《As a Dungeon》


 Prologue

    It was just after my night shift, walking back to my dormitory, dead tired. Although the road is quite dim, walking down this street everyday, I don¡¯t really care.


    It was then that I feel a stabbing sharp pain from my flank. Looking back only to see a man in a hood staring back with a knife in his hand penetrating into me. He draws it back, only to put it back in another place. I tried to fight back and call for help but in a place like this, no one would hear. Now, in my head, I was thinking that it was a regret dying like this.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The pain and the cold of the night, perhaps from blood loss, is overcoming my consciousness. I did see the robber getting my things away with him. At that time I really wish for his suffering.

 Chapter1 : Becoming a dungeon

    Regaining my conscious, I look around. Nothing like I was expecting to see, not a white room in a hospital or a bustling emergency room. I was in a hole, may be dug by that robber trying to conceal what he¡¯d done.


    Here come what¡¯s really strange. I don¡¯t feel the pain from the penetrating wound I got. I don¡¯t feel cold from blood loss anymore. To be precise, I feel nothing.


    I tried to move but wasn¡¯t able to. I can still looking around in this underground hole but can¡¯t move, can¡¯t feel anything. It¡¯s like I wasn¡¯t a human anymore.


    That must be it! I thought to myself. It was then that light appears in front of my ¡®supposed to be¡¯ eyes.


    <Greeting to the first dungeon>


    I flinched. Then I calm down. Living in a world for twenty or so years, who wouldn¡¯t have read some novel or play some game like this. Being a man of culture myself, how could I don¡¯t know this. Since the god has sent an opportunity to me, how could I fail him? Thinking to this point, I then take a look at the choices ¡®He¡¯ offers.


    <a. Spider: an arthropod in arachnoid order. Has 8 legs, fangs, slightly poisonous.>


    <b. Slug: a shell-less mollusk with two pairs of tentacles on its head. Moving very slowly by its foot.>


    <c. Fly: a small insect with a pair of wings. Got blamed as a disease carrier.>


    <d. Ant : an insect with an antenna above its head. Has a quite unique reproductive cycle of its own.>


    I would say. Each of the choices must have the advantages of itself. I was curious to see what a slug could have done though, but I won¡¯t let my curiosity ruin my plan. The one I¡¯m gonna choose is an ant of course. For me, it was the best since I trust in the power of number. I pick ¡®ant¡¯ and it sounds ¡®ding¡¯.


    <Select ant as a founding creature of the dungeon>If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    <Creating an ant>


    Then I saw a figure emerges from the ground, shaping itself like an ant that I choose. I look at it and think about what it is, the window appears.


    <Ant Queen - Lv0 Creature>


    You may wonder what can I do without an ant male. I don¡¯t have to have one since the ant queen itself can give birth to an ant male and have her male children mate with her. It probably the first incest tag in the world. As I¡¯m thinking about this, another window appears.


    <Give your creature a task>


    <Reminder: Since your creature is still a low-intelligent being, only a simple task can be assigned.>


    What task can I assign if not ¡®to reproduce¡¯?


    <Task assigned>


    Immediately after the words said, the ant queen begins its change. It¡¯s gonna take some time so I start looking for other things to do. As I thought so, the window appears.


    <Do you want to modify your dungeon?>


    ¡®Yes¡¯, no need to think.


    <Your remained points is 10>


    <Expand your floor: 5 per cubic meters, price increase with size.>


    <Modified your existing space: 2 per cubic meters mass>


    <Create more creatures: Ant queen 10 points>


    <Gather more specimen for more options>


    I haven¡¯t had a chance to closely inspect my dungeon yet. It is a 2 cubic meters space, or should I say, a controllable space of 2 cubic meters which is half-filled with dirt. So I move dirt from the inside to fill the hole outside until it was a half meters hole leads to outside, cost me a point for it.


    I increase the size for one cubic meter and the ground behind me was changing into a workable space. Smoothing the wall out a bit, leaving me only 3 points left before I calling it a day. It can¡¯t be called sleeping but I was able to fast forward the time a little, or should I say slowing my sense down.


    When the light outside has died down and shine again is the time that I stopped the process. The Ant queen is already starting to lay eggs of a worker. Much fast than any normal ants so far. It is unknown if it was not a normal ant or the environment in the dungeon leads to this but it doesn¡¯t matter.


    Since a male ant only has to protect the eggs now, thinking it wasn¡¯t necessary, I give it a task to go outside and bring anything back.


    It doesn¡¯t take longer than an hour of a repeated cycle of back and forth to create a change.


    <Due to enough absorption of grass leaves, the dungeon can now create a grass>


    < Grass: 1 P per square meter>


    I create one immediately, though cannot be food for the ants, it can be a habitat for them.


    A soon as I order, my point goes down to four points, the square meter patch of grass appears. I hope it would automatically spread by themselves.


    As time passed by the worker ants are finally born. Since the only food source that it can get is from what the male ant brings, I decided to not absorb some of them. I then slowed down my sense again for half a day, hoping that the ant would mature then.

 Chapter 2 : Upgrade creature

    When I woke up, the ant larvae were already full grown. I then task them to go out and accumulate things instead of the male ant. Not long after they start to drop things onto the floor. I skipped time again and a row of notifications is in front of me.


    <Due to enough absorption of sand, the dungeon can now create sand>


    <Sand: 1 P per square meter>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Earthworm. The dungeon can now create an earthworm.>


    <Earth worm: 5 P>


    Since I now have 5 P to use and will receive another 2 P in a few hours. I considered creating an earthworm. Same as an ant, no need to summon in a pair. It can both reproduce by itself or sexually with another one. So I create one in another corner of the room, preventing it from being killed by the ant army.


    My point goes down to 0 as a figure emerge from the ground, an earthworm. I assign it to live and reproduce in a dungeon while protecting itself from the ants. Then I again time-skipping directly to another day.


    Since I didn¡¯t abort the task I give to the ants and ant queen, as soon as I stopped, the notifications appear.


    <Due to a diversity of grass absorbed, grass option now create various species of grass>


    <The pre-existing grass will start to apply a change immediately>


    <Ants population reaches a certain point, unlock an upgrade options!>


    Finally, things to make this look like a dungeon. I open an upgrade option and it was a list of all the ''create'' options in my dungeon, including non-living things.


    <Dungeon Floor> <Floor Surface>


    <Ants> <Earthworm> <Grass> <Sand>


    Though an ant is an important one, because it is, I decide to choose another. I choose a grass option.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    A 3D model of various grasses appeared to me. From the leaf-only one, the one with a fluffy thing on its stalk, even one with a flower on it.


    I spent quite some time on a list, ending up choosing the one with a flower on it. When I pick it, another message appears.


    <Decide an upgrade, the price will be determined up to the decision.>


    It means it is up to my imagination.


    I only want this type of grass to have nectar in it, attracting ants to come and help it pollinate while also having a good meal. This way I supposed it would help the ants and itself grow across the dungeon.


    <Require 2 P, Do you want to proceed?>


    Since the appearance itself doesn¡¯t really change, the price wasn¡¯t high. I select a ¡®Yes¡¯ and goes time-skipped until noon.


    When I again, conscious, I saw a horrifying scene. My dungeon just turns into a swamp. It must be raining heavily while I was asleep. The water was about one or two centimeters high, doesn¡¯t sound scary but I was worried about my ants.


    Looking around for a while, I spotted it, I see a bunch of ants creating a lifeboat for their queen. I don¡¯t need to be worried about the earthworms, it can survive in this environment easily. Up to this point, a row of notifications appear.


    <A new creature was absorbed, Millipede. The dungeon can now create a millipede.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Centipede. The dungeon can now create a centipede.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Beetle. The dungeon can now create a beetle.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Bee. The dungeon can now create a bee.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Ladybug. The dungeon can now create a lady bug.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Spider. The dungeon can now create a spider.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Mayfly. The dungeon can now create a mayfly.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Fly. The dungeon can now create a fly.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Moss. The dungeon can now create a moss.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Fern. The dungeon can now create a fern.>


    <A lot of element ¡®water¡¯ was inside the dungeon now. Do you want to absorb it?>


    After a row of notifications I got, a question also appears. I wonder, what¡¯s the difference between absorbing this and the other things?


    <Absorbing an element may result in a permanent change to the dungeon.>


    <A change can be controlled by a dungeon to some degree.>


    After I got my answer, I didn¡¯t think too much and select ¡®Yes¡¯. The water level rapidly dropped and a notification appears.


    <Due to Water element absorption, The dungeon will now have higher humidity.>


    <Due to higher humidity, moss and fern option will spread through the dungeon faster than normal.>


    Needless to say, since it will only cost me a P each, I will definitely buy it tomorrow.


    Before I time-skipped to tomorrow, I give a check on my dungeon. The ants did dying some but most of it survives. The earthworms that now have two of them survive easily. The dungeon wall and tunnel misshaped a bit due to the flood but the structure is still strong enough to support the whole tunnel.


    Now sure that everything was fine, I go for another sleep again.

 Chapter 3 : First monster

    Waking up exactly at midnight, thinking using 2 P on moss and fern may be a waste now, I open the upgrade option of the ant. I can choose to upgrade a queen or choose to upgrade the ant entirely. The idea that comes to me is I want it to be stronger, more efficient in harvesting materials. I think, making it a little bit bigger and stronger would be nice. I try to double its size, from half to one centimeter, submitted, cost me 2 P.


    With no point remained, I then sleep for another 12 hours.


    The dungeon now possesses a lot of creatures, loads of ants, five earthworms and bunches of grasses. Surprisingly, the point regeneration rate is now 3P/day saying it¡¯s from reaching a certain number of creatures. Not only it increases points regeneration rate, but it also unlocked another feature.


    <Quest system unlock>


    <Note: Upon receiving a quest, cannot be undone and won¡¯t be able to receive another when having one.>


    < the Main quest (cannot choose to not receive): Have the first monster in the dungeon.>


    That¡¯s it, a quest system. Not knowing yet what would I receive but it looks like a good thing. I now thinking about upgrading ants a lot from now on. Having a food source, nectar grasses, upgrading it shouldn¡¯t be a problem unless I upgrading its size too much. Determined, I sleep until midnight, get 3 points and open an upgrade menu of ants once again.


    Do you know that ants belong to the same order as bees and wasps? Meaning that it has an ovipositor or a sting. So through an upgrade menu, it won¡¯t be possible to make ants have a sting-able sting like wasps, not like bees because I want it to sting multiple times. I try making it, able to induce an allergic reaction, just enough to kill small creatures when being stung by a lot of ants. Cost me another 2 P so I spent another point for a batch of fern.


    My ants now have a small stinger behind its abdomen, 1 centimeter in size. I assign them a task. Apart from collecting materials, they must also hunt small creatures in its vicinity then bringing them back to here. Finished all my work with no point left, I directly sleep for a day.


    Midnight, I wake up. Welcoming by loads of notification.


    <A new creature was absorbed, Rat. The dungeon can now create a rat.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Snake. The dungeon can now create a snake.>


    <A new creature was absorbed, Chicken. The dungeon can now create a chicken.>


    <Due to enough absorption of plastics, the dungeon can now create plastic and reshape them>


    This means that hunting was going good. I imagine these creatures being surrounded by hundreds of ants, being stung again and again with the allergic reaction it soon loses its capability to breath and dies. A dead chicken being dragged by ants would be a terrifying sight if anyone has seen it.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    I open an upgrade menu again, making ants to have a better eye. Relying mostly on their antenna wouldn¡¯t be that effective against big creatures. Using 1 P would allow them to see half a meter in front of them. For another 2 P, I used it to enlarge and strengthen their mandible. Including a mandible, my ants now 1.2 centimeters long. I assume that it won¡¯t be too long until they become a monster and got me a quest reward.


    One day has passed, the ant colony is now a lot bigger than it almost occupies all the space. Afraid that the earthworms might be killed by ants, I upgrade it to be able to mimic the ant¡¯s pheromone, signaling that it is a friend. Cost me a measly 1 P. For another 2 P, I upgrade ants'' leg to be stronger and longer. It won¡¯t be able to leave or jump but it can now move at a faster pace and making its height to half a centimeter.


    The ants were doing great in hunting and collecting material, It even got a few seeds, of such as orange, mango, pomegranate, and even a whole banana. Allowing me to create them but won¡¯t be able to. To plant those, I would have to unlock a lot of spaces and for now, I have to make these ants a monster first.


    For today, I gave them a stronger carapace for only 1 P. It won¡¯t be really strong but enough that you can¡¯t squash it to death by a finger. For another 2 P I used it to upgrade a nectar grass to have a stronger stem and leaf, just in case that it can¡¯t bear a weight of big ants on it.


    For the next two days, I keep on upgrading ants. Making a queen able to reproduce 50% faster for 2P. Making the sting to have some more effect on its prey. I give them a botulinum toxin. Everyone must have heard of Botox, right? Injecting it to a specific muscle would cause flaccid paralysis, with enough of it, cause paralysis of the diaphragm and can lead to death. Cost me a whopping 4P for just that.


    For today, I tried an ¡®upgrade floor surface¡¯. Making all the surface in this floor to go on a change, non-reversible changes, including a surface type, height, and some specific properties. I choose a Stone mixed-dirt, resulting in a floor to have some stone in it. Whenever I buy another space on this floor, It would have this type of surface. Cost of 2 P isn¡¯t a bad deal.


    The upgrade ¡®Dungeon Floor¡¯ option, I guess it would be adding another floor, is the one that is out of reach for me now. With a price of 50P, unless I saved up my points for 17 days but that wouldn¡¯t worth it. I save a point for another day and go to sleep.


    I sleep much more than when I was a human lately. Waking up only an hour a day and then sleep until another day. If I was a human, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do this.


    Up to this day, I was thinking. What are the criteria to be a monster? If I keep upgrading my ants, won¡¯t it just be a strong creature? I now thinking about ¡®mana¡¯, the term I see in a lot of stories.


    I try making the ants able to control mana, resulting in a whopping price of 6P. I then change it to ¡®only the ant queen¡¯ to be able to control mana, cutting the price to 3P. Buying it, the messages appear.


    <Successfully create the first monster>


    I named it a paralytic ant, a queen title was added automatically.


    <Successfully create a monster, Paralytic ant>


    <Due to Queen¡¯s ability to control mana, other ants will be a little bit stronger but won¡¯t be able to use mana until upgraded.>


    < the Main quest: Create your first monster. Completed.>


    <20 P was received.>


    <Main quest: Get a first humanoid creature killed.>


    < Prize: upon completing a quest.>


    For the killing quest, I already planned that since that start, to kill the man who killed me. The things that got me elated were the points I got.


    A whopping number of 20 points and a hidden prize is that the regeneration rate is now 5 points per day. I bought another 2 square meters of space and upgrade the floor to have a height of 1.5 meters. Leaving me only 2P and now It was now a damp 1mx5mx1.5m cave, filling with grasses and fern.


    I take a look at my ant queen. It was 3 cm long with a big abdomen, breeding an egg out almost every now and then. I stared at it, able to see a colorless aura, like a stream, surrounding its body. That¡¯s supposed to be mana. Then I take a look at other ants, their carapace looks stronger, their color change to a bit darker red one.


    I thinking about the things I would do now. Making the ants bigger, enough to killing that man alive while assuring the food source was adequate. A 5 square meter space wouldn¡¯t be enough and I may need a fruit tree for food instead of just nectar from the grass. An earthworm needs an upgrade too, though still wasn¡¯t sure what to upgrade. I keep thinking like that for a long time until I was bored and decide to sleep to another day.

 Chaptor 4 : First Blood!

    Having thought for quite a long time, I found a lot of problems. The one that I am trying to solve right now is ¡®vision¡¯. I don¡¯t have any vision outside my dungeon, unable to see anything beyond the entrance. Before now, it wasn¡¯t a big problem but having to send my ants to kill someone outside, I have to solve this.


    I already tried linking my sense to one of my ants, a success, I can only see only half a meter distance and it¡¯s quite blurry. I thought, upgrading their eyes is an option but was surely too costly.


    Opening an upgrade panel, staring at the ant interface for some time. Upgrading their eyes to that of human¡¯s would cost 10P, I wouldn¡¯t do that.


    I found a new feature that I haven¡¯t tried yet. To create a role of the ant¡¯s colony like a soldier, queen¡¯s guard or anything that you can think of.


    When I create a ¡®scout¡¯ role, Cost me 2 P, branches appear. With three boxes, the ¡®Queen¡¯ was on the top following by scout, I just created, and worker at the bottom. I selected ¡®scout¡¯ and the hologram, similar to worker ants, appears.


    I upgrade its eyes to be better, just to see clearly in 2 meters range. The ratio of scout ants to worker ants is very low and can¡¯t be changed so the price is lower to measly 1P. When I finished some of the ants started to undergo a change, their eyes got a little bit bigger. I immediately try to link my sense to one of them and what I see is quite up to my expectation.


    I now plan to start my killing quest. I sleep until the evening when the sky started to get dark, the suitable time for my plan.


    Now the ants both ¡®worker¡¯ and ¡®scout¡¯ were already outside due to the previous task that I didn¡¯t cancel. I link my vision to one of the scouts, it shows the scene of my dungeon entrance a hole into the ground, surrounded by grasses enough to conceal it. It happens that I was in some desolated field near the place I was killed. It was a rural area where the road wasn¡¯t properly constructed yet. It was nice since it means that I have a higher chance to get revenge.


    I have my ants scout the area if any human approach. The sky is getting darker and darker, assumed that that man would appear anytime soon, I focused. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Hours go by and finally there was one person walking down the street. It was not the one I want so I may let him pass. But then the situation change, through many scouts I have, I found someone secretly following that man from behind. I order the ants to creep closer to them, once I can confirm the target they will attack.


    As my ant army creeping closer, the first man was attacked. Unexpectedly he seems to know how to fight, he pushed the attacker down to the ground with his arms on the back. Too bad I can¡¯t hear what he say but I guess he was a policeman who works on my case, I should thank him but the quest is important, too.


    I decided I will attack but I will let the police alive unless he tries to hinder me. The ants attack immediately, creeping onto the man who was lying on the floor. They going on his leg, his face, and body. Bite and sting him all over the place. He opens his mouth wide, I guess he was screaming, the other man look confuse. He tried to struggle but was futile, only a few seconds he was already in a half-paralysis state. Unable to move his arms and legs, not even his mouth, can only struggling like a worm on the floor. The policeman, at least what I believe him to be, withdraw backward away from the man.


    Seeing he can¡¯t do anything now, I order the ants to drag him back to the dungeon. Not really worry about I being exposed, no one would really believe even if that policeman tells everyone. In the worst case, there¡¯s gonna be someone come over and search for the corpse but I gonna have the ants eat this man alive anyway, nothing will be left.


    That policeman was dumbstruck, probably still confused about what happened. He just saw a man, suddenly screaming and struggling on the ground and shortly after that he was dragged away to the sideways into the darkness. Do not dare to follow, not knowing what will happen to him if he does.


    The man who got dragged here look terrified, who would not. When he got into the dungeon, I take a look at him. His face was covered by a balaclava but I can tell that his face was swollen all over. He moves his eye all around since he can¡¯t move any other. I order the ants to start eating him. IT was very peaceful, no scream, just the sound of ant creeping in this place. The man has his excretion spreading all over, tear, urine, feces, he probably lose his control over those things. It took nearly an hour that he stops breathing and drop dead.


    <Successfully kill the first humanoid creature: Human>


    <Quest completed!>


    <30 P recieved.>


    <Unlock Status function!>


    <Side quest recieved.>


    <Side quest: Have a name.>


    <Main quest recieved.>


    <Main quest: Expand your first floor to 400 square meter wide>


    I got my revenge beautifully, that man was having a really hard time until he died, much more than that of mine. I complete my quest and got 30 P along with the regeneration that is now increased to 7 P/day and I have a new function to try.


    <Dungeon ¡®Do not have a name yet¡¯>


    <Floor 1:


    Area 5 sq.m.


    Main element Water


    Monsters: Paralytic ant >