ã€ŠCrucible - A Lost Dungeons Taleã€‹


 Prologue â€“ The Age of Immortals

    The world of Almos was brought into existence long before men, dwarfs or even elves walked its surface.

    Before Almos, there was nothing but darkness and chaos. The vast void of space was ruled over by formless abominations that writhed and twisted against each other. Like maggots, they fed on the festering dark energies that proliferated the unending void, growing ever stronger, yet their hunger never ceased.

    By their nature however, the abominations could not last forever. They were creatures of pure chaos and darkness, chaos could not exist without change, so change they did.

    Two of the ageless creatures collided, their energies both melding together and rejecting each other at the same time. As they merged into a singular entity that chaotic nature was inverted, creating the first god of order, Tundeval.

    Thus order was born from chaos.

    Tundeval forced its formless body into a shape, becoming a sphere of pure magical energy. Then it created more spheres of energy in its image, trying to fill the chaotic void with shape, with order.

    The formless chaos did not take kindly to this disruption, they descended upon Tundeval and tried to tear it apart. But Tundeval was stronger than each of them and started fighting back with all of its power.

    This battle lasted for untold centuries before Tundeval began to tire, its energies drained by the sheer numbers of the seemingly endless horde. In an act of desperation, Tundeval seized one of the formless creatures of chaos in its power and forced upon it the energies of order.

    Instead of removing the being¡¯s chaos however, it removed the creature¡¯s darkness. Thus the first god of both chaos and order was formed, Chershemall.

    Like Tundeval, Chershemall also forced its energies into shape, yet it never kept to a single form. A cube, a circle, a one-thousand sided shape, the like of which you could never imagine, Chershemall chose to be all of these things and more.

    Together, Tundeval and Chershemall defeated the formless chaos, absorbing their energies and becoming the only two entities in the endless void.

    Now with the battle over, Tundeval turned to the spheres of magical power it had created and found itself to be displeased. While the energies now had shape, they still danced and fluctuated within that form.

    Tundeval found itself wanting more order, so it forced its near unlimited power upon the spheres, commanding them to solidify, to take a form that could never change itself.

    Thus, all the spheres of power were turned to stone.

    Chershemall watched this and felt insulted. While it did not desire formless chaos, this mindless order was just as unpleasant for it.

    The god of chaos and order pleaded with Tundeval for permission to change the spheres into something more. But the god of pure order refused, stating that the perfect world had already been created and that change would only bring ruin to this perfection.

    Tundeval forbade Chershemall from transforming any of the stone spheres, yet Chershemall would not let itself be denied this. To work around the law set by its fellow god, Chershemall created two more gods weaker than itself. It bestowed upon them the name Thumel and Faumel and tasked them with bringing chaos to the spheres of order.

    Thumel¡¯s and Faumel¡¯s first attempt at this was met with an interesting result, when they used far too much energy on trying to bring the powers of chaos to one of the spheres. Their vast well of magic turned the dull stone shape into a blazing inferno of heat and light.

    With this act, this happy accident, the first sun was born.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Thumel and Faumel made many suns after that, for their power was simply too great and untamed for them to do much else. Yet over time they learned to control their power, until eventually they could do far more than make countless stars.

    Unfortunately Tundeval had finally detected the shifting of the spheres, from its formless masterpieces to the blazing suns the two new gods had created. Realising its fellow god¡¯s betrayal, Tundeval confronted Chershemall intending to strike them down.

    The two gods charged each other, channelling all of their energy into a single blow against the other. With this power they shattered each other, scattering pieces of themselves all over the void, extinguishing many of the new born suns in the process.

    Now the only two gods left in existence, Thumel and Faumel decided to create the ultimate memorial to this battle, their finest creation that would trump all other in its complexity.

    Wielding their power with delicate yet firm concentration, the two gods turned one of the remaining stone spheres into a molten ball of magical potential. Like two smiths working a forge, they heated it until it could go no further without catastrophe, then they covered it in soft flowing water, allowing the planet to go cold.

    From there they built islands, forged continents, excavated valleys and raised mountains. Tirelessly they worked until the first phase of their plan was completed, only then did Thumel and Faumel allow themselves to step back and admire their work.

    Together, they had created the world of Almos.

    But while the two gods worked, the hundreds of floating remnants of Tundeval¡¯s and Chershemall¡¯s power began to form together. Over an untold amount of time these specks of energy began to form into new deities.

    Some of these gods were content to wander the void, becoming the outer gods, while those that were drawn to the power being wielded by Thumel and Faumel would become the deity¡¯s most commonly worshiped on Almos.

    Now with a base formed of both chaos and order, Thumel and Faumel began to propagate the world of Almos with a variety of plants and animals.

    However, when the time came for them to create more¡­ magical creatures, they became divided against each other on what they should make.

    Not wanting to end up in a battle to the death like their predecessors, the two gods eventually agreed to split the work. Thumel created the civilised races, such as the humans, the dwarfs and the elves, while Faumel created the monster races.

    When their work was finally done, both of the gods found themselves to be satisfied.

    Time passed and both the civilised races and monster races flourished on Almos. Yet only the civilised races would create great works and proud cities that would stand the test of eons, while monsters were content to live, eat, breed and die.

    As if a sickening seed of envy had been planted in the soil of its mind, Faumel found itself growing jealous of its partner god¡¯s creations.

    Faumel wanted its creations to grow beyond their current weakness and create greatness. With that in mind, Faumel hatched its plan.

    Copying some of the designs Thumel had used in its creations and combining them with the magical power of some of its favourite monsters, Faumel created the first dungeon core.

    It was a small red gem that was not only capable of channelling great power to shift and control the world around it, but had such potential for growth that Faumel believed it would one day rival or even surpass its partner god¡¯s creations.

    So enamoured with its new creation was Faumel, that it poured a portion of its very being into the gem, giving it a sense of self and a true chance for greatness.

    Its work complete, Faumel cast the dungeon core down upon the land of Almos¡­

    Only for the precious core to leave Faumel¡¯s sense mere seconds after it landed.

    Though upset by the loss of its greatest solo creation, Faumel tried again. This time it crafted multiple cores, all of them simpler than the original and with no sense of self.

    This time when Faumel spread its creations across Almos, most of them survived.

    These dungeon cores would go on to create dungeons that would house both great monsters and great treasures. Adventurers from around the world challenged these dungeons in the name of fame and profit.

    Dungeons became a normal part of the world.

    Time kept moving forward and eventually even Faumel forgot about its first lost dungeon core.

    But that core never truly died, how could it when it carried a piece of the very god that created it?

    No, it had merely been sleeping.

    Sleeping, for a very long time.

    This is the story of the very first dungeon core.

    The lost dungeon core.

    <hr>

    Authors notes: Hello everybody!

    My name is J-B-W and I will be your author for this story.

    I¡¯ll be the first to admit that there isn¡¯t much to see right now, but since I¡¯ll be keeping to an every Wednesday update schedule¡­ well, there should be much more here to read once a few weeks have passed.

    Feel free to leave comments and reviews, in fact I¡¯ll be happy if you do. Advice and criticism are an important to me as they help me become a better writer, even a simple ¡°This is good¡± or something like that encourages me to keep on writing this story and tells me if I¡¯m doing a good job.

    Personally though? I hope that this is the start of something magical.

 Chapter 1 â€“ From the Ashes

    1537 years ago

    The day when the first dungeon core fell to Almos started out like any other day. The various civilised races were going about their daily lives, some trying to survive the monster infested wilderness while others lived another day of lavish luxury in stone castles and keeps.

    Even the monsters didn¡¯t feel any different at first, all of them content to go about their normal routine no matter how intelligent or stupid they were.

    That all changed when the sky began to burn.

    Like a demonic comet falling from the void the red gem streaked its way through the atmosphere, leaving a bright red mana trail behind it that to mortal eyes made it look like the sky itself had been set ablaze.

    Even the dumbest of monsters watched with awe and reverence as the dungeon core descended upon Almos. The civilised races could only stop and stare as they felt something very fundamental in the flow of the world change.

    Perhaps however, if Faumel had been watching where it was aiming its dungeon core, what happened next would not have occurred.

    The red gem descended down, down, down into an opening that stood at the top of a mountain. To prevent itself from crashing, the gem automatically extended a ludicrous amount of mana to stop its fall.

    The true problem with that however, was that to counter the power of the fall, the gem threw the mana downwards. The danger with that was the mountain the core had landed in was in fact a volcano that was close to eruption.

    The volatile mana from the dungeon core was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, pressure in the volcano only built and built until¡­

    Dungeon core landing success.

    Establishing connection with DUNCORE NETWORK v-1.0¡­

    The volcano erupted.

    All that heat, all that pressure, all that energy.

    Sitting on a ledge of rock in the middle of all that?

    The dungeon core didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    After only a second of exposure to those primal elements, the dungeon core exploded.

    Its red shards were thrown into the magma, as the cores remaining mana blasted outwards in a single last hurrah that shook the entire mountain.

    The core was destroyed.

    The only sliver of its magic that remained was a glowing red light, the phantom of power that Faumel had blessed its dungeon core with.

    cRitiCle D-mEege sUStained

    Hiber-tion mOdE ACtiVa---

    Present day

    After centuries of waiting, building its mana stores and biding its time, the diming red light that contained the power of Faumel had finally managed to reconstruct the original bright red sphere-gem of a dungeon core that was its form.

    In the bowels of the now long extinct volcano, a beautiful gem of near limitless potential finished taking shape.

    Dungeon core reconstruction complete.

    Establishing connection with DUNCORE NETWORK v-1.0¡­

    The dungeon cores automated system continued to whir away, expending magical energy as it sought to fulfil its purpose.

    ERROR CODE: 341 A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    DUNCORE NETWORK v-1.0 has been supplanted by DUNCORE NETWORK v-6.73.

    Attempting connection with new network.

    After a few seconds, an unheard ping echoed through the mountain.

    Connection success.

    Proceeding to activation of DUNCORE NETWORK v-6.73 [core boot protocol]

    Dungeon core status: 100%

    Mana corruption: 0%

    Magical density: Healthy

    Devine patron connection: ¡­ERROR, cannot locate patron deity [Faumel]

    75% of [core boot protocol] checks passed successfully, activating primary dungeon core abilities in 3, 2, 1¡­

    In a single moment that seemed to stretch on for eternity, ¡®it¡¯ awoke.

    ¡®It¡¯ was not exactly sure what ¡®it¡¯ was, yet somehow ¡®it¡¯ was connected to ¡®dungeon core¡¯ and ¡®self¡¯.

    ¡®Dungeon core¡¯ was the definition of what ¡®it¡¯ was, yet ¡®self¡¯ was also the definition ¡®it¡¯. ¡®Dungeon core¡¯ and ¡®self¡¯ were ¡®same/not same¡¯, truly a conundrum that the newly awakened core had no chance of solving.

    Greetings dungeon core #0000!

    The core mentally recoiled away from the strange words that seemed to be projected directly into its mind. It could do nothing but watch in insure silence as the words continued to flow from¡­ somewhere.

    Congratulations on being the first dungeon core in the world of Almos to achieve a true sense of self! This guide [Faumel¡¯s dungeon construction 101] is designed to allow you to survive as a dungeon in this dangerous world.

    This flood of information was overwhelming to the new-born core. The words referred to it as ¡®dungeon core¡¯ so surely ¡®it¡¯ was a ¡®dungeon core¡¯. Yet the words also implied ¡®self¡¯, so which was the true definition of ¡®it¡¯?

    When you are ready to begin the tutorial, think ¡®yes¡¯. If you wish to repeat the introduction, think ¡®no¡¯.

    For a moment the core toyed with the idea of not responding to the strange messages at all, but before it could truly give that idea consideration the core found itself struck with a vast sense of need.

    ¡®It¡¯ absolutely needed to know what the definition of ¡®it¡¯ was. The messages had already referred to ¡®dungeon core¡¯ and ¡®self¡¯, given time surely the messages would also speak of ¡®it¡¯.

    ¡®Yes¡¯ the dungeon core thought, giving the signal for the tutorial to continue.

    First you must cement your sense of self in relation to other creatures on Almos. Most sentient beings, whether civilised or monsters, refer to themselves as he, she or it. As a dungeon core this will have no physical or magical effects on you, but one must be picked to help cement your sense of self.

    As the thoughts continued to flow, the core immediately shied away from continuing to refer to itself as ¡®it¡¯. [Faumel] was an ¡®it¡¯ and ¡®dungeon core¡¯ was not [Faumel]. ¡®Dungeon core¡¯ was not sure how it knew this, but much like it¡¯s earlier feeling of need the ¡®dungeon core¡¯ felt like it had to discard that option.

    So ¡®he¡¯ or ¡®she¡¯, truly the dungeon core did not know the difference. With no frame of reference to work with, the dungeon core simply selected one of the two seemingly near identical options.

    Dungeon core identity set: She

    With that decision made the ¡®dungeon core¡¯ felt a sense of¡­ stability. It was a strange sense of satisfaction that flowed through it, now that she was no longer an ¡®it¡¯ but rather, a ¡®she¡¯.

    Most if not all creatures of either great intelligence or importance in the world of Almos are entitled to an identifier that sets them apart from others. This is known as a name, having a name is one of the largest signs of a creature also having a sense of self.

    To simplify the naming process, a number of words based on the dungeon cores surroundings will be displayed, select one to be your name.

    Stone, Mountain, Volcano, Deep, Hidden, Magma, Extinction, Crucible¡­

    She needed this, the feeling of want and desire was far stronger than she had ever felt before. In a single moment she went from lost and confused to knowing exactly what she had to have.

    She needed a name.

    So she chose one.

    Dungeon core name set: Crucible

    It was as if the stars had aligned. Pieces of the puzzle that she had been trying to solve began to snap together like a psychological jigsaw.

    ¡®I am she.¡¯

    *Click*

    ¡®I am dungeon core.¡¯

    *Click*

    ¡®I am self.¡¯

    *Click*

    ¡®They are all me.¡¯

    ¡®I am Crucible.¡¯

    Mana rushed in and out of Crucible in waves as her thoughts became more certain and clear. A distinct sense of purposefulness washed over her as she bathed in the reality that she existed.

    She did not know who had placed her here, or what they had intended for her, yet she knew what she wanted now.

    ¡®I will be the best self, no, the best Crucible I can be.¡¯

    Her mental proclamation went unheard of by any but herself.

    That was fine though, the world would know about her soon enough¡­

    ¡®As soon as I figure out how to get out of this rock.¡¯ Crucible¡¯s thoughts piped up optimistically.

    Yes, it was only a matter of time.

    <hr>

    Authors Notes: The core awakens, a name is chosen and the gods stand ready, yet so unprepared¡­

    Thanks for all the comments and feedback in the prologue, the overwhelming positive response was beyond my wildest expectations. I hope that this chapter has continued to maintain the same level of quality as its predecessor.

    I¡¯m looking forward to seeing more reviews, comments and criticisms!

 Chapter 2 - Whats Mine is Mine

    Finally beginning to calm down from her moment of self-discovery and emotions, Crucible realised that the tutorial had been waiting for her to give it another ¡®yes¡¯ to continue.

    A flash of embarrassment struck her as she scolded herself for missing that¡­

    ¡®Huh, guess that¡¯s what emotion is¡¯. Crucible pondered as she realised that she¡¯d just felt embarrassed, it was so strange. She didn¡¯t know how she understood what emotions were supposed to feel like, information just seemed to enter her mind when it was needed, almost like she was remembering something she¡¯d forgotten a long time ago.

    Still they were useful, the strange thoughts that seemed to come to her sometimes had allowed her to realise what her ¡®self¡¯ was. Crucible eventually decided that it was something she¡¯d question at a later date.

    ¡®Oops, almost forget again¡¯. Crucible let out a mental sigh as she sent a message telling the tutorial to continue.

    Now that your sense of self has been cemented it¡¯s time for you to learn more about what you can do as a dungeon. First let¡¯s check your status screen!

    Crucible felt a fluctuation of mana as a wall of information manifested itself in her mind.

    Name: Crucible

    Species: Dungeon core

    Title: None

    Rank: 0

    Health: 100/100

    Mana: 500/500 M0.1/h

    Abilities: [Dungeon influence] [Modify Terrain] [Manifest monster]

    Crucible absorbed the information silently, trusting the tutorial would soon answer the questions she had about this screen.

    Going from top to bottom, let¡¯s explain what all that means;

    Name: What you call yourself, or what other people call you. Your name is a part of your identity that makes you different from other individuals with different names.

    Species: Orks, spiders, elementals and dwarves, all of these are different species. You are a dungeon core, that¡¯s your species and it sets you apart from others who don¡¯t share it.

    Title: What most people call your dungeon. It could be anything from super fluffy adventure cave, to devils grove. Your title is subject to change over time as more people find your dungeon and/or change their opinions about it.

    Rank: As you go up in rank you¡¯ll gain more abilities and other such cool things. Gain ranks by defending your dungeon and completing certain goals.

    Health: Very self-explanatory, health drops as you take damage, you¡¯ll die if you run out of it.

    Mana: The magical energies of the world stored in your body, use it to activate your abilities and do most of the things you can do. It regenerates over time (currently at a rate of 0.1 mana per hour)

    Abilities: These are what allow you to do as the dungeons do! They often use mana and are your bread and butter as a dungeon core.

    As she went over the new knowledge Crucible couldn¡¯t help but wonder how she could have forgotten all of this. She had made half the system after all¡­

    No she hadn¡¯t.

    Crucible tried to shake of the invasive ¡®not-self¡¯ thoughts, they felt almost like hers but different somehow. Like an echo of something far more powerful.

    Once again Crucible pushed the thoughts aside and mentally motioned the tutorial to continue.

    Currently your abilities are locked by the tutorial, let¡¯s start by unlocking your [Dungeon influence].

    Mana began to pulse rhythmically as Crucible felt herself become¡­ more.

    Your [Dungeon influence] ability automatically uses the background mana produced by your core and infuses it into the surrounding environment, turning it into dungeon land directly under your influence. It also subverts simple creatures to your will overtime.

    She could feel it happening, slowly her deep red coloured mana seeped into the rock around her core. Crucible could keenly feel every single stone affected by her mana, as it continued to spread her awareness of the surrounding mountain began to grow.

    Now use one of your other abilities, [Modify terrain], to affect the surrounding rock.

    As if by instinct, Crucible reached out for the ability and pushed.

    The stone of the wall obeyed.

    Retreating under her force of will, the rocky wall didn¡¯t stop moving until it had left the area currently affected by her [Dungeon influence].

    [Modify terrain] allows you to shape the land around you, as long as it is in your [Dungeon influence]. This consumes mana though, so keep an eye on how much you have left.

    A quick check confirmed this as her mana count had dropped from 500 to 480.

    Now use your mana to hollow out a decent sized cavern as your influence expands. This will serve as the first room of your dungeon.

    Seeing no reason to not follow the tutorial¡¯s advice, Crucible began shunting her mana outwardly, forging her small empty pocket into a much larger room. Stone bent to her will with what felt like practiced ease and soon she had pushed every piece of cavernous wall to the edge of her influence¡­

    Except the floor, she definitely didn¡¯t want to push against what was holding her up and potentially injure herself.

    This is your first dungeon room, it may be small now but you can modify that in the future when your influence expands.

    You may notice that your mana has been drained significantly by digging out this room. Don¡¯t worry though, while [Modify terrain] can use a lot of mana, creating new rooms for your dungeon also increases your mana regeneration rate!

    Crucible once again checked her status screen, while her mana had dropped to 300 out of 500, her mana regeneration rate had grown to M5/h or five mana per hour.

    Now that you have taken the first steps on the road of becoming a successful dungeon, this basic tutorial shall come to a close. Don¡¯t worry though, the [DUNCORE NETWORK] will still be here to help and guide you through both the known and the unknown.

    A pang of sadness struck crucible as she read the message, how was she supposed to know what she was meant to do without the tutorial?

    Since the tutorial is over the [DUNCORE NETWORK] will now unlock the part of your [Dungeon influence] that will allow you to feel creatures that are inside your dungeon and direct those that are under your control.

    Please note however, that the [DUNCORE NETWORK] will create an opening to the outside world in T-48 hours, remember to prepare yourself for that!The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    So good luck! ¨C Vesstiage, manager of the [DUNCORE NETWORK].

    The moment those words finished manifesting themselves, she realised she could feel a ¡®not self¡¯ in her influence. Focusing on the ¡®not self¡¯, Crucible found herself looking at a small black beetle that was about half the size of her core.

    What stood out the most to Crucible however, was that the beetle, the ¡®not self¡¯ felt like it¡­ belonged to her for lack of a better term.

    Creature identified: Common Cave beetle

    Classification: Non-monster insect

    This black beetle is often found in caves close to the surface, while its claw-like pincers may look intimidating this beetle only eats cave moss so the pincers are only used for self-defence and attracting mates.

    Note: This very simple creature has been under your [Dungeon influence] long enough to give into your will. It is now a part of your dungeon.

    ¡®It¡¯s mine...¡¯ Crucible knew now that the creature was hers. Though it was only a small bug, it was HER small bug, the first minion that would serve her and live in her domain.

    ¡®Wait a minute, I though the tutorial was over?¡¯ Crucible questioned, as she viewed the information regarding her new minion.

    While the tutorial may be over, [DUNCORE NETWORK] will always be on standby to provide information when the dungeon core is confused about something.

    ¡®Yes!¡¯ Crucible let out a mental laugh of relief that caused her core to glow brighter for a second. The relief that the she hadn¡¯t been left without help was almost enough to distract her from her dungeon¡¯s new denizen.

    ¡®No, I need to focus on my new servant¡¯ she decided, trying very hard to be serious as she turned her attention to examine her bug more closely.

    *PING!*

    ¡®What now!?¡¯ Crucible cried out to the network in exasperation as more information streamed into her mind.

    The network has detected (2) unclaimed achievements, would you like to claim them?

    ¡®¡­ What are these achievements?¡¯

    Achievements: Awards given out for performing certain tasks. What these tasks are you won¡¯t know until you complete them. Achievements are often accompanied by a reward of some kind, like more mana capacity or an ability.

    ¡®Well I suppose a small distraction wouldn¡¯t hurt¡¯. Crucible gave into her curious and excitable instincts as she accepted the achievements.

    Achievement earned: Yes, the floor really is lava.

    You survived being submerged in magma or lava. That takes some serious will to survive!

    Reward: [Elemental immunity: Magma]

    Achievement earned: Molten core

    You were caught in a volcanic eruption and lived to tell the tale. But was it skill or luck that saved your bacon?

    Reward: [Create element: Magma]

    ¡®That sounds really cool.¡¯ Crucibles thought was tinged with awe as she looked at the [Create element: Magma] ability she had just gained.

    ¡®Though¡­ I don¡¯t remember doing anything like that. Does it have something to do with those thoughts I get sometimes?¡¯ Unfortunately her question was doomed to be met with silence.

    ¡®Well, I might as well use it. [Create element: Magma]!¡¯ Crucible invoked, focusing on activating the ability. She felt her mana swirling around her in complex patterns before solidifying¡­

    ¡®Wait, where¡¯s it going?¡¯ Crucible would later learn that she had to focus on where she wanted to spawn the magma before creating it. Because without focus, the magma defaulted to forming¡­

    Right on top of her.

    Magma damage nullified by [Elemental immunity: Magma].

    The incredibly hot rock flowed over Crucibles core, settling around her like some kind of lava bath.

    ¡®That¡¯s kind of nice actually¡¯.  When she realised the magma wasn¡¯t hurting her, Crucible started to enjoy the feeling of bathing in the magma, to her it just felt comfortably warm.

    While naturally occurring magma and lava may cool overtime, that which is created by the dungeon is kept in a liquid state by the dungeons background mana.

    ¡®I have an insect minion and a magma bath. Could this day get any better?¡¯ If Crucible had been a human she would have let out a sigh of contentment as she relaxed in her impromptu bath.

    ¡®Wait¡­ what if I put the two together? That¡¯d be twice the amazingness!¡¯ Crucible gave herself a mental pat on the back as she sent a command to her beetle.

    ¡®Fly towards the magma!¡¯ She ordered. The beetle dutifully took flight, rapidly beating its insect wings as it soared onwards at its mistress¡¯s direction.

    As the beetle collided with the incredibly hot liquid, its body was burnt to a crisp in less than a second.

    ¡®Beetle no!¡¯ Crucible cried as she felt her first minion¡¯s life being snuffed out just as quickly as it had arrived.

    You can now create: Common cave beetle

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    When a creature that is not one of the civilized races dies in your dungeon that you don¡¯t know how to create, you automatically learn how to replicate it with the [Manifest monster] ability.

    ¡®I can have more beetles?¡¯ An innocent hope flowered in Crucible¡¯s thoughts as her excitement began to build.

    ¡®[Manifest monster]!¡¯ She invoked, thinking of summoning another beetle.

    A single point of mana was expended as Crucible¡¯s energies formed into a small common cave beetle.

    ¡®Haha! Soon I shall have all the beetles I desire, with them I shall¡­. wait this one died too?¡¯ Crucible was snapped out of her daydream by the sudden death of her second minion.

    The shrivelled and dried up corpse of the beetle lay before her, showing clear signs of death by very sudden heat exposure.

    ¡®Well¡­ no matter, I¡¯ll just place the beetles further away from the magma!¡¯ A plan of action made, Crucible began creating more bugs.

    27 beetles later, she finally admitted to herself that whilst being further away from the magma meant it took longer for the beetles to die, the heat still killed all of them eventually.

    ¡®Ok, so maybe if I put the magma somewhere else, the beetles will live! But where could I move it to?¡¯ Crucible pondered this question for a few seconds before an idea struck her.

    Using the [Modify terrain] ability, she carved out a thin chamber just underneath the cavern floor that equalled the space above it in both length and width. Then she removed a small portion of the rock separating her room and the new chamber and allowed the magma to flow down into it.

    When the magma failed to completely fill her new 1-inch tall chamber, she simply added more. Then once the chamber was full, another quick application of [Modify terrain] sealed up the hole in the floor.

    The end result worked a lot like central heating, the entire dungeon room was kept warm by heat being conducted through the floor. Most engineers just weren¡¯t forward thinking enough to harness magma for such a task.

    What Crucible didn¡¯t know however, was that putting her makeshift lava tank below the floor had made the rock there unfortunately thin. Dangerously so actually, one might even call it an ¡®accidental death-trap¡¯.

    With the magma now in a separate chamber and Crucible blissfully unaware of the danger she¡¯d just created, she gleefully formed another beetle.

    The heat still killed it after only a few seconds.

    ¡®Why do my nice things stop me from having nice things!?¡¯ She shrieked as her genius plan failed.

    With her attempt at strategy a failure, Crucible¡¯s still young mind decided that it was time for a more¡­ active plan.

    Brute force.

    Forming another beetle, she began forcing as much mana into it as she could.

    As Crucible¡¯s newest minion slowly started to die like the others, she began to get desperate¡­

    Then, the beetle changed.

    Red mana spiralled around it as its head, pincers and legs began to turn a burnt amber colour. The black shell on its back that hid its wings began to flake off, revealing a new shell that shone a bright yet slightly rusty ruby red.

    Common cave beetle has evolved into Fire mountain beetle.

    ¡®Huh?¡¯ Crucible¡¯s thoughts froze as she recognised that the beetle was still alive. It looked different though, the words she wanted to use to describe it lay just out of her reach.

    ¡®Red¡¯ was the first truly coherent thought that hit her and ¡®beautiful¡¯ was the second.

    Creature identified: Fire mountain beetle

    Classification: Non-monster insect

    This red and orange beetle is found dwelling near the magma chambers of dormant volcanos, feeding on the ambient mana they create. Because of this they have developed [Heat resistance], an aspect that has led many of them to be hunted by civilised races for their use in flame resistance potions.

    You can now create: fire mountain beetle

    A few seconds of silent observation later allowed Crucible to finally internalise the fact that not only was her new beetle minion still alive, it also wasn¡¯t going to suffer spontaneous death by heat any time soon.

    Naturally this revelation led to a lot of joyous laughter.

    ¡®Ha-ha yes! I have the best minion ever!¡¯ The sheer excitement and happiness that Crucible was feeling became visible as her core glowed a brighter red and her mana bounced rhythmically back and forth in energetic motions.

    As if responding to its mistress¡¯s joy, the flame coloured beetle buzzed its wings and took off. The insect began flying around the dungeon core, circling in time to the beat of the mana the core contained.

    ¡®More, more! My beetles shall be legion!¡¯ Crucible cackled as she once again invoked [Manifest monster].

    In a small window of time that stretched just beyond an instant, thirty more red coloured beetles came into existence.

    Warning: Mana low, (92/500)

    The message snapped Crucible out of her bug induced mania. It only took a few more seconds after that for her to link the dots together and realise that between the digging, magma generation and beetle spawning, she had spent a lot of mana.

    ¡®¡­Oops¡¯ she thought sheepishly. ¡®Wasn¡¯t there something super important supposed to be happening soon? Something that I¡¯d want mana for?¡¯

    As if summoned by her question, a notification from the system appeared.

    Dungeon opening will be created in: T-44h 23m

    ¡®That¡¯s still pretty for away though¡­¡¯ Crucible pondered whether or not she should be worried. Her mana would probably be mostly full again in 44 hours¡­ right?

    ¡®Yeah, it¡¯ll probably be fine. Besides, my beautiful super cool minions can keep me safe!¡¯ Crucible reassured herself as she turned to tend to her new beetle army.

    If she had known that all of her beetles were small enough for an adventurer to crush one of them with a single step, she probably would have been a lot less confident.

    But she did not, so Crucible continued on in blissful ignorance, completely unprepared for the dangers that lay ahead.

 Chapter 3 â€“ Itâ€™s All Fun and Gamesâ€¦

    Dungeon opening will be created in: T-32h 47m

    For the last few hours, Crucible the dungeon core had been working on something very important.

    ¡®Fly my pretties, fly!¡¯

    ¡­For a given definition of important anyway.

    ¡®Now dive, dive, dive!¡¯ Crucible ordered in jubilation as she commanded a platoon of her loyal fire mountain beetle minions. The insects began to drop downwards as they slowed the buzzing of their wings. Yet the small line of fire red beetles stayed in formation.

    ¡®Go up!¡¯ she instructed, watching half-mesmerised by her little minion¡¯s flight, as the beats of their tiny wings picked up again and they began to climb.

    For the last few hours Crucible had been practicing commanding her little buggy battle squad, watching them climb walls and ceilings as well as fly on her orders.

    Observing how her minions responded to her commands had been very educational for Crucible. The fact that she loved watching her little bugs flying about and generally being awesome was just a coincidence.

    ¡®Now do three loops!¡¯ Crucible ordered.

    Well originally it had just been a coincidence, but after only a few minutes she¡¯d become rather adept at commanding her minions. After that, Crucible just kept practicing because she found it fun, even though her improvements were now very marginal.

    As her bugs were half way through their third loop, Crucible found her thoughts straying slightly. Now that her mind wasn¡¯t so occupied with a thought of ¡®Yay! Super cool bug minions!¡¯ she found herself recalling how she got them in the first place.

    ¡®The system said something about my little buggy getting, evolved. I didn¡¯t really focus on it then, but¡­ how did it happen?¡¯ Luckily for Crucible the system chose this moment to chime in.

    Evolution: A sudden transformation undergone by the ¡®non-civilised¡¯ races, it occurs due to a combination of stress caused by external influences and high mana density. The external influences help determine what transformation the creature will undergo, while the mana is used to fuel said transformation.

    As a dungeon core you can infuse mana into creatures under your command. If they are under significant stress due to outside sources this will trigger an evolution. If a creature you control evolves, you gain the ability to summon more minions of the newly evolved creature¡¯s type using [manifest monster].

    ¡®Hmm¡­ so can I do that again? Is it even possible to make my bugs more beautifully awesome-cool?¡¯ The dungeon pondered this very important question as she commanded her little bugs to land in front of her core.

    ¡®I mean, it¡¯s not like any of my little guys are under stress¡­ right?¡¯ Before Crucible could consider taking that train of thought any further, the system intruded once again.

    While not under stress in the traditional way, non-monsters under the command of a dungeon feel a sort of¡­ instinctual needing, that can be tapped to trigger an evolution with enough mana. Please note however, that using that need to trigger an evolution turns the creature into a monster species.

    ¡®So¡­ I can make them evolve even more? Like, right now?¡¯ Crucible called up her status menu and eyed her mana count.

    ¡®Should I do it? 197 out of 500 mana¡­ Yeah I¡¯ll be fine!¡¯ Crucible¡¯s excitement and naivety quickly brushed aside any reservations she might have had.

    ¡®Ok my little minion I hope you¡¯re hungry, cause I got a whole lot of mana for you to eat!¡¯ Crucible used a highly complex selection process to determine which bug to evolve (read: She picked the reddest) and began feeding it mana.

    A soft flow surrounded the beetle as energy flowed into its form. The insect shuddered as it began to expand, its body growing larger and larger until it was more than three times the size of the dungeon core.

    After a few tense seconds, Crucible felt that the bug couldn¡¯t receive any more mana. Having finished her task Crucible viewed her handiwork, as information from the system began pouring in.

    Fire mountain beetle has evolved into Giant fire mountain beetle.

    Creature identified: Giant fire mountain beetle

    Classification: monster insect

    This much larger variant of its non-monster relative stands only slightly shorter than the height of the average dwarf. They are found in high mana density areas, often surrounded by many of its smaller kin. Legends say that the appearance of these creatures is a sure sign that a nearby volcano is close to eruption.

    You can now create: Giant fire mountain beetle.

    ¡®Still just as beautiful, now even more awesome!¡¯ Crucible¡¯s thoughts glowed warmly as she looked at her minion that was now much larger than her core.

    ¡®I shall name thee, Mr Buggy!¡¯ Crucible proclaimed with all the seriousness that her childish mental voice could muster.

    Error: Dungeon core does not have the [Bestow name] ability. A name may still be given but it will not turn the receiver into a [Unique monster]. Are you sure you wish to continue?

    ¡®Yes.¡¯

    This Giant fire mountain beetle is now named Mr Buggy!

    ¡®Now, how much mana did it take to make Mr Buggy?¡­¡¯

    Mana: 97/500

    ¡®100 Mana! Wow, evolution¡¯s expensive.¡¯ Crucible took a quick look at her [Manifest monster] ability.

    ¡®Ok, so creating another Giant fire mountain beetle costs 50 mana, that¡¯s¡­ half the mana it took to evolve one! Note to self: evolution is REALLY expensive.¡¯ Crucible dismissed her [Manifest monster] ability, whilst more big bugs would be fun she was still short on mana, so was wary of making too many.

    ¡®Besides, I can always make more later.¡¯ Her thoughts practically oozed excitement. ¡®Now, let me think of all the fun I can have with you Mr Buggy¡¯.

    Mr Buggy stood dutifully by and awaited the almost certainly very important orders it was going to receive from its mistress soon.

    <hr>

    Dungeon opening will be created in: T-16h 53m

    ¡®Faster! Faster!¡¯ Crucible yelled as she flew through the air, her core griped firmly by the six legs of Mr Buggy.

    At first she had treated Mr Buggy as if he was just another beetle minion, albeit a much larger one. She¡¯s had him fly around, stand on the ceiling, she¡¯d even had fun trying to see how many of the smaller beetles she could have clinging to Mr Buggy at the same time whilst he flew (Current record: 17 beetles).

    Eventually however, Crucible began to wonder what it felt like to fly. Then she began to question if she would ever gain the ability to fly.

    The end result of this was Crucible deciding that, since she lacked the ability to fly, Mr Buggy would simply have to carry her.

    Since she was still inside the dungeon she could see and feel anywhere that was covered in her influence like normal. But the part of flying that she found fun was feeling the rush of air against her core, as well as the sudden changes in altitude that always brought Crucible a little burst of excitement when they happened.

    Crucible gave a quiet thanks to the fact that Mr Buggy had kept his [Heat resistance] ability when he evolved. If he¡¯d died she wouldn¡¯t have been able to spend these last few hours flying around having such a good time!

    ¡®Now left!¡¯ She commanded and Mr Buggy obeyed. A quick turn stopped the two of them from crashing into a wall as Mr Buggy veered off.

    ¡®Hmm we could use more space¡­ Ah! Idea! Mr Buggy, put me down in the middle of the room again.¡¯ With a gentleness that seemed unnatural for such a large beetle Mr Buggy flew down and placed his Mistress back in the middle of the room.

    ¡®Now let¡¯s see, make a new room or enlarge the current one?¡¯ Crucible mentally debated this for a few moments before eventually settling on an answer. ¡®New room it is!¡¯

    Crucible¡¯s [Dungeon influence] had expanded more than enough for her to carve out another room with [Modify terrain]. Activating the ability she began to weave her mana against the stone wall, ordering it to recede from her domain.

    After a few minutes she had finished creating the entrance way into the new room and had managed to carve out about half of it, before her work was abruptly halted by a-

    *SCREECH!*

    A large eight legged thing dropped out of the ceiling she¡¯d just been excavating. It chittered in an irritated manner before turning its multiple eyes on her core.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡®What is that!?¡¯ Crucible cried out, as her panic was cut short by the sound of a message from the system.

    Creature identified: large burrowing spider

    Classification: monster insect

    This large dark green arachnid burrows itself into the earth and waits for its prey to move close, before launching an ambush. When nesting instead of hunting, these monsters tend to dig deeper so they are not disturbed.

    WARNING: This creature has not been under your [Dungeon influence] long enough to give into your will. It will try to eat you, for you are delicious and taste like strawberries¡­ Also due to the fact that monsters like this one are attracted to large quantities of mana, which you contain.

    ¡®What do I do? What do I do!?¡± Crucible¡¯s mental flailing seemed to even affect her bug army, as they all began to chitter agitatedly whilst the spider moved out of the under construction room and into the core room.

    ¡®Wait a minute¡­ I have an army! But how could they hurt such a big monster?¡¯ Before Crucible could give into despair, she remembered the ticket to her salvation.

    ¡®Mr Buggy, protect me!¡¯ With the command given, Mr Buggy leapt at the intruder brandishing his pincers menacingly.

    Surprised by the attack, the spider franticly jumped to the side. It managed to dodge the brunt of Mr Buggy¡¯s charge but the glancing blow still sent the spider reeling from the impact.

    For a moment the spider looked like it was about to fall over, but it barely managed to keep its balance long enough to put all of it legs back down.

    Mr Buggy charged again but the spider was ready this time, with a single bound it leapt over the beetle and landed perfectly behind it. The spider turned quickly and bared it fangs before making another jump, this time however the spiders target was its opponent¡¯s unprotected back.

    ¡®Mr Buggy, behind you!¡¯ Crucible¡¯s warning came just in time, Mr Buggy spun around and angled his pincers upwards at the intruder. The spider couldn¡¯t change its trajectory in the air, so it simply flailed helplessly before its body impacted Mr Buggy¡¯s pincers with a sickening squelch.

    Its body impaled and stuck on its enemy, the spider could do nothing as its life blood flowed from the wound like a disgusting river. Soon the spider¡¯s struggle began to grow weaker and weaker, until its legs stopped moving and its body went still.

    ¡®That¡­ was scary.¡¯ If Crucible could breathe she would have let out a sigh of relief. Instead she simply ordered Mr Buggy to remove the corpse from his pincers. He complied with absolute obedience.

    When the corpse was removed however, it began to emit a strange light. After a few moments the body started to flake and dissolve into nothingness.

    You can now create: Large burrowing spider.

    ¡®I won¡¯t be doing that anytime soon.¡¯ Crucible dismissed the message with a simple thought. That spider had come way to close to eating her for Crucible to feel comfortable having another around. Instead she looked over at Mr Buggy, who¡¯s pincers were still covered in spider blood.

    ¡®Thanks for saving me Mr Buggy, you were awesome.¡¯ Mr Buggy chirped happily at his mistresses¡¯ congratulations, he even did a little dance which caused Crucible to laugh at how ridiculous it looked.

    With the danger passed and her minion making a fool out of himself, Crucible got back to carving out the rest of her new dungeon room. There was still a lot of digging to do and she didn¡¯t want to leave the job half-finished.

    <hr>

    A few hours later.

    Dungeon opening will be created in: T-08h 02m

    Crucible let herself relax as she watched her new minions crawl around her dungeon.

    Yup, she¡¯d found more creatures to serve her goal to be the best Crucible ever.

    Creature identified: Schevsufler worm

    Classification: non-monster worm

    This small worm is named after an old dwarven word meaning ¡®stone-life¡¯. These creatures spend most of their life in a state of magical hibernation where their bodies turn into stone. They can only be awakened by an intense amount of fire based mana, which they absorb until there¡¯s none left and proceed to hibernate again.

    Apparently these worm-things had been attracted to her dungeon by her magma. Because of this they had stayed in her [Dungeon influence] long enough to fall under her command.

    Since then she had ordered them to surface and watched the worms wriggle about in the dirt. She¡¯d found it kinda fun to watch, until she thought of something that absolutely horrified her.

    Her new minions couldn¡¯t fly.

    Immediately upon realising this, she resolved that her new servants would not be kept ground bound. They would learn the joys of flight just as she had!

    Thus she had commanded some of her beetle¡¯s to pick her new worm minions up and fly them around.

    It, was, awesome.

    Or at least she thought it was, the worms couldn¡¯t exactly voice their disagreements if they had any.

    Dungeon opening will be created in: T-08h 00m

    The message that popped up automatically every hour once again announced its presence. Crucible dismissed the message as her thoughts began to wander.

    She began to wonder if she was ready for the outside world. She didn¡¯t really know anything about it yet and was hoping that both her ¡®not-self¡¯ feelings and the system would tell her more about this ¡®Dungeon opening¡¯ once the countdown had finished.

    Still she quashed her doubts with ruthless optimism. Her mana regeneration had increased to 10 points per hour now, so she was regaining her power faster than she ever had before. That combined with her awesome minions made her confident that nothing out there could hurt her.

    ¡®Besides,¡¯ she thought happily, ¡®it¡¯s not like anything out there could be scarier than that big spider thing.¡¯

    <hr>

    A few hours later, just outside the dungeon

    Miller Brooke had been having a terrible week.

    Miller was a human, an adventurer specifically, who had once worked for the local guild in the forest-town of Ulifer, where he¡¯d been born and raised.

    Ulifer had been a joint settlement founded by both elves and humans about a hundred years ago. That was long before his time though, he¡¯d grown up in moderate comfort, with dreams of wining fame and fortune as an adventurer planted in his head by his parents.

    As soon as he¡¯d been old enough he¡¯d enlisted in combat training. After a few years the local guild leader had recognised his talents and had him inducted into the guild as a seed class adventurer. The rank at the very bottom of the adventuring totem pole.

    With blood, sweat and tears he¡¯d worked his way up until he¡¯d managed to reach the next rank, a sapling class adventurer. Better, but still nowhere near what he¡¯d dreamed of.

    It was that train of thought which eventually got Miller thrown out of the guild. It had started when he¡¯d watched a group of branch class adventurers, the rank just above him, mosey into town with their packs laden with loot.

    He just couldn¡¯t help himself, he grabbed some of their gold coins whilst their backs were turned, just enough to afford that new steel sword he¡¯d been wanting to get.

    But he didn¡¯t stop.

    Eventually the guild caught on to the thefts and confronted him, rather than be arrested, he¡¯d made a break for it. So now he was on the road with nothing but the adventuring gear on his back and weary thoughts in his head.

    ¡®Now I just need to find a big fat pile of gold in the middle of nowhere, so I can get enough cash to set up shop in a new town.¡¯ Miller grumbled to himself as he scaled over the blackened earth. ¡®But what¡¯s the chances of that happening?

    A rumbling sound interrupted his melancholy. He stopped and watched in surprise, as the dark and tainted stone of the mountain parted unnaturally and seemed to form into an opening about the size of a cottage doorway.

    ¡®Huh, this could be my lucky day.¡¯ Miller grinned as he moved to examine the opening.

    ¡®If this is what I think it is, I might just be saved.¡¯

    <hr>

    At the exact same time¡­

    ¡®What, is, that?¡¯ Crucible asked the system, as the strange bipedal thing entered the doorway that had just been opened to the outside world.

    That is an adventurer. A human to be specific.

    ¡®Is it¡­ here to eat me?¡¯ The only experience Crucible had with threats so far was the spider that had tried to eat her. She really hoped this one wasn¡¯t, that human thing was more than twice as tall as Mr Buggy!

    Negative, adventurers do not eat mana like monsters do. However, they do tend to raid dungeons for a multitude of reasons, this one for example is almost certainly here to steal your core.

    ¡®To steal¡­ me?¡¯

    Most likely.

    ¡®Then how do I stop him!?¡±

    Dungeons tend to build traps and summon monsters to defend themselves.

    Hearing this, Crucible attempted to invoke [Manifest monster].

    Error: Dungeon core cannot activate abilities on a floor that is under assault by invaders.

    ¡®Nononononono!¡¯ Crucible silently screamed as her abilities failed her.

    ¡®There¡¯s no way my bugs can take that thing, it¡¯d crush them to death! The only one who could even possibly hurt him is Mr Buggy, but there¡¯s only one of him¡­¡¯ As Crucible struggled to come up with a plan, she was hit by a sudden bout of clarity.

    She had an idea.

    ¡®Mr Buggy!¡¯ She commanded urgently ¡®Get on the roof!¡¯

    Mr Buggy complied.

    <hr>

    Back with Miller Brooke

    It was exactly what he thought it was.

    ¡®Maybe the gods are finally smiling on me, why else would a new-born dungeon spawn, right in front of me?¡¯ Miller grinned as he hefted his steel sword and entered the opening.

    As an adventurer he¡¯d learned a lot about dungeons during his training, he¡¯d even visited a few, though he rarely went past their first floors. One of the things he''d learned about them was that they were filled with both loot and monsters, to tempt people like him into losing their lives within their halls.

    Normally he wouldn¡¯t even think of raiding a dungeon by himself, he wasn¡¯t suicidal. But this dungeon had only just spawned, right in front of his eyes!

    Research by adventurers and scholars over the years had proved that dungeons grew much stronger and gained both more monsters and loot as they aged. So a new-born dungeon would have no treasure and few monsters.

    It was this fact that had Miller so excited to dive into the dungeon. Whilst he was almost positive there would be no gold to find, if he managed to get past all the monsters he could swipe the very heart of the dungeon itself.

    However, he knew what he was doing was risky. Even if his plan succeeded, he would have to find someone to sell it to. Whilst there were a lot of people out there willing to pay very large amounts for such mysterious yet powerful gems, it was very much a black market.

    Stealing a dungeon core was a capital offence, as doing so always destroyed the dungeon, so no one would be able to explore it in the future, something that most kingdoms saw as wasting a potential valuable resource.

    ¡®Still I need that money now.¡¯ Miller thought to himself as he entered the first room. ¡®Beat dungeon first, worry about death by execution or by angry adventurers later.¡¯

    What struck him as strange as soon as he entered was that he couldn¡¯t see any monsters. There were a few bugs in the room, some red beetles and grey worm-things he¡¯d never seen before, but they certainly weren¡¯t monsters.

    ¡®So, the room must be full of traps then?¡¯ He scanned the walls, floor and ceiling diligently, but he couldn¡¯t see any outcroppings or grooves in the earth that would betray the presence of hidden pitfalls or spikes.

    It was then that Miller¡¯s search was stopped abruptly, when he looked through the opening into the next room and spotted the very heart of the dungeon itself, sitting right in the middle of the second room with nary a single defence to shield itself.

    ¡®It¡¯s¡­ right there?¡¯ Miller felt a dangerous mix of apprehension and greed as he eyed the bright red gem that was his goal. ¡®Even new-born dungeons should have three or four rooms between the entrance and the core.¡¯

    Staying vigilant for any tricks or deceptions, Miller slowly walked towards the core room. As he did so he felt both the air around him and the floor bellow him begin to grow much warmer, dangerously warm even.

    ¡®Well at least I know that it won¡¯t kill me.¡¯ Adventurers had long ago figured out that dungeons had certain things they couldn¡¯t do. The restriction that Miller was currently thankful for was the one that stopped the dungeon¡¯s air temperature from reaching or decreasing to levels that could badly harm the civilised races.

    The exception to this was of course traps, like say dropping burning oil from the ceiling would be fine. But dungeon restrictions were strange that way, some scholars even claimed the rules were the work of the gods themselves.

    Miller banished those thoughts from his head as he closed in on the gem. The dungeon core was right in front of him, an item that could bring him enough riches to let him live like a king for years if he chose to.

    His mind trapped in his own ambition and his senses ensnared by his greed, he reached out to grab the dungeon core.

 Chapter 4 - â€¦Until Someone Gets Burned Alive

    As the adventurer reached down to pick up her core, Crucible enacted her impromptu plan.

    ¡®Mr Buggy, now!¡¯ at his mistress¡¯s command Mr Buggy dropped from the ceiling of the cavernous room. He fell in such a way that his momentum spun him just enough that he was going to land feet first on the adventurers head.

    Crucible knew from the moment she saw this human enter her domain, that there was no way she could have Mr Buggy beat the man like he had killed the spider. So instead she had decided to rely upon a new element of combat that she had not practiced with before.

    The element of surprise.

    She knew that most creatures (herself not included) relied upon their eyes to gain information on the world around them. So once the adventurer had his eye-things pointed at nothing but her core, she gave the order for Mr Buggy to drop.

    If Crucible had been attacking an untrained combatant that day, Mr Buggy would have most likely killed them with its impromptu body slam attack. Their brain would have been impaled by their skull being cracked and that would be the end of that.

    This however was no ordinary human, this was an adventurer, someone who had spent most of their lives training to fight monsters. Training that certainly covered the importance of having great situational awareness.

    The man might not have seen Mr Buggy, but one of his other senses must have told him something was wrong, as before Mr Buggy could crush him he dived off to the side in an a very well timed roll.

    Fortunately when Mr Buggy hit the ground he had braced himself for the impact and was not too injured, though the ground did crack slightly as the thin stone heated by the lava below struggled to take the blow. But that moment of much needed recovery was all the opening the adventurer needed.

    With skill that spoke of months if not years of practice, the man pulled himself out of his roll and both turned and swung his sword at the direction of his attacker in a skilled slashing strike.

    The steel sword sung through the air in a deadly arc that was clearly more than powerful enough to tear through both flesh and bone with brutal effectiveness. With Mr Buggy still recovering, there was no way he could dodge in time.

    The man however had clearly not realised that he was fighting an opponent less than half his size, an understandable mistake since he had only heard his foe and not seen it. This meant however that instead of striking downwards, the man had swiped his sword at torso height. It would have been devastating against a larger monster, but it sailed right over Mr Buggy¡¯s head.

    The adventurer quickly realised his mistake and swung again, the blow angled to strike at the monster he now realised was much shorter than himself. Mr Buggy though had recovered enough to firmly object to being eviscerated, an objection that he showed by scuttling backwards just fast enough to dodge the deadly sword.

    This continued on for a few seconds, as the man would sweep his sword and Mr Buggy would retreat out of its way. Whilst this certainly allowed Mr Buggy to survive, the man left no openings that Crucible could see for Mr Buggy to take advantage of.

    The adventurer was playing it safe, giving Mr Buggy no window of opportunity to strike at, whilst slowly backing the bug into a corner that would soon leave Crucible¡¯s favourite beetle with no room left to dodge the deadly blade.

    All too quickly the man¡¯s strategy came to fruition.  With no space left to evade in the corner of the cave, Mr Buggy valiantly raised his pincers in an attempt to block the blow.

    Unfortunately the finely forged steel of the man¡¯s blade proved itself to be far too strong and sharp for a single monster beetle to handle. The sword cut through the pincers and deftly severed them from Mr Buggy¡¯s head.

    Heavily wounded and maimed Mr Buggy had no chance to block or evade the sword thrust into his thorax.  A simple blow, yet one that promised a fatal injury to the dying monster.

    Convinced that his opponent was handled, the adventurer turned his back on the beast and made to grab the dungeon core.

    ¡®Help! Someone, anyone HELP!¡¯ Crucible cried in desperation as she could only watch as the man that would soon take her got closer and closer to her body.

    Though her mental scream was loud, no one would hear it.

    ¡­No one except a young fatally wounded monster that would do anything to save its creator.

    In his death throes, Mr Buggy pushed the last of his strength into one final leap.

    The adventurer turned just in time to see Mr Buggy¡¯s battered and bleeding form collide with him.

    Since the man had not been prepared for multiple pounds of beetle to strike him in the chest, his balance was lost.  The weight of his sword combined with the surprise desperation attack forced him violently to the floor.

    The floor that was still cracked by Mr Buggy¡¯s earlier landing.

    With all that extra weight on top of it, the thin stone floor could not hold.

    With a mighty cracking sound that echoed through the dungeon, the floor gave way, throwing the adventurer head first into the magma that lay below.

    He did not even get a chance to scream, as his life was snuffed out.

    That was the day Miller Brooke, ex-guild member, wanted man and budding kleptomaniac met his end at the hands of a lethal mix of misfortune and his own stupidity.

    Despite Miller Brookes numerus crimes, most people would still have found his death, as someone from one of the civilised races, to be far more tragic than the death of monster.

    But Crucible was not most people. As she watched Mr Buggy¡¯s lifeless corpse burn into nothingness, she didn¡¯t spare a single thought for the adventurer that had perished in her dungeon.

    ¡®Mr Buggy¡¯s is dead.¡¯ The thought sunk into her mind as she struggled to comprehend what had just occurred. ¡®Mr Buggy is dead, he¡¯s gone and he¡¯s not coming back because he¡¯s dead and he died saving me¡­¡¯

    The mantra continued to violate her thoughts as Crucible could do nothing but weep without a single tear she could shed. There was nothing but her and a single undeniable fact.

    ¡®He¡¯s dead and he¡¯s gone, he¡¯s not coming back¡­¡¯

    Time seemed to lose meaning as Crucible lost herself to her own grief. A moment of existence seemed to stretch on for an eternity as she spiralled down and down¡­

    ¡®He died saving me, died for me-¡®

    He gave himself up to the dark abyss to keep you alive.

    Crucible was snapped from her descending mantra of madness as the message manifested itself directly into her mind. Before she could recover from the shock, the system continued.

    You are the heart of this dungeon, every monster under your aegis is an extension of yourself and your power, most of them will never gain enough independence to develop a sense of self. Mr Buggy did though, to some extent at least and with that small amount of agency he chose to save you.

    Most of your monsters will never gain a sense of self. Even that however will not stop the sadness or the anger that will come when you lose those you want to protect. But that is the price you pay as a sentient dungeon core, you are cursed to know that you cannot save them all and to feel yourself doubt in your abilities as your mindless minions are cut down by the hundreds.

    There is no way to avoid this, it is simply how this world works. You can choose to stop here and let the next threat that comes strike you down. Or you can take the willing sacrifice of your people and in their name, accomplish your goal.

    You must choose. - Vesstiage, manager of the [DUNCORE NETWORK].

    Crucible simply stared as the message the system had projected into her mind. Again and again she read it, until finally she felt that most of it had sunk in.

    Then she dismissed the message, her thoughts finally starting to pull themselves back together as she asked herself a question.

    ¡®What do I do?¡¯ Crucible found herself faced with only two options. Whilst her depressed state tried to whisper to her how much easier it would be to simply wallow for as long as she wanted, Crucible knew that if she chose to live that would not be an option.

    The dungeon was open now, it would only be a matter of time until the next threat reared its head. If she chose to live she would need to build room, defences, minions¡­

    With those she would be a better dungeon, she would be a better self, she would be a better Crucible.

    ¡®And maybe some of them would be like Mr Buggy?¡¯ Crucible thought, as she channelled her goal that she had first pledged upon gaining an understanding of ¡®self¡¯ into filling the bug shaped hole in her heart.

    It did not work perfectly, she knew deep down that for as long as she remembered him nothing could replace Mr Buggy.

    For a moment however, she let herself believe.

    Would you like to view the rewards you received from this encounter?

    ¡®Yes¡¯ Crucible acquiesced, her cohesive thoughts held together by hopes and dreams alone.

    But perhaps, for now, that was enough.

    For surviving your first encounter with an adventurer, you have gone up in rank!

    New status: Rank 1, your maximum capacity for health and mana have been doubled and your current health and mana are refiled.

    Through observation of an adventurer in your dungeon you have learned to understand the following language [Common].

    Through defeating a skilled adventurer in your dungeon you have gained an understanding of the following skill [Swordsmanship: Novice].

    As a reward for achieving Rank 1 status, you have been gifted with a new ability [Bestow name].

    ¡®That¡¯s a lot of new things.¡¯ Hope burned brighter in Crucibles soul as she absorbed the new knowledge presented before her. The grief and sorrow she had felt near moments before was forced to the back of her mind as she pushed herself into planning out her defences.

    ¡®I need to put some distance between myself and the entrance, that¡¯ll give my minions more time and space to stop any more attackers¡¯ . Crucible thought with an abnormally large seriousness as she went over her ideas. ¡®With 1000 mana to work with I could make four or five more rooms, that should be enough right?¡¯

    Once again Crucible imposed her will on the walls of the dungeon, shaping the stone into an opening that would lead to the new room she was constructing. That left her core room with two entrances, one leading to the room that led outside and the other going to the room she was building. She didn¡¯t worry about that though, she could fix it once her room building was done.

    After a few minutes work the dungeons third room was done. Crucible quietly noted that the excavation had gone much faster than either of her last two room creations, perhaps she was getting better at using [Modify terrain]?

    Crucible didn¡¯t let that idea distract her for long, an hour of work later and she had finished the third of the four rooms she had planned to build. Now that her dungeon had five rooms in it Crucible¡¯s mana regeneration rate had increased to 25 points per hour, a definite improvement for sure.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Just as Crucible started pushing to create another room however she hit a strong feeling of¡­. resistance.

    ERROR: Maximum limit on room capacity reached for this floor (capacity: 5). Please add a second floor to the dungeon to continue expansion.

    ¡®Wait, room limit? Why¡¯s there a room limit?¡¯ Crucible questioned as she continued trying to carve out her new room, but the stone refused to bend.

    The room limit was set by the gods over 1000 years ago. Your room limit for each floor can be calculated using the following sum: 4 + [Floor number].

    ¡®Hmmm¡¯. Crucible pondered as she finally stopped trying to build another room, recognising that it wasn¡¯t getting her anywhere. Instead she focused on what the system was telling her. ¡®How do I get a new floor?¡¯

    While planning out her expansion, Crucible had considered digging downwards, unfortunately that plan had been scrapped when she realised that her [Dungeon influence] had stopped expanding beneath her at some point. There simply wasn¡¯t enough area covered by her [Dungeon influence] for her to dig her own second floor, fortunately the system had more to say.

    To gain access to a new floor the dungeon must spend mana equal to half their maximum mana capacity + (100 x [Number of previous new floors]. Once this is done the dungeons area of [Dungeon Influence] is expanded downwards to give it space to dig out new rooms and create their new floor however they wish to.

    ¡®So to get a new floor¡­ half my mana capacity alone is 500.¡¯ Crucible winced at the price as she did the mental maths. ¡®I haven¡¯t made any new floors before, so 100 x 0 is 0 and 500 + 0 isn¡¯t exactly an impossible price to pay.¡¯

    ¡®Still, that¡¯s mana not going into my defences, defences that I need to be a better dungeon. I just can¡¯t afford to pay that price right now.¡¯ With a pulse of dismissal, Crucible decided it was time to tackle the next problem on her list.

    Currently she was still in the second room of her dungeon, with her resting place clearly visible from the entrance to the outside world. This was dangerous, so Crucible needed to move herself from her current room all the way down to the fifth room, the one furthest from the entrance.

    With this in mind, Crucible invoked her [Manifest monster] ability and channelled it into creating a new Giant fire mountain beetle.

    Mana sang through the air as it spun and weaved itself into physical form.  After only a few second of work a flash of light sprang forth, before dimming to reveal the new form of the coalesced mana.

    To her shame, she could only look at the beetle for a few seconds before her grief forced her to turn away. The resemblance between her new monster and Mr Buggy simply too much to bear.

    Averting her sense from observing the beetle, she gave it the command to pick her up and place her in the fifth room furthest from the dungeon¡¯s entrance. The beetle responded with absolute obedience, as it picked her up in its six legs and took off towards its designated destination.

    As they flew, Crucible took the opportunity to look at the walls of her dungeon. In spite of, or perhaps even because of the fact she had dug them out with her own power, all of the walls were slightly different. Different types of stone varied in both colour and texture, while little deviances and imperfections in the stone made what would otherwise be a rather plain surface rather interesting.

    This analysis of her dungeon¡¯s walls did its job in distracting her from thinking about Mr Buggy, while his lookalike carried her to the end of the dungeon.

    Finally, when Crucible was once again on solid ground, she spent a small moment feeling satisfied about what she had just accomplished. Now, when they entered her dungeon they wouldn¡¯t just see the core sitting¡­

    Crucible let out a mental ground of frustration as she realised her mistake.  In her haste to put as much distance between herself and the entrance as possible she had built her rooms in a straight line. This meant that while she was technically as far away from the entrance as she could get right now, it would still be a straight shot for adventurers!

    ¡®I need something that will stop adventurers from seeing or attacking my core from the next room over. I wonder if I could¡­¡¯ Her pondering was interrupted by the classic *ping* sound as the system once again intervened.

    Due to conscious thought and consideration from the dungeon core, the following structure has been made available: Crude door.

    In conjunction with the appearance of the message, Crucible could see a structure of some kind in her mind¡¯s eye. It was made of twisted wood that gave it an almost dilapidated feeling, yet she knew instinctively that this door thing would work for the purpose she needed it for.

    Summoning forth her mana, she focused on her [Modify terrain] ability. A few seconds later a small amount of her energy left her, before assuming a more tangible form and placing itself in the opening that led to her new core room.

    Once Crucible was sure that the door had formed and stabilised she stopped channelling her power. The crooked and worn wood groaned in protest, as but her construction work stood firm and clung to the cavern wall with rigid certainty.

    With her core no longer out in the open, Crucible felt confident in moving on to the next phase of her plan. She needed more minions to stop invaders as they trekked through her dungeon and whilst she could just make more giant fire mountain beetles, there was something else she could do.

    Focusing on one of the schevsufler worms that had joined her dungeon only a few hours ago, Crucible quickly took advantage of the fact that the worm was classified as a non-monster to force an evolution on it, much like she had done when she had made Mr Buggy.

    The worm wriggled and jiggled as it grew and grew in size until it was slightly longer and wider than a human¡¯s arm. Its grey skin hardened until it was rock-like both in texture and hardness, at which point Crucible cut off the flow of mana and observed her creation.

    Schevsufler worm has evolved into Ravenous schevsufler worm.

    Creature identified: Ravenous schevsufler worm

    Classification: monster worm

    The monster variation of their much smaller counterpart. These creatures traded in their ability to hibernate in a stone form in exchange for making their skin as strong as stone permanently. These beasts thrive beneath the ground near thermal vents, living out their days eating the vents ambient mana. If the worm is disturbed by something entering its territory they attack by binding and crushing the intruder with their thick yet flexible body.

    You can now create: Ravenous schevsufler worm

    Crucible felt a spark of pride as she admired her own work. These minions in combination with her beetles would surely be enough to stop adventurers before they could get anywhere near her core.

    Over the next few hours Crucible summoned monster after monster to fill her new rooms. Weaving all that mana was an exercise in both patience and concentration, but at least her [Manifest monster] ability got a workout.

    However, Crucible was not so distracted that she would miss something strange going on in her dungeon. A fact that was proven when she noticed the ground which had cracked open in the lava pit room had seemingly repaired itself whilst she was not looking.

    As Crucible pondered this development, her unspoken question was quickly answered.

    Due to the amount of time that has passed since [Crude lava pitfall trap] was triggered, the trap has been reset.

    Crucible filed that information for later as she considered what do with her accidental trap. It had helped save her life¡­ but it had also killed Mr Buggy. She didn¡¯t want to risk any more of her minions falling in accidentally.

    Eventually Crucible decided she would fill in the trap and get rid of the lava, once she had more mana to spare. She simply couldn¡¯t afford to put aside the mana necessary to get rid of it, when even the smallest amount of that mana could instead be used to get more minions.

    With that decision finalised, she continued to produce monsters until her numbers had reached a total of 23. That was a combination of 15 giant fire mountain beetles and 8 ravenous schevsufler worms. Now with her monsters in place, Crucible moved on to the final phase of her plan, making use of the new ability she had gained called [Bestow name].

    Having read the powers description earlier, Crucible knew exactly how she wanted to use it.

    [Bestow name]: The power to give that which is unnamed a name that gains magical significance. When used on a monster it is granted [Unique monster] status, making it much stronger, giving it access to more abilities and allowing it to respawn in the dungeon if slain.

    WARNING: The amount of times that [Bestow name] can be used successfully is equal to the amount of floors the dungeon has. Current number of uses left, 1.

    With a simple mental command Crucible ordered one of the giant beetles to appear before her. Loyally the beetle obeyed and soon it was in her core chamber, waiting for what she was going to do next.

    Silently, she invoked [Bestow name].

    ERROR: Not enough mana, please wait a few hours for it to regenerate.

    ¡®I¡­ don¡¯t have enough mana.¡¯ Crucible fretted as she viewed the error message. She had spent too much of her precious power on building up her number of minions and now her plan would be ruined!

    ¡®No, stay calm.¡¯ She told herself. ¡®I just need to wait an hour or so, then I¡¯ll have super powerful awesome minion to guard my core. It¡¯s not like another adventurer will come along so soon¡­ right?¡¯

    While Crucible had tried to inject some levity into her own thoughts, the optimism it would have once brought forth just didn¡¯t hold under the tension and strain.

    The next hour was an absolutely brutal trial of sanity and paranoia, as Crucible could do nothing but watch and wait. She knew the enemy was out there somewhere, planning, scheming, ready to enter her dungeon, strike down her minions and destroy her core at a moment¡¯s notice.

    But she also knew they weren¡¯t in her dungeon doing that right now, she could only hope that they didn¡¯t appear anytime soon. It was the fact that she could do nothing but wait that was slowly driving her mad.

    Crucibles emotional turmoil and stress trickled down into her minions and while none of them were intelligent enough to figure out what was wrong, the poisonous concoction of paranoia and fear put all of them on edge. For the first time both the monstrous and non-monstrous inhabitants of the dungeon were completely silent, as if just like their mistress they were waiting with baited breath, knowing that they teetered on the edge of catastrophe.

    The second she had enough mana, the tension and stress finally began to bleed out of Crucible as she once again invoked [Bestow name], targeting the giant beetle in front of her.

    With a tremendous pulling sensation Crucible could feel the mana being leached from her core, all of it flowing towards the beetle until there was barely a single speck left in her core. All of it was used to fuel the amazing metamorphosis her minion was about to undergo.

    As the power soaked into the beetle it was shrouded by a ruby red glow that matched the colour of its shell. Before the transformation could progress any further however, the system interrupted.

    For this creature to become a [Unique monster] you must first choose one of the following skills/abilities for it to learn.

    [Fire resistance]: Reduces damage from fire based attacks and environmental effects. Available due to creature possessing the [Heat resistance] ability.

    [Swordsmanship: Novice]: Gives creature the ability to wield swords with decent skill. Available due to dungeon possessing an understanding of the [Swordsmanship: Novice] skill.

    Looking over her two choices Crucible found herself torn. She wanted to dismiss fire resistance immediately, since it would be useless if the opponent never used fire attacks and the last one certainly hadn¡¯t. Doing that however would mean choosing the sword skill, whilst swords were certainly dangerous she¡¯d learned that from watching Mr Buggy fight and die¡­

    Pragmatism wared with fear of being constantly reminded of Mr Buggy¡¯s death. Crucible eventually managed to settle the internal debate without tearing herself apart.  She just rationalised it as a way to honour Mr Buggy¡¯s sacrifice, by turning the weapons that had slayed him against her enemies. At least that¡¯s what she told herself.

    Forcing herself to make a choice, she picked [Swordsmanship: Novice].

    Mana converged into the beetles form, as the red light that shrouded it grew to a blinding intensity that completely enveloped the evolving minion. As the light grew and grew so too did the creature¡¯s body, larger and larger until¡­

    The glow stopped.

    Giant fire mountain beetle has evolved into burning blade titan beetle

    Creature identified: Burning blade titan beetle

    Classification: monster unique

    A Giant fire mountain beetle pushed to become a unique monster by its creator. This beast of a fighter is not only massive in size but also stands on it back legs, allowing its front and middle limbs to be used as arms to wield large blades. This is a unique monster so it is not found in the wild.

    WARNING: due to this minions status as a [Unique monster], you have not gained the ability to create more of this species.

    Crucible could only look upon her most powerful minion in awe, the titan stood taller than four of its predecessor stacked on top of each other. That fact combined with its bipedal nature allowed it to tower over any of the dungeons inhabitancies with ease, even the human would have been about half its height!

    In the great beetle¡¯s middle limbs that looked somewhat like human hands it held two large blades that seemed to be made out of metal. Whilst they were covered in cracks and other signs of crude craftsmanship, their size alone made up for the weapons poor quality.

    WARNING: In order to stabilise the evolution of this monster into a [Unique monster], a name must be selected NOW. If a name is not selected with the next few minutes the creature¡¯s physical form will rupture due to the powers of the world not recognizing it as being worthy of its strength.

    Now to stop this from occurring, please select a name! You can either think of your own, or choose one of the following.

    [Infernus][Count B][Atlas][Mammoth][Champion]

    ¡®I choose Atlas!¡¯ Crucible declared, picking one of the names presented to her at random.

    Atlas seemed to ripple with magical energy for a second, as his body solidified. It passed after a moment and the process was done, Atlas was now a [Unique monster].

    Proud of her work, Crucible commanded her new guardian to take his place alone in the fourth room, the room just before the core room. He would be the last one standing between her and her mortal enemies.

    The rest of her monsters were scattered throughout the other three non-core rooms.  The giant beetles milled about, casually absorbing the mana released from the magma, whilst the ravenous worms rested just beneath the floor, waiting for the first threat that would dare stir them from their slumber.

    Her mana was spent and her minions were in place, all she had to do was wait for the enemy to show up.

    Any moment now¡­

    Any second now¡­

    Any minute now¡­

    Any hour now¡­

    ¡®I¡¯m bored¡¯ Crucible admitted to herself as she watched her minions mill about in their current defensive positions. Now that all of her defences were in place the feeling of danger and paranoia that had once griped Crucible had slowly ebbed away, until it was replaced completely with a profound sense of boredom.

    She had made herself as safe as she could, expecting another dangerous foe to rear their ugly head at the worst possible time. Now that she was prepared however, she needed that danger to show up so she could defeat it and know that her defences worked.

    No enemies had shown up in over a day however so now she was¡­ bored.

    It was a rather novel experience she felt. In her short life so far Crucible had not felt bored until now. How had she stopped it from happening before she¡¯d first faced true danger?

    With a tinge of apprehension Crucible cast her mind back to¡­ was it really only a day or two ago? She felt like it had been so much longer. She remembered having her little bugs flying around in nice orderly rows, doing tricks and stunts for her amusement.

    She remembered Mr Buggy¡­

    She remembered how he made her feel so happy, flying around covered in so many of his much smaller kin, she¡¯d even made a game out of it.

    17 bugs on Mr Buggy, 17 had been her record.

    Looking at Atlas, Crucible felt a sense of amusement building up within her as she began to wonder.

    ¡®How many beetles can I fit on you, Atlas?¡¯

    Atlas responded with a pleased rumble.

 Chapter 5 â€“ Various Visitors Venturing Violently

    A few minutes away from the dungeon entrance.

    The blackened soil that surrounded the lonely mountain had stood mostly undisturbed for hundreds of years, only being intruded upon by the occasional roaming monster or lost traveller seeking shelter in the wasteland of tainted earth.

    They would find no such safe haven, not in this barren land. Whilst the lack of dangerous beasts or other such life made it seem safe at first, leading many to take temporary refuge under the shade of the mountain, one simple fact kept the land untenable for any sort of permanent inhabitancy.

    There was no plant life or water for as far as the eye could see. No life could take to the soil, nor could water carve its way through. The dirt itself repulsed any such attempts with the sickly mana that had taken root there.

    The events that led to the complete desolation of the surrounding area had occurred centuries ago, far longer than the memories or even the lives of most mortals. Yet despite the fact that the tragedy that had occurred here long ago was lost to the annals of history, the earth itself still remained lifeless and tainted.

    The blackened soil that surrounded the lonely mountain had stood mostly undisturbed for hundreds of years, so the well-armed and armoured group of four that trekked with absolute focus and certainty through the silent wasteland was an unusual sight indeed.

    Each of these travellers bore a single crest displayed prominently on their battle wear, a mark that told the world that they were licenced adventurers supported by a guild.

    The symbol was a silver circle, with the shape showing that the individual wearing it was a guild member and the metal it was made of revealing their status as branch class adventurer, far stronger than either seed or sapling class adventurers.

    Within the circle was a diagonal criss-cross pattern that was engraved in such a way that it appeared to be made of leaves. This final part of the crest showed the bearer¡¯s affiliation or membership with the guild of Ulifer. It was a sign that they showed allegiance to said guild and represented it with their words and actions.

    The party of adventurers were a varied bunch, a well armoured fighter to take and dish out damage in melee. A ranger armed with a bow and skilled in navigating terrain. A mage who controlled the battlefield with spells and a cleric to keep the rest of the party safe and healthy.

    ¡°Are we nearly there yet?¡± The fighter called out in a purposefully annoying sing-song tone. She grinned as the ranger responded with a grunt, his face twisted into a scowl that betrayed his attempts to hide his reaction.

    ¡°We will get there when we get there.¡± The ranger replied as he steered the party around an unstable patch of earth. ¡°Not a moment before and not a moment afterwards.¡± He pushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes revealing pointed elvish ears.

    ¡°Oh lighten up Mr serious fun killer!¡± The mage laughed as he elbowed the ranger teasingly. ¡°You know she¡¯s just messing with you, right V?¡±

    ¡°For the last time, stop giving me nicknames, it¡¯s Vaati! Not V, not Vex and certainly not Vivi!¡± Vaati snapped as his irritation finally got the better of him. ¡°Just because you like to shorten names doesn¡¯t mean the rest of us do, Bartholomew.¡±

    ¡°Meh.¡± Bartholomew the mage shrugged as he tried to shake some dirt off of his blue cloth robes. ¡°They¡¯re more for my sake than anyone else¡¯s, besides I let you call me Bart, so it¡¯s fair right?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Vaati let out an exasperated sigh as he distracted himself by fiddling with his leather armour. Finally he turned to the last member of the party. ¡°Luna please, back me up here.¡± He pleaded.

    Luna the cleric rubbed her chin in contemplation, letting her white robes flow freely as her long light brown hair wavered in the wind. Her other hand clutched a plain metal staff that was only slightly shorter than her with a red gem on top.

    ¡°Bart, try not to be too annoying.¡± She spoke with a sense of finality. ¡°Vaati, you should be used to this by now, if you don¡¯t want to get involved in his madness then you need to learn to ignore him.¡± Last but not least, Luna gestured to the fighter with her staff. ¡°Marigold, stop walking in front of Vaati, you¡¯ll block his line of sight.¡±

    Marigold blushed slightly as she slowed down, not having realised that she¡¯d started walking at the front of the party by instinct. Bart let out a chuckle at his teammate¡¯s mistake, whilst Vaati once again focused on navigation.  The mountain they needed to get too was in sight, yet he still kept a keen eye open in search of potential ambush spots.

    ¡°So¡­ Are we nearly there yet?¡± Marigold called out again, this time more seriously. This still elicited a groan from Vaati and a chuckle from Bart, so it was Luna who gave her an answer.

    ¡°If the magical readings from the guilds magi are correct then the new dungeon should be in that mountain over there.¡± She spoke in a dull tone whilst not once turning her head to face Marigold. ¡°The most magically attuned of us should be able to feel where the dungeon is when we draw near, considering our party composition the first to do so should be Bart¡­¡±

    ¡°Found it!¡± Bart cried out in glee as he pointed at one side of the mountain. ¡°I can feel it, it¡¯s just on the other side of that big hill thingy over there!¡±

    ¡°You mean it¡¯s on the other side of the mountain.¡± Vaati corrected absentmindedly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I just said?¡± Bart¡¯s tone was seeped in naivety, but the smirk on his face gave the joke away.

    Luna and Vaati shared a look of suffering between each other, while Marigold simply ignored Bart¡¯s strange sense of humour. Still the group pressed onwards, walking around the mountain until they came face to face with the dungeon entrance.

    ¡°Hey, why¡¯s there grass growing here?¡± Bart spoke up suddenly, causing the rest of the party to look at the ground where he was pointing.

    Surrounding the entrance to the dungeon in a neat semi-circle was a small patch of grass that seemed to have grown in spite of the inhospitable environment.

    While most of the group tried to figure out what this meant, Luna remembered the answer almost immediately.

    ¡°It¡¯s the dungeon,¡± she answered calmly. ¡°Dungeons act like filters for mana, removing impurities and indirectly encouraging the growth of flora and fauna. Normally this effect is difficult to notice, since it just makes nearby plants grow a bit faster, here though¡­ It¡¯s making life grow and develop where none should be. It is truly fascinating.¡± A hint of excitement leaked into Luna¡¯s normally dull voice as she shared her knowledge.

    ¡°Right, so nothing to worry about then!¡± Bart exclaimed jovially. ¡°Just some plants and stuff, not freaky dungeon plant monsters.¡±

    ¡°While it¡¯s not something to fear exactly, it is certainly worth paying attention to,¡± Vaati pointed out drily as he hefted his bow into a more comfortable combat ready position. ¡°Personally I¡¯m looking forward to seeing this land filled with life, if the effect spreads far enough people may choose to settle here in the near future.¡±

    ¡°Come on Vaati!¡± Marigold cried out as she drew her broadsword. ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be excited by some grass when we¡¯re about to go dungeon diving!?¡±

    ¡°Of course he¡¯s excited Marigold!¡± Bart answered before Vaati could respond. ¡°After all, he¡¯s the V elf! In fact¡­¡± A grin threatened to split Bart¡¯s face as he opened his mouth to inhale air dramatically. A sense of dread hit Vaati, who tried to interrupted his comrade but was too late to stop him from opening his mouth again.

    ¡°Virtuous Vaati valiantly vanquishes villainous vagabonds!¡± Bart shouted with gravitas, as he pointed at Vaati with great conviction and pride.

    Vaati shot an arrow at him.

    The bolt flew fast and true, following its masters aim to perfection. Fortunately for Bart, the ranger had not been aiming to kill him so the arrow soared over his head, barely brushing his short brown hair before carrying on and striking the ground far behind him.

    ¡°You could have killed me!¡± Bart yelped as he touched his hair just to make sure it was all still there.

    ¡°I could have.¡± Vaati remarked calmly. ¡°But I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°¡­Why not?¡± Bart couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°You actually used my full name for once.¡± He answered with a small smirk. ¡°I¡¯m hoping that it is a sign of improvement, if it is not however¡­¡± Vaati knocked another arrow just to make a point.

    Luna rolled her eyes as she watched the byplay between her teammates. It had taken her some time to get used to the antics of her fellow adventurers, but over the year that had passed since their team had been formed she¡¯d learned how to balance their eccentricities.

    She knew from experience that neither the mage nor the ranger escalate to actually trying to hurt each other without extreme outside influence. Bart would tell a joke, Vaati would respond either with annoyance, wit or both and it would happen again and again whilst they travelled.

    Still the two had managed to develop a strange sort of comradery based around their conversations that no amount of bothering each other would break. Still they would sometimes start their little word fights at the worst of times, when that happened they needed either herself or Marigold to get them to focus.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    For a few seconds Luna debated whether or not to intervene, but one look at Marigold¡¯s face quickly convinced her otherwise. The fighter¡¯s expression was slowly twisting into one of impatience and frustration, a sign that it wouldn¡¯t be long until¡­

    ¡°Alright you two break it up!¡± Marigold yelled as she swung her sword, letting it impact the ground with an audible thunk as it pierced the earth. ¡°We have a dungeon to raid and report on! So let¡¯s go squish some little monsters!¡±

    Marigolds rage, Luna mused, could always be relied on to stop the two from bickering whenever she was spoiling for a fight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get into formation.¡± Luna spoke up as she shifted the way she held her staff from its normal place by her side to a more combat orientated stance. ¡°Marigold, you take first position, Vaati follow her and watch out for traps, Bart you hold back in third and I¡¯ll bring up the rear.¡±

    With a level of professionalism one wouldn¡¯t expect from a team that seemed to be arguing so much, they quickly fell into formation with weapons drawn and minds focused on their goal.

    ¡°Indigo Raiders! Advance!¡± Marigold yelled as she began walking onwards, her metal armour shining in the daylight like a polished mirror.

    The entire team marched into the first room of the dungeon, the silence only interrupted by the trudging sound of their shoes hitting the soil. Soon the tunnel they had entered widened out into an open cave that was shaped like a half sphere.

    The party of adventurers paused as they entered, surveying the room for signs of traps or other irregularities. Noticing these small oddities could mean the difference between life and death.

    The first thing the group noticed was how smooth the stone of the walls, ceiling and floor were, almost completely void of curves and irregularities in the rock, not even a single stalactite or stalagmite to break up the obviously artificial cave.

    If the adventurers held any doubts of this being a new-born dungeon they were dispelled immediately by this. As experienced dungeon divers they recognised the incredibly plain design of the room as proof that it had only been formed recently by a young core.

    As the group absorbed this information, they also noticed that the room was not empty. Six large red monster beetles were milling about at the other end of the room, seemingly unaware of the intruders in the dungeon.

    Unfortunately before the Indigo raiders could capitalise on this, all of the beetles snapped to attention, their heads and pincers turned to face the invaders in eerie unison.

    The silence stretched on for a few moments as both groups stared each other down, the adventurers standing as still as statues whilst the beetles squeezed their pincers menacingly.

    Then as if a hidden secret signal had been given, the six beetles charged.

    Vaati and Bart responded first, with finely honed reflexes the elf ranger loosed the arrow he had knocked earlier. Meanwhile Bart had begun waving his wooden wand around in a simple pattern, letting his mana flow into his casting tool of choice.

    An icicle formed right in front of the mages body, it floated in the air for a moment before one last motion from Bart sent it flying in the direction of the monsters.

    The arrow impacted first, piercing the monster¡¯s exoskeleton near its head and lodging firmly in the wound. The beetle shrieked in pain as the shock forced it to halt its advance, the blow not being immediately fatal thanks to the creatures natural defences, yet it was still debilitating.

    A different beetle was struck with the ice lance, cutting directly through its head. Unlike the arrow however the icicle had been fortunate enough to be aimed directly at the creature¡¯s brain, a lethal blow that caused the beetle to drop lifelessly to the ground in an instant.

    The remaining four uninjured continued their charge, undeterred by the fates of their comrades. A grin formed on Marigold¡¯s face as she widened her stance, purposefully making herself a bigger target to shield her teammates.

    The first of the beetles to reach the fighter made the mistake of charging her head on. It was quickly shown the grievous nature of its error as Marigold lowered her sword and let the charging creature impale itself on her blade, the beast unable to halt its momentum in time to avoid getting skewered.

    While Marigold was distracted with the first charging bug, a second leapt at her from the side, angling its sharp pincers directly at her throat.

    The blow did not land however, the fighter simply raised her gauntlet and caught the attack on her armoured limb. The weight of the bug and the strength of the blow didn¡¯t even phase her as she sent it flying with shake of her arm.

    It was now, with two beetles dead and another badly wounded, that the worm arrived.

    Bursting out of the ground with an awful cry of rage, three monster worms with skin like stone appeared. The trio of beast each ignored the incredibly strong fighter and made a beeline towards the other adventurers that she was protecting, while the remaining beetles kept her distracted.

    Seeing two of the worms coming from his left, Bart quickly weaved his wand in a slightly more complex pattern than the one he used for his last spell. This time a thin wave of ice exploded from the tip of his wand, the magical effect quickly expanding and striking the two worms simultaneously.

    The monster worm duo shrieked as the ice wave swept over them, the magical frost covering their stony flesh and locking them in place. The two worms were rendered helpless in seconds, unable to move their bodies for even the smallest of wriggles.

    Quickly taking advantage of his foes unfortunate predicament, Vaati knocked another arrow and began pouring his magical energy into it. He needed to make sure that his arrows could pierce the skin of the beasts, charging them with some mana would certainly help with that.

    While Bart and Vaati handled worm¡¯s one and two, the third worm had approached from the right of the party and was now barrelling towards Luna at a rapid pace.

    Easily sighting her approaching adversary, Luna showed not a single flicker of panic on her nearly expressionless face as she swung her staff around to face her attacker.

    The worm dove in to the ground before once again bursting out of the earth, the beast angled its body sideways, looking to wrap itself around the adventurer¡¯s legs and crush them.

    Luna didn¡¯t give it that chance, her staff glowed with golden light as she channelled arcane power through it. Using the base of her staff like a spear she thrusted it directly at the centre of the worms body, the magical energy coating her weapon smashing through the stone tough skin with ease and sent the worm flying.  It was dead and broken from the impact long before it hit the floor.

    Back with Marigold, she had the three remaining beetle monsters dancing to her tune. Despite the enemies superior numbers her skill, strength and experience more than made up the difference. Already she had cleaved another bug in two and cut off the front legs of a second.

    As she battled aside the last uninjured bug and delivered the coup-de-grace against the one she had just de-legged, Marigold added mentally another point to her kill count. With only one weak enemy left to fight, she quickly went in for the finishing blow.

    Vaati and Bart had made short work of the two stone worms that had attacked them, Vaati¡¯s magically enhanced arrows almost completely ignoring their normally formidable defence. With most of the monsters dead the ranger turned his attention towards the beetle he had injured at the beginning of the fight.

    The red creature had spent most of the battle after it was injured keeping to the edges of the room, as if it was unsure what it should do now that it had such a heavy wound, complete with lodged arrow. Still the distance between the bug and the party didn¡¯t save it when Vaati loosed one last arrow that struck the creature in the eye and finished it off.

    The fighting was over and none of the Indigo raiders had even broken a sweat.

    Luna spoke up first.

    ¡°Thoughts?¡± She asked in a dull tone flavoured with only the barest hints of curiosity.

    ¡°The beetles were weak.¡± Marigold answered as she began looking over her armour for dents. ¡°Even a seed class guy or gal could take them one on one with only a few scrapes, saplings would waltz all over a fair fight and a good one could probably fight three or four at once.¡± She let out a pleased grunt as she noticed her armour had held up well.

    ¡°The worms are more worrisome though.¡± Vaati went next, taking the opportunity to try and salvage some of his fired arrows. ¡°That skin looks rough to break, not to mention their tunnelling ability create a lot of ambush possibilities.¡± With a yank he pulled an arrow out of one of the bugs, letting out a sigh as he noticed the head had broken.

    ¡°Physical resistance certainly didn¡¯t help them against magic though,¡± Bart pointed out, letting some professionalism leak into his demeanour. ¡°They¡¯re obviously too much for a single seed class adventurer to take, but a decent sapling should be able to handle the extra defence.¡±

    ¡°Certainly,¡± Vaati agreed begrudgingly. ¡°That is if they were dealing with just a single monster. One sapling against a hoard of monsters like we had here would be quickly overwhelmed. A group of sapling class adventures however would fare much better.¡±

    Luna listened quietly as her teammates discussed the strength of the dungeon¡¯s monsters, it was one of the many things they would need to note in their report about the dungeon once they finished their journey and returned to Ulifer. She was about to offer her own opinion when someone interrupted.

    ¡°Hey Luna.¡± Marigold waved her gauntlet in front of her cleric ally, snapping her out of her thoughts. ¡°Do you have any idea what kind of monsters these are? I¡¯ve never heard of these giant red beetles or stone worms before.¡± This was not an unusual question for the fighter to ask, between the two of them Luna had always been the more academically inclined.

    Seeing a chance to show off some of her knowledge while also helping her teammates, Luna froze for a second as she contemplated what to say. While she was almost one hundred percent sure she knew what the beetles were, the identity of the stone worms alluded her.

    Eventually she decided to tell her party what she knew, though it pained her somewhat to admit to lacking knowledge, her responsibilities to help the group in any way possible came first.

    ¡°The large bugs are called giant fire mountain beetles.¡± Luna began, using her staff to gesture to one of the corpses. ¡°They are a monster variation of a much smaller insect rather unimaginatively named fire mountain beetles, they absorb fire based mana from the environment to survive and can withstand extreme amounts of heat from natural sources.¡± After pausing to confirm that the rest of the party was still listening to her explanation, Luna continued on.

    ¡°Fire mountain beetles are only birthed in areas where the average level of heat and fire based mana is rather high, such as near a volcano. A powerful enough magic user could create the correct conditions artificially, though it would be difficult. The fact that there are giant fire mountain beetles here also means their non-monster counterparts must be here as well, so they have something to evolve from, see?¡± Luna pointed at a small ruby coloured bug on the wall, proving her point.

    ¡°The worms however¡­¡± Luna gently touched her chin with her hand, her eyes seemed to stare into nothingness as if she was in deep thought. This only lasted for about a second or two before Luna snapped out of it and mentally berated herself for hesitating.

    ¡°The worms are a kind I have neither seen nor read about.¡± She finally said, the words now spoken felt even heavier than they had been in her thoughts, but she ploughed on regardless. ¡°While giant burrowing worms are nothing new, ones with stone flesh certainly are. I honestly know nothing about this species.¡± Once Luna finished, but before anyone else could speak, Bart began to chuckle.

    ¡°Yes!¡± He cheered between bouts of laughter. ¡°I knew you didn¡¯t know everything Lulu, now I finally have proof!¡± Bart waved his wand around, causing little lights formed from mana to dance around his head in a merry jig as he kept laughing.

    It took all of Luna¡¯s years of practice in focus and meditation to not immediately bash Bart¡¯s head in with her staff. Even then she couldn¡¯t stop the beginning of a scowl from forcing its way on to her normally blank face.

    Quickly noticing Luna¡¯s agitation at Bart¡¯s sense of humour, Vaati quickly moved the conversation forward.

    ¡°So we¡¯ll be collecting samples on the way out for the guild?¡± Vaati asked, barely managing to not breathe a sigh of relief when Luna¡¯s expression returned to normal and she nodded.

    ¡°Enough of all this!¡± Marigold yelled, her voice drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°We¡¯re in a dungeon for crying out loud, sure it¡¯s young and the monster are weak but we should be fighting them instead of talking about stupid stuff!¡± The agitation and eagerness in Marigold¡¯s voice was blindingly obvious.

    ¡°What we are discussing is very important to our guild mission, recon and report remember?¡± Luna asked rhetorically. ¡°Still¡­ we have enough information on this room now so it should be fine to push on to the next one.¡± The Indigo raiders quickly moved into the same formation they had entered the dungeon with and once again pressed onwards.

 Chapter 6 - Into the Belly of the Beast

    As Marigold and company moved on into the second room of the dungeon, she couldn¡¯t help but notice a drastic increase in temperature. Truthfully the whole team felt it, but as the only one in metal armour she had the worst of it.

    Just as she was about take a step into the room, however¡­

    ¡°STOP!¡± Vaati yelled, just before Marigold put her foot down. Immediately the entire party halted and she turned to the ranger with a single eyebrow raised.

    ¡°Trap or ambush?¡± Marigold asked, figuring that if Vaati was having them stop, it had to be one or the other, which was the reason why they always stopped when he called for it.

    ¡°Definitely a trap, maybe an ambush.¡± Vaati confirmed, pushing past Marigold to get a better look at the room. ¡°See the floor there? It¡¯s cracked in just the right places to reduce its ability to bear weight. If just one of us stepped on it we¡¯d be fine, but two or more and the whole floor will collapse,¡± he explained, as he gave the room a thorough once over with his eyes alone. That¡¯s when he spotted his foe.

    Waiting patiently on the ceiling of the room was a single giant beetle, silently it clung there preparing to drop down on them when they passed beneath.

    ¡°And there¡¯s the ambush.¡± Vaati drew and knocked an arrow as fast as he could, meanwhile the beetle must have realised they¡¯d spotted it. The bug spread its wings and began buzzing down towards them, deciding to fly instead of dropping down, now the element of surprise had been lost.

    The arrow cut through the air with both speed and ferocity, the point easily broke through the creature¡¯s underbelly and lodged there firmly. The sudden pain caused the beetle to fall, temporarily losing control of its flight, due to the haze of agony that overcame it.

    Before the beast could hit the floor Vaati drew another arrow, though this time instead of using his bow, he held the arrow in his hand and jammed the pointed end into the creature as it fell. The blow proved enough to finish it off, as the beetle let out a mournful chitter before it went limp.

    With the immediate danger over, Vaati shoved the bug off to the side before examining the room once more, trying to figure out the best way to deal with the trap. Eventually he decided on a solution he was happy with and turned to his companions.

    ¡°We should sidle along the walls of the room,¡± he began. ¡°The trap doesn¡¯t cover the entire floor, just most of it. As long as we stick to the walls we should be safe.¡±

    After getting back into proper formation, the Indigo raiders slowly made their way around the trap, pushing and sliding against and along the wall as much as they reasonably could.

    ¡°So¡­ if it¡¯s just a pitfall trap, why is this room so hot?¡± Bart asked dubiously as he kept casting spells to make the air cooler.

    ¡°It is most likely a lava pitfall trap,¡± both Vaati and Luna said at the same time. While Vaati stopped explaining there, Luna kept going. ¡°The trap being filled with lava would explain both the increase in temperature, as well as how the fire mountain beetles can survive here, they must be eating the ambiant mana from the lava in the trap.¡±

    Eventually the Indigo raiders reached the end of the room, Marigold took the opportunity to take a look into the third room, taking a head count of the monsters there before reporting it back to her team.

    ¡°Eight Fire mountain beetles, four on the ground and four on the ceiling.¡± She started talking about the monsters the way one might read down a shopping list. ¡°Can¡¯t see any of those worm things, but that doesn¡¯t mean much, plus all of the bugs look like they¡¯re staring right at the door. I think they¡¯re waiting for us.¡± Marigold punctuated her last sentence by pounding a fist against her armour excitedly.

    ¡°Oh! Oh! Can I solo the room? Please please please please please!¡± Bart begged to his teammates. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I got to explode a room!¡± He got on his knees and clasped his hands together in prayer, as his teammates watched on in exasperation.

    ¡°It should be fine,¡± Luna admitted. ¡°As long as the rest of us stand by to assist, Bart should be more than capable of taking down the whole dungeon by himself. He is a branch class like the rest of us after all¡­ Even if he doesn¡¯t act like it.¡± Luna mumbled the last part to herself.

    ¡°Hey! it¡¯s just one room in a new born dungeon, I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Bart sprang to his feet and moved to the front of the party. ¡°Alright, let me just get this ready¡­¡±

    This time as Bart began to wave his wand, the motions he made were much faster and complex than any of those he¡¯d used in the dungeon before. After a few seconds of preparing his spell, Bart walked into the third room, the rest of his comrades trailing behind as his magic weaving picked up speed.

    As the mage entered their line of sight, all the beetles in the room turned to face him, just like the ones at the start of the dungeon did. Before they could do anymore however, Bart finished his final motion and with one final thrust he yelled.

    ¡°I CAST HEALING SPELL!¡± he roared at the top of his lungs.

    There was a moment of silence after Bart¡¯s declaration, just long enough for Vaati to groan in exasperation and Luna to roll her eyes.

    Then the room exploded.

    A pillar of force and flame surged in the centre of the room before combusting with great power in every single direction, except towards the corridor where Bart was standing.

    The beetles sitting on the ceiling stood no chance, they were squashed against the hard stone by unrelenting force and died almost immediately. The ones on the floor fared slightly better, but even they were had all been incapacitated by either debilitating injury or fatal wounds.

    Naturally, upon seeing the carnage he had wrought, Bart was feeling rather proud of himself. He turned to the rest of his team and happily took in Vaati¡¯s scathing glare and Luna¡¯s deadpan stare. It was however nice to see that Marigold also had a big grin on her face, clearly she also appreciated the destructive arts.

    ¡°You called it a healing spell,¡± Luna stated, her dry tone masking her emotions well enough that Bart couldn¡¯t truly read her.

    ¡°Yes?¡± He did like where this was going though.

    ¡°That was not a healing spell.¡± She stated simply.

    ¡°Actually, it was a psychological healing spell,¡± Bart claimed, silently waiting for Luna¡¯s inevitable question.

    ¡°¡­How?¡± she asked eventually, confusion and curiosity sprinkled in her voice with equal measure.

    ¡°I happen to find exploding monsters to be very therapeutic. I¡¯m honestly surprised you don¡¯t Luna,¡± Bart finished with a cheeky grin.

    His efforts were reward by a silent glare from Luna and a much more audible groan of exasperation from Vaati.

    Suddenly the ranger stiffened, his eyes swivelled left and right as his ears began picking up the sound of¡­ something.

    Something coming from beneath them.

    Before he could warn his teammates however, the ground burst open as five of the stone worms leapt from the ground, all of them targeting the mage they had so foolishly thought would be safe in such a new-born dungeon.

    Two worms flung themselves at his legs, their sheer weight causing his bones to break with a sickening crunch. Screaming in pain Bart fell to the floor, as the two worms clinging to his leg coiled around them and constricted, forcing immense pressure and pain on his already cracked bones.

    The second he hit the floor, the remaining three worms sprang out of the ground on both of his sides and begin wrapping themselves around his chest, constricting tighter and tighter as they threatened to crush his ribcage right into his lungs.

    The worms were not the only one¡¯s moving however. Marigold charged forward swinging her sword in a deadly and precise cleave. The blade glowed a light gold as she brought it down, cutting through all three of the monsters that were crushing Bart¡¯s chest in a single strike.

    Vaati could only watch on as his comrades leapt to Bart¡¯s aid, he was near powerless to help them. If he tried to fire his bow at the beasts he might accidently miss and harm the very person he was trying to help. So Vaati made himself as useful as he could, standing guard with bow armed and ready in case more monsters showed up.

    Luna did not have the same problem, she ran forward and once more pushed mana into her staff. She brought her weapon around in a sweeping motion, before impaling the shining staff through both of the remaining worms simultaneously.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Only a few seconds after the five worms had arrived, they had been easily dispatched, but the damage was already done.

    None of three uninjured members of the Indigo raiders wasted any of their now vital time with words. Marigold and Vaati took up guard around Bart, who was still screaming in agony. Luna dropped down next to his head and placed the gem on the tip of her staff on his forehead.

    Moving as fast as she dared, Luna began running her mana through her injured teammates body, the magical energy flowing with a gentleness that only came through years of practice. After a few seconds that seemed to stretch on forever, Luna finished the diagnostics portion of her healing.

    The damage was by far the worst in the legs, bones smashed and crushed into unnatural and painful angles that tore through muscles and nerves alike. Up at the chest, the ribcage had held up better with far fewer signs of damage, but Luna knew that if the worms had been able to keep their assault up, the bones would have punctured the lungs only a few second later.

    Entering a state of upmost concentration, Luna weaved much more mana through her staff and in to her patients battered body. Lines and circles of energy shifted and tied bone together, while rivers of power flowed through cells, encouraging and sometimes forcing growth and repair at an incredibly rapid rate.

    In only a few minutes, the only visible evidence that remained of Bart¡¯s injures were a few light scars along his legs. Luna took a deep breath as she stood up, only to nearly stumble as a bout of light-headedness hit her. It was a clear sign that she had spent too much mana in a very short amount of time, so now she needed to wait to recover enough to cast more spells.

    With their injured comrade now stable, but also unconscious and their cleric needing a few minutes of well-deserved rest, Vaati and Marigold both contained to stand guard, their eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly as they listened closely for sounds that might give away the arrival of more attackers.

    It only took a little while for the lack of communication between the three to become an awkward silence. None of the party members wishing to speak, due to the strong mixture of embarrassment and shame that hung over them.

    ¡°We were careless.¡± Luna¡¯s statement broke through the stifling silence. ¡°Our pride in our abilities and confidence in our superiority over the dungeon led to recklessness. If that ambush had played out differently there is a good chance we would be down one Bart right now.¡±

    The blunt and brutal honesty in that statement caused both Vaati and Marigold to wince. It was unfortunately true that the ease with which they¡¯d dispatched the dungeons monsters had gone to their head, so much so that not only had they let the physically weakest party member take on a room alone, they had been unable to respond quickly to the ambush that had nearly killed him.

    ¡°My¡­ fault.¡± Bart¡¯s hoarse voice spluttered out as he returned to consciousness, he tried to stand but Luna restrained him and forced him to lay down. ¡°Thought I¡¯d killed them all¡­ forgot about the worms.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready for them either.¡± Marigold argued. ¡°It¡¯s my job to protect you guys from getting beat up, if I hadn¡¯t been caught off guard those monsters wouldn¡¯t have gotten near you.¡± Her bitter voice reverberated around the chamber as she openly blamed herself.

    Bart shook his head slowly, before responding in a condescending tone that one might use if they were explaining something to a particularly young child.

    ¡°My plan,¡±he shakily gestured to himself. ¡°My wounds, my mistakes, my fault.¡± Bart spoke slowly, though whether he was doing so because of his injures or just to be even more condescending was very much up for debate.

    ¡°Should we turn back?¡± Vaati asked hesitantly.  He wished to continue onwards, but knew that it would have to be a group decision whether they should continue or not.

    The rest of the Indigo raiders paused in thought for a moment before shaking their heads in unanimous disagreement, between them however Luna was the only one to explain her reasoning.

    ¡°After a few more minutes of rest we should be well enough to venture onwards. The dungeon cannot be much larger, the end should only be a room or two ahead.¡± The other members of the party agreed with her assessment, so they simply waited.

    After a few minutes with no new monster attacks, Bart was able to stand and walk around fairly well, the healing magic having done wonders to regenerate his body. Luna also looked better, with most signs of magical exhaustion having deserted her shortly after they arrived.

    With the entire group now in good enough health to continue, they decided to press on into the next room.

    The fourth room of the dungeon looked similar to all the others, the walls and all other surfaces were unnaturally smooth. The only noticeable difference with this chamber was that the ceiling seemed to be a couple of meters higher.

    There was also the fact that said ceiling had a gargantuan titan of a beetle resting on it.

    Before any of the Indigo raiders could act, the beetle dropped down and performed a rather impressive display of acrobatics so that it landed legs first. Then the beast reared back onto its hind legs, revealing it to be carrying two large swords each about the height of a small adult.

    Now that the titan beetle was standing up, they could see that it stood to be only slightly shorter than two Bart¡¯s stacked on top of each other. The creature¡¯s large size combined with its crude blades made for an intimidating looking foe, even for these veteran adventurers.

    ¡°Boss monster!¡± Marigold yelled as the titan charged forward with a horrific screech. Its lumbering footsteps coming closer and closer as the beast brought one of its swords down for a clumsy sweep.

    It was too slow though, before it could strike the adventurers with what would have been a powerful blow, Bart finished channelling energy through his wand and with a flick called forth his arcane power.

    The beetle¡¯s crude sword collided with a purple barrier that had not been there a moment ago. The sound of metal striking magic made a sound not unlike a gong, which reverberated around the chamber as the sword bounced off Bart¡¯s shield.

    The beast did not let up though, unwilling to give the adventures even a moment¡¯s reprieve it swung again. This time it brought both of its swords to bear, wielding them like mighty clubs it tried to bludgeon the barrier into submission.

    Once again the gong like sound rattled the chamber, though this time it was accompanied by a crackling sound as fractures and faults appeared on the shield. The mana construct flickered and wavered slightly from the damage before solidifying once again, though it was obviously weakened.

    ¡°MOVE!¡± Bart yelled as the beetle moved in for a third strike. A horrifying tearing sound emanated from the barrier as the blades dug into its surface. The shield shattered completely, offering no more resistance as the titan beetle¡¯s swords continued their deadly motion down towards the now unshielded adventures.

    Luckily the beetle was once again too slow, the Indigo raiders had already scattered, putting as much distance between themselves and the giant monster as they could, while spreading out around the chamber.

    Making a snap decision and sacrificing strength for speed, Vaati fired an arrow at the beetles back, hoping to distract it. The shot flew well and true, it struck the titan beetle¡¯s shining ruby red shell with a solid hit.

    Unfortunately the arrow failed to penetrate the shell, its shaft snapped as the projectile fell away from its target harmlessly. The shot had certainly gained the beetles attention however, as it turned and scrapped its sword together menacingly before charging the ranger.

    Seeing her comrade in danger, Luna barrelled towards the monster as fast as her legs could carry her. The titan beetle noticed her approach however and swung one of its swords in her general direction. The blade forced her to drop to the floor in a dodge, letting the weapon pass over her, the sword coming so close to her that she could feel the force of the air being displaced by the attack.

    While her assault had failed to harm the beetle, Luna had succeed in distracting it long enough for Marigold to position herself between the beast and Vaati.

    The monster saw this but was not deterred, once again one giant blade soared through the air, the beetle intending to take out both adventurers in a single strike.

    Watching the attack with a practiced eye, Marigold saw her opportunity. Taking a combat stance that would allow the impact force to spread optimally around her body, she hefted her sword into the path of the much larger weapon.

    The two blades collided with each other, Marigold grimaced in pain as the weight and power behind the blade tried to break her. Still she held her ground, the two metal swords grinding against each other with sparks flying everywhere.

    Surprisingly between the two blades, it was her weapon that was holding up better. The titan beetle¡¯s sword seemed to fall apart slightly, as bits of metal were carved off and the fractures caused by the blades crude nature grew larger. It was this surprising sight that gave Marigold an idea that was either going to work really well or go horribly wrong.

    ¡°Bart!¡± she yelled, as she disengaged and tried to put some space between her and the beetle. ¡°Freeze the sword!¡± The monster had stumbled for a moment when its adversary suddenly backed away, but it would not be long until it struck again.

    Choosing not to question his teammate¡¯s idea, Bart threw a ball of magical frost at the beast. The ball hit one of its swords and exploded, spreading cold ice mana all over the blade.

    While the titan beetle ignored the attack with ease, a layer of ice quickly cover the weapon that had been struck. Sheer cold seeped into the cracks and fractures in the metal, pushing at the weak spots in the destabilising blade.

    Either ignorant or uncaring about what had just occurred, the monster tried to hit the heavily armoured fighter in front of it with the frozen sword.

    This time though when Marigold blocked the blow, the beetle¡¯s blade shattered in an instant. Pieces of frozen metal went flying everywhere, leaving the beast to stare in something akin to shock at the broken weapon hilt it was holding.

    Taking advantage of the distraction, Luna leapt at the monster, her staff glowing with magical energy as she rammed it into the hand holding the other sword.

    Like a finely sharpened spear, the staff pierced through the strange hand-like appendage. Screeching in pain the beetle dropped the sword, as blood and ichor flowed from the wound.

    With their opponent disarmed and wounded, Vaati prepared a power shot while Marigold charged forward using her sword like a lance.

    Marigold hit first, her blade burrowing into the beasts abdomen with a sickening squelched. As she withdrew the blade and the wound began to weep vital fluid, the titan beetle threw back its head and roared in a monstrous voice that screamed of pain and suffering.

    That was when Vaati¡¯s arrow struck the beast in its now exposed neck, the arrow finding purchase and cutting through the creature¡¯s thick protective exoskeleton.

    The monster¡¯s roar was cut off as it turned into a horrendous choking sound, wounded well past the point it could handle. The beast stumbled slightly, before the weight of its shell combined with its pain and bloodless addled state sent it tumbling down onto its back, like a great tree being felled.

    After only a few moments of panicked struggling, the monster¡¯s hopeless flailing grew weaker and weaker.

    Until finally, it stopped.

    As the titan went limp, the group all breathed a sigh of relief.

    They had won.

    While the rest of the Indigo raiders looked themselves and their teammates over for signs of injury, Bart walked up to the massive corpse and gazed thoughtfully at it.

    ¡°Hey guys¡­¡± The other three looked at Bart as he spoke, wondering what he was about to say after such an intense battle.

    ¡°Does anyone feel like having beetle tonight?¡±

    Exasperated groans and the sound of a palm meeting a forehead filled the dungeon.