡¯t focus my attention on silly questions. I still need to successfully escape from the S ranked assholes. Town Lost¡­ Sorry, due to losing your influence the town is no longer under your control. -Town Ownership Awarded to Closest Being. God damn it, this is what I get for gloating¡­ Well I am still rather better off, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m not going to let one measly town get me down. After all, with my new abilities I will be able to hide away and amass power and sculpt to my heart¡¯s content. He was excited to finally have the ability to sculpt. He still was absolutely terrified of the beasts chasing behind him. The forest appeared to be getting a little brighter, which was curious because there were more trees covering the sky up. He turned around to see how close the adventures had gotten and was nearly burned to death in the action. An enormous fireball nearly incinerated his newly acquired head. He managed to duck just in the nick of time, which allowed him to stay in one piece. As he wrapped himself close to the spider¡¯s abdomen he cautiously glanced back to see the Fire Fanatic hot on his trail. Fire balls were now freely streaming in the air towards them. Is he trying to burn down the god damn forest?!? He has amazing fire power, but luckily his accuracy sucks ass or he¡¯s just playing with his prey¡­ Good thoughts, Good thoughts, his aim just sucks. Believe it and it¡¯s true¡­ He needed a better plan then just running for his life. He considered using the other two floor bosses as a diversion. He thought it would help increase his chances of living. He would activate the plan when it felt right. For now, they needed to keep running. He hollard out loud to his beasts, ¡°Fucking Run Like Your Lives Depend On It, Because They Fucking DO! ¡° They dove through the forest with more fervor then before. The Pyromancer continued his assault ceaselessly. Fire roared around the edges of Bastill¡¯s vision as his spider¡¯s sped forward. As they continued onward they ran into an ongoing fight ahead of them. He was going to write it off as just common beasts, but after taking in their dark red fur coats he tried halting the spiders, when that didn¡¯t work he leapt off onto the ground. The spiders noticed the zombie leap off and turned around to retrieve it. Blood foxes? I thought they were gone? If they are here, then there is a chance Kitsune is still alive! As the Blood Foxes finished their current battle with a bear they turned a wary eye towards the new comer. He realized they wouldn¡¯t recognize him in the new body and after losing his influence he had no way to communicate his true self to them. He did know one thing though. The Pyromancer was approaching fast and if he didn¡¯t warn the Foxes they would be destroyed for good. He yelled at them, ¡°Run! Please Run! It¡¯s Bastill, I¡¯m back, but you need to run now! Danger is coming.¡± He knew his own life was at risk by stopping for them, but he felt that his foxes were his one true creation. They were his legacy. They were smart, beautiful, and deadly. If he was going to die, then the least he could do was save them. He was interrupted by the glow of fire, ¡°Well it seems I have finally caught up to the escaping Elites and Floor Bosses. I found it quite strange when the Dungeons Aura disappeared from all the land it corrupted. Do you have any hints for me Mr. Zombie Elite? Oh, it looks like we have some peculiar foxes here. Might as well complement their coats with some magic,¡± The Pyromancer said. No hesitation followed as he released the flame hovering above his hand. It flew towards the kits. Bastill was already awkwardly sprinting over to cover them but being unused to the new body made him slow and clumsy. The Blood Foxes were however quite light on their feet. They had already began escaping, when the man had appeared. The ball of flame erupted with a flair of light and sound. Most of the foxes had managed to get clear of the large explosion however not all were unscathed. This was when Bastill planned to make his escape. Over half the foxes had made it which made him smile with his zombified black lips. He felt his heart crack a little when he noticed a few of the foxes badly injured, but at least most were safe. Contrary to his expectation, instead of leaving the injured behind, they remained nearby and assisted their brethren in escaping. He couldn¡¯t just leave while they were still around. If they were all killed due to his negligence he would never forgive himself. He knew that humans would consider him heartless for his merciless killings before, but that didn¡¯t mean he was completely void of a conscious. He had given up on humanity not himself. He certainly wouldn¡¯t give up on his perfect creations either. He stood his ground against the magic bearing human that he had observed as Ignis Culus. The level seventy pyromancer. He swore to himself that later he would take fire and shove it right up this shit eater¡¯s ass. That is if he managed to survive against him now. Since the man had clearly asked Bastill a question he felt it was his responsibility to answer. Normally he couldn¡¯t talk so he decided that the first words that humanity hears from him should be stoic, fierce and insightful. He had been mute accept with mental communications from his beasts. With all this time cooped up it was finally time to unleash his knowledge, grand schemes and ideologies. This Pyromancer would be the first to bear witness to his majestic philosophies. He cleared his voice and spoke with all the vibrato he could muster. Being unused to his voice his voice managed to crack while he spoke, ¡°Eat SHIT Human!¡± The pyromancer grimaced at his crassness and brought forth another ball of fire. He waved his hand and sent it soaring straight at Bastill. The accuracy was perfect. The Pyromancer had clearly been playing with them before. No matter which way he dove he wouldn¡¯t make it. He stood there as he watched the flame come closer. Well this is it I guess. When life puts you to burn, let your life¡¯s light guide the next generation as a torch¡­ Or something wise¡­ I should have read more poetry¡­ Well at least it appears all the foxes escaped. With my life they can continue to live. His spiders had been fast approaching this whole time. Just in time for the fire ball Hades managed to leap in front of the flame. With that he burned his way down into hell. Despite his sacrifice the flame continued to burn its way through his body and began to ravage Bastill¡¯s new body. Status -Body no longer sustainable. -Well looks like you are dying after all! What are the odds. He formulated final words as his body burned to death. The pyromancer hearing him sputter leaned in to listen to what the zombie had to say. It appeared human kind was curious at what an elite creature might have to say in in its final moments. A hidden location? A secret skill? Passing on precious knowledge. Bastill muttered in a raspy voice, ¡°The notification aren¡¯t *cough* what you think they are¡­¡± The Pyromancer¡¯s eye¡¯s widened. He couldn¡¯t believe that he was about to be presented with new incredible information. The notification and status boxes were known to be a gift from the goddess by some or just laws of the world by others. If this creature had information about them it would be incredible. Bastill continued as he coughed harshly, ¡°The boxes are *cough* sarcastic little fuckers *cough* when the bitch joins you in hell later tell her it¡¯s *cough* Bastill and I had a great time at the bar.¡± The man had been so enraptured by the dying beast that he had forgotten to be diligent. He wasn¡¯t as skilled in the art of perception as his other team were. Little Nyx had been creeping in and as Bastill muttered the last bit he struck and bite deep into the man¡¯s shoulder. Thanatos quickly covered the ground and slashed the man¡¯s head right off. See you can¡¯t be headless and the victor¡­ Bastill¡¯s gaze began to black out as the Administrator Elite picked him up and carried him onto Thanatos¡¯s back. The group began to leave as Bastill slowly succumbed to his burns. Chapter Twenty, Virtues Arent Natural ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** One¡­ Two.. Three He could see some of the Kits once they entered his cave entrance. One of them had been dragged in by the other two. Kitsune hadn¡¯t returned yet, but neither had any of the S ranked adventurers. He wasn¡¯t sure where he stood. How much time did he have left? Would they be coming back in a few minutes, a week, a month? He pushed the thoughts aside. The Kits wellbeing were more important. Some of them had scorched fur from the looks of them. They weren¡¯t looking good. He needed to help, but he had no knowledge on healing. Deciding to risk it he turned his attention the Kit who appeared to be on its last leg. If he did nothing it would die, but there was also a chance that trying to heal it would kill it. He pushed his hesitance aside. He manipulated his mana into the wound in attempt to heal it. The poor things left side was heavily burned. He let the mana enter the wound, which began to glow. New Ability Learned! Mana Heal- By using your mana you are now capable of speeding up the healing process of creatures in your dungeon. The Blood fox appeared to be looking better slightly, but it could have just been Bastill¡¯s own hopes swaying his opinion. The wound continued to glow. He hoped it would be enough. He kept up his vigilance waiting to use his new-found ability on any others that were hurt. He didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he had no doubt that it had something with his nemisi Claire. Apparently she has more friends with her. I¡¯ve been preparing myself to handle a single S ranked women when I should have realized she would have others with her. Possibly even stronger then here, but does it matter? She could come back at anytime¡­ Four¡­ Five... Six¡­ Seven¡­ And the four Dracula Hares. The Dracula Hares were fine, but two of the four foxes that just entered were injured. He went to work using Mana Heal on both of them. He treated the more urgent one first. Its face had been heavily burned and was missing an ear. He then turned to the second injured one who had his tail burned right off. The son of a bitch who did this. If they return without me ready I will let my creatures escape and let them take me. Maybe trap them in my core room with me for eternity. Ha that would show them¡­ He felt Kitsune slowly walk into the room. He was dragging the last Kit in his mouth. It was badly burnt. He didn¡¯t stop dragging until he had arrived next to the Goddess of the Dungeon Statue. The other Kits were with him. Some standing others unconscious and healing. He laid his child in front of the statue as he spoke, ¡°I bare the sin for my mistake, children. I lay my little gem to rest.¡± Jade¡­ That was the name of the dead kit. He remembered that this Blood Fox in particular was always in sync with another one. Looking around he found it¡¯s pair. It was the one looking more broken and damaged then the wounded foxes. Jade and Emerald had always been closer than seemingly possible. He knew the death would be hard on her. He didn¡¯t know what he should say. He tried his best, ¡°Kitsune I¡¯m really sorry, just know that if you need anything I¡¯m here for you my friend.¡± He didn¡¯t respond for several minutes, ¡°Can you bring him back?¡± He wished more than anything that he could, but he knew he couldn¡¯t. He tried though. He used mana heal, but there was no life left in the young Blood Fox. The mana dissipated after entering the wound. He tried harder and ran mana through the body, but nothing happened or changed. The dead remained dead. With resignation he responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kitsune, I can¡¯t.¡± I failed you¡­ He activated the Elite Assign ability and selected the Hares and the seven remaining blood foxes. The four Dracula Hares became The Four Winds. The Northern Wind, Boreas; The Western Wind, Zephyr; The Southern Wind, Notus; The Eastern Wind, Eurus. They began to change after they received their titles. Boreas became darker in color, it¡¯s feet gained feathers, and its tongue became forked. Zephyr gained six more colors to his fur. His fur now had streaks of Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Notus fur became mottled with parts growing darker and brighter in a varied fashion. Eurous grew antlers from his head. Bastill spoke, ¡°Wenet you have your elites. Treat them well. Kitsune, I can¡¯t save your Kit, but I can help save the other Kits in the future. What would you have them be called?¡± Well if I manage to survive in the future¡­ I need to be strong and represent hope, though. If the leader falls, none will stand. Kitsune took some time to think about this until he answered, ¡°It is their honor, let them decide.¡± with that he curled up next to his dead son and went to sleep. Bastill turned his attention to Ruby who he knew led the Kit¡¯s, ¡°Ruby what shall you be known as?¡± He noticed that she had been the one that had taken severe damage to the face. He wounds still glowed. At first, he started to believe she was unconscious, but then she finally projected her answer to him, ¡°Father is not the only one at fault. This mistake is not his to bare alone. We shall be the Seven Sins. Thank you Bastill.¡± He finished their Elite Assigning and they became the Seven Sins. The were each given a title as well. Ruby of Vainglory, Topaz of Ardor, Opal the Invidious, Diamond of Voracity, Amehtyst of Hebetude, Emerald of Choler, Sapphire of Rapacity. There weren¡¯t any immediate external changes, but he knew their souls had already been carved out to bear the new weight of what had happened. The Kit¡¯s began to disperse. He decided to wait to bury Jade until after Kitsune woke up after coming to peace with the events. Bastill wasn¡¯t sure whether making a statue of Jade would be the right or wrong move. He wanted to cheer up Kitsune and honor the fallen but seeing the life like image of his deceased child may not be what Kitsune wanted. Bastill decided that he would wait and ask Kitsune after more time had passed. Right now, Bastill needed to prepare for the worst outcome. Claire may come back any day. She seemed to be uninterested, but who knew for sure. Just as he was about to turn his attention to improving the dungeon in the short time he had left he felt something new enter his dungeon. He was completely shocked.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It wasn¡¯t really anything new, the fact that it was familiar was what had really shocked him. It was his old Headless Winged Angel of Victory Statue walking into his Dungeon that had startled him. Since when could his statues could come to life on their own? The Statue was moving about with its own sentience. The only problem was that despite his attempts he couldn¡¯t give it mental orders like he could his other statues. The fact that it had no head didn¡¯t help either. He wasn¡¯t sure statues could even talk if they had a head to begin with. He tested his theory by making one of his Ivory Spear Angel¡¯s attempt to talk. He was amazed at the fact that it could. With a plan in mind he began to sculpt a new head for his Headless Winged Angel of Victory. He reached a problem though. Despite all attempts he couldn¡¯t attach the darn thing to the statue. In the end he used the ability Statue Animation on the newly created head sculpture. He was surprised once again as the Headless Statue proceeded to pick up the head by its granite hair as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He watched in interest as he saw the head be overwhelmed by the power within the Statue. The head¡¯s mouth began to speak, ¡°Well thank the goddesses for this miracle! I am amazed that there is a close by dungeon that is able to sculpt. Walking around headless was driving me out of my mind!!! Now what is your name Dungeon?¡± Bastill was suspicious, but he was more curious and decided to speak to this strange entity inside of his old sculpture. What he found out was beyond what he had imagined. First it seemed he had a fractured piece of himself in the world. The being going by the name Gaius the Second had apparently been bound to this other part of him before hand, before the dungeon decided to let him go. At first the being said that it was fine to call him the mysterious Journal, but that made zero since whatsoever and Bastille had insisted on using his original name. He planned to get this shard of himself to fuse back to him. After investigating the old shut off part of the Dungeon he found out that he could now push his influence into the place now, which meant that the other dungeon was gone and most likely dead or taken. It was a loss, but he had expected after hearing the story. He decided not to keep that part of the dungeon and once again shut it off from his dungeon. The second part was even more crucial. The statue had managed to overhear the S ranked adventures plans, while he was outside. Bastill wanted to argue the fact that the information was obtained from a headless guy. He wasn¡¯t sure how his ears worked but decided not to question it. Gaius had overheard the plans were moved up two years from the original estimate, which still gave him three years minus the time he had spent. Around a thousand days stood between him and the battle day. He would be ready. The third interesting part was that they planned to develop a town around him to speed up his progress. He would need to appear weaker than he was, which of course he had never planned on mercilessly killing humans in the first place. This would work perfect. He would appear to be an easy dungeon for adventures and when the day asked for it he would call hell down on his foes. He could hide away his biggest beasts until the time came. Gaius had a lot of stories and Bastille joyed listening to him drone on about his early life and about the research books he had read. This old king had actually researched dungeons in depth and Bastill¡¯s favorite parts were listening to the puzzles and traps. Millions of ideas flew around his head as he began to scheme up beautiful ideas for his dungeon. ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** ¡°Hey Janet! Janet! Are you listening?¡± The girl beside her said. Alice enjoyed peaceful rides when she was heading into a spider infestation. The girl beside her seemed to have other preferences. This hadn¡¯t been here first attempt to start a conversation. Their beginning conversation had been rather short. The girl had wanted to talk about the guys that they were traveling with along with other men at the guild. Alice had quickly dispelled any fantasy of having such talks by kicking her horse out of its trot and into a canter lengthening the distance between the two. What was the girls name again? Bechdel something¡­ Isadora Bechdel that¡¯s what it was. Alice looked over at Isadora, while trying her best to keep the exasperated look off her face. They were headed over to the dungeon town that had recently sprung up. The spider debacle had barely ended two weeks ago and things had become normal again, or as normal as they could be. Every aspiring adventure, warrior, and mage was making it¡¯s was to the dungeon for glory and leveling. Meanwhile, every artisan and merchant were making their way to the town for the hopes of fortune and fame. Isadora interrupted her thoughts, ¡°Do you believe what everyone is saying about the old Town of Ercassam? No one¡¯s allowed to investigate it anymore. It¡¯s completely off limits. They say it¡¯s now controlled by a Beign Lich that wants to live out it¡¯s days in peace.¡± Well at least the topic was intriguing to her. She decided to finally give in and spend the trip talking to her new companion, ¡°That would explain the lack of undead or spider outbreaks. I heard that during the attacks there was several undead, which raises the question if the Lich instigated the attack in the first place.¡± They continued to talk about the newly captured town. It was the hottest topic at the moment. Only a few citizens had reported to the city officials with this issue. It was then designated a non-reclaimable land. The men that had seen the Lich swore that every word was true. Their story posted on the boards the next day, but there was still lots of differing opinions. However, there story was that the Liches territory in the forest was also invaded and after the unknown entity released control of its monsters it swept in and claimed the town and took control of the monsters. One large question left unanswered was, if the powerful Lich wasn¡¯t the one controlling the creatures in the first place, then what entity had? There debates of rivalry between Liches, other powerful entities, a spider royalty or other alpha predator. Whatever it had been would have to have been quite powerful. It was concerning and intriguing. There were a lot of unknown beings in the world, which let others imagination run rampant on the mystery. Whatever it was Alice hoped it was gone for good. For now, the town was being left alone. They were making sure to put enough distance between the mysterious Lich owned town as they made their way on their journey. ** ** ** House of the Fox ** ** ** Two common younger male Blood foxes stalked their prey as they whispered to each other. They were waiting for the best moment to ambush the beast. They didn¡¯t need to really be too stealthy after all their prey was the dumbest of the dumb, ¡°It¡¯s a shame that all the really attractive females are the daughters of the Floor boss.¡± His friend just grimaced as he replied, ¡°Well it¡¯s not like that¡¯s the real reason you aren¡¯t trying to become their mates. I heard that Emerald hasn¡¯t ever been the same since Jade died. She will be sad one moment and then just blow up with wrath. I swear that their titles dictate all their behavior now.¡± Nodding his head his friend agreed with him, ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m not scared of their father at all. I just don¡¯t want to deal with their Sins. I doubt you could even get Amythest to do anything you know. She just lies around until Sapphire finally gets her to hunt. Then her death grip becomes savage because she is too lazy to let go.¡± His friend let out a sigh, ¡°Yeah Sapphire is always helping the others, but she is twice as bad. She is kind and caring and helpful towards her family no matter what they do but if it¡¯s anyone else nothing they do is enough. I heard someone tried being her suitor and no matter how many kills he brought her, she still wouldn¡¯t accept saying it wasn¡¯t enough. Luckily the poor guy finally gave up. He hunted for a week straight without resting. Then of course there is Ruby¡­¡± He looked around to make sure no one was around before he spoke, ¡°You know she is the cleverest of them all and she had been the most beautiful, but after the burn to her face¡­¡± ¡°What about my face boys? Please share,¡± Ruby seemed to appear from thin air. Her wound had healed, but her face was still heavily scarred and missing an ear on her left side. There would forever be a marred face in the reflection of the stream when she looked. ¡°No-nothing Ruby,¡± One said, while he began looking for an escape. The other began trying to charm his way out of it, ¡°Your face is the most beautiful even despite the burn is what I was going to say. In fact, it helped us realize your true inner beauty! No one can compare to your¡­¡± She spoke strong and pridefully, ¡°Silence! Of course, I know that. I truly am the most gorgeous being ever¡­ but the problem is I don¡¯t feel that you really understand that. Well I¡¯d hate to ruin your hunt. I¡¯d never want to be rude.¡± She let out a loud howl and then began to disappear back into the brush as she spoke, ¡°Happy hunting boys.¡± The sounds of adventures filled their ears and they realized that they were surrounded. The had been so busy talking and stalking that had forgot to check the room for adventures. She had given away their position. They looked around in panic. A large man with an axe came bursting through a large fern axe in full swing. The two foxes decided to take him down together, however an arrow through the throat stopped one. The last fox chose to try to leap to the side. The axe descended and followed his movement. However, it didn¡¯t kill the fox, because a spear thrust beat him to it. As he died he heard a man say, ¡°Damn it Janet, that was my kill!¡± ¡°Hmm, well I¡¯d say it doesn¡¯t look like it.¡± Twenty-One, Not All Its Mapped Out To Be ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** The largest change in the Dungeon had been the appearance of Adventurers within the last week. They had started off with just one team, but built up to five teams that would come into the dungeon every morning. He expected this to be a huge change but not much really happened besides an increase death rate and less fighting between dungeon creatures. He wasn¡¯t really interested in the adventurers, despite his own human back ground he didn¡¯t find much appeal in watching over them unless he was checking in on how his own dungeon was faring against them. Known of the adventurers had died. Only his own creatures had perished, which ended up extending his apathy towards them. He still tried to keep his them from dying, never assisting them, but never overwhelming them. He didn¡¯t hate them, but with each death they dealt he wasn¡¯t so sure he would really feel bad if they died themselves. After all who said that his creatures were any less important in the plan of the Goddess¡¯s? What made the humans so much better? He was glad that his favorite creatures were able to revive. He paused on the fourth floor, which had turned into a workshop of ideas for him currently. He hadn¡¯t done anything to the floor accept text ideas for his dungeon. He hoped nothing could get down to this floor yet. If they could it just went to show how much more he needed to know. While he tested and trained the adventures, they likewise taught him more about what he needed to improve and what worked. Bastill looked over the results of his past two weeks of work. The time had flown by. He had decided that he should a have a more deliberate room set up in his caves. It had been too linear for his liking beforehand. With a plan in mind he went about the grueling construction to create his ideal layout. From his prior excavating experiences, he had come up with a much more efficient way to make the floor designs he wanted. Instead of spending time creating each room, he would create one large room and then fill it back up with walls to create rooms on the floor. This let his floor designs become more fluid and creative. It also leads to a great first floor design. During his discussions with Gaius, the King, had mentioned several famous dungeons that had been massive labyrinths. These were crafty dungeons that relied less on strength and more on their ability to wear down their opponents. This seemed to be a great strategy for him. It was best to use everything he could. He didn¡¯t plan to slack off on monster creation, but if he could fight back smarter and harder, then it would be more efficient. He wouldn¡¯t purposely overwhelm all adventures, only those seeking his down fall. His first floor was a configuration of one hundred rooms that connected together to make a maze. There was Two paths that lead through to the second floor, but there were four different dead end¡¯s that lead to a treasure room with one of the four Racoonoids that he had assigned to Elite Status. The Treasure chests could only be plundered every twenty-four hours, which would allow the Elite¡¯s to resurrect. The floor was also populated with Water Skater¡¯s, Stone-Hedge Hogs, Troll Squirrel, Serrated-Billed Platypi, and Elder Berry Leaf Imitator¡¯s. The Mini Goats were all hidden away in the two clans with non-roaming the floor. You could find these creatures on every floor. They were the easiest to overcome and Bastill decided to let them roam between floors. He had several ponds and streams dotted around the maze. He had decided to use the racoonoids after they had officially developed their own house within the Ecosystem Menu, House of the Mask. He had turned the two leaders of the opposing Racconoid clans into bosses with one guarding each entrance to the stairs leading to the second floor. For each clan he also assigned two racoonoids at the elite status. They were called champions of their respective clans. The clans were named after their leaders. He glanced at their ecosystem information. Ecosystem Menu House of the Mask Alliances: N/A, Mood: 5/10 Racoonoids- Average Level:14 Birth Rate: 500/week Death rate: 450/week Food: Mandrake Roots, Elder Berry Habits: Human Emulation Population:500 Loyalty- N/A Bosses- Niccolo, Chicane Elites- 4 Clans- 2 He had increased the potency of the Caring Mother of Fertility Statues after the first adventures began to show up. When they began to show up, his creatures cut down on their amount of time dedicated to hunting prey. With the new beings in the cave their number were decimated a lot quicker. Not all of the racconoids would openly fight. Some were given permeant jobs to tend and were irreplaceable. Bastill didn¡¯t force them to fight. The Niccolo Clan forced everyone except those that were rebirthing their population and on that taught the youth how to fight, while the Chicane Clan had several Sculptors and Scientists and Shadows that they kept away from the adventures. Remembering his earlier project with the Chicance Clan he focused his attention around the maze to spot their different artwork. Each exit two a room had two statues on either side of it. There were granite sculpted Dracula Hare¡¯s, Blood Foxes, Racoonoids, and other denizens of the Dungeon. The more talented sculptors would create a stone scene of fights between the two. Each Statue was slightly different and there were plenty of errors in them, but they would work aesthetically for now. The racoonoid sculptors would create these with shadows at different entrances as lookouts and armed guards protecting them. They would dash into a burrow anytime they were threatened. They were quite adroit at their surivival, which led to their skills growing stronger and stronger. He began to notice a creative side of them as well. Portions of some walls would have stories sculpted into them. He hadn¡¯t given them these blue prints, which showed they were beginning to design their own ideas. He noticed a new statue as well. It was in one of the dead-end rooms. He noticed a lot of the Troll Squirrels were focused in this room as well. Their focus was on the statue. Focusing in on the statue Bastill mentally closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Why¡­ Why would they sculpt this¡­ In the center of the Troll Squirrels was a giant granite statue of an acorn. A freaking acorn! They had basically rewarded the Troll Squirrels for living. He didn¡¯t know when they had created it and it was definitely not in any of the designs he had given them. He couldn¡¯t punish them, but he was not happy with it at all. He didn¡¯t think the troll squirrels deserved such an honor. He focused in on the Chicane Clan¡¯s town that was hidden away. Whenever they created new things he would give them sculpted items. Most professional sculptors would be incapable of sculpting items themselves that would hold up to use, which made his items precious. Knowing this limitation, he created t a blacksmith forge for them to utilize as well. They were just starting to figure out how it worked. His items were still immensely valuable since they often came with bonuses. His reward system relied on a chest in their town that they would fill up with the design they created and the location it was in. He would then mark it uniquely before placing it in a different chest with the reward inside or instructions on how to use a reward like the forge or simply clever ways to do new things. He engraved such instructions using pictures, so they¡¯d understand it.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. His last few gifts had been the forge and battle tactics that he had heard from Gaius. He had called it a Phalanx, and it was a formation of troops. The first adventures that had seen the square of nine racoonoids with the first row of spears pointing at them had nearly shitted their pants. The Chicane Clan had a slightly higher living rate compared to the other clan after using the new battle formation. He pondered over what his new reward would be. It shouldn¡¯t be too generous given what they had made, a large acorn statue. He wouldn¡¯t punish them after all they did what he had asked of them. He couldn¡¯t be mad due to not explaining his own dislike for the Troll Squirrels and their dumb faces and loyalties. He ended up giving them a new device that had been recently been brought to his city while he lived. It was called a Parasol ad was used by women in higher status. Its sole purpose was to keep rain off of their heads. How could such a thing be useful at all? Did people think cloaks were going out of style? It did however have a creative design that had a collapsible canvas that would fold down to decrease its side. The dumb contraption ended up taking more work to make then he thought it would. Since stone doesn¡¯t move very fluidly he had to make dozens of hinges in order to make it collapsible the damn thing. When he finished he placed it in the chest and went back to looking over the dungeon. The adventures were all over the first floor. They were always in teams of five for some reason. He couldn¡¯t argue with their logic since they were quite effective. Currently there were four teams on the first floor. That had just finished mapping out the floor out yesterday, which let them get to the second floor. This annoyed Bastill. He had spent a lot of time creating a beautiful maze to confuse the adventures and reduce their flow into the lower parts of the dungeon, but they had just mapped out his layout and handed it out to the teams that had been exploring for the last week. His lower floors were still rather unfinished, and he didn¡¯t appreciate their cleverness. He had one team that had advanced to the second floor and the three other teams were currently leaving the dead ends after collecting their loot. They were now heading towards the entrances to the second floor. He would need to fix this problem, but first he wanted to see how the team on the second floor was doing. The second floor set up was different. On the very first floor it had four different paths leading into the dungeon each with a different compass coordinate on it. Each one would lead to a different elite with their path¡¯s mirroring their temperaments and affinities. There were one hundred rooms in total. He had managed two level up to level fifteen while he had been working which had given him a new ability at level fifteen called Atmosphere Mana Control. He was also very close to the next level. He was expecting to level up by the end of the day, he just needed to fill up his mana capacity. Atmosphere Mana Control allowed him to control the environment to a large degree. He had used this to make the forge for the Racoonoids constantly heated. Boreas, The Northern Wind, pathway was very cold. Bastill had used Atmosphere Mana Control to make it grow cold within its environment. It was also connected with the southern wind through a passageway half way through it. Notus, The Southern Wind, had his pathway perpetually hot. Bastill had managed to manipulate the environment by using his ability and raising the temperature with it. People could choose halfway weather or not they wanted to continue in the hot passage or the cold passage. There was no other cross over. At the location of the crossover he had manipulated the air current to become stronger and cross between each other. This created this section of the path¡¯s two become very stormy. The group was currently in the Southern Wind¡¯s pathway nearing the halfway point. He could tell that the team was regretting their decision. They were heavily sweating and seemed to be considering turning back. They had someone mapping their route as they went through. They would occasionally stop to fight the Dracula Hare¡¯s that ran rampant on this level. This floor¡¯s rooms were littered with plants with a focus on the large red mushrooms that allowed the Dracula hares on this floor to ambush adventures better. There was also a thorough network of hidden passageways for the Dracula Hare¡¯s and common prey to get around. He watched them as they approached the intersection. The winds spiraled around harshly and the map that was being created was swept away. The team looked in despair as they watched the map fly away. The room was had dark clouds that were high in the air, when lighting erupted from one of them behind the team, they began to sprint ahead. Ha, serves them right for trying to map down here. Could strong winds be the answer to the mapping problem? When they approached the two paths¡¯ intersection they apparently noticed the other path appeared to be cooler. He imagined they wouldn¡¯t make it to the end before turning around. All that sweat would begin to freeze and put them in danger of hyperthermia. He lost interest in the group and turned his attention to the last two paths of the winds. Zephyr, The Western Wind, had very green rooms. He had customized the atmosphere to be the perfect environment to grow vegetation. All the plants he had in this room had grown stronger and more numerous than anywhere else in his dungeon. It was so densely populated that ambushes were impossible to avoid. His path was starkly contrasted with Eurus¡¯s, The Eastern Wind whose room was sparse except for sand. There was no life here that could be seen on the surface. While Zephyr¡¯s room was bursting with life in every square inch, Erurus¡¯s lived beneath the surface. It had taken a couple days for a good plan to settle in his mind, but he was proud of his idea. There were various sinking traps that would lead one to a burrow filled with Dracula Hares. This would be very effective at splitting team members apart. The quicksand was incredibly fast acting and looked identical to the rest of the ground. There was of course a way back up. That exit was blocked off by the Dracula Hares however. The two paths were also connected at the center which created a section of jungle environment with sinking traps and harshly vegetated trails to follow. The basic idea of the second floor was to let the adventures choose between sweltering heat, freezing cold, quicksand dessert or a vegetation based ambush environments. While there was areas two switch between the hot and cold paths when the reached the stormy intersection and a area to switch between the dessert traps and Vegetated ambushes with at an intersection of a quicksand jungle environment. He considered allowing each room to connect to each other later on, but he wanted to plan out the environments they would create first. At the end of each path was the respective elite and past that was the final boss of the floor, Wenet. She spent her spare time laying new eggs in a secret room off to the side. Adventurers could get to it, but he had hidden it fairly well. If any adventurers were coming her elites would let her know and she would leave her secret room and prepare herself. The third floor was not set up yet. He had the basic idea down and had only set up the rooms. There was first a divider of three rooms dedicated to the common blood foxes to dwell in. At the end of those three rooms they would be presented with three options. The adventures would be presented three different doors leading to different trials based off the sin they were approaching and choose which trial they wanted to complete. After they completed it there would be a divider of six rooms for common blood foxes to ambush the adventures in before the elite room where the Sin would be in. In all each elite got four rooms, three for the trial and one for them to live and battle in. If a group defeated one of the elites, the other elites would let them by without fighting, they would still have to complete their trials. This was to make sure one group didn¡¯t have to face all the Elites in the end. Unless those adventurers planned on harming Bastill. Then they wouldn¡¯t receive a break. In all there was sixty-three rooms with common blood foxes, because there was another eight before the final boss of the floor, Kitsune. The kits totaled twenty-eight rooms, with the addition of the final boss¡¯s room that gave the floor a round total of one-hundred floors. He was quite proud that he had managed to keep each floor at one-hundred rooms. That of course wasn¡¯t counting the secret rooms that housed the Caring Mother of Fertility Statues throughout the dungeon. The last floor was just one large open room. This giant room was his core room. It was incomplete at the moment, but he planned on making new creatures to fill it up in the future. Then he would add walls to it. He was currently working in the space though. The large room was filled with walls that didn¡¯t reach the ceiling. He was also working on different pit fall traps, some that weren¡¯t too lethal, while others that were deadly. He was trying to decide on the designs for the Kit¡¯s trials rooms, but traps fitting their titles weren¡¯t easy to create. His current project involved plants. He was cross breeding the Toad Stools, Moon Shades, and Mandrake in order to design air born toxins that effect the mind. He had several different strains made. Some were inert, but he had one successful one which caused drowsiness which he thought would be perfect for the title of Hebetude. He wanted the trials to reflect the titles accurately, but it was difficult to make these plants function correctly. He had hardly no experience with plants and creating the plant that released the drowsy gas was actually just a failed attempt to make a plant that would incite violence. I need to think smarter, but still hit harder. My forte doesn¡¯t lie in plants. The solutions to these trials will rely in sculpting. I¡¯ve never custom made the effects the statues have, but maybe if I focus my intentions it is possible. I will beat my enemies by being smarter than them not stronger. Brute force doesn¡¯t solve all the solutions. You don¡¯t push the mountain out of your way, you move around it. Hmmm¡­ but what if I could push the mountain around¡­. That¡¯s it! I have a solution to those damned maps! Chapter twenty-two, The Five Trials of Damnation ** ** ** House of the Fox ** ** ** Kitsune looked around at his current surroundings. He had been in deep thought for a while. His mind was in a turmoil. He couldn¡¯t help second guessing himself every other minute. I didn¡¯t help that he had only this one room to spread his mirthful thoughts around in. Why¡­ Why did this happen? Was I not clever enough? Am I a failure? How can I even hold the title of a floor boss¡­ I am a failure. I have no one to blame but myself. He paced around his room. His one singular room. It wasn¡¯t fair. It shouldn¡¯t be like this. How can¡­ How can all my children have trials for adventures to go through, but I don¡¯t? Have the already surpassed me? They will each have three different trials for adventurers to choose from, but I will not get a single one¡­ This is not fair at all. Kitsune pouted in his corner and cursed the Goddesses like he had Heard Bastill do a thousand times. He wasn¡¯t sure what the Goddesses were exactly, but he knew they mocked him. After all they constantly allowed the ¡®nut munchers¡¯ to walk in this Dungeon. Despite his prayers and enticing the younger blood foxes to hunt them to extinction. That had been his new favorite game. He would talk to the younger blood Foxes and get them to understand the importance of hunting the ¡®nut munchers¡¯ down. Most of the groups he sent were successful, but the ability to hunt freely was stopped by the appearance of ¡®flesh bags with iron sticks¡¯ that started wandering the dungeon. He remembered the first day they appeared. His Blood Foxes where still allowed on the first floor during that time. He had sent two male foxes to hunt down the ¡®nut munching¡¯ numbers on the first floor, but they were both killed due to the ¡®flesh bags with iron poles¡¯. It didn¡¯t help that they were thrown under the bus by ¡®Ruby of Vainglory¡¯. No not ¡®Ruby of Vainglory¡¯ that didn¡¯t sound right. She was still his little Kit Ruby. He wouldn¡¯t use her silly little title. After Ruby had her tantrum, which led to the two fox¡¯s death Bastill made everyone stay in their respective areas. Something about following rules. Which was extremely boring¡­ No one ever came down to the third floor ever. According to Wenet, a pair of five ¡®fleshy bags of muscle had finally managed to get to the second floor, but they turned back before reaching any of the Four Winds. He personally liked Eurous the best. He looked delicious with those antlers, but he knew he could never let Wenet know that. He was pretty ashamed of that line of thought. We do not eat friends, no matter how delicious the rabbit. It still amazed Kitsune that Wenet laid so many eggs. He thought she was quite promiscuous, but he wasn¡¯t going to judge her. When you are young, have some fun. She had told him numerous times that laying eggs happened without mating with other, but Kitsune was pretty sure he knew a little bit about how those things worked. He wasn¡¯t going to inform her that he knew she was lying. Some people were just insecure about those things, so he would let her pretend to be pure. I have heard Bastill use the phrase breeding like rabbits before, so I think I would know what is going on. I did after all have my own kids with my sweetheart. I do miss her, and my Jade. It was time he decided. Bastill needed to be aware of how Kitsune felt, ¡°Bastill, I think it¡¯s time I get my own trials. I already have them picked out.¡± ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** He had finally solved the Map problem by creating walls that would shift through four different transitions. He actually moved his walls to make new maze patterns that would make the maps useless. They would change every five hours. The transitions were pretty random as well. He made them follow a random pattern, so no one would know what set up it would be at the start or the evening. In order to achieve this effect, he had ended up learning a new skill called Mana Conditions, which allowed him to place a set conditions and effects from the conditions. The conditions were every five hours, while the effects was one of the four transitions. The adventurers would eventually map all four of them, but they still wouldn¡¯t know which it was or when it would change unless they monitored it closely. That would help waste more time on the first level. They would no longer just cruise through and right onto the second floor without spending their time appreciating all the racoonoid made statues as they tried to remember which way they came from. He just might end up changing the transitions to new patterns if they figured it out. Bastill was in the process of setting up the designs for each trial along with the outlines of the effects that he wanted to create. When he came up with the ideas for the effects he would try to design the type of statue that would bring that to life. He was joined by the Gaius who was helping him come up with ideas that fell in line with their sin¡¯s temperament. The Kits were also there to voice their ideas, but he didn¡¯t get very before Kitsune started talking to him, ¡°It¡¯s not fair for them to have trials and for me not to. The ¡®meat sacks¡¯ will think I am not clever enough and then I will be forced to kill them. I won¡¯t show any mercy either. You are giving everyone three trials and I don¡¯t have a single one.¡± It was good to hear Kitsune talking to him again. He hadn¡¯t even considered giving the boss any trials. He just hadn¡¯t considered it he because he had been too preoccupied with the other projects he had, ¡°You¡¯re right Kitsune. What did you have in mind for your three trials?¡± It seemed he had wounded Kitsune¡¯s ego a little by not giving him trials, ¡°Hmm three trials isn¡¯t enough I have eight dividing rooms between me and the last Kit so convert five of those into trials and they will all be mandatory. None of this choose one crap. They need to complete all five of my trials to face me. If they can¡¯t then they don¡¯t deserve to face me.¡± It seemed Kitsune wasn¡¯t going to let making up this slip-up be easy. It was good that he seemed to already know what his trials would be. The hardest part was just coming up with a decent trial after all, ¡°Well that sounds fair. What trials did you have in mind Kitsune?¡± He was intrigued at what the most clever creature he had would come up with after all, ¡°First trial. The ¡®meat sack¡¯ sees a door with a skull on it and braves himself as he goes inside. The room has low lighting giving it a difficult visibility. There is a deadly arura in the air. The ¡®meat sack¡¯ instantly knows that there is the most terrifying creature in the world in the room. A creature unfit for society of any location. As the ¡®meat sack¡¯ comes face to face with monster he stares into the eyes of a¡­¡± Bastill was captivated. So far all their ideas had been brought about boringly. With ¡®oh could we do this¡¯ and ¡®then maybe something that does that¡¯. Everything thus far was put to shame by Kitsune¡¯s elaborate description. He continued to listen to this brilliant trial, ¡°¡­ ugly and most despicably creature to ever walk the earth, a ¡®nut muncher¡¯. Now the plan is to¡­¡± Bastill was already mentally gawking at the turn of the trial and interrupted his floor boss, ¡°Wait you just want them to kill one of the Troll Squirrels?¡± Kistune snapped back, ¡°This trial is perfect and cannot be changed. If you change this trial at all I will be deeply upset with you.¡± Rolling his eyes Bastill agreed, ¡°Fine, fine Trial one is kill a Troll Squirrel. What¡¯s Trial Two?¡± The fox continued with a smug mental projection, ¡°Second Trial. The ¡®meat sack¡¯ sees a door with a skull on it and braves himself as he goes inside. The room has low lighting giving it a difficult visibility. There is a deadly arura in the air. The ¡®meat sack¡¯ instantly knows that there is the most terrifying creature in the world in the room¡­¡± He stopped him, ¡°Kitsune I will put five Troll squirrels in the First Trial if you agree to make the other trials different.¡± He was just about to suspect that the fox wasn¡¯t as smart as he originally thought, but then realized that this was probably Kitsunes expectation. He had been out foxed and let Kitsune set up a Trial that will slowly kill off the Troll Squirrels. He knew the fox was put out that his little hunts had been disrupted by the adventurer¡¯s coming in. Bastill didn¡¯t like the Troll Squirrels anymore then Kitsune did so if this was their fate he would let it happen. He let Kitsune continue on with his trials, but it seemed the fox had used most of his creative sources to illustrate his hate for the Troll Squirrels in the First Trial, ¡°Second Trial, they have to fall in the ¡®pit of death¡¯ to pass.¡± Kitsune¡¯s trials would need to be negotiated. He wasn¡¯t going to have adventurer¡¯s jump to their death. It was impossible to pass that trial. If they jumped they would die, if they didn¡¯t then they couldn¡¯t pass. It was a paradox. He was suspecting that Kitsune was messing with him, but he wasn¡¯t entirely sure¡­ Maybe the fox really thought this was a fitting trial or maybe the fox just wanted to see what happened. Either way this couldn¡¯t be a trial so Bastill turned the idea down, ¡°Kitsune that isn¡¯t a fair trial. Give me a different idea to work with.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The fox seemed a little disappointed for not getting his jump of doom trial, but reluctantly accepted the decision, ¡°Fine¡­ It would have been funny though. How about this one! Blades that swing around and the best way to get through is by singing a silly tune and moving with the song! Do you know any dumb songs?¡± He was filled with disbelief, ¡°You want people to put their life on the line by using a silly song?¡± A proud answer was promptly returned to him, ¡°Exactly! Maybe you do have a good sense of humor. I will let you pick the song since I doubt the ¡®meat sacks¡¯ would know any songs by the foxes. The Third Trial shall be a door with multiple handles! I am quite proud of this one. I just figured out how handles work. The trick to this door is only one handle works!¡± Bastill nearly lost himself to laughter. He just couldn¡¯t handle the different random trials that the fox had come up with. Kitsune had seen the reward he had given the chicane clan a week and a half ago. It had been information on sculpting doors to make their burrows safer from the other clan. Kitsune decided that since he couldn¡¯t open the doors then the information on how they worked could only be learned if someone skilled taught them. Bastill didn¡¯t have the heart to tell the fox that door handles were easily openable. The addition of multiple door handles probably was to make the task impossible, in reality it would just scare the hell out of adventurers. They would probably be worried that the wrong knob would activate a trap. He just left the trial as it was. ¡°For the forth trial¡­ Everyone must brand my image onto their arm. This is non-negotiable.¡± From a door with multiple knobs to physically branding the image of Kitsune onto their arm. He didn¡¯t know what to do with this fox. He tried to come up with a clever argument to prevent this trial, ¡°Hmm well maybe we should choose a different trial, because if they have already done the trial then it would be pointless if they had to do it again.¡± The fox appeared to be thinking it over before he replied, ¡°Fair point, but if they already have it then they are worthy, but if you are really concerned about it then I will make sure none that receive my branding will survive. Zero lives will be spared. That is a good plan. The last trial, number five, they must give me something of theirs. Hmmm, yes that will do nicely. I do deserve gifts.¡± At this point Bastill wasn¡¯t going to even begin to argue with the fox. Kitsune had made up his mind so Bastill began using the new ability Mana Conditions, which he learned while creating the transitioning maze walls, to create the five trials. He used the ability on Trial Four and Five to make sure the conditions were met. On the third trial he just sculpted a door with a thousand door knobs. It would probably terrify people, but in the end it would just be harmless. For the first Trial He moved the Acorn Statue into the room and had a door open and let in more Troll Squirrels. The door would close when people were inside or if there was already five Troll Squirrels inside. This Mana Condition would allow the room to probably fill back up. In the second room he sculpted blades that would swing in complex patterns, but to the tune of a common song. He decorated the First trial door with a skull in the shape of an acorn. The door didn¡¯t need any further instructions as the adventurers would figure out what they needed to do without much nudging. They were the type of people that attacked creature in front of them without too many questions. The second door had lyrics on it. ¡®The adventurer left the town to go on an epic quest, he rode by horse and followed the sun far into the west, and indeed by each and every goddess he was surely blest, with his sword in hand and shield on back and armor on his chest, not a man in town could beat him they say he was the best, he went to fight the dragon kind in its very nest, they didn¡¯t like his company he was no welcome guest, now he¡¯s bit in half, bleeded out, and now will lie in rest.¡¯ It was not a cheery song at all. The worst part was that the tune was really upbeat. He felt bad for whoever had to sing these lyrics while going through the swinging blades. They would not be in very high spirits when they met the fox. Next was the third door which he detailed an image of a door knob and a skull around it. Maybe the humor of the door knobs would brighten their spirits. Next was the fourth door which he sculpted out a detailed picture of a branding. Inside of a branding sculpted and laid in a hot stone barrel that was kept scorching by Atmosphere Mana Control. The fifth door had a detailed explanation explaining that an item of worth needs to be placed inside an empty chest that would be in the next room. Kitsune went to explore the rooms after Bastill taught the fox the song¡¯s tune. With Kitsune preoccupied he went about creating the Elites Trials. As he was busy brainstorming with the king and the Kit¡¯s he couldn¡¯t help but use part of his mental energy to wonder what he should do about the fourth floor and what creatures it would house. He enjoyed making these puzzle¡¯s and traps. He had found out that he couldn¡¯t completely cut off his core from adventures. He had tried early when he was making the new transitions for the maze. It seemed he wasn¡¯t able to completely cut it off. He also couldn¡¯t make impossible conditions for the doors to open. He had experimented while making Kitsune¡¯s Trials. He had to admit it was fair. He was able to create life, so it was only fair that he was bound by rules that made his core accessible otherwise he would be invincible entity. Since his body was essentially the dungeon as a whole with the crystal being his mind it made since why he couldn¡¯t cut it off from the rest. It would be essentially like cutting off circulation to a human¡¯s head, which as science dictated didn¡¯t work well if you were trying to keep it alive. ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** Alice and her group had arrived at the dungeon entrance as the first adventuring party a week and a half ago. Their task was mapping out the dungeon for the later groups coming through. Being the first group to arrive had helped the rise in standings with the other groups that came after. There were now five groups that went into the dungeon every day. The official report of the guild about the change in entrance location had been that the dungeons must have cut off itself from the other part of the dungeon, which would completely sever its connection according to the report. It was a good thing that the dungeon managed to connect back to the surface when she had been inside, because they apparently couldn¡¯t live for very long without a connection to the outside. It was a miracle that it had lived at all. There were records of dungeons closing their entrances only to be excavated later and absent of creatures. She had felt a little hesitant to attack the Blood Foxes on the very first day but knew that they wouldn¡¯t hold any restraint against her. They didn¡¯t run into to anymore Blood foxes on the First floor. There were just large humanoid racoons that they had divided into two categories: Spearmen and Brawlers. The official name for the creature was said to be Racoonoid, which was provided by the walking librarian in her party. His name was Ralph and he specialized in Analyzing magic with a few team support spells. The Two different types of Racoonoids were never seen together, which she found odd. She preferred going up against the Brawlers, because their individual actions were easier to handle then the recently unified spearmen Racoonoids. Then of course they had Isadora Bechdel, who was the healer, and could talk the ears of a snake. There was also an archer named Valerie, who was quite reserved and refused to gossip with Isadora or even talk to anyone. She was however a great shot with her bow when they needed her most so no one berated her for the lack of socializing. Then lastly was the barbarian meat head Derk McClain who was the only person that was still with her from her last party. He had said something about liking her Moxy and stuck with her after the others went onto more important matters. Derk had become a level thirty-three and went up a rank to C, while Alice was level twenty-four and had made it up to the ranks of D. The other members were just about to break into the C ranks with all levels in the high twenties. They were excited to have a dungeon to plunder and develop their skills and levels daily. It became harder and harder to level up the higher you went. There were only two difficult parts of dungeon diving. The first was that Alice had been elected the leader, which was new for her. The second was the four identical nude statues of her in the entrance. The first day she had seen them she had spent thirty minutes outside the dungeon refusing any of the teammates to go inside. She was also awarded the notification that her special prize had been rewarded to her. How are nude angel versions of me a reward??? Well at least they made me look pretty hot¡­ She had been confused as hell on how the dungeon created statues at first, but then several teams had near encounters with groups sculpting. They would here the carving of stone, but the time they arrived at the scene they would only see a furry behind rushing out of the room. In the end it was written in the report that the racoonoids were secretly sculpting, which given the numerous sculpting¡¯s throughout the first level made sense. It also helped them learn of the different creatures within the dungeon. She was still amazed at the material and finesse that they put into creating her statues and the Dungeon Goddess, which was also in the beginning room. They were on an entirely different tier of craftsmanship. She still had to slap Derk from time to time when he began drooling in the first room. He could be quite insufferable quite often with his arguing, but she had to hand it to him that he was a skilled berserker. She was currently working her way through the base camp that made up the newly formed Dungeon Town. It was little more than a couple dozen tents so far, but more folks were arriving each day to add to the range of eclectic jobs. The first to arrive had been her party, cooks, and some builders. She stopped by the half-finished forge to pick up her armor and spear that she had left last night for some repairs. The builders that had come were masons, carpenters, construction workers, stone cutters, and lumberjacks. They spent most their focus constructing a forge that was for the blacksmith that had come later. Despite being half built, it was still able to be used. It had proved to be an important endeavor and was the most used function in the camp besides the cooking area. Every few days new groups of adventurers had shown up, along with merchants that bought up all the materials from the Dungeon Dives. Prices were currently ridiculous. The items the merchants had brought such as whetstone, arrows, several common weapons, and common household items would end up costing more than they would anywhere else. Once several jewels were recovered from the dungeon everything in relation inflated, leaving adventurers bartering a gem for two blankets and a couple quivers of arrows. Several groups would leave the merchants with tears for forgetting to bring several common items with them. The cooks were the only reasonable ones here, as long as you didn¡¯t piss them off. Alice stopped by for a bowl of stew made from herbs and meat from the dungeon. As long as you brought the bodies of monsters back and gave them to the cooks they would add credit to your account and let you eat several meals with that recorded amount. They would even give you back any interesting items such as bone, claws, and pelts. The cooks appeared to be fully focused on advancing their craft and making connections. Many adventurers would let the cooks keep odds and ends of the animals if asked as a show of comradery. This would give you more credit and more often than not higher quality meals. Derk had taught everyone in the camp a valuable lesson about respecting and befriending the cooks after he demanded for a meal on the first day. He had yet to receive an unburnt meal to this date. Although Alice felt slightly bad for his treatment she still found it hilarious. It was a good way to teach manners to someone that was more brutish then civil. It was about time to head into the dungeon again. They had to make a new map last night after theirs was destroyed. For some reason she had this unnerving feeling that the dungeon hated maps. Not that the dungeon was alive, but sometimes she had strange feelings about it. Like how the statues were made and how the creatures fought beside her once. But she couldn¡¯t dwell too much on those silly ideas. She had a dungeon to explore and she was going to complete the second floor today! Remember don¡¯t take the Northern or Southern path on the second floor. My goddesses that was hell. Twenty-Three, Stick of DEATH ** ** ** House of the Mask, Chicane ** ** ** Chicane was quite pleased with his towns development. The town was composed of several round pillars that had a different floor every six feet up. It went all the way up to the ceiling which gave them five rooms for each pillar. They had only made four such buildings so far since they were so time consuming. It was all built off the principal that had been given to them. The knowledge was called ¡®a-brick¡¯. Only the most important people were allowed to live in the ¡®a-brick¡¯ housing. However, his dream was for all of his kind to live in the ¡®a-brick¡¯ housing. He was currently on his way to see his favorite three. That had also been the first to create the ¡®death stick design¡¯. The ¡®death stick¡¯ was a revolutionary attacking weapon that worked in tandem with their ¡®phalanx¡¯ formation. It was created after viewing the stone models in the first room. They had cut off smaller parts of the trees and attached sharpened stones to them and their ¡®death stick¡¯ was invented! It had been in use ever since the battle with the larger and more hairless versions of themselves. These creatures that they had decided to call ¡®hoomins¡¯. The ¡®hoomins¡¯ still held much more elite versions of these ¡®death sticks¡¯. Some were composed of only of long sharpened rocks with a handle, while others were smaller and propelled through the air, lastly there were also large lopsided ¡®death sticks¡¯. They also encountered forces and elements that acted on the ¡®hoomins¡¯ words and motions. He entered the forge, ¡°I am here, I was told you had some things to show me?¡± First was the intimidating sculptor renamed Fleshstone, to honor his profession. He was their best sculptor and had recently earned them a new amazing item with his revolutionary ¡®Nut Art¡¯. He had one of the gifted toolkits with him with tools from the god. By his side was a scrawny scientist named Shrood. The top scientist, Shrood was responsible for new designs and trying to replicate gifts. Lastly the sturdier of the three, he held a sculpted gift called a ¡®hammer¡¯ and was renamed for using it. Everyone now called him Fleshhammer. Shrood was the first to respond, ¡°Why yes, yes! You will be thoroughly delighted with what we have made. The first piece is the improved ¡®death stick! You see after borrowing some of their weapons we discovered that the ¡®hoomins¡¯ use the metal instead of stone. Fleshhammer has already began banging out some new iron tips to replace the stone ones!¡± Shrood brought out a iron ¡®death stick¡¯ tip for him to inspect. Which he compared to his own stone tip. Not only did it looked shiner, which is an impressive feat, he was informed that they could be repaired and would last longer than the stone ones. This was indeed a step forward in their technology. He was looking forward to see their other creations, ¡°This alone is enough to celebrate. This is quite the improvement, you three have truly earned your ¡®a-brick¡¯ housing.¡± They continued to go through their new inventions. A lot were designed from the ¡®hoomins¡¯ forgotten items. These items had been forgotten to be watched closely and were adroitly snatched up from the unsuspecting ¡®hoomins¡¯ from the ¡®Shadows¡¯. He himself had taken to picking up forgotten items. His favorite story to tell was when he had removed a strange wiggly contraption from the individual¡¯s waist, which caused the ¡®hoomin¡¯s¡¯ leg coverings to fall down after trying to retrieve what he had called a ¡®my-belt¡¯. All his people were now equipped with ¡®my-belts¡¯ made from the fur of ¡®nut-cheekers¡¯. The ¡®my-belts¡¯ allowed one to hold a small version of the ¡®death-stick¡¯ on their waist. The next few inventions he was shown was a replica of the ¡®death stick launcher¡¯. All their attempts to make a stick launch other sticks had resulted in shitty versions and the actual item required so much effort and strength to utilize, but they had come up with an alternate way to achieve the result. Using the main part of the fern they hollowed out the middle making it tube like. All the death sticks they tried using failed, but they discovered that the defense of the spiked creature worked well in it. You would put the spike in the tube and blow air through it and out it shot. It was still quite weak and could only puncture skin. Using stone bottles, they collected the venom in the water creatures hind legs and douse all the spikes with it. After all this was put together they were capable of paralyzing creatures for a few seconds. This would be used in hiddenly while the ¡®phalanx¡¯ is being used. The natural look of it would hide the user well. They deemed the new weapon the ¡®spatter¡¯ and Chicane ordered the Shadows to start learning it along with a few commoners as well. The last invention however was the greatest of all. They had managed to understand the newest weapon the god had given them. The parasol! At first they were confused at what its purpose was, but after Shrood began his research he realized that it was similar to the objects the ¡®hoomins¡¯ used to block attacks with. After creating a design that could be forged in parts and put together after they had made a collapsible iron shield that would help prevent them from the flying ¡®death sticks¡¯ and the element controlling. They were still heavy, but they could be used to set up an area to protect their phalanx. It would take two to operate it though and it had a slow completion time as well. Overall, they were ready for the new wave of ¡®hoomins¡¯. They would teach them the meaning of defeat.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ** ** ** Unsuspecting Adventurer ** ** ** ¡°What the actual Goddess of fuck?,¡± Jackson screamed. They had been wandering around and this was the third wall they had hit that was supposedly ¡®not supposed to be there¡¯. He believed the one reading the map was just incompetent, ¡°Hey Michael you want to maybe not fuck up the directions that Destiny had no problems with just the day before?¡± They decided to switch map readers for the day to give him the chance to gain the Innate Map skill that let them keep an accurate map in their head mentally. Destiny had just gained the skill after three days of directing them. Destiny spoke up, ¡°Jackson I don¡¯t think it¡¯s his fault, I¡¯ve been falling the map mentally and all the directions should have been right¡­ I think the maze changed¡­¡± Jackson snorted at the notion, ¡°It hasn¡¯t changed for the past two weeks for the other groups. The dungeon doesn¡¯t just suddenly change. You¡¯re obviously unskilled at Innate Map and the fucktard over hear is just illiterate.¡± Michael¡¯s face grew bright read as he exclaimed, ¡°I am not! You are just mad cause you¡¯re a¡­ a¡­ a¡­¡± ¡°Ha you can¡¯t even come up with a comeback,¡± Jackson smirked. He was about to continue belittling Michael, but suddenly the adventurer just fell over sideways. ¡°Wait what the,¡± he didn¡¯t get to finish talking before Destiny screamed ¡®Ambush¡¯. The two others that had been keeping themselves out of the argument grouped up around Michael to protect him. Jackson hurried over to the group as he looked behind him and saw the approaching Racoonoid Spearmen. After joining the protective circle, he smiled as he began to smile, ¡°Eat this you oversized Racoons!¡± He began to poor his mana into his favorite spell, fireball! He channeled it through his right arm, which he used for casting. Some mages focused on using both arms, but if you made it a habit of only using one arm then it made one¡¯s spells much more powerful than if they used both. Like strength training using magic could strengthen parts of you that were used often. By only using his right arm his spells were twenty percent more powerful. He was aiming for the middle of the six by two grouping of spearmen. Michael began to gain use of his body and stood back up and drew his bow. As Michael began to release an arrow, Jackson finished his spell. Suddenly formation split in half and two racoonoids ran up through the center with the other raccoonoids converging on the two. The two had a long pole held between them with the front end looking thicker than the end. Just as the arrow and ball of flame was about to erupt on the racoonoids the poles head erupted outward and an expanse of iron pieces formed a large twelve foot shielded area completely blocking the projectile and flame. The iron melted a bit, but it held sturdy. Six spears erupted from either side of the large shield as they began charging the group. ¡°Michael shoot them you fucktard! I can¡¯t cast another fireball in time,¡± he yelled, but as he turned he noticed two little spikes poking out of Michaels forehead as the archer fell over again. Shining spear tips were quickly gaining on the group. They had destiny a healer and two axe wielders. They normally decimated groups of spearmen with a well-placed fireball and arrows picking off the others. The axe wielders were awful against the spearmen. Jackson knew there was only one solid way to make it through this. Without much consideration he took off running away from his companions using every little bit of brain power to find his way back to the exit. It''s better that the leader escapes with his life then falling down with his team. I can rebuild a team, but you can¡¯t re-build a natural born leader. He was running through each room. There had yet to be any casualties so far and he wanted to keep himself out of that statistic. After hitting some dead ends, some with a chest guarded by an elite, he finally began to see familiar terrain. Yes! I am close to the exit! I remember this room with the pond and the statue of the fox! Just as he was about to leave the room he saw a beautiful chest sitting in the middle of the room. He stopped in his tracks and looked around. He couldn¡¯t see any likely ambushes. This room was fairly open, and it wasn¡¯t near the pond either. He had encountered a water ambush before. Focusing every ounce of perception he had he approached the chest. It looked like he would survive and exit with treasure. He began thinking of what he would tell the others at camp. We were ambushed, and all my comrades were on the ground bleeding badly. They told me their dying wishes and forced me to leave them. I couldn¡¯t say no to their dying wishes that they needed me to repeat to the parents they loved dearly. How could I not obey them? After sending off several more fireballs I retreated only due to their wishes. Yes, that will sound good. There were absolutely no creatures around him and he was standing right in front of the chest. Keeping up his vigilance he kept watch as he opened the chest and reached in with his right hand. And they say nothing comes free in this world, but luckily, I am blessed by the goddesses. He felt a dagger along with jewels in his palm and looked down to see his prize. While he did see lots of gems and a beautiful dagger, he also happened to see that his arm was reaching into a chest with sharp teeth! Screaming he went to pull his hand out, but not before the chest bit his hand clean off. Blood started rushing out as he began to feel light headed. For the first time he cast a spell with his left hand and cauterized the wound. While tears were streaming down his face the beautiful chest began hopping away from him. He sort-of remembered crying and screaming occasionally on his trek out, but for most of it he had no memory. He finally trudged out of the dungeon with his mouth just hanging wide open and stumbled around until people found him. A short while later the rest of his party came out of the dungeon complete with dozens of cuts and scrapes. Apparently, the spearmen subdued them and took everything on their person before letting them go. While they were beat up and cut nothing was too serious and they made it out fine. They kicked their leader out of the group and informed everyone of what had happened. Jackson was left with no group and no one wanting to join him. Chapter Twenty-Four, The Sinful Trials Twenty-Four, The Sinful Trials ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** Oh, my goddess! I forgot about the moving treasure chest! I feel bad¡­ But he did screw over his teammates, so I guess it is justified. He would have been fine if he had stayed with his teammates. Chicane¡¯s clan members are quite forgiving and don¡¯t try to kill despite the fact that they are more advanced and skilled then Niccolo¡¯s clan. That clan would probably kill if positions were switched. That party had been the last to enter. The other four parties had already figured out that the walls had changed much to their shock. They still mapped out the new area, collected two chests out of four that were guarded by elites, and made it to the second floor. Alice¡¯s group decided to go down the Eastern path and stuck to it, despite their many falls into desert pits of the Dracula Hare¡¯s. Alice would just jump into the trap with her comrade and stab everything annoyingly. He also felt that she didn¡¯t truly appreciate his gift to her. Although he realized he probably should have carved them with clothes on¡­ That detail seemed to slip his mind at the time, however, he was still proud of his little golems. Her group just reached Eurous and were busy fighting the quick rabbit. The other groups were making it down the other three paths. One suffering ambushes, another freezing, and the last sweating profusely. It was fortunate that he had just finished the creation of the third floor. It looked like it might be tested today. Now he was going easy on the adventurers, but it still bothered him that his floors were being conquered so quickly. He didn¡¯t even have the fourth floor complete. There weren¡¯t even any adventurers over the rank of D. B ranked and up would sweep the floor with him. Even these D and C ranked adventurers were having no problem. He didn¡¯t even want to think about S ranked adventurers. He still had time according to Gaius, but it still bothered him immensely. Now Wenet was being challenged by the group. The sins on the third floor went in order of Vainglory, Ardor, Invidious, Voracity, Hebetude, Choler, Rapacity. He watched as Alice¡¯s group began the trek onto the third floor. He decided to experiment with the ideas for the Fourth floor in between watching the group struggle against his trials. He needed a new floor boss and new creatures for the fourth floor. He first thought about what he had made so far. From the Leaf Imitator, he had made Elder Berry Leaf Imitator, though it wasn¡¯t particularly dangerous at all. From the Stick Bug, he had made Water Skater, which also had quite feeble attack power. He had created them to be hunted, but now his creatures focused on the adventurers, which had led to over population of the insects. Maye he could recreate these insects or make them stronger. He had also used the Red Fox to make the beautiful Blood Foxes. Was there a way to make them even stronger? He already had a floor boss and seven elites, which were quite tough. Using the hare, he made the Vampiric Rabbit Queen and Dracula Hares. He could actually create more Vampiric Rabbit Queens to spawn the Hares in separate chambers so that Wenet wasn¡¯t the only one creating them. That would actually make it a lot more challenging having swarms of Dracula Hare¡¯s and give Wenet a break from mass producing children. He began creating four more rooms on the second floor, each hidden away and connecting to one of the four paths and placing eight Vampiric Rabbit Queens in each room. He had used the Racoons to make the Racoonoids and he was quite pleased with their progress. Especially Chicane¡¯s Clan. If it was serious he would have them battle to kill, but right now it was fine to let them show mercy. Using the Goat he had also made the Mini Goat for them, which could only really be used for them and had no attack power at all. He was reconsidering that creation. Was it adorable? Yes. But what purpose did it have? None. Looking back on it, he realized it may have been an impulse creation. If that is a thing. From the Hedge Hog he had created the Stone-Hedge Hog which wasn¡¯t weak but wasn¡¯t very strong either. It was similar to turning the Beaver into the Serrated-Billed Platypus. It was a nuance to deal with, but if you didn¡¯t bother it then it didn¡¯t bother you. It was mentally still thinking like prey instead of like a predator. His last and most shameful creation. From Grey Squirrel to Troll Squirrel. Nothing could be any dumber or more useless. There was absolutely no reason to advance that creature further or try to make a new creature using the origin creature. Squirrels were just a dumb animal all the way around. He switched his focus back to Alice, she had made it to the first sin. It was now time for her too choose one of three trials. The right door had walls, ceilings and floors made sculpted to work as a mirror with an effect to make people appear uglier. There was also a condition placed on the room that made them have to walk the hundred feet distance naked. There was also a beautiful chandelier sculpted in the middle that that oozed a gas causing people to hallucinate. He wasn¡¯t sure what hallucinations it would have, but looked forward to finding out. The hope was it would lead to infighting and embarrass the hell out of the adventurers. The center door led to a room had a condition to be fulfilled making each member share a secret that they had. It had a statue in the middle that had an effect that made people near it feel more insecure and secretive. You would have to fight the statues aura and yourself to share it. There was a second statue that made others more prone to tease. He had no freaking clue how it worked, but he thought himself quite the artist for crafting it. The trial would involve getting over your own pride and insecurities and dealing with others mocking you.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The left door¡­ Oh, she ended up choosing the left door. Might as well watch and see how it goes. The group entered the door. This was probably his favorite of the three doors. Unlike the other doors this one was quite simple. As the group walked in they encountered a key on a pedestal within the first few feet of the entrance. Now all they had to do was put the key into the door on the other end of the room. Easy right? When leaving a room with conditions it was required to leave detailed instructions on how to achieve the conditions. The pedestal had detailed instructions involving pictures showing the key being put into the door. A real no brainer¡­ Derk reached up to pick up the key. The second he grabbed it the other four members immediately glared at him, ¡°And why do you think you deserve to be the one to complete the task? Who chose you to get all the glory?¡± Seeing everyone aggressively staring at him he began to back away slowly. He was confused as hell as to why they were suddenly acting this way, ¡°Well¡­ I didn¡¯t really think anyone would mind.. It¡¯s just putting a key in a lock¡­ Is there really any glory in that?¡± Immediately the butt of Alice¡¯s spear smacked him in the head. She leaped forward and grabbed the key, ¡°Oh¡­ Sorry Derk. I don¡¯t really know why I did that. Here you can have it back.¡± As she went to hand it back she noticed everyone else charging at her and Derk swinging his axe at her as he shouted, ¡°It¡¯s mine to put in the lock! I will gain all the achievements! All the glory! Give it here you bitch!¡± Realizing that everyone had gone crazy she sprinted away from them. She happened to be the fastest of the group, but nearly lost the race to an arrow or two before she made it to the door and unlocked it. Immediately everyone calmed down as they began to piece together what had happened. Hmmm that would be interesting to see how S ranked adventurers would act. Could they resist it or would they go crazy like this group¡­ Of course, the one holding it isn¡¯t affected so if it¡¯s just Claire then it wouldn¡¯t even matter¡­ That¡¯s dumb¡­ He turned his attention away from the group and focused back into his thinking of making his dungeon stronger. Ruby didn¡¯t even challenge them, so it wouldn¡¯t be very interesting to watch the group until they got to the next trials. The room with the different Aura¡¯s got him thinking about his ability Dungeon Aura. He hadn¡¯t done much with it yet. It currently increased effects of growing and developing creatures, giving them a fifteen percent bonus combat ability, and a ten percent bonus to characteristics. It would prove helpful if he could make this effect stronger. He could also place more rooms with conditions and statues that give strange effects. Oh it looks like the group is giving up for the day¡­ Too bad I wanted to see them challenge the other trials¡­ Well maybe another group will come test the trials in a bit. With the Dungeon Aura in his mind he spread his influence into the Arua to try and see if he could alter it. He couldn¡¯t find the Aura at first. It couldn¡¯t be directly felt as an object, instead it felt as if it was his influence itself. The Aura was part of his influence, but with its own unique quality. He tried to increase the catalysts strength in his influence, but it didn¡¯t seem to take hold. Continuing on with his experimentation he tried the Angel Feather, his other catalyst. He was happy and surprised to find that it did react with the Aura. He let the catalyst mix in with Dungeon Aura. He could feel the strength of it grow in his influence. His influence felt stronger and sharper than before. A new notification came up, which he checked on. Dungeon Aura Alteration! Awoken with the power of Ceremonial Blood from your past. Dungeon Aura in its current state has increased effects growing and developing your creatures. As well as a 15% bonus to the dungeon creatures combat ability, and a 10% bonus in dungeon creature¡¯s characteristics. + Addition of the Angel Feather gifted by the goddesses. Summon and Revive creatures at 50% their mana worth. Hmmm it seems it grows stronger with new catalysts. If only they were easier to obtain. I wish I understood what counted as catalysts¡­ Dungeons should really come with an instructions manual. ** ** ** Unsuspecting Adventurer (Jackson) ** ** ** The mage sat by his small encampment at the edge of the developing dungeon town. There were now ten groups of adventurers in camp. Not that he cared. He just sat by his fire with his eye¡¯s closed and his teeth gritted. My hand¡­ I can still feel it, but I know it¡¯s not their¡­ Goddesses why me? Why have you cursed me. It wasn¡¯t fair. Sure he had left his teammates and selfishly ran away, but he feared for his life. Who wouldn¡¯t run in the face of danger? It was human reaction. Simple fight or flight response. Those adventurers just shun him and cast him aside though and he was left one handed and alone. He almost wished he had stayed to face death instead of ending up crippled. He cynically realized he wouldn¡¯t have died or been crippled if he had stayed in fight. Now they grow rich in the dungeon as I feel the ghost of my appendage and wallow in misery. FUCK it still hurts. I would do anything just be shown the way¡­ Just to have companions again. A voice spoke out in the night as the sound of horse hoofs began to register in his mind, ¡°Well hello their young mage. I see your rather farther away from the rest of the town mind telling me your story?¡± A wizened old man sat atop the horse with whitened hair and a white cloak. Jackson looked at what appeared to be a man of a church as he spoke, ¡°My priest you might as well continue on to camp. They will tell you my story and you will understand why there is no need to try to befriend me.¡± I will just be a waste of time to him anything. He will cast me away just as the rest when they tell him. He thought that would be the end of the conversation, but the old priest continued. ¡°The Goddess of Kindness always shows mercy to those who deserve it. You have the look of a mage you know. It¡¯s a shame you lost your arm, but you know the Goddess of Kindness always blesses her people with the strongest wind magic. If you share some of your time perhaps you may consider joining this Aeromancer as he spreads the good word of the goddess, eh? Don¡¯t you think you deserve another chance my boy? I¡¯ve seen that faraway look before. It¡¯s the eyes of a man that is done with the world and seeking the end. Don¡¯t quit on my old Aeromancer bones. You deserve mercy and renewal.¡± Chapter Twenty-Five Magic Curses ** ** ** House of the Fox ** ** ** Kitsune was on his way to his room and was working his way through his Kits¡¯ rooms. He had just finished going through Ruby¡¯s room. Yes, Ruby not Vainglory. No matter how much they fussed at him he wasn¡¯t going to use their silly titles. He didn¡¯t have a title so neither did they. The younger generation always seemed to try being unique. What even was a Vainglory? He didn¡¯t know or care. He was however very impressed with their trials. They of course couldn¡¯t compare to his own trials, but they certainly were unique. Next was Topaz¡¯s room. His room was apparently about sex? Something about it copying the essence of his title or whatever. Kitsune assumed he was just finally going through puberty. It was worrisome that it took his son this long to hit puberty. His three trials were first a room that releases some aura from rock that encourages mating. Well that was what he had been told. He didn¡¯t quite understand how encouraging others to mate was a trial, but he wasn¡¯t about to argue with Bastill who said it was about attacking the humans mentally. Apparently, it isn¡¯t polite for humans to mate and whatnot with others watching. These humans probably wouldn¡¯t live very long with such opinions. Mating was not a shameful act. If anything this room would be a reward room. Kitsune himself didn¡¯t mate anymore, but that was because he had already found his soulmate and brought forth the children that would be his legacy. Now the only importance in his life was making sure his children grew up strong and powerful. The second trial involved a moving rock that Bastill called a ¡®golem¡¯. Apparently, it was to resemble the sirens of legends. Whatever a siren was it sure sang beautifully. Its purpose was to lure the adventurers to their deaths or injury. Kitsune knew this firsthand after he fell for its tricks the first time. He now only travelled through the third trial to get to and from his room. The third trial was a mutation from the plants. He ended up calling this new species the Viagre plant. This was apparently another mental attacking room. Kitsune still didn¡¯t understand how these humans could be so week to be affected by such a plant. The Viagre released a chemical in the air that would affect the genitalia in living creatures and increase the blood flow to the area. Kitsune proudly trotted across the room pridefully with his member fully erect. He had tried to understand how this was a trial. Bastill told him that it had to due to embarrassment and the awkwardness to walk across the room in a group while they were erect. The closest Kitsune came to understanding the trial was about when Bastill said they may feel insecure about the size they have. He figured there were probably conditions on the room and smaller males would probably fail to achieve victory crossing the room. Kitsune himself had no problem with his size and easily made the trip through the room without difficulty. A couple more rooms and he arrived at Topaz¡¯s room. There was a group of adventurer¡¯s fighting against the Blood Fox. As Kitsune entered the room everyone stopped fighting for a moment as their jaws dropped to the floor. They were just fighting against one of the Elite¡¯s and the Floor Boss appeared behind them. Kitsune gave a loud howl out to Topaz, ¡°I know you like to use your claws and your quite precise with them, my only suggestion for this battle is what Wenet always says, ¡®Be swifter little one¡¯.¡± Kitsune smiled after leaving his jewel with that little gem of wisdom. He briefly sniffed the air as he began his exit from the room. Did one of the humans just crap themselves? They can¡¯t mate, and they shit when they fight. I am glad I was born a Fox. He continued on his way through the rooms. ** ** ** Alice Everglade ** ** ** Alice and her group began to make their way through the Dungeon. They had gotten off to a late start due to Derk begging the cooks to forgive him for so long. There were now a total of ten groups actively diving into the dungeon every day, more skilled labor that had also arrived; however, there was still only one cook in the entire town. The biggest improvement was the Forge being completed. New projects were also being started every other day. Some of the merchants began spending money on workers to claim the prime real estate by buildings shops. A tavern keeper had arrived three days ago and his inn was being built. The Adventurer Guild spent money on having a small building being erected. A church for the God of Kindness was also being created. There was also talk of other guilds coming to the town. A big debate on who would run the town was currently being discussed. Some thought the Adventurers Guild would run it since one of their members had found it, while others argued the King has control of every city and he wouldn¡¯t allow one to be run without representation from his court. It was after all a great resource for their country and it couldn¡¯t be squandered. She didn¡¯t say anything, but she personally wondered if her father would have any input of decision making in the process. It was highly possible, but it could just as possibly be taken care of by other people. She looked up from her inquiry as she looked at one of the several ponds within the Dungeon. It was amazing how beautiful a Dungeon could be. With the rock ground covered in humming plants and the ceiling and walls wrapped up in vines it was like traversing through a green tunnel. One could debate whether this was more or less beautiful then the nature outside. In her own opinion it was more beautiful in here then it was outside. From her knowledge most dungeons didn¡¯t take on such appearances. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for dungeons to have themes, but for the dungeons themselves to be designed and aesthetically pleasing, it just wasn¡¯t common at all.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. If it wasn¡¯t the fact that this was a Dungeon which would be the bane and glory of Adventurers and their lives she thought people could live in these tunnels. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for adventurers to spend a night in some of the more mild Dungeons to continuously grind, but it could be very dangerous if the dungeon threw in surprises or if the nature of creatures of the dungeon were stealthy. She didn¡¯t feel safe about spending any nights in this dungeon between the Racoonoids and the Blood foxes. Speaking of Racoonoids¡­ Alice was driven from her thoughts as Derk yelled out loud, ¡°Where the hell are the goddess damned Racoonoids?¡±. They had just gotten down to the second floor, but they hadn¡¯t encountered a single monster besides the occasional Troll Squirrel and Stone-Hedgehog. ** ** ** House of the Mask, Chicane ** ** ** ¡°Today marks the day of Seven days since the victory of against the ¡®hoomins¡¯!¡± Chicane announced on the platform to the surrounding crowd. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause after his statement. His people rejoiced at his words, but he hushed them down as he continued, ¡°The top three of our crafters have come up with new items that our fighters will use. The technology was greatly assisted by the ¡®hoomins¡¯ for lending us their things. Not only will our fighters have a higher survivability, but we will finally conquer and bring the clans together. Niccolo will no longer hold our other brethren through bullying and meanness!¡± More cheering accompanied his words. He continued, ¡°It is time to go face the other clans unfair ruler and join our clans together! Let us travel into battle! May the God let us borrow good fortune for our battle.¡± Not everyone was heading out to battle. They had decided to only take a total of eighteen members along with Chicane the leader. The fighters began marching out of their hidden village and into the dungeon. They stormed through the dungeon swiftly and entered the other clan¡¯s location. They were met with stares of confusion from the opposing clansmen. Looks from the other clans expressed shock from the unsuspecting intrusion. The spearmen at the head of Chicane¡¯s group were all outfitted with iron spear tips that had become the new standard. Chicane stepped out in front of his troops as he spoke to they enemy, ¡°Hello my brothers of old and sisters. I mean you no harm. I only seek to unite our people, so we may both prosper together. We will only use force against those who wish us harm and hatred. NICCOLO come forth and meet your justice!¡± A group of large Racoonoids stepped forward. They were the most well trained and loyal members of their city. At the center of these twenty Raconnoids stood Niccolo with the dagger that started it all in his dagger in hand. His loyal citizens were bare chested with knuckles drawn up ready to fight. There was no organization to their squabble, while across from them stood Chicane in front of a row of six iron spear tips. Behind them were two more rows. With eighteen citizens at his back Chicane stood proudly against his enemies in front of him. As soon as the opposing brawlers charged forward they were met by six spear tips from the front row and six projectile poison coated quills from the back row. The middle row charged past the front row and into the throng of the battle. They were all clad in armor most of it was compromised of leather, but a quarter of it was inlaid with metal ¨C covering the more susceptible areas. The had already drawn their short swords from around their waists and shields attached to their backs and were valiantly slaughtering those before them. They had put all reservation about what they were doing behind them. They may allow adventures live, but that was to increase the amount of equipment and items they could borrow. This battle held no mercy, only gore. Chicane stepped forward into the throng dodging attacks as he continued to wade in to their leader Niccolo. Armed with a smaller spear, armor, a satchel, and a large cumbersome wrist band he weaved in and out between attacks until he reached his nemesis. They faced off against each other until a brawler unleashed an attack on Chicane who responded by charging forward. He had faith in his fellow brethren and would leave the rest of the fighting to him. As he got into death stick range his lunged forward, but Niccolo showed his clans superior fighting skills by twisting his body to dodge and sweeping the dagger in towards him. Chicanes clan had equipment and technology, but the other clan had focused on increasing their body and reactions. No matter how many thrusts and swipes he sent with his spear he was always dodged, blocked, or counterattacked. After twenty exchanges between the two, Chicane was left riddled with gashes. Glancing behind he saw that his fellow brethren were also in dire straits. With the help of the long range ¡®death stick¡¯ projectile they managed to enter a stale mate between the two parties. The paralyzing effect was just enough to keep the brawlers from finishing them off, but they still suffered from several injuries. Turning his attention back to the dagger wielding foe he recognized the mistake of diverting his attention from his enemy. The dagger was heading right for his heart. With no time to dodge he slightly raised the large cumbersome wrist band on his left arm. It looked like his entire arm was engulfed in interlocking metal. His arm wasn¡¯t going to rise in time to block the dagger. Chicane flexed his arm and pulled the string attached to his middle finger on his left arm. Just as the dagger began its decent down the metal on his arm erupted and spread out into a shield. With not a second more to lose the dagger collided with the shield and slid off to the side. Niccolo seeing that his side was winning took the initiative and closed the distance between him and Chicane and shouted out encouragement to his men. The dumb metal shield wouldn¡¯t win this battle. He was already in the lead. Though their opponents had superior equipment, he had all twenty of his clansmen melee fighting while his enemy only had twelve with six additional support members shooting out paralyzing darts. In the face of numbers and power all would fall before him. Chicane knowing this was battle was nearing the end and not in his favor decided it was time to use one of their trump cards. With a signal from him all his people reached into their own bags and pulled out a beautiful red glass vial. After drinking down the contents they felt more invigorated and their injuries began to slowly close and heal. While they hadn¡¯t yet learned how to make this drink, they still had a small stockpile of it due to the generosity of the adventurers. His satchel however was a little different from the others. His could hold up to twenty items without weighing more or stretching the bag. Knowing it was time to end the battle while they were in better health he put away his short ¡®death stick¡¯ and retrieved a similar looking stick. This stick however was not sharpened at the end and held no iron tip. This was a item that helped the ¡®hoomins¡¯ interact with unknown forces. He hadn¡¯t gotten it to work before after testing, but for his guild he knew his god would grant him the power to finally wield it. After all he had been gifted his own home when his was taken from him. He had faith that it would work. He raised the staff in both hand with the globed end pointing at Niccolo and summoned the words he had heard spoken by his god before. The ancient words of power! Chicane chanted and focus his whole being into the staff, ¡°Well Fuck! Fuckity Fuck Fuck FUCK!¡± Nothing happened¡­ Chapter Twenty-Six, Getting The Water Knocked Out ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** Bastill was thrown out of his concentration by some unusual fighting going on the first floor. He focused in on the spot and noticed his own creatures were fighting again. He watched with curiosity as the two racoonoid clans clashed. It was fascinating to watch the differences between the two. Though this took him away from his current project he still felt it was important to watch the major events in the Dungeon. After all these were his creatures. He watched as it all climaxed at one of the leaders pulling out a magic staff and yelling, ¡°¡°Well Fuck! Fuckity Fuck Fuck FUCK!¡± Was that supposed to be a magic spell? All the creatures paused in confusion after Chicane yelled out the words. Bastill realized that the leader had no magic power at all. There were no spells coming now or ever at the hands of the Racoonoid. With some curiosity he decided to meddle in this fight. The thought of magic wielding Racoonoid¡¯s intrigued him too much not to try. The worst that would happen would be the little guy explodes. That would be very unfortunate¡­ Well no time like the present. I can always revive him later. He didn¡¯t know how magic really worked, but he remembered that the blood foxes had gained slight magical abilities after the catalyst was used in their creation. Trying to put the consequences out of mind he began to mesh the little leader with the ceremonial blood catalyst. His body began to converse and his eyes rolled up in his head. He continued to convulse as the catalyst integrated into his biology. Please don¡¯t explode. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± He felt bad and apologized to the Racoonoid guy mentally. With a burst of power Chicane fell onto the floor before he slowly began to pick himself up. He then lifted up the staff and tried to use it again. He began to chant, ¡°WELL WELL WELL. FUCK! I¡¯M SORRY! FUCK!¡± With his curses came the spark of magic, it erupted an area of fire on the ground his enemy stood on. His enemies quickly followed their leader Niccolo into the afterlife. Chicane and his warriors cheered in victory. Bastill was met with a peculiar notification. Special Elite Change Would you like to approve these changes? +Niccolo lost his Elite position +Chicane is now a Special Elite It seemed this fighting had resulted in a unique change. He didn¡¯t know what these changes meant or why they had happened, but he felt the winner deserved the rewards. After all, he never approved of the other clans¡¯ more brutish control. With both clans under one ownership and a unique special elite title he felt certain it would better his Dungeon. Feeling that he had successfully handled this situation he turned his focus back onto the fourth floor as he began to continue reengineering some of his creatures. He was currently working on the Water Skater. He had already completed work on the Elder Berry Leaf Imitator. The camouflaging bug now was able to release webbing similar to a spider. It was more silky than spider webbing though. It was also tinted green and blended in with the rest of the bush. While the silk wasn¡¯t sticky it did however have interesting paralyzing properties similar to the Serrated-Billed Playtypus hind legs. But instead of burs it was spread directly through contact; this administration also gave it a lesser effect. It wouldn¡¯t paralyze but would reduce the speed of creatures that came into contact with it. This property was only made as a defensive strategy for the Elder Berry Leaf Imitator. He had released it into the breeding areas for the creature waiting for its traits to become main stream for all of the Imitator Bugs. He was now back to working on the Water Skater Bug. He contemplated giving it a catalyst, but it would be similar to giving a child a weapon. If you want an assassin, you don¡¯t just hand just anyone a knife. You need to make or find the assassin and give it the blade. The little Water Bug was the furthest thing from an assassin at this moment, so there was no point in using the catalyst on it. Bastill decided to rewire its brain slightly using Forced Evolution. However, he couldn¡¯t seem to change its fundamental mind set. It was never going to be a fierce predator, but he did strengthen the urge to protect its nest. Then he changed its breeding area to be out in the open and increased its birth rate. He wanted to make it¡¯s legs like scythes. He could already see it in his head. Adventurers attempt to collect water only to be swarmed by a dozen one knife legged bugs! He set it loose and watched as it dove back into its water habitat. Instead of skating along the surface. The legs cut straight through the water. He thrashed around until it began to drown. ¡°NOOOO, my little scythe bug! Someone save it! I worked so hard on it! Kitsune! Come quick! Anyone¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. He knew Kitsune was too far away. His little bug would die all because his evolution made the creature sink instead of skip across the water. Just when he was about to give up he noticed three Racoonoids heading towards his location at an insanely fast pace. Focusing in on them he noticed they were all hunched over a Mini Goat galloping towards him. When they reached the water one of them dove into the water. Bastill could see him swim down and rescue the now unconscious bug. The racoonoid surfaced with his creation and began to swim back onto shore. He laid the bug down onto the ground on its back. The three Racoonoids noticed that the bug had ceased to breath. Bastill tried to assist them in resuscitating his creation, ¡°It¡¯s swallowed a lot of water and can¡¯t breath you should¡­¡± Before he finished the soaked Racoonoid ran picked up a rock and slammed a rock onto the bugs softer exposed belly, which erupted with goo. The little Racoonoid¡¯s eyes shot wide open in surprise before looking really sad and looking down. He uttered under his breath, ¡°I don¡¯t think the ¡®Deathstick¡¯ Bug will make it¡­¡± Bastill mentally palmed his metaphorical face as he asked the racoonoid what he had been trying to do. The racoonoid explained, ¡°Normally a hard hit to the belly knocks out the water. If it was full of water, it should have knocked out the water¡­¡± It was pretty sound thought process for a being that was less than a year old. He thanked them for trying their best and informed them that he would leave more iron ingots in their town as a reward. They happily jumped back on their goats after tying the dead bug to one of their steads and trotted back to their home. I really didn¡¯t need to go through all that trouble. After all I can summon another one with the new improvements. He summoned a new one and began to change the legs back to their original shape. He decided to go with the new paralyzing affect and evolved them to secret a substance from their legs. It would be more effective when they swarmed. It reminded him of another creature¡¯s tactics. It was similar to the Bee¡¯s and their beehive. Similar to bee stings, adventurers would be warn down after several administrations of their toxin. Unlike the bee sting, the adventurer¡¯s might not realize they were being affected immediately since it did not hurt, but instead numbed the area. It felt good to improve the creatures he already had. This would really improve the West wind¡¯s tunnel by increasing the difficulty. Zephyr¡¯s path was home to a lot of Elder Berry Leaf Imitators. In general, the entire dungeon¡¯s marginally increased. The water inside was no longer as safe to approach with the improved Skaters. He began to finally work on the fourth floor. It had been enough stalling. He couldn¡¯t just leave it empty, besides the adventures were slowly working through the sins¡¯ trials much to their shame. Some had been very scarred from what they had to do¡­ He had mad one error though. One of the breeding rooms was not very well hidden in one of Ardor¡¯s Trials. With all the lustful arua and reactions goin on a pair of adventurer¡¯s slipped away from the group to have a little fun in the room with the Caring Mother of Fertility statue watching over them. Gossiping adventurers in the dungeon had let him find out that about a pregnancy that was already in its final stages much to the women¡¯s shock. To amend this mistake he quickly hid all his breeder rooms much better. ** ** ** House of the Fox ** ** ** Opal lay in his room curled up in a little ball. He looked to be asleep, but his mind ran rampant. Invidious, Invidious, Invidious¡­ Why was I given Invidious? Do they think I envy them? If I envied them then that would mean they are better than me¡­ They think their better than me don¡¯t they? Hmm Ruby is everyone¡¯s favorite¡­ I wish I was someone¡¯s favorite. I mean I¡¯m not Invidious¡­ Maybe just a little lonely¡­ The adventurers had so far worked their way through three of his siblings¡¯ trials. He would be the fourth one for the adventurers to face. He knew that any day would be his time to shine. Of course, once they beat him they would move onto Diamond with his Voracity title. HA I might be Invidious, but at least I am not Voracity. Might as well be the sin of obesity. I know voracious is devouring a ton of food, but it¡¯s just a title. He doesn¡¯t have to reflect that¡­ Or maybe he was always a fatty and I just didn¡¯t notice it because of his puffy pup body. His coat sure is tough though¡­ It would be nice to have a tough coat. No! I am not invidious. Haha.. Diamond of Obesity¡­ His trials were all interesting to Opal. It made sense. His father didn¡¯t understand it, but he did. It was mentally tasking, morally hindering, and socially destructive. It broke adventurers down and tore their parties apart. Diamond¡¯s trials were intriguing. The first trial involved sand stone that was made to look and taste like food. There was another beautiful statue of a fatter looking Diamond proudly smirking that released an aura to make all those in the room to feel ravenous and think irrationally. The second trial was full of thick gold cylinders called coins. Bastill had told him personally that it was a way to trade for objects in their culture. The exit was located on the other end with a deep and wide trench of water between it and the heavy coins. There was no aura, he had been told that their natural desire would be to attempt to take as many coins as they could with them. The last trial had a condition that the adventurer¡¯s each must drink a small drink. It was called alcohol and after testing the adventurer¡¯s and Bastill¡¯s mana evolved variation his dad had readily slurred his words saying that it may be a tad stronger not that he could tell. He had then proceeded to stagger around the dungeon and even offered a few of the Racoonoids a ride on his back. His dad still refused that it happened despite the dozens of witnesses and the Racoonoids new idea to ride their goats around. Ahhh! Adventurers are near! I can smell them. I wonder which trial they took. His first trial much to his disappointment was very similar to Ruby¡¯s. It had an object that had an aura that made everyone desire it and fight over it. I¡¯m not Invidious¡­ It doesn¡¯t even matter that they are similar to each other¡­ Or that she was given the trial before me¡­ Nope not envious. It doesn¡¯t bother me at all. His second trial involved another aura that made others awkward and envious of each other. Which led to infighting. Why did his siblings get all the cooler trials¡­ It wasn¡¯t fair to him. The third trial wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning. I deserve better trials¡­ The adventurers stumbled into his room while he was still curled up in a ball in the corner. He looked up to see his challengers. They were covered in different colors that were still dripping off of them despite the several other rooms of ordinary blood foxes. One with an axe stepped forward and shouted at him, ¡°What the fuck was that trial for!?! Like what the fuck was that you little fucking fox?¡± Some girl behind the pink and yellow colored axe wielder was trying to calm him down, ¡°Derk relax a little. You don¡¯t seriously believe the cute little fox made the trial do you.¡± Opal took a long yawn as he slowly got up and stretched. Cute little fox¡­ Hmmm I like this human. At least she understands me, the trials aren¡¯t my fault. By the looks of it I guess they chose the third trial¡­ Chapter Twenty-Seven, Of Mice and Ants ** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** ** Yes! I am level twenty now! Now I only need, twenty-thousand mana to level up to twenty-one. I mean that not too hard. I can achieve that in around four days at my Mana Absorption rate. It was time to decide what to focus on yet. He was a sculptor not a city planner! Bastill knew that he was not born to be a tactician or a mathematician. He remembered hearing about equations to maximize the largest results in the long run, but he had no clue how to achieve that. Should he build more floors to increase the rate or let his current rate carry him to the next level? The Racoonoids were often a distraction but he slowly moved away from focusing on them. Only giving them a nudge once in a while. The trials had also taken a lot of focus, but he had finally finished them up giving him more time on his hands. The ability he had received at level sixteen was already in effect, but he had yet to see many results, so he didn¡¯t bother with it. Besides it was a passive ability that effected the flora¡¯s diversity which would let the plants in his dungeon evolve strangely without his guidance. It was called Accelerated Flora Evolution. The most noticeable achievement was the plant he had named Viagre, which he used in Ardor¡¯s Trial. He had gained important abilities at level eighteen and twenty to assist him in some of his less than frugal mana expenditures. Level eighteen gave him Natural Mineral Production, which produces minerals and ores passively in his dungeon. This allowed him to finally stop summoning iron for their crafting. Instead he spent a little bit of time to teach the Racoonoid¡¯s how to mine it. Taking a slight bit of responsibility off of him. He no longer had to watch the little guy¡¯s supplies. Level twenty didn¡¯t give him a new ability, but rather improved on what he already had. His forced evolution had improved to the intermediate level. He looked around the dungeon and with his aura looking at all he had made. He found himself lost at what to do. He had completed all he really could do. This life never came with a manual. Well, I guess no life ever does¡­ He momentarily reminisces on the days as a human having no purpose, until he found his skill in sculpting. At least he still had the ability to sculpt in this life. Without it he would probably be lost to the world. I¡¯d definitely lose my mind if I couldn¡¯t mold the stone. I mean my skills are better then ever! My masterpieces actually come to life now! While he thought, he turned his mind to his current problem. While he was protected for now, his foes mainly consisted of weaker adventurers. If more powerful ones came, he would be done for. Not to mentioned that the S ranked adventures would be here to harvest him eventually. Looking at the recent skill improvement he received at level twenty he decided it was time to release some new creatures to give them time to adapt into their habitat and balance into an ecosystem. He made a quick glance to see which creatures that he had learned that he hadn¡¯t used yet. He still hadn¡¯t used the praying mantis, centipede, deer, wolf, blue bird, bear, field mouse, rat, or ant. Some of them had been collected recently through some fortune offerings. The ants had actually been collected by them invading into the dungeon. The invasion of the ants happened because an adventure dropped some sweets on the floor in the first room, which attracted the ants. They had promptly been blown up after the dungeon aura overwhelmed their small bodies. It was quite a tragedy for the ant colony. He cleared the fourth floor of all his experiments, before he started upgrading the animal¡¯s physiques and body¡¯s. He didn¡¯t want to just turn them loose with their basic level of abilities. He first spawned out what he wanted to be the main alpha predators of the floor to be. He took a male ant and enlarged it. He began to slowly shape its body to be slimmer. He molded the body until it began to take on several humans characterizes. When standing up it reached the height of seven feet tall. It was still largely ant based, furthermore he enhanced the carapace. He forced mana into the carapace, filling it to the brim of its capacity. He then began to beef up and strengthen its internal organs insuring it could put out a burst style speed and strength. The ant had long, robust bottom-legs that were designed to support its weight standing up. Meanwhile, it¡¯s four arms were athletic and sleek, while still maintaining power. The antennae¡¯s where redesigned with a large help from the angel feather catalyst. They no longer sprung from the head as two separate appendages, but rather one appendage that wrapped half a foot above the head in a halo. Ants with angel halos¡­ might as well give them wings! So, he did. He fashioned wings that draped across their back like bird wings. When the angelic ant tried to take off it barely made it and inch off the ground while beating it¡¯s ten foot wing span. He had gone back through to cut down on the carapace a bit. Taking away the mass, while trying to retain its rigidly and sturdiness. He additionally increased the wingspan to fourteen feet.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. With further testing it showed that while they couldn¡¯t soar through the air majestically, they still could use it to leap twenty feet and glide back down to the ground. He began feeling quite proud of his angel looking ants. He began to think about other aspects of ants. Ant¡¯s already put out an amazing amount of strength compared to their size? And they have amazing reproduction capabilities¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve tried to make these mistakes before. Imaging his dungeon over run with ant¡¯s that could walk upright like humans, Bastill mentally shivered at the idea. He decided on making some checks and balances to the environment. At this point he had finished up with the ant design. New Creature Evolved Learned Angelic Ant He looked at the stats of the angelic ant to get a better Idea of its capabilities. Stat Menu Level: 35, Race: Angelic Ant, Name: (Unnamed) Age: 1, Gender: Male , Vocation: Monster Characteristics Strength: 56, Constitution: 56, Dexterity:28, Intelligence:05, Wisdom:05, Charisma:05 Traits Hive Mind- All ants share a common mind Angelic Wisdom- Low intellect being governed by a sense of religion and spirituality. Can build monuments to increase devotion to their god and buff their species. Innate Abilities Mandibles- Bite, Advanced; Wings-Lunge and glide, Advanced; Carapace-Armor, Expert; Antennae- Senses, expert Welp I made a cult apparently. Again. I never knew low intelligence inherently made creatures more susceptible to religious tendencies¡­ He hadn¡¯t made anything that started off this strong or this dumb before. Well with exception of the Troll Squirrel, which he checked and found out was the first thing he had ever seen with a stat in the negatives. He was looking forward to what the hive mind ability would look like when he had more of them. He was always rather curious what type of monuments they would possibly build. The racconoids liked to worship him. Would the ants follow that pattern? Afterall he was quite the supreme being. He spawned a single female ant. Following that he manipulated the environment on the fourth floor. He formed the environment for them to start off in as a large hill made of dirt. Next, he began by making the creatures that would combat the monster ants to keep them in line. The very next creature he altered were the rats, because they also held decent birthing rates naturally. He once again went about enlarging the animal to seven feet tall, while standing up in a two-legged fashion. He designed the hands to be razor sharp, while it would be very effective against the wings it would not hold out against the defense of the angelic ants. Armors weakness was bludgeoning force and mass. Maces and morning stars worked the best against them. With that in mind he began to manipulate the end of the tail into a morning star styled attack. He hardened and grew a large spikey mass at the end of the tail. In order to bring out a larger combat potential he increased the muscles density. Bastill payed special attention in beefing up the tail¡¯s muscles and flexibility so that it could be a more effective weapon. He used the ceremonial blood as a catalyst as he began to increase the rat¡¯s aesthetics and athletic ability. The rat¡¯s eyes glowed bright red. He decided to reinforce the rats defense by thickening the fur. He made sure to keep it thinner in joint regions to maintain flexibility and maneuverability. Furthermore, to protect the head he brought the bone to the surface and encased it around the skull. He made sure to keep it out of the rat¡¯s eyes. It still had a bit that came down between the nose. Bastill really liked the bone helmet look. Thinking about the bone, he decided to redesign the tail with the same principle. The end of the tail became a spiked bone mace that was tinged red with the influence from the catalyst. New Creature Evolved Learned Blood Bone Rat Let¡¯s take a look at what we have. Stat Menu Level: 42, Race: Blood Bone Rat, Name: (Unnamed) Age: 1, Gender: Male , Vocation: Monster Characteristics Strength: 38, Constitution: 28, Dexterity:55, Intelligence: 30, Wisdom:10, Charisma:15 Traits Devout- As a social creature they have complex societies based on merit. Ceremonies held by rats will boost and buff their species. Precognition- Eyes have a chance to see a glimpse of the battle a few seconds before it happens. Innate Abilities Teeth- Bite, advanced; Tail-Bone spiked mace, expert; Body-Flexibility, advanced; The rat overall was a lot more balanced and overall more powerful then an ant. The ants would make up with the number of ants they would be able to field. He was looking forward to the flexibility and tail mace coming into play. He felt that it had a great synergy. The devout trait was quite peculiar to him. He almost felt uncomfortable. The thought of rats making sacrifices before battle was playing through his mind. Reminding him of his own birth into this life, he involuntarily shivered at the thought. The precognition ability stole the show though. It was such a unique ability and he believed it would be a great skill in the coming battles against S ranked adventures. As a common monster four this level it was in the middle of the C rank. The ant¡¯s ability relied on it¡¯s quick and powerful attacks along with their great armor. They also had the slight flight capabilities, which was really a powerful lunge and glide. It was quick and powerful, but this power was one directional. The rat on the other hand was evolved into an acrobatic being that could leap and flip through the air and angle their deadly tail to attack. Its time to dig down for the fifth floor and begin designing new creatures for it. The best way to grow is to expand the environments and new species. Especially now that I have the intermediate forced evolution! As he was about to turn his attention to the next floor to excavate, he noticed a strange aura permeating into his dungeon. He quickly narrowed it down to the hole of doom that in his cores room. A dark aura was leaking out of it into his dungeon driving his own dungeon aura crazy. A large fuzzy dark hand stuck it¡¯s hand out of the hole to get a grip. Bastill looked at what was coming out of the hole and used observe to see it¡¯s stats. Noticing that it was tainted, and he had no control over it. He swore and began calling all of his elite and boss creatures down to his floor. ¡°Shit, Shit, Shit, KITSUNE! BRING EVERYONE HERE NOW!¡± He summoned some of his newly made Angelic Ants and Blood Bone Rats directly into his room to keep it busy before the others could come. ¡°Kitsune!?,¡± Bastill called. Chapter Twenty-Eight, My Own Best Friend ** ** ** Corrupt Dungeon Core ** ** ** Bastill lay plopped on the ground in thought with a scowl on his face. It was just driving him crazy. He could not handle it any more. Just what were the words to that tune¡­. I can¡¯t for the life of me figure it out. I¡¯ve just been chasing it around and around like a¡­ He sat up! He had it! He knew he had it! He remembered the lyrics of the song! With the happy tune he started to yap the lyrics. ¡®The core left the dungeon to go on a fucking quest, he rode by spider and followed the sun far while he rest, and by each and every damn goddess he was not blest, with his Zombies and spiders all around he was super stressed, not a man in town, but by all men I am oppressed, he left the fight with the adventurers, he left his only nest, he doesn¡¯t like his company, and hates unwelcomed guests, now he¡¯s bit in half, bleeded out, and now will lie in rest. He was pretty sure those were the right words to the tune... They felt right to him. He was fifty percent right¡­ He looked around the village that he was staying in. In fact, it was the same one he had invaded in the beginning. He sighed with a pleasant smile. Just as I planned! I captured the village! Time to rename it! The boneyard! NO¡­ That¡¯s dumb¡­ I am sure they are all calling it liche village by now anyways. All due to my genius. He gazed around the town which composed of him and Thanatos, Nyx, and Hades, and his elite zombies, plus the sculptor who he resurrected. Mumbling between praising his genius of securing the village and cursing the sculptor¡¯s body for failing him. He had been inside of it until it had been destroyed. Luckily, he got a new body just before he truly was destroyed. Then he had spread rumors of the liche in the town. The spiders in the surrounding spires had been destroyed and the only remaining spiders were his bosses. The town was coated in blood, but the walls were great. He often would go with his advisor for walks around the wall. The spider leg indents could be seen along parts of the wall they had infiltrated. He could also see his marvelous spires in the distance. He would one day reclaim those. Yes, he would.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. His new body came with a great innate perk of being able to tell a person was honest or not. It was truly a heavenly dying ability! That lead him to his success in spreading the rumor! That along with the fact that if they didn¡¯t believe him, he would just kill them. He had the one of the zombies talk to those that had come to his village since he wasn¡¯t quite in the state to do it. If he felt that they believed him they would let them go. If he thought, they didn¡¯t believe him he would deal with them. He truly had a magical ability I am truly a good¡­wait. I meant I am a divine being! There is no one greater thing then I! Now how does this work again? I always have trouble starting, but I get the hang of it after the first few steps. Oh yes. Left front foot, right front foot. Oh. no... don¡¯t¡­ NUUU. Fuckles¡­ The little puppy spread his front feet just a bit too far in front. He slipped and flopped onto his belly. All previous pride vanished from his eyes. Bastill gave up on walking and proceeded to roll around the wall. I shall name this the boneyard after all. I deserve it. I am a good boy¡­ He had lost the ownership over most of all of the dungeon land he had corrupted. He was afraid to start over again. It was kind of frightening to be chased be such powerful entities. The experienced humbled him in a way. It also scared him to death in every other way. He wanted to take back his land and his spires but didn¡¯t want to risk the chance of being destroyed. He didn¡¯t know how long he could continue being a ¡®liche.¡¯ He got back up as he attempted to walk again. He was more successful this time as he took some tentative steps before moving in to a little trot. He may have lost his dungeon, but he did have a town now! With the town in his control he was allowed a slow income of mana, which would slowly build up allowing him to summon new zombies. They were currently practicing their skills. The more creature in his town the more mana he would get. He stuck to the zombies for a couple reasons. First, besides his bosses, he was down with spiders for a while. They took up room. Also, if he made too many and got caught he would be doomed. Second, the spiders didn¡¯t really grow stronger besides level. The zombies meanwhile could level and increase their skills. Although their levels couldn¡¯t rise currently, because he couldn¡¯t afford to lose any citizens. He still could increase their skill level. He currently trotted around the town. He was the mayor of the little town. He could see the spires and forest if he looked away from the town, but if he looked at it he could see his people practicing. It almost gave him a happy feeling inside. ** ** ** ** Claire Estrand** ** ** ** The frozen chilly blue eyes that were framed in by the brown hair looked at the report on her desk within her office. Her face was slightly tweaking out as she read it. She had sent the S ranked team that she had been apart for. But even looking at the report she wrote up it still didn¡¯t make any logical sense. Spiders? Liche? New cavern? What the hell is happening? Everything appeared to be fine. The dungeon was still active from her reports form the dungeon town, but it was in a different location then she had originally place in the first place. She felt she was getting too old for things like this. She never realized the amount of responsibilities this would come with this mission. The core appeared to be fine though and that¡¯s what truly mattered. However, it was concerning that all these incidents were happening around the dungeon. She couldn¡¯t think of any other dungeon discoveries having this kind of events accompanying them. She really couldn¡¯t let this plan fail. She had others depending on her. For now, she would keep her eye on the dungeon and dungeon town to watch out for anything suspicious. She would have to avoid this lich for now. Perhaps the liche also new of the importance of the dungeon and moved in to support it. A liche really wasn¡¯t an existence to mess around with carelessly. Unless one had a death wish they would give a liche a wide berth. Her immediate plans would be supporting companies that wished to start up in the dungeon town. After all it would help strengthen a dungeon to have adventures die in them. She thought with a smile as she turned over the next report. Chapter Twenty-Nine, Searing Anticlimax ** Alice and Company ** ¡°Wait, Janet! Wait! I got another good one! How do you tell if a necromancer is racist or not?¡±, Derk ecitely asked. Alice rolled her eyes at Derk¡¯s antics. He had constantly been bring up terrible jokes the entire day in the dungeon. Every few minutes he would appear to have remembered a joke and would share it specifically with Alice. Despite the numerous jokes she had not laughed once. Valerie, the Archer would giggle a little each time. Meanwhile, Isadora, the healer, would be on the ground in stitches from laughing. Her laugh was nearly as bad as the jokes. It was only her and the mage, Ralph, who were unamused. The were after all in a dungeon. A dangerous location where any minute could leave them dead or mutilated. Bad jokes in the wrong place. He just wouldn''t stop either. She thought it was inappropriate along with not being funny to begin with. Derk appeared to have remembered another joke and began half laughing as he swung his axe and said,¡± I don¡¯t know why everyone gets upset when all Necromancers are trying to do is raise a family.¡± There was no variation in the subject of the jokes. This was probably the worst aspect of them. It was always about necromancers. Did he specifically buy a book on necromancer jokes? The were just finishing up cleaning up the troll squirrels with one more to go. They had passed through all the seven trails and according to the directions in the dungeon they had to pass through five more challenges before they could fight the floor boss. The first challenge was fighting these five troll squirrels. This challenge was truly¡­ too easy. Troll Squirrels were some of the dumbest things. Besides some strength and moderate defense they were pretty easy to deal with. The common blood foxes in the dungeon were harder to deal with then the Troll squirrels. Ralph even said that from his analysis that these creatures might have the lowest intelligence in existence. Focusing back on the last enemy Alice charged forward with her spear. Derk was in front of her with his axe. The beast swung at Derk and Alice swore she saw a gleam in Derk¡¯s eye when he failed to dodge the extremely slow attack, which clipped him in the side sending him sprawling to the ground. Alice finished the monster off with her spear blad thrusting forward and into the creatures right eye dealing an instant death blow. Derk groaned on the ground as he called out,¡± Healer! Healer! Isadora hurry up!¡± Their healer rushed over to heal using both magical and non-magical means. She cast a healing spell and began to wrap the wound as well. While she was wrapping up the injury in linens, derk said with a smile, ¡°Whew if you cast your healing magic any later you would have been a necromancer. Of course then you wouldn''t need us. You could raise your own party.¡± That piece of shit deliberately got hit on purpose for the sake of a joke! Isadora stopped dressing the wound as she began laughing. Derk had a bright smile on his face that lasted all of 5 seconds before Alice smashed the butt-end of her spear unto his head as she spoke, ¡°This isn''t a goddess damn game Derk. Another joke from you and I will find another close combat fighter for the party.¡± Alice stormed off to the door that held the next challenge on it. The only thing on the door was lyrics from a common, but rather morbid song. Valerie and Ralph joined up with her followed by Isadora and Derk a few seconds later. They stared at the door in confusion. Why are all these instructions so vague? Are we supposed to pick out a clue from this? They began to go through the limerick and pulled out the possible clues. Everything he did led to his death. They agreed that they should avoid what the adventurer in the story did. Alice muttered out loud going through all the clues that might have significant meaning, ¡°He left the town, he rode a horse, he went west, weapons on his back, fought the dragon.¡± ¡°...dragon kind in its very nest, they didn¡¯t like his company he was no welcome guest, now he¡¯s bit in half, bleeded out, and now will lie in rest,¡± Valerie began to sing the rest of the song. Everyone took one more large breath before they steeled their will and opened the door preparing for the worst. *Shink, Sh-shink, Shink, Sh-shink, Shink, Sh-shink, Shink* Large axes and blades connected to the ceiling and wall divided the room and rhythmically rang out in sequence. Valerie who had her bow drawn looked around the room before she threw her bone down and yelled, ¡° Great so basically the challenge is to get cut in half and bleed out?!¡± She began to try to solve the problem of getting across. Ralph began reading the book that she had often seen pulling out in moments of free time. Valerie and Isadora seemed to have given up, while Derk seemed bored. Alice watched as the axes sliced horizontally and vertically. It didn¡¯t seem to be impossible to make it across the room. There appeared to be the pattern to it, but she couldn¡¯t quite grasp it until she began to hear Derk silently singing the song beside her, ¡±The adventurer left the town to go on an epic quest, he rode by horse and followed the sun far into the west..¡± She glanced over to see Derk looking at the ground and nudging a rock around with his axe. She exclaimed, ¡°Derk!¡± Everyone else who had either given up or were deep in thought suddenly turned toward Derk. Meanwhile Derk looked up alarmed and shouted, ¡±It wasn¡¯t me!¡± Alice laughed for the first time today and said, ¡°No! You solved it! The blades follow a pattern to the tune of the lymeric!¡± They all swiveled their heads towards the blades as they began to hum the tune in their eyes and track the blades and axes. They began to see the tune and blades sync up. The looked on with trepidation as they began to prepare for the dance with the blades. Valerie picked her bow back up as she spoke, ¡°They should have picked a tune with brighter lyrics, so who should go first?¡± As she finished speaking Derk could be seen sprinting toward the mess of metallic terror, while singing the song as loudly as he could. Alice sped past him and jumped into the fray of death just before him as she began to move through the blades towards the exit. Valerie, Ralph, and Isadora, watched with dull eyes as they saw the two weave in and out between the blades. The begrudgingly scooted closer to the blades as they began to hum the tune. Besides a near miss when Derk began singing a different song throwing everyone else off beat, ¡°Two men and a halfling are walking down the street for a bit, when the two men walk into a bar the hafling walks under it.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The group of adventures all sat by the door for the third challenge catching their breaths from the insanity of the second challenge. There was no comparison in difficulty between the five troll squirrels and the room filled with blades. After going through the insanity of the tune dancing challenge they began to fear what was behind the third challenges door. They apprehensively looked at the carvings on the third door. It showed a door knob with a skull on it. After opening the door they were met with a room with a single door in it. The one truly unique characteristic about the door was the dozens of door knobs embedded in it. Deciding it was impossible to solve Valerie blurted out, ¡°Well this one is self explanatory. If we touch the wrong door knob we die! Time to head back for the day!¡± Alice began to ponder what the right choice was in the situation. She wasn¡¯t sure what the consequences of messing up were. Isadora began to double check on the injury Derk had received from the first challenge. Ralph had his book out once again. Valerie seemed to have just given up. As Alice tried to decide on a plan of action she watched in horror as she saw Derk began to move forward to the door. Derk reached out his hand grabbed a door knob and twisted it. The door didn¡¯t budge. Valerie stared at him in shock. Derk waited a few seconds to make sure and then shouted, ¡°It¡¯s a miracle I¡¯m immune! Lets try another one!¡± Together they all began turning the door Knobs to no avail until. Continuing to turn the door knobs didn¡¯t seem to affect them negatively, but it also didn''t seem to open the door. It wasn¡¯t until they attempted their fifty-ninth attempt that they found success. After turning the door knob on the bottom left side of the door the door opened up to the fourth challenge. They opened into a room with nothing but a small forge with a rod of metal stoking in the flames. The instructions for this challenge were not inscribed on the previous door due to the enormous door knobs which covered it. There was a plaque placed above the forge that had the words, ¡®To prove your worth to Kitsune you must bear his mark on your skin,¡¯ written upon it. After gazing at the handless door at the end of the room they brought their gaze back the forge. Derk walked over to the door that would lead them to advance to the next challenge. He walked over and attempted to push, kick, and hack at the door in an attempt to open it. Alice went over and investigated the metal rod, which had a handle in order to pick it up. After pulling the rod from the flame of the forge, a glowing image of fox could be seen. After considering it for a minute she called out to the rest, ¡°Well it looks like we each must be branded in order to advance through this challenge. Who wants to volunteer to go first.¡± Perking his ears up, Derk worked his way back over as the others began to discuss who should have the honor of going first. Valerie, Isadora were adamantly arguing for why they shouldn¡¯t have to go first. Derk thought for a second before inquiring, ¡°Isn¡¯t branding what they do to livestock?¡± Ralph who hadn¡¯t mentioned anything replied to him, ¡° Its true that branding is a common practice for agriculture in order to keep track of their cattle. However some of the most famous warrior tribes are known to brand their best warriors. It¡¯s considered quite the honor and shows their status and strength.¡± After listening to this Valerie and Isadora began speaking to Derk, buttering him up with complements, ¡°Derk you really are a great warrior! You should definitely go first!¡± Isadora added, ¡°Yeah Derk! You are the most fearless out of all of us! Go first!¡± With slight hesitation, Derk nodded in agreement as he walked over to Alice, ¡°They are right that I deserve to go first. Janet go ahead and brand me.¡± He pulled his sleeve up to reveal his shoulder as he looked away. Isadora handed him a bit of leather to bite into to help prevent him from biting his tongue during the branding. He mentally began to prepare himself as he heard as he heard Alice begin to talk, ¡° Okay I will begin after a short count down. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...¡± He took a deep breath as he began to prepare for the end of the count down. After hearing six he thought about asking her to stop and give him more time, but before she got to five he felt the heat and the deep painful pain of his flesh burning. ¡°Aiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!,¡± he screamed out while muffled by the leather in his mouth. Alice then began to put the rod away, while Derk continued to yell and holler. Isadora helped alleviate the pain and apply ointments to help reduce the swelling. After Derk had recovered his wits from the pain, his eyes glared at Alice, ¡° Janet! What happened to the bloody count down?!¡± Looking a her she could see mirthful eyes glittering playfully. Looking around at the other he could see them snickering as well. Sneerning as he glared around with hatred he said, ¡°Well who wants to go next? I will even volunteer to be the one to brand you. So who¡¯s next?¡± The others began laughing out loud as they began to walk away from the forge. Derk furously shouted, ¡°Where do you all think your going? You¡¯re not getting out of this!¡± Ralph turned around and answered, ¡°The door opened right after you were branded. Turns out only one of us needed to bear the great honor. We thank you great warrior for taking on this honor!¡± Looking over at the door in shock, Derk fell to his knees. His one chance for retribution¡­ Gone¡­ After the group called for him, insistently, to join them, he trudged over with them to the next challenge. The fifth challenge presented itself in a similar way. This time there was two large stone chests, one of which had a plaques. The first chest read ¡®To advance to Kitsune give him a worthy tribute.¡¯ Meanwhile, the second chest, had no plaque on it. Alice raised her hand in order to stop the other¡¯s from advancing. She felt a sense of unease from the second chest. Since the dungeon seemed to follow the rules and explain things out well, she felt suspicious about the second chest. All the chests appeared after defeating a floor or in this case as a challenge. It seemed there would only need to be one chest for this challenge though. Which made it seem like there was no valid reason for the second chest to be in the room. With the strange occurrence it reminded her of a story she had heard from one of the cooks. She heard a rumor of adventurer getting his arm bitten off by a living chest. As the others quietly argued that there was no reason to be so suspicious about treasure, she began to approach it with her spear out in front of her. She decided to treat this chest as a monster. After all better safe than sorry. With the blade of her spear pointed at the second treasure chest she advanced. When her blade was within two feet of the chest it sprung to life! By unhinging its lid it used its momentum to propel itself forward in a lunge. Alice was caught off guard by the leap, but she was well prepared and thrust the spear into the opening of the living chest. Upon impact of the spear the treasure chest burst apart into chunks of stone. The others in the group watched in horror as they saw the fanged chest leap forward. In their minds they imagined the horror if one of them their arms caught in the jaws of the chest. From the destroyed remains of the chest, potions and gems spawned. After collecting their thoughts they helped Alice collect the loot. They ended up gathering dozens of jewels and health potions. They divided the spoils from the chest between each other before turning back to the challenge. As the others tried to decide what they could possibly use to satisfy the challenge. Derk decided to to throw the jewels he gathered into the chest. Well, after making sure it wasn¡¯t a leaping fanged chest. It only resulted in anguish as the jewels disappeared after closing the lid and the door remained closed. None of them had really brought anything into value into the dungeon. Most of their stuff was gear to help them survive. None of it was very high quality either, except for Alice¡¯s spear, which had come from the dungeon. It wouldn¡¯t even fit in the chest if she tried. Ralph decided it was time to read once again and brought out his book. After a couple of minutes Derk exclaimed, ¡°I have an Idea!¡± He ran over to Ralph and snatched the book. Then ran to the chest and threw it in before he began to close the lid. Ralph moved the quickest that any of them had ever seen as he tried to get his book back as he yelled out, ¡°NO, STOP!¡± Before Derk could change his mind or Ralph could catch up, the chest was closed. Upon Ralph¡¯s frantic reopening of the chest his face fell. In a depressed manner he muttered, ¡°Its gone¡­ Limited edition, gone. Just like that...¡± Despite the loss of the Ralph¡¯s the book, the door had opened. Feeling curious Alice asked Ralph about the book. He replied, ¡°¡®GoddessAscending,¡¯ a limited edition on theories of the Goddess¡­¡± Still mad at Derk, Ralph had a sudden inspiration as he continued on the conversation with Alice as the trudged toward the door, ¡°Hey Janet, do you know why you never see many Dwarfs in the city?¡± Hearing this everyone began listening into what he had to say. Alice curious about what he had to say asked, ¡°No, why is that?¡± ¡°Well,¡± he said, ¡°it¡¯s because they are a small minority.¡± Valerie and Isadora began to giggle as Derk turned around after realizing it was some type of joke, ¡°How is that funny?¡± After Derk spoke Alice broke out laughing for the first time inside the dungeon. This caused Valerie and Isadora to began laughing as well, while Ralph also joined in. Soon they were all, including Derk, laughing hysterically. As they all began to calm down Derk asked, ¡°Was it because they were Dwarfs?¡± Everyone began laughing again until they finally collected themselves. Derk was still confused about why everyone laughed. He figured Dwarfs were just funny in general. With everyone settled down, they entered the 3rd floors boss room. As they entered the room they encountered a the largest blood fox they had ever seen. An aura of blood and death surrounded the beast. Standing tall and majestic, it let out a growl sending waves of intimidation toward the party of adventures. Ralph began to prep his magic to support the team. Meanwhile, Valerie drew her bow and took aim. Isadora unsheathed her sword and shield, while stepping back to take cover. She rarely used her weapon, but even healers should have protection for when shit goes sideways. Alice readied her spear as Derk took three big steps forward. He ripped off his arm sleeve and shouted at the beast, ¡°Look what you made me do?! Look at it! You made me brand my GODDESS DAMN ARM! DOES THIS MAKE YOU HAPPY?!¡± Alice swore that the fox looked delighted at the brand. It merely sneezed in disdain at Derk as it began to prowl forward. As it began to move forward the whole groups tension rose as they began to prepare for the desperate fight. Just as the fox was about to leap forward it stopped as it¡¯s large purple eyes began to widen in shock. As they were about to attack, the fox suddenly took off with great speed. Contrary to their expectation the fox ran away from them. The door opened up behind it as it bolted out of the room. As Derk began to cheer about how his warriors spirit scared it off. A chest appeared as if they had defeated the floor boss. Alice in shock collected her thoughts as she gathered the loot in the chest and proceeded to the fourth floor. In her mind thoughts of why the fox left swirled around. She wondered if that had been the same fox that had made a stand with her against the spiders during their exploration. She felt for sure it was. She remembered those amethyst-like eyes. While the rest of the group was full of joy, she was in doubt. Why did it run?