《The Bound Dungeon》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter One


    Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.


    Pan¡¯s mind was shaken, and he was unable to form a coherent thought, aside from mental screams of pain and a few nonsensical strings of curse words. Everything had gone terribly wrong since the moment he had awoken. He remembered waking to the screams of his family, and the smell of smoke. He had burst out of his room in a flurry of rage and anger only to be seized by the skeletal hands of some unseen assailant. He had felt a painful blow to the back of his head, and the next thing he knew, he was here.


    When his eyes opened he realized he was held aloft by some manacles shackled to his wrists and had a rag stuffed into his mouth. He struggled for only half moment before he realized that his thrashing only caused severe pain in his overexerted shoulders. He was hanging in the air after all. Looking around, Pan hoped to find some way to escape his current predicament. What his eyes landed on, however, was what he could only assume was his captor, as well as obviously a necromancer.


    His profession was made clear by the skeletal assistants flanking him as he stirred what Pan could only guess was the vilest of concoctions. The skeletons were handing him ingredients as he called for them, all with predictably dreadful names. He was pretty sure the Elves Ears the cruel man called for were not the leaves of the vines often found crawling up old trees. And there was no other way to interpret the man''s call for a Heart of Man. Pan was sufficiently disturbed by the sight of the man leaching the alchemical properties from such detestable ingredients, and was even more concerned when he considered whatever was being made was probably intended for him.


    When Pan looked down he saw his feet dangled only inches over some strange formation that was carved into the unnaturally flat rock beneath his feet. At the center of the runic design was a small red gem. He felt some sort of energy emanating from the small marble, but before he could study it closer he heard a whistling sound and an excited laugh come from the direction of the necromancer. He looked over and saw the man was grinning madly, or at least the part Pan could see past his deep cowl. The mage, who looked almost as skeletal as his minions, started towards him. With a flick of his wrist, two skeletons started carrying the cauldron full of the result of whatever ghastly recipe the man had followed.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The man started checking the lines on the glyph below Pan¡¯s feet. After checking the entirety of the twenty-foot diameter formation, he nodded and the skeletons slowly poured the concoction into the grooves. The fluid coming from the cauldron was a sickly red, and very thin. Despite this, it was entirely opaque and exuded an aura of dread. Pan knew he didn¡¯t want that fluid anywhere near him, but he was helpless.


    Suddenly, he was grabbed by the skeletal hands of his captor¡¯s undead puppets, and his ankles were trapped in chains as well. Then they undid his wrists, as they hoisted him into the air by his feet. At the end of this maneuver, he found he was staring down at the gem, inches from his nose if he craned his neck to peer at it.


    When he looked back up he could see the necromancer was sprinkling a powder along the lines of the rune. When he finished he went to a stone altar that was directly in from of Pan. The man opened an old tome that lay on the altar and started chanting in a twisting guttural tongue that Pan couldn¡¯t even make out the sounds of. The words seemed to fall from his memory just as fast as the man spoke them. As the man chanted he could see a glow encompass the book. It was a deep red, like rotten blood, with black flecks in it. A similar aura started to leach out of the lines in the rune, and the liquid turned a brighter and more vibrant red.


    The chant reached a crescendo, and the mage drew a dagger and slashed his wrist. He let the blood fall into a silver bowl one of his dutiful skeletons held for him. When he was done, another bandaged his wrist, as the one with the bowl approached Pan. The necromancer followed close behind, his bleeding stopped, and continued chanting. Another skeleton brought a stand for the bowl over by Pan¡¯s head. He started thrashing now, his eyes wild with fear, as a primal instinct told him now was not the time to remain still. The mage cast a quick spell without breaking his chant, paralyzing Pan.


    The man crouched in front of his face, cradled his head with a bony hand, and slashed his throat with the dagger. Pan¡¯s world darkened in a flurry of blood and pain. He had no idea how the ritual proceeded after that, he was dead after all.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter Two


    When Pan came to, he did so without opening his eyes. He didn¡¯t know what was more distressing, the fact that he could see without opening his eyes, or the fact that he was still alive. He knew something was very wrong, as he could not feel his body. Or move at all for that matter. Whatever cruel magic the necromancer had performed had affected him in an unknown manner.


    What Pan could see, however, was a small room of gray stone, he could see the massive stone slab the glyph below him. After further consideration, Pan concluded he was in the same room, just everything but the slab with the gem had been removed. The room was roughly circular, and looked to be a natural cave, but the floor was unnaturally flat. Pan tried to expand his senses around him, but he couldn¡¯t see further than the entrance to the cave he was in. When he looked to the entrance, he couldn''t sense anything beyond it. Everything past the door was blackness.


    Pan also started to notice other oddities about his current situation. He found that he could turn and move his viewing angle with nothing but a thought, and he moved instantly within his room to the desired location. For some reason, he knew this room was his. He also noticed a concerning lack of strong emotions. He simply felt curiosity, anger, and possessiveness. He was curious about what happened and what was up with his new abilities. He was angry about the mage. And he felt possessive over his cave. He felt no distress over his death, for he knew now that the human Pan was surely dead. Pan, however, didn¡¯t care at all. All he wanted was to protect his room, his crystal, himself. And get revenge. But mostly the protect part.


    After a few minutes, Pan had acclimatized himself to his new form. He realized his consciousness, his soul, now existed inside the red gem at the center of the mage¡¯s glyph. He could feel the room, the very rock it was made of was his body. And the air in the room had a strange energy to it. That energy was his blood. He figured it had to be mana, but he could feel the mana much more deeply than he ever had before.


    Before his capture and untimely death, Pan had been training to be a mage''s apprentice, and hopefully, attend a college. He had some talent with magic, and could access his mana, but now it was different. A mage uses his mana to affect the world around him. Before, he would have to strain to the edges of his ability to feel the mana in the world around him, but now it was as easy as breathing. Anything in the room was part of him, and so was the mana. His mana was so much more a part of him now than it had ever been during his human life. He paused as he realized his affinity for mana may have been the reason the necromancer had selected him.


    However, he found one limitation. He couldn¡¯t cast a spell. He could grasp the mana and twist it to whatever spell form he wanted, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t make the mana do anything. When he formed a spell and released it, the mana dissipated back into the air in his room. He could move the mana through the room however he wanted. With some effort, he started pulling some mana towards himself, simply because it felt like the right thing to do. When he pulled the mana into his crystal, the whole world changed.


    Congratulations Dungeon


    You have taken the first step on the path of a dungeon and absorbed mana. This is your life essence, and you need it to survive. That crystal is your heart, if it dies, you die. Protect it. Good luck.


    New Skill: Dungeon Menu


    Think ¡®Menu¡¯ to bring up your dungeon menu. There you will receive information on everything you need to succeed as a dungeon.


    Pan was surprised, but opening and navigating the menu felt natural to him. it felt like a part of him. He remembered now how in his past life he had the status command to view all the pertinent information about himself. He supposed that he was now a dungeon, and this was simply his form of status.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 1


    Type: Sentient Dungeon (Bound)


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 1/10


    Rooms: 1


    Levels: 1


    Animals: 0


    Plants: 0


    Monsters: 0


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu]


    Dungeon Points: 0


    Achievements: N/A


    He could feel the meaning behind each section on his menu. He was level one. To advance, he would need to max out his mana capacity and gather ten mana. He would earn a name later, and if he was lucky some titles. The dungeon points would be earned by doing dungeon type stuff, and he could spend them in the dungeon store. The achievements would be earned if he accomplished anything noteworthy. His type confused him, however, as he had no idea what the "bound" part meant, but he had a nagging suspicion.


    As if to confirm this suspicion the necromancer strode into his room. He felt a burning anger build, how dare this man enter his room. How dare he approach his precious crystal. Pan wanted the man dead. He wanted to command legions of monsters to kill this man, but he had no legions. Or monsters.


    ¡°I see my experiment was a success,¡± spoke the necromancer to himself. In a louder voice, he stated, ¡°now, my little dungeon, you will do as I say, or I will kill you.¡± He paused as if waiting for a response, and when he got none he shrugged to himself and continued.


    ¡°You will summon undead for me, and since I am a necromancer, and your master, I can easily take command of them.¡± He waited another moment before continuing, ¡°now, I will provide you with what you need to summon them for me. I am tired of needing to dig up a body for every minion I make, and so you will create them for me directly. Is that clear?¡±


    Pan tried to find some way to respond, but couldn''t think of anything. He was basically just a glorified rock. A rock whose only way of influencing the outside world was through creatures he summoned. The mage, deciding he had made himself clear enough, and pulled a small blue stone from a pouch at his waist. He placed it on the ground and left the room.


    Pan focused on the stone when the man left. He knew it was important. When he reached his ephemeral hand out to it he felt that it was bursting with energy. He pulled on the stone and felt mana flow into him rapidly. He leveled up almost instantly.


    Level TwoIf you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Unlocks skill: Dungeon Manipulation


    Unlocks skill: Dungeon absorption


    Need 100 mana for level 3


    +10 Dungeon Points


    Dungeon Manipulation


    Can change and move the dungeon with mana.


    Dungeon Absorption


    Can absorb materials and items in the dungeon. Gain mana from absorptions. Items can be created using absorbed materials later with the dungeon creation skill.


    Pan immediately drew the mana stone under the floor of his dungeon and brought it closer to the center of his room. He wanted it near his heart, but found he couldn¡¯t manipulate the stone that the glyph holding his heart was carved into. He supposed that would be too easy, as the glyph obviously facilitated his bond. He would need to find some way to break the glyph later, if he ever was to gain his freedom. Every part of his being as a dungeon resented the wizard. Dungeons don¡¯t submit to control. He wouldn¡¯t submit to control forever. He. Would. Be. Free.


    He left the mana stone under his binding rune, and continued to absorb mana from it. When he finished draining the stone, he had reached level three.


    Level Three


    Unlock skill: Dungeon Creation


    Unlock skill: Dungeon expansion


    Need 250 mana for level four


    +10 Dungeon Points


    Dungeon Creation


    Level: 1


    Can create items that have previously been absorbed. Need to have required materials to create an item. Reach further levels to decrease mana cost and allow magic imbuements and modifications to items.


    Dungeon Expansion


    Expend mana to expand the dungeons territory.


    He Now had quite a bit of mana left over and decided to expand his territory. He didn¡¯t expand towards the door the necromancer was in, he knew he would feel his influence, and he knew he wouldn¡¯t be happy with Pan looking past this room. So he expanded away from the necromancer''s lair. He hated to cave into the man¡¯s demands, but he had no choice at the moment. He was still too weak. So he grew and bided his time.


    The expansion progressed slowly, so as he waited he started to absorb stone from the walls around him. He cleaned up the room and smoothed out the walls. He worked until he was in the center of a perfectly circular room, almost thirty feet across. His influence extended three feet into the walls around him, but he was reaching out a tendril of power into the rock behind him.


    The necromancer came back into his room. The man looked around, and his face grew dark and angry. Pan noticed now that he could peer through the shadows of the man¡¯s cowl, even with no light. The man was old, but his hair still held its color, despite his head not completely holding his hair. It was black and greasy. That didn¡¯t matter now, and there was anger growing in the man''s eyes.


    ¡°Where is my mana stone?¡± The man demanded. ¡°You were not supposed to absorb it, you were only to absorb the mana from it.¡±


    The man pulled out another, slightly larger, mana stone. He held it up and warned Pan. ¡°This better be here when I return. Or else.¡±


    He then placed the stone on the ground, and left the room again. Pan decided to head the man''s warnings for now and leave the stone alone. He absorbed the mana from the stone, and even though it held more mana than the previous stone, it had barely over one hundred and forty mana in it. Each level up drained all his mana, so he had nowhere near enough mana to reach level four.


    A while later the man came back in and smiled when he saw the drained stone still where he had left it. He picked the stone up and after a minute of concentration, it shone again, full of mana. He put it back down and left again. This time after draining it he leveled up again.


    Level Four


    Need 500 mana for level four


    +10 Dungeon Points


    After He leveled up he used some excess mana to build a pillar under the mana stone to hold it at about waist height for the necromancer. He wanted to look like he was complying with his demands and trying to be helpful. Really Pan just wanted to make the man more trusting and complacent. He would destroy the man, and he wanted every edge he could get.


    When the man came back he smiled at the sight of the stand and walked over to place his hand on the stone and fill it. Pan immediately tried to drain the stone, but found he couldn¡¯t with the man¡¯s presence disturbing the mana in the room. The fluctuations kept Pan from doing anything in the room. No wonder dungeons fought back through minions. His mana control was useless when enemies were close.


    The man continued this twice more, bringing Pan to almost level five, however, the next time the man came he brought one of his skeletons. He unceremoniously killed the skeleton with a few hits to the head from a club. When the skeleton died, Pan received a new message.


    A Skeleton has died in the dungeon


    +172 Mana


    Can now summon skeletons (when Summon Monster is unlocked)


    The man spoke again while he filled the stone.


    ¡°As soon as you are able you will start summoning skeletons for me. I will provide mana for this. I do not know how long it will take for this to be possible, but when you can I command you to do so.¡±


    After absorbing the last of the mana Pan reached level five.


    Level Five


    Unlock skill: Summon Plant


    Unlock skill: Summon Animal


    Unlock skill: Summon Monster


    Need 1000 mana for level six


    +10 Dungeon Points


    Summon Skeleton


    Cost: 150 Mana


    Pan was trapped. He was compelled to summon a skeleton as soon as he could, but he had no desire to do so. Luckily he didn¡¯t have enough mana, which he was thankful for. He needed time to plan, and he had a feeling that as soon as he started summoning skeletons he would lose even more of his freedom. He quickly pushed his excess mana into the mana stone he had hidden away. He needed a way to hide mana from the necromancer. Pan moved the stone to the back of the area he had claimed, as far from the wizard as he could get it. It was only about ten feet, but he hoped it would be enough.


    When the wizard came back and refilled the stone, he put his plan into action. By interpreting his orders as needing to summon a skeleton when he had one hundred and fifty mana stored in his crystal, not when he had that much at his disposal, he was able to shunt away the excess mana and keep from having to conjure a minion for his master. With that done, he started the riskiest part of his plan. He absorbed the empty mana stone on the pedestal. When he finished, he was able to create mana stones with his dungeon creation skill.


    With that done he started creating an exact copy of the stone he had just consumed. He grew closer and closer to the one hundred and forty-three mana cap of the stone, but started running out of mana too quickly. Pan started absorbing stone from behind the walls of the room to fuel the creation of the stone. The mana from the stone was pitiful, but he was able to complete the stone. When he was done he saw his dungeon creation skill had leveled up, slightly reducing the mana cost of creating items.


    He was happy to notice the mana stones were made from mostly the same materials as regular rocks, but just in a different and more compact crystalline form. Part one of his plan was successful, and he would be able to go to step two. He had been worried that he would be unable to create mana stones from the materials around him, but luckily he would be able to do that. And he would use the mana stones to hide mana from his "master."


    When the man came back he knew he would have to summon a skeleton soon. The man topped the stone off, thankfully without noticing any difference in it, and left. When he returned again Pan had no choice but to summon the skeleton.


    Using his mana instinctively he activated his summon monster skill. Immediately there was a rapid drain of mana and a skeleton appeared in the room, just behind the rune on the floor. When the man returned he was elated to see the skeleton there. Until it charged him. But the man''s smile didn¡¯t disappear and with a quick incantation the skeleton stopped and obeyed the man.


    Truthfully Pan had not ordered the skeleton to attack, however as part of the dungeon it resented any intruder and attacked. Unfortunately, the man had easily taken the skeleton under his control. He smiled the whole time he spent filing the gem with mana, and was grinning by the time he left the room.


    Pan used the mana from this run to start creating his own mana stone next to the one he had hidden away. He was no longer under the compulsion to summon a skeleton when his mana reached the necessary level, so he absorbed the hidden gem as well. With all the mana he had collected, he was able to make a gem that could store almost two hundred mana. After a few more trips from the man, he had expanded the stone to be able to store over five hundred. The stone remained empty since he had used all his mana to create it.


    He started pulling mana into his body from the room again and realized it had gotten noticeably denser since he leveled up, and the mana flowed into him faster. He sent all the mana he collected into his gem, and saw he would be able to collect almost one mana per day. That was terrible. He couldn¡¯t imagine how long it would have taken him to level up without the man providing mana for him to use. No wonder dungeons grew so slowly, it would have taken him almost two weeks to reach level two without this man¡¯s interference.


    The next time the man returned he was starting to look angry again. After he filled the stone again he turned to leave, but paused and turned back around.


    ¡°You will summon a skeleton when you are able,¡± he commanded.


    Well shit.


    Pan had wanted to collect more mana before the man caught onto his ruse. But he acquiesced and after the man left he summoned another skeleton. He studied his skeleton this time. It looked weaker than the necromancer''s skeletons, and had no equipment of any kind. He was quite disappointed with it as he had hoped it might be something that could put up a fight against the man. But it seemed even a dungeons summoned undead couldn¡¯t compete with a master necromancer¡¯s.


    The man was all too happy to return and steal Pan¡¯s minion. He filled the stone again and left. Pan stored the mana in his stone, and decided he would summon a skeleton every other time the man came in. He would hoard the excess mana. He would leave the man thinking it took almost three hundred mana to summon one skeleton. However the man didn¡¯t return as quickly as usual, and Pan realized it had almost been a full day since he had been transformed. He assumed the man had gone to sleep and would return the next day.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter Three


    Pan continued summoning skeletons for the man for almost a week. In that time he had summoned dozens of the bony minions, and had increased his mana stone¡¯s storage to almost fifteen hundred mana. He was now slowly filling it up so he could reach level six. He was currently one mana injection away from reaching his goal. After the man filled the gem and received his skeleton, Pan used all of the mana he had collected to level up.


    Level Six


    Need 1500 mana for level seven


    +15 Dungeon Points


    Pan was more than a little miffed. He had been hoping for some skill to help him resist the necromancer. Instead it seemed like level six was only a filler level, and did nothing but expand his mana capacity. Mana capacity meant nothing to him, he didn¡¯t even get to use his mana anyway. He needed to work on plan B now. It would take too much longer to go for level seven, and he had no desire to wait and hope the necromancer would follow the same routine. The man was obviously planning something, you don¡¯t just create a dungeon and turn it into a skeleton factory for fun.


    Pan started using his mana to extend his influence again. He moved his mana stone further away as well, as that much mana concentrated in one spot might register to the mage¡¯s senses. He decided he would have to expand his domain, and hope it opened up some more options for his future.


    He continued to expand his influence further and further into the rock, and fought the instincts screaming at him to create caves and rooms to hide his gem behind. Pan had a feeling his captor wouldn''t appreciate that. By the third day of this he had claimed a space almost three times his original volume, and he noticed his passive mana regeneration had more than tripled. It seemed that his territory would draw in the ambient mana and concentrated it, and the greater area he controlled collected much more mana. The collection was still significantly slower than using the mana given by the necromancer, but every little bit helped.


    He now owned an area that extended more than ninety feet behind his room, and measured almost twenty feet across and ten feet high. He could have claimed less volume and reached further, but his control of smaller tendrils felt incomplete and fragile, and the wider areas collected and refined mana more efficiently.


    After the fourth day, something changed. He had reached another thirty feet out, and had touched something new. There was an empty space beyond the stone he had claimed. When he pushed into the space, he found a small cave, extending down into the rock. The cave was even smaller than the room he was currently bound to, but it had something his room didn¡¯t. Access to the outside.


    A thin shaft of light extended from the crevice that led into the cave, and Pan could tell a forest existed above the crack. There was a collection of decaying leaves and twigs below the crack, and insects crawled around the cave. There were small pools of standing water collecting in the bottom, and things wriggled and swam in the puddles.


    He could feel the life in the room, and he wanted it. Bad. He pushed his influence into the cave. He spread it thin, but was able to claim the entirety of the cave, all the way to the surface crack. He was surprised to find the crack was only inches high, and extended horizontally for almost a dozen feet. He could tell the crack was at the base of a cliff, and excess runoff and debris would slide down the slope into the cave.


    As he solidified his hold on the cave with whatever mana he could steal from his master''s summonings, he noticed an effect on the invertebrates in the cave. He could feel them, and he could feel that they were becoming his. They would respond to his will, and follow his commands, but for now, he decided to let them live like they normally would.


    Claiming the cave had other benefits as well. There was a lot more mana pouring into his stores passively. Its seemed to flow in from the outside and pool in the cave. However he felt like something was impeding the flow, and if he extended the cave to his crystal the mana would flow much quicker. He had no desire to do that however, and decided to save that action as a backup in the off chance it was ever needed. For the time being he had no reason to disrupt the status quo, and potentially aggravate the necromancer.


    After another day he had used his mana to completely infiltrate the minds of the denizens of his cave. Enough so that he knew they were all his. And even better, every time one died, whether it was his or not, he gained a minuscule amount of mana. He directed all of the mana he gained into the mana stone battery he had hidden.


    As they died he also got alerts telling him he could spawn the insects for a cost. He had gathered earthworms, ants, spiders, beetles, flies, and even a centipede. He had many species of bugs to chose from after a short time. Despite their weakness, he knew this was the start of something grand, and he would cultivate this cave to the best of his abilities. He could summon dozens of the most basic creatures for a single point of mana, and he did.


    With his excess mana he was able to extend the carpet of moss and plants further into the cave, and with his mana around, the moss changed to no longer depend on sunlight. The moss instead drew energy from the ambient mana he had pooling in his cave, and stored any excess it gathered. The plants were harder to extend into the cave, as they needed light much more than the moss, but he was progressing slowly.


    The moss had changed into Dungeon Moss, and the description hinted that the moss was a much better energy source for the fauna of his cave, as well as containing the trace amounts of mana it collected. The moss actually increased the density of mana in his cave, if only slightly. The moss also glowed slightly, but it was enough to givemuch needed light to the cave, and allowed the creatures to venture further into the cave where the mana was denser.


    The moss was the base of the ecosystem he had created in the cave. The worms would eat the detritus that had piled up in the back, and the beetles would eat the moss. An ant colony started up in the back, and they ate the worms and beetles. Spiders and centipedes were at the top, and ruled over his little invertebrate empire.


    Pan noticed strange things happen to the bugs in the back of his cave. The mana in the moss pooled in the creatures who ate it, and it was refined by their bodies. The ones who had more mana were stronger and larger than their brethren who had less. And their predators gained more and further refined mana from consuming them.


    The boost was not very significant, as even the strongest had less than a full point of mana stored in it, but Pan noticed the effects, and cataloged the advances each being made. Observing how the process worked could help him improve his plans for retribution.


    He had started saving up for the next level once more, and his passive regeneration was increasing greatly as well. He could gain almost ten mana a day from the deaths of the insects and the mana he pulled in from outside. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but it would be helpful.


    He started to expand the cave deeper into the rock, and closer to where he resided. He had no idea how to fight the mage yet, but he needed to have options. There was no way the man could be overwhelmed by basic bugs, and he felt that connecting to the outside would not go unnoticed.


    Since he had plenty of mana, and the creatures he had used so little mana to advance, he started experimenting on them with mana. At first, many of them exploded when he pumped mana into them, even if it was only a single point. However after dozens of experiments he was able to slow down the speed that he put the mana into them.


    When he started he was stuffing the mana into them in a fraction of a second. Now he had the ability to control the mana and inject the energy into them over the course of minutes. The ones he targeted didn¡¯t advance in the same manner as the ones growing naturally. His experiments just grew larger, but didn¡¯t necessarily become deadlier than the natural ones in his cave.


    In fact, he often witnessed ones he had poured dozens of points of mana into be killed by bugs who had gathered less than a point overall. The killers would grow rapidly from the influx of mana they received from killing the behemoths he created.


    He started to focus on these creatures, and tried to work out what made them so special. He noticed that the mana wasn¡¯t just pumped into their whole body. It would be directed to certain places and refined there.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Some would go to their muscles, improving their strength and speed. Some would focus on the nerves and increase their reaction times and further boost their speed. Some went to their exoskeleton, and made it denser and stronger, as well as thinner and less encumbering. Most of the elite had as much as five points of mana invested in this way, although some had more, and they were a wonder to behold.


    They were the undisputed kings of the cave. Their armour was half as thick as their weaker brothers, but it was much stronger, and much harder to crack. They were significantly stronger, and their nerves signaled faster to muscles that would respond to the signals quicker, as well as contract in less time with more force. The effects were still small, but were distinct and offered a huge advantage. They may only have a twenty percent advantage at most, but that was an insurmountable advantage to their weaker competitors.


    Any excess mana would be absorbed by their bodies and boost their size. He had ants that were over an inch long, A spider bigger than his palm when he was still alive. And the prize of his cave was a centipede that was the size of a man''s leg. That monster had almost fifty mana stored in its body, and was impervious to anything else in the cave. It had been attacking the giant experiments he had created, and the mana influx had given it an astounding boost.


    All of the strongest made their homes in the back of the cave, where the mana was densest. They would absorb a miniscule amount of the ambient mana, and even though it was an incredibly small amount, it was much more than they could get near the mouth of the cave.


    Seeing this, Pan devised a new method for experimentation. He created an isolated pocket and summoned a queen ant. It was a small ant, under a half inch long. It ran around the nearly cubic foot room Pan had created for his experiments. There was a good coating of dungeon moss in the room, and one property he had noticed about his dungeon was that the air was always breathable, so there was no fear that the ant would suffocate.


    He started his experiment by giving the ant mana to increase its size since he wanted something bigger to work with. When it was over four inches long he stopped. Now he started working on what he wanted. He targeted its muscles with mana and was excited to see the same changes start there as he saw in the best of his natural specimens.


    He started working on her armour next, and he pushed the armour further than he had seen in his natural inhabitants. What¡¯s more he directed his intent at making the chitin stronger, not thinner. A mage''s intent was what directed the mana in a spell, and Pan hoped he could create changes he wanted by focusing his on the mana he gave to the queen.


    His experiment worked, and the armor remained bulky, but became much stronger. Stronger even than the giant centipede ruling the cave outside. With this Pan grew excited and started improving her as much as he could. He strengthened her organs, and improved the speed she could create eggs. Her digestive system changed. He devised a way for her to pull the mana out of what she consumed to create eggs quicker. Eggs that would also hatch stronger workers.


    She was quicker, and to top it all off he focused on her head. He made her smarter. Now she was by no means sentient, or even close. But now she was clever, and could plan ahead in a very limited way. She was on the level of an average bird. If not intelligent, she was approaching it.


    When he was done, he mentally stepped back from her and observed. She came to after all the changes had been assimilated, and seemed to observe her room for a moment. Then she surprised him. She started eating the glowing dungeon moss that covered her chamber. He was confused, until he saw her processing the mana in the moss into her reproductive organs. Within minutes she had laid almost a dozen eggs, and was tending to them. Pan could see that the eggs would hatch in a few days, so he left the queen to her clutch, but not before attaching the small cave to the outside through some small tunnels. He was sure the now six inch long queen could defend herself and her clutch, as she was now by far the most powerful inhabitant of his cave. She might even be able to challenge the much larger centipede.


    The moment he completed his task he was rewarded with a new message.


    New Skil: Targeted Evolution


    Can modify creatures in the dungeon to whatever specifications are desired. Major changes from the base creature''s original abilities will cost exponentially more mana based on the degree of change.


    New Achievement: Evolver


    Instead of doing what every other Dungeon has done and just let creatures evolve on their own, you¡¯ve created your own evolutions and your own creatures to fill the roles needed in your dungeon.


    +250 dungeon points


    -25% mana cost for targeted evolution


    -Created species are much more loyal


    The unexpected windfall of dungeon points would be useful whenever he could find a way to spend them. For now, Pan figured the wizard was blocking it, whether or not it was intentional he didn¡¯t know. Well, it was just another entry on the list of reasons to kill him.


    Pan checked his mana reserves and was shocked to see he had lost over three hundred mana from evolving his ant, but he did notice another species he could summon. It was a Dungeon Ant, and cost fifty mana. Pan was disappointed to notice his cave was too small for two ant colonies, and figured if the other regular ant colony didn¡¯t also evolve into Dungeon ants they would be destroyed when the queen''s eggs hatched. He didn¡¯t care if they survived anyway. His dungeon was survival of the fittest, and he needed the strongest monsters he could get. Many were going to die to fuel the growth of the strong.


    Pan started saving his mana again. He now had the tool he would use to craft the weapon that would kill his master. No longer would he push for level seven, he had his edge now, and intended to hone it. He would create the deadliest creatures he could with what he had.


    He noticed the queen ant had gone from a tier 0 monster, what was basically the bottom of the food chain, to a tier 1, or a basic monster. It was potentially deadly to an enemy. His giant centipede was a tier 0, since it hadn¡¯t yet evolved. His menu showed the queen and and the skeleton as both tier 1, although the skeleton was ranked as a stronger monster.


    He decided the centipede would be his next project, but he chose to wait since he wanted the queen to have some time to establish herself. While he bode his time he continued to extend his cave further into the rock over the next week. It extended almost three hundred feet horizontally into the rock, and dove vertically almost fifty feet. Deeper in it was over ten feet tall, and almost thirty feet wide. He had used over a thousand mana to claim the territory and create the cave. It was now a large sloping tube passing under the room he was captive in.


    The mana was growing denser and denser in the base of the cave. However the cave was completely still dark in the back, and Pan needed a way to fix this. Even the soft glow of the dungeon moss wasn¡¯t enough, and Pan wanted his creatures to hunt in the light.


    He used his targeted evolution skill on some of the dungeon moss. He created a plant that was a small bulb suspended from the ceiling by a stem, and held in place by strongly adhesive roots. The ball would absorb ambient mana and emit light that was actually quite strong. It was close to sunlight, and was actually enough for small plants to grow. Pan figured that as he kept expanding and the density of mana grew, the bulbs would become more effective and he could grow bigger and better plants.


    The plants provided much-needed ground cover for the weaker insects, and gave them a chance to hunt amongst themselves and advance. The plants were growing in soil he created with his skills, and the remains of plants that had built up in the mouth of his cave. He was composting these to create the perfect soil to grow his garden, and the hunting grounds for his creatures.


    At the end of the week Pan decided to start creating more evolutions for his creatures. His ant queen was a resounding success, and the colony now boasted hundreds of ants. The ants would leave the nest and collect moss and bring it back to the queen for processing. They would also overpower and bring anything they could capture back to the nest. Even more impressive, the ants were able to carve into the rock with their jaws and extend their nest. Each ant was over an inch long, and despite their power, they were still a tier 0.


    The ants on their own might have been weak, but a group of them could take out almost anything in the cave, and Pan was certain the queen could take out an untrained human. Actually, a few dozen worker ants could probably take out an untrained human as well. They were quite strong with razor sharp jaws. However, Pan knew that they would be completely defenseless against the mage and the nearly one hundred skeletal minions he had created for him.


    Pan turned his attention to his pride and joy, the unevolved centipede. He called it over to a secluded crevice he had created just for a workstation to evolve it in. He started pouring mana into it. It more than doubled in size to over five feet long, and could raise up to almost six inches off the ground. Compared to everything else in the cave, it was gargantuan.


    Next, he started working on its strength. Instead of pouring mana into strength and speed equally, he focused on making it as strong as possible. He modified its jaws to be like the ants, razor sharp and with its new muscles it could bite a rock in half. He had no doubt it could cleave through leather armor as well.


    Next he started bulking up the natural armor of the beast. This was why he had invested so much in its strength. The carapace grew to be inches thick, before he compressed it down to just over an inch. He used some of the trace metals he had gotten from absorbing the stone to further strengthen the armour and jaws. The natural defenses created a massive shield on its back that protected the less armored legs under it. Its bottom was also strengthened, although not nearly as much as the top.


    Its armor was strong enough to deflect anything short of a warhammer or great axe. It would be nearly impossible to penetrate it with arrows or a sword. He needed something that could shrug off the skeletons, and this was exactly what he needed. He was certain they could not create enough force to injure, much less kill it. He had studied the skeletons extensively, and they were quite weak, but could fight through any injury short of severing the neck or destroying the head.


    He had designed the centipede as a counter to them. It could wade into the middle of them and sit down with its shield against the ground. There it would be impervious to them and they would have no way of flipping it over to attack its weak side. It could probably shrug of quite a few spells like that, as the carapace would be very resistant to temperature changes, and most other attacks would have no way to penetrate it enough to damage it.


    He named it a Stone Centipede, and was pleased to see it was a tier 1 as well. He could also summon one for three hundred mana, but he hoped the other centipedes would be able to evolve into one. He knew that once an evolution was opened it was much easier for that species to evolve in that direction, and a few other centipedes had come quite close to rivaling the giant over the week.


    He released the behemoth into the cave and watched as he asserted his dominance over the cave. He claimed the portion of the cave with the densest mana and consumed anything that dared to encroach on his domain. After that he simply laid down and sealed himself under his carapace to rest. He was impervious to anything in the cave when he did this, since nothing could get under the shell to attack the weaker areas in his leg joints, if they could even think to attempt that.


    Pan could see the elements of his plan all coming together, and knew that the mages days were numbered. He just needed to gather more information and plan accordingly.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 6


    Type: Sentient Dungeon (Bound)


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 136/1500 (+1287)


    Rooms: 2


    Levels: 1


    Animals: 4782


    Plants: 9592


    Monsters: 2


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 8], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution]


    Dungeon Points: 305


    Achievements: Evolver

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    Pan¡¯s next hurdle would be planning a way to kill the mage, and either destroy or bypass his minions. To form a proper plan, Pan needed to gather intelligence. Right now he had no way to spy on his master, and he was afraid to push his control into the mage¡¯s quarters.


    He started to devise a way to spy on him without alerting him to his presence. Pan had noticed he had the ability to see through the eyes of his minions, and give them command that they would carry out to the best of their abilities. He had also noticed that his creatures could leave his cave, but his connection to them would be severed, although they remained his, and would return later when they completed whatever it was they wanted to do outside.


    The most common minion to leave his lair was the dungeon ant workers. They often left the cave on orders from their queen, and would return with plants or insects in their jaws. Without Pan even coming up with the plan they were expanding the list of summonable minions, all in an effort to feed their ravenous queen.


    Pan decided to use this ability to spy on his captor. He had no illusions about the usefulness of a three inch long ant as a spy, they would surely draw attention. He would create his spies from scratch. Or almost from scratch. He was going to use flies as a template after all.


    Flies were currently the most useless of his minions, and served as the garbage men and a food source for the rest of the cave. Even the herbivorous beetles would kill the flies when annoyed by their presence.


    He had a suspicion that a fly would not be noticed in a necromancer''s quarters, after all, his profession was all about dead things. For his newest experiment, Pan summoned a new fly. He wanted it to look as much like a natural fly as possible, and blend into the background.


    First, he strengthened its muscles, and made it much quicker than a normal fly. He halved its reaction time, and increased its intelligence slightly. He boosted the strength of its exoskeleton and shrunk it so it was just as strong, but was lighter and more maneuverable.


    Next, he went to the big changes. He created a new region in its brain that would record everything it saw, and was able to be accessed by him. Its eyes got the most attention out of everything. Its eyesight was pushed beyond even human vision, and could have read a book from dozens of feet away. Its dark vision was increased, and it would be able to see hundreds of feet with only the light of a single candle.


    When he was finished, Pan realized he had spent over five hundred mana improving the flies, his most expensive project yet. He was quite please with his Scout Fly. When he checked his summon list he was surprised to see the fly was ranked as a tier 1, but as a support monster. It also has a low level identify skill. That was the first he had seen a creature have a skill, as all of their traits were innate abilities based on their species.


    He supposed this was the reason for its high mana cost to create, but it only cost twenty-five mana to summon one. He summoned four more of them and started testing out their abilities. He sent all but one out of the cave to explore, and he had the last one use it¡¯s identify skill on the residents of the cave.


    The skill didn¡¯t provide any more information than the dungeon menu, but it was useful nonetheless. The skill instead interpreted the relative strengths of the bugs as the levels he was familiar with as a human. His strongest was the enormous centipede, with a level of thirteen. Even as a human, Pan had never reached level ten, and he knew the giant bug would have killed him easily.


    The queen ant was a surprising level three, but the worker ants didn¡¯t have a level since they were still too small and weak. Despite her level, Pan supposed a level one human could kill her because of her size. Pan did have plans to increase her size when he had enough mana to reach for a tier two dungeon monster.


    Pan was pulled from his ruminations by the return of his scouts. When they returned he received a dump of information from their memory banks, and after some time spent pouring over it, he had a decent idea of the surrounding area. It was mostly forest, with the only difference being a small creek a few hundred yards from his entrance.


    Pan was reasonably sure there were no settlements close by, but his human body had been brought here from his family''s farm, so he was reasonably sure there was some sort of settlement within a day or two. Maybe more if the necromancer had a mount.


    Admittedly, the information wasn¡¯t that helpful, but this scouting expedition had been a proof of concept mission. His next step would be infiltrating the necromancer''s domain, and deciding how to move forward from there.


    The next time the man entered and left his heart chamber, pan started putting his plan into action. He created a very small tube leading from his cave, into a hole on the far side of the podium the mana crystal sat on. The man never went past the podium, so Pan had no fear of him discovering the entrance.


    He immediately felt a rush of mana pour into his heart as his room was connected to the outside. The mana grew denser, although it wasn''t as dense as the bottom of his cave as mana flowed through the cave like water and concentrated at the lowest point. His regeneration tripled as mana from outside nourished his cave. He released a mental sigh he had no idea he was holding, and a hundred pounds seemed to be lifted from his back. Dungeon instincts were bearing their teeth again, and he fought the urge to make the tunnel even wider. He did increase the width up until almost the exit, however, and the mana flowed slightly faster again.


    While he was recovering from the new feelings, his scouts were already traversing the path he had laid out for them. When they reached the exit, they waited for the man to come again and collect his skeleton. Pan had nearly forgotten to summon it in the mad rush of mana fueled ecstasy.


    After the man claimed the undead minion and filled the mana stone, the flies burst into action. They followed the man out of the cave, and pan lost contact with them. He actually felt nervous during the time they were away, and he hoped they wouldn¡¯t be discovered. He had noticed a resurgence of his emotions as he gathered more mana and leveled up. Thankfully he had time to slowly come to grips with his new living situation, and hoped to make the best of it. After he brutally executed this presumptuous mage.


    After a few more hours, and a couple skeletal summons, the scouts returned, and Pan was excited to review the reports, but after he finished something else.


    Level 7


    Unlock skill: Monster Imbuement


    Need 2500_ mana for level 8


    +20 Dungeon Points


    Monster Imbuement


    Dungeon unique


    Synergizes with targeted evolution. Dungeon species can be gifted with innate abilities based off ones learned by the dungeon. A chance to earn abilities from each enemy killed in the dungeon. Ability will be related to the enemy killed.


    Pan was interested in the new skill. It seemed he had gotten it because of his actions as a dungeon. He had already given the flies a skill, but this seemed different. He would be able to make creatures that naturally had access to skills, without the cost associated with them. The flies, for example, had to use mana to identify something, which was difficult for them since they could only store a very small amount. This skill should allow him to bypass that cost, and allow they fly to constantly use identify.


    He immediately used the new skill on the flies and made the skill an innate part of their being. Now when they flew around they were constantly cataloging the information of everything around them, and the skill showed more information, such as current and max health, stamina, or mana.


    After witnessing the success of his new skill, Pan refocused on the task at hand. He started going through the mountain of information his scouts had returned with. Luckily as a dungeon, his ability to process information had skyrocketed, and assimilation data from the flies was easy as breathing had been when he still needed to do that. It was just painstakingly slow to stitch together a map of the wizard''s lair from the memories of the flies.


    Pan was happy to notice the detail with which he could recreate the wizard''s domain. Their eyesight was so good, he could¡¯ve read the book open on the man¡¯s desk. Unfortunately, it was in a language and alphabet he couldn¡¯t comprehend. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Immediately outside his cave, there was a sort of laboratory, with an alchemy station set up. He had shelves covered in books and ingredients. There were bones strewn about to various states of dissection, and even a few items that the wizard had attempted to enchant. It seemed enchantment was not the wizard¡¯s forte, as the items were quite weak, although the enchantments were quite vile, as expected.


    They all pertained to drawing the life force or soul out of whatever they struck, and transferring it somewhere.. The weakness wasn¡¯t in the effects, but in thenumber of uses they had. Each one only seemed to be good for one use before needing a recharge. The strongest one was the dagger he had been killed with, and its enchantment severed the soul''s attachment to a body, and allowed it to be moved into whatever object the wielder desired.


    This seemed to be how the wizard had put Pan into the dungeon heart, and it had some hefty restrictions on it. It only worked on sacrificed targets who were unable to resist, so it wouldn¡¯t be very useful in combat. Pan was happy about that as it was a particularly nasty enchantment.


    The next room was a hallway, and it had a bedroom off to one side. That was where the man was, hunched over some book and muttering to himself while being attended to by some of his minions. He had some sort of skeletal butler, without the uniform. There were a few other rooms, but they seemed to be mainly for the purpose of storing his skeletons, of which there were more than two hundred. The majority of them were expanding the rooms they were in while the rest carried the rubble out of the underground area. The area exited into a ruined temple, with the entrance to the catacombs beneath the ancient altar.


    The skeletons were dumping the rubble out in front of the temple in a large pile. That was the extent of the flies scouting, but he did notice the temple was on a plateau in the middle of the forest. Pan guessed his cave was at the base of the cliff behind the temple. The grounds and the temple were very overgrown, and trees towered above its ruined facade.


    Pan had created a nearly perfect mental map of the wizard''s lair, and fit it into the instinctive map he had of his cave. He also included the forest outside his cave in his mental image of the surroundings. The level of detail was much lower than what he knew of his cave despite the eyes of his scouts. When he finished processing the information, and fitting the images together he was rewarded with a new skill.


    Dungeon Map


    An instinctive awareness of what the dungeon looks like. Anything can be added to the map, as long as there is enough information present. Any minions acting in mapped areas can be commanded and used to see.


    His mental map suddenly shifted and he understood it much more completely. Everything outside the dungeon also became much more clear. He couldn¡¯t see what existed out there, but when one of his ants traveled out of the cave, he was able to see everything it saw as if it was a part of his dungeon.


    This was an incredibly useful ability. His revolt had a much better chance of succeeding if he could command his minions and keep track of the battle. Pan was feeling much more optimistic about his chances. Until he finished looking at the reports of the scouts.


    The skeletons were not a problem, they all ranged from level five to ten, but the necromancer was another matter. He was level twenty-six. That was twice the level of his best minion. And he was a mage. There was no way he would be able to kill him with a full frontal assault. Even his centipedes would fall to the mage. The man was a necromancer, so his damage would be done through minions, much like Pan, but the man would surely know some high-level buff skills, and his minions could surely be strengthened to contend with high-level humans.


    Not to mention the man would have some offensive spells as well. And with his high stats, he would have no trouble bypassing the armor of his tanks. His spells wouldn¡¯t be especially penetrating, but the level difference would more than make up for it. Pan had not been expecting the man to be more than level fifteen. But he was not so lucky. A level twenty-six necromancer would probably qualify as a B rank adventurer, if any guild would allow a necromancer to live, much less join.


    Pan was going to need some way to get around the man¡¯s level. As a mage, he wouldn¡¯t have a great physical defense, but Pan had no way to sneak past the guards. He would have to attack while the man was asleep, but there was no guarantee the man could be killed in one strike by anything he could summon. He was going to have to negate some of the man¡¯s more powerful advantages, and to do that he needed options.


    He gave his queen a task, and she immediately sent workers to carry out his orders. A stream of worker ants flowed out of the colony and into the cave. From there they marched into the forest. When they returned, they brought new plants and invertebrates back into the cave. Each one was killed inside the cave and the carcass was brought back to the nest to feed the queen. With the steady flow of new species, not to mention the excess mana, Pan decided to reward the ants. He selected one of them and got to work.


    He made them bigger. Bigger even than the queen. These majors would be the defenders of the colonies, and at ten inches long, they were a formidable sight. Their jaws became more vicious. Their strength greatly increased. Their heads were large shields holding a massive pair of jaws, with enough armor to stand up to most punishments. Their abdomen and thorax were not as heavily armored as the head, but when behind their helmet, an arrow probably couldn¡¯t even harm them. He named them Dungeon Ant Warriors. They were a tier 1, and a large step up from the worker ants. After he finished a few of the bigger ants also evolved into warriors. There were a little over two dozen evolved warrior ants now, and a few other worker ants were close to reaching the required mana.


    None of the species brought back were immediately useful, but he figured he would eventually find what he was looking for. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he knew he¡¯d know it when he saw it.


    He planted all the new species of plants, and summoned any other insect he did not have in his cave. His cave was starting to become downright tropical. There was lush greenery sprouting up all over, and many vines climbed the walls. Massive six-foot tall ferns towered over the undergrowth, where thousands of insects fought for their lives. Further back where the mana was densest, the ferns were almost ten feet tall, and loomed over a clear pond almost ten feet deep at its deepest. In the pond many larvae swam, and were hunted by larger predators. On the banks of the pond, the mammoth centipede slumbered, absorbing mana and digesting its most recent meal.


    There were very few woody plants, but some small saplings had sprouted and a few small bushes dotted the scene. They were dwarfed by the oversized leaves of some of the larger ground cover. But beneath these leaves was the desperate struggle of the tier 0 invertebrate competing for an evolution.


    Pan was proud of his cave so far. It was teeming with life, even if most of them couldn¡¯t kill anything but each other. He knew that as he grew, that would change, and he would become very deadly. For now, he was happy to watch the ongoing struggle in his cave.


    A few more days went by, and the mage had well over two hundred and fifty skeletons. The man came into Pan¡¯s cave and didn¡¯t fill the stone. Instead, he stopped and cleared his throat to speak.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be leaving. I will be gone for perhaps a little over a week. I will not give you any mana to play with, and I expect this room to look exactly the same when I return. I am expecting losses, so be prepared to rebuild my army when I return.¡±


    Pan wasn¡¯t surprised. The man had obviously been building up an army for something. He was a little disappointed that he wouldn¡¯t be getting mana for a while, but his passive regeneration was significant at this point. He could gain almost one hundred mana a day now, and it would all go towards killing this man. Preferably with some sort of ¡°gift¡± when he returned.


    The man turned and left the room and Pan watched him leave the temple through the flies. The man gathered his army and left the temple, walking down a road that extended in the opposite direction from Pan¡¯s cave. Pan released a pent up mental breath, he was worried that the man would pass by the mouth of his cave. There was only a small chance he would notice something, but there was a chance.


    With the man gone, Pan continued to do what he had been doing. The ant colony was bringing back new stuff, and he was waiting for something to stand out as useful. He had plenty of herbs and other plants with interesting properties, and many of those properties could be gifted to his residents with monster imbuement skill. However, none of them were helpful. What was the point in making his insects smell good, or be shiny? Some of the properties were useful, but were very weak, since they had come from plants.


    There were minor regenerative effects, and buffs to other skills, but he didn¡¯t want to waste mana on the weak versions. He would need to kill some animals, or potentially adventurers to gain any truly useful abilities. He was positive a troll¡¯s regenerations would be a truly useful ability to hijack, and a theif''s sneak skill would be way better than the minor stealth boost he could get from one of these plants. They were just potion ingredients after all.


    He finally got something he was looking for. One of his ants brought back a wandering spider. He almost didn¡¯t notice it since he was looking for skills to imbue into some monster, but he looked at its description, and it was exactly what he needed. The spider didn¡¯t have anything he could transfer to another minion, but it had the most potent venom he had ever seen, and even better, was the bonus effects of the venom.


    It wasn¡¯t particularly deadly, at least not to humans, but it had killed at least two worker ants, and possibly a third. It took a warrior to carry it back, and it would¡¯ve died too if it wasn¡¯t for its impervious shield head. The extra effects were what put it over the top. Its venom would naturally suppress magic in its victim, and would also cause confusion. It seemed its natural prey had developed a way to cleanse itself of poison, so it developed a venom that would suppress its ability to clear the poisonous effects.


    This venom was basically an anti wizard cocktail. And Pan wanted to kill a wizard. Even if the poison couldn¡¯t kill a human, if he could suppress his magic and confuse him, he would be unable to buff his army or cast a spell to defend himself. Pan¡¯s minions could kill off the skeletons, and the necromancer would be a sitting duck.


    Pan immediately summoned a few of the spiders, and started to evolve one of them. He decided to go all out with his mana, since this would be his best and only shot at killing his captor. He only slightly increased its size to just over an inch in diameter with all legs stretched out. Its abdomen was almost perfectly spherical, and became a dark gray, perfect camouflage against the stone. It was furry, to keep from reflecting any light, and to break up its shape. It had very long spindly legs, but was very strong. Pan made it fast. It was the fastest thing he had ever made.


    Its fangs grew, and became razor sharp. it could easily bite through human skin, and reach deep into its flesh. The fangs looked terrifying, at almost an eighth of an inch long they were almost half the size of its body. It was mostly leg after all. The venom''s potency grew exponentially. He didn¡¯t make it deadlier, instead, he made its ability to confuse and suppress magic much stronger. He knew there was no way to kill the mage with the spider, but he needed to be out of the fight for long enough to clean up his minions, and then kill him.


    Pan improved its silk. The spider didn¡¯t use it much when hunting, but pan knew it would be vital if the spider was to get into the best position to strike. He used one of the herb''s properties as a topical anesthetic, and applied it to the spider''s front legs. It could secrete the fluid from special glands hidden in its front arms.


    Pan then used all of the imbuements he thought would be useful. The spider¡¯s dark vision, speed, and stealth all were buffed. When he was done he had created the deadliest thing in his cave, even if it would have trouble killing any of the other tier 1 monsters, that was not its intended prey. It would have an easy time hunting any of the smaller bugs that hadn''t yet evolved.


    He named his creation an Assassin Spider, and it truly lived up to its name. It was ranked as a tier 1, but cost four hundred mana to summon. The one he had created originally cost him all of his mana, and it still wasn¡¯t complete. He would have to wait for another three hundred mana to finish the upgrade. For now, he simply stored it in a secluded chamber.


    When the necromancer returned, Pan would be ready.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 7


    Type: Sentient Dungeon (Bound)


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 0/2500 (+0)


    Rooms: 2


    Levels: 1


    Animals: 5122


    Plants: 9812


    Monsters: 42


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 8], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement]


    Dungeon Points: 325


    Achievements: Evolver

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    Mala Village


    The village of Mala was a small and peaceful one. It had less than five hundred inhabitants, including the surrounding farms. It was big enough to support a blacksmith, a general store, and barely support an apothecary. It was off any of the main trade roads, but it did receive merchants from time to time.


    In fact, that¡¯s where most of its money came from. The apothecary, who also served as the village''s mayor and healer, was quite an adept herbalist and alchemist. He would gather ingredients from the forest and make tinctures he sold to the caravans that passed through a few times annually.


    The farmers would sell their food in town, as well as at the markets in the larger towns a few days travel by cart to the south. Gerald, the apothecary, was an industrious man, and had raised a few apprentices. His most recent being his grandson who was to take over as the mayor. Without the old man, the village would likely have dried up long ago due to the lack of merchants traveling through to hawk their wares, and bringing the necessities to town. They had no reason to visit other than the man''s potions. The forest was actually unnaturally rich in rare herbs and ingredients, so it was an ideal place for the old man to carry out the rest of his days in idyllic happiness.


    The village was winding down and preparing for the night. The sun was setting, and families were settling down inside around their fires. Nearly every chimney in town was belching smoke, and the noise of the day was coming to a halt. As the sun¡¯s last rays disappeared beneath the horizon, Gerald was busy preparing a few healing potions. The merchants that had just left had cleared out his stock, commenting about their surprisingly high quality, as always. You don¡¯t brew inferior potions when you¡¯re eighty-five years old, and have access to plenty of potent rare ingredients.


    His grandson, Peter, was watching carefully, and studiously taking notes. Gerald smiled when he saw this and was happy to see that the village would be in capable young hands when he departed finally on his last adventure. He finished the final batch an hour after the sun had finally set, and set his grandson to cleaning up while he headed off to bed.


    Out in the woods, beyond the sight of anyone in the village, something stirred. An army of gleaming white wraiths marched through the forest, trampling the undergrowth. In the rear was another old man, however, this one had chosen a different path than living as an old apothecary-healer in charge of a small village. This man was an alchemist and a necromancer, leading an army of skeletal fodder. He smiled as he thought of revenge. How dare anybody look down on him, the greatest necromancer ever, or at least soon to be.


    He had created a dungeon, one that obeyed his every whim, and created an army for him. An army he would use to carve his name into history, and an empire out of the land. Who cared if all he had for now was skeletons. Once he leveled his class further, he would raise more powerful minions, and the dungeon would raise scores of more powerful minions for him.


    To do this, he needed to pump more mana into the dungeon. And he needed a bigger mana stone for that. Luckily for him, he knew just where to find one. His first master, Gerald, had one. He had a stone that could store almost one thousand mana. With a stone that large, his dungeon could summon three skeletons every time he filled the gem.


    Mana was no problem to a master alchemist living in such a vibrant forest, he could make dozens of mana potions if he had to. But that was hardly likely, his mana pool easily exceeded one thousand points. He had put every stat point into increasing his pool. Necromantic rituals were expensive in mana after all. That was another good use for the stone, he could power stronger rituals, and create better minions to feed to the dungeon, and then reap the rewards later.


    The dungeon needed nothing but mana to raise some undead, where he needed lengthy chants and expensive spell components. He was already salivating at the thought of raising an army of dread skeletons. Now he only had to summon each minion once, and then the dungeon would take care of the rest.


    He finally got within visual range of the village. It was the same as it had been the previous night. There were very few men guarding the palisade, and with their meager torches, they could barely see past the gates. The torches probably did them a disservice, since it ruined their natural adjustment to the dark. It didn¡¯t matter anyway. They would be trampled like the insects they were.


    He had brought each of his two-hundred-eighty-seven skeletal warriors. The handful of guards could not stop him. Even that old bastard Gerald could do nothing against him. He would show him. He would make him regret ever looking down a boy with a talent for dark magic. He would regret laughing as that boy attempted to learn elemental magic. He would regret the condescending and patronizing tone he spoke to him in. He would regret it all. Then he would die.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    He didn¡¯t just send a few skeletons out to eliminate the gate guards. He sent all of them. There were two gates to the village, and he sent half his force to each one. He kept the seven strongest with him as guards, it wouldn¡¯t do to be caught off guard and defenseless.


    He cast his buffs for strength, speed, and silent movement on his minions. They rushed the guards at each gate. Unfortunately, he was unable to afford swords for each one. He had a few from his business as a necromancer, he did kill plenty of people after all, but the majority of his minions carried heavy sticks as clubs.


    The guards were caught so off guard they were overtaken almost immediately. Of course, the skeletons up front were the best armed, and each man had a spear or sword through him, sometimes two or three, almost before he could make a noise. Almost.


    Two screams split the quiet night. Moments later men came out of their front door with torches in hand to investigate. What they saw shocked them. Skeletal marauders were pouring through the undefended gates, bearing down upon them. Almost a dozen men were cut down as they opened their doors to investigate the screams, and the bony invaders stormed into their houses over their bodies.


    Then the screams truly started. Families were set upon in their beds, the creaking of bones wasn''t even present to alert them to the danger. There was some resistance, and tens of skeletons fell. They were weak and not suited to close quarters combat, their main advantage being the weight of their numbers. But they overcame anybody they found indoors through sheer numerical superiority.


    There was no way for the people of Mala to resist the onslaught of skeletons. There weren¡¯t many men in the village to begin with, and the best-trained militia members had died at the gates. The rest of the militia was trapped in their barracks by an army of invaders sent to do just that.


    With nobody to defend them, and no way to group up and form a resistance, the people were slaughtered. The best way to fight skeletons was to group up and support each other, preferably in a narrow area where the numbers advantage was mitigated. But the people were caught unaware, and alone in their homes. And it was a brutal and bloody night. People were caught alone, and they were easily dispatched, often before taking even one of their attackers with them.


    The army was advancing towards the large building in the center of the village. The building was one of the few two-story buildings in town, and had the apothecary¡¯s shop and lab on the first floor, and his home on the second floor.


    Gerald pushed his grandson into the cellar, and entrusted him with his old hammer. It was an old relic from his adventuring days, and was wielded in one hand, preferably with a shield in the offhand. He told his grandson to remain quiet and hidden, and commanded him to not leave until morning. The almost seventeen-year-old man protested, but Gerald was insistent. He knew there was no way anybody in the village could survive. He only hoped his grandson would survive by staying hidden in the only cellar in the town. He had seen the army outside, and knew he wouldn''t make it through the night. He resigned himself to his death, and made peace with himself. He would not go quietly, and hopefully, his actions could kill enough that they''d retreat, and leave his grandson unharmed.


    He grabbed a few potions from his special chest, and his old warhammer from its rack over his bed. He had used it for years until he found the hammer he had left with Peter. It was a good weapon. Heavy, and meant for two hands.


    Gerald strode out his door and quaffed the potions in his right hand. Immediately a red haze settled over his vision and his strength quadrupled. He was old, however, and past his prime. If he was forty years younger, he knew he could¡¯ve killed the army. Now, he could only slow it. And probably not for very long.


    He charged into the ranks of skeletons, roaring his defiance at them. Swinging his hammer he crushed skulls at a prodigious rate. He was a whirlwind of re-death for these puny undead bastards, and he grew hopeful. Maybe he wasn''t too old for this after all. His illusions were shattered when a dark bolt collided with his chest. He coughed up blood, and even his most powerful elixir of regeneration couldn¡¯t resist the damage done to him. He would heal if given enough time. He needed only a few seconds. The regeneration from his best elixirs could rival even that of a troll.


    He didn¡¯t have a few seconds, however, and he was subdued by the bony hands of the enemies he had shattered with such ease only moments before. He was surprised to realize he wasn¡¯t dead, only restrained. As the potions wore off, now that the bloodlust was no longer boosting them, the old berzerker realized he hadn¡¯t even seen, much less damaged, the full might of the army. He might have killed thirty, but there were at least one hundred fifty remaining, and there were probably more butchering people in their homes. He soon found himself bound by ropes. The fight left him and he resigned himself to his fate. All warriors expeced to die in battle, but it seemed that honor was being taken from him as well.


    He was even further saddened to see his grandson being drug, kicking and screaming, from his home. The wizened warrior gave a howl of despair and tried to shake free, but he was too old and weak to do anything besides watch his beloved apprentice bound just the same as he had been.


    Then he saw his captor. He recognized him immediately, it was his first apprentice. That fucking prick Meric. Gerald spat at the man he had nurtured as a boy. He had done everything he could to help the boy grow as a man, but the boy had resented his training, and it was hard to find any ways to train someone who had an affinity for the darker magics. The magic wasn¡¯t evil at all, but it was the easiest to use for evil. It seemed the boy hadn''t resisted the easy path to power, and had fallen down the path of a necromancer. It was a shame, a powerful dark wizard who didn¡¯t succumb to the evil side of his art was a force of good to be reckoned with. Fighting fire with fire and all.


    He had done his best to turn the boy into an honorable man. He had tried his hardest to steer him to the path less traveled. But the boy had never taken his advice, or his lessons to heart. The boy had wanted easy power, and in his arrogance he took shortcuts. Admittedly, he was a talented and powerful mage, but Gerald knew he would always take the easy way, and in his hubris, would not use proper precautions. He was honestly surprised the man hadn¡¯t managed to kill himself somehow. But maybe time had wizened him as well. Gerald found himself hoping it hadn¡¯t, he wanted Meric to die from his own mistakes made in arrogance.


    Gerald stared into Meric¡¯s eyes as the man strode over to him with a smug grin on his face. The vile man reached into Gerald¡¯s front pocket, and removed his mana stone. His precious mana stone he had received from the king after killing a particularly strong beast that had been harassing some noble''s estate. Gerald swore at Meric. Meric''s smile just grew, and he hit him over the head with a club. Knocking him into blissful unconsciousness.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    It took Pan three days to pay off the mana debt he owed on the assassin spider. When it was finished, he was proud of his ingenuity. The spider took to the cave like a fish to water, and was a very successful ambush predator. Its venom easily subdued anything it came across, although it did not attempt to hunt any of the dungeon ant warriors, or the stone centipede, it was able to kill the dungeon ant workers easily, and they seemed to be its favorite food source.


    Pan was waiting for the return of his master with trepidation. He was confident in his plan, and his minions, but he couldn¡¯t help but fear a high-level necromancer. He had no idea what the man was doing while he was gone, but since his army left with him, Pan suspected it meant death for a large number of people. The thought concerned him, although not as much as it would have were he still human.


    But he didn¡¯t know how to feel about what the necromancer was doing. Part of it was the wanton killing of people who had not asked for it. If someone were to die in his dungeon, they would deserve it. It was a dungeon after all, and people are informed about the danger they contain. But the man was taking his minions and having them kill people in a way that served no purpose. The deaths were wasted. He felt wholly indifferent to the deaths of humans, but he had no desire to cause any outside of his dungeon.


    Pan just added it to the list of sins the man would die for. He hated the man. He hated necromancers. And he especially hated the undead. He knew he would never summon another undead once he dealt with the mage. Pan swore to himself that he would kill any necromancer who entered his lair, as well as any undead. They were parasites, and he hated them for the waste they represented.


    The thought of parasites gave Pan some good ideas to think about, but he had no desire to act on any of them yet. He still had to focus on killing a necromancer. He could plan for the future after that.


    A week after the man¡¯s departure, Pan knew he would return soon. To prepare he used almost all of his mana to create another spider, and widen the path leading to his heart room. He made it wide enough to fit a stone centipede. One more had evolved during the week, and Pan only regretted not having more. The hole into the room was still only big enough to fit the flies, but it would be a simple matter to open the floodgates and let his minions swarm out.


    He sent a few scout flies into the mage¡¯s rooms to observe, and had his two spiders hide in the man¡¯s bedroom. They were undetectable, and were hidden above his wardrobe, completely out of sight. He had a fly in every room providing constant updates, and he would be ready to strike at the most opportune time.


    When the necromancer returned, Pan was surprised to see a string of prisoners being led by the skeletons. There were seventeen of them, although Pan suspected they were only a fraction of what the army had encountered. The skeletons numbered almost one hundred less than the man had left with. He had no idea what the man planned to do with the survivors, but he feared it wouldn¡¯t be good. He was certain a necromancer had no wholesome uses for living prisoners. He was once a living prisoner for example, and look at what happened to him.


    Pan found some humor in the fact that he, a dungeon, found something evil. Dungeons weren¡¯t considered evil per se, but people still were wary of them. They could be a great boon for a region''s economy due to all the rare materials they could produce, and people were all too happy to harvest them, despite the risks. However, some dungeons were considered evil, usually when their creatures harassed people outside the dungeon. Those marauding dungeons were often exterminated by order of a local king or noble.


    Pan had no desire to even be noticed by people, much less raid their villages. He enjoyed tending to his ¡°garden,¡± and found peace in his task. He refused to die again, however, and would be perfectly willing fight and kill to defend himself.


    When the necromancer¡¯s entourage finally reached the temple and entered the catacombs beneath, Pan was surprised by the prisoners. Most of them were nothing special, just level three to seven on average, most likely farm hands or labors, but there were two more impressive captives. One was a level fourteen boy who looked to be about eighteen. He looked to have had some combat training, but Pan had a feeling that fighting was not his primary focus.


    The other was truly impressive. The man was old, but his scouts showed Pan that the man had once been a level forty-two. Age had stripped him of most of his strength, and he would probably be unable to kill even a level twenty, but nevertheless it was still impressive to have taken him captive. Pan was sure the man had been a legend when he was still young, but he couldn¡¯t recognize him.


    The necromancer locked the prisoners in one of the chambers off the main hall. Enough skeletons had died to make enough room for them. With the captives taken care of, he strode over to Pan¡¯s room. He confidently walked right up to the pedestal with a self-satisfied smirk, and placed a new mana stone right next to the old one. When Pan focused on it he was shocked to see it contained around one thousand mana.


    ¡°Three more skeletons,¡± the man demanded with a grin, before turning and leaving.


    Pan couldn¡¯t stop the mental chuckle. This idiot mage actually thought each skeleton cost three hundred mana. He was giving Pan almost five hundred mana for each refill now. This arrogant bastard was just asking to be the instrument of his own demise. However, with this new development, Pan decided to put off his plans for revenge for a few days. With the extra mana, he could greatly increase his odds of success. And if he could manage to, Pan wanted to save the prisoners from suffering a similar fate. When a man died his soul should move on. Necromancers bound a soul to its body, keeping it between death and life, and destroying the mind in the process, leaving nothing but an obedient shell. It was easily one of the worst things Pan could imagine to do to a man.


    He had noticed that his undead were not animated by a bound soul, but by his dungeons will, and the necromancer was usurping the chain of command, essentially bypassing the need for a soul. They were almost like a golem, but had more personality. A dungeon undead was more of an individual than a golem, and could make some decisions on its own. It was almost identical to a necromancer¡¯s, except it¡¯s limited ¡°free will¡± did not come from a mutilated soul.


    Pan gladly summoned the skeletons, and then summoned another stone centipede. One of his was easily worth more than three skeletons in combat, so he had no compunctions about delaying his plan for a time to improve his chances for success. The risk to himself was minimal, and that wouldn¡¯t change unless the necromancer started summoning more powerful undead.


    He also made a trap door for the hole into his cave. It was something he should have done much sooner, since the hole in the floor would be quite obvious if the necromancer ever came further than the pedestal.


    He was glad he did, because when the man returned his skeletons were dragging a bound prisoner behind them. It was the old man, and judging by the gleeful look on the necromancers face, the two had history. The necromancer pulled the man to the center of the room, stopping just in front of Pan¡¯s heart.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Pan was furious. This man had never come this close to him. He could not suppress his roiling emotions. He was directly threatening Pan by coming this close to his heart, and he knew no other way to respond than with righteous fury. Pan was usually able to deal with his presence in the room, as he never walked more than a few steps past the entrance. But now he was close to the only thing keeping his soul in the land of the living. If Pan had been able too, he would have opened the hole in the floor and attacked right then, screw the plan, this man was too close, and he was really regretting not having made the hidden door bigger.


    When he finally managed to focus on the mage he could see the necromancer was monologuing, as villains seemed to be required to do. The man seemed downright joyous to explain to the old man exactly why and how much he hated him. Something about how much he despised the way he had treated him as a boy. For looking down on him. For trying to make him into something he wasn¡¯t. Or at least something like along those lines. Pan could barely pay any attention to the man¡¯s words, he did not care what the man was doing, as long as he was that close to his gem.


    He caught Pan¡¯s attention when the man started describing how he created his very own pet dungeon. It rankled Pan to be described as a pet, and the insult was surprisingly the thing that drew him out of his rage clouded stupor. The old man¡¯s face paled, and turned ashen when he heard how his old apprentice had gathered such a large army.


    ¡°You can¡¯t control a dungeon,¡± the man whispered, more to himself than to his captor.


    ¡°HA! You old fool. I can, I will, and I do control a dungeon. You¡¯re just angry. Angry because I will become more powerful and infamous than you ever were. My name will echo through history, and I will insure yours will be forgotten.¡±


    The old man just laughed in the necromancers face. The mage scowled at the man and then told him, in a very even, no-nonsense tone, ¡°I¡¯m going to sacrifice you to this dungeon, old man. You will die an undignified death in some old cave, forgotten. I am going to use the mana from your death to summon something special. Something I will use to kill your grandson. In essence, you will kill your kin.¡±


    The old man blanched even further, and drew in a furious breath to shout at the necromancer, but before he could, a blade tore across his throat, and he couldn¡¯t manage any sound other than the pitiful gurgling of his final breaths. When he expired Pan received a series of alerts, but he didn¡¯t check them. The death had cast Pan into a melancholic mood. It was unfair, an old adventurer should never die in a dungeon without even a chance to fight. Even if in his old age he would most likely die anyway, it still went against Pan¡¯s sense of justice. The man deserved a warrior''s death, with honor. He shouldn''t have been slaughtered like a pig before a feast.


    The necromancer turned and left, but not before refilling the stones and commanding Pan to summon more skeletons. Pan mentally paid his respects to the man, and then checked the alerts.


    New Achievement: Legend Slayer


    The legendary class A adventurer, Gerald of Mala, has died in your dungeon.


    +10% monster damage to invaders stronger than them


    Imbuement: Berserker


    Can give a monster the ability to go into a battle rage, increasing its strength, speed, and attack power, and decreasing its intelligence and defense.


    Pan was pleased with his rewards, but he couldn¡¯t find it in himself to be happy with how he obtained them. Gerald of Mala was a legend. Decades ago he had been one of the strongest adventurers in the kingdom. He was a berserker who had gained a special skill. Whenever he went into his rage, any potion effects he was currently under would not expire until he was broken from his rage, and he could become nearly unstoppable. To fuel his skill he had also become a master alchemist, and was the region''s foremost expert on healing potions, especially of the rapid regeneration variety.


    The achievement gave him a nice bonus, and he made a promise to Gerald that he would avenge his death with it¡¯s help. He still couldn¡¯t shake the somber mood. His old morals were conflicting with his new instincts as a dungeon, and he was still sorting through his new priorities. He had always been a pragmatic person, and he was now a pragmatic dungeon, but he had been a human, and the butchering of a reportedly good man railed against his sensibilities.


    He had no compunctions with killing, he had even killed a bandit once when he was still a human, but this death was different, and he was disturbed by how much it affected him. He had come to a sort of internal agreement on a set of moral principles he would adhere to as a dungeon, as a way of avoiding delving too deep into his new existence. He did want to retain his humanity after all.


    He feared he would lose his sense of self and individuality if he didn¡¯t hold himself to some standards. He could even feel it happening whenever his instincts overpowered his mind, like when the necromancer had come within feet of his body. He did not want to fall into depravity, and he felt the best way to do that was to resist the dungeons natural instincts. Some were helpful, but most just wanted him to become a mindless conductor of death.


    Anyone who challenged his dungeon was fair game, they knew the risks. He still felt like he was existing in a moral gray area, but at least he had made it less ambiguous, and he could live with that.


    But Gerald hadn¡¯t challenged his dungeon, he had been sacrificed to it, and this action became number two on the list of reasons to kill the necromancer. Right after killing Pan of course.


    Pan was waiting for the man to go to sleep, but he was very excited about something. He was brewing countless potions, and consulting many of his manuscripts. He was preparing for something big, and Pan hoped he would sleep before putting his plans into action, but he was not optimistic about the chances of that occurring. He had seen the look in the man¡¯s eyes before, hell he had had the same look at times, often right before attempting a new spell, or when he made a breakthrough in the arts of magery. Pan was certain the man would work through the night on whatever project he had started on, and he would not have the chance to poison him.


    He was correct, and the necromancer seemed close to finishing his research. During the night he filled the mana stones a few more times, and collected the skeletons. As soon s the sun came up, the man called a few of his stronger minions to him and left the temple.


    <hr>


    Meric was in an excited euphoria as he left his lair. He was so close. All he needed was a few rare ingredients and spell components, and he could summon it. His ultimate goal. The culmination of decades of work and research was only days away. He was salivating at the thought of it all.


    He reached a sunny glade where he knew a few of the necessary components were located. He gathered them up and handed them off to a skeleton he had brought to carry his things. It was wonderful to have tireless minions to do all the hard work of adventuring. He was considering getting a litter so he wouldn¡¯t have even to do the hardest part, all the walking.


    He sat under a tree while daydreaming of conquest and the life of luxury he would live after it all. Once he carved out a nice kingdom for himself, or maybe even an empire, he would begin stage two of his plan. He had done considerable research into bringing that plan to fruition as well.


    What was the point of conquest if he just died of old age within a few decades. However he did not want to become a lich, no he had much grander aspirations than that. A lich lost all of its corporal functions after all, and he did enjoy a life of hedonism. He had put off his debaucherous ways during the past few months to ensure the completion of his plans. He couldn''t wait to have a few women and more than a few drinks again. And when he was the king he would have much more than a few women.


    No, he could not give up his flesh and become a lich. But he thought he was close to discovering a way to retain his body, and gain immortality. It would be expensive, and exhausting, but that''s why he intended to claim a kingdom. He would use the resources to gain immortality, and maybe play king for a few dozen years. He had no desire to rule forever, though, and would probably stage his own defeat and death later on so he could move on. He didn¡¯t care about much other than living forever and pursuing his pleasure. Being a king of an undead empire would put a massive target on his back, and his immortality would be cut short by some enterprising kingdom rallying their people to fight the evil necromancer, and conquer a few duchies in the process.


    He fell asleep to dreams of grandeur and conquest. Secure in his inevitable victory he felt invincible. That dungeon would bring forth an army, and he couldn¡¯t wait.


    <hr>


    Pan was growing restless, the mage had been gone almost all day, and the sun was setting. He just wanted to get the battle over with. All the waiting was taxing on his nerves, and he was feeling anxious.


    The man finally returned just as the sun was setting. One of his skeletons had a large satchel full of different plants and fungi. He was sure the man was going to perform another ritual, and he hoped whatever he summoned would not be a threat to his minions, but he was sure it would be.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 7


    Type: Sentient Dungeon (Bound)


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 62/2500 (+1386)


    Rooms: 2


    Levels: 1


    Animals: 54552


    Plants: 15812


    Monsters: 25


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 8], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement]


    Dungeon Points: 325


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    As soon as the necromancer returned to his hideout, he began preparing for something. Pan had no idea what it was, but it was obviously some dark ritual, although not as complex as the one that had created him. The man was again drawing glyphs on the ground, and brewing something. He had also placed spell components in various locations on the glyph, as well as on the stone altar he had used before with Pan.


    Now that he could study the glyph, Pan could gain some insight into how it worked. It was made up of a few dozen smaller runes, and connected in a very specific pattern. During his time as an apprentice in training, he had studied some of the runic script, but the brevity of his research could not be understated. However, as a dungeon, he was now able to gain some true insight into the formation of the runes, although it was quite limited since he was seeing through his spies. He felt that if the area was included in his dungeon he would easily be able to understand it.


    Even with his limited understanding, he could see that the runes were all geared towards raising a powerful undead. At the outside were five mana gathering runes, and rather inefficient ones at that, which was probably the reason for the spell components. They were linked by straight lines, in a large pentagram. Inside there were runes to control the mana and pull it into a focal point. In the very center was a rune to inject all of the mana in one burst, and Pan assumed the necromancer was going to take care of the soul binding.


    The glyph seemed to only be for gathering and concentrating large amounts of mana to animate the body. He knew necromancy took large amounts of mana, and this man had found a way to alleviate the personal drain. The alchemical concoction was not necessary, but it would make the mana more attuned to darkness, which would greatly improve the efficiency of the spell.


    Pan felt a sort of grudging respect form for the necromancer. He may be evil, but he was a truly talented mage. It was a shame his affinity had been towards darkness, and he had fallen prey to the seductive and easy power of the dark arts. He hoped whatever undead the man created would not be too strong, else he''d have to replan his revolt.


    After hours of preparations, the man seemed close to completing the setup. The lines of the glyph were filled with a perfectly crystallized concoction poured from the cauldron, and a few gems were set in the runes. Gems couldn¡¯t hold mana, but they could hold spells and enchantments, and were excellent conductors for mana. The final preparations were complete, and with a flick of his wrist, the necromancer started ordering minions around.


    Pan was shocked to see them drag Gerald¡¯s body into the room. Now he knew why the preparations were so meticulous. When the body was raised, he wanted it to retain as much of its original level as possible. There would certainly be a loss of at least half, and probably more based on the necromancer¡¯s skill, but a level twenty undead would be a powerful enemy.


    Pan could only watch with fear as the necromancer began the ritual. Again the man was reading from his grimoire, in that ancient guttural tongue, but now Pan could make out the words. The spell pulled vast amounts of mana into a point, and impressed the castors will onto it, creating a consciousness. A very basic one. It would understand orders, and fight, but not much more. This synthetic soul would be forced into the body, which would be animated by a vast amount of mana. The pseudo-soul could control the body with mana, much like a marionette, but controlled from the inside. This would cause the loss in levels, but as the soul grew stronger, so would its control of the body.


    The man was burning through mana at an incredible rate, but he did not waver. He was draining stones and burning through spell components. Once Pan even saw him swallow a mana potion without breaking his chant. The necromancer was going through more mana in one ritual than Pan could hope to store. The residual mana was even pouring over into the dungeon.


    As the ritual drew to a close, a massive amount of mana was injected into the body. The mana forced the created soul to connect to the body, and after a few seconds, the body groaned and stood up. As it did the excess flesh and organs sloughed off revealing a black skeleton underneath. The flies told him he was looking at a Dread Skeleton Captain. A level nineteen Dread Skeleton Captain.


    The man smiled tiredly and gave it a few orders. Obey and protect me was the gist of it. Pan knew a Dread Skeleton was dangerous. Their bones were reinforced more than a regular skeleton, hence the shiny blackened appearance. They were stronger and more agile due to an enhanced controller, and slightly smarter as well. They could also command other skeletons effectively, and the tactics they used improved their combat effectiveness.


    Pan was worried by the new development, but the regular skeletons were just fodder to his minions. They could probably make a rush for the captain when the battle started and disable him enough to make cleaning up of the survivors a simple task. When the fighting started, the Dread Skelton would be the focal point of the enemy''s resistance. As long as his plan to remove the wizard worked that is.


    The mage finished delivering his commands, put the Captain in command under him, and thankfully headed off to his room. Pan was relieved to see him fall asleep almost immediately, but he wanted to wait until the man had fallen much deeper into unconsciousness before initiating his plan. With the man unaware, he ordered his assassins to begin their advance. Almost an hour after he started his rest, the spiders were in position.


    The man''s eyes were moving rapidly as he experienced his dreams, and the spider applied its anesthetic to the skin right over his jugular. The other was waiting in position on the ceiling above the man in case something went wrong. The man did not notice the clear drops of liquid that were spread on his skin, and when the volatile fluid evaporated, the spider struck.


    It sunk its fangs into the vein, and began pumping its venom into the man. In three seconds, it was done, and with its task completed, it climbed back up the thread to the ceiling before scurrying back to its hiding space along with its comrade.


    <hr>


    Meric jumped from his bed screaming for his minions to attend to him. There was an enemy in the catacombs, and he needed to destroy it. He had no idea how, but he could feel that something was amiss. When the guards outside his door rushed in he commanded them to alert the captain of the enemy and to attack at once. He cast his buffs on the minions, but he did not feel the familiar tingling rush of mana. No matter, he was sure it worked. It always had before.


    As he left his room, he couldn¡¯t remember if he should go right or left, but the swarm of skeletons was going out towards the entrance to the catacombs. At least he thought it was the entrance. He wasn¡¯t sure, but any incoming enemy would certainly attack from the entrance.


    Just as he was running down the hall towards it, caught up in the flowing river of skeletons, he felt a familiar pressure build in the hall. He couldn¡¯t place it but he felt an instinctive fear, and a distant part of his mind was overcome by terror. Panic grew within him, as any ability to think fled with his mind, as he ran back to his room with some skeletons and locked the door.


    <hr>


    Once Pan saw the effects of the venom on the necromancer, and was sure stage one had succeeded, he sprung into action and ordered phase two to commence. He immediately pushed his mana into the catacombs as he opened the doors to his hordes of minions. His horde of seven centipedes and hundreds of ants, led by the original centipede himself, charged through the opening. Even his ant queen was joining, but she was escorted by the ten strongest ant warriors, and they were crawling across the ceiling to accomplish their own very important mission. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Pan expanded his domain throughout the temple ruins, right up to the entrance. He needed to be able to sense everything, and he also wanted the mana he would get from the deaths of his enemies. Despite the mage having no clue as to what was going on, the skeletal Captain turned immediately when he sensed Pan¡¯s influence wash over him. He ordered the army to turn, form up, and advance back into the heart of the temple.


    When the armies met, it was a brutal fight. For the skeletons. They could not damage the vanguard of stone centipedes, and only slowed them down with the pressing weight of nearly a hundred bony bodies. As more and more skeletons poured into the crush, the centipedes were having trouble holding their ground. They weren¡¯t being damaged, but their ability to deal damage wasn¡¯t enough to maintain their forward momentum.


    Both sides knew the battle would drag on without a clear superior unless something changed, but it was the captain who acted first, since Pan only needed to keep the skeletons out of his chamber and away from his heart.


    The front line of skeletons placed the tips of their weapons against the ground wedging them under the centipedes as they attacked. They used the weapons as a lever to pull the front of the centipedes up off the ground, opening them up to attacks on their softer bellies.


    Their attacks weren''t much more effective, since Pan had made sure to armor them well, but a few piercing attacks got through joints in the carapace. The strikes were damaging, but did not kill the centipedes, and they remained combat effective. For a time.


    They were weakened greatly by the shock, and were much easier to move. Having never felt pain before, the heavily armored centipedes ended up on their backs, and with the breaks in their lines, the skeletons were easily able to continue to attack their weak spots. Those three died quickly after that, and Pan called for the rest to back up and close ranks while the army was distracted by killing the three that had been rolled. The centipedes were still able to block the hallway, but even one more loss would make that difficult, and two would make it impossible.


    The ants, which had been completely useless before this swarmed from behind the centipedes and across the walls. They climbed across until they were halfway along the skeletons formation before jumping down and attacking. As individuals, they weren''t much of a threat, but their jaws could cut through stone. Bone was softer. The ants attacked the skeletons at their weak points. Snapping foot and hand bones with ease. Many ants died, but there were thousands of worker ants by now, and over a dozen warriors.


    The skeletons dropped their weapons or fell over as bones were shattered. The split in the formation took the pressure off the centipedes, and they were able to fight back against the skeletons, now also biting through anything attempting to lever them off the ground. The ants had killed very few skeletons, but the tangle of lamed skeletons was an obstacle to the ranks of minions behind them. The warrior ants made short works of any skeletons they could reach with a crushing bite to the skulls.


    With the skeletons split into two smaller groups, the rear ranks of the group attacking the centipedes was facing damage from the front and rear. They fell quickly, and the centipedes rushed back to the front to shield the ants who were starting to get picked off by the now wary skeletons in the rear half of the army. Nearly one hundred and twenty skeletons had been destroyed, but there were still another hundred to go, and they were now aware of the danger the ants represented. Not to mention the Dread Skeleton.


    The following melee continued slowly, with neither side able to greatly damage the other. The strikes on the centipedes were slowly adding up, but the reduced number of skeletons couldn¡¯t push strongly enough against them to lift them anymore. The centipedes were getting the upper hand in the battle, but barely.


    The skeletons suddenly retreated to a much wider room, once the captain realized they would have no way of breaking through the lines to attack the dungeon heart. But in the room, the centipedes could not attack them without opening up the lines enough for the skeletons to rush past through the inevitable holes. Of course, Pan saw this and held them back in a line across the doorway.There was a stalemate in the room. A real Klavian standoff. Luckily, Pan already had plans in motion to break it.


    The Queen and her royal guard had made it to the necromancer''s room. He had locked himself behind the door and was sobbing to himself in fear. There were a few guards posted outside the room, and a couple more in it, but it would be no challenge for the warriors.


    Two were lost to the four skeletons outside the room, and the remaining eight started chewing through the door. A warrior''s jaws weren¡¯t designed to chew through walls, and workers would have been faster, but they managed. The leading two ants severed the ankles of the two skeletons flanking the inside of the door. They fell to the ground and had their skulls crushed by the warriors. As the four remaining skeletons charged the eight ants, they retreated from the room.


    Two skeletons reached the door, and were executed the same way as the first two. Seeing this, the final two retreated back to guard the necromancer. They were rushed by the ants and were dispatched easily. The queen entered the room and crawled over to the babbling necromancer. Pan was glad the venom had worked so well, if the necromancer had been able to give him orders the fight would surely have been lost.


    Unlike the necromancer, Pan had no desire to monolog to his captive, and he ordered his queen to execute the man. She did. Happily. A quick snap of her jaws split his throat. Just the same as he had killed both Pan and Gerald. He bled out quickly after that, and the queen doubled in size from his death. She was now almost two feet long, and Pan knew he would be able to do something special with her.


    When the necromancer died, the skeletons went wild, and charged the lines of centipedes. The captain pulled an axe from his belt and joined the charge. He struck a centipede in the head, and split its carapace. It was dead instantly. Seeing this, the original centipede charged the captain, furious about the death of his comrade. The final two centipedes held off the skeletons as best they could, and any that slipped past were swarmed by the ants.


    Pan had called a few of his ants back to move his heart into his main cave, since the glyph binding him and holding him in place was now broken by the necromancers death. It was a race to move his heart before the skeletons could slip one past his defenders and attack him directly.


    He had hoped that with the death of the necromancer, all ties holding them to the world would be severed, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. They were now unbound, just like him, but they still saw him as the enemy and continued the fight. He couldn¡¯t even regain control of the skeletons he created, since there was no longer any connection to hijack.


    The original centipede was in a deadly brawl with the skeleton captain. The skeleton was swinging his axe wildly, but without a solid charge, he couldn¡¯t muster enough force to split the centipede¡¯s carapace. There were deep score marks all over it, however, and its armor weakened with every chip blown off. The centipede was struggling to get its mandibles around some part of the skeleton, but it had already taken its left arm off at the elbow.


    When the skeleton delivered a powerful horizontal slash that ricocheted off the top of the centipede and drew its arm around in a wide arc, the centipede reared up with a screech and clamped down on the skeletons femur. It bit down hard and the bone gave with an enormous crack, shattering in the middle. Shards of bone scored deep cuts across the centipede''s face and belly, but it wasn''t even damaging. The captain went down, but managed one more hit on the centipede, a glancing blow that took off one of its legs that had been exposed when it reared up.


    The centipede screeched again and removed the other leg, and then the arm, before severing its spine and killing it. Like the queen had, it grew from the kill. Its armor reformed and it lengthened by another foot, as well as regrowing the lost leg. Pan could feel the mana in the centipede had grown much denser than before, and he was excited to try to upgrade it as well after the battle.


    His gem had been moved to safety already, and all that remained was the last of the skeletons. They were dispatched quickly when the now gigantic centipede turned its attention back to the rear of the skeleton survivors.


    With the battle over, Pan was bursting with mana. He had had to expand his mana stone to be able to store over three thousand mana in order to avoid wasting any mana. He immediately leveled up so he could move all of his mana into his main storage. When he checked the messages describing his new level, he also saw another for a new achievement.


    Level 8


    Unlock skill: Name Bestowal


    Need 5000 mana for level 9


    +25 Dungeon Points


    Name Bestowal


    Can name any monster that is deserving of a name. Named monsters will become unique, based off of their name and accomplishments that earned them the name. Named monsters can be re-summoned if they die, and will retain memories and levels. Monster must have accomplished something deserving of a name.


    New Achievement:Boundless


    Your dungeon has broken through many bindings. You have broken through the bindings that held other dungeons back from creating their own monsters, as well as severing the bindings placed on you by a necromancer. You will not be held back by anything.


    Maximum affinity for pure mana.


    +500 Dungeon Points


    Pan was elated by the effects he gained with his new achievement. An affinity for pure mana was an affinity for all mana, even the combination types. It would be harder to refine and use, but it opened up limitless possibilities. He knew which monsters would be receiving names in his dungeon. The dungeon would have its first boss monsters.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 8


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 2945/5000 (+0)


    Rooms: 12


    Levels: 1


    Animals: 55242


    Plants: 16122


    Monsters: 16


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 8], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal]


    Dungeon Points: 850


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    Once Pan had released all of his minions from his direct command, and they returned to their home cave, he had to decide how to handle the aftermath of the battle, and many things required his attention. He had relocated his gem to a much more natural location at the back of what he now considered his main cave, and started pouring through the mass of unopened alerts.


    He had many minor ones, notifying him of mana gains from the deaths of beings inside his dungeon, but a few messages stood out. From the death of the mage, he had gained the ability to imbue his monsters with dark magic. The imbuement seemed to allow him to give his monsters an affinity for dark magic, allowing them to instinctively use dark magic, and if they evolved to be more intelligent, intentionally use it.


    Now that he was released from his binding, he had access to the dungeon store. After browsing through it for a bit, he discovered it was mainly just a way for dungeons to acquire new monsters, but since he could make his own that was hardly necessary. What intrigued him was the basic plants and animals, since he could change them to fit his dungeon in any way he wanted once he had them, and they were very cheap. There was also a dungeon skill store, but only one skill caught his attention. Corporeal Form.


    It allowed the dungeon master to create a body to inhabit. He did not realize how badly he had wanted to have a mobile body again until he saw the skill. It was expensive, in dungeon points and mana, and he couldn¡¯t leave his dungeon, but it was a goal to reach for. But he did not have the points for it, or the required level. He would need to reach level twenty-five before he could even contemplate buying it, and that was a long wayoff. It would be a long term goal for him, but he was excited nonetheless.


    Pan had an abundance of mana to use, and he wanted to use it, before he had to take care of other, more delicate matters. He called the Queen and the now gigantic centipede over to him, there were names to bestow, and these two had set themselves apart. He may give the assassin spider that poisoned the mage a name later, but for now, he decided not to.


    Deciding that as the first true monster in the dungeon, as well as the one who had killed the mage, the queen should get the honor of the first name. Pan just needed a name to fit her.With the force of his will, he activated his skill, and gave her a name. She would be Elaria, named after an ancient warrior queen of the Sprachian tribes from the great eastern plains.


    When he named her, he felt a massive amount of mana pour into her. Fifteen hundred mana just to name his queen. It was a small price to pay, however, as he immediately felt that he could remold her into something new. Instead of evolving down a predetermined path as the skill described, he felt that he could decide on the changes that would make her unique.


    He began to modify her once more. The main weakness of the ants was their size. Originally they had been the largest thing in his dungeon, and were deadly to anything they faced. But now, after the battle, he realized how useless they would be against any human sized enemies. He didn¡¯t want to push it too far, since a colony of enormous ants would be colossal, and space was limited, but he still needed her to be a threat to any attackers.


    He made her seven feet long, and three feet tall at her maximum. She would be much larger than any ants she birthed, which would only be three feet long, and maybe a foot tall. Her muscles and exoskeleton were strengthened accordingly, and like he had done with the centipedes he incorporated metal into her armor. Pan also decided to give her an affinity for dark magic, and used the rest of the mana he had put into her evolution strengthening her magical abilities.


    She would be able to use dark magic defensively, with some support spells, as well as one offensive one. They were all innate abilities that she would use instinctively. She could hide herself or her children in a cloak of shadows, and shield them from magic. She could cast minor buffs on herself or any member of her colony, as well as attack with a bolt of dark magic. He found that by limiting her ability to only be able to affect her or her subjects, he could increase the power and number of the innate spells he gifted her.


    While she was strong, and very deadly to any attackers, her true strength was in her abilities to buff her army to help defend herself. Anybody attacking her would have a harder time the closer they got to her during the fight, and would hopefully decide to leave her alone. In Pan¡¯s eyes, her main purpose was to create and support an army of ants, not to fight in battle herself. He had only sent her to attack the mage because he knew that he needed to throw all of his cards on the table to maximize his chance to be victorious.


    However, she definitely lived up to her name, and would have no trouble killing any intruders who dared to attack her. She was definitely a tier 2 monster, and could probably give C rank adventurers a real fight. The only real thing separating C rank adventurers from D, E, and F ranks was the fact that they needed to reach level fifteen and accomplish the right missions to qualify for an advancement trial. They were much more experienced and had their main skills at a higher level. A C rank needed to be at least a journeyman in the skill they contributed to the guild, whether it was magic, healing, swordsmanship, or smithing. Pan wasn¡¯t expecting any C rank smiths to enter his dungeon, but most adventurers guilds employed people from a wide range of professions.


    While he mulled over thoughts of adventurer guilds and how to deal with them, he turned to his next monster. The centipede, now a massive six feet long, stood ready to receive his name. He had been the strongest monster before the new queen was named, and was the leader of the vanguard during the attack. Pan had the perfect name for the massive beast. He would be Behemoth, and he would guard Pan''s heart.


    Another fifteen hundred mana, and he began to modify Behemoth. He made him enormous. Fifteen feet long, he dwarfed any bear Pan had ever heard of. He made him taller, almost five feet at the peak. He was now a hill of metalliccarapace, sloping up from the ground, and running back down to the head. His legs sprawled out to his sides, supporting him, and hidden under a skirt of armor. His head was a giant shield, mirroring his rear, and he would be nearly impenetrable from the front. Many legs combined until he had only ten on each side, which were incredibly strong and fast.


    The legs had a much harder and thicker armor facing the outside, and the joints were hidden under the skirt of his carapace. Pan used the metal in the rocks to further reinforce his armor, and despite the weight of it, Behemoth could still move quite easily. Pan poured mana into the ferrous armor, making it lighter and muchstronger. A large ridge ran along his back, and armor three inches thick flowed out from the central spine, and had enough flexibility to not shatter under blows from a warhammer. He incorporated a lattice of incredibly thin, strong, spider web like strands into the armor, like layers of cloth. They would provide resistance to being split, like the other centipede had been by the skeleton captain''s axe.


    Offensively, he enlarged the jaws, and strengthened the muscles. The mandibles could probably bite through low-level armors, and decently dent steel plate armor. Pan also modified the joints of the front two legs to allow him to rear up and strike with them. They were sharp and heavy, and could probably pierce anything the jaws couldn''t crush.


    Nearly all of the mana expended during the naming process had gone into the armor, and it was incredible. Pan had used the last of the mana to give Behemoth the berserker ability. It wasn¡¯t as strong as the queen''s magic, but it would give him a boost to strength and speed the last five percent of his health, if he ever even got that low. Pan could definitely not use Behemoth anywhere on the first floor. Behemoth was too strong, that was for sure.


    When he was done, Pan was very pleased with his new tier 2 monsters. They were much stronger than regular tier 2 because they were named and unique. He called Elaria¡¯s new species dark dungeon ants. Behemoth was no longer a centipede, and his armor was no longer anywhere close to stone, so Pan decided to call him a steel decapede. It was his monster after all, and was descended from centipedes.


    Now Pan had to decide how to handle some less savory business. What would he do with the remaining captives from Mala village?. During the initial confusion of his attack, a few skeletons had cut down most of the captives, who Pan was sure were going to be sacrificed to his dungeon anyway, but there were three still living and locked in the room. One was the curiously strong teenager, and the other two were grown men. Pan had no way to communicate with them, and he was debating if he should kill them. Part of him wanted to, but he also knew that if they reported a new dungeon, he would get an influx of adventurers looking to get rich. Guilds paid a lot of money to receive information on new dungeons, hoping to claim them and their resources for themselves, and the rush of people would undoubtedly fertilize his dungeon. Pan was intrigued when he noticed the people arguing vehemently, and he hoped he wouldn¡¯t even have to act to set his plans in motion after listening in.


    <hr>


    Peter leaned against the back wall of the room as he listened to the two grown men argue. Steven, who had always been a shady character, was yelling at Adam, a small meek son of a shepherd. Steven had been looting the bodies of the villagers the skeletons had killed, and Adam, being a kind and gentle man, had tried to stop him.


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    The other two had no idea what was going on, but Peter did. They were in a dungeon. A real dungeon. A guild would pay twenty gold for information on a new dungeons location, and some guilds would pay more.


    Peter had a suspicion that Steven might know, but he wasn¡¯t sure, the desperate hurry Steven was in to escape and leave the other two behind made him wary. His suspicions were confirmed when Steven pulled a knife from his boot and threatened Adam. Adam¡¯s eyes grew wide and he staggered back, trying to calm the enraged man, but Steven¡¯s gaze hardened, and he seemed to have made his choice.


    Peter lunged forward in shock when he saw the blade, but was too slow. Steven darted in, and sunk the gleaming length of steel into Adam''s chest. With a sick, sucking sound, he pulled the blade back out as Adam gasped and coughed, spraying blood across Steven''s face. The wound on his chest bubbled when Adam tried to exhale, and he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Steven turned on Peter, and smiled a wicked grin.


    ¡°I can¡¯t be splitting the reward for a dungeon, now can I boy?¡± The advancing man asked Peter with a greedy grin on his face.


    ¡°Back the fuck off,¡± shouted Peter as he raised his hands.


    ¡°HA! Not likely, now that that old bastard isn¡¯t here to protec-¡±


    His words cut off as Peter threw a fireball spell into the murderer''s face, leavening him rolling around on the floor screaming. Peter ran past him over to Adam¡¯s body, but just as he had suspected, the young man had died almost immediately. Peter had never been close to Adam, but he had a friendly acquaintanceship with the man, and liked him well enough. He was pulled from his shockwhen he heard Steven give one last whimper before expiring on the floor. Yanked from his stupor, he mentally pulled himself back together, as his grandpa had taught him to do, and set about escaping the room.


    In the end, he had to burn through the door with magic. He was glad now, more than ever, that his grandpa had kept a few skillbooks from his adventuring days. The fire magic had been a skill he practiced in secret, as his grandfather had instructed. Fire magic wasn¡¯t illegal, but it was nice to have a trump card up his sleeve for moments like this.


    He explored the area, and looted the necromancer''s body after he found it. The man had a veritable fortune on him, and he came away with almost fifty gold coins worth of assorted goods and coins. When he got to the rear of the temple, he found his grandfather''s mana stone, which he promptly secreted away, as well as the smaller stone next to it. He would keep his grandfather¡¯s stone, but the other one could fetch about five gold coins. Even if the larger stone was worth almost two platinum, it held great sentimental value to him, since it had belonged to his role model, and closest family member.


    Before leaving, he gave the dead villagers a cremation, and recited a prayer for them, even Steven. When he left the temple, he turned towards his home Kingdom of Rivalt, and started planning the steps he would take to secure his future.


    <hr>


    Pan laughed to himself over the resolution of the argument. It couldn¡¯t have gone any better. He got the mana from two humans, and one lived to report his location. He felt little for the dead men, and since he had not paid any attention to how the argument started, he assumed they had been trying to decide how to split the profits from the finder''s reward and one got greedy. It¡¯s what he would have expected if he were a human in the same situation.


    He returned his focus on his named monsters, and released them to return to the caves. He was surprised to notice that Elaria was level twenty, as well as had acquired the title, Queen. It made her subjects more loyal and strengthened them in her presence. Behemoth had no title, but was now a level twenty-three. He felt much safer with them around, but it was definite overkill for the first floor of a dungeon.


    He needed to plan out how he would grow his dungeon now that he was free. He needed floors, rooms, and loot. Adventures would be plentiful if he gave them good loot, but he needed to be able to recoup the mana cost. The death of a single human gave him hundreds of mana, and their presence in the dungeon increased the mana he could collect passively. Every time one died the mana grew almost imperceptibly denser, and he could collect more mana. He was able to collect almost three hundred mana a day now from all of his passive sources.


    He needed to prepare for the eventual influx of people, and to do that he needed a proper dungeon. Pan figured the best place to start would be the old temple, however, someone might have a problem with a dungeon entrance being in an old church. He started by claiming the area around the building, and digging out the ground under the ruins, dragging the entire structure underground. Once it was there he filled the ground back in and started creating the entrance. It was a simple stone building, housing the staircase that led to his first floor.


    The temple had been on the top of a plateau, and Pan was currently mostly inside of the large rock formation, with his natural cave extending from the bottom of the thirty-foot cliffs down into the earth. His total vertical height was almost sixtyfeet, since the temple catacombs were pretty much level with the ground at the base of the plateau. There was a large staircase reaching up into the temple at the top of the rocky cliffs.


    Pan had claimed almost the entire plateau by this point, and it was a simple task to start rearranging things. He decided to stray from the old dungeon style of making rectangular rooms and hallways with traps and monsters. He would go with a more natural cave look. The caves would be relatively flat, as the ground would be covered in soil and plants. He didn¡¯t want to have to summon too many monsters, and he hoped to produce a thriving ecosystem. He expanded his main cave immensely, now free from the fear of alerting a certain necromancer.


    He used the mana he gained from creating the enormous cavern to expand his domain further and increase the size even more. This expansion petered out when he had created a cave almost an eighth of a mile long, and half as wide. It sloped downward, so as not to break the surface, and he strengthened the stone as much as he could, to avoid cave-ins as well as people from digging in.


    This cavern would support the ecosystem that would feed monsters to the first floor. The mana density in the room would help the monsters breed and grow much faster, and the new size could support many more monsters. Next to the cavern, Pan placed the actual caves of his dungeon. He had created thirty smaller rooms, in a large network of tunnels that culminated in a large room where the boss would be.


    There were many smaller tunnels connecting the large cave to the actual dungeon, to feed monsters into the caves. An adventurer could probably crawl through one of the smaller tunnels, but they would be very exposed to attack. Many of the tunnels connected through small foot high horizontal crevices in the rock. Pan covered them with plants, in an effort to hide them a little, but a fire mage would uncover them quickly. It didn¡¯t matter, plants grew rapidly in the mana rich caves Pan had created, and with the light globes hanging from the ceiling, they were able to use the light to grow all day.


    When his dungeon expanded to more floors, he would continue this pattern of having a large feeder cavern to provide monsters for the dungeon. As the monsters became too strong for the ones on previous floors, he would make a new cavern so no species would be over hunted. He was very pleased with his layout, even if it was very expensive. Making a large cavern cost him lots of mana, and his actual dungeon was much smaller than the actual volume he had claimed, but it saved him mana in the long run when he didn¡¯t have to summon monsters each time one died.


    He had spent five days, and thousands of mana to set up his first floor and cavern, but he was exceedingly happy with the results. The numbers of monsters had exploded, and the mana fueled the growth. With his greatly expanded domain and population, he was collecting almost two thousand mana each day. He originally had no idea how a dungeon survived by summoning each monster, since they were so expensive, but he had noticed that any monster he created was much more expensive than the default monsters. The cost to summon skeletons had also gone down slightly as he summoned more, by about ten mana each, and if that continued he could see how it would be economical for a dungeon to summon each defender.


    Now that he was reasonably set up with a first floor, he put all of his mana into expanding his domain. He started claiming land below and around the plateau, and a week after the survivor had fled he had claimed the land within an eighthof a mile of his entrance at the top of the plateau, and extended forty feet below the ground. He had no rooms in the plateau itself, just the staircase down. His whole dungeon was below the forest floor around it. His cavern took up almost half of his volume, and the thirty rooms were all in front of his cavern, with the boss room being closest to it. It would be hard for an adventurer to get into his cavern, since that was where his heart was, and even if they managed to crawl through the claustrophobic tunnels, he had Behemoth guarding him. His current boss was a regular stone centipede, since Behemoth would be far too deadly and anger some adventurer guilds. He didn¡¯t want them to consider him a danger and exterminate him.


    Pan also had to create loot to keep adventurers coming back, and increase the chance to kill one. He found a skill in the dungeon store that allowed him to do just that, for a paltry one hundred and fifty dungeon points. It was called Drop Assignment, and it allowed him to set drop rates and items to different monsters. He decided to put the loot in a chest at the end of every room, and it would be an aggregate for everything killed in the room, just copper coins for now, since he didn''t have any other items worth giving.


    The monsters on his first floor were mostly dark ant workers from Elaria¡¯s colony, with the only difference being the stone centipede serving as the boss. It would be a good challenge for anyone attempting the dungeon, without being overly deadly. When he was able to create a second floor, he would make it more difficult, in an attempt to attract stronger adventurers. Behemoth would be the boss for floor two once he created it. Before that project, he wanted to make floor one bigger, and turn the stone centipede into a mini boss that would separate the first half of floor one from the second more difficult half. But he was going to need new monsters for the second half, since the only tier one monsters he would consider using were dungeon ants, stone centipedes, and assassin spiders.


    He tasked Elaria with sending workers out and capturing any animals they could find, before the area was swarming with adventurers. He didn¡¯t want to have to buy any animals from the dungeon store yet, he had been a frugal man after all. He wanted to save those for more exotic flora and fauna later on down the road, and hopefully, he could capture some more common animals and make them into something more exotic in the meantime.


    Over the following days, he received a quite a few new species, a few of which were promising candidates, but since he didn¡¯t even have more caves yet it was a moot point. He would think on it for a bit longer, but for now, all of his mana was going towards extending his reach down. He found it was quite easy to expand laterally, although it did grow harder the further he got from his heart, but vertical expansion took quite a bit more mana. Getting a new floor would be an expensive endeavor, but he wanted the option to be open before any adventurers set up.


    Ten days after the escapee had fled, he called for Elaria to stop the forays outside of the dungeon. He knew that someone should be coming to confirm the report of a new dungeon soon, and he didn¡¯t want any monsters to be caught outside of the dungeon. That would look bad. He was as prepared as he could be, and he hoped the team sent to confirm his existence and rank him would come soon.


    Sure enough, on the eleventh day, his flies reported a group heading towards his dungeon through the forest. They were obviously adventurers, and quite strong ones at that. Pan hoped they wouldn¡¯t disrupt his dungeon too much during their initial clearing and examination of the dungeon.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 8


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 192/5000 (+0)


    Rooms: 31


    Levels: 1


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 483


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 8], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment]


    Dungeon Points: 700


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    Peter had been walking for five days before he saw his destination. It was the massive city of Moralt, the largest city bordering the wilderness. It was large, and heavily fortified by enormous gray walls. During its formative years, the kingdom of Rivalt had been threatened by its northern neighbor, Geran. Rivalt claimed the forests where he had found the dungeon, and had fought a war to hold them. Moralt was built to fortify the frontier, and had grown into a rich city, since it was the hub for trade flowing throughout the network of villages in the forest.


    Peter knew of least three adventurer guilds operating in the city, and he was going to the largest. The Silver Eagle Guild was actually the largest guild in the northern Rivalt region, with connections all over the kingdom, and even a few outside. They would pay quite well for information on the dungeon, especially since they didn¡¯t want to lose out to any regional competitors.


    When Peter finally reached the city early in the afternoon, he didn¡¯t head to the guildhouse. Instead, he went to the market district. He sold all of the loot he had claimed from the dead the necromancer, as well as the smaller mana crystal. He netted over sixty gold coins, an enormous sum. The twenty coins he could expect from the guild would have been enough to retire comfortably off, and sixty would let him live a luxurious life. But he had no desire to settle for luxurious, if he played his cards right, he could become wealthy enough to rival some smaller noble houses.


    He traveled to the city hall, and arranged a meeting with an administrator. Since Moralt was the regional hub, and the center of the duchy of the same name, it was also the in charge of the undeveloped northern forests. There was no noble in charge of the area, which was large enough to form a new county or three, since the majority of it was still very unpopulated and underdeveloped. However, Peter would be able to buy deeds to the forested land at the city hall in Moralt.


    The land was incredibly cheap, and with his sixty gold coins, he was able to claim a large area. It was about one gold per square mile, but since he was purchasing so much he was able to get a deal. He purchased seventy-five square miles around the dungeon. His land stretched from a river to the south of the plateau, to the hills behind it. The river was in the center of a large valley, so he had an eight-mile long stretch of shoreline along the river, centered on the line connecting the dungeon to the closest point of the river. He claimed about a half mile to the other side of the river as well, since he figured that riverfront land would be valuable soon. His property extended almost nine miles behind the river, up to the foothills of the mountains that formed the northern wall of the valley.


    He was pleased with how much land he had been able to claim, especially since it contained a dungeon. The only people who had a dungeon within their lands were dukes, and only three existed in the kingdom. Out of the seven dukes, the ones who had claim to a dungeon¡¯s riches were by far the most wealthy. Guilds would pay a premium to be allowed to set up on the land, and would pay a percentage off all dungeon related income to the landowner in a tax.Peter was going to get rich. Very rich.


    After purchasing the land, he walked to the Silver Eagle Guildhouse to report the dungeon. It was a large, three-story stone building that took up an entire city block. The first floor was a tavern and meeting area for guild members, as well as where they could receive assignments and turn completed missions in for rewards. He assumed the second floor was quarters for guild members, and the top level was for the local guild master as well as assorted administrative staff. There was a courtyard behind the main building, mostly for training, as well as a smithy and attached warehouse.


    He strode over to the front desk and waited for the receptionist to acknowledge him. After she finished some paperwork, she looked up and greeted him.


    ¡°Hello sir. What brings you to the Silver Eagle Guild?¡±


    ¡°Um hello, I¡¯d like to report a new dungeon I found," Peter replied.


    Her eyes rose sharply at his request. She smiled and asked him to wait while she found someone qualified to deal with him. She returned with a well dressed older man, who seemed to have an air of power about him. The man introduced himself as the local guildmaster, Jack. Peter gave the location of the dungeon, and received a voucher for twenty-five gold coins if the report was confirmed. He was offered a room in the guildhouse until the report was confirmed, which he took the man up on. All in all, Peter was quite pleased with the way things had gone, and was optimistic about the future. It was like his grandpa told him. It¡¯s always darkest before dawn.


    <hr>


    The C ranked adventurer team Alex was on had received a mission to confirm a report of a new dungeon in the wilds to the north. They were the highest ranked team in the city at the time, so they had received this top priority mission. If there was a dungeon, they needed to clear and rank it, as well as return with any resources they could find. The guild would use the reports to determine how many resources to allocate to the dungeon. If they found anything particularly valuable, the guild would invest a lot into developing a proper outpost for the guild. Alex hoped they found something good. It would help line his pockets if the dungeon was particularly valuable, and he had his eye on a new bow.


    It took the party six days to find the plateau the dungeon was reported to be inside of. They were weary, and it was difficult to navigate the nearly untouched forest. There were isolated villages all across the forest, but none were in the vicinity of the dungeon. Alex was surprised the man had even discovered it, if it actually existed, since it was three days from the nearest village.


    They climbed up the gently sloping front of the plateau, and saw that there was indeed some sort of structure on top of it. The hill opened onto a flat plain, clear of trees, with cliffs on three sides. They had an amazing view of the forest from the top of the hill, which was just above the canopy. They set about constructing their camp on top of the hill before going anywhere near the entrance, which was a small stone building containing nothing but a staircase.


    The stairs were ten feet wide, which was nice since it let them cover each other on their descent. Alex was already fairly certain it was a dungeon at this point, without even entering it. An inviting stone building with a wide staircase delving deep into the earth was not something that just existed in the middle of the forest for no reason. He was excited about the prospects of the guild getting their hands on a dungeon. The wealth could provide would help set them up too expand past just the northern region, and maybe become the most influential guild in the kingdom. No guild had free rights to a dungeon, and if they could claim it as their own the guild would benefit greatly, and with it, so would Alex. A rising tide raises all ships after all.


    Once their camp was set up and they were prepared to tend to any wounds they may receive, the group prepared to enter the dungeon. Their excitement was palpable, and everyone was grinning like a sugared up kid during festival. The instant they entered the building, they felt a familiar pressure in the air. The energy of a dungeon. They were all familiar with dungeons, having trained in a few during their ascension through the ranks. All they had to do now was rank the dungeon and determine its value.


    When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they all paused in shock. They had entered a large empty room, one that could probably hold a hundred people comfortably. But past the room was something like a door to a different world. The dungeon looked to be filled with sunlight, coming from strange organic bulbs hanging from the ceiling. But the actual caves were amazing. The foliage was so dense, it looked like they were about to step into a jungle. And they could hear the chirping and buzzing of thousands of insects.


    The air felt humid and heavy, and there was a richness to the atmosphere that must have been a combination of the massive amounts of life and the dense mana. Even from where he stood, Alex could see a few rare herbs that would sell for tens of coppers apiece. He was an alchemist and a ranger, so he was a sort of back up healer for the group, as well as someone who was able to find coins almost anywhere. This first hallway was full of coins. Well, stuff that he would turn into coins. The guild would be ecstatic.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    They entered the hallway, and Alex made sure to grab the valuable plants, as well as a few bugs he knew to have useful alchemical properties. The vibrancy of the cave was astounding to him, and he found he was often pushing through large ferns or tangles of vines. There was a clear path through the center of the cave, but the edges were covered in life, and he was rooting through it looking for useful ingredients. The rest of the party was keeping watch, they let Alex do his thing, since he always managed to make them a good bit of extra money.


    Alex looked up sharply as he heard a scratching sound. He saw an enormous, nearly three-foot-long ant skittering towards him, and its size wasn¡¯t the strangest part. It had a black and purple iridescent carapace, that looked like the night sky if stars and northern lights were a deep violet. He lobbed one of the daggers he had secreted about his armor through one if its unblinking eyes, killing it instantly. When he examined the ant, he was startled to see it was moderately attuned to dark magic, and its carapace held a small amount of dark mana. It would be very useful as a catalyst for any potions that required dark mana, such as an invisibility potion.


    This low-level monster¡¯s body could be worth up totwenty coppers, maybe more if some organs turned out to be useful. A family of four could live off five coppers a day, so this dungeon was sure to attract peoplefrom all over. He put the body in his bag of holding so he could do a more in-depth examination later. After conferring with his team, they decided to continue. At the end of the room was a small stone box with a couple of copper coins in it. The group nodded in silent approval, it would be such a pain to look for dropped loot in this dense dungeon.


    The dungeon was full of these ants, and their mage''s examination skill showed they were a previously unknown species called a dark dungeon ant. The caves weren¡¯t linear, but as the dungeon ranking team, they had to completely explore the dungeon to properly gauge its danger, as well as make sure there were no hidden surprises.They had killed about fifty of them, and cleared almost thirty rooms, before they came to what seemed to be the end. The final room held something even stranger than the ants. According to the mage, it was a stone centipede.


    It was huge, and dangerously tough. Alex¡¯s arrows even bounced off the brute. Until he used a skill, drill shot, allowing him to bypass some armor. It still barely damaged the massive centipede, and it took three more shots to the same spot to weaken the armor enough for him to get a more damaging attack in. He decided he had tested it enough, and he called for his team to finish it off. Once it was dead, he stored it¡¯s body, and was glad his bag reduced the weight of everything in it, since the centipede may as well have been made of stone for how heavy it was.


    After some discussion, they decided the dungeon was F rank overall, but the boss was definitely D rank. Anyone could enter it, but they would be warned not to challenge the boss without some D ranked adventurers in the party. They were getting ready to leave through the convenient exit in the boss room, but Alex stopped them.


    ¡°Something¡¯s missing,¡± he stated, and they all paused for a minute, silently agreeing with him. It was their healer, Anna, who spoke up first.


    ¡°The heart crystal isn''t here.¡±


    They all looked around and realized she was correct. Usually, the dungeon heart would be in a room after the boss room, to avoid becoming collateral damage, but this dungeon had no final room, and the heart was nowhere to be seen. Alex looked around, and behind some dense foliage, he found a crevice. He had seen crevices like this earlier, but now that he really looked at it he realized it was much deeper than he had expected.


    He had to get down on his stomach and worm his way forward. He called for his team to follow, but only Anna and their mage, Jacob, could fit. Their warrior, Harold, refused to take his armor off to follow them. After crawling for what felt like miles, but was probably only fifty feet, and killing a few ants, Alex broke out of the cramped crevice. What he saw took his breath away.


    He stood in a cavern that made the tropical cave system look like a desert. There were ferns the size of trees, nearly scraping the ceiling forty feet above them. Plants of outrageous proportions grew everywhere, and the vibrancy and amount of life took his breath away. The mana was much denser as well, almost like the fifth floor of a normal dungeon. This was certainly not a normal dungeon.


    ¡°It¡¯s not summoning monsters, it¡¯s farming them,¡± he whispered, mostly to himself, but Anna and Jacob heard him and voiced their agreement. When he looked around, he saw many many monsters. There were hundreds of the ants, and dozens of massive centipedes. The party would have no trouble killing them, but they feared that if they killed the monsters the dungeon was using to supply the caves they would anger it.


    They made their way to the other end of the cavern, almost a quarter mile away, and tried to avoid killing anything that didn¡¯t attack them. When they reached the back of the cave they saw something new. There was a massive gleaming sentinel. When Jacob examined it, he broke into a sweat. It was named, and named Behemoth. A named monster was very dangerous. They could level up if the dungeon let them, and even if they died they could keep their levels.


    The gleaming giant, a steel decapede, was larger than any horse Alex had ever seen, and for the first time in the dungeon, he feared for his life. With a screech, the monster charged them. The dungeon seemed to be upset about them being here, and had decided to let them know. They were at a severe disadvantage, since they did not have their warrior to tank the monster on the front line. Alex would have to protect the healer and the mage, and he was mainly an archer.


    Luckily the beast was slow, and wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him. He put a few drill shots into it, grabbing its attention, as he led it away from the more vulnerable mana users. Jacob was a fire and air mage, with emphasis on the fire, and he launched a few fire darts into the giant.


    Alex was taking quick shots at it, hoping to weaken its armor in one spot enough for either him or Jacob to get a fatal strike past its defense. He was focusing on a point just above its front leg and under the lip of its back plate.


    After the tenth arrow, the spot finally cracked, and the body was exposed. He used his rapid shot skill to quickly drive three arrows deep into its body cavity. Its health dropped to almost nothing. Almost. Behemoth gave an angry screech, and its eyes took on a red hue. Its speed doubled, as it charged directly at Alex, swinging its massive front arms. One caught him in his side, shattering his ribcage. He was saved by Jacob, who cast a fireball into the open wound on the massive bug¡¯s thorax. Alex was burned severely by the explosion, but he was alive, and that was why they had a healer.


    In a few minutes, Alex was as good as new, aside from the memories of the pain he had been in. He found he was unable to move the giant bug, and he had to settle for taking only its carapace. Even leaving most of the body behind, his dimensional storage bag weighed over three hundred pounds.


    When they returned to the boss room, and reunited the party, they had a long discussion. They decided to remain with their original ranking, but would notify the guildmaster that there was a C rank boss in the cave. Nobody below C rank could easily reach the cavern anyway, and people would be strongly advised against it.


    They spent three days in and around the dungeon, but never went back into the large cavern. They did not want to test the dungeon''s anger again. Most of the time was spent collecting and cataloging plants and animals. Many rare species were relatively abundant in the dungeon, and Alex was certain it would be incredibly profitable for the guild.


    When they returned to the guild to submit their report, Guildmaster Jack wanted to meet with them personally. He read through the report, then questioned them on the details that were left out. When they showed him the loot they had collected from the dungeon, he grew very excited. They were led to the courtyard to meet with the guild¡¯s local craftsmen, so they could decide how to use the new resources. While they waited for the specialists to appraise the assorted monster parts, Jack was putting people into action.


    He sent messengers to the local city hall to purchase the land, and invited contractors to meet with him. He wanted to set up a functioning dungeon town quickly in an effort to get the money coming in as soon as possible. There would be an enormous return on investment for the guild if they acted quickly.


    When he had finished sending out messengers, the craftsmen had finished their assessment. They all had excited grins on their faces, especially the smith. Jack asked for their evaluations. The alchemist started, and he said mostly the same things Alex had said, except the stone centipede carapace could be used to make massive quantities of stoneskin potion, and the metal one could make an even more advanced defense potion.


    But the smith had an even more exciting report.


    ¡°Well, these ant carapaces could make a very basic set of armor for a low-level rogue type adventurer, and would have an easy time accepting dark type enchantments such as stealth and poison resistance. The stone centipedes would be much stronger, but obscenely heavy, and any adventurer to use armor that heavy could get something much better. But this metal carapace, I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. It is almost as strong as steel, but lighter, and has innate magic. A very skilled smith could forge this without losing the magic or ruining the complex structure that makes it so strong. But this stuff would be almost as enchantable as mithril, although not as strong or as light.¡±


    They were all shocked by this. A material that was a viable substitute for mithril. The amount they had could make two sets of full plate armor, and some weapons. That much mithril equipment would cost thousands to tens of thousands of coins. The potential advancement for the guild was simply ludicrous.


    The guildmaster called for a messenger to get the boy who had reported the dungeon, and he intended to reward him well. When the boy came, Jack gave him fifty gold coins, half a platinum, as a reward for giving them information on such a valuable dungeon.


    ¡°Thank you, for alerting us to this incredibly valuable dungeon, I¡¯ve doubled the reward, since it was a truly incredible find,¡± Jack said as he shook Peter''s hand. Peter sat down at the table and responded.


    ¡°Thank you, But I thought you¡¯d like to enter negotiations first?¡±


    ¡°Negotiations? What do you mean negotiations?¡±


    ¡°So you don''t know?¡± Peter questioned with a laugh.


    Just then the messenger sent to purchase the land ran over to the table, bowed to the guildmaster, and gave his report.


    ¡°Sir, the land has already been claimed.¡±


    ¡°WHAT? By who¡±


    ¡°Uh, a man named Peter Haroldson¡±


    The guildmaster, with a sour look on his face, slowly turned to look at a smirking Peter.


    ¡°These negotiations.¡±

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    Pan was a little disappointed that the first team to attempt his dungeon had uncovered his secrets so easily, but was placated when he remember how close they had come to death. Anyone below the C rank would stand no chance of even getting to the cavern, but with how basic his dungeon currently was he was sure nobody above C rank would come. He wasn¡¯t even certain many C ranked parties would be able to defeat his steel decapede, since the group sent to test his dungeon was near the top of the C ranks.


    It took another week after the expedition had left before anything changed. A group of people came and set up in the camp the expeditionary team had left behind. They seemed to be patrolling the area and guarding his cave. A few at a time would go in, but the majority were D ranked, and never ventured too deep. Very few died, and they were being cautious, probably since they had a more important job to do, and taking too many risks would be frowned upon by the guild. Only one team got to the stone centipede, and they turned back when they saw it. During the week he was unattended he watched his populations grow, and used his gathered mana to purchase some long overdue level ups.


    Level 9


    Unlock skill: Environmental Modification


    Need 10,000 mana for level 10


    +25 Dungeon Points


    Level 10


    Unlock skill: Floor Creation


    Need 25,000 mana for level 11


    +25 Dungeon Points


    Environmental Modification


    The ability to modify key parts of the dungeon¡¯s environments. For a small mana upkeep cost, things like temperature, humidity, air pressure, and other variables can be modified and maintained.


    Floor Creation


    The ability to add a new floor to the dungeon. New floors can be a completely different environment from the other floors. Cost increases greatly for each subsequent floor.


    After he did a bit of digging into the nature of floors, it seemed like Pan had previously had the wrong idea about separating floors. A floor was an arbitrary distinction made by the dungeon, so a dungeon could make a floor in any way they wanted. He could have two separate floors at the same height, but they would be magically distinct from each other. The furthest floor from the entrance would have the highest mana density, however, and it seemed like all natural dungeon simply made each floor lower than the previous, despite there being no requirement to do so. Pan had noticed that as he extended deeper into the earth, the mana density increased, which explained why he had more trouble extending down, as well as why natural dungeon expanded in that fashion. However, a floor really was only a device that manipulated the natural flow of mana in a dungeon.


    He was excited to start on his second floor, but he knew he had a lot to do before he would be ready to make the change. He also had the adventurers setting up outside, and he wanted to watch that scenario play out first. Besides, he had a massive cavern separate from the dungeon to begin his preparations for future floors. He would need new monsters to pose a greater threat, and hopefully draw stronger adventurers, just not yet.


    He also had another skill to play with, and he had increased the heat and humidity of the cavern marginally. The cavern was already very mana dense, and he hoped that the extra heat and humidity would be more distracting to adventurers, as well as make an interesting environment for his monsters to adapt to. It was also just a personal preference, since he was really enjoying the pseudo-jungle he had created, even without using any actual tropical plants.


    To prepare for his future plans, Pan decided to put leveling up any more on the bottom of his priority list. He put almost all of his mana into expanding even further, in an effort to prepare for an eventual new floor, as well as increasing the size of his current setup.


    The guards had only been in place for a few days when the first caravan came. There was a large number of laborers, as well as a few more parties of guards. The day they arrived there was a flurry of activity as they added nearly fifty more tents to the camp on top of the plateau. There was a larger tent for the cooks, as well as a few for important administrative people. Pan was surprised when his flies identified a city planner, a stone mason, a few carpenters, and a blacksmith. It seemed like the guild was sparing no expense in their effort to set up a proper and efficient settlement.


    The next day, a few foundations were laid near, but not next to the entrance. The entrance seemed to be the center of a future plaza, so as not to impede people from entering or exiting the dungeon. There was the obvious beginning of a guild house in a straight line away from the opening, and behind Pan¡¯s modest stone building on the edge of the cliff was what he knew would become The town hall. His spies had looked at the plans for the future city. He was surprised to see that they were hoping to create an actual city out in the forest, but it made sense when he thought of how valuable a dungeon could be.


    There were plans for a fort to be constructed on the slope leading up to the top of the plateau, so as to defend the dungeon and important parts of the city, as well as collect a tax from people wanting to attempt the dungeon. The guild could not levy a tax, so Pan assumed some lord had invested, and would be collecting the tax to recoup his money. Only the land''s owner could tax people, and they needed to have the authority to do so granted by the crown. No king would ever give an adventurer guild the right to tax nonmembers, so Pan knew a noble house had to be behind the founding as well.


    He was impressed by the amount of money being thrown at the project. Building the guild house would cost up to one hundred gold, maybe more considering the size and remoteness, and the fort would be more than twice that. Not to mention the cost of hiring the specialists, such as the city planner. The rushed founding of a settlement like this probably cost ten to fifteen platinum, an absurd sum, but with a dungeon, the investment would be paying off easily. If his dungeon provided enough profits, he would become the center of the first city in the wild forests, and he could already see nice roads being created by earth mages.


    It took a few weeks for the first real building to be finished, which was, of course, the guild house. It was amazing how fast skilled construction mages could create a building. The mages had set up a grid of paved roads on the top of the plateau, And areas were marked out to be sold to prospective business owners in one area, and as land for houses for those who could afford the valuable real estate on top of the plateau. Sadly, Pan had been forced to close his other entrance, due to all of the logging and industry being built up around him. Most trees within one hundred foot of the plateau had been cleared out, as well as all of the ground cover. The land was being marked out to be turned into more streets and city blocks. Plans were drawn up to build walls into the cliffs of the plateau, to prevent people from climbing them.


    Many of the guards had been allowed to attempt the dungeon while the construction went on, but only one team of four or five at a time. Only two teams had died, totaling eight people. They were all D ranked, but their mana was a welcome addition to the dungeon. They all died when they challenged the stone centipede, and were unprepared for its tremendous defense. Pan couldn¡¯t wait for the eventual influx of adventurers, but to prepare he needed a larger dungeon, otherwise not too many groups at a time could challenge the floor at once. He also needed a way for people who have already cleared a floor to bypass it, otherwise, they¡¯d just kill all of the monsters easily without any real challenge.


    The first problem was much easier to solve than the second, and he had made his feeder cavern over a mile in diameter over the month since the first guards had shown up. He had finally started summoning more than just invertebrates to populate his dungeon. There were many small birds, mice, squirrels, and a few families of foxes, but they all had to be wary of the much larger insects. He had plans for them eventually, but for the foreseeable future, he would just let them establish themselves. Besides the mana-rich dungeon cavern could support many more animals than a similarly sized patch of forest, and he was constantly expanding his cavern.


    Pan did make some modifications to the birds, since they were adapted to temperate forests. He made them more colorful and larger, to fit better in the jungle he had turned his cavern into. Almost as an afterthought, he imbued some minor alchemical properties into their feathers, and allowed them to spread into the dungeon where people could harvest them. The foxes and rodents needed fewer changes, but he made them more able to tolerate the heat, and boosted their speed and reaction times, in an effort to extend their lives. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    They did well enough in the cavern, and he didn¡¯t have to resummon them due to temporary extinctions. They added much-needed diversity to his pool of creatures, and the rodents were a good food source for larger monsters. The foxes were also the most intelligent inhabitants in the dungeon, after the ant queen, and he had big plans for them in the future.


    He was very pleased with the progress he had made, and the environment was now teeming with new colorful species, and filled with a cacophony of exotic sounds. The creatures he had available would make excellent monsters for his first few floors, but he would have to start purchasing or creating new species for floors past the first few.


    He had also been preparing an expansion to his dungeon, and had created another forty rooms to spread around the network. The first floor would contain seventy rooms, connected by thin snaking caves, in a large roughly circular area, about a mile in diameter. His total claimed area was a rounded rectangular area two miles long, and one mile wide, centered under his entrance. One-half was dungeon, while the other half was his cavern. When his connected his new rooms, more than doubling the size of the dungeon, he began planning for his eventual second floor, which would cost fifteen thousand mana to set up. It would take him nearly four days to collect that much.


    Just when he started saving up, the guild opened the dungeon to all adventurer parties. They were limited to three parties in at a time, separated by two hours, but once the first party returned and reported the expansion, they let seven parties enter at a time, one party per ten rooms, so as not to stress the dungeons resources. However, monster deaths from these parties were inconsequential to Pan, since he had massive amounts of creatures nearly overflowing the cavern.


    A surprising amount of people died, but he overheard the guild members talking about it like it was to be expected. It seemed that nine out of ten D ranked adventurers or parties never lived to advance to C rank. It was not a problem since guilds recruited basically all of the people who would be jobless otherwise. A nonadventuring job was hard to come by, since apprenticeship fees were expensive, and farms barely needed any people to function. In fact, a single farmer with a high level and the correct skills could feed a village, so there were plenty of people with no other option than joining a guild, and since food was plentiful, there was never any shortage of new people to replace the deaths.


    Even as a human, Pan had been aware of this, but he had no idea how many people died. He would probably have apprenticed to a master mage, and been hired by some noble house as a specialist. Mages were in high demand among the nobility, especially those with talents in creative magics, such as enchanting or alchemy. A few mages always became adventurers, but their death rate was much lower, since they were rare and could pick the best teams to join, as well as the rest of the team would protect them since they were incredibly effective in combat. A good mage drastically increased a party¡¯s chance to survive, so they were a precious resource for guilds.


    When Pan¡¯s spies gathered this information, he realized that none of the four parties that had died in his dungeon had a mage. It was a shame, because Pan wanted to be able to imbue his monsters with more types of magic. Even low-level mages would have their elemental specialization, and Pan hoped that would be enough to get the related imbuement. If he got enough, he could start experimenting with how to create rarer mixed element combinations, such as magma, nature, or metal.


    A sufficiently skilled mage could learn spells from an advanced element, if he had an affinity for one of the requisite elements. Rarely, a human would have the ability to specialize in two elements, and advanced elements formed by the two he had would be much easier to use. Monsters, however, were fixed in their specializations. A dark attuned creature could only use spells from the darkness element, so he would have to create advanced elements from the beginning to access the spells. Creatures from an advanced element were always quite powerful, and he hoped he could create rare multi-element monsters.


    But he was getting ahead of himself again, and he returned to his immediate plans. He needed to plan out his second floor, and as much as he liked his invertebrate hordes, he wanted something different for the newest floor. His most powerful monsters specialized in defense, and it was a good choice for his first floor, but he wanted to play with other specializations as well. It would also have the added effect of catching adventurers who had prepared for mainly defensive monsters having to face down something unexpected. He decided his second floor would be more open, but no less lush. The caves would be wider, and the rooms would be bigger. And it¡¯s inhabitants would focus on speed, he just needed the perfect base monsters.


    His foxes would work, but he wanted some diversity for his second floor. The first floor was mainly the ants, and while they worked well, he wanted to add more monsters to that floor later on soon. As he looked through the dungeon store, a few ideas stuck in his head, and he was glad he could get away with making the second floor more dangerous than the first. The first thing he needed was a base for his food chain, and he knew just what he wanted. He purchased a basic deer from the dungeon store, and it was a cheap three points since it was a nondeadly herbivore.


    He modified the deer to suit his purposes, since he didn¡¯t want them to die too easily. He made them much faster, and improving their reaction times, as well as burst speed, was his main focus. Pan made them much stronger, and sleeker, with incredible jumping ability. If something threatened them they could jump out of the way so fast and hard they would be nothing but a streak to all but the most keen eyed hunters. They couldn¡¯t keep their speed up for a long time, however, and after a few powerful bounding leaps, they would have to switch to their slower, but still quick running speed. He did make the males larger and more aggressive, with sharp metallic antlers. They would be able to defend their herds if the need arose, but Pan intended for them to be the staple food source for the real monsters on the floor, he just hoped he hadn''t overdone it.


    The next acquisition was a two point purchase of a rabbit. It would be a smaller, but abundant prey animal, and he intended to release them to the first-floor cavern as well. He had realized he would need to separate his first-floor animals from the second-floor ones at some point along the way. The rabbits were made larger and sleeker, to be better able to navigate the lush forest he intended to continue on the second floor. Unlike the deer he had created, he introduced them to the original cavern. They were a success, and didn''t go extinct while providing a source of red meat to the monsters growing in the cavern.


    Pan was excited to get to the long-awaited creation of the actual threats on the floor. First up would be the foxes. They started small, and he wanted them to remain small, but they should still be able to provide an adequate challenge to adventurers attempting the floor. He modified them further from the already changed foxes in the cavern. He made them lightning fast, able to chase down the rabbits that would be their main food source. He made them around thirty pounds, large enough that an adventurer party would have trouble with them, especially since they moved so fast. They would be the challenge for the first part of the floor, but he wanted the second half to be strong enough to attract C ranked adventurers.


    For that, he bought his final monster. A twenty-five point jungle cat called a ¡°jaguar.¡± Pan had never heard of them, but they seemed ferocious, and would make a great monster for the second half of the floor. He made them larger, at an average of two hundred pounds, and again made the animal sleeker and faster. Their advantage was their agility, and he made them into even better ambush predators that should have no trouble surprising even the deer that would be their main prey. Like the deer, their speed was focused on short bursts, and they would leap out of hiding to make their kill incredibly quickly. But they were also strong enough that adventurers should have trouble if their initial attack failed. A good C ranked party should be able to handle them, although not easily, but if caught unaware, a few party should be easily killed and drug off. Finally, he made them black.


    It had cost Pan nearly five thousand mana to create the monsters for his second floor. And he had to dip into the mana he was saving for the second floor. When he finally saved up enough mana, he purchased the next floor. The mana was sucked out of him, and nothing visibly changed. But Pan could see that he now had a point he could expand off of leading from the first-floor boss room. He savored the moment, since it would be awhile before he got the chance to do this again, he could see that another floor would cost him fifty thousand mana. Over time, he had extended his reach another hundred feet down, and was ready to begin sculpting the second floor. He extended a staircase down sixty feet, and began creating the next floor.


    Instead of cutting off the massive cavern, this time he decided to incorporate it into the dungeon. He would leave his core in the cavern above, since it was easier to defend, and Behemoth was more dangerous than the cats, and while he would be the boss for the floor, he would be guarding Pan until anyone came close to the boss room. When he left the queen would guard his core, in case anyone tried to pull something sneaky.


    He made the floor in the same general layout as the first one, but he found that when he purchased the floor, he claimed a lot more land, despite the higher cost to expand deeper. He had an elliptical area about three by two miles to play with now. The first part was wide sixty foot tall caves, in a network that covered the first mile of the ellipse. There were many enormous rooms in the network, around fifty of them. The foxes would be the main threat for the first part of the dungeon, with none of his black jaguars guarding the caves. But the second part of the floor was all cavern, and that was where the massive cats would make their homes.


    It was two miles long by two miles wide at its widest, narrowing down at the back. The previous area had gradually sloped down enough that the cavern could be one hundred feet tall. Right now the entire floor was bare stone, but he worked to quickly add dirt to the floor. He allowed non-evolved bugs from the first floor to enter the second floor, and he populated it with plants as fast as he could. It took two days, but the intermittent deaths of adventurers had helped speed the process along. He let any nonmonster from the first floor freely venture into the second, and the bottom of the food chain quickly established itself.


    However, before he could populate it with the monsters, he still felt that something was missing. He had spread trees around the floor to prepare for the moment, and now he poured mana into them, creating towering monoliths that would watch over the floor. He couldn¡¯t wait to see the floor¡¯s ecosystem settle like the first floor. It was going to be a truly spectacular sight. The floor was massive, but he felt no desire to create another floor on the same scale as this one for awhile. It was amazing, but he wanted to continue to change up the style of his floors, to keep adventurers on edge.


    He finally added the monsters he had designed for the floor, first the foxes and deer, than two days later he added the cats. Pan hadn''t named any of the species yet, and he had decided to let the adventurers name them. The introduction went very well, and Pan was glad to see the population of each species properly balance out. There was plenty of food, and the mana in the caves caused rapid reproduction and growth, before slowing for adulthood. All of the monsters could potentially live for years, but that was unlikely due to the deadly competitive nature of living in a dungeon.


    He was finally ready to open the floor to adventurers, so he created a room behind the first-floor boss room that would have a staircase leading to the second floor, as well as a way to return to the entrance. Now he just had to wait for the first challengers.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 10


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 192/25,000 (+500)


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 2


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 5182


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 8], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation]


    Dungeon Points: 720


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    George led his team through the dungeon. Today they would challenge the first-floor boss, so they had secured the first place in line. They had easily pushed through the first few rooms and their dark ant guardians. His D ranked team had no trouble with the little pests, and he knew that soon they would all be able to challenge for C rank. The party was ready, and only needed the guild to sign off on the promotion, and give them their advancement quest.


    They hoped to make a name for themselves in the new dungeon, and had eagerly signed up to guard the developing city, especially since the guildmaster promised to consider them for promotion when he arrived. Their party consisted of five people, a mage, a healer, two warriors, and an archer. George was the main tank for the group, and his brother, Ronald, was a damage focused warrior who had fought by his side for years. Together they formed the front line, and the mage and healer supported them with spells and buffs. The rogue spotted traps, and his arrows took out any monsters attempting to flank the party.


    They were a well-oiled machine, and the single dungeon floor was an easy obstacle for them to overcome. They had already killed the boss a few times, and with their relentless drilling, they had no fear for anything in the dungeon. Today, they had called in a favor or two to cut to the front of the line, and would head straight to the boss room. Its armor sold well to an alchemist, and stoneskin potions were plentiful in the growing city.


    After clearing the twenty-eight rooms that made the shortest path to the boss room, they took a quick rest to recover their stamina and prepare for the boss fight. None of them expected it to be difficult, but it would still be prudent to be at their best. They had practiced enough that they could clear the dungeon in two hours, and they wanted to enter the dungeon first so they could clear it quickly with nobody slowing them down, and relax for the remainder of the day.


    When they were ready, the party surged into the room, the mage leading with a beam of light magic, blinding and dazing the boss. George stunned it with a shield bash, and his brother¡¯s sledgehammer pulverized the beast¡¯s armor. It wriggled in agony, and tried to attack. Its rear half had been obliterated, and it was stuck to the ground, even as the still living front half scrambled against the ground in an attempt to attack George. Seeing it was immobilized, they all stepped back, and a few arrows slipped through its armor, finishing it off quickly.


    There were smiles all around as they collected the parts, and the silver coin from the chest. They were definitely overpaid for the fight, a silver coin would cover the group¡¯s expenses for a month. When they left the room to head back to the beginning, they noticed another hall, next to the one returning to the exit.


    ¡°Hey guys, did you hear about a new floor?¡± The mage questioned.


    After a round of denials, the group decided to investigate, anything new would earn them a premium from the guild. They descended the surprisingly long staircase, and at the bottom, they saw why it was so long. If their first view of the incredibly lush dungeon had surprised them, this new floor left them in shock.


    They had entered a room that was nearly a hundred feet across, and massive trees hugged the walls, creating a second ceiling below the sun globes on the cave''s roof. The trees were nearly sixty feet tall, and even had a few of the glowing pods hanging from their branches amongst the vines. The moisture in the air left a thin mist, limiting their vision to about one hundred feet. The refracted lights from the glowing plants played tricks on their eyes, and every inch of the caves seemed to be lit up by strange luminescent plants. The first floor had just the hanging bulbs, and although this floor had them as well, there were many more types of glowing plants, as well as a few insects. The entire scene looked like some surreal painting, and the ambiance of tropical aromas and chittering insects and birds made the cave seem like a jungle paradise. George half expected fairies to be flying around the beautiful light display.


    After the group had cleared their minds, and escaped the trance the dreamlike scenery had put them in, they went on guard. They had no idea what kind of monsters called this place home, but they were sure it would be new. If the pattern continued, they expected some more massive bugs, with bad tempers, and the distracting environment put them on edge. They pushed through the room, towards one of the smaller tunnels leading to the next room. Only it wasn''t a small tunnel, but a forty foot tall crevice wide enough for them to walk two abreast.


    They were startled a few times by incredibly quick rabbits bolting through the underbrush away from them, and even their archer missed one when it ran across the path. He mumbled something about the fast little bugger surprising him, and retrieved his arrow. The group was growing anxious, since they had not seen anything they could classify as a monster yet, and the suspense was making them nervous.


    Just before reaching the crevice, they were attacked. Their relief was evident, as they swung into action. A small lithe fox was batted out of the air when it leapt for George¡¯s face. Its chest was crushed by the massive warhammer, and it tumbled across the ground, before coming to a stop in a pitiful wheezing mess. An arrow ended its pain, and the group went to investigate.


    It was larger than a normal fox, and its fur was a deep brown with black stripes. It was surprisingly soft for how sleek it¡¯s fur looked, but it wouldn¡¯t win any contests. It would still be valuable, and its skin was tougher than average. There would be plenty of low leveled adventurers wearing armor made from these monsters. They collected the carcass and forged ahead.


    In the next room, two of the little monsters attacked them, and they were vicious. They were unbelievably fast, and their little needle teeth hurt. These ones never jumped for them, and it was much harder to hit them when they stayed on the ground. Their archer was almost useless, and he was the fasted among the group. It came down to George getting a lucky shot while tanking one, and their mage casting an area spell in his frustration. Their healer had to heal himself a few times, since the little bastards ran right through their lines and sunk their teeth into his ankles. It was a very annoying fight, but by the end of the ordeal, they had gotten much better at fighting them.


    After three more rooms, the group''s familiarity with each other and relentless drilling began to shine through, and they managed to face three of them without taking a scratch. When they faced four in the next room, they took some damage again, and were all in agreement that the foxes were quite a pain in the ass, despite the ample rewards for clearing each room. They continued on, and cleared twelve more rooms, getting up to ten foxes per room. At that point, they had trouble, and needed frequent healing breaks. They only continued because they were getting a silver coin in the room with ten foxes. When they cleared the thirteenth room, there was a much larger exit crevice. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s the boss room?¡± The healer asked.


    ¡°It most likely is, boss rooms always have something different about them,¡± George responded.


    They received their second shock of the day when they exited the crevice and found themselves in an enormous cavern. The walls curved away from them, and they couldn''t see more than sixty feet through the mists and trees. There were a few paths through the underbrush, and they picked one to follow. There was a greater variety of plants in the room, every one of them oversized. From mushrooms over two feet tall, to flowers the size of a man¡¯s chest, the cavern was a testament to the power of a mana dense environment.


    The only thing missing was monsters, and they hadn¡¯t been attacked by a single fox since stepping into the room. When they had walked about a quarter mile, something changed. The atmosphere grew heavy, and they all felt nervous. The archer broke into a sweat, and his eyes darted around.


    ¡°Guys, my danger sense is warning me,¡± he told the group, referring to his skill that allowed him to detect hostile intent.


    ¡°Bloody hell Mer, I don¡¯t need a fancy fucking skill to tell that something is wrong,¡± the healer shot back.


    George admonished them for bickering in a dangerous situation, a common occurrence between the archer and the healer, who was more of a rogue than the archer. How they managed to find such an uncouth healer was beyond him, but he was skilled, and a good friend to boot. The whole group was on edge, and the atmosphere was tense, something was stalking them, and they didn¡¯t like it. They backed against a tree, George and his brother guarding the weaker support members.


    <hr>


    The massive black cat stalked through the humid forest he called home. There were intruders around, and he could feel his creator willing it to sink his fangs into them, especially the robed one in the back. He was confused, since there were two robed men, but he picked a target, and hoped it was the correct one.


    The foolish prey had backed around a large tree, seemingly unaware that trees were his preferred environment. He slunk across a couple branches, and launched himself through the air, landing silently on the tree they clustered around. He crept down, careful not to knock any bark loose, and circled around to the opposite side of the tree from the prey. When he was twenty feet above the ground, he returned to the other side, directly above the group. When he was in position, he let go, and dropped towards the unsuspecting group without a sound.


    <hr>


    George heard a muffled thump behind him, and spun around as their mage squealed in surprise. What greeted his eyes was something that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life, if he survived. A massive black cat had crushed their healer, and was tearing into his corpse. With a roar, George and his brother attacked, barely scoring a glancing blow when the cat twisted and avoided the blows, without moving from its spot. It counterattacked against his brother, and its massive claws gouged huge ribbons of flesh and armor out of his chest.


    Both George and his brother screamed, one in rage and one in pain, but before George could attack, the cat was gone. He twisted to follow the black blur leaving his field of view, and got around just in time to see an arrow sink into its shoulder. Their archer had ran back to gain some distance, and had managed to score a hit. But at a cost. The cat nearly flew across the clearing, and pounced on the archer as he drew his dagger. It savaged his throat with its massive fangs, and its rear claws eviscerated his abdomen, even as he sunk its dagger into the beast¡¯s chest.


    The pain made it yowl, and it tore his throat out in anger, before turning back to the two warriors. And just the two warriors. The cowardly mage had bolted, as expected of the elitist light mage. He had never fully fit into the group, and George was more disappointed than surprised. He looked to his gravely wounded brother and nodded. It was their time, and they would go out fighting together. His only hope was that the mage ran into another monster like this one.


    With aroar, he charged the massive feline with his brother. The cat paused for a second, looking between the two, and made a choice. It leapt for his brother, dagger still embedded in its chest. His brother timed his swing perfectly, but couldn¡¯t have anticipated the sheer agility of the beast, even wounded. In the middle of its leap, it twisted in the air, and the hammer only grazed its forearm, instead of splitting its skull. It continued on its trajectory, and slammed into the warrior, knocking him to the ground. Instead of finishing the man, it twisted, and used his body as a springboard for its next leap, digging its claws into his chest as it did so.


    It sprung for George, as he was turning to intercept it. He caught it on his shield, but it hooked its claws into the piece of steel, dragging his arm down as the cat fell. It landed on its back, and lashed out with its rear claws, digging into George¡¯s shins. The claws tore through his armor like paper, and he started going down on top of the cat. Its claws found purchase higher up his body, and it dug into his groin, eliciting a massive scream from George, even as he collapsed on top of it, sword first. It howled in pain, digging its claws in deeper, pushing hard, and tossing him away.


    He was bleeding massively from his shredded groin, and he knew his femoral arteries had been torn as well. He tried to do something, anything, but he was too weak, and the loss of blood was taking his consciousness away. Just as the hobbled cat limped to his broken body, his vision narrowed, and the world faded to silence. He breathed out one last time, and the world faded to black.


    <hr>


    The mage was running through the forest, hopelessly lost. When that massive cat had toreinto the healer, he had bolted before he knew what he was doing. He had been running for minutes, and his breathing was growing ragged, his stamina nearly depleted. He stopped in a clearing to catch his breath, and turned to look behind him. Thankfully he hadn¡¯t been followed by that beast.


    He turned back to the clearing, and had no idea who was more startled, him or the deer that had been grazing there. They didn¡¯t look threatening, although a male was stomping and waving its antlers at him. It was no matter, it was fifty feet away, and he had hunted deer before, this was obviously its attempt at a bluff to scare him away. He scoffed at the pitiful animal, and cast a weak light spell in its direction, hoping to drive it away. He really wanted to be left alone, and those obvious prey animals might attract the attention of another massive cat.


    What he wasn''t prepared for was its reaction to his spell. It snorted in anger, and bunched its rear legs up under its body, like a coiled spring. It pushed off, and in less than a quarter second it had crossed the fifty feet between them, antlers first. He couldn''t even get out a strangled cry before the noise was cut short. He was impaled on the antlers of the incredibly fast deer, and the momentum of its charge crushed his ribcage and vital organs. It carried him a dozen feet from that initial charge, before shaking the corpse off of its impressive rack of antlers.


    <hr>


    Ivar, who was acting as the temporary guildmaster for the developing city was listening to reports of a new floor, as well as the missing D ranked party. It was their best D ranked party, and initial scouting of the floor had found no sign of them. It was concerning, but expected. It was, however, unfortunate that a rare light mage had died as well, but if they had died, it meant they had gotten overconfident, and bitten off more than they could chew.


    The preliminary reports told him that the floor was split into two distinct sections, with the first being a reasonable challenge for D ranked adventurers, and the second giving all of the scouts a bad feeling. It was reported to be a massive cavern, but they had all turned and left, saying it was a dangerous place. Ivar assumed the cocky party had gotten ahead of themselves and pushed into the area anyway, despite the feeling of danger it gave.


    The new floor was interesting, however, and it seemed to be a very lucrative place to hunt. Some rooms rewarded adventurers with an entire silver coin, and the pelts of the fox creatures would make decent armor for a beginner D rank. He hoped that the second half would prove to be just as rewarding, since this dungeon had been so profitable so far. Already word was spreading of a valuable dungeon, and reports came of hordes of adventurers, not just from his guild, setting out to strike it rich.


    He hoped he had enough of the infrastructure completed to support the influx of people, and he sent out an order to prioritize completing the fort, as well as the fortifications around the plateau. The guild would receive part of the dungeon entrance taxes, and getting the proper protocols in place was a top priority. He only hoped they could keep horde of enterprising adventurers at bay, not to mention the rival guilds or greedy nobles hoping to take a slice of their pie. Already a few pushy nobles had tried to ¡°buy¡± the land from Peter, but with the guild¡¯s support they had backed down.


    Ivar sighed. He had a lot of work ahead of him. He needed to protect the dungeon, and the guild''s interests. He really wished he could tell the rival guilds and greedy nobles to shove off, but the guild had insisted that he be diplomatic, so he would be. But if shit hit the fan, even a retired A ranked adventurer like him had a few tricks up his sleeves.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    Pan was genuinely surprised by the performance of his new floor. The party had only been D ranked, but they had obviously been on the cusp of C. The massive jungle cat had made mincemeat out of the group, and one of the iron stags had killed the light mage, giving him the ability to experiment with light affinities. The group had been unprepared, and unaware of the danger the new floor posed. If a party came prepared, they should be able to face the floor and survive. The floor would provide a good challenge for C ranked parties, and a D ranked group should be able to be successful if they came forewarned and prepared.


    However, the floor still needed its own boss, and maybe a few other adjustments. The obvious choice for the boss was the massive cat who had butchered the party, so Pan called the monster to him. It had to enter the first floor¡¯s original cavern to reach his crystal, but Pan wanted to do the ritual next to his core. Once he had a new boss, he would consider moving his core again, but the first floor felt more secure due to its seclusion.


    When the cat arrived, Pan activated his skill, and gave the beast a name. He decided on Adul, the name of the great general of the ancient northern empire, who had drawn his enemies across the fertile plains of his homeland, ambushing them along the way until they lost too many men to continue, then chasing the army down and utterly destroying it. He hoped the name would shape his new boss, and it lined up with his desires for the third floor.


    He began his modifications by increasing the size of the cat even more. It now weighed three hundred and fifty pounds, and rivaled even the largest black bears in size, although not in weight. He made it stronger and sleeker as well, a true ambush predator. He imbued its fur with dark magic, allowing it to hide in shadows with ease, nearly dissolving into them. When in the dark, Adul would be much faster, and nearly invisible.


    He also strengthened Adul¡¯s teeth and claws with metal, as well as some dark magic. His bite should pierce armor, and do extra damage with the dark magic status effect, wither, which would sap the vitality of enemies. His claws had the truly interesting effects. Each swipe would send out sharp ribbons of dark magic, allowing him to attack adventurers without touching them. But the most interesting attribute was his ability to infect adventurers with greater status effects by attacking their shadows. He could cause temporary confusion or daze them if his claws got ahold of their shadows. Nothing too insane, he was meant to be a rank C boss after all.


    He finished his modifications to the cat and released it back into the second floor. It gave a massive earth shaking roar as it entered the cavern, and disappeared into the dense foliage, ready to stalk its prey. It was uncanny how easily a massive carnivore was able to disappear in the cave, and if Pan was not a dungeon, he would have no way of even sensing the cat¡¯s presence.


    He mentally smiled in satisfaction, and went back to his preparations, he still had one more name to bestow. The male iron stag that had killed the light mage deserved an upgrade, and Pan had the perfect idea. It made its way to his core, and waited for him to name it. Pan decided on Alarin, named for the great white stag of legend. Hunting the magnificent stag of legend was the dream of every hunter, even though he had never been killed.


    He gave the stag an enormous, perfectly symmetrical rack of antlers, further strengthened by metals. His fur became a perfect white, and Pan imbued it with light magic. Alarin would be able to bend the light around him, allowing him to disappear completely in the blink of an eye. He would also be able to sense anything within twenty meters of him easily, based on the light reaching him. It was based off an advanced sensing spell, and it should make him nearly impossible to sneak up on. He made the muscles and bones even stronger, allowing the beautiful animal to bound away faster than the eye could see. He was truly the beast of legend, and hunting him should be a near impossibility. A few sightings should make an interesting story involving Pan¡¯s dungeon, and draw more adventurers.


    Pan had finished his upgrades, and was content to just let the dungeon take care of itself for awhile. He had some things he wanted to experiment with, and it would take a lot of time and mana to accomplish his new goals. He currently had quite a bit of magical knowledge from his time as an apprentice, and he noticed that whenever he unlocked new imbuements he would gain quite a bit of extra information. He still had to assimilate the new facts with what he already knew, and that took time, but that was one thing he had plenty of.


    He found that everyone that died in his dungeon left an imprint of things they knew with him, he just had to sort through it all and learn from it. He had a bit of necromantic lore from his captor, and the death of the old man had given him an overview of alchemy and his fighting skills. He had no way of giving anything in his cave an alchemy skill, and it would be pointless anyway, since they couldn¡¯t use it. However, he knew that if he ever got his body back, or created something sentient, he could use the knowledge to create potions by hand or teach his creations how to.


    But he was a dungeon, and it would be pointless to create a body just to tinker with alchemy when he had no need of such a crude solution. He had finished compiling the stuff he had learned from the old man, and he would be able to experiment with alchemy on a much finer level than the man ever had due to his magical powers as a dungeon, and ability to create things out of magic. He could create any ingredient he wanted, and even change the properties of them with his evolution skill. He was excited to tinker with the magic, since it would give him something to do while he waited for things to happen with his dungeon, and he figured he could do things with alchemy that a regular mage could only dream of.


    A week later, Pan had discovered that alchemy was much harder that he ever could have imagined. Sure he could create the potion out of nothing, but it was imprecise, and he couldn¡¯t get the purest potions. He could make the ingredients, as well as all of the necessary equipment since he had absorbed the necromancer¡¯s lab. His equipment was even better, since he could control the shape of things he created down to a microscopic level, removing even the smallest imperfections. But he had no way to move the stuff with the fine control needed to properly follow a potion recipe. He could move stuff around his dungeon, but it did not allow him to be as precise as he needed to be.


    He had hoped his abilities as a dungeon would let him make short work of alchemy, but contrary to his expectations, he needed to have a body. It turned out that the ingredients needed to be prepared in exactly the correct manner, otherwise the potency of the potion would never reach the needed levels. Simply thinking of a potion and willing it into existence made a very crude copy, that was too weak to have any real value. His healing potions might be able to save the life of a novice adventurer, but once someone reached the D ranks the effects would be negligible and next to useless. But when he recreated a healing potion from one he had absorbed from a dead adventurer, it retained all of his potency. It seemed that he needed to create the potion first, then he could make them easier than a human ever could.


    Even his attempts at following the proper procedures using the equipment he created in a separate experiment room were met with failure. He could move things with his dungeon manipulation, but it was difficult to get it right, even though he was improving. He would need to spend hours practicing moving things in this way to get the exact precision he needed to properly purify the ingredients. He was encouraged to see that he had the ability to sense what was going on during the purification processes on a magical level. If he ever perfected his techniques he could get concoctions of perfect purity, he just needed time and practice.


    He had a breakthrough a week later. He started modifying the equipment to be useable by a dungeon instead of by a human. Instead of valves to release things, and pouring solutions into others, he created vessels out of his dungeon. He was able to create perfectly sealed containers, that he could release in any manner he wanted, from creating a small hole in the bottom, to letting it all out in an instant. He could create flames that burned at the same temperature in a sealed container, to heat his concoctions without any interference from the outside. Every variable could be perfectly controlled, from the temperature to the composition of the air. If a herb needed to be crushed, he could grind it between two moving walls, if it needed to be boiled, he could boil it in the purest water. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    His only trouble was still things that required precise preparations. Some herbs needed to have certain parts of the stem sliced away carefully, or they would lose potency. He had no way of using a knife and he was endlessly frustrated in his attempts to do it. He even created the herbs without the parts he needed to cut away, but their innate magic was nearly inert when he did so. He even created new herbs, but he did not fully understand how the intricate mosaic of alchemical ingredients worked, and they came out much weaker than the original. He did have some success in mitigating the drop in potency, but it would take him much longer to unravel the secrets of magical plant creation.


    The culmination of two straight weeks of experimentation and problem solving was a replication of a basic health potion, and strangely enough, the alchemy skill. An alchemist following the basic recipe could possibly make a potion that restored forty health over ten seconds. That wasn¡¯t much, but it was still a significant amount, even to a C ranked adventurer, who might have about two hundred overall health on average. Pan¡¯s best so far healed eighty health in eight seconds, a massive improvement. This was comparable to a mediocre health potion, which would require much more expensive ingredients.


    New Skill: Alchemy Level 1, Beginner


    The ability to create potions and poisons out of ingredients found in nature. Effects increased based off of alchemy level.


    +1% potion strength per level


    His alchemy leveled up quickly as he created the powerful healing potion, refining his skills and the process as he worked. It took him most of the week to create the final potion, and he felt there was still room for improvement. When he reached level ten in alchemy, he received a notification telling him that he had reached the apprentice rank in the skill.


    Alchemy Level 10, Apprentice


    The ability to create potions and poisons out of ingredients found in nature. Effects increased based off of alchemy level.


    +1% potion strength per level ten and under


    +2% potion strength per level over level ten


    When he created his final potion, he was at level fifteen in alchemy, giving him a twenty percent boost to potion strength, on top of the already improved strength he was able to achieve due to his abilities as a dungeon. He had experimented with trying to create other potions, but the basic health potion was the only full recipe he had, and all of his other attempts were met with failure, or a weak potion. He noted which processes were somewhat successful, and marked them for future experimentation.


    He absorbed his health potion, and was glad to see he was able to recreate it perfectly, although at a steep cost. By making the potion, which only required crushed and boiled ingredients, he was able to learn a lot about alchemy, and how the essences of the ingredients would mix to create the final effects. Alchemy was only the process of more efficiently extracting the magic from the base ingredients and combining them, while losing as little as possible. Even now, he was able to see that some energy was still lost during his nearly perfected process, around ten percent. He imagined that a perfect basic healing potion would be able to heal around one hundred points over five seconds. Maybe more if the alchemy skill bonuses applied to perfected potions.


    He had only managed to get so far due to the memories of Gerald, who had specialized in healing potions. He was having much more trouble with improving on the other recipes he had been uncovering. Most of his progress now was being made by improving his equipment. He had made progress by experimenting with the materials he used, as well as the shape of the vessels he performed the reactions in. He used a specifically modified version of glass he had designed, called dungeon glass. It was very hard, and completely chemically inert. It was unable to react with any of his concoctions. He had also made progress by shaping the reaction chamber, better channeling the energy released by the ingredients, and catalyzing the mixing.


    To make any further progress he knew he would also have to learn enchanting, and he barely knew anything about that. He had learned a few runes from minor enchanted objects dropped by dead adventurers, but his ability to use them was very minimal. He knew he would have to spend weeks working on that as well, unless an enchanter died in his dungeon, which was unlikely since they were very well guarded. A skilled enchanter could make items that greatly improved someone''s fighting ability. However, the stuff he learned, were things like runes keeping clothes dry, or a blade sharp and rust free.


    He knew there were weapons enchanted with elemental damage effects, but nobody with one had ever died in his dungeon. As much as he enjoyed playing with alchemy, he was more intrigued by enchanting. He had wanted to be an enchanter, but had focused on mage craft since apprenticing to an enchanter was out of his reach. But now as a dungeon, he could break limits he had faces as a human, and learning enchanting was a matter of when, not if.


    Deciding for now that he had pushed his alchemy skills as far as they could go, Pan focused on his dungeon once more. He had researched alchemy because it gave him something to do instead of the mind-numbing waiting that seemed to be a dungeons life. Very little happened in a dungeon, aside from a few deaths here and there, and his skill allowed him to avoid the monotony of his new existence. But he did need to attend to his duties as a dungeon, and he had a few ideas strike him while he worked.


    He needed traps, after all, what self-respecting dungeon had no traps. Aside from himself, he couldn¡¯t think of any others. The problem was regular traps were boring. Pitfalls and arrow traps were known to adventurers, and it was rare that anyone past the F rank ever died to one. He needed something unique, something that went with his dungeon. He had an idea, based off something he had learned a long time ago, as well as from some memories he had captured.


    There were some places where plants grew that would consume insects. They came in three main varieties, ones that moved, ones that insects fell into, and ones that trapped its prey with sticky substances. He found all three varieties in the dungeon store, and picked them up for five points overall. They were cheap because they were no threat to a human, but Pan could make them a threat easily.


    The jawed plants were the easiest to make, as well as the most obvious trap. An adventurer would have to be a real fool to walk into a four foot tall set of jaws lying on the ground. They resembled a bear trap, with a sensitive trigger on the ground, that when stepped on would release the jaws, which would snap closed at around waist height on an average person. There was a natural sedative on the ¡°teeth¡± that ringed the jaws, that would pierce the person, and subdue them quickly. It wouldn''t be too hard to escape from if the party was helpful, and an alert person should be easily able to avoid them, but Pan hoped they might catch distracted adventurers during a fight or some other moment of opportunity. He distributed them around the second floor, mostly covered by other foliage, others in the open, and a few on the first floor.


    The second trap he made was a massive pitcher plant. It would dig out a massive hole in the ground, and had thin leaves over the top, creating the illusion that there was ground in the spot. Anything stepping on the leaves would fall into the hole, and there was a heavy sedative gas in the bottom to knock out any victims. There they would drown and be digested in the fluid that the plant excreted into its cavern. These were rarer, and he planted them only in the second floor¡¯s massive cavern.


    The final species was one that had long sticky threads that would capture its prey. Once ensnared, the plant would curl up, trapping the victim in its threads. He made these larger as well, and they became long vines hanging from the branches of his trees. They looked just like vines covered in dew drops, but if anyone walked into them, they would find himself adhered to the vine, before it rapidly curled up, dragging them into the canopy. There, the victim would be digested by the plant, before it uncurled and returned to looking like another water covered vine.


    He spread these across the second floor as well, and they should provide a good challenge to adventurers, without killing too many. The hidden trap would train them to always be aware, observant, and on guard. Essential skills for any adventurer who wanted to reach the C ranks.


    Pan was quite pleased with his progress over the last two weeks, and he even started including small vials of his health potion as rewards. The smaller portions would heal twenty health over ten seconds, but it would be invaluable to any low leveled adventurers.


    The new changes had quite the effect on the dungeon, and although nobody had attempted the second-floor boss, plenty had faced off against the massive cats. Surprisingly, most groups had survived, and the silver coins they received seemed to excite all of them. The traps hadn¡¯t claimed any lives yet, but had only had them set for a few hours, and didn¡¯t expect any results right away. Besides, it was still night, and no groups entered after the sun was at its peak. Since his dungeon wasn¡¯t large enough to take more than a day, most people wanted to enjoy the profits that night.


    The next morning when the day¡¯s new challengers arrived, he was pleased to see the traps work. They wouldn¡¯t be as effective in the future once people were warned, but for now, it was entertaining to watch adventures slip up and be caught in them. Most were saved, but a few didn¡¯t make it. The most lethal were the sticky vines, followed by the pitcher plant. The only time people died was when their group was unable, or unwilling to save them, since all of his plants killed over time. Some groups were too busy fighting to release their comrade, and one made approving comments when their talkative archer was grabbed by hanging vines.


    All in all, it was a productive two weeks for Pan. He had mastered a healing potion, and created deadly traps. But the next day he felt a strange presence enter his dungeon.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    Pan instantly refocused his attention on the entrance to his dungeon. A small group of people were stepping through his doorway, but this party was quite different than the usual parties he encountered. They looked to be D ranked adventurers, but they felt much stronger, and Pan was having trouble getting an exact read on their levels. Even his spy flies had mixed results when identifying them. Every time his spies tried to discern their levels, they would get a level in the low teens, the average for people of the D rank. What was disconcerting was that each fly read a different level for the same person. Something was blocking him from seeing their level, and that worried Pan.


    The group slowly worked their way through the first floor, avoiding other groups, and easily killing everything in their way. Pan was certain this group was much stronger than the D ranked group they appeared to be, and sure enough, they proved his suspicions correct.


    Once they had worked their way past the other groups, far ahead of where most D ranked parties turned back, they stopped. The leader, a large man who liked to lead from the front with a large greatsword, called a halt. The party gathered around him, seeming to know what was going on. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man started to produce gear way outside the scope of anything a D rank adventurer could get their hands on, and even the average C rankers. Pan was shocked to see the man had a spacial ring, an absurdly expensive storage device that was nearly undetectable, and could store cubic feet of items. This seemed to be a particularly large one, since it contained an entire parties gear.


    When they changed into their new gear, Pan was finally able to successfully identify them. They were all over level thirty, with the highest being their leader at thirty-five. They were obviously very highly skilled C rank adventurers, nearing the level forty they needed to test for B rank. B rank was much like D rank, you needed to reach a certain level to test for it, D being level ten, and B being forty. To reach C and A ranks, adventurers needed to show sufficient mastery of a combat skill, or have some other unique skill that would allow them to pass to the next rank. For C, an adventurer needed to have reached the adept rank of their main skill, which was at level fifty, and unlocked the advancement tree for the skill. To reach A rank, the adventurer needed to achieve master rank, at level one hundred in the skill.


    This party was C ranked, and they had been hiding their strength through some kind of enchanted items. Pan was wary of any group that concealed their strength, since they obviously weren¡¯t hiding it from him, but from the guild controlling access to his dungeon. He often had C ranked parties test his dungeon, but never any as strong as this group. And this group was up to something.


    When they finished equipping their gear, the leader barked an order for them to form up and complete their assignment. Unfortunately for Pan, he did not overhear what the assignment was, so he had no idea what to watch out for. But this whole situation was putting him on edge, and he nervously called for his strongest monsters to ready themselves for a fight. He watched the group go on to easily crush everything in front of them on the first floor, and even one shot the stone centipede guarding the second floor.


    They showed no fear as they descended to the second floor, laughing about how easy their mission had been, and joking around with each other, even when under attack. They were treating a walk through Pan¡¯s dungeon as if it was a walk through the woods, showing no fear whatsoever. Pan was growing angry at their display of nonchalance, even as the seeds of worry took root in his mind. How dare these impetuous adventurers mock him in this way. Even the other C ranked groups showed some care when traversing his caves. But he was still worried, since there was a reason people this strong came to his dungeon, and not having any inkling of their motives was worrying.


    However, when he discovered their reason for being here, a spike of fear drove into his mind.


    ¡°Hey, can we hurry this up and grab the core? I want to get out of this shitty town and find somewhere to spend all of the money our guild promised us,¡± one of the group called out to their leader. The large warrior, who now carried a much higher quality greatsword, just gave the man a scathing look. But Pan had heard enough.


    This group was out for his core, and were members of a hostile guild. They probably intended to bankrupt whichever guild set up the city around his dungeon, and maybe, if lucky, claim a dungeon core for their own. When a dungeon core was removed, if undamaged, there was a good chance it could survive, and be moved somewhere else. This was the opening salvo in a guild war, and they intended to cripple the local guild with their first strike. This group needed to die. At least the local guild thought they were a D ranked group, so their disappearance wouldn¡¯t come as a surprise. Their patron guild wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything either, since attacking a valuable dungeon would upset the king. No, this group was trying to capture and move his dungeon to their control, and if they controlled the dungeon, the king would have no choice but to allow them to hold the valuable resource.


    Luckily, the group had descended to the second floor, instead of heading to the first-floor cavern where his core currently resided, but Pan needed a way to keep them on the second floor permanently, and preferably dead. He called for Adul, and impressed the importance of this group''s death upon him. The group had a warrior, a healer, a fire mage, and an archer. Pan wanted Adul to target the healer and the mage first, since, without them, the group would be at a severe disadvantage. He needed to be smart in how he dealt with this group, they wouldn''t expect any tactics from a low-level dungeon. For the first time since facing the necromancer, Pan felt that he was truly fighting for his life.


    <hr>


    Adul had been commanded by his creator to kill a particularly nasty group of intruders. These ones wanted to directly harm his creator, instead of simply trying to strengthen themselves. He had orders to take out the physically weak ones in the back of the formation, since without their support the group would lose in a war of attrition. Adul had been designed to fight a war of attrition, and even his namesake defeated a superior enemy in that manner. He had been created to protect his creator from threats such as this, since he would rarely be allowed to leave his home at the cavern''s exit to engage regular groups.


    He set off in the direction of the cavern entrance that they would most likely enter through. He waited in the trees outside, dissolving into the shadows, undetectable. Sure enough, a half hour later, the group emerged. Adul could feel the strength of the group, and he knew there was no way he could take them in a straight up battle. Luckily, for Adul anyway, he had no plans to fight them fairly. They threatened his creator, their lives were forfeit, even more so than the common rabble who challenged his master in pursuit of strength and wealth. He was the floor guardian, so he only fought those who wanted to fight him, but by planning to attack his creator, their presence in the dungeon was enough to constitute an attack on him. He was glad he finally got to fight without his creator''s arbitrary restrictions of only fighting those who looked for a fight with him.


    He observed the group as they walked into the jungle, seemingly without care or fear. He could understand their lack of fear, since they had been much stronger than anything they would have faced so far. But the cavern was different. The cavern belonged to Adul and his comrades. They would be a challenge for this group, and it was not clear who the victor would be. He only needed to complete his task. Even if he died, there were others strong enough to defend the creator if he killed his target.


    He waited for the group to get deeper into the jungle, streaming through the shadows above and behind them. His powers allowed him to rapidly traverse through the shadows, unseen and unheard. He waited for them to reach an ambush point that gave him the best chance for a successful attack. It was a particularly narrow strip of the path, and the foliage around it was dense, forcing them to walk single file. Adul was disappointed to see them line up in a way that the his target was not in the rear. It didn¡¯t matter, his plans wouldn¡¯t always go exactly according to plan, and his adaptability was one of his strongest traits.


    When the group passed through the narrow patch, their formation fell apart, and became strung out. They were still on guard, since they were experienced adventurers, but they were a little more relaxed than they should be. That was when Adul made his move. The party was completely unprepared for an enemy like him. Stealthy, quick, and intelligent, he was able to launch an attack in a manner they had not expected. Silently, he sprung from the boughs of a tree next to the path, colliding with the healer and knocking the frail looking man to the ground.


    The group''s experience showed, since they almost immediately responded to the attack, but not quick enough. Before the group could answer his attack, he took the downed man in his jaws and sprinted away as fast as he could carry the unconscious man. A stream of fire followed him, and an arrow whistled past his head, but he was already too far away by the time they were able to respond. He had taken the primary target without taking any damage, but now the group would be on high alert, and all subsequent attacks would be much more difficult. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He took his prize to a large tree a few minutes run from the group. There he delivered the killing strike, a bite to the skull and a violent shake of his head to break the man¡¯s neck. He stored the body high up in the branches of the tree, and returned to trailing the party. He was forced to stalk them at a greater distance now, since they were alerted to his presence, but he was still closer to the group than they expected, due to his magical abilities. The group was talking in hushed tones, and looking about rapidly. He watched them from the shadows above, remaining unseen.


    He knew that any more attacks had a high likelihood of ending with his death, but as a named monster he would come back later. He was willing to do anything to protect his creator, who had allowed him to overcome death. The group was now quickly moving forward, trying to accomplish their objective as quickly as possible, since their healer was down, but had no idea that every step they took brought them even further away from their goal.


    Adul dropped to the ground for the next part of his plan. He sent a mental message to his creator, asking him for a favor. His creator accepted. He slunk through the undergrowth next to the group, and flanking them. Once he was in position, he sent the signal to his creator. Then, from deep in the jungle, but still disturbingly close, came a roar from one of his comrades. It had the desired effect, and the group all startled and quickly spun to face the new threat. Leaping from his hiding spot, Adul targeted the mage.


    He must have made some noise during his leap, since the archer started spinning towards him while drawing an arrow, but he was too late. Adul¡¯s teeth had already sunk into the mage''s shoulder, and his claws were tearing his back into ribbons. The man started to fall forward from the enormous weight of the cat crashing into his back, but as he fell, Adul dug his rear claws into the man''s back, and used him as a launching point for his next leap. Before the archer had even turned around, and as the mage was beginning his scream of pain, Adul pushed off the body, flinging it into the heavily armored warrior. He used the force to redirect himself, and he was pivoting to return to the foliage.


    But he was too slow. The warrior stumbled from his collision with the dying mage, but the archer had just enough time to lose one of his arrows. In a stroke of bad luck, it dug into Adul¡¯s massive chest from behind, puncturing one of his lungs. He made it to the safety of the foliage, but he was severely wounded. He could feel the compromised lung collapsing, and his breathing was labored. But he pushed on, even if he died, he would come back. So why would he let a simple injury stop him?


    He snuck back around to the path, the archer watched over the warrior as he tried to patch up the mage, but even healing potions were unable to fight against the traumatic bleeding. The warrior sighed and shook his head, seeming to know that the mage was done for. This little action momentarily distracted the archer, and Adul pounced again. This time, he aimed for the massive warrior, since he would be the hardest for his brothers to fight if he fell. He didn¡¯t aim for the man, instead, he attacked his shadow. His claws shredded the man¡¯s shadow, even as another arrow drove itself into his shoulder, and then his rear leg.


    The man screamed, as his vitality was attacked. Without their healer, they had no way to dispel the wither status effect, and although the health draining would only last a few seconds, he would need magic to restore his vitality stat back to its full value. The man used his pain to drive a powerful overhead slash, but to a creature as quick as Adul, the man may as well have been underwater. Unfortunately, Adul¡¯s injuries made themselves known, and as he tried to lead away, the rear leg with an arrow driven through it gave out, and the sword grazed his size, digging a long deep furrow into his flesh.


    He howled in pain, the first noise he had made in combat, before it was cut off by another arrow to his chest, piercing his other lung, as well as nicking his heart. He felt the wound, and knew it was fatal, but he refused to die yet. He dove back into the fray, knowing he had only seconds to live, but to one such as him, high on the adrenaline of battle, those few seconds may as well have been a minute. With a powerful surge, he tackled the armored man, and his claws dug trenches through his muscle and armor. It wasn¡¯t fatal, but would be crippling. With a surprising show of strength, the man threw him off, and Adul tumbled to the ground, the final remnants of strength draining from his body with each pump of his ruined heart. As the world faded to black, he saw the man¡¯s sword come down to claim his head, and for the first time, Adul died.


    <hr>


    Pan was very pleased with Adul¡¯s performance. In all honesty, he had only expected him to get the healer, since he would only get the element of surprise once. But having another of the massive cats distract the group was brilliant, and Adul¡¯s tactical thinking may have saved the day. Pan was confident in his ability to take the final two members, and he was growing excited at the thought of the loot he could get from them. He had already seen many pieces of rare equipment that he would love to dismantle and experiment with. But he was getting ahead of himself, he still needed to finish these invaders off.


    Now that they had lost all of their magical support, it would be easy to overwhelm them with numbers, but he had no desire to lose too much of his carefully maintained populations. The fire mage had really pissed him off when his large gouts of fire had fried large swaths of his jungle ecosystems. He had had to make artificial rain to smother the fires before they spread to his whole cave. At least the two remaining adventurers couldn¡¯t cause too much destruction.


    He called for some of the other jungle cats to finish off the rest of the group. Four were able to reach them within a minute, just as the survivors were finishing off their health potions and bandaging their wounds. Pan was pleased to see that the large warrior had no way of removing his affliction, and remained weakened. The large cats stalked through the undergrowth, and across the large branched of the canopy, preparing to finish off these arrogant invaders. These two had incurred the full force of Pan¡¯s wrath, and he did not at all feel inclined to let them live even a moment longer.


    <hr>


    However, the regular cats did not have Adul¡¯s abilities, and the archer seemed to pick up on their presence. He cast furtive glances all over, and nocked an arrow, but didn''t seem to have noticed any of the cats. Suddenly, with a rapid motion, nearly rivaling the cats in speed, he drew back his string and let an arrow fly up into the canopy. He was rewarded with an angry yowl, and a cat fell from the tree, nearly sixty feet up. It hit the ground hard, but its powerful body survived the fall, although it was unlikely it would survive for more than a few hours. The archer, not taking any chances, pierced it eye with another arrow, killing it instantly.


    ¡°Careful, I can still feel more,¡± he warned his companion.


    The warrior nodded in understanding, and cast his gaze around the forest, seeking out his hunters. The archer looked to the trees again, anticipating another attack from above. He drew back another arrow, but did not let it lose, the other cat in the canopy had learned from the mistakes of his brother, and remained hidden from the archer''s view.


    He unintentionally released the arrow when an unseen hunter burst from the underbrush next to him and bowled him over, ready to deliver a killing blow to his throat. Before the cat¡¯s jaws could tear out his neck, the warrior stepped in, and with a mighty slash, cleaved the cat nearly in two, taking its head off in the process. The man continued with the momentum of his swing, turning to intercept the cat the had leaped for him while he was distracted by the first, meeting its claws with his blade mid-leap. Much to his surprise, he did not slice clean through the claws and pierce the body of the cat, instead, his blade was stopped by its claws, and the cat was deflected away from him. The strength of the blow flung the cat away, and it hit the ground hard, but instantly rolled to its feet, growlingin challenge.


    The man was all too happy to oblige the beast, and roared his acceptance, but before he had taken two steps towards the cat, an arrow flew past him and drove into its chest. It hissed in pain, and likely would die soon, but it charged him anyway, catching him by surprise. He had never run into animals before that were so willing to shrug off mortal wounds and die fighting. The familiar shaped of the animals had made him forget that at heart, these creatures were dungeon monsters.


    He met its charge, and his sword tore through its body, removing its front leg, but its jaws managed to get ahold of his arm. It punctured his armor, and its rear legs came up and tore against his abdomen in an attempt to eviscerate him. Luckily, his armor was still strong enough to resist that attack , even as his arm and shoulder were brutally maimed by its teeth. He released his sword, drawing a dagger from his belt. He drove the dagger into the beast''s head, stopping its violent thrashing. He watched as it died, and its heart stopped pumping blood out of the wound in its chest.


    He turned around as he heard a scream behind him, and saw the archer being mauled by another of the massive cats. With a mighty surge, he tore the dagger from the head of the beast still clamped to his arm, and threw it towards the attacking monster. His aim was true, and it sank point first into the beast''s chest, straight through its heart. It died quickly, and unlike the other cats, was unable to muster up enough strength for one more attack. The archer quickly got to his feet, looking for more of the cats, but it seemed like that was all of them. His back was torn to shreds, and the warrior wondered if he would even be able to draw his bow.


    He took two glowing red potions from the spacial ring, and tossed one to the archer. The archer drank it immediately, and groaned as his back knit itself back together. To the warrior, it looked like a writhing mass of maggots spreading across his friends back. He stopped looking, and pried the jaws of the beast attached to his arm apart, releasing his crippled arm. He quaffed his potion, and the muscles pulled back together, almost hurting as bad as the original injury. Unfortunately, his tendons and ligaments didn''t heal as completely as the muscle, and his arm was greatly weakened, and painful to move.


    ¡°Come on, we still need to complete our assignment,¡± he called to the archer.


    ¡°By now we have to have killed the best it could throw at us, you saw how much weaker these ones were than that massive one.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but there¡¯s no time for looting, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible, before it tries to overwhelm us.¡±


    The archer looked disappointed at the prospect of not looting the enemies, but nodded in assent to the warrior. He could see the wisdom of getting out of this dungeon as fast as possible. Already they had been met with more surprises than they had expected. Losing party members was hard, but they needed to get out, before this cursed dungeon claimed their lives too.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 10


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 12,721/25,000 (+1000)


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 2


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 7,611


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Alchemy: Lvl 15]


    Dungeon Points: 715


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    Damian was enraged. This was supposed to be an easy mission, but his party had lost both their mage and healer to a D ranked dungeon. Hell, when they had set out the latest news was that a dungeon with only a single floor had recently been found, but when they arrived, the news was spreading that a second floor had just formed. They had learned that there were a few dangers, such as the massive cats, as well as some new traps, but they hadn¡¯t feared the dungeon. Each of them had passed through every other dungeon in the kingdom, and a few outside it, and always had been able to get four or five floors deep before their lives were truly endangered.They had been given this mission because their guild master had been jealous, and feared that this dungeon would cause the Silver Eagles to completely eclipse them in the region, and drive their guild into obscurity. As it was, they were a viable guild, and people still flocked to their recruitment officers, despite the Silver Eagles being known as the most powerful guild in the region.


    Actually, he blamed Fren for all of their current troubles. That uncouth bastard just had to shout about claiming the core, and somehow, the dungeon heard and understood his words. Since then, the dungeon had become a lot more dangerous, and their most valuable members died. Now it was just him and Fren, and he was feeling inclined to kill the man and claim the dungeon core alone. There weren¡¯t many C ranked adventurers in the guild, and although this party was made from the best in each class, they had still fared poorly once the dungeon realized they were an actual threat. But he needed the man, at least for now. Maybe he¡¯d kill him once the core was secured. He wanted to get out of this gods-forsaken dungeon and get back to adventuring on his own. It was rare for a party to retain all of its members through to the C rank, and Damian had been the sole survivor of his original group.


    For now, the two of them patched themselves up as much as they could without a real healer, and turned to walk deeper into the cavern. Fren was the healthier of the two, with only a damaged back. He may not be able to fully utilize his bow, but he should still be able to kill the monsters in this damn jungle. Damian on the other hand, was suffering from multiple crippling injuries. He had to return his greatsword to the spacial ring in favor of a smaller sword he could wield with one arm, due to the other being useless until he got to a proper healer. His maximum health was decreased by fifty points, since that damn massive cat had afflicted him with a five-point malus to his vitality. He needed to get the core, get out, and get patched up fast. Hopefully, once they got the core, nobody would notice until the ambient mana of the dungeon dissipated and the caves started crumbling. Honestly, the higher than average ambient mana should have tipped him off to the potential strength of the dungeon, but he had made assumptions, assumptions that nearly got him killed. Now he was done assuming, and he vowed to take this dungeon seriously.


    If all went according to plan, and why should it, nothing had gone according to plan so far, they would change back to D ranked gear, put their enchanted amulets back on, and leave the developing city before anything was noticed. They had all assumed the hardest part would be sneaking past the local guild, not facing a young and therefore weak dungeon. So he trudged onward with his hated companion, and pulled his items of last resort from the spacial ring. He suspected he wouldn¡¯t need them, since that massive cat was obviously the floor boss, but since he was done assuming, he prepared anyway. These were meant to hold off the guild if their ruse was uncovered, not face the dungeon.


    After nearly ten more minutes of walking, they came to the edge of a clearing against the back wall of the cavern. It was surrounded by the biggest trees on the whole area, and the undergrowth was especially thick in the area. They held up outside the clearing, deciding to check for any threats. Fren slunk around the outside of the clearing, but signed that it was empty, confirming Damian''s suspicions that the massive cat had been the floor boss, and not just a random monster. He sighed in relief, the cave entrance just ahead should lead to the dungeon core, and the exit to the dungeon. He entered the cave ahead of Fren, since he was still the tank, and he led them through the passage. When they reached the first corner, about twenty feet in, Damian stopped dead. There wasn¡¯t the expected core, but more importantly, and disturbingly, there was a massive armored bug, gleaming in the light.


    Its silver carapace took up the entirety of the cave, and there would be no way past the gargantuan defender. Damian had nowhere to go but forward, since he needed to create enough space to allow Fren to be effective. With a shout, he charged the shining sentinel, sword first, while his ruined arm fumbled at his belt. He struck with his sword, but he wasn''t even able to do more than scratch the surface of its armor. He leaped back, and an arrow whizzed past his head, having even less of an effect than his sword. He narrowly dodged a swipe of its massive front arms, and landed hard on his back. But he had been successful in removing an item from his belt.


    He pulled up a small crystal, one of the few he had, and dropped his sword as he passed it to his other hand. He could feel the violent energy of the crystal, wanted to be released. He rolled to his feet, and sprinted away, pushing Fren back around the corner. Once in position, he tossed the shard back at the monster, and took cover behind the corner. There was a loud explosion, and a cloud of dust erupted from around the corner. He was dismayed to hear screams of pain and rage, and Damian had no idea how the creature survived. Retrieving another sword from his special ring, he chugged down a potion and felt strength fill his limbs.


    As he emerged from the corner once more, he was nearly blinded by the dust and other particulates in the air. He could just make out the shape of the beast, missing its front legs, but otherwise no less effective, scrambling towards him. It seemed that the beast was nearly too large for the passage, and had trouble moving, but it was still dangerous, since there was no way to attack anything but its heavily armored front. Even its damaged legs were tucked away under its massive shield of a head, hiding the exposed flesh from attack.


    Suddenly the seemingly slow-moving guardian gave a surprising burst of speed, launching its massive body towards Damian. He charged it as well, leading with his sword point, but when they collided, the creature wasn¡¯t even slowed. His sword imbedded its tip in the beast''s armor, but there was no noticeable damage. It picked him up with its massive shielded head, slamming him into the wall behind him, crushing his armor, and breaking a few ribs. The sword stuck in its head didn¡¯t push through as Damian had expected, but bent and shattered from the force of its impact against the wall. Damian coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the creature continued to push against the wall, seeming intent on grinding him to death against the wall. He could feel his armor counting to bow in, and a few more ribs screamed in agony. He bellowed in pain as a few more cracked, and he felt one shatter, puncturing a lung. The wound would be fatal if he didn¡¯t receive attention soon.


    The pressure was released when an arrow drove itself into the monsters now exposed eye, followed by another that bounced harmlessly away. It screeched and turned its attention to the archer, letting Damian''s nearly lifeless body collapse to the ground. He strained to move as it charged after his companion, and released the clasps on his armor, letting it fall to the ground. He drank a health potion, relieving some of the pain, but doing nothing for his nearly shattered ribcage. Dammit, if they still had the healer he could be patched up in an hour or so, and made whole enough in a few minutes to continue fighting. But the dungeon was intelligent, and their healer was the first to die, before they even knew how deep the shit they were in truly was.


    He stumbled forward, away from the battle, intent on finishing the mission. Let Fren serve as a distraction for the beast, it was the least he could do after compromising the whole mission. Damian needed to secure the core, and get out of this cave. He would have to receive healing in the town, but he should still be able to slip out before the theft was noticed. Besides, the core would be undetectable once he hidit away in the spacial ring. He picked up the first sword he dropped as he passed it, and couldn¡¯t help but smile when he imagined Fren getting ground to a paste by the massive metal bug.


    He passed a few more turns before he started to wonder why the core hadn¡¯t shown up yet. He was delirious from pain, as well as the side effects of the potions he had taken, otherwise, he would have noticed much sooner. He stumbled along the passages, and wondered if he had taken a wrong turn, of if the cave they had entered hadn¡¯t actually been the final exit. He was growing weary, and the effects of the lessened vitality, as well as the massive injuries, were taking their toll. The potions were wearing off, and he could feel himself crashing as the energy was leached from his cramping muscles. His labored breathing grew ragged, as shards of bone worked their way through his lungs, shredding the vital organs. He drank another health potion, alleviating some of the damage, but the shards remained. He would need to get them removed or else they would continue to tear through his lungs. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He changed back into his D rank disguise, along with the amulet that hid his level, and continued his trek. A few minutes later he was shocked to see that he was passing by the first-floor exit. There was no way he could have missed the core, so it had to be somewhere else. Deciding to press onward, he shambled into the first floor, knowing that even in his wounded state, he could kill the weak ants on this floor. He had enough health potions to hold out for the rest of the day, and if he hadn¡¯t found the gem by then, he would need to leave for healing and try again the next day. He was afraid to leave the cave, since every moment outside the cave was another moment he was risking detection by the guild. In his weakened state, they wouldn¡¯ have any trouble killing him, or even worse, capturing him.


    When he entered the boss room, he was glad to see the boss hadn¡¯t respawned yet. He could probably take it in his current state, but he wasn¡¯t sure. He started poking around the room, and was surprised when he quickly found more tunnels, hidden by foliage leading away from the chamber. They had easily missed it on their first pass, since they were not expecting the dungeon to hide its heart, since they were usually well defended at the end of the dungeon. The worst part was having to crawl through the tunnel, since his ribs were causing him an incredible amount of pain. In the end, he had to roll onto his back and push himself through to avoid putting more stress on his chest.


    At the end of the tunnel, was another massive cavern, although smaller than the other one on the second floor. He pushed to his feet, and took another health potion to recover from the damaged caused by his crawl. He was burning through them, but luckily the guild was picking up the tab for the expensive consumables. Damian started towards the other end of the cavern, where he expected the crystal to be. He was sure that he would be able to succeed, since there had been nothing more than a few ants to oppose him. The dungeon seemed to have run out of powerful monsters, and he was looking forward to completing his mission. It was quite a clever trick by the dungeon to hide its core, and wear the group down through attrition. But that ruse had met its end, and he was sure he was nearing the completion of his mission.


    The first seeds of doubt were planted when he saw a few of the armored centipedes that had guarded the first floor, but he had no trouble dealing with them one at a time. When two came for him, he received a massive gash to his calf before he could finish them off. Unable to wield his favored greatsword, he had some difficulty splitting the carapace of the monsters, but he managed. The gash was quickly healed by a healing potion, unfortunately cutting into his supplies, bust since he was close to completing his mission, he drank it anyway. But he was still unnerved by the stronger creatures being present in this area, as he had hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to contend with anything too strong.


    Finally, he came around a dense cluster of trees, and saw the end of his journey. There was a brilliant crystal, hovering a few hundred yards across a clearing above a carved stone pedestal, but between him and the crystal was a seething mass of black ants. Before he could turn to flee, the ocean of ants surged forward, reaching him in seconds. He tried to fight them back, but the weight of their numbers immobilized him. He didn¡¯t even have the chance to pull another explosive crystal from his belt. But they didn¡¯t kill him, instead, the larger ones grabbed him by his limbs and carried him towards a small cave off to the side of the clearing. He tried to fight back, but in his weakened state they easily controlled him, and after a particularly violent fit of thrashing, they crushed the bones in his arms with a simple bite. He screamed in pain, but he did stop his thrashing.


    They carried him through a few tunnels, and eventually, he was brought to a large chamber, full of ants carrying eggs around. In the center was a much larger ant, attended by workers who carried off the eggs she laid the moment they emerged. His captors deposited him on the ground in front of her, and before he could make a move, she struck him with a bolt of dark magic, dissolving the flesh on his chest. He screamed again in pain, his voice growing hoarse as the world faded from his view, and he slipped into the comforting embrace of death.


    Pan was surprised by the turn of events. It seemed that the individual members of the party had no love for each other, and had made it all the easier to deal with them. His queen had decided that she wanted the killing blow on one of the invaders, and she had increased her strength by a significant amount by absorbing energy from his death, since he had been a much stronger enemy. Her personal strength had been quickly bypassed by the other named monsters in the dungeon, with Adul reigning as the strongest member of the dungeon.


    Unfortunately, Behemoth had not been able to catch the archer when the man fled into the jungle. He was wounded and had returned to the exit cave in case the man decided to loop back around. The man instead seemed dead set on returning through the dungeon, instead of challenging the metal guardian. But pan had other ideas for the man, and there was still one named monster the group had not faced. Alarin was already moving to intercept the man, and if it all went well, the man wouldn¡¯t suspect a thing until it was too late.


    As the man was jogging through the jungle, looking everywhere for a sign of one of the massive cats, Alarin struck. He had gone unseen, his magic protecting him, and seemed to appear out of nowhere to the archer. The man¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and he drew the arrow back an inch, but he was far too slow to contend with the blazing fast blur of white that was the white stag. He was impaled on the perfect antlers, which then tore massive gaping wounds in his body as his body was unable to hold together as he accelerated with the beautiful creature. He was thrown a dozen feet through the air when it stopped and flung him away. He crashed into a tree, falling to the ground, nearly lifeless. A few moment later, he gave one last shuddering breath as his heart stopped pumping his blood out of the massive tears in his body. The now red stag pranced away, looking for a place to clean its bloodstained fur, and return it to its illustrious appearance.


    With the attack taken care of, Pan could start sorting through the spoils. He had gotten fire magic from the mage, but he shuddered at the thought of having any fire based monsters in his jungles. Even the one mage had caused a large amount of damage with his spells, and Pan had no intention of letting something with that sort of ability in his dungeon. At least not yet. The most exciting loot was the leader''s spacial ring, and the amulets they wore to hide their power. As an aspiring apprentice, Pan had never dreamed of ever even touching one of the expensive devices, but now, he potentially had the chance to make his own. He injected his mana in the way he had seen the man do to access the storage space, and removed all of the contents. He did not want to risk losing anything when he absorbed the ring. There were a few assorted potions, which excited him, as well as a few of the explosive stones, some equipment, the amulets, and a bunch of other miscellaneous items.


    Pan began absorbing the ring, studying the intricacies of the magical device. As he did so, a large amount of information flooded his mind. This was by far the most advanced object he had ever absorbed. Even creating monsters wasn¡¯t as complex as this item, mostly because a dungeon had an instinctive and intuitive grasp over the process. This was something different. The ring pinched off a bubble of space, creating a separate dimension that could only be accessed through a single point. The creator then put restrictions on who could access it through an enchantment controlling that point. When mana was inserted, the space opened up, and items could be stored or removed. There was even a sort of key, or code needed to open the storage dimension. Luckily those sorts of restriction were nothing to Pan since as a dungeon he was able to copy the code perfectly from his observations.


    He thought he might be able to create his own, but he would need to increase his knowledge of enchanting first. He could make an exact replica with the dungeon creation skill, but then it would have the same code as the original, and he wanted full control of the items properties. It was still an exciting prospect, since the possible applications of the concepts were enormous. He was already thinking of dozens of possible uses for the principles learned through the absorption. He just needed more time to experiment and learn. Luckily the group had some enchanted items that he could use to get a start on the path, and he was excited to start his research into enchanting, as well as further his knowledge of alchemy. He was ready to delve into the secrets of creating arcane items, and he could feel that if he learned enough, he may even be able to apply the ideas to his living creations.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 10


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 16,322/25,000 (+1000)


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 2


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 7,592


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Alchemy: Lvl 15]


    Dungeon Points: 715


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    With the spacial ring absorbed and studied, Pan turned his focus on the other items he had gained from the hostile assault on his dungeon. The first thing he absorbed was the explosive mana crystals. He was surprised to see that they were regular mana crystals, but had been tampered with through an enchantment to cause them to release all of their energy at once when the crystal''s structure was sufficiently compromised. It was an interesting application of enchanting, and adding new enhancements to his growing repertoire would be a great boon now that he finally decided it was time to begin his journey down the path of the enchanter.


    Next, he focused on the potions the man carried. There were seven varieties, with high-quality mana stamina and health potions being the first three. Pan absorbed those, and was pleased to see that the average ranked health potions would allow him to further improve his own basic ones, at the cost of more expensive ingredients. But what did ingredient costs matter to a dungeon who could create them at will? The final four were strength potions, damage boost potions, berserker potions, and a high-level magic potion that greatly increased maximum mana and mana regeneration for a few minutes, before leaving the user burnt out for a few hours. Pan absorbed all of them, and was already thinking of ways to significantly improve the potency of them.


    Finally, he got to the enchanted equipment and amulets. The gear all had regular maintenance enhancements to keep the blades and the armor rust free, and a few had damage increases, with one being an elemental damage enchantment. The warrior''s greatsword had an enchantment to decrease its apparent mass for just the wielder, allowing them to perform sword moves most greatsword users could only dream of. A few armor pieces boosted the user''s stats, like strength or agility. The archer even had boots that boosted movement speed, and a cape that helped with stealth. The mage''s robes were marginally more interesting, since they boosted the spell strength, maximum mana, and mana regeneration of the user all at once. The healer¡¯s robes also boosted healing spell strength, as well as intelligence. They were a good assortment of enchantments, and Pan was excited to begin his experimentation with them.


    The final pieces were the amulets, which protected users from an identify spell, but they were basic, and could only display a fixed range of characteristics. So if someone wanted to appear as a lower level, one person might see them as a level seventeen, while another might see them as a level nineteen. But Pan felt that as he improved his skill, he would be able to make them display things exactly the same to everyone, and he would be able to set it however he wanted. It could be a useful tool to help disguise monsters or bosses, as well as his body if he ever got enough for the skill.


    Pan decided to focus on learning the enchanting skill first, rather than spend more time reverse engineering and improving his new potions. He figured it was about time he learned how to create proper magical items. To enchant an item, he needed to know the enchantment, and have a way to imbue the enchantment, along with the necessary energy into the item. For weaker enchantments, lots of mana could be used, but for powerful enchantments, like elemental damage effects, soulstones were needed instead. They were simply mana crystals that had been used to capture a soul. One that was done, the crystal could discharge the soul energy to create or recharge enchantments. Once emptied, they could usually be reused, but sometimes they would disintegrate, based on the quality of soulstone and the skill of the user.


    Luckily, Pan could easily make an abundance of mana stones, and he hoped he would have the ability to cast a soul trap spell, since it was a basic spell many mages learned early on. If a mage ever got a mana stone, turning it into a soulstone was a great way to make money, since enchanters would pay to use the stored energy, and would reimburse them if it broke. It was also useful to be able to recharge any enchanted items they had, such as a wand or staff. The soul trap spell was a strange spell, one of the few that Pan felt he may be able to use with his limited abilities as a dungeon. He couldn¡¯t directly cast it, but since he received mana from everything that died in his dungeon, he felt that he should be able to collect their soul energy as well.


    However, even after hours of trial and error, he was still unable to direct any energy from the deaths of monsters in his dungeon into a mana crystal. He checked the dungeon store for any skills that could help him, and quickly found a solution. It was two hundred and fifty dungeon points, but he had no other use for them anyway.


    Dungeon Soul Trap


    Anything that dies in the dungeon will have a portion of its energy diverted to a soul gem.


    5% of the mana gained from deaths will be converted into soul energy until designated soul gems are full. Note that sentients cannot have their soul energy taken.


    He was disappointed to have to give up some mana, but he felt that it would be worth it if he could learn enchanting. He created a small mana stone, capable of holding fifty mana, into a soul gem by directing the new soul energy he could feel into the gem. The amount of soul energy it could hold was one-tenth its previous maximum mana. He could feel the energy trickling in, since there were always monsters dying in the ecosystems he had created. It seemed that for every ten mana lost, he would gain one soul energy, further slowing the acquisition of the valuable resource. He decided to create a massive soul gem from the old one he had from his time as a slave. He increased the size of the already enormous mana stone to five thousand maximum mana storage, then he set it as the target for the soul energy produced by his dungeon. He absorbed the little soul gem, since he figured it might be useful later on to create them directly. It was actually just as expensive to create a soul gem as it was to create a mana stone and convert it, so there would be no cutting costs there.


    A maximum of five hundred soul energy was an enormous amount, and although Pan didn¡¯t know it, any enchanter who saw the battery would probably sell him his family for a chance to use it. Pan simply thought it was convenient to have all of his energy in one place, and it would be much easier to use once he started enchanting with it. For now, he would start by using mana to enchant items while he waited for the gem to fill and his skill to increase. He could already feel the power slowly trickling in, but there wasn¡¯t even a point of energy.


    Pan started his research by making a copy of a basic iron dagger he had absorbed, since it was the cheapest weapon he could make. He wanted to try some of the more basic enchantments that used mana to add magical properties to items. These mana enchantments were mostly limited to basic maintenance, such as rust prevention or increased durability, but they were still valuable to adventurers. Less maintenance saved time, as well as money in the long run, and you would be assured that your weapon or armor wouldn¡¯t be likely to fail in the middle of a fight. All that was needed was a bit of mana every once in awhile, and the enchantment would keep on working. The major disadvantage, aside from their lack of damage increase, was that if the enchantment ever ran out of mana, it would disintegrate entirely, and need to be replaced.


    He decided to start with the rust prevention enchantment, since it was by far the most basic. He pushed his mana into the sword, making it follow the pattern he had learned from absorbing previous items. At first, the mana resisted his attempts to bind it to the item, and a sort of pressure built up in Pan¡¯s mind. He forced his will into the item, and the magic seemed to click into place, successfully enchanting the item. Enchanting was easier for Pan than alchemy, probably because a dungeon was a species completely based on magic, and he could manipulate it as if it was a part of his body, which was pretty much exactly the case. Alchemy needed some physical interaction with the ingredients, while enchantment was entirely based on shaping and moving energy. He was rewarded with the enchanting skill, and a poorly enchanted item. It was much weaker than it should have been, but that was because he hadn''t had the skill when he made it. As he leveled his enchanting skill and increased his experience, the effects would be better and better.


    Enchanting Level 1, Beginner


    The ability to give items magical effects. Effects increased based off of enchanting level.


    +1% enchantment strength per level


    One advantage of being a dungeon was his ability to reabsorb the item and try again, slightly offsetting the mana cost. He had used over one hundred mana to enchant the sword, but he gained more than three-quarters of the mana back when he absorbed the item. The next enchantment he added to an item was twice as effective as the first, needing half the mana to keep the enchantment active. He continued to refine the process of enchanting and absorbing to grind the skill, and increase his knowledge of enchanting. Pan was able to improve the enchantment marginally from there, getting about a five percent increase in effectiveness, not counting the level bonus. He would have to improve his knowledge of enchantments,or improve the base enchantment to gain any extra effectiveness.


    The mana pattern he used to enchant the items was a series of small runes, connected by lines of magic. Since he was a dungeon, he could view the magic itself, and noticed imperfections in the runes and connecting lines. It seemed that whoever enchanted the items he absorbed was not an expert, and Pan started modifying the pattern to fix the mistakes. Some modifications caused the process to fail, while others weakened the enchantment. But over time, he was able to iron out the flaws, and the mana flowed much easier through the pattern, increasing the efficiency of the enchantment by nearly another twenty percent. The experimentation helped his skill level even further, but the gains from practicing the same enchantment had already started to diminish.


    He started working with a more useful enchantment, which improved the durability of the item at the cost of needing mana every so often. He was able to improve the durability of an iron dagger from fifteen to eighteen, even before tinkering with the pattern. After hours more of experimentation, he got that number to twenty, a full third higher than the original. At that point, he felt that he would need to level his skill to see any improvements, or redesign the enchantment. Since he did not know enough about the theory behind the patterns, or even know how the runes interacted, he decided to leave dreams of creating his own enchantments for the future, once he had teased out the secrets of the craft.


    Mana based enchantments weren¡¯t the most powerful, and they rarely added any extra damage or effects to the item, but they were useful for utilitarian purposes. Not to mention that any enchanter worth his salt would include such maintenance enchantments on his creations. After all, who wanted to buy a magical sword, only to have it rust away after being unused for awhile? No, these sort of enchantments were the foundation of the craft, and important parts of all the best enchanted items. The greatest enchanters in history, the Drasians, had devised methods of adding mana enchantments to items that recharged themselves from ambient mana. These items were sometimes found in old caves or graves, always in pristine condition. The methods had been lost, but Pan felt that with his abundance of time and mana, as well as the ability to create any materials or items he needed, he could eventually devise a way to do it himself. Besides, a dungeon had a lot of free time, what else was he going to do other than perfect a craft or two. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    He continued to create and enchant daggers, grinding the skill for nearly another day until he reached apprentice rank in the skill, which had the same bonus as apprentice rank alchemy. His progress was extremely slow at that point, and he realized he needed new enchantments to work with. He had a good amount of soul energy, nearly fifty, collected from the two days he had spent learning the basics of the skill. Pan decided it was finally time to start experimenting with the vastly more powerful, and interesting soul energy. He conjured anotherdagger, and decided to try a freezing enchantment he had absorbed from the dagger carried by the archer he had killed. He pulled a small amount of energy from his battery, and pushed it into the dagger, forcing it into the shape he knew it needed to be in. He felt it snap, and just when he thought it was a success, the dagger exploded, sending shards of metal everywhere. Each shard froze the spot it struck, and frost spread from each spot until the shards ran out of energy. Unperturbed, since he was in a separate experimentation room, Pan pulled more energy and tried again. This time, he was gentler when he pushed the energy into the proper shape, and when he felt the pressure build, he eased off and pushed even slower. Eventually, he felt the magic lock into place, this time with no explosions, and the enchantment was successful.


    Iron Dagger of Freezing


    Quality: Superior


    Grade: Common


    Attack: 7-14


    Special Effects: +7 points of freezing damage. 5% chance to freeze the target for 2 seconds.


    The enchantment was decent, but the original he copied it from had been better, probably due to a difference in skill level. But creating the dagger had nearly leveled his enchanting skill again, although at a rather steep cost of five soul energy. He had already gone through twenty percent of his stockpile, but it was there to use, so he tried another enchantment he had learned from one of the better-equipped adventurers, as well as one the necromancer had.


    Iron Dagger of Burning


    Quality: Superior


    Grade: Common


    Attack: 7-14


    Special Effects: +7 points of fire damage. 5% chance to ignite the target for 2 seconds


    Iron Dagger of Reaping


    Quality: Superior


    Grade: Common


    Attack: 7-14


    Special Effects:+7 points of death damage. 5% chance to temporarily lower the target''s vitality by 2


    The last he was loath to practice, much less give out as a reward when enchanted weapons became appropriate, but learning it would provide him with valuable experience, and he had no other weapon enchantments to practice with. He really needed a way to get new items, since he rarely got something he wanted from dead adventurers. After all, the better equipped they were, the less likely they were to die. He needed a way to entice adventurers to give him new items, preferably without much of a cost on his end. The adventurers would try to take advantage of him in any way, so he needed a method that would keep him in control, and not dependent on any guild for new items. Besides, any kind of trade deal would probably come with ridiculous demands, like safe zones for beginners or some other nonsense. He was a dungeon, safe zones, if he ever made any, would be rewards for people who reached them, not some concession made to a guild so he could get items. Even if he did negotiate with the guild, they would probably cheat him with inferior items. He needed to bypass the middleman, the guild in this instance, and rely on the greed of individual adventurers to get him what he desired. After a few hours of brainstorming, he came up with a decent plan.


    He created a few metal chests, that he placed at different places in the dungeon. He left instructions for the adventurers engraved on stone tablets next to the chests. They would place items in the chest, and close the lid, locking it in place. Then, if the items were new to him, the loot chest at the end of the room, or nearby if they were in the cavern, would reward them with money equal to the value of the items. If any items were not new, there would be no gold, and the adventurer could retrieve the item from the chest. Different chests would give increased amounts of money depending on how hard they were to reach. The best chest on the first floor gave an extra twenty percent gold, while the final chest on the second floor, after the boss, gave seventy percent more than the item was worth. He even put a chest right in the first room that gave eighty percent of the value, but that was still better than what people could get from a merchant. This chest also had a tablet explaining that higher rewards could be gained by going deeper into the dungeon. The chests had the added benefit of enticing adventurers to take risks to try to increase their profit, and if Pan was lucky, they¡¯d die in an attempt to reach a better chest and he¡¯d get the items for free.


    The next morning, the new chests caused quite a stir. The first group to enter saw the new chest in the otherwise empty first room, and after investigating it, decided to try it out. One of them placed an iron dagger into the box, and even though Pan already knew how to make one, he rewarded them with money anyway, in an effort to get the ball rolling. Once they saw it worked, they excitedly set off deeper into the dungeon to look for the better chests. They eventually stopped at the chest giving one hundred and ten percent of the value, and put all of their nonessential items into it. Some were new to Pan, and although uninteresting, he rewarded them accordingly. They retrieved their money and unabsorbed items, and left the dungeon, spreading the news to any other parties they came across. Pan hoped that the news would quickly spread outside of the dungeon, and with it would come an influx of useful items that would hopefully expand Pan''s library of knowledge. He really wanted new potions and enchantments to experiment with, but he was hopeful that something would come through that surprised him.


    Over the day he received a massive influx of new items, most of them useless, but some of them were noteworthy. He had no need for random trinkets, or assorted toiletries, but he only had to absorb each item once, and it may be useful to have some random items in his database later on. One jokester even put a handful of dirt from outside in the chest, so Pan rewarded him with harder monsters in the next room. Needless to say, that adventurer wouldn¡¯t be warning others not to try the same thing. But there were gems among the items he was given, sometimes literally. He had received a satchel full of assorted ingredients from an alchemist who had hired a few adventurers to escort him to one of the better chests. Most of them were unknown to Pan, and he was able to plant quite a few of them since they were still alive. He only hoped that the alchemist would return with some potions later on, since those would be real prizes. There were a few enchanted items, but none of them were new to him, since they only had basic mana enchantments. It may take time for word to spread far enough to attract people with better items, since most adventurers at his dungeon were D or low C ranked, and didn¡¯t have access to, or were unwilling to give up more powerful enchanted items.


    He was pleased when a blacksmith presented him with some assorted ingots, since even though he had a large supply of iron from absorbing gear from the dead, he had less of the other metals. Copper and bronze were almost never used to make weapons because iron was better and more readily available, just harder to properly forge. Most people had simple steel weapons, and the poorest could afford the metal. Richer adventurers might have equipment made of high steel, which was simply very high-quality steel, with some basic magical enhancements. By mid D rank, most people had all good quality high steel gear, and most C ranked people would have some equipment made of more exotic metals. The invaders he had killed had had moonstone armor, named for its illustrious white appearance. It was a useful metal, since it was very good at channeling magic, making it easy to enchant, as well as being lighter than steel, without giving up any strength. But the blacksmith gave him a surprisingly wide range of ingots, up to tier two metals, like moonstone, cobalt, high steel, and etherium. Tier two metals were more enchantable than base metals, and all had other special unique properties when properly forged.


    Pan was pleased with the success of his first day''s profit, and by the end of the day, less junk was coming in and people were giving him their more expensive items and materials. The new metals gave him an ideawhen they reminded him of another skill he had seen in the dungeon store. It should help him attract more people, and hopefully, net him some extra mana. It was fifty dungeon points, but he was willing to pay for it.


    Dungeon Ore vein


    The ability to create ore veins that will slowly consume mana to grow the assigned ore. The ore must have already been absorbed by the dungeon. Higher quality ores cost more mana to grow.


    The tier two ores were expensive to upkeep, but the base metals like iron or copper cost him very little. Before he set them up, he needed proper guardians for the deposits, but not something the miners couldn¡¯t handle, or else they would never come. He did set up a few tier two deposits for himself, since he knew that later on he would want a good supply of high-quality metals for use in enchanting. He put a few copper and iron veins on the first floor, far enough in that a prospective miner would have to be a decent fighter, or hire one to reach. At the very least, it would get more people in the dungeon.


    The deposits were noticed the next day, but there were no miners around. The first group to notice them turned back to report to the guild, claiming that they would receive a reward for the news. Sure enough, later that day, a group of miners escorted by some adventurers started poking around the deposits. They seemed pleased with the quality and purity of the ore, and spent a few hours completely stripping some veins. The plan already bore fruit, since one of the escorts died when he set off on his own to ¡°make a little extra coin.¡± The second floor would have better ore, but there the veins would have their own specialized guardians, which he would spend the night creating.


    But by far, the best part of the day was when an unassuming man gave Pan the best items he had received so far. He had not even expected or planned for the kind of item the man brought, but when he received them, he was surprised he hadn¡¯t thought of it earlier. The man brought him a stack of books, most of them useless, but a few outlined how to start a number of professions. They weren¡¯t skillbooks, items that magically imparted skills, but they would teach the reader how to learn the skill on their own. Some more advanced books could help someone level their skills, and expand their knowledge on the subject. Pan absorbed a useless book, and when he saw that recreating it didn¡¯t distort the words at all, but unfortunately didn¡¯t inject the material into his mind, he absorbed the rest. He recreated the few that dealt with alchemy or enchanting, and put them aside to study later.


    For now, Pan needed to design a designated ore guardian, and he had a plan in mind. He looked through his list of summonable animals, and stumbled across a small tortoise that sparked his inspiration. He spawned one, and decided it would do nicely. He increased the size until it¡¯s shell was nearly three feet across. He made them stronger, and slightly faster. A tortoise should never be fast, but they would be able to surprise any attacker with a burst of speed. He made their jaws much stronger, and they would be able to tear through armor with the metallic beak he gave them, although that wasn¡¯t the intended purpose. He gave their shells the ability to absorb metals eaten by the tortoise, strengthening them, and adding special properties based on the metal absorbed. They would eat plants normally, but would guard ore veins for the metals they provided, strengthening themselves in the process. When they retreated into their shells, they would be nearly invulnerable, due to armored protrusions on their feet that would seal the holes from the outside world. They would do nicely, and the better the ore they defended, the stronger they would become.


    Pan spread them out on the second floor, mostly in the cavern. He placed some ore veins around, better quality iron and copper in the tunnel section and cavern, then moonstone and magicite in the cavern only. Magicite was a special form of iron, that formed when exposed to high concentrations of magic. It was useless in armors, since it had a brittle crystalline structure, but it could be forged into high-quality magic wands or enchanted jewelry. The tortoises were quick to begin their consumption of the ores, and after an hour, they had already started to gain their special properties.


    The ones that ate copper had a change in coloration, and their shells grew stronger. The same happened with iron, although those tortoises grew stronger and heavier to help carry the denser shells. Any that ate moonstone grew lighter and quicker, with strong white shells. The ones that ate the magicite were similar to the iron ones, except they had a strange energy around them. Pan knew that they could cast minor spells, and would be almost immune to magic. He considered them a success, and waited for the morning to come so he could see how they fared.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 10


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 18,153/25,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 41.3/500


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 2


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 7,592


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 15], [Enchanting: Lvl 13],[Dungeon Ore Vein]


    Dungeon Points: 415


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    The morning came, along with around a dozen miners escorted by a party of six C ranked adventurers. After the loss of one adventurer yesterday, the guild was taking no chances with the valuable workman. They set to work stripping the veins of ore on the first floor, while the adventurers easily overpowered anything that threatened the miners. After about half a day of mining and hauling, a group of four C ranked adventurers retreating from the second floor, battered and bruised, reported the higher class ore veins, as well as the new guardians to the mining party. After a round of discussions, the group decided to push for the better veins, and enlisted the other party to help them find the other veins, and to providesomeextra backup on the more dangerous floor.


    The healer patched them up since they didn¡¯t have one of their own, and they set off for the next floor. After easily passing the first boss, they descended the steps and entered the larger jungle. The miners all stopped in awe, having never seen the lower level, and their escorts all laughed, remembering the floor giving them the same slack-jawed stare.


    ¡°You ain''t seen nothin¡¯ yet,¡± called one of the guards, ¡°the second ¡®af is even better.¡±


    The rest voiced their agreement, rousing the miners from their stupor, and led them to the ore deposits. The miners quickly set to work, and soon all of them were completely invested in their work, commenting to each other on the quality and purity of the ore, and the potential profits from mining on the floor. The guards weren¡¯t cheap, but even on the first floor they had made a profit in half a day, and this better quality ore would only boost their margins. It wasn''t long until they came across the first guardian, a massive copper colored turtle with a comically large underbite. However its beak looked sharp and strong, and they wisely called to their guards, shying away from the brute. It looked at them passively, and surprised them when it turned to the ore vein and took a massive bite out of the rock. Their faces paled when it started to chew, and they knew that it could bite off limbs as easily as they could bite through a carrot, and probably with a similar sound.


    Two guards approached it carefully, and it took another bite before turning to face them, still chewing. When they were ten feet away, the four-foot long beast hissed at them menacingly, making one of the veteran warriors to flinch. They took another step forward, causing it to grow visibly more agitated, it stood taller, seeming to grow larger, and when they took another step closer, it surprised them by charging. One swung his sword at it while dodging its bite, but was only rewarded with a dulled blade. The other hacked at its neck while it was turned to his companion, and managed to shave off some of its health, but the scales on its neck were unnaturally hard, and he only succeeded it bruising it. It hissed again, seeming even more menacing than the first, and turned its attention to the first thing that had ever managed to hurt it.


    He was rescued when another man charged in with an axe, and hacked off its front foot. It toppled over, not ready for the surprise attack, and retreated into its shell. Each hole was plugged by a perfectly sized piece of armor attached to their shoulders that slid into place when its limbs were in the proper position. They attacked it again, but even the axe-wielding adventurer couldn''t penetrate its ridiculously resistant armor. Even a volunteer with a mace was unable to crack its shell, and they had already spent too much time on this one. They all decided that these monsters needed to be beheaded with the first attack, otherwise, they¡¯d turtle up and be unassailable. Perhaps a fire mage could cook them in their shell, but they had no mages with them to test the theory. They solved the problem by rolling it onto its back, figuring it would be unable to bother them, even if it did leave its shell again.


    They faced a few more guarding the copper and iron deposits, and managed to kill a few once they learned to attack its head and neck first. They gutted and cleaned the turtles, a difficult task, but the scales and shell had a high metal content, and the miners offered them a good price for each pound of material. On their way back, a few of the adventurers kicked the still overturned copper turtle, chuckling as the inert beast spun a few times with each strike. The tenacious guardian had waited for them to leave, but when the last adventurer in the procession stopped to deliver a blow to the plate that hid its head behind, it opened up, revealing an enraged turtle, lashing out at the man. He stumbled and tripped while trying to avoid its attack, but the kick had already been launched, and his foot was too close. It snagged the offending limb, and removed his foot before he even noticed it had bitten down. It returned to its armored fortress, foot in mouth, and sealed itself away.


    The man lay on the ground screaming, and was hauled away by two of his companions, who scolded him for his unnecessary attack on the monster. They all were experienced, but they had assumed an immobilized enemy was no threat, and it wasn''t, if they didn''t kick at its head like an idiot. The healer saw to the man, stopping the bleeding and clearing it of any potential infection. He would need to receive better treatment if he ever wanted to regain the foot, and that would be expensive, requiring a master healer with the proper perks unlocked. An expert healer could reattach severed limbs, if the cut was clean enough, but they didn''t have the foot, so it was unlikely he¡¯d regain the lost appendage any time soon. She admonished him for his stupidity, as well as the others who had started the act, and they had the decency to look sheepish and properly apologetic.


    After the eventful finale to the expedition, the group exited the dungeon, and aside from the final mishap, the mining expedition was very successful. They had extracted a large amount of high-quality ore, which would be extremely useful for the growing city. Having a local source of metal would vastly cut down on weapon and tool costs, not to mention the little necessities such as nails, hinges, and other metal fixtures needed in the construction of a city. The guild was especially thrilled since their investment was proving to be better every day. They already had a bustling town, and people were flocking to the area every day. The access to valuable resources was incredible, and they could only seeing the value go up. Happiest of all was Peter.


    <hr>


    Peter had been very successful, and after negotiating for some profitable contracts with the guild, he had set himself up for a long life of luxury. He had no intention of resting on his laurels however, and his intelligent mind found itself enjoying the administration of his land. He had skilled people working for him, and he was creating a city that would be the center of the region, perhaps even rivaling some of the southern cities in wealth and importance. As the owner of the land, he had a massive amount of influence over the area, and he was putting it to good use. His insistence in only hiring the best planners and artisans had cost the guild quite a bit of money, but the lucrative contracts he had signed in return had swayed them to his position. He had the final say on all appointments, and after a lengthy interview process he had hired one of the best city planners in the kingdom. The man was just as excited as he was, since city planners rarely got to build a city from the ground up, and were mostly relegated to administrative work in already established cities. The city was well planned, and would be a shining jewel in the forest for generations to come.


    His city was attracting immigrants from across the kingdom, and many skilled artisans had traveled in an attempt to set up businesses in the new region, and avoid competition with already established businesses in the old cities. There were even a few farms starting up on the land outside the city, strung outalong the new road he had hired earth mages to properly and quickly set up. If he got his wishes, his city would be of the highest quality from the start, and although it seemed a wild fantasy, he wanted it to be the best in the kingdom.


    He had a meeting with the guildmaster later that day, to discuss recent changes to the dungeon, as well as a few external situations caused by jealous nobles. He had already had plenty of generous offers to buy the land, and when he refused, a few thinly veiled threats, and some completely unveiled. But he was already a wealthy man, and the nobles would be foolish to attempt to make good on their threats, especially with the might of the strongest faction in the region behind him.


    The meeting was in the guildhouse, and when he walked in, the old master smiled and shook in hand while greeting him.


    ¡°Peter, it¡¯s good to see you. I see running a city has been treating you well,¡± he cheerfully asked him with a cheeky grin on his wrinkled old face. Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Come on Jack, you already know how much I enjoy the work. No amount of teasing me about my ¡®boring¡¯ hobby will change my mind. I have no desire to don some robes and test the dungeon either, I¡¯m content with practicing my craft at home. I think you¡¯re just hoping I¡¯ll die and you can run the city on your own,¡± Peter returned with a genuine smile.


    The two had developed a strong friendship over the months, with Jack seeing Peter as the son he never had. They often joked about Peter''s seeming obsession with perfection in his domain, and Jack¡¯s desire for him to ¡°man up and do some adventuring.¡± Jack, who had a genuine affection for the intelligent boy, turned more serious.


    ¡°Running the city is exactly why I called you here today, there are some new developments in the dungeon, but those can wait. There is a much more important issue,¡± he said as he handed Peter a sealed letter.


    ¡°This is the king¡¯s seal,¡± he nearly shouted when he saw the elegant mark in the purple wax. He grew worried as various scenarios flashed through his head. The king could strip him of his land, with compensation of course, but no. The guild would be angered since they already had contracts in place, and the king couldn''t afford to look like a tyrant. When he looked at Jack, the man only nodded, a serious expression on his face. Peter let out a long breath, and popped the seal on the missive. His eyes widened in shock when he read the all too brief note, in the king''s own handwriting. He easily recognized it as such, his grandfather had received a note from the man when he had retired, in thanks for his service to the kingdom. He had read that framed document thousands of times as a child, in awe of his famous grandfather, and the handwriting was unmistakable.


    He looked up at Jack, the stunned expression still on his face. Jack only smiled and guffawed loudly. When he stared longer the man shouted cheerfully, ¡°what¡¯s that face for my boy? You¡¯re going to be a duke.¡±


    <hr>


    The next day, Peter set off in an ornate carriage, headed for the capital nine days away to swear his fealty to the king and receive his title. Jack saw him off, and assured him that the city would be taken care of during his three-week absence. Everything after reading the missive had been a blur, and even the news of the chests and ore deposits could not rouse him from his shock. He had prepared for the journey, and was escorted by a squad of the king¡¯s royal guards, all sent with the letter to deliver him safely to the king, since he did not yet have any retainers of his own. He brought some books with him, intending to study his magecraft while away from the pleasurable challenge of city construction.


    <hr>


    Pan had run into a minor problem with his dungeon. The chests, while helpful, were not working as well as he had hoped. People didn¡¯t want to carry items out to the better chests, so he was missing out on more expensive items. There was the fear of losing them in death, as well as the inconvenience of it all. He had spent the night planning a solution, and had amended the instructions on his chest. Each chest now spawned unique tokens, one per adventurer in the group. When the token was brought to the first chest in the safe room, and placed in the chest with the item they wished to sell, they would receive coins equal to what they would have gotten if they traveled to the chest they got the token from. This would allow adventurers to trade expensive or unwieldy items without risk, at least while selling them. The wooden tokens were lightweight and easy to carry, about the size of a standard coin. He also hoped they would be sold to merchants or artisans, so people who wouldn¡¯t normally risk the dungeon could trade their items with him. Instead of hiring a party and risking their life, or money if the party was untrustworthy, people would buy tokens and sell their items risk free. He hoped the new system would increase the flow of items, and since they were never in danger, even if the item wasn¡¯t new to him, they weren¡¯t risking their lives for a chance at money.


    He needed to add a way for them to know if the item was new to him. He considered a few methods, and finally decided on adding another token system. He added a second chest to the safe room, and if someone put an item inside it, they would receive a token tied to the item, if it was new to Pan. Then, no matter what, the item was guaranteed to be bought if placed inside a chest along with the token, even if someone else traded Pan the same item before then. He also considered offering to buy materials such as metals at all times, but decided against it, for now. He could grow metals easily enough, but he felt that having a massive stockpile of useful metals could only be beneficial.


    He was also considering a way to allow people to trade creatures for gold, but everything he thought of would be inconvenient. He did add a note saying potions and potion ingredients would receive an added five percent to the money given, and any new enchantments would get ten percent added, as well as an extra gold coin. Books all received a five percent bonus, and skillbooks got fifteen, plus two extra gold coins. He had no idea if the skillbooks would even be useful to him, but it didn¡¯t hurt to try. Besides, amassing a large library of skillbooks would be useful in the future, although he didn¡¯t know how. That should entice people to give him things he wanted. He was hoping the amendments to his system would help him get what he wanted. It reduced the risk to sellers, without reducing the risk for adventurers trying to reach a chest, and allowed people to be assured of a sale.


    The new changes were an enormous success, and the tokens became valuable commodities in the dungeon. A few people were even killed for their token at some of the better chests on the second floor. Pan hadn¡¯t intended to turn the adventurers on each other, but he couldn¡¯t deny the effectiveness of the tactic. He had received many more items that day than he had since he made the chests. There were plenty of new potions and ingredients, as well as a few new enhancements. He now had the basic elemental enchantments covered, as well as a few more advanced ones. The potions were interesting, and he was excited to begin refining them again, but the ingredients were amazing. The variety he got shocked him, and he planted in secluded areas all across his dungeon. The rare plants came from all over, and there were even a few from outside the kingdom that he couldn¡¯t plant since the environment wasn¡¯t right for them. The rare plants even contributed to his mana regeneration, some of the more potent ones gave more than a small rodent would, and his newfound knowledge from the books gave him new insights on using them to create his own potions, not just copy already existing ones. The first potions he wanted to try were rare attribute boosting ones, such as a potion of strength.


    Solution of Strength


    Quality: Solution


    Grade: Rare


    Special effects: +5 strength for 5 minutes


    He started the process of refining the potion, giddy at the thought of improving it further. He quickly ran into a few problems, however, and no matter how much he tried he couldn¡¯t solve them. When he tried to apply the new principles of alchemy he had learned to make it last longer, the effect grew weaker. If he tried to strengthen the effect, the time grew shorter. He even managed to improve it to the philter quality, the second highest quality of potion, but he still couldn¡¯t make much more improvement on the original.


    Philter of Strength


    Quality: Philter


    Grade: Rare


    Special effects: +10 strength for 7 minutes


    It was an incredible potion, there was no doubt about that, but it wasn¡¯t what he dreamed of. His salvation came that night when an alchemist sold him a new ingredient. It was a small plant of the mythic grade, the first mythic item he had ever seen, and luckily for Pan, it had strength boosting properties. He immediately started substituting it into his refined recipe, sometimes failing, sometimes improving it. The mana cost to summon a mythic ingredient was not insignificant, and he found that he was actually countering his mana regeneration while he experimented. It was no problem since he could feel that he was close to solving his problem. After hours of work, and reaching journeyman level in alchemy, he succeeded.


    Elixir of Strength


    Quality: Elixir


    Grade: Mythic


    Special effects: +10 strength for 20 minutes


    Alchemy Level 25, Journeyman


    The ability to create potions and poisons out of ingredients found in nature. Effects increased based off of alchemy level.


    +1% potion strength per level ten and under


    +2% potion strength per level over level ten


    +1% chance per level over twenty-five to increase potion grade by 1


    The boost to alchemy was great, especially since he had gotten the skill to level thirty-two. He felt that there was still room for improvement, but at his level in alchemy, it was difficult to see how. He returned to studying his books, which unfortunately only went up to journeyman level in alchemy, which was where he was currently. He read through them anyway, hoping that they would help him pass he journeyman rank. His progress was slowing substantially, and he knew that he would need more time to push the skill further. He had reached the point where the skill didn''t level from repeating tasks, and he now needed to expand his knowledge of the craft by trying new things. For now, that meant he had to continue his experiments while he waited for new items to reach him.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 10


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 3,412/25,000 (+0)


    Soul Energy: 15.1/500


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 2


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 8,351


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 32], [Enchanting: Lvl 14], [Dungeon Ore Vein]


    Dungeon Points: 415


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    Peter had finally reached the capital,Barathan, and was gawking at the magnificent buildings in the noble district. There were grand estates, belonging to the noble houses, the grandest of them being the ducal estates, but dwarfing even those was the royal palace, a testament to what generations of peace and prosperity can do for the ruling dynasty. The wealth on display was jaw dropping, and Peter could only marvel at the sophistication and architecture, dreaming of ways to incorporate what he saw into his own city. He had reached the capital late in the evening, and when he tried to go to the palace for the meeting, Raymond, a manservant sent by the king, laughed and pulled Peter away.


    ¡°Come on now, the hour is late, and the king isn¡¯t meeting anybody now. Besides, you can hardly expect to meet the king dressed like that,¡± the man chided. Peter swallowed nervously and followed the man, who took him to a tailor¡¯s shop to get his attire situated. He was measured, and an outfit was selected for him, requiring only slight modifications. It was a colorful arrangement, a fine dark blue silk shirt, with a slate gray doublet covering it, both framed by excellent gold embroidery. He even had to admit to himself that despite the expense and pomp, he really did look quite good in the noble attire.


    After paying for the clothes and a few more outfits he ordered, Peter allowed Raymond to drag him to a high-quality inn, where he promptly paid for a room and turned in for the night, exhausted from his journey. He slept soundly, despite his anxiety over the next day¡¯s meeting.


    The next morning he woke early, and after treating his entourage to a wonderful breakfast at the inn, he set off for the palace. Raymond was busy briefing him on more and more protocols, a topic the man had been insistent on drilling into his head over the course of the journey. Peter had heard it all by now, and busied himself by taking in the sights of the ancient capital, tuning out the man¡¯s instructions on how to hold his head in his majesty¡¯s presence, and all sorts of other protocols rooted in tradition he had practiced countless times over the trip.


    When they finally got to the palace, Raymond led him through the winding maze of halls and gardens, to an elegant waiting room decorated with beautiful tapestries and fine gold fixtures. Raymond delivered a letter of introduction to the king¡¯s seneschal, a wizened old man, who despite his age, was no less vital than a man with half his years. The man carried the letter through a door behind him, returning to his desk a minute later. He scribbled notes in an old leather-bound tome, and stamped a few missives with his seal, giving them to a messenger to deliver. He was responsible for much of the kingdom''s administration, and the king''s waiting room. Two tasks he completed with the utmost care and efficiency.


    A few minutes later, the door behind the seneschal''s desk opened again, and a man whispered into his ear. The seneschal stood, and after beckoning for Peter to stand, Opened the ornate mahogany doors leading to the king''s private meeting rooms. As the doors opened the old man called out, in a much stronger voice than Peter expected, ¡°Peter Haroldson, owner of the new Borrander Forest dungeon, here at your request your majesty.¡±


    Peter took three steps into the room, and exactly as instructed, knelt, right fist on the ground, the other on his upraised left knee, forehead resting on the back of his hand.


    ¡°Rise Peter,¡± came the strong voice of the king, a powerfully built man, well into his fifties but still full of life. Peter stood and faced the man, who was seated in a massive gilded leather chair behind a desk, beautifully carved from a rich dark hardwood. Peter knew the desk had been a gift from the elven ambassador decades ago,and had been carved from the center of a destroyed heartwood tree, a massive evergreen sacred to the elves. He swallowed nervously, perspiration running down his neck and back.


    ¡°I¡¯m at your service, your majesty,¡± he recited, relieved his voice hadn¡¯t faltered or cracked. The king smiled at him, and gestured for him to sit in a chair across from him.


    ¡°Relax Peter. I was friends with your grandfather, your family is always welcome in my home,¡± he said as Peter took his seat, ¡°how is the old man by the way? I haven¡¯t heard from him in years.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead your majesty, a necromancer killed him a few months back, in the dungeon I claimed.¡±


    The king''s face fell at the news, and he seemed to Peter to be genuinely saddened by the news. ¡°Well,¡± he started, ¡°my condolences for your loss, Gerald was a great man, and a better friend.¡± They both paused for a moment in memory, and Peter was shocked when the king poured him a drink, from his own bottle. He slid the tumbler across the table and raised his own glass, ¡°to Gerald, may he forever be remembered.¡± Peter raised his glass as well, and they emptied the liquor in a single swallow. It was the best whiskey Peter had ever tasted, and it nearly sent him into a coughing fit, only stopped by the presence of the king, who had started to speak again.


    ¡°That dungeon is why I called you here. You see, I have received many requests from the nobility to strip you of your land, and give it over to them. Now, I am loathed to give any of those greedy bastards any more wealth and power, so I have decided to do something. I gave your grandfather the title of baron, and although he refused any land, you are still a member of the nobility... I can see by your expression that he never mentioned it, which I suppose is just like the man. Now, I have decided to raise your house to that of duke, and you shall be given the newly created Duchy of Borrander, named for the forest it contains. You will be Duke Peter Borrander, and you can decide if you will carve out any counties to give to vassals. I suppose that won¡¯t matter for awhile, since the land is so sparsely populated, but the dungeon should take care of wealth. You will, of course, be required to pay the feudal taxes to the crown, but I will waive the requirement of a levy until there is enough population to support one.¡±


    He looked up from his papers at Peter, the young man¡¯s eyes had grown wider and wider during king¡¯s speech. The king took one look at him and laughed, ¡°sorry for my ramblings, we can sort all the details out later on, for now, just swear your fealty to me, and I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±


    Peter stood from the chair at the king''s behest, and knelt again, this time with his sword drawn and laid across his two outstretched palms, with both knees on the ground. He cleared his throat a few times, afraid his voice would crack, and rehearsed the vow one more time in his head before speaking.


    ¡°I, Peter Borrander, formerly Peter Haroldson, of the Borrander forest, do hereby swear my fealty to the King of Rivan. My blade and my house are henceforth sworn to the crown.¡± The king solemnly accepted his vow, and beckoned Peter to stand. Then he cracked a smile, ¡°Peter I have one command for you.¡±


    Peter swallowed nervously, ¡°What is it my liege?¡±


    ¡°Call me Albert in private.¡±


    <hr>


    Pan had decided it was finally time to get ready for a third floor. That being said, he had to level up one more time just so he could afford the new floor. Pan was currently getting around five thousand mana per day, give or take a few thousand, and he needed twenty-five thousand just to level up once. He was currently within two days of the level up, and he decided to save up as much as he could. However, he still felt that he still needed to add to the first few floors, since they were starting to feel a bit, homogenous, especially the first floor. He wanted to create something other than the ants and plant traps for adventurers, mostly because once an adventurer figured out the enemies, clearing the floor became child''s play. He still needed a way to allow them to bypass already cleared floors, but he would incorporate his plans for that when he bought the third floor.


    While he waited for the mana to level up, he started tinkering with ideas for revamping the first floor. He didn¡¯t want to make it more difficult since it worked well for rank D adventurers, but he wanted to make it more varied. A sufficiently skilled and equipped rank D adventurer could get through the first and half of the second floor before needing to turn back, and he was considering adding a fourth floor between the first and second later on to accommodate more low-level adventurers. For now, he needed a new monster.


    He decided on an ambush predator, but not an overwhelming one. He decided to use a spider as a base, and since he already had experience working with spiders, it should be easier to get what he wanted. The first floor was about facing enemies with strong defense, the ants had a strong carapace, and the stone centipede was only beaten by behemoth in terms of sheer defense. Pan decided to stick with the theme, and developed his spider around that idea. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    He made a large, bulky, four-foot diameter spider. Its abdomen was much larger than its massive foot wide cephalothorax,a combined head and thorax, and curled under the hardened shell of the middle segment. The abdomen had an armored topside, but the bottom was undefended. The top of the cephalothorax was a well-armored plate, capable of deflecting sword or arrow strikes with relative ease. Its legs were armored as well, with extra reinforcements in the joints to prevent and hyperextension fro strong blows. He made it powerful, but it wouldn¡¯t be incredibly fast like second-floor monster, just able to run down a jogging human. He removed the deadly parts of its venom, and changed it to a powerful paralytic, able to subdue a human in around ten seconds for up to a few hours. Finally, he changed it¡¯s appearance, breaking up its shape with fur mottled with brown and green patches. If it hid in the underbrush, it would be very hard to see, and should teach novice adventurers to always be on edge.


    Their plan of attack would be to wait in ambush, then strike at enemies, paralyzing them before wrapping them up in thread and dragging them back to a prepared lair where it could easily defend its catch. When he spawned the first generation, they took to the crevices and caves around the edges of the rooms, hidden by brush. Pan widened and expanded the hiding spots, adding a few more to help the species get a start in the dungeon. If they managed to snag an adventurer, they would be able to easily defend their prize from any party members looking to rescue their comrade by backing into their home with the armored carapace on the abdomen preventing any successful attacks. The party would have to kill it before it reached its home if they wanted to save their friend, or else they¡¯d have to be prepared for a long siege on the defended hole.


    They worked exactly as intended the next day, and while not an insurmountable obstacle for D ranked adventurers, they did manage to nab a few of the less observant ones. They would often wait for a group to pass, then latch on to the last member of the party, going for a paralyzing bite. Then, usually before the others had finished turning towards the commotion, they would attach their web to the unlucky person, and begin dragging them back to their hideout, relying on their armor to defend them while they made the walk back, burdened by the slowly freezing body of their victim. They weren¡¯t always successful, and only got around twenty percent of the prey they went for, but didn¡¯t die if they failed. A few were killed, but the majority of victims were saved when the group made a concerted effort to cut the web, allowing the spider to escape relatively unharmed. Pan found the struggles to be quite humorous, since in their panic many parties lost all common sense, and a few even accidently hit their paralyzed friend.


    After a long day watching adventurers contend with the new threat, Pan had saved up the required mana to purchase the next level. He was bored from being forced to refrain from major mana uses, like enchanting or alchemy practice, and knew he¡¯d have a bit more than a week before he could even afford the next floor, if the level even got him enough mana capacity to pay the fifty thousand mana needed to buy it.


    Level 11


    Need 50,000 mana for level 12


    +25 Dungeon Points


    Thankfully, he didn¡¯t need another upgrade to reach the mana needed for a third floor. It would take about ten days to reach the mana needed if his income stayed around his recent average, and he had no other option than to wait. Sure, he could kill all the adventurers in the dungeon, and maybe shave a day or two off, but he¡¯d shave off the rest of his life by doing that, although he did catch himself fantasizing about it. The new dungeon instincts had burrowed deep into his psyche, and he didn¡¯t know if he should feel disturbed or not. He only found himself more accepting of the errant thought the instincts inflicted upon him, and he remained aware and rational, so he didn¡¯t fear a fall into depravity too much.


    After months of being a dungeon, he had begun to accept his new identity, and felt no shame in killing people. He was more of a harsh teacher than a cold blooded killer, at least that¡¯s what he told himself. Anyone that died in his dungeon would probably have died somewhere else anyway, so he was just helping the strongest rise to the top, and removing the worst of the lot. He didn¡¯t even know why he tried to rationalize his actions because ever since he became a dungeon he had no compunctions with killing. It felt like he was doing it just to humor his old self, who would have had to rationalize killing. He was a dungeon now, it''s what dungeons did, how they survived. Why should he feel shame? Besides, it was always indirect killing through monsters, so he didn¡¯t even feel like he was killing them, even if he was ultimately responsible. There was simply no way around killing, so he had no reason to dwell on it any longer. Maybe he lost more than a shred of humanity when he was changed, but he still felt like himself, and as long as he kept that, he didn¡¯t care. A mindset probably brought about by his transformation.


    After nine days of watching, he was finally close to having the mana he needed. The evening was approaching, and he could feel that at some point during the night he would reach fifty thousand mana, enough to form the new floor. A few hours later, he had it. Again, the mana seemed to rush out of him as he sent the mental command to buy the floor, and he felt the connection form at the end of the second. He was out of mana, so he wasn¡¯t able to do much, but he did start carving into the rock, and expanding his dungeon¡¯s influence down with the mana he generated. He found that it was easier to push his influence down after he bought the next floor, and he was quickly able to claim hundreds of feet of rock in each direction, and twenty feet down. It seemed that whatever system governed dungeon didn¡¯t want floors more than ten or twelve feet high, and claiming more vertical space grew more difficult. Pan persisted, since he had plans for his dungeon, and being limited was something he wouldn¡¯t allow. He even had an achievement to show that.


    It took him days to grab enough volume to begin his plans, and the space was almost as large as his second floor, but circular. It was nearly two miles in diameter, and fifty feet high, perfect for what he wanted to do. The jungle was good, and he enjoyed the aesthetics of the place, but it was time to switch up the environment. He decided on a much more open floor design, even more so than the cavern on the second floor. He started by carving out the area he claimed, spreading the cavern in all directions. It took hours, but eventually, the massive dark space was emptied out and reinforced. His mana strengthened the stone, preventing a possible collapse. He now had to attach it to the second floor, or at least prepare the entrance.


    He decided to go big, and after claiming some more space on the second floor, he was ready. He had centered the new floor just past the end of the second, and he carved out another circular room just above the center. He then removed the rock straight down, carving a massive hundred foot diameter hole in the ceiling of the third floor. There was a walkway around the hole, around twenty feet wide, providing a view of the new floor, seventy feet below. The rock was around ten feet thick between the floor of the entrance room, and the ceiling of the new cavern. He extruded a lip around the inner edge to serve as a railing. There were a few gaps, where he would attach paths down to the floor of the cavern, but he wouldn¡¯t be doing that with stone.


    He then started population the floor, first with the glowing bulbs. They hung from the ceiling of the cavern, thicker than even the second floor. They lit up the previously dark cavern, almost as bright as the sun. Pan then introduced a layer of sturdy small plants, and fueled their growth with mana over the course of a few days, rapidly breaking up the stone floor and producing a layer of dirt. He broke up the rock below under the soil, allowing larger plants to take root and begin their own cycle. Pan needed a lot of soil for his plan to work properly, and it would take another week or two of constant mana fueled overgrowth to achieve the desired amount.


    Next, it was time to add water. Lots of water. Pan had collected quite a bit from surface runoff that flowed into his dungeon, and he poured it all into the new floor. A flood of water rushed out across the dirt, uprooting plants and eroding the newly formed soil. None was lost, since there was nowhere to go, and the submerged plant matter was necessary for Pan¡¯s design.


    He had devised a modification to the fire enchantment that would cause things to become very hot. Around the edges of his cavern, he placed strips of steel. He gave them the anti-oxidation enchantment, and the new heat enchantment. It cost him most of his soul power, but the upkeep shouldn¡¯t be excessive. Then, he half-submerged the glowing steel bands in the water, backed into hidden crevices around the edges of the cavern. They immediately evaporated the water they touched, creating clouds of steam. The bands cooled, and the original explosion of steam turned into a slow cloud, billowing from vents in the cavern wall. They did serve their intended purpose, and they evaporated large amounts of water, causing the cavern to be blanketed in a vast cloud of fog within a day.


    Pan had designed the cavern with a sloped ceiling, falling down towards the center so the water condensing on it would form rivulets that flowed to the middle of the cavern. There, the droplets fell off in a steady rain, dropping from the roof within one hundred feet of the entrance. They formed rivers and streams that flowed through the soil, although not rapidly. Most importantly, they created a massive swamp, with steadily slow currents of water flowing to the edges where the water evaporated and created a perpetual cycle of flowing water, and a heavy mist over the room. Pan had to reseed the cavern, since all the plants had been washed away, and were hardly adapted to life in a swamp.


    In the empty ring of soil that didn¡¯t receive rain under the opening to the second floor, Pan planted a tree. He commanded the tree to grow, and with encouragement from his mana, it shot up, growing fast enough that a person would be able to see it move. It reached through the hole in the ceiling, and it¡¯s branches connected to the stone walkway, creating a bridge to the trunk. He sculpted the tree with his mana, and the interior of the ten-foot wide trunk was hollow, and a staircase grew inside of it. The bottom of the tree was very wide, nearly twenty feet across, and a mess of tangled roots. A few exits weaved their way through the massive maze at the base, and opened onto the floor, inside a ring of rain. The top of the tree branched out, and its canopy covered the roof of the entrance room, creating a leafy ceiling that filtered the light from the glowing bulbs above. Pan planted a few bulbs on the branches, providing more than adequate light for the room. A few lined the hollow interior, lighting the staircase down to the room at the bottom that housed the four exits.


    From there, he spread a carpet of grass, termination at the start of the light rain one hundred feet away. Once he hit the rain, he started covering the ground with the moss and short grasses that covered a normal bog. Then he moved on to progressively bigger plants. Bushes and ferns sprouted along the banks of the slowly eddying murky waters. Tall spindly trees emerged from the muddy waters, but Pan kept most of the drier land clear of the more obstructive flora. All he had to do now was prepare some monsters, and let the adventurers loose in the cavern.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 11


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 2,016/50,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 7.1/500


    Rooms: 126


    Floors: 3


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 8,002


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 32], [Enchanting: Lvl 14], [Dungeon Ore Vein]


    Dungeon Points: 440


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    Pan needed monsters to seed his new floor, but he was tired of using creatures commonly found in his dungeon as a base. He wanted to create something new. The dungeon store was full of new and exotic species, and luckily the basic and tier one monsters were relatively cheap, especially when compared to the much stronger monsters, such as dragons or griffons. He found that he was able to sort through the list with different filters, such as preferred environment or behavior. That was merely a guideline since he could modify anything to fit his environment, but he wanted a solid base. Luckily, he could get a basic description of each creature before he bought it, and he decided to go on a spending spree. He spent nearly sixty points unlocking different species, some were similar, but he wanted a larger base of animals so he could compare their differences, and maybe draw some inspiration from the diversity.


    Again, he started with the first level of the food chain. In this case, he had a large amount slowly decaying plant matter making up the peat bog. He spawned a large number of small invertebrates that would eat the detritus, and return the dead plant matter to the environment. There was a variety of small water beetles, worms, and ants to fit into each niche in the swamp. He created a few flowering plants, making some extraordinarily beautiful and colorful, and others smell absolutely terrible. These were meant to attract flies and dissuade adventurers from approaching. He created a few bee colonies, and they buzzed throughout the swamp, collecting the nectar from flowers that sprouted from the mud, floated on the water, or hung from vines on trees. The honey the bees produces was full of mana, and could buff adventurers for a short time when consumed, if they were willing to brave the improved venomous stings of Pan''s bees. The colorful flowers and bright yellow bees added some much-needed color to the misty bog, and the splashes of deep reds, blues and purples caught the eye when compared to the muted browns and greens of the environment, giving Pan some ideas for future creations on the floor.


    The ground was mostly moss, holding together the large clumps of soil and decaying plant matter. Small leafy plants grew where the ground was solid enough, and a few tufts of grass sprouted from small bulbous mounds. The water had a thick layer of scum and algae on top, and there were large patches of floating leafy plants held aloft by air sacs. Vines crawled their way up the trees, which towered above the ground, their canopies lost in the fog above. From time to time the fog would clear in an area, and a shaft of light would reach the ground, showing the true vibrancy of the colors in the swamps. Water droplets coated every surface,creating a scintillating show whenever light brushed across a dew covered patch. But it was eerily silent, aside from the occasional buzz of a bee, or the sound of a beetle dropping into the water. This was a swamp, Pan needed to fix that.


    Pan moved on to the bigger creatures. He started by stocking the water with fish, which would provide an abundant food source for bigger animals. The water wasn¡¯t overly deep, maybe twelve to fifteen feet at the deepest, but it was murky, and hid the true numbers of fish within its muddy curtains. There were small minnows surviving off mosquito larvae up to foot long bass eating the minnows. Six-inch sunfish snagged water striders from the surface, and avoided some of the larger carnivorous species Pan was creating and introducing. Pan modified each individual species, making the fish in his dungeon truly unique. Each original species he bought was modified again and again, creating multitudes of new never before seen varieties. He had countless new species, all of them he created himself. There were the usual silver or dark gray fish, but amongst them were stunning fish representing every color in the rainbow in their most vibrant hues. He made the bass a deeper green, with iridescent emerald scales. The sunfish were a deep orange, truly looking like their namesake.In areas where the water flowed faster and was clear of mud, they created a dazzling show of flickering colors darting through the swamp, darting in and out of the cover provided by the muddier waters.


    It was then that Pan created the first creature that could truly be called a monster, and would threaten adventurers. He had purchased a catfish, and he decided that a variant of epic proportions would be a fine addition to the concealing waters of his bog. When he added his mana, it grew to over fourteen feet long, and weighed over half a ton. Its large flat head had a row of teeth lining the top of its mouth, and Pan gave it a few more. If it managed to grab something, it would not be getting away. He thickened the bones of its skull, and it would be able to take a large amount of punishment from any adventurers. He directed his mana, thickening and strengthening its leathery skin, enough that it would take more than a glancing blow to split it. Its already powerful body was strengthened even further, to compensate for the new weight of its skull, skin, and muscle.


    Its mouth was big enough to swallow a man, nearly four feet wide, and Pan really hoped it managed to do so. The massive fish were uncanny, seeming to disappear in the murky waters. In fact, the slow moving goliaths could hide inches below the surface, and still remain undetected. Their long whiskers searched for food, since their beady eyes were useless in the muddy waters, and they sucked down large amounts of prey simply by opening their giant mouths, creating an empty space in the water, pulling everything in. After some consideration, Pan gave them one last alteration. He modified their front fins to be sturdier and stronger, allowing them to partially drag their massive frames out of the water if they needed to chase landborne prey, such as a careless adventurer.


    The giants, once introduced, lazily navigated the stagnant waters, sucking down anything living that got in their way. With the amount of fish that could be supported in the mana-rich swamp, there was no shortage of food. The next creatures he added were amphibians. They ranged from small, camouflaged frogs, to two foot long beasts. There were salamanders, frogs, and toads of all sorts of new varieties. The majority of them feed off insects and fish, but the larger frogs would eat the smaller species. None of them presented a direct danger to adventurers, but they would be a good source of food for the stronger denizens, and the croaks added to the atmosphere of the floor. He did add a few highly poisonous species, all brightly colored yellows, oranges, or blues. They didn¡¯t have any predators, and they were toxic enough to kill an adventurer if they touched the vibrant skin.


    He let the new species settle in for a time, and adjusted the ecosystem as new issues presented themselves. He added some larger fish species, mostly passive ones, that could grow four to six feet long, and weigh hundreds of pounds. They would mostly eat plants, but would consume smaller fish if they had the chance. He found a species of small carnivorous fish called piranhas, and decided that they¡¯d be perfect for the swamps. He changed them a bit, making their bodies jet black, and enhancing the red bellies until they had a deep crimson hue. He made them less aggressive, unless they smelled blood. If that happened, they¡¯d turn into a vicious frenzy of flesh-stripping monsters, able to reduce creatures to a skeleton in minutes. But if there was no blood, they¡¯d stick to eating plants and small insects, seeming like the average fish, content to graze on the abundance of subaquatic flora. The seemingly random attacks should worry adventurers until they figured out the trigger.


    He had filled the water with dozens of new fish species, and although he wasn¡¯t finished, he turned his focus towards the land. He introduced the obligatory small rodents and birds, lending high pitched songs and quiet squeaks to the croaking and buzzing sounds of the floor. Again, he made a bunch of brightly colored species to contrast with the dark misty swamp, since flashes of color darting through the mists would disorient adventurers, and keep them on edge. The terrestrial animals settled in, providing another source of food for the frogs and larger fish, setting up the base of the food chain for future additions. He had found a massive rodent species called a capybara, and added them to the mix. They were massive, and he made them even bigger, the largest now growing well in excess of two hundred pounds. They lived in large groups, and were supported by fruit trees he had added to feed them.


    Again, he made colorful additions to the floor with the new fruits. His modified trees produced extremely nutritious fruits, able to support large populations of animals. They drew extra energy from ambient mana, just like the glowing pods, and the denser the mana they absorbed, the better the fruits they produced. There were clusters of large red spheres, looking like oversized grapes. One variety of tree grew massive gourds, surrounded by a thin blue membrane. When ripe, the foot wide,two-foot long pod would drop, exploding on the ground. Its mushy insides were full of tiny black seeds that would be eaten with the sugary flesh, and carried to new parts of the floor to spread the species. Some fruits grew in spiky pods, while others were fleshy balls of color. Each was unique to Pan¡¯s dungeon, and provided sustenance to multitudes of animals. The massive capybaras would stick close to favored fruit trees, migrating from time to time as the food was exhausted. Even the biggest capybara were nothing but a snack for goliath catfish lurking in the waters, and they quickly learned to avoid the deeper stagnant pools. A few were even dragged in by catfish powering themselves out of small pools in ambush, a prophetic scene as far as Pan was concerned. The fish would drag themselves to unconnected pools of water that looked too small to hide them, just to prepare an ambush.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Next, Pan added snakes. Some were small and highly venomous. He made some of them colorful, and the small ribbons warned anything from approaching. Others were just as venomous, but blended, camouflaged against the ground, or appearing to be vines. There were some larger constrictors, up to twelve feet long, that would hunt the capybaras. But the biggest were giant anacondas, which Pan pumped up even further. The snakes grew to be thirty feet long on average, with Pan''s help, and were even able to prey on the smaller catfish. They hardly needed modifications from Pan since they were already incredibly strong. They would swim through the swamp, snagging unwary animals off the banks and wrapping them up in their coils.


    Pan needed more monsters to threaten adventurers with, and decided to turn back to spiders. He had plenty of small species running around the floor, and a few orb weavers catching bugs in their nets. It was the orb weavers that he focused on, and he chose a particularly interesting looking variety. It was long and spindly, with a more rectangular abdomen than a traditional spider. It also had bright yellow and black banded legs, with some yellow spots contrasting against its black abdomen.


    He made them almost two feet across, and created a sort of hive mind. He gave them a section of the floor, and allowed them to take over. They quickly covered trees with webs, creating an impenetrable maze of sticky curtains. Then, he added his assassin spiders to the mix. He gave them a symbiotic relationship with the orb weavers, where they would provide their venom to ensnared prey, and would get some of the spoils in return. It was a particularly beneficial setup, and plenty of capybaras were caught in the webs, not to mention all the birds, frogs, and snakes caught as well. The venom quickly slowed the trapped animals, since the confusion effect stopped their violent thrashing attempt to escape. It would also prevent future mages from blasting through the silk forest.


    Pan¡¯s next addition was a creature created to control the skies of the swamp. He had a collection of dragonfly species, and he wanted them to periodically threaten the adventurers. He increased their size, making them large enough that even their nymphs would be a danger to adventurers crossing the swamp. The largest species had a five-foot wingspan, and would be able to topple adventurers if they latched on their heads and pulled. They were massive, and subsisted on bird species in their adult stages. Pan worked on their bodies, but didn¡¯t want to make too many changes since they still needed to be able to fly. He improved their jaws and flight muscles the most. They would be able to bite through leather armor with ease, and could work through metal armors if they had the time. Their flight muscles became stronger, faster, and more efficient, allowing them to travel twice as fast as a horse with ease. If one of the heavy flies collided with an adventurer at those speeds, no amount of armor would be able to prevent injury, although the fly would surely die. They were as colorful as everything else on the floor, with verdant emerald greens, to sunset oranges and scarlet reds.


    Pan wanted to add bats as well, but for the time being, he did not have the proper magical imbuements to make them into the monsters he dreamed of. For now, he settled for hiding a few colonies around the floor, letting them fly around hunting insects or fruit trees, depending on the species. He wanted to give them magic that synergized with their natural talents, and he felt that he was currently unable to do so. He really hoped a water or life mage died soon, since those powers would be incredibly beneficial to his dungeon. For now, all he had was access to the dark, light, and fire elements. He still needed to get the earth, water, and air elements to round out the six basic elements. Next were the higher elements, life and death. Everything else was a combination or modification of the eight pure elements, creating massive amounts of distinct useable elements.


    Pulling away from his thoughts on magic, he focused on adding the final touches to the floor. He added massive reptiles he had heard of, said to be related to dragons, although he doubted it after receiving the knowledge of them once he purchased the species. They were called crocodiles, and they were gargantuan. His were twenty feet long when he was done with them, the undisputed kings of the swamp. His modifications made them even more powerful, and they were the only heavily armored creatures on the floor. Their scales were reinforced with metals, and would be able to turn away blades with ease. Their biggest weak spot was their small eyes, but Pan hid them even further behind a prominent ridge, protecting the vulnerable targets. Their massive jaws and razor sharp teeth would puncture through nearly any armor, perhaps even Behemoth¡¯s.


    Pan didn¡¯t want to do too much more with the monsters for a while, besides tweaking them here and there to optimize them for the environment. He wanted to come back to the crocodiles in the future, and give them some more bonuses, but for now, they would be almost too strong for adventurers. As long as they gave the crocodiles space and avoided the edges of the water they should be fine, but it was a swamp, and they needed to cross water to get most places. Between the giant catfish and the enormous reptiles, traversing any water would be a nearly suicidal proposition.


    There were patches of packed ground, and paths ran all across the firmer parts, created by the comings and goings of the rodents that called the swamp their home. Pan decided to add small stone bridges connecting patches of solid land, creating a network of paths that could take adventurers all across the floor, just in a roundabout way. Some enterprising adventurers would surely go off the trails, and would be rewarded if they managed to survive doing so. Pan intended to hide better rewards across the floor in hidden and dangerous areas, such as the silk forest. Eventually each area would get its own boss, but for now, Pan would only have one main boss on the floor. Behemoth.


    Off near the edge of the floor was an abnormally large patch of hard-packed earth that Pan had created to serve as an arena for Behemoth. It was about one hundred yards across, but the main fighting area was only a third of that. The rest was full of trees and swampy ground, funneling any attackers into Behemoths range. He had ample food supplies around on the island, and even if he sank in the water, he could hold his breath long enough to reach land. Considering the issue for a moment longer, Pan decided to give him basic gills, hidden by moveable plates that would open when Behemoth was in the water. Behemoth couldn¡¯t swim, and his massive body would sink deep into the muck that made up most of the bog, but he would have no trouble moving around the aquatic environment.


    Pan finally felt reasonably done with the initial setup of the floor, and decided he would open the new environment to the adventurers during the night. It was prepared with paths and bridges meandering around the swamp. Off the main routes were large supplies of rare herbs, both underwater and on land. There were chests hidden around the dungeon, offering ample rewards to adventurers. He finally decided to do away with the item selling chests hidden across the floors, and instead just rewarded adventurers with token deposits, stone monoliths that gave each adventurer one token per day when reached. The chests to sell items in were in safe areas, such as the first room and the ring room above the new floor.


    He also finally got around to creating a system that would allow adventurers to bypass a floor they had already completed. While he had been creating the floor, he had received an enchanted item that had been bound to a single person, and could only be unbound when they died. He created metal tokens that dropped when a boss was killed. Thecoins had to be used on the floor, and would only bind to someone in the party that had killed the boss. This was so Pan could still manipulate the enchantment, since if he left it open and they left the dungeon, other people could bind to the token. The coins ¡°read¡± the mana signature of the floor they were on and the adventurer using them, then gave access to that floor from then on as long as the coin was in the possession of its rightful owner. There was a separate access hallway created to allow people access to the new floors, and they needed the proper coins to open each subsequent door. Anybody who didn¡¯t have the coin and snuck through an open door would meet a painful end. If the door was held open for them by someone who had earned a coin, they both die. Pan had installed toggleable heat enchanted metal plates throughout the hall, and could incinerate adventurers at will.


    These quality of life improvements should help Pan immensely, since the deeper chests were never used for direct sales and overpowered adventurers often blew through the first floor, killing all of his slowly grown monsters. Pan had a few other minor adjustments to make, mostly loot and rewards for the new floor, but he¡¯d modify those as time went on, adjusting as he saw the responses of adventurers. This was the first time he wanted to try to give out enchanted items, but he would save those for rewards after a boss fight. The new bosses he had planned would be the most challenging in the dungeon, he just needed to find a worthwhile candidate and gain the necessary imbuements.


    His preparations finally complete, Pan prepared to connect the entry room to the second floor, to create a surprise for any adventurers that managed to defeat Adul, of which there were very few. Pan felt that if he kept up his current rate of difficulty increases, he could reach B rank in the next few floors. He didn¡¯t want to attract powerful attention yet, and decided his next floors, when he made them, would flesh out his current floors, and cater to D and C ranked challengers. But since he discovered he didn¡¯t have to connect a floor to a dungeon right away, he may work on a small pet project unattached to the main dungeon. Ruminations complete, he connected the floors. The mana flow had been impeded while they weren¡¯t connected, and the new rush of mana was glorious. Pan could feel his recharge rate spike as the mana all seemed to snap into place and stabilize. The mana all flowed down, and the new room was the densest so far, so thick it was almost tangible. Combined with the fog, the atmosphere would be thick enough to discomfort adventurers, hopefully keeping them stressed and on edge.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 11


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 3,021/50,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 13.1/500


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 3


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 12,113


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 32], [Enchanting: Lvl 14], [Dungeon Ore Vein]


    Dungeon Points:357


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    Drake walked along the gravel road that led to the new dungeon town that was springing up around a newly discovered, supposedly rich, dungeon. He thought it had recently been named Borrander or something. It was hard to remember, he had been very drunk the night he had heard about it, and picking fights while intoxicated was never good for his memory. It was good for his entertainment, however. If he hadn¡¯t run into that damn B ranked party while in the capital during one of his binges he would have recalled the name much easier. He was no slouch himself, and while technically a B rank, his drunken brawl with a whole party had left him rather bruised.


    He was technically B ranked since he had been expelled from his guild before he was ever able to take the examination. Expelled was a good euphemism for what really happened, after discovering his extracurricular activities, the guild attacked him, nearly succeeding in killing him, but he had escaped. He always did. Ever since then, he had fallen hard into drinking and brawling, with a side of whoring. He had heard of the new dungeon weeks ago, but he still had enough coin back then to put off an expedition. Now, he was nearly broke, and he refused to resort to selling any of his high-quality gear just to keep up his hedonistic lifestyle.


    As he reminisced, he kicked some of the larger stones down the road, watching them tumble off into the grass and underbrush. He was pulled from his thoughts when he looked up and saw the city he would be calling home for the immediate future. Well, the start of the city. It was nothing more than a patchwork of incomplete buildings. The few completed structures stood out, like a sore thumb, except it was everything but the thumb that was sore. After a mental complaint about being forced to lower himself to hunting in a C rank dungeon, he strolled into the town, a bright and cheery smile on his face. First, he needed to find a place to stay, and since no guild would take him, his old guild had seen to that, he would have to find an inn.


    I just hope there¡¯s a completed one in this town. He grumbled internally, keeping his practiced smile plastered on his face. He found a guard, and after asking for directions to a finished building he could stay in, he was pointed not to an inn, but to the guildless barracks. His smile never faltered, but in his head, he was screaming. At least the rooms were cheap, even if he did have to share. It cost him a few coppers a night, depending on how many roommates he wanted and if other services were required. He settled on a room for twenty coppers a night, with meals, and an extra five to the receptionist to ensure he had no roommate. He paid with a silver up front, and received a key and directions to his quarters.


    The room was spartan, but clean, and he decided he could get used to it. It was just a bit rough compared to the brothels he had been sleeping in for the past two weeks. A real smile crossed his face when he remembered those nights. Damn, I miss Kara, he thought to himself, before shaking his head to clear the errant thoughts. He adjusted his pants, then set about removing his armor, preparing to properly maintain and store it for the night. It was a beautiful set that he had parted with gold to obtain, but it had been worth every ounce. For a rogue such as himself, well-enchanted leather armor was a luxury, and his set would have made even a low B ranker jealous.


    The cowl was woven from the magical silk of the nove spider, and boosted his concealment when pulled up, as well as provided a boost to dark vision. The rest was leather made from the skin of a mammoth he had hunted just for their legendary skin, which produced the best leather a C or low B ranked adventurer could hope for. The chest and upper leg pieces helped with his stamina recovery and usage, while also providing many places to conceal items. The almost knee high boots helped with movement speed, stealth, and traction, a useful combination for someone in his line of work. The gloves aided him in lock picking and sneak attack damage. Each piece also added to his dexterity and endurance, and his cowl boosted his perception as well. He has some miscellaneous jewelry to boost other useful skills and stats, but they were not worth mentioning.


    After putting his armor and swords away, he sorted through his bag, taking out the necessary ingredients and tools to create the poisons and potions he would use the next day. He had gathered a lot of useful ingredients on the walk to the city, and would spend the last few hours of the evening preparing for his first delve into the dungeon. A few hours later, he finished his work, and after snuffing out his candle, he crashed on his cot and went to sleep.


    Drake woke early the next day, to do his morning exercises and gather information on the new dungeon. He muttered a few curses as he got his gear on, the cot hadn¡¯t been gentle on his muscles and he had to work the stiffness out of them with a particularly painful set of stretches and exercises. However, he had loosened up, and was now ready for a morning to be spent gathering information and scoping out the competition.


    He wandered around the mess hall, sitting down with different groups, asking their opinion on the dungeon.


    ¡°It¡¯s damn crazy, there¡¯s always something new with that dungeon.¡±


    ¡°There are these awesome chests, and if you put an item and a token in the chest, the dungeon will pay you crazy amounts of money, if the item is new to it.¡±


    ¡°It may be C ranked, but barely any C ranked parties can beat the second boss.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go alone. If you don¡¯t have a healer, you¡¯ll die on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°Watch your back in there man, that place always gives me the creeps, especially since we''re always getting jumped from behind.¡±


    He heard many more snippets as well, and from what he could gather, this dungeon was truly unique. He had been to plenty of dungeons before, but this one seemed different. Those chests especially, since he had never heard of a dungeon doing anything like that. It was almost as if the dungeon had a plan, which was an unnerving thought. A dungeon shouldn¡¯t be that intelligent. They were analogous to animals, surviving off instinct. But this one''s action implied something deeper, but potentially more lucrative for Drake. If it could think and plan, especially about such an esoteric topic like economics, what else could it do? It implied sentience, and many others seemed to agree with his assessment. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He made his way to the entrance, and met up with a C ranked party he had talked with in the mess hall. They had been looking for a fifth, and a damage dealing rogue fit right in with what they needed. He smiled as he greeted them, calling out, ¡°hey Cassandra, glad you waited up.¡±


    ¡°Hey yourself John, of course, we waited for our newest member, and call me Cassie, like the rest of the party¡± the gorgeous healercalled back to him. She was an unusual leader for a party, but the group said her tactical mind had gotten them out of many tight situations. The rest of the party was made up of an archer, a tank, and a warrior, all males who seemed to be in love with the raven-haired beauty who had been unanimously selected as their leader. Drake couldn¡¯t help but smirk when he saw this, seeing as party meshed perfectly into his plans. The other males gave him dark jealous looks when Cassie had invited him to party with them, but he just brushed them off. How a party like this had survived without killing each other was beyond him, but he wouldn¡¯t complain if they helped him clear the dungeon. The only problem with her being a healer was he would be unable to watch her shapely rear as they traversed the dungeon, but maybe he could assign himself as rear guard.


    He discussed the plans with the group, and they settled on a formation that thankfully had him as rear guard and stealth attacker, just as he''d hoped for. When they got into a fight, he would clear their six o''clock, then sneak around to do stealth damage to unsuspecting enemies. The first floor was incredibly easy, and his only kills were a few massive spiders that had attacked from behind. The ants fell so fast that he was never able to sprint to the front quick enough to kill any. The first part of the second floor was much the same, but with quick foxes instead. He had an easy enough time killing them, but the rest of the group started to feel the pressure, especially in later rooms where the numbers really started to pile up.


    When he saw the second half of the floor, he was blown away. Drake had already been impressed by the first part of the dungeon, with its unique lush hallways and rooms, but this was something different. The wide expanse of the room, its walls curving away from him out of sight, was something he had never imagined could exist underground. He couldn¡¯t see far ahead, but the thick jungle had an immense feeling, and he knew from information gathered it went on for over a mile. He moved with the party, taking in the massive underground jungle, grabbing useful herbs he spotted along the road. He was well aware of the dangerous ambush predators that stalked these trees, and sure enough, within a few minutes of walking, a massive black cat jumped down from a tree. He moved quickly, managing to intercept the falling monster, meeting its claws with his sword.


    He was surprised when it used its claws to defect the blade, and he was forced back, unable to fight the momentum of the pouncing beast, even after a dead sprint. He quickly recovered, transferring into a rapid lunge, thrusting the point of his sword into the shoulder of the cat, locking his blade into the joint. He twisted his sword in a well-practiced move, dislocating the front leg from its shoulder, and slicing the ligaments and connective tissue. The cat yowled loudly, and tried to bite him. He avoided the attack by rotating around the damaged arm, pulling his blade free in the process. He didn¡¯t attack the cat¡¯s vital organs from the side, since the pelt looked like a high-quality armor component. Instead, when the cat spun to face him, he drove the point of his sword into its eye socket, killing it instantly.


    The cat collapsed, and he let it slide off his blade. The group looked at him in stunned silence, barely believing one man could solo the legendary cats. He smiled at them, and pulled a knife from his belt to begin skinning the cat. The group stood guard while he went about his business, and once he was done, he collected its eyes, teeth, claws, and a few glands for use in potions. He put the heavy pelt in his backpack, excited to see what kind of leather could be produced from such a creature. The rest of the floor was quite the same, with Drake killing the cats that ambushed them and the party looking on in awe. They eventually reached the end of the floor, a large meadow with a split in the cliff face on one side, obviously the end of the floor.


    Disturbingly, Drake couldn''t see a boss, and considering how the floor had been so far, that was not a good sign. They decided to push for the center of the meadow, preventing anything from sneaking up on them. The group sprinted for the center, except Drake, who jogged backward, guarding the rear. They reached the center without issues, but that''s when their good luck ended. From the corner of his eye, Drake saw a dark streak heading for the party. Only his high perception allowed him to see it, and his shouted warning spurred the group into action. Their tank turned to face the beast, hoping to hold it in place so they could damage it. He had no luck, the monster ran right over him, knocking him to the ground. Drake mentally sighed in annoyance, what did the man expect, the cat was at least three hundred pounds, it was no surprise he ended up on his ass.


    The cat then surprised even Drake when instead of going for the downed tank, it lunged for the healer, seeming to think ahead and use the opening created in an attempt to cripple the group. Unfortunately for the cat, Drake was already sprinting to intercept it, And he drove his blade into its neck, lodging it in its spine. He released the sword, jumping back and drawing his daggers. The cat stopped and made the most ear shattering noise he had ever heard, flailing about in an attempt to remove the sword. He called for the party to stop, he didn¡¯t want this pelt damaged either, since it was obviously magical. They all backed away, and allowed Drake to launch his next furious assault. He charges the enraged cat, and it roared in challenge. With a flick of his wrist, he launched a dagger into its open mouth, piercing the soft tissue in the back of its throat. It jerked its head back in pain, applying force the sword caught between two vertebrae, breaking its neck. The beast dropped to the ground, paralyzed from the neck down, random signals causing its limbs to spasm. It released a pitiful roar aimed at Drake, and stared at him with hatred. Drake grasped the hilt of the sword, and pushed, ending the cat''s life.


    It was a decent boss for C ranked adventurers, he thought, but was nothing to a B ranked person such as himself. Sure, it could have killed him easily, but he was skilled enough that it would never have the chance. The group was now shocked again, since he had basically soloed the boss. He was starting to regret parting up, but it had been good to have some people who were familiar with the dungeon to guide him on his first clearing. He smiled at them, and began skinning the boss, intent on claiming its magical hide. He didn¡¯t know it, but he was part of the fifth group to kill the boss, and the first to do it practically alone. When he finished claiming the boss¡¯s useful bits, he packed up and prepared to exit the dungeon.


    When they passed through the crevice they found the boss chest, which had a few dozen silver and a few potions that he would have to identify later. There were also five iron coins. He recognized them, he had received one after clearing the first floor, and when he provided it with mana, it bound to him, allowing him to bypass the first floor on future outings. They all quickly bound the coins, and continued walking down the path. After a few dozen more paces, they rounded a corner, and the leading people inhaled sharply. There was a new floor.


    Well not exactly, there was the entrance to a new floor. Drake hurried them along, since he was in the rear and couldn''t see what they could. When they finally parted enough for him to see, he was pleasantly surprised. There was a large circular room with a tree growing from a hole in the middle. There was another path, presumably leading to the exit across the room from where he stood. The tree in the center created a leafy ceiling with its massive canopy, making the stone room look more alive than it had any right to. The soft light of the orbs hanging from its boughs illuminated the rest of the room. He could see a fire pit surrounded by tables and chairs, and a few benches. The pit was set up for cooking, and he promised himself that after exploring the third floor, he would cook up a meal. More exciting, he spotted a few alchemy labs, well stocked with glassware and tools. He even saw a forge and anvil, complete with a proper workbench and a few grinding wheels. The whole room was set up as a proper rest stop between floors, and stocked with the necessary equipment to prepare for the next foray.


    As he walked around in awe of the quality, he spotted a separate doorway, leading to a bathhouse. He dipped his hand in, and was surprised to feel how hot it was, but he shouldn¡¯t have been surprised considering all the steam in the room. Another room had a bathroom, and another was full of bunks. He realized that he could live in this area, and never even have to return to his shitty room in the barracks. This was one crafty dungeon for sure. He returned to the group, sharing what he had seen, they were just as pleased as he had been, and they decided to take a break for the day and relax in the best safe zone a dungeon had ever provided.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    Drake and the party decided to spend the night in the dungeon¡¯s safe zone, and ventured into the third floor the next morning. Unfortunately, according to Drake, there were separate rooms for men and women. He spent the rest of the evening maintaining his equipment and preparing potions and poisons from the ingredients he had collected in the first two floors. He was no master alchemist, but with level fifty-three, he was ranked as an adept, and had a wide base of recipes to draw from. Most of his preparations went into health and stamina potions, but he made a few mana potions for the healer, just in case. The rest were buff potions, increasing useful attributes to help him out of a tight situation. His main specialty was in poisons, however, and he prepared some especially vicious concoctions since this dungeon had been anything but ordinary so far.


    He even applied some to his special poisoner¡¯s daggers, since they could hold a poison for a long time without fear of degradation. He always slept with the poison dagger under his pillow, a habit that had saved his life on a few occasions. Some may think sleeping with a such an item was irresponsible, but his passive poison resistance was quite high after all his experimentation with the deadly substances, and an unintentional poisoning from the specialized dagger was a near impossibility. A simple nick from the blade wouldn¡¯t cause a poisoning, the small vial of poison inside the handle had to be shattered to release any of the substance.


    He slept soundly that night, despite the fact that he was in a dungeon with near total strangers. When he awoke the next morning, he was glad to see he was the first to wake. He spent half an hour equipping his gear, making sure every strap and buckle was properly fastened and placed. Years of adventuring had taught him the value of properly maintaining and wearing his gear. When he finished, the others were beginning to stir, breaking him from his quiet morning ritual. As they got prepared for the day as well, he went through his morning ritual of stretches and exercises, today focusing on speed and reflexes. Once everyone was up and equipped, they prepared a hearty meal, mostly consisting of meat and a dense basic bread. It was solid food, and fortified them well for a hard day of fighting.


    They started their descent to the next floor, crossing the massive limbs of the central tree. The central trunk was hollow, and a large well lit double spiral staircase led down to the beginning of the third floor. The base of the tree had a few possible paths, all weaving through the tangle of roots and vines that covered the ground nearby. For nearly one hundred yards outside the tree, there was a bright field of verdant green grass, a perfect location to bring a pretty girl and a basket of food for a picnic. But just past the idyllic meadow, there was a near torrential downfall of rain, creating an impenetrable curtain of water. It seemed to almost be a waterfall it was so dense, and he could see rivulets of water running across the ground deeper into the mists of the third floor.


    ¡°Fuck, I hate water,¡± grumbled the man beside him, ¡°always makes the day miserable once you¡¯re soaked.¡±


    Drake could only grunt in agreement, he also hated rain, it made his gear such a chore to maintain. There was only one way to go, however, and that was forward. The group dejectedly set off towards the wall of rain, glumly passing into its cold embrace. Drake was happy when after a few minutes of slogging down a muddy gravel path, they exited the downpour, and their view opened up a little bit, onto a wide misty swamp. Drake mumbled another curse, sure it wasn¡¯t raining, but the dense mists and waterlogged land would be sure to soak him thoroughly, and never allow him to dry. The only consolation was that the rain had caused Cassandra¡¯s robes to cling to her shapely form, distracting his teammates as much as it distracted him. She glared at the men, but Drake couldn''t help but feel that her glare towards him had been a little less icy than the one she directed towards the others. He brushed it off, from what he had seen, the woman was a master manipulator, gaining a party of men who were at her beck and call. He refused to fall into that trap again.


    He pulled himself from his musings, too much more of that and he¡¯d have to visit another brothel to clear his head, and focused on the task ahead, not dying. They decided to stick to the paths since the ground everywhere else was muddy and verging on impossible. They hadn¡¯t seen any enemies yet, but they had just entered the floor. They could hear their presence, however, and the air was filled with a cacophony of birds chirping, insects buzzing, rodents squeaking, and the occasional squeal of a dying creature. The eerie atmosphere was added to by random flashes of color darting through the mists, causing Drake¡¯s head to turn and face each potential new threat. Most were just small birds, fluttering between trees, but some were massive dragonflies, darting amongst the birds, catching the slowest. The massive bugs were certainly a threat, something that massive could easily topple an adventure at a bad moment, or catch them unaware, especially in the misty swamp.


    He was intrigued by the flowers and plants he could see, many of them brightly colored, catching the eye. Some might have useful properties for his potions, and he was excited to check. They set off down the path, thankfully it was nearly solid, and the occasional muddy puddle was easy to avoid. When they passed near a patch of clear water, where the current was stronger, Drake was impressed by the size and variety of the fish, not to mention the colors. He leaped back when he saw a massive form slide out of the muddier waters and across the floor of the pool, easily over a dozen feet below. Despite its distance, Drake knew that the lumbering giant was certainly a threat, and he quickly warned the others to be wary of venturing too close to the water. The massive fish had been over ten feet long, at the least, and Drake had no desire to tussle with the leviathan.


    The group looked shocked when he told them why they should avoid the water, and they cast a few fearful glances in the direction of the stream. They continued down the path, running into a group of giant frogs, which they dispatched easily. There was a group of massive rodents, but they weren''t openly aggressive, either running from the party, or backing against a tree and bearing their massive rodent teeth. Drake had no desire to fight a large waterlogged rodent, so he walked by them, ignoring his jumpy group members. These fools were going to get themselves killed if they didn¡¯t pay attention. They were so focused on the defensive oversized beavers, that they didn¡¯t see the massive snake on the side of the path. After a short internal debate, Drake spoke, ¡°I¡¯m going to collect some of these ingredients, get clear of these rodents before you make them feel like they need to attack.¡±


    The group readily agreed, and Drake smirked as he watched them walk right into the snake¡¯s ambush out of the corner of his eye. He had gathered a few ingredients when he looked up, faking surprise after hearing a shout of alarm. The group had been so focused on not spooking the rodents into attacking, that the lead tank had nearly stepped on the massive constrictor. Drake stuffed his bag and ran, drawing his blade as he crossed the watery ground. He watched as the group ineffectively slashed at the seething ball of muscle that had engulfed their friend, panicking as they watched him get crushed. Cassandra was casting healing spell after healing spell, and he saw her chug one of the mana potions he had given her, prolonging the death of their friend. Drake had to suppress a chuckle when he thought of the pain the annoying jealous man was going through. He arrived just in a flurry of blood and steel, slashing at the body of the massive snake. Now that he was close, he was shocked to see the massive beast was almost a foot in diameter, and had hidden its head behind coils of powerful muscles and hard scales. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He hacked at it a few more times, his enchanted blade cutting far deeper than the rest of his party had managed to, the snake hissed in annoyance, and started thrashing around, rolling off the path. He followed it, looking like the heroic savior, instead of the dastardly manipulator, hacking at the beast all the way. Even he had trouble damaging it, its vitals hidden deep in the writhing coils, but eventually, he got it to release its prey, and attempt an escape. With a flash, he darted forward, beheading the monster with one sweep of his blade. He paused breathing heavily after using his signature attack, a rapid forward dash that dealt incredible critical damage if he managed to strike a vital point. He pounded a stamina potion, and turned to look at the remains of their tank.


    All that was left was a mound of paste, held together by mangled armor and tangled clothes. The powerful snake had liquefied every bone in the man''s body, leaving something that looked as if it had rolled down a mountain. Something that should be adequate motivation for the party to pull their shit together. Drake smiled at the pile of goo, before wiping the look off his face and turning to the stunned party.


    ¡°What the hell were you doing,¡± he shouted.


    ¡°We.. we were doing what you said, if you had been he-¡±


    ¡°No. If you had paid attention this wouldn¡¯t have happened,¡± Drake shouted, cutting the stammering man off, ¡°we¡¯re in a fucking dungeon if you hadn''t noticed. Everything in here is out to kill you. Keep your damn head on a swivel and watch out for ambushes, especially in this dungeon that seems to love ambushes.¡±


    He watched the pale-faced group absorb his words, then look at the pile behind him. Cassandra turned around and threw up her breakfast, followed by the group¡¯s swordsman. Drake could only shake his head in dismay, how a group like this had gotten anywhere was beyond him. Well, it wasn¡¯t, they had never faced a real fight, just the almost comically staged fights of a regular dungeon. This one had impressed him so far, so far, not one of the fights had been normal, and it was perfect training for a real world fight. There was no walking into a room full of monsters, killing them all, picking up the loot, and repeating. Instead, it was a perfectly crafted environment, full of dangers and enemies waiting to attack at any moment. He wished all dungeons were like this one, then maybe he would¡¯ve been prepared for a real fight, and it wouldn¡¯t have happened.


    He looked back at the group, meeting each of their gazes, ¡°I thought you were ready for a fight, and you¡¯d be fine on your own. I see I was wrong, from now on, stick with me, and I¡¯ll teach you how to fight, and how to survive.¡±


    He was pleased to see that his gambit had paid off, and each member nodded at him, knowing that they had no other choice. They were adventurers, and although they had been naive, they knew that their best bet was to continue down the path they had set off on, and learn under the wing of a much more experienced adventurer. Drake smiled grimly as he looked at his now proteges, nodding at each in turn, happy to note that their eyes no longer had hints of jealousy in them, instead he saw acceptance, gratefulness, and respect. He fought hard to resist the chuckle that wanted to bubble up. His acting skill showed its worth, however, and he kept the proper expression on his face. He now had a group of adventurers that he could shape into the perfect party, along with a perfectly shaped healer to boot.


    He lead them back to the safe room to regroup, and told them that he would explore the floor on his own. He always enjoyed going solo, finding peace on facing nature one on one. But he needed a group for more difficult challenges, and this new party would be a ball of clay in his hands, creating the perfect support group for future missions. He worked slowly through the floor on his own, going off path and mentally cataloging the plants and animals he saw. There were incredibly venomous snakes, dangerously poisonous frogs, and spiders that could even harm him through his poison resistance skill. Luckily, a skilled alchemist like himself carried large amounts of antidotes, and nothing ever harmed him. He often tested poisons on himself to gauge their effectiveness, and the poisons and venoms of animals were no different. He discovered many new strains, most of them useful for his work. The potential damage he could cause by using some of these creatures natural substances as a base was intoxicating. If he had his hands on these creatures before, the damn guildmaster would have never noticed, and died without revealing Drake to the guild, leaving him in charge. Now he would have to build his own guild from the ground up, but at least he had the start of a solid group.


    He saw a few more of the massive snakes, but avoided them as best he could. There was no reason to start a fight with them when it could be avoided, despite the large amount of experience they provided. For now, he wanted to classify the plants, and scope out potential dangers for when he decided to train the group he was founding. There were all kinds of critters in the swamp, few of them friendly. He was even attacked by the giant dragonflies, but he easily swatted them down, collecting their wings as a useful catalyst in a swiftness potion. He found many plants with alchemical properties, many of them new to him. With the variety of new ingredients, he would be able to level his alchemy skill quickly, despite its high level. Doing something new and experimenting was the fastest way to level after all.


    As he was exploring the areas of swamp farther from the trails, he came across a monster that froze his blood in his veins. At first, he thought it was some sort of dragon, because of its incredible size and armored body. But it was too small to be a dragon, and it had no wings. After the near heart attack, he realized it was a sleeping crocodile of incredible size, easily over twenty feet long. Something like that would have no problem dismembering even him if it got ahold of him. He snuck away slowly, even more careful to avoid the water of the swamp. The massive fish couldn¡¯t hold a candle to a crocodile in terms of strength and danger, and he doubted his ability to kill one quickly. The crocodile had been different too, it was better armored, larger, and much more powerfully built than any he had seen before. This dungeon was truly a breeding ground for strange and deadly beasts.


    He worked away from the monster, collecting plants as he went. He even took some of the small poisonous frogs he came across, for future reference. He reached one edge of the swamp, a massive gray wall of rock, covered in various slimes and vines. There were clouds of mist billowing out of holes higher up the rock, and he assumed that the cave was filled by these vents. He decided to start working his way back to the safe room, and prepare his new students for the next day. He was also excited to begin his work with the new ingredients, who knew what potions could be made with these undiscovered ingredients?


    As he made his way back to the central tree, he came across the strangest thing he had seen so far in the dungeon, which was saying a lot. There was a forest of trees, but they were covered in massive sheets of white silk curtains. He could see large yellow spiders scurrying around the folds, waiting for him to ensnare himself in the tangle of web. Drake had other ideas. Spider silk was a valuable resource, but was difficult to work with since it was usually sticky. He was a skilled alchemist, however, and he knew of potions that could dissolve the adhesive, but leave the strands untouched, he had gathered his own spider silk. This was the largest concentration of web he had ever seen, and gathering a huge amount of web would be easier here than anywhere else. This silk forest alone would make this one of the most valuable dungeons in the kingdom. He gathered some of the material, noticing much smaller spiders scurrying around the webs as well. At first, he assumed they were the babies of the large spiders, but after one bit him, he knew that wasn¡¯t the case.


    The effects of the venom were the strongest he had ever seen, and only his strongest antidote saved him. There was no damage done, but even through his poison resistance, the confusion effect had started to take hold. But more surprisingly, he noticed that his mana was inaccessible while he was poisoned. He allowed himself to be bitten again just to confirm that observation, and when the same thing happened, he swallowed hard and broke into a sweat. What he had here was a counter to a mage.


    Usually, the best way to kill a mage was to catch them unaware, but they usually had magical counters such as shields for those kinds of attacks. But here was a poison that would prevent them from using mana, all he needed was a delivery system. He collected a few of the spiders for study, he would find a way to incorporate their venom into a poison. Drake was already daydreaming about ways to infect a mage with the status effect, and his favorite so far was a thrown bottle of a volatile compound, reaching the mage via a cloud of gas. He practically sprinted to the central tree, needing to reach the alchemy labs as fast as he possibly could.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    Pan was impressed with the current batch of adventurers in his new safe room. At least with one of the adventurers, who seemed have gained command after another member of the party had died. Pan had noticed something off about the man from the beginning, and his actions on the third floor had confirmed his suspicions. The man was much stronger than he allowed the other members of the party to see, and Pan had no doubt that the man had engineered the situation with the snake to gain a leadership role in the party. After all, a traumatized group would flock to the safety provided by a much stronger ally if they believed he could help them survive. Since the incident, the group had changed their process quite a bit, turning from money focused adventurers, to training focused survivors. After all, who needs money when the dungeon provided room to live, with more amenities than an inn outside, not to mention the free food all around them. The party hadn¡¯t left the dungeon for a week, and were already far deadlier than when they had entered.


    Under the tutelage of the suspicious man they all called John, a name Pan believed to be an alias, they had become hardened adventurers, well on their way to reaching the higher ranks. They were much more aware of their surroundings, the first lesson the man had drilled into their heads, and their teamwork was improving rapidly. Improved awareness may not seem like much, but in a dungeon like Pan¡¯s, it was everything. They were rarely caught off guard now, and that allowed them to deliver the first strike, even if ambushed. Landing the first injuring blow usually ending the battle before it truly began, even if it lasted minutes longer. Their newfound success didn¡¯t bother Pan, instead, it showed his weaknesses, and highlighted areas he needed to improve. Once he finished figuring out the boss situation for the new floor, he would worry about plugging the smaller holes left in his defenses.


    He had decided on a new idea for the boss fight on the floor. Instead of one boss guarding the last room, there would be four bosses on the floor, each dropping special tokens as well as the regular rewards. Once all four tokens were collected, the group could place them in a structure that would give them access to the fourth floor. But before he could enact his plans, he needed bosses. He wanted to continue his process of promoting from the ranks, only naming creatures who had performed a noteworthy deed. It was a shame that the snake had died, but it was no matter, it had been ultimately unsuccessful, and it¡¯s death had only shown its shortcomings. He would just have to wait, which was unfortunate, since he wanted to move his core behind the door. The first-floor monster farm was feeling too exposed with the high number of adventurers in the dungeon. By now, it was normal for over one hundred adventurers to challenge his dungeon in a day, and the number was only growing as more and more people visited the new city.


    No other group had made it to the new floor yet, but a few had come close. Pan fully expected another group or two to reach it in the next week, and since the majority of new arrivals were C ranked parties, it shouldn¡¯t be long before the safe room was reasonably well populated. Already the new room had been paying off, and the sneaky man¡¯s alchemy practice had given Pan new insights into his own research. The man was obviously more skilled than him, though perhaps by only a rank or two. Despite the skill gap, Pan¡¯s potions were always much more potent, due to his abilities to control every step of the process nearly perfectly. Pan considered it only a matter of time before he reached a level in alchemy that would be impossible for mortals to contend with. He spent some time copying the man¡¯s processes, improving his skill and learning a few new recipes to boot. He was really just trying to burn time until he could purchase his twelfth level, since getting a fourth floor and protecting his core better were now his highest priorities.


    The new third floor had the added benefit of increasing his passive mana regeneration, and he now collected around eight thousand mana per day on average, including adventurer deaths. It would still take him around a week to reach the needed mana for the next level, and ten or more days if he practiced his skills while he waited. He had decided to practice his skills, and over the week he observed the adventurer party, he had made good progress with his levels. Pan had also collected over two-thirds of the needed mana, and was only a few days away from the next level up. He continued his work, experimenting with, and improving, his enchanting and alchemy skills, until after three more days he had enough mana for the upgrade. He spent the fifty thousand mana, and was pleased to see the new level also came with a new skill, the first he had seen in a while.


    Level 12


    Unlock skill: Mental Communication


    Need 100,000 mana for level 13


    +50 Dungeon Points


    Mental Communication


    Allows for more powerful and direct conversation with created organisms


    As soon as the skill was unlocked, Pan felt a flood of connections form in his mind. Many were small, like motes of dust floating through a beam of sunlight. But a few were much more powerful, and he knew these to belong to his named creations. The rest were minute, containing no appreciable intelligence, and belonged to the larger creatures and monsters that patrolled his dungeon. He reached out to them, feeling a much deeper connection to his creations than he had ever felt before. Without the skill, communication with his creations had been crude and imperfect, mostly one way. His named creations could sometimes impress their thoughts upon his mind if they worked hard enough at it, such as Adul during the invasion, but now, their minds were almost as easy to reach as his own. The basic connections gave him raw concepts and feelings, such as hunger, fear, or stress; but his named monsters were truly astonishing.


    He could feel their thoughts, like a voice far away that couldn¡¯t be understood, but was easily heard. He was glad it was not distracting, or else this skill would have been a negative instead of the positive he believed it would be. The true power of the skill was shown when he reached out to Adul, and felt their minds connect, just as the skill¡¯s name implied. Pan felt a flood of emotions flow through the link, startling him as he hadn¡¯t felt anything so strong since becoming a dungeon. Before, he had been able to ¡°converse¡± with his named creatures, but now, communication was beyond a simple conversation. Instead of ¡°words¡± being shared, he received whole thoughts. In an instant, and entire conversation could be had, with concepts and emotions bridging the gap between creator and creation.


    Pan could feel Adul¡¯s dedication. The monster revered him, and after receiving a name and immortality, he worshiped him. Pan sent back thoughts of pride, finally able to thank Adul for his help during the invasion. The beast reveled in his master¡¯s feelings, sending back more thoughts. To Adul, the new method of communication was orders of magnitude better than the old. When he asked Pan for help with the invaders, he had had to focus on the concept deeply, willing Pan to notice it. Now, sharing an idea was as easy as breathing, and Pan knew that in future invasions the skill would be one of the most useful. It allowed him to exert some influence on the dungeon while adventurers were around.


    Pan reached out to his other named beasts, and was struck by their individuality. His queen was much more refined than Adul, owing it to her greater intellect. She greeted him with reverence, and he could feel a similar weaker link flowing from her mind to each of her workers. It seemed the dark magic he had imbued them with had expanded upon their natural hive mind, and the colony was able to communicate through magic instead of pheromones. The implications were incredible, and Pan made a mental note to experiment and expand upon the ability in the future when he revisited his original monsters.


    Behemoth, on the other hand, was an intellectual slouch. Pan had never put a focus on his most massive creation¡¯s mind, and it showed. It was an issue that he¡¯d have to fix later, once Behemoth gained enough mana for another modification. As he was, Behemoth was running on instinct and whatever instructions Pan sent to him. Now that Pan was able to send more detailed instructions, he needed to improve behemoth enough to follow them. A new conversation partner would go a long way towards improving Pan¡¯s life as a dungeon as well, even if it was another monster who worshiped him as it¡¯s creator.


    Having something to talk to, even if they were simple, awoke feelings in Pan he hadn¡¯t thought he still had. There was a spark of loneliness that came from his secluded life as a dungeon, and connection to his creations filled the hole. Now, he thirsted for more. His creations now were amazing, but he wanted truly unique individuals. He wanted something to talk to, not just share feelings and concepts with. He wanted truly sentient and sapient beings in his dungeon, and it was only a matter of time until he worked his way there. He wanted something unique, something that came from his dungeon. Nothing too smart, maybe goblin level, otherwise he feared they would be able to remove themselves from his control, and he didn¡¯t want to waste time creating something that had the ambition to desire freedom.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Pan turned his focus back to practicing his enchanting and alchemy. He had some new concepts he wanted to try out, stuff that would take a long time to see any benefits, but would be worth the investment when they came to fruition. Eventually, when he got to the adept level at fifty, he would be able to buy perks from the relevant tree. For now, he would have to improve his craft the old fashioned way;many hours of practice, and a trial and error. He did learn a lot from the man in the safe room, although it was mostly about poisons, there were a few new recipes he wanted to try. The most exciting was a speed boost potion, something the man had used on one of his solo expeditions to avoid an ambush Pan had set up to test him.


    Pan¡¯s effort in copying the potion was rewarded with a weak speed potion, boosting movement speed by seven percent for three minutes. After a few iterations, he was able to double the effect. The successive attempts showed marginal improvements, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was missing from the recipe. The potion lacked binding, and the magical effects of the ingredients didn¡¯t properly combine, losing much of the potency. He added other ingredients, but nothing seemed to cause anything more than a minor improvement. He compared it to other potions he knew, looking for the missing piece. What it was had been staring him in the metaphorical face all along. He was missing a catalyst. With nothing to speed the reaction along, the magical properties leached from the ingredients dissipated. If he could speed the reaction up, he would be able to create a stronger potion. Every other recipe he knew had some ingredient that facilitated the reaction, and bound the magics together in the potion, while having no discernible effect on the final product.


    Unfortunately, he had no idea what to use as a catalyst in a speed potion, and the man hadn¡¯t used one, so Pan assumed there were no proper catalysts present in his dungeon. He would have to experiment on his own. First, he observed the reactions he knew, and followed the process. He was looking to see how the catalyst worked on a magical level. If he could figure that out, he could find, or even create, a proper substitute. As his alchemy skill improved, he found himself better able to think of ways to improve or create ingredients in his dungeon. The most basic were easy, but stronger plants were harder to improve. It all seemed to be based on the way the ingredients interacted with mana, and while every plant drew in mana, only ingredients changed and stored it.


    This imprinted mana could be released by alchemical processes, or biological ones if the ingredient was consumed, which was less efficient. Alchemy refined the mana, and bound it together so it stayed concentrated. When consumed, the mana was released like a spell, and the effects would take hold. But to make it more difficult, some of the ingredients had physical properties as well, mostly poisons. There were non-magical potions, magical potions, and the worst of all, combination potions. Some ingredients had beneficial properties as well, but they were much weaker than magical buffs. It was harder to create than to destroy after all. Pan just needed to figure out how to make things store and change mana, and once that was done, no potion would be out of his reach.


    He followed the process on a magical level, watching the way the ingredients interacted with mana. They would create patterns of mana, and store the patterns in the biological material that made up the plants. In the same way mana crystals stored mana, these plants stored special configurations of mana. More potent ingredients could store more of the patterns, or would have more efficient patterns stored. This breakthrough spurred Pan to leave his experimentation with alchemy to focus on the ingredients.


    Instead of improving one aspect of the plants, he combined them, using the best parts of both. He combined the best at storing mana with the best patterns, creating a number of never before seen high leveled rare ingredients. None could compare to the one Mythic ingredient he had, its abilities in both aspects were beyond the best he could create. He didn¡¯t mind, it gave him something to aim for, and as long as he knew he could improve, he would strive to do so. His biggest success was created in his effort to make a catalyst for his speed potion. He compared the catalysts he had, and drew the best parts from all of them to create a powerful ingredient. It was almost a mythic ingredient, and was much more potent than the rest of the rares he had created, but still far from a true mythic. It wasn¡¯t a specialized catalyst, and its properties were listed as General Catalyst. It was not only the strongest catalyst he had access to, but it worked for all applications.


    It was massively successful, and once he tried his speed potion again, the bonuses were astronomically better. It could improve speed by forty percent for five minutes, a trump card for any adventurer. The only issue with his potions was the fact that they far surpassed anything he could reasonably give as a reward, since their value was greater than most non-boss fights in the dungeon were worth. The only potions he felt safe giving out were diluted with water, but that felt wrong to him after working so hard to create the strongest possible effects. He had no desire to be flooded with powerful adventurers looking for powerful potions in a dungeon they had heard gave rewards too easily. At least he had the option in the future.


    He decided to spread his new ingredients across the floor, hiding them in difficult to reach places. The muddiest ground, the tallest trees, or high up the wall on the edge. For the general catalyst, he turned it into an underwater plant, and grew it in the deepest pool in the swamp. He restricted it to the one area, making it a danger to get. The pool was a rare patch of clear water, and its current kept it that way. But there were large walls of muddy water ringing the pool, concealing any number of massive monsters. It would be interesting to see if anyone risked diving to retrieve the valuable leaves. To entice adventurers, he modified the plant further, causing the leaves to glow a mystical light blue, and have slightly reflective leaves. That should catch any treasure hunting adventurer¡¯s eye.


    Sadly, only the original group had reached the third floor, but they had left the dungeon that morning, so Pan assumed more would attempt the boss fight to reach the reported riches of the third floor, not to mention the high-quality safe room. Hopefully, the news would spread outside the town as well, drawing more and more adventurers. As it was, Pan could sustain at least two hundred and fifty individuals in his dungeon without breaking a sweat, and currently had less than half that many inside. His entire third floor was empty, a situation he hoped would change in the future. He really needed some death so he could promote a few bosses, the current party was just too well coordinated to die from any normal occurrences in the floor. Maybe the silk forest would pose a deadly challenge. He had no desire to antagonize adventurers by killing them unfairly, especially the wily leader who he was sure would make it out alive of almost anything he threw at him.


    He kept track of the party outside his dungeon through the use of his spy flies, paying attention to what they told outside adventurers. He couldn¡¯t hear much outside the dungeon, but with all the free time he had, he taught himself to read lips. They did a good job of alerting people to the new floor, as well as the amenities provided by the safe room. Pan could follow the waves of excitement as the news spread, and he prepared for many more deaths the next day as unprepared parties attempted the boss fight. Hopefully a few made it, but he refused to artificially inflate the third-floor adventurer population, there would be no nepotism in his meritocratic dungeon.


    He watched the group as they sold their loot, turning quite a profit from their eight days of work. Especially the leader, who sold plenty of potions to different groups. One potion, something Pan recognized as having been made from the venom of the assassin spiders, was sold to an excited apothecary for a staggering sum, along with a few vials of unrefined venom. Pan left some spies to watch the man, hoping to learn something from him and see why he had been so excited and willing to part with gold. He always had spies watching the skilled craftsmen, adding to his knowledge of the crafts, but they were imperfect, and didn¡¯t help much unless a book was left open. Hopefully, something would turn up this time, since Pan needed to know what effects his creations were having on the outside world.


    The man also sold a bundle of refined spider webs to a tailor, bargaining for clothes made of the material later on, along with a supply cut from the dungeon. Pan had been unaware of the value, but decided to leave it be for now, since attracting adventurers was his current goal. After their errands, the group turned to shopping, acquiring a few items for themselves before gathering at one of the few taverns that had sprung up around the dungeon. They proceeded to get heavily intoxicated. Despite their leader''s presumably high constitution, he got the drunkest of them all, blacking out by the end of the night. The man seemed to have a vendetta against his liver, and Pan was surprised that this was the same cold calculating man who had avoided death in his third floor. Maybe he should set up a still to encourage this debauchery. It may lead to a few more deaths on the floor.


    They eventually returned to the safe room, stumbling down the long hallway. Unfortunately, they successfully navigated their way back, and did not accidently turn right into the first floor. They crashed hard in their beds, waking up with pounding headaches the next day. Unsurprisingly, the alchemist had a powerful hangover cure, and within minutes they were all feeling good, and commenting on the delightful taste of the remedy. Pan felt it unfair, when he was a human none of the hangover cures ever tasted good.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 15,134/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 45.1/500


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 3


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 12,113


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 38], [Enchanting: Lvl 22], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 407


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22


    Pan watched as the no longer hungover group made their way back into the third floor, but paid them little attention after seeing that they were in perfect condition, and their chances of dying were quite low. He would have to prepare the bosses soon to give them a real challenge. He instead turned his focus to the entrance, where many more adventurers than usual were pouring in. It seemed that the rich spending of the intoxicated party had sparked interest in the third floor, and many wanted to try their luck. There were already nearly two hundred people lined up outside, and only the guilds insistence that the parties be paced out kept them from all attacking at once. Pan was slightly disappointed, since a large group moving at once would give him an excuse to increase his own numbers, and maybe pick off some of the mages to get the powers he desperately wanted. But if they played fair, then so would he.


    It took nearly half a day for everyone to be allowed in, but at that point there was less than two hundred in the dungeon, mostly due to higher than average rates of attrition. It seemed that some parties got careless, figuring the large number of people clearing the dungeon ahead of them would mean there would be no enemies. Most deaths came on the second floor, but after a few survivors warned newcomers, the death rates fell dramatically. At least until they reached the second half. There, the massive jaguars had a field day, and by mid afternoon they were all so well fed that they didn¡¯t even bother hunting the adventurers, much to Pan¡¯s annoyance. However like every other biological process in the dungeon, their digestion worked rapidly, and they were back to hunting by the evening.


    All in all, over forty adventurers died in that one day, Pan¡¯s new personal record. He suspected it would be a while before that one was broken. All told, nearly one hundred and fifty adventurers were now in the safe room, which Pan had spent the day upgrading to meet the needs of the massive influx. There may not be one hundred and fifty there the next day, but being prepared for a lot seemed like a good idea. His renovations were extensive, and should provide him with extra mana to boot.


    He had greatly expanded the sleeping rooms, with enough bunks for two hundred people of each gender. At the end of each bed was a chest, large enough to store most goods. The chests weren¡¯t locked, unless the adventurer put twenty-five mana into it, ¡°binding¡± it to them for twenty-four hours. In reality, most of the mana went straight to Pan¡¯s pool, while a very small portion did bind them to an enchantment that locked the chest. They could pre-pay for as long as they wanted, and claiming a chest also claimed the bunk, which would give a painful jolt to anybody else who tried to use it without the claimant''s consent. Of course, if the adventurer died, Pan would receive all their items as well. That modification wasn¡¯t cheap, but it was the least expensive of his changes. Pan knew that it would pay off in the long run, and he had to spend mana to make mana.


    Pan made another hallway, easily expandable, with a row of private rooms. One side of the hall had single rooms, sold at a price of two hundred and fifty mana per twenty-four hours, and the other side had suites that could fit a party of five for six hundred mana per twenty-four. The private rooms had better furniture, and the doors locked as well. The only problem was that he needed to use mana crystals to collect the mana, and those needed an anti-theft system. At each door was a mana crystal that the renters would fill, but if they were tampered with, the metal piece they were set in would deliver a fatal shock at Pan¡¯s command. Once claimed, the room would only let the people in the party open the door.


    Pan also made private crafting rooms and baths, paid for with mana of course, that were of higher quality than the public ones. All in all, he decided that the ¡°inn¡± he had made would net him a substantial amount of mana as long as he had adventurers in it. By the time the first wave started trickling in, battered and bleeding from their fight with Adul, he was putting the finishing touches on the safe zone. He was surprised to see that he could make changes to the safe zone even with people in it, which was a relief. He had expected to need it empty if it ever needed expansion or modification, but it seemed that as long as the room had no dangers, and he wasn¡¯t trying to create something intended to injure or kill an adventurer, it was allowed.


    The newest party looked around in wonder, seeing the new safe zone in all it¡¯s glory, nothing like the first party had described. They cleaned themselves up in the public baths and had a meal, before setting off to explore the next floor. While they were gone, Pan added the final change. He made a massive chest at the back of the room, with a token dispenser beside it. Adventurers were instructed to take a token, and then everything they killed on the floor would be recorded. When they put the token in the chest, they could collect all their loot at once, instead of needing to find a chest on the floor and carry the loot around. They could still use the old system if they prefered, but this would make it simpler for them. It had the added benefit of only requiring to create loot for people who redeemed the tokens, since if they were lost, so was the potential loot. Of course you could redeem a dead person¡¯s token, hopefully encouraging a few conflicts in the future.


    Done with the boring administrative work, Pan turned to watching the adventurers face the dangers of the new third floor. There were now two parties challenging it, with a few more close to reaching the second floor boss fight. The new party on the third floor was having much more trouble than the original, already in full retreat mode. They had run into a giant catfish, narrowly escaping with all their members, only because the fish had targeted their rogue. His reflexes had helped him avoid the massive jaws, but he had been damaged when the fish landed on his leg. They were currently dragging him back to the safe room to regroup and recover.


    Pan chuckled to himself, things were finally looking up. He would soon have a plethora of people to watch, all struggling to survive the third floor. Not just the one group methodically figuring out the best way to face each and every situation on the floor. Soon, there would be deaths, and with those deaths would come boss monsters. Pan couldn¡¯t wait.


    By the evening, more than fifty adventurers had made it to the safe room, the rest had turned back, choosing to get better and face Adul another day. Nobody else challenged the third floor, deciding it was too late in the day, and had settled in. Three parties had chosen to get the suites, netting Pan nearly two thousand mana. The rest were in bunks, but all forty-three chose to get a secure chest, netting Pan another thousand mana. The changes were already a quarter of the way to paying for themselves, in only one night. It was more successful than Pan had hoped for, but he realized that mana was worth far more to him than it was to adventurers. When the original party returned, they also rented a suite, choosing not to associate with all the newcomers.


    In their room, they complained about the loss of their monopoly on the third floor, but it was to be expected. Especially since their show of wealth had attracted lots of attention. Parties had banded together to face Adul, easily taking him down when they faced him fifteen to one. Pan let it slide, knowing that they would disperse on the third floor, not wanting to share the wealth. They would not be up to the standards of the floor, and Pan looked forward to their deaths.


    The morning came, and most people opted in to the loot token system. Carrying a token was much more convenient than the physical items, and Pan had built up enough trust with the people that they believed the tokens would be exchanged for loot. His chest system had done that for him. It was amazing to Pan how easily these people believed him, but his honesty in dealing with them had built a level of trust. He was obviously the winner in all of the transactions, at least to him, but his convenient services had adventurers clamoring over them. He had a few more ideas, but he would implement them in later floors as an incentive to push ahead. He watched the adventurers face the floor, looking for ways to improve his dungeon, as well as chances to snag a mage for new types of magic. Luckily for him, there was an air mage on the third floor, and a water mage was outside his dungeon with his party, waiting to enter. The third floor was new, so a mage dying would be chalked up to a surprise that came when an overconfident party with a mage pushed ahead too eagerly.


    <hr>


    As Ben cast another spell, gust, pushing back the horde of far-too-large frogs, his partners descended upon the stunned and tumbling monsters, killing them quite quickly. Before the blast of wind had even dissipated, the group of slightly over a dozen had been dispatched. The group paused to take a breather, slightly winded from the surprise attack. All except Ben, who had only had to throw a few spells around, not even using fifty mana. One of the perks of being a skilled air mage. If he had had to use some of his damaging spells instead of crowd control, he may have had some issues. He was still working on his proficiency with lightning spells after all.


    As a skilled air mage, he had some strong air based attacks, such as wind blade or air dart, but the best spells were lightning, one of the advanced elements based off air magic. He had recently gained access to lightning magic, and had traveled to this dungeon to train in it. It was easy for a mage to find a party, and this group was all too happy to secure his protection. He was waiting on trying his new spells since he had just recently learned them, and it would take a lot of energy to cast them. It was a waste to cast a chain lightning spell on a group of frogs, especially when it would take half his mana. He wanted to save it for something powerful so it would raise his proficiency faster. Killing strong monsters was the fastest way to raise a combat spell¡¯s proficiency, and thereby decrease its cost and increase it¡¯s damage or usefulness.


    They continued along the gravel path, which had been miraculously mud free up to this point, a rarity in this cursed swamp. There were a few more packs of frogs, and those pesky giant dragonflies, but with his skill in air magic, nothing could approach them through the air. The first major obstacle they came across was a massive snake, easily over twenty feet long. Finally, a chance to try out my stronger spells, he thought to himself as he readied the spell lightning bolt. He had to will the mana in his body into the proper pattern, and speak the trigger word to release the spell once prepared. As he improved his proficiency with the spell, he would be able to cast it faster, and eventually wouldn¡¯t even need to speak. A lightning bolt was a basic spell from the lightning element, but it still took him three seconds to cast due to his low proficiency and level in lightning magic. He was an adept with air magic, easily able to cast the equivalent spell, air dart, silently in a fraction of a second.


    He cast the spell without a hitch, sending a streak of blue-white electricity into the waiting predator. The actinic flash produced by the spell left streaks across his vision, and the thunderclap, while not as loud as those produced by nature, still shocked him. Luckily, the snake was shocked more, and the smell of burnt flesh brushed his nostrils. The snake laid there twitching, and the lead warrior walked over and decapitated the beast, not taking any chances.


    ¡°Damn man, warn us next time you¡¯re about to do that. I¡¯m half deaf from your flashy spell,¡± complained the healer next to him.


    ¡°Seriously, that noise scared me more than the snake,¡± added the scout.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Ben just grunted and scowled at them. These ingrates, I just killed that thing with one spell and all they can do is complain. They should be happy I decided to join their pathetic party. He continued the monologue behind his sour face, and told the group to shove off. He had joined them to improve his spells, and if they didn¡¯t like it, he¡¯d find a different party. Didn¡¯t they know how lucky they were to have a mage?


    The only consolation was that his spell proficiency had increased by two, getting him to fourteen. Spell proficiency was exactly the same as a skill¡¯s level, even having the same ranks. He had made sure to get each lightning spell he knew to at least the apprentice rank before entering the dungeon, and that had taken days of casting at stone targets. Killing things was a much better way to improve.


    Since the group had decided to use the chest token system, they only stopped at the snake carcass to collect some materials from it, namely some scales and its eyes. The rest was useless, at least as far as they knew, and it was better to keep going than to waste time collecting too much more. They pushed ahead, crossing a few bridges and only facing more frogs and snakes. There was one incident where a particularly well hidden viper bit one of the warriors, pumping him full of its incredibly toxic venom. Their healer had to cast dispel a few times to clear him of the ill effects, but that was the most excitement they had before they reached the wall of the cavern. Once there, they decided to walk along it, looking for stronger enemies.


    Unfortunately, they reached the end of the path, and rather than deciding to turn back, they chose to cross the water to reach another path they could see, only a little over one hundred feet away. To clear the way, ben cast a lightning bolt into the water, causing a few fish to float to the surface. He really didn¡¯t want to swim, but he wanted to be left behind even less, so he swam. At first, it went well, but at the halfway point, that all changed.


    Something massive and slimy bumped into Ben, and before he could shout, he watched one of the warriors, Ralf he thought his name was, give a yelp as he was dragged underwater. Ben caught the scream in this throat, and powered ahead, trying to reach land as quickly as possible. Beside him, he watched as the healer, who had even less physical stats than he did, lagged behind. He passed her quickly, not even giving a second thought to his decision not to help her. He finally felt his foot hit bottom, and he powered forward, trying to force his way to dry land. He saw the two other members reach firm land, and when he got close, they pulled him ashore. He turned back to look at the healer, who was bleeding from a few scrapes. There were tears running down her face and she screamed for them to help her, but nobody was brave enough to get back in the water.


    Ben noticed a surge of ripples behind her, and she began to scream. She was only ten feet away, waist deep in water, but she had stopped, and was thrashing about. The water around her was a bubbling mass of fish, and even through the mud, they could see it was turning a dark red. Her screaming intensified as her violent struggle grew weaker. They could only watch in horror and the second member of their party died in the murky waters. Ben considered it a blessing when she slipped into the frothy water, drowning out the pleas for help that would surely haunt his dreams. The only ones left were him, the scout, and the warrior.


    They backed away from the bloody water, watching as the frothing mass of fish spread, knowing that more and more were collecting to devour every scrap of the petite healer. The scout, who Ben knew had been sweet on the girl, was in tears, and even his arrogant self had trouble judging the man for the tears streaming down his face. The warrior only looked at Ben with cold, hollow eyes. He had been childhood friends with the man who had been dragged under.


    ¡°At least Ralf died easy,¡± the warrior mumbled when Ben met his gaze, before turning away from the weeping scout and stumbling into the trees behind them. Ben turned to follow the man, leaving the scout to mourn the loss of his lover alone. They trudged through the trees, quickly finding the other side of the island. And that¡¯s what it was. An island. If they wanted to escape, they¡¯d have to swim again. Ben turned to leave, but something caught his eye. Resting in the shallows of the water was the biggest reptile he had ever seen.


    The massive draconic beast was nearly thirty feet long, and it was slowly gliding towards them. He turned to the monster, pointing it out to the warrior, but when he looked back to see what the man was doing, all he saw was his back as he ran away. No matter, Ben would take care of it. After all, a weak lightning attack instantly killed the snake. The monster was three dozen feet away when he started his spell. He chose lightning surge, and with its ten second cast time, it was surely powerful enough to fry the massive reptile.


    It was twenty feet away when he finished powering the spell, and he released the massive attack with glee. The enormous boom, and actinic flash would have stunned him if he hadn¡¯t been ready for it. Lightning surge sent a powerful blast of electricity towards any enemies within thirty feet, stunning and delivering massive amounts of damage to anything caught in its blast zone. He blinked away the spots and turned to look at the carnage he had wrought on the beast. Past the blue spots in his vision, he could just make out the gaping maw of the pissed off crocodile, coming straight for him.


    <hr>


    Pan chuckled as the man¡¯s mana collected in his pool, and mentally smiled when he received not just the knowledge of air magic, but lightning magic as well. He went through the information, and almost as an afterthought ordered the successful crocodile to find a safe place to undergo its promotion. With the air magic, he would finally be able to create the flying monsters he dreamed of, and having access to the lightning element was a cherry on top. It may give him insights on creating advanced elements without the need to wait for the death of someone with the skill to use them.


    He would save that for later, right now, he needed to fix his monsters and create the first of three new bosses. He decided to modify his basic creatures first, to get a feel for the possibilities offered by the new magics. He chose the dragonflies as his first subjects, since his plans for them were the most basic. He selected two varieties he would give magic to, one a sapphire blue, the other a pale blue with white highlights. He chose to start with the lighter one, since its powers would be the simplest.


    He gave it basic air magic, creating a much more agile hunter. The dragonfly was able to move significantly faster, and could perform maneuvers that would make even the previous best look like a lumbering fool. They would also be able to create gusts of wind to throw prey off balance, as well as the basic air dart, which could harm an unarmored foe. They should be a danger to unsuspecting adventurers, especially if they attacked in a group.


    The next variety also received air magic, but just for instinctive use. He increased their size as well, taking advantage of the extra lift air magic could provide. They weren¡¯t as fast or agile as the previous creation, but they were larger and stronger, and could potentially lift a dead adventurer if they focused all their magical power into it. They were six feet long, with an even larger wingspan, limiting their hunting grounds to the more open spaces. Their real power was in the lightning magic he gave them. They couldn¡¯t throw bolts of electricity at adventurers, but they would be able to deliver a paralyzing shock if they got in contact with them.


    They would instinctively land on an adventurer, delivering the spark through their feet, and attempt to fly away with their immobile victim. Any fighting with them would be difficult, especially with metal weapons. People would learn quickly to aim strikes away from their legs, or just use arrows and magic to bring them down. Pan released them into the dungeon, ordering them to increase their population before hunting any people. While they went about following his commands, he would create the first original third-floor boss, a super crocodile.


    The crocodile was on a secluded island, ready to be named. It was already a fearsome and powerful beast, hardly needing modifications to be a threat to an entire party. Pan couldn¡¯t wait to turn it into his new masterpiece. But first, he needed a proper name. It was too bad behemoth was already taken, because his plans for this beast would make that name fitting. Eventually, he settled on one.


    I name you Yagaru, he spoke to the simple mind of the crocodile, activating the skill as he did so. The name was taken from the history of his own kingdom. Yagaru was an ancient court mage who had built the foundations of the capital¡¯s magical defenses. This time, he noticed something different about the naming process. Now that he had access to soul energy, he saw that the act of giving a name used mana to strengthen the essence of the creature, creating a tie to Pan through soul energy. It seemed to be tied to how he could keep recreating the named monsters, even once they died. Their minds would be stored in Pan¡¯s being, connected by the strand he created. Once the naming process was finished, the strand would disappear, which was why he never noticed it before, but the stronger connection to him was still there, as shown by the stronger connection to their minds over other creatures his new skill gave him. It was amazingly simple, and shocking that he had never realized it before. Pan pulled himself from his musings to focus on his newest defender.


    The most important thing, at least to Pan, was his mind. He wanted someone to talk to, so he created one. He boosted the size of the crocodile, stretching him to over forty feet in length, just to fit a larger brain in the larger head. Once he created a properly intelligent creature, which was insanely expensive, he turned to the other attributes. First, was defense. Many of his creatures had powerful defenses and he saw no reason to change that pattern now. The scales on Yagaru were fortified with moonstone, giving him an albino appearance.


    Crocodiles already had one of the most powerful bites, and the force this new boss¡¯ jaws could produce would crush anything. But his jaws wouldn¡¯t be the only danger. Yagaru would be able to charge his metallic scales, delivering a powerful shock to anybody who struck him while powered, or was foolish enough to approach to him while in the water. For now, Pan would leave it at that, but would revisit the beast when he killed that water mage who was on the second floor. The boss complete, Pan let him adjust to his new body before connecting to Yagaru. As soon as he did, he was flooded with the feeling of a powerful mind, and actual words.


    Hello creator.


    <hr>


    Faltrar, the Archmage of Rivan, entered the guild¡¯s secretmeeting room. There had been some very disturbing reports recently, and had called for a conference between guilds. As the archmage of the most powerful mage guild in the kingdom, and the current court wizard of the king, he was the de facto chairman of the congregation. His guild had also discovered the issues, and he had full access to the reports, as well as the mage who had brought the issue to his attention. He strode to the head of the massive stone table that filled the room, feeling the stares of the six other archmages. They had stood for his arrival, and waited for him to sit before they seated themselves, in line with guild meeting traditions. He cleared his throat, grabbing their full attention if the hadn¡¯t already had it, and began.


    ¡°Archmages, I have some disturbing news. It is no small matter to call a meeting of the archmages, but in light of recent reports- reports I have personally confirmed I might add- I felt it to be extremely necessary.¡± He looked around the room, gauging the reactions of each man, and the one woman, during his dramatic pause.


    ¡°Get on with it,¡± grumbled Butran, the archmage of the second most influential guild. Faltrar glared at the offensive man, sure that he hadn¡¯t been his usual outright hostile self only because of the gravity Faltrar had lent the situation. Nonetheless, he continued his prepared speech, hoping he could convince them of the danger this new threat represented to their way of life. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to give them a hands-on demonstration.


    ¡°It has come to my attention that there is a new anti-mage poison on the market, produced from the venom of a spider in the recently discovered Borrander dungeon.¡±


    He watched as faces paled, each archmage knowing the danger such a substance represented. Ever since the great mage war, and the deployment of an anti-mage poison, the guilds had worked to suppress the knowledge of even the possibility of such a thing. They may have lost the war because of it, but they had worked from their lowered positions to lose the discovery in the fog of history, and had been very successful lately. Now, with the knowledge gone, they had been working to retake their position at the top of the societal pyramid, aiming to return sovereign power to the archmages. Now, over a millennia of work was in jeopardy. After rewriting history, and regaining positions of power, their greatest weakness, thought to be eliminated, had returned.


    ¡°What will we do?¡±


    ¡°The only thing we can, either we take the dungeon for ourselves, or we destroy it entirely.¡±


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 15,134/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 49.1/500


    Rooms: 122


    Floors: 3


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 12,113


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 38], [Enchanting: Lvl 22], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    Hello Yagaru, Pan responded, speaking directly into his newest boss¡¯ mind. If Pan still had a mouth, he would have had a manic grin splitting his face. It was a success, and he finally had something to talk to. The dungeon side of him didn¡¯t need communication, but the human part of him had thirsted for it in a way he was just now barely beginning to understand. Pan noticed it had been nearly a minute since his response, the ¡°conversation¡± with Yagaru had quickly petered out. What do you say to something you created? What does a creation say to its creator for that matter?


    Yagaru, Pan started again.


    Yes creator?


    How are you adapting to the new body? Oh, and call me Pan.


    It is¡­.. Different. But you are my creator, why should I recognize you as anything other than that.


    How so? And call me Pan because being called creator all the time is disconcerting. I¡¯m more comfortable with my name.


    If you wish it so, then I shall do so. As for the changes, it is in my mind. I now am. Or at least I know I am. It is strange, and I will have to ponder it for a time. The body is new as well, and I can feel a well of power within me that I know how to use, but can¡¯t fathom why.


    Well take your time, you¡¯ll have plenty of it.


    After that, Pan felt Yagaru pull away, something no other creature had been able to do. It was all very strange, but he had felt what Yagaru had been unable to explain. The newly expanded mind was overwhelming to Yagaru, and he was trying to figure out the nature of his existence. Yagaru¡¯s mind was new, so Pan didn¡¯t judge him for his lack of ability. The fact that he could hold a conversation at all so soon after being created astounded Pan. But he had felt how overwhelmed Yagaru was through the link, and knew that it would take him time to sort through his new state of existence. Despite knowing this on an intellectual level, Pan couldn¡¯t help second guess himself. As a human, he had never been the most social, and when he finally got a conversation partner only a few words had been exchanged. He was anxious, He wanted to have someone to talk to, but would they want to talk to him?


    Pan knew that the reason Yagaru had pulled away was so he could sort out his new thoughts, and with time develop his personality. Just the act of contemplating his existence had left an imprint on Yagaru''s mind, forming the base of a deep thinking contemplative mind. Pan found the idea of a philosopher crocodile amusing, especially since he had been named for an ancient magical sage. Attempting to relieve himself of his emotional worries, which were starting to become an annoying holdover from his time as a human, he looked to another one of his projects.


    Removing his focus from the crocodile, Pan decided to make more modifications to his creatures. He had one final species to upgrade, and he finally felt ready to begin. He called to the bats that lived in the swamp, choosing the strongest specimens for upgrades. They were small things, nearly a foot across from wingtip to wingtip, but they were fast and agile, and had something nothing else in the cave did. A sixth sense. Theirs wasn¡¯t based on magic like some creatures he had heard of, but sound. They used echoes to map their surroundings, and ever since he had discovered this, he had wanted to weaponize it. Sound was simply waves traveling through the air, and he finally had air magic to play with.


    He began by increasing their size and strength, quadrupling their size. The now formidable bats were perfect for imbuing with magic. He started with basic air magic, doing the same things he had done with the dragonflies to improve their aerial performance. They could redirect their flight with gusts of wind, and power ahead on a self-made breeze. He didn¡¯t give them a simple air dart like the one dragonfly species, however, but made something completely new, at least to him. He gave them the ability to vastly increase the pressure behind their sound waves, giving them a weapon that could be targeted at a single enemy, or a whole group of them. The sound was loud and disorienting, and would be able to stun or deafen enemies, potentially rupturing ear drums if the bat got too close. The sound would be disorienting and debilitation, but to do damage, he gave them a wicked set of teeth and a love for red meat. The flying devils would stun their prey, then fly off with a mouthful of their flesh while they recovered. They were aerial piranhas, just in smaller swarms. Pan didn¡¯t want to anger too many adventurers.


    The new bats were ordered to form self-sustaining colonies before attacking too many creatures, and many of the old bats evolved soon after the upgrade became available. One downside he had noticed with his constant tinkering was that nothing evolved naturally in his dungeon, forcing him to do it all himself. It was a minor disadvantage in his opinion, and he would have no trouble creating his own creatures to excel in any situation. It was more expensive, but the massive amounts of life in his dungeon gave him an enormous amount of mana.


    He had no idea how a regular dungeon functioned when they had to summon each individual monster. He remembered how skeletons grew cheaper to summon as he summoned more and improved his skill, but even then it must take a lot of mana. Although if the mana cost could be reduced to single digits, then a dungeon his size could spawn hundreds of monsters a day, even if their regeneration would only equate to half of his own. That seemed to be why dungeons specialized in a certain type of monster, because after looking at the costs in a bout of curiosity, he saw his skill with one type of skeleton translated to a skill with summoning all types he had access too. He had no desire to change his style now, and he refused to ever summon one of the skeletons he detested ever again.


    It took a few days for the bats to fully settle in, and over that period of time, he watched Yagaru''s mind grow. The monster still hadn¡¯t tried talking to him, but he had let the worries slip from his mind. It would happen when it happened, and nothing good could come from forcing it. Over the time, Pan had saved up a good chunk of mana, despite his wasteful experimentation, and had decided to push for the next floor so he could properly hide his core. He didn¡¯t want to build a new floor yet, as he still needed time to experiment with new ideas, but he would make a solid defense for his core. He wouldn¡¯t make the new floor until someone was close to defeating the third, but wouldn¡¯t leave it undefended either.


    He would need seventy-five thousand mana to create the floor, which he was only a little over a week away from. He was not worried about waiting that long, no adventurers were even close to completing the third floor. Even the original discoverers were far from reaching the end, and he hadn''t even created all the bosses. He supposed that the third floor might upgrade him to a B ranked dungeon, but the guild hadn¡¯t sent a new ranking party to test him yet. They did send a lot of parties to kill behemoth, and strip him of his armor, which annoyed Pan. It wasn¡¯t fair for them to send B classed adventurers to kill his boss. Maybe once Yagaru was situated he would give them the old bait and switch. They might win, but it would teach them a lesson.


    Recently, Pan had improved his skills in enchanting enough that he felt comfortable giving out enchanted weapons as rewards. They would only be given out for boss fights since well-enchanted gear was in high demand. He even decided to custom tailor the rewards to the group, so they would be sure to receive at least one item that would be useful to them. That should entice people to fight his harder bosses, now all he needed was for someone other than that damn B ranked party to succeed.


    Three days into his wait, and he finally had a chance to create another boss for the third floor. A group of adventurers had attempted to reach the center of the silk forest, sure that there would be a valuable treasure there, which there was, but they never discovered it. They had been very successful, at first, but that all went downhill when their pyromancer, who had been easily clearing the way, was bitten by an assassin spider. He had freaked out when he lost connection to his mana, and when he was unable to resist the confusion effect, he had run straight into the webs. Another member had also gotten stuck when trying to help him, and the final two had fallen when besieged by the horde of angry giant orb weavers. One of the spiders had killed both trapped adventurers, and was larger and more powerful than the rest of its species, the perfect candidate for a name.


    Pan decided to make the new boss another large monster, although nowhere as large or as smart as Yagaru. He chose a name for the new spider, deciding to call her Sentinel, since she would watch over the forest, but wasn¡¯t a queen like Elaria. Pan pumped mana into her, increasing her leg span to over twelve feet. She stood six feet tall, able to look an adventurer straight on in the eye. Her spindly chitinous legs, although seemingly frail, were incredibly powerful, and terminated in wicked sharp points. He used the knowledge he gained from creating the insanely fast monsters of the second floor, and adapted it to give her rapid reflexes and movements. She wasn''t based on strength, but on speed.


    He didn¡¯t give her the most powerful defenses, her main way to avoid damage would be to avoid attacks altogether, but she was sturdy enough to withstand a few heavy blows. Her armor was nothing close to Behemoth¡¯s, but it was impressive. He imbued it with both the air and dark elements, augmenting her stealth and speed. The other spiders had bright yellow exoskeletons, but her¡¯s was a matte black, and covered in a fine fur to ensure no light reflected off her. Her main weapon was her web, which was strengthened with mana, and a small amount of her elements. The spinneret glands were overcharged with mana, allowing them to rapidly produce the incredibly strong strands of sticky web, and a bit of air magic could fling them far away, attaching to the target. She had a few different glands for different types of web. One was long and sticky, like a massive lasso that could be used to drag food towards her, or for locomotion. Another could shoot globs of web covered in an acidic adhesive compound that would bind the victim and eat through their skin until the acid ate away the glue and the victim could pull the web away. The final type was non-adhesive, and was used for creating things she didn¡¯t want to stick to, like a rope to hang from.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    She was in a clearing in the center of the silk forest, standing watch over a chest Pan placed in the center. The chest wouldn¡¯t open until she died, and would give the victors a special boss token that they would need to pass on to the next floor, as well as any loot someone who opted out of the token style loot received. There was also a chance to spawn an additional special token that could be redeemed for extra rewards, a little incentive to spark greedy thoughts within adventurer groups as the one who placed it in the large chest in the safe room would receive a customized reward. All that Pan needed was more adventurers.


    In the week since the first flood of adventurers to the third floor, Pan had nearly two hundred more adventurers attempt to reach the rich final floor. The only reason he never reached his estimated capacity of two hundred and fifty people was due to the attrition the adventurers faced. Nearly forty percent of people attempting to reach the third floor either died or turned back, and around twenty percent of those who made it to the third floor were killed Nobody had even challenged the bosses yet, aside from that guild sponsored B ranked party, but he didn¡¯t count them. Despite the seemingly massive number of casualties, the adventurers seemed to expect it, and continued to throw themselves at his creatures with reckless abandon. His dungeon had made people rich, and they were willing to risk the higher than average death rates in his C ranked dungeon for a slice of the rewards. He considered his third floor to be right on the cusp of the B ranks, even with the deadly bosses.


    He did notice that only competent parties survived his dungeon, which was how he had designed it. It was a challenge, but not impossible if a group worked well together. If a party made it to the third floor on their own skill, and survived the first day, they were highly likely to survive many more days. Not because they earned some special trophy from Pan, but because they knew their limits, and pushed them to improve while not putting their lives in needless amounts of danger. It was all very interesting for Pan to watch since he had always had a very analytical mind, and by looking for certain predictors, he could be reasonably certain of which group would make it and which wouldn¡¯t by the time they reached the second floor. It was a good way to pass the time while waiting for mana to collect when he couldn¡¯t recklessly spend it on alchemy or enchanting experiments.


    That side of his mind had been heightened by his transformation into a dungeon, and he found himself able to observe things and make connections that he knew he would never have been able to before. The air magic he gave his bats was one example of this, and the improvements he had made with alchemy was another. Being a dungeon gave him the tools to see things and understand them on a level even the greatest archmages could only dream of. There were downsides, however, as evidenced by his tendency to overthink social situations, such as the current one with Yagaru, and a few others he would rather leave in his past life as a human. It had been days since he created Yagaru, and he hadn¡¯t heard a peep from him. It was understandable, as even humans needed years to develop before they could understand themselves, and the fact that he had spoken to him at all was astonishing to Pan when viewed in this light. These thoughts were coming from his loneliness and excitement, he had no reason to feel anxious. He pushed them from his mind as best he could, but they remained in the back of his mind, nagging at his consciousness.


    A week later, Pan had enough mana to create the new floor, something he did immediately. In the center of the third floor, right next to the tree, Pan constructed a stone building. It looked like a mausoleum, with four large columns in front of a sealed enchanted copper door. There were special slots on the columns that would take the boss tokens, and they were carved with the boss they represented. Each carving was a large artistic rendering of the boss, made into a two foot diameter circle inset in the front of the column. One column had a image of Behemoth, carved perfectly in silver. The next was of Sentinel, created from pure black obsidian. The third was of Yagaru, sculpted from flawless moonstone, matching his white scales. The final Column was left blank, for now, with a steel disk representing the boss that would come. The door would open when a group placed all four tokens in the respective slots, and it contained a staircase to the fourth floor. Once a group had used their tokens, the enchantment on the door would allow them to open it at any time without them, and would punish anyone who tried to get through the doors early.


    Pan was satisfied with the plan. It was efficient to leave the entrance where it was since he wouldn¡¯t have to make another safe room, and would protect his soon to be moved core. All he needed now was to start carving out the new floor. This floor would be his pet project, something he wouldn¡¯t even start populating until adventurers got close to reaching it. For now, he would carve out a floor, letting his mind create something impressive. Then, he would design monsters around the unique environment he had in mind. But for now, the floor was only a massive room with an altar for Pan¡¯s crystal in the back. He connected the new fourth-floor room to the hidden first-floor cavern where his crystal still hid, and asked his dark ant queen to move him to the new room. He would make her his personal guardian, and with that responsibility, would come an upgrade. He would move the chamber as he sculpted his new floor, keeping it well protected. He really just wanted to hide it, but doing so impeded his mana flow far too much.


    When his core finally reached it¡¯s intended resting place, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn¡¯t realized how much his previous position had stifled him, and he could now feel comparative torrents of mana flowing into his caves through the new, much more open layout. Just the act of placing his core deeper gave him access to denser and more abundant mana, increasing his daily regeneration by over one thousand. The new position also helped the mana his core gathered disperse properly, flowing up through his floors like smoke. The way the ethereal substance worked was strange, but he knew he would be keeping his core at the lowest level from now on. It felt better, much more stable. He hadn¡¯t realized it before, but having his core collecting mana on a much higher floor felt like balancing a boulder on the edge of a cliff. Having his core at the bottom of his dungeon felt like having that boulder at the base of the cliff, a much steadier place to be.


    He turned to his queen, deciding on the improvements he would give her. A few of the ideas had been floating through his head for awhile. The first order of business was to improve her magical ability. Mages are always the hardest fights for his monsters, and it would feel good to turn the tables on them. He made her armor in a similar way to Behemoth¡¯s, but instead imbued it with powerful dark mana, increasing her ability to manipulate the element. He also improved her intellect, similar to Yagaru, but hopefully with enough changes to the process that she wouldn¡¯t be out of commission for a long time. He wanted a true mage, so she needed to be intelligent enough to create her own spells, and maybe a bit more. It was very expensive for Pan, but with the dungeon inn, he had a massive amount of mana to work with. It had been hours since he created the floor, and he had enough for this project.


    She was now an eight-foot tall queen ant, with an elegant carapace that somehow glowed with dark mana. He could feel the magical power rolling off her, and he wasn¡¯t even done. He changed her posture slightly, so she now walked on four legs, and had two free for casting and fighting. She looked like an ant centaur, except she was one hundred percent ant. Her arms looked similar to a human''s, but he decided that he wouldn¡¯t give her hands for now. Instead, they ended in wicked sharp points, perfect for aiming spells or drawing complex runes. Not to mention the fact that they could pierce steel armor due to the insane amounts of magical reinforcement he added to them. Then, he added his final touch, something he had been experimenting with in his head, and in his labs, for a long time.


    He began by engraving lines into her armour, something to guide the power he was going to put into them. He then inlaid the lines with silver, beautifully accenting her deep purple-black carapace. He inlaid a few runes alongside the lines, ensuring perfection in every detail. Then, he enchanted the silver with a massive amount of his stored soul energy, tailoring the power to his new and improved queen. He couldn¡¯t directly enchant living things, but by using runes connected by lines, he could bypass that restriction. Normal items could be enhanced without runes, but using runes could make the enchantments much more powerful and efficient. The ones he selected for his queen improved her abilities with manipulating dark mana, giving her spells a massive damage boost when channeled through the limbs. It was like a supercharged wand, that was tied much more closely to the wielder because it was part of them. They would also help her create new spells, since she would be much better at manipulating dark mana through the engravings. It was why he hadn¡¯t given her hands, she would be able to make her own out of dark mana, something Pan couldn¡¯t wait to see.


    Finished with the alterations, Pan released Elaria. She stumbled a bit, getting used to her new body, and turned to his core. He watched as dark mana flared up around her silver highlights as she powered her runes. It looked terrifyingly impressive, and in Pan¡¯s opinion, more than a little bad ass. He reached out to her, hoping his new idea had worked, and that her mind would be well-formed enough to function.


    Hello Elaria, he called out to her mind.


    A musical voice responded to him, confirming the success of his recent breakthrough. Hello master, how may I serve you?


    Serve me by protecting me, my queen.


    Pan could have sworn he heard a melodious giggle, and the queen bowed to him, before turning away and tending to her colony. Pan had given her a more developed mind to start with, something he wished he had thought to do with Yagaru, based on knowledge he had gained from an unlikely source. Skill books.


    Skill books put knowledge directly into the user''s mind, and Pan used that ability to transfer information to give Elaria a head start in development, mainly in language and reasoning, with a side of general information. This helped her quickly adapt to her new self, and it didn¡¯t create her personality. Pan had mixed feelings on the idea of creating a personality, and had decided against it, instead, allowing her to develop that on her own over time. For now, she could talk and understand him, as well as her new existence. Just the simple act of giving her mind some context helped her to jump far ahead of Yagaru. This technique helped develop their understanding, strengthening the mind and helping it to mature rapidly. Instead of starting from nothing, Elaria had a solid base of information to help her understand her new mind, and the new way she perceived the world.


    Seeing the success, he reached out to Yagaru''s mind, and even though he could tell that he was almost fully developed, he used magic to give him some more information directly, cursing himself for not thinking of it earlier. A few moments later, a deep rumbling voice slowly spoke into his head. Thank you creator, this helps¡­.. Put a few things into perspective.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 1,003/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 14.7/500


    Rooms: 123


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 29,208


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 43], [Enchanting: Lvl 31], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 407


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    Pan grumbled to himself. Yagaru had regressed to referring to Pan as ¡°creator,¡± and no matter what Pan said, the ancient sounding youngster refused to call him anything else. Even Elaria was picking up on it, changing from master to creator after realizing how much it bothered Pan. His frustration only added to her enthusiasm, prompting her to contact him just to call him creator, then cut off communication with a giggle. Despite the annoyance, he enjoyed the conversations, and the past few days he had contact with them had been a treat.


    Yagaru was much more reserved, and liked to be by himself for long periods of introspection and reflection. He had improved his abilities with magic greatly in a few days, although the progress was slowing down as he worked past the basics. He was also incredibly lazy, preferring to hunt by sending a massive wave of energy into the water, and eating whatever floated to the top. He would only move when a goliath catfish swam by, as he considered them a delicacy, and would chase them down.


    Pan moved Yagaru¡¯s lair to where Behemoth had been previously, and moved Behemoth¡¯s island a quarter of the way around the swamp, directly across from the silk forest. Pan dug out a new room for Yagaru, a massive quarter mile diameter room with a massive island in the middle. There was a hundred yard long stone bridge connection to the island, where the adventurers would face Yagaru. The water in the room was the deepest in the whole cave, and was up to fifty feet deep. The island was three hundred yards across, and faced the massive body of water in the back of the room where Yagaru dwelled. The nearly water level island was perfect for a fight, since Yagaru would be able to leap out of the water and snag unwary adventurers who came too close. It was flat, with no cover, forcing them to face Yagaru on solid ground when he decided it was time.


    In the large body of water behind the island, Pan hid an entrance to Yagaru''s lair. It was submerged, but led to a cave that was above the waterline, letting Yagaru have a nice dry hidden abode. Pan had been amused when Yagaru had asked him to teach him to read and give him giant books, but he had complied. Pan hadn¡¯t read all of the books he received, electing to only read the ones that pertained to his immediate pursuits, such as alchemy manuals or bestiaries. Yagaru didn¡¯t even want the information transferred into his head, saying that the information was easier to use if he learned it himself. When Pan asked him, he explained, when knowledge is transferred to me, it is like a big ball in my mind that I know, but isn¡¯t easily accessed. I know what is there, but I have to search for it, and it takes awhile to make it my knowledge and truly know it. If I learn myself, I am forced to go through the whole process, and understand it myself. It gives me a deeper understanding of the material.


    Pan cut him off there, before he could start a philosophical rambling on the nature of learning, and just gave him the books. It should keep him busy for awhile, especially figuring out how to actually read the books. Pan even created a giant lectern for the crocodile, smiling at the idea of the stubby-limbed aquatic reptile trying to maneuver a book into position, not to mention turning the page.


    Pan was disappointed when Yagaru used force magic to move the items, something he hadn¡¯t realized Yagaru knew how to do. Force magic was based on pure mana, so all magical creatures, and people for that matter, could use it. But it was the most basic form of magic, prompting many magic users to move on to more powerful elements. Pan was impressed with Yagaru''s tenacity, since delicate manipulations of force magic were notoriously hard to master. Sure, he tore a few pages here and there, but the fact that he could manipulate a single page at all was impressive. Sure, the four-foot tall books were easier to grasp than a regularly sized one, but it was impressive nonetheless.


    With Yagaru situated, he had turned to Elaria, asking her what she needed. She confused him. At some moments, she acted all prim and proper, but would suddenly step out of it to tease him. If he asked her to do something, like when he assigned her to guard his core, she was downright serious, and accepted the duty with reverence, but he appreciated it. She treated him in a way he imagined a close friend or sister would, while still being cognizant of the importance of her duty. When he offered his services to her, she asked for help in creating a set of royal guards. For now, she would have five, but as time went on, their numbers would increase. They would be promoted from the ranks of the new and improved dungeon ants she could produce. She could still produce the old variety, since they were still needed to stock the first floor, but he had designed a newer, better version along with her recent upgrade.


    They weren''t all that different from the originals, just larger, sleeker, stronger, and more elegant to match with the new appearance of the queen. They were within the abilities of a D ranked adventurer, so some were sent to the first floor as ¡°rare¡± variants. But she was asking for elites, and Pan felt inclined to give them to her. She was his first named creature after all, and wasn¡¯t meant to be a front line fighter. A core of elite royal guard could serve that purpose quite easily. He didn¡¯t want to make them named bosses, but it would be a loss for the presumably highly trained warrior¡¯s experience to be lost upon death. He had a few ideas on how to solve the issue, but it would take some experimentation. He promised Elaria that she would get her royal guard, but it would happen in due time when he felt he could get it right.


    In the meantime, she decided that she wanted to find a hobby, and since she had no idea of which one to pick, she asked Pan for help. Like he did for Yagaru, he transferred the knowledge of how to read into her mind, and gave her the basic books on the main crafting skills: alchemy, enchanting, smithing, tailoring, and crafting. He told her to read them and come back to him when she had made her decision. With his boss monsters busy, he returned to his task of carving out the fourth floor, mentally chuckling to himself over how quickly he had gone from wanting to talk, to wanting some peace. The contact was good. But the barrage of requests and questions over the past few days had been tiresome. He was fortunate that as a dungeon, each level up seemed to expand his mind, and his ability to multitask was second to none.


    His work on sculpting the fourth floor was going well, and he was simultaneously working on his alchemy, as he usually did. His multitasking was how he managed to level both of his crafting skill so fast, as well as his access to virtually unlimited amounts of resources. A human crafter would need years to reach the same level pan had with his crafting skills, less if they had all day to study and research. A mage college or guild could train an adept alchemist in a year, but the training and resources were expensive, something a rich mage might undergo to expand their abilities.


    Pan was not yet ready to start populating his new floor, or even add plants for that matter, but it was coming along nicely. It had been three days since his named monsters had fully awakened, and during that time he had expanded the floor to over four square miles in a roughly circular area. It was still rough and incomplete, but he felt that he was a few days away from designing monsters for the floor. He hadn¡¯t even lit the area, but to his senses, it was as beautiful as it would be deadly.


    He spent another few days adding finishing touches and polishing up the newest floor, while he pondered over ways to properly create elite guards for Elaria. He had a plan, but the experiments had gone¡­. Poorly. He did feel that he was close to a breakthrough, and that soon enough he would be ready. Elaria had already selected five special warrior ants to receive the upgrade, and was waiting on Pan¡¯s modifications. He had finished the fourth floor¡¯s layout, and had focused all of his attention on making his idea work. He really wanted those elites, not just because they would make him safer, but because it would get Elaria to stop nagging him. It took a full day of concentration, and over twenty thousand mana, but he finally made it work.


    Elaria, bring me the five. I¡¯m ready, he called out to her. All he heard from her end was, Finally.


    Internally sighing in agitation, he waited for the new elites to arrive. They came, and lined up in front of his core. He pumped mana into one of them, deciding to do one at a time. He increased her size, going for a six-foot tall warrior in the same shape as the queen. Her body looked like a smaller version of Elaria, for now. He then buffed her armor, adding much more than the queen had, as the royal guard wouldn¡¯t be casters. He didn¡¯t let them become bulky since he wanted quick warriors. Instead of pointed forelimbs like the queen had, these had a full blade in place of their hands. He added the same silver highlights to their armor, but instead of adding buffs to their magical control, he increased their agility and strength attributes. They had some basic abilities with dark magic, mainly movement skills and extra elemental damage added on to their attacks. They were intelligent, but nowhere near their queen or Yagaru.


    All considered, each individual royal guard could match up favorably against an above average C ranked adventurer, and would only get better as they improved. Pan made the new and improved warrior ants an evolution for the warrior ants, so that even if one died there would be more to replace her. To ensure that he wouldn¡¯t lose all of their experiences and skill if they died, he created five items. They were elegant silver bands that would fit the head of each royal guard, holding a amethyst against their forehead. It had taken him days to figure out a successful method of doing what he wanted, but his work had led to these. The experience and skills of each ant would be stored in the gem, in a manner he had based on skill books. If one of the guards died, all of their skill could be passed on to the next generation of guards, allowing them to constantly improve. Their personalities weren¡¯t stored, so each ant kept their ego when they gained the rank, but they would know the history of the wearers, and would add to the cumulative knowledge. Each royal guard member would raise a protege to replace them when they fell since they would need to know the skills and be familiar with the fighting techniques in order to maximize the knowledge transferred.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Pan knew that some would be lost on each transfer, but the following guard would have a better starting point, and could hopefully leapfrog their predecessor. The pattern would continue until it plateaued, but by that point he figured their skill might keep them alive long enough that it wouldn¡¯t matter. And so the first elites in Pan¡¯s dungeon were born. He gave a band to the first royal guard, and then forcefully evolved the rest of them, giving them their headgear as well. He knew that the silver jewelry would be a prized piece of loot by adventurers, but all he really needed to keep was the gem. To circumvent this, he had had to design a special enchantment, which was why it had taken so long to get to this point. The research had greatly improved his skill with enchanting however, and he was very pleased with that.


    To avoid losing the gem, or at least the knowledge stored in it, he had had to create something new. It had taken stuff he learned from both the necromancer¡¯s cruel soul affecting enchantments, and the spatial ring he had absorbed so long ago. He created an identical copy of each gem, and tied the two together with enchantments. When the wearer died, the information stored in the gem would be sent to the other, along the connection he created, destroying the first in the process. Then, he only had to copy the information into a new gem, and make a new circlet. This way, he always had a master backup, even if something interfered with the transfer. They would update the backup every day to minimize the potential loss, if that was even possible. After realizing all he could do, he was sure that with magic, and especially enchantment, nothing was impossible.


    Thank you creator, Elaria said to him. He could sense the mischievous tone in her voice, and ignored it. He was starting to accept his title of creator. It felt good to be exalted.


    You¡¯re welcome, Elaria. You should probably see to their training.


    Training? She asked him.


    He explained the purpose of the gems, and why it had taken him so long. Despite her youth, she still knew enough to be astounded by what he had made, and began thanking him profusely. If he had given her tear ducts, he was sure she would¡¯ve been crying with joy. This way her guards transcended death, and she was grateful to him for figuring out a way to make it happen. He eventually calmed her down, and returned to the slow process of carving his new floor.


    <hr>


    Archmage Faltrar was meeting with his guild. They were discussing the actions they would take, and had already taken to address the danger of the mage poison. He was meeting with the leaders of his guild to get all of the up to date information on the situation, and ensure that their plans had succeeded.


    ¡°Mage Lutheen, how has the foray into Borrander city gone?¡±


    ¡°It had gone well Archmage, the apothecary who we bought the poison from has been disposed of. The guards reported it as an accident of course. We have the rest of his supply. He revealed the location of his ledger after some coercion, and we have tracked down most of the people who purchased the substance. Our involvement is not suspected, people die all the time in a dungeon, and as long as no bodies are found, the locals will suspect they died the same as most adventurers do. Our mages have done an admirable job disguising themselves as the victim and entering the dungeon, and I recommend that they receive a bonus.¡±


    He clears his throat and looked to the archmage, who nodded before asking, ¡°And what of the man who sold the poison?¡±


    Lutheen looked uncomfortable, and his eyes traveled to his boots as he shifted nervously.


    ¡°Um, we know who it was, a skilled adventurer by the name of John. He didn¡¯t say how he got the substance, so he is our top priority. If he dies, then so does the knowledge, at least for a while. We know he lives on the third floor but we haven¡¯t been able to eliminate him yet.¡±


    ¡°He lives in the dungeon? And why can¡¯t we kill him?¡±


    ¡°Yes, well you see the dungeon created a sort of ¡®inn¡¯ where you pay for rooms with mana. He rents a room with his party and we can¡¯t break in. They are very skilled, but we are planning an ambush on the floor. We need to ensure that there are no witnesses so it has to be deep in the swamp. It¡¯s just hard because they never go to the same place two days in a row. But we¡¯re working on it.¡±


    ¡°Good. See that he¡¯s dead within the week. I will not allow failure, and we need to delay the spread of this news for as long as possible. We need to kill this man and find how he made the poison. Each day we get is another day to prepare. It¡¯s going to be hard to gain control of the dungeon if it becomes necessary to do so. If the dungeon is producing the stuff, we may have to destroy it, which would be a shame.¡±


    He paused for a moment, daydreaming about running a mage guild that had control of a dungeon. Just the thought of it made him hope the dungeon wasn¡¯t producing the poison. If it was just a recipe the man had developed with herbs he found, they would be able to leave it... Or maybe not. What could the other mage guilds do if he had sole control of the anti-mage poison? Shaking his head, he looked back at Lutheen, who nodded emphatically.


    ¡°Understood sir. It will be done.¡±


    He turned to face the next leader, moving to the second order of business.


    ¡°Mage Edgar, do we have any news from the palace or word on the other plan?¡±


    ¡°Yes and yes. The king, may he live long and healthy,¡± responded the old man in his gravelly voice, spitting after the last part, ¡°has told us to fuck off. He likes the new situation, and he has that Peter boy wrapped around his little finger. You know how much he has been trying to curtail the nobility, and turn the crown into the absolute authority in the realm? Well, having a new Duke in his pocket will help him with that, and he doesn¡¯t want any of our meddling.¡± He paused, letting the news sink in.


    ¡°And the other thing?¡±


    Edgar cracked a nearly toothless smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s going great.¡±


    <hr>


    Drake helped his party prepare for the new day. Recently he had taken to sharing a room with Cassandra, so he was a bit less of a morning person than usual. He still did the exercises and stretches, waking himself up for what would be a harder than average day. Today, they would try to fight the giant metal bug, and hopefully get one of the boss tokens, as well as that extremely valuable carapace. Once they were all ready, and the potions were doled out, they descended the tree, ready to face the swamp. He stopped by the entrance to the next floor to look at the three carved plaques. He was hoping the fourth would be ready, since he needed to know what bosses they would have to face.


    They set off down the path that led to the metal behemoth, alert and ready for anything that would attack them on the walk over. They easily killed a few of the massive snakes that had devastated the party their first time on the floor, and even lured one of the giant catfish into an ambush. The experience was great, and their delicate white meat was delicious. They were about three-quarters of the way there when the attack came.


    A fireball flew at them from behind, and barely missed Drake¡¯s legs as he slid out of they way. These fuckers are trying to maim me, he thought to himself in agitation. With a flick of his fingers, he drew a blade from his sleeve and flung it at the mage, who had stepped out from behind a tree to attack him. The man sneered as the projectile bounced off an invisible barrier, and fell impotently to the ground. His group turned to face the ambusher, but as soon as they did so, a flurry of ice spikes came from behind them. This time, the party wasn¡¯t so lucky, and their tank took an icicle to the back of his knee, dropping him.


    Drake reached to his belt, and pulled a bottle from a loop. But stopped when the fire mage called out, ¡°You¡¯re surrounded, give up now or it¡¯ll hurt.¡±


    He gave the man a smile, and tossed the bottle at him. The man smiled back as the bottle shattered on his shield, the liquid inside falling to the ground. He unleashed a gout of fire at the group, and Drakes companions all took off to the left, running across another fire mage. They had been ambushed on a small peninsula, and the only way out was to either swim, or charge the mages. With his group running towards the ice mage and fire mage, Drake would deal with the first before regrouping with them to render aid, or disappear if they were losing. He had invested a lot of time into them, but he would rather live.


    The fire mage kept up his blast, laughing as he tried to destroy Drake''s legs. He stopped laughing when his fire cut off suddenly, and a blade caught him in the throat. The heat of his fire had evaporated the liquid at his feet, and with the vapor, came the mana poison. He hadn¡¯t perfected the process, and the liquid needed more than room temperature to evaporate, but the mage had provided the necessary heat, spelling his own doom. After quickly looting the man¡¯s coin pouch, Drake slunk into the forest, aiming to flank their attackers and do some reconnaissance.


    When he go there, it wasn''t looking good. One party member was down, maybe for good. The tank had been healed, and was using his shield to defend the party against fireballs and icicles. It was only a matter of time, and the mages seemed to be sadistically enjoying the group¡¯s predicament. Drake sighed to himself, it seemed that they would have to practice anti-mage combat tactics soon. They were doing it all wrong. You don¡¯t cower and hide, you charge, get into melee range, and beat down their shield and kill them before their magic can overwhelm you. Sure, it hurts a lot, but there¡¯s a chance you survive. At least, that¡¯s how you fought mages before. But with the new potion, Drake had all sorts of new ideas.


    The two mages had grouped up, and took turns throwing pot shots at the faltering shield. If one had walked around the party, they could have ended them quickly, but they seemed to have other goals. They were fighting like they wanted prisoners, not corpses. Well, Drake only fought to make corpses, and he would enjoy tearing any mage apart. The arrogant assholes always bothered him.


    He snuck around behind them, a startlingly easy thing to do with their attention focused on his party. In a single move, he tossed another potion at the fire mage as he lunged for the ice mage. Both attacks struck at the same time, and his backstab skill showed it¡¯s worth. He had bypassed the shield with a perk he had gained from the assassin side of the stealth skill tree, driving his sword blade into the man¡¯s kidney. He felt every muscle in the mage¡¯s body clench up in pain, and the man dropped, unable to do anything due to the pain, and the poison on Drake¡¯s sword.


    The other man turned, hearing his comrade¡¯s groan and the shattering glass. Like before, the liquid fell to the ground, but it was already evaporating due to the ambient heat from all the spells he had thrown. Before he could even cast a spell at Drake, his shield fell. His eyes grew wide, and the left was widened further by Drake¡¯s sword.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 11,630/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 23.6/500


    Rooms: 125


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 30,827


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 407


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    Pan¡¯s attention was drawn to a commotion on his third floor. There were two groups of adventurers facing off, one made of three mages, and the other was the original three who had reached the third floor. It seemed like the mages were getting the better of the group, but Pan figured that the leader would survive even if the rest of his party died. That man was more skilled than the rest by far, and it looked like the mages were underestimating him. Pan was proven right when the man neutralized the fire mage who had pinned him down using a potion he had created from the assassin spider venom. He then quickly killed the final two mages with a similar method and a sneak attack, netting Pan access to both water and ice magic.


    Pan was excited, it seemed like his plans to introduce conflict between adventurers had been a success, and it had killed some of the mages in his dungeon. He had noticed a rise in the number of mages he had in his dungeon recently, but that was good news. Every mage was another chance for more magic. The survivors returned to the safe room, with all but the leader looking distraught. He looked frustrated, probably because he had still wanted to continue to the boss fight. Pan respected the man¡¯s tenacity, even if he was the shadiest person in his dungeon.


    As he was thinking of the man¡¯s lost opportunity to fight Behemoth, he saw the B rank party enter his dungeon. They hadn¡¯t shown up since he had swapped Behemoth and Yagaru, and if nobody warned them, they should be in for a nasty surprise. Sure enough, they starteddown the path to Yagaru¡¯s new arena, unaware of the massive crocodile that awaited them. They only paused when they reached the bridge, and after discussing the new scenery, they decided the dungeon had modified the boss area, and they walked across.


    <hr>


    Theodore searched the strange muddy island, looking for the massive bug with the valuable metal carapace. As his party¡¯s scout, he should easily be able to find it, but it was nowhere to be seen. He heard the party grumbling about the missing boss, and redoubled his efforts, but it was pointless. There was no place for something that massive to hide on the flat island, and they had already searched it thoroughly.


    ¡°Search the water,¡± called out their leader, Paul.


    Just before Theodore could yell back that it was a bad idea, one of the other warriors dove into the deeper waters off the back of the island, which were thankfully much clearer than water on the the rest of the floor. The man intended to swim down and look around, hoping to spot the telltale gleam of the metal carapace of their target. All Theodore, and the other three party members saw was the giant jaws of an enormous crocodile burst from the water, removing half of their companion.


    ¡°Fall back to the center, formation three, move now,¡± Paul shouted, as he turned from the water¡¯s edge to retreat to safer ground. They immediately grouped up around their healer, putting themselves between their most important support members and the massive boss. Unfortunately only Paul and the other warrior were melee fighters, as Theodore used a bow. He figured the piercing weapon would be ineffective against the obviously well-armored boss, unless he managed to get a miraculous hit on its eye.


    The crocodile heaved itself out of the water, and started lumbering towards them. A low rumbling growl emanated from its throat, and it hissed menacingly at them. Theodore was sweating, and he could hear members of the party swallowing nervously. It was a testament to their courage that none ran, and Theodore surprised himself when he didn¡¯t either. Instead, he drew an arrow, and knocked it to his bow. As he drew, he invoked the skill Drill Shot hoping that he would be able to penetrate the armored head of the beast.


    He released the arrow, it¡¯s mana charges shaft spun rapidly, as it closed the distance between him and the monster. Just as he had suspected, it hit the scaly head of the beast, and glanced off. He sighed, and drew another arrow, knowing that of brute force didn¡¯t work, he would have to use precision. As the beast came closer, he fired more arrows at it, hoping to land one in its eye, or stick one down its throat. Unfortunately, the crocodile avoided each strike, by either blinking at the last second, or turning its head just right. Theodore was unnerved by the seeming uncanny intelligence of the creature, and he could¡¯ve sworn that it was mocking him. But there was no way the grin on its face was from anything other than the way it was shaped.


    As soon as it was within twenty feet of them, Paul called for them to begin the next step of the battle. Their healer retreated further, ready to render aid to anyone who required it, although anyone hit by this brute was unlikely to survive. Their two melee warriors ran to either side of the crocodile, and Theodore followed Paul around the left side, hoping for better angles as the fight progressed. The two ran in from each side, and were shocked, literally, when they attacked the scaly hide of the monster. They both grimaced when lightning arced across their blades as soon as they came in contact with the enemy.


    The momentary pause was all the time needed for the beast to lash out, striking them with the very arms they had attacked. Paul was attacked second, and was able to recover in time to avoid damage. The other warrior, however, was not so lucky, and was sent sprawling when a massive forelimb connected with his chest. The beast turned to Paul, who was still getting up after his mad leap out of the way. At that point, Theodore knew he was in trouble, so he did the only thing he could. He turned and ran, grabbing the healer as he did so. As he looked over his shoulder, the last thing he saw was Paul¡¯s angry glare, and the crocodile''s tail slamming down on the incapacitated warrior behind it. Theodore only ran faster.


    <hr>


    Pan was pleased with Yagaru¡¯s first fight. The only issue was the survival of both the healer and the scout, but it was only a small issue. If they wanted to send B ranked parties, he¡¯d give them B ranked threats. He watched Yagaru finish his snack, and complimented him on his performance. The lazy beast only grunted in acknowledgment, before laying down to sun himself on the island, which had decidedly little sun.


    Refocusing on his fourth floor, Pan felt that he was finally ready to begin finalizing it. He had spent a lot of time on the floor, and was quite impressed with the results. Days of work had gone into it, and he had created something that looked natural, but seemed to be pulled from a fantasy. The hardest part had been getting the colors right, but the final effect, while a massive change from the rest of his dungeon, was stunning. He had made an entire floor that seemed to be a canyon that cut through a desert plateau.


    The entire floor was carved into the walls of the canyon forcing adventurers to cross narrow ledges or stone bridges to pass. Some areas were hidden away up a barely climbable cliff face, or in a cave covered by a ledge. The floor was the tallest yet, and the cliff faces the adventurers traversed would have a fifty-foot drop or a forty foot climb to the top. At the bottom of the cliffs was a slow moving river, tinged a deep green by minerals he had specifically introduced. The top was a large plateau, where he would have all the monsters live. The canyon was a maze carves out of the rock, which Pan had spent hours turning the perfect shade of red. It took a lot of iron, and some other minerals, but he had created a red and orange dessert. Now all he needed was creatures to populate it and a way to keep adventurers on the paths he had made along the canyon walls. And a way to light and heat it so it felt like a desert.


    He had a few ideas to take care of the lighting and heating issue, mostly based off enchantments and his Environmental Manipulation skill. The latter could take care of the heating, but he wanted to use enchantments to make localized hot spots scattered across the floor. For lighting, he used an enchantment based off the magic torches wealthier adventurers often used. They were low-quality mana stones enchanted to use mana to create light, much like the bulb plants he had been using. Instead of the pale white light created by light stones, he ramped it up. His enchanted stones produced a harsh light, bright enough to temporarily blind anyone who looked at them. He then scattered these lights across the ceiling in such a way that there were very few shaded areas on the floor. One benefit of his overcharged mana stones was that they also produced a not so insignificant amount of heat, adding to the feel of the floor.


    For hotspots, he used the same technique that he used in the swamp, and enchanted steel plates which he hid inside underground holes, or attached to large rocks. It created strange shimmering mirages around the floor, or superheated rocks that were traps in their own right. It was like he had a bunch of frying pans scattered around the floor, and random holes belching clouds of hot air. It was the most inhospitable environment he could think of, and he had to populate it. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    As always, he decided to start with the plants. As this environment was completely new, he would have to make it all from scratch, something he was excited about. He went through the dungeon store, purchasing any desert flora he could find, as well as a few new species, just to see how to modify things to survive in a desert. Most of the plants he found were covered in spines, something he decided to stick with. He would create a forest of thorn, at least up at the top. The plants should deter adventurers, but those that braved the dangerous plants would be rewarded.


    His first were small spherical cacti, which he made deadlier. He modified their thorns the most, giving the plants the ability to pull the iron from the sand and soil they grew in and reinforce their spines. The process was very slow, as it was hard to make something that could quickly turn rust back into iron, but it worked. The already slow growing cacti would take a long time to create proper iron spikes, so only the oldest plants would have full sets, but Pan decided it was for the best. The oldest spheres would be able to grow to over six feet in diameter, and the iron spines would provide a stalwart defense against any would-be invader attempting to steal the water stored in the plant¡¯s reservoir. The iron would also be incorporated into the structure of the cactus once the spines finished growing, creating invincible bastions of thorns. All but the exterior would be transformed, as it needed to remain clear to soak up the energy from the lights. Pan planted these around the dungeon, and used some mana to accelerate the growth of a few, setting up the perfect seeders for future generations.


    Thinking of future plant generations, he bought a type of desert bees, and with very few modifications, he released a few queens into the floor. The cacti produced small flowers guarded by the needles when they had stored enough energy to create seeds, and the bees would pollinate them. He worked on more plants as he let the new creatures get situated, adding many small varieties meant to be food for small herbivores, and produce enough flowers to support the colonies while the cacti grew. They were small hardy plants, a few low leafy plants, and some sturdy tufts of grass. He spent mana to ensure the plants spread quickly, setting up the base for the new environment.


    The next special plant he created was based aloe, but had razor sharp teeth along the leaves. The inside was full of a gel that was actually a very potent burn remedy, able to quickly heal all but the most severe burns. Pan felt that it was only fair, considering the oven like temperatures the adventurers would be subject to. The gel wasn¡¯t easy to get to, because just like the cacti, these plants reinforced themselves with iron. Only the most iron rich plants produced the burn salve, so an adventurer would have to be very careful when attempting to extract the remedy.


    He made another similar plant, but it didn¡¯t have the thick gel-filled leaves of the aloe. It was small and low to the ground, with long blade shaped leaves radiating from a central point. At that center, was a massive thorn, again reinforced with metals. He made the plant an extremely durable one, able to grow nearly anywhere on the floor. He purposely grew them along the paths the adventurers would walk on, so any inattentive person might end up with a three-inch spike impaled through their foot. The spikes were coated in a mild poison, that nevertheless would need to be treated if the victim wanted to keep their foot.


    He made a large variety of other thorny plants, and spread them across the floor, all of them able to leach the metals from the ground to reinforce their bodies. He now had a dense forest of cacti on top of the plateau, enough to discourage all but the most insane adventurer form attempting to avoid the canyon ledges by crossing over the top. But he had one final plant to make before he moved on to the monsters he would populate the floor with.


    He had found a strange plant that fit the description of thorny desert plant, but it wasn¡¯t a cactus. It was a large woody tree with spine covered branches. The branches were covered in little leaves, all protected by the rows of vicious spikes. They looked nothing like a normal tree, seeming to be bare of leaves. He modified these further, putting into action something he had thought of long ago when originally designing the plant traps he used on previous floors. If something bumped into the branches of one of these trees, they would curl up quickly, impaling and trapping the victim with thousands of iron hardened needles. Each needle was hollow inside, and the tree would drain the blood from the victim, feeding and watering itself with their body. The rest would be slowly digested by special roots that would grow from the thorn, allowing the plant to extract every bit of nutrition from the husk that it could.


    Even Pan was a little disturbed by what he had created, especially when he tested it by spawning a rabbit and commanding it to run headlong into the waiting arms of the tree. Within a few hours, all that was left was a skeleton, which dropped to the base of the tree. He supposed the future pile of sun-bleached bones would be warning enough to warn adventures away from the vampiric trees, but that was the punishment for leaving the intended trails.


    He finished off the flora of the floor by creating a few varieties of alchemical ingredients. Some were flowering cacti, requiring a skillful hand to pluck the petals without impaling a finger or two. There were other things, such as magical tubers or other roots, flowers, and leaves. The end result of his creations spree was a lush topside to the floor, twenty feet below the glowing lights. The paths he had laid out for adventurers were more sparsely covered, but there was enough that he thought it aesthetically pleasing. The cacti that grew along the paths stored water for any adventurer brave or desperate enough to hack past the thorns.


    He took a moment to stare at his creation, basking in the primal beauty of it. He had created something that was as magnificent as it was deadly. During the minute he took to look at his newest creation, he started to notice the first issue. The insane heat of the floor was rapidly evaporating the water at the bottom of the canyon, creating a cloud near the top of the cavern. He had a simple solution to the problem. He created a day-night cycle with his enchantments, letting the room cool off enough for the water to precipitate or condense and soak into the ground. It worked amazingly well, and the water provided a way for all his plants to easily hydrate themselves. The cooler nights might attract adventurers, but Pan had ways of discouraging that.


    He started on his first monster, a massive scorpion with a powerful venom. There wasn¡¯t much to say about it, it was just a massive scorpion. He did improve its claws, which were powerful enough to endanger any adventurer. The giant six-foot long monster would scale the canyon walls, and attempt to either sting adventurers, or ambush them from the sides, pulling them over the ledge. All the monsters would have to be able to climb around the canyon, both to get water and face off against adventurers. He had included watering holes, areas where the walls were easier to climb, to provide access to the more vertically impaired creatures, as well as much more dangerous areas for adventurers.


    He created a variety of small snakes, lizards, small birds, and rodents to provide food for the scorpions, and the monsters that would come. For now, he wasn¡¯t in too much of a hurry to create monsters for the floor, since nobody was even close to reaching it. He had a few more ideas to implement, then he would add more over time, adjusting the ecosystem as he went to keep it running smooth.


    The second monster he made was definitely more dangerous. He took a small, flightless bird and grew it to an enormous size. The new monster was six feet tall, and very agile. It had to be if it was going to run through the cactus forest he made. He gave it a powerful beak, reinforced with the abundant metal of the floor. It could use it as a club from the end of its long neck, or pierce its enemies with the hooked end. Its powerful legs had massive three-toed feet, ending in wicked sharp claws, nearly talons. The monster wouldn¡¯t be a climber, but it would be able to scamper up much steeper slopes than someone might expect. To reach the bottom, it could glide on its small wings, which while not large enough to fly, gave them a decent range. Their large plumes of feathers kept the thorns from reaching their skin, as well as insulated them from the heat.


    Pan was pleased with the newest monsters, and let them settle in. Over a few days, the populations stabilized, and Pan was left with a self-sustaining, but incomplete fourth floor. For now, it would suffice, but he wanted more time to think of the future addition he would make to the floor. He made modifications to many of the creatures, tweaking the manner in which their bodies worked to help them survive. It was much more difficult to make creatures that could survive temperatures that could actually cook meat. The day-night cycle helped with that as well, making the dark much more dangerous as everything was out hunting or foraging. The only way he could get his monsters to fight during the day was to make them territorial enough to attack adventurers that strode into their territory. But at night, they would actively hunt them.


    All in all, it was shaping up to be the deadliest floor yet, and Pan couldn¡¯t wait for the first batch of testers to make it through.


    <hr>


    Blake looked to his lieutenants, a broad smile crossing his face. They were about to make more money than they had ever dreamed possible.


    ¡°Gentlemen, our guild has been hired by the mages guild to perform a special task,¡± he started the briefing, ¡°I will need you to gather all of your companies, as well as call back those already out on assignment. This is big.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Asked the commander of the third company.


    ¡°I am not at liberty to discuss it at this time, but I will say that like all of our contracts, it is shady as shit, despite the clients being more prominent members of society. We are being hired to provide support in an upcoming campaign. The mages will do most of the work, but we need to keep the foot soldiers off their backs.¡±


    First company''s commander spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m in. If we¡¯re with the mages, how can we lose? More importantly, how much money are we talking?¡±


    Blake smiled. Vikker always knew to ask the important questions.


    ¡°Fifteen thousand gold."


    All the eyes in the room widened in shock.


    "Per company."


    Greedy smiles broke out around the table.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 11,630/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 23.6/500


    Rooms: 125


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 34,827


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 372


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26


    A few days in, Pan still hadn''t had a batch of testers for the new floor. His pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to let undeserving adventurers through to the next floor. The loss of the B-ranked group had caused a stir in both the dungeon and the town, and many people were now afraid to face the third-floor bosses. Pan was reluctant to increase the rewards for killing bosses, but if nothing changed he might have to. Deciding to try one more thing before changing anything, he contacted Yagaru.


    Yagaru, do you have any ideas on how to get more people past the third floor?


    The previously sleeping crocodile mumbled as it awoke, forcing Pan to repeat his question a few more times. The lazy beast had been sleeping for the past fourteen hours, and Pan refused to wait for him to wake up. He was almost certain the reptile could sleep for days if nothing disturbed him.


    Well, you could make them not have to kill me to receive the token. Maybe give them a test or something?


    You don¡¯t want to fight them?


    Of course not, it takes too much energy. Have them do something I can sleep through. Like a test.


    Yes. I get it. A test. But what kind of test?


    Base it on their class. I guess I¡¯ll officiate it, ensuring rules are followed.


    Well, then how about you come up with something and if I like it, I¡¯ll make it.


    Yagaru proceeded to grumble and complain, but Pan could sense the pride he felt over being trusted to change something within the dungeon. It might take a while, but he knew that the intelligent reptile would come up with something interesting.


    Now that that was taken care of, or at least no longer Pan¡¯s problem, he could do something he had been waiting to do for a while. Make the fourth boss. After seeing the mistake he had made with Yagaru, well not mistake, he rather liked the cantankerous beast, but his power posed a definite roadblock to adventurers, Pan decided he needed to make a defeatable boss. There were plenty of options to choose from, but he decided to go with his gut. One of the anacondas would become the fourth and final boss. He had wanted to use the goliath catfish, but he had a different plan for them.


    He found the perfect candidate, a massive female anaconda that had taken the lives of seven adventurers, always snagging them from hiding as they passed too close to the water. He had it all planned out, and all he needed was to decide on a name. As always, his first order of business would be increasing her size. In this case, the already thirty-foot long beast hardly needed any more length, so he would only push her up to forty. He would make her much girthier, giving her massive body a diameter of five feet, easily enough to swallow an adventurer whole. He would improve her scales as well, armoring and transforming her into a shimmering silver and blue serpent.


    His next order of business would be giving her magic, and he decided to go with his newly acquired water element, with a tinge of ice magic. She would be able to use her powers to greatly increase the density of fog surrounding her, creating a natural version of the concealing mist spell. She would throw ice bolts at intruders, or cover them with a wave and freeze them. She would be a pain to fight, but she would be fightable, unlike Yagaru. All he needed was a name.


    He had decided that she wouldn¡¯t be as smart as Yagaru or Elaria, as he had some ethical issues with creating a sapient creature that would be forced to die over and over. It was something he had never even considered until he talked to his most intelligent minions, and once he realized their capacity for thought and emotion, he felt guilty for not having realized the implications earlier. In that sense, his own creations were more human than he was. Even Adul was on the borderline of making Pan uncomfortable, but that hunter loved his task, so Pan¡¯s guilt was mildly alleviated. So no, he wouldn¡¯t make this newest beast a match for his most intelligent, and he would name her to show it. A name something like Behemoth or Sentinel that carried no hint of intelligence. He would name her Assailant.


    Pan did just that, giving her a name and making all the changes he had decided on. When he was done, he was left with a beautiful serpent that would defend her area of the swamp, specially marked to let people know what they were getting themselves into. The name was perfect for how he envisioned her methods of fighting, and he couldn¡¯t wait for her first battle. She was a solid challenge for C ranked adventurers, without being a pushover. All that was left was to put her plaque in the fourth-floor doorway, which he did in stylized silver with blued steel mixed in for effect. The serpent eating its tail was an image as old as time, and he felt pride when he looked at his own rendition. He had never been an artist, but to him, it was perfect.


    He felt a great sense of relief as he finished the main parts of the third floor. There would, of course, be more tinkering as time went on and new issues presented themselves, not to mention whatever scheme Yagaru cooked up. One of the minor housekeeping things he needed to take care of was spreading more ore veins across his two new floors. For the third floor, he decided on gold and silver veins, alongside the already present iron, copper, and moonstone. With the new metals, he needed to create new turtle variations, and he set to work on that. Hopefully, by the time that was finished, Yagaru would have something workable.


    For the gold turtle, Pan decided to go for a magical route. Gold wasn¡¯t known for its strength, but it was a good metal choice for magical uses. The gold turtles had a softer shell than the others, but they had powerful light magic. They could store power in the metal of their shells, and when aggravated they could release it in a powerful beam of light from their mouths that could sever the limbs of an unwary attacker. They should be quite the annoying enemy, especially since they were aggravated by anyone touching their gold veins.


    Silver, another incredibly magically conductive metal, had similar issues to gold, but Pan decided to take their magic down a different path. Much like his queen, he gave them special runes that grew in their silver shells. The ore guardians would be able to channel stored mana through the runes causing different effects, such as speed, strength, or shell reinforcement buffs. These turtles were actually one of the most challenging monsters to create, since he needed to make the runes grow on successive generations, and any imperfections would cause issues. It was made easier by the fact that any imperfections caused the magic to fail, sometimes catastrophically, quickly weeding those members out of the gene pool.


    Seeing a more catastrophic than normal failure sparked a devious idea in Pan¡¯s mind. He made one intentionally imperfect rune on each turtle, which was their weapon of last resort. To defend themselves or their familial territory, a silver turtle might detonate its shell in a powerful magical explosion, sending shards of shell dozens of feet with enough power to kill or maim anything nearby. The antics of the suicidal turtles gave Pan a chuckle, since he hadn''t got the instincts right at first, causing some to activate the self-destruct sequence with very little provocation. After finalizing the new species, he moved them from his experimentation chambers to the new ore veins he had created for them to defend. The first batch of miners should be in for a nasty surprise.


    Creating all of the new variants had taken him the rest of the day, and he decided to ask Yagaru if he had decided on a plan. Reaching out, he connected to him, and asked his if he had something workable. The deep rumbling reply came, well first, you need to make another one of those token doors. I don¡¯t want anyone who isn¡¯t worthy bothering me.


    Pan could only sigh and acquiesce to the lazy beat¡¯s demands, fine, I¡¯ll do that. But do you have anything else?


    Yagaru scoffed before replying, of course I do creator. What do you think I did all day?


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    Sleep?


    Yagaru huffed, and looked around. But he had nowhere to direct his ire as Pan¡¯s crystal was far away and Yagaru had no way of knowing where Pan was looking at him from, if he even was looking at him. Mentally sighing, Yagaru continued, no, I did not sleep all day. And I do have an idea for the actual test. I want four different tests. A test of endurance. A test of strength. A test of intelligence. And a test of luck. Each member of a party will need to complete one test to receive the token.


    I like it. Do you have a plan for the actual content of each test?


    You can see the stats of adventurers right?


    I can make something that can, why?


    Well for the strength test, I would like it to be just at the edge of the test taker¡¯s ability, forcing them to push themselves. There should be a large stone in the center of the testing room, and they are required to lift the stone in order to get a key to leave the room.


    That seems like a good idea. I¡¯ll make it so they need to press their palm to a plate to initiate the test and open the door. The plate will also read the attribute we are trying to test. What about the other tests?


    Well, for intelligence I was thinking of having the key placed on a warded stone. The challenger will have to break through the ward to get the key. For endurance, we can have a flooded hallway that they are forced to swim through to retrieve the key. For luck, they would have to spin a wheel, and hope it lands on the right color.


    I like it, but there is one change I¡¯d like to make. Each test should be on a timer, forcing them to complete it quickly. The strength room should grow progressively hotter the longer they take to complete it. The intelligence test should let a new monster into the room every minute, each stronger than the last. The endurance test doesn''t need a timer, but the luck room should punish them for standing around.


    Yagaru agreed to the idea, and Pan set to creating the tests. At the end of the bridge connecting to the dungeon, Pan created a door that required the three other boss tokens from the floor to open. It was in the same style as the fourth-floor door, and even had replicas of the carvings. He turned the central island into a solid piece of earth, and built a foundation on the island. Then, using his powers, he sunk the middle of the stone deep into the ground, creating a massive bowl of smooth stone. Around the circumference of the depression, he created a ring of massive arches, ten feet tall and eight feet wide. Pan modified the bowl, turning it into a large colosseum. A row of stairs led down from the main entrance to the center of the arena which he had covered in sand.


    Yagaru would be able to enter from a large entrance in the back, if he needed to be present for the tests. There were four doorways set in the edges of the area, carved out of the bowl, one for each test. He had the strength and endurance tests to the left and right of the entrance respectively. The luck test was to the right of Yagaru¡¯s entrance, with intelligence in the remaining spot. Before each room was a bronze plaque that the adventurers would have to press to open the door. The plaque was enchanted to read their stats, and as far as Pan knew, nothing could hide them from his analyzation. There would be no cheating the tests, and if someone tried Yagaru would have words with them.


    The strength test required them to lift an enchanted stone that grew heavier depending on their strength stat. For intelligence, the ward grew stronger if the stat was higher. The endurance test was a long underwater obstacle course that grew harder further back. The key would be placed at a location in the hall based on the endurance and agility stats. Luck was simply a massive stone wheel with a chance of giving them a key, or a chance to activate enchantments that would superheat the room. There were other things on the wheel too, like random rewards for the luckiest testers.


    Pan decided that Yagaru would be in the arena when adventurers took the test. They could choose to attack him, but that was nearly suicidal. When each member of the party presented him with a key, he would give them a token. He was there to ensure rules were followed, and as a reminder of Pan¡¯s strength. Hopefully, this would be enough to get people through the third floor so he could begin ironing out the flaws of the fourth.


    Yagaru was especially pleased with the new setup, as it didn¡¯t force him to expend too much energy. Pan liked to complain about the beast¡¯s lazy tendencies, but he couldn¡¯t help but find it endearing. No matter how much he griped about it, he felt a sort of affection for his intelligent creations, flaws and all. He supposed after creating all this for Yagaru, Elaria would want him to create something special for her. When the time came, he would. But for now, he had plenty of other things to attend to.


    <hr>


    Alex led his party through the forest towards their goal. After their confirmation of the dungeon, their standing in the guild had greatly increased, and they were minor celebrities within the community. Ever since then, they had gotten the pick of missions, allowing them to make more money than they ever dreamed of, and with that came equipment that launched them to the next level. The now B ranked party was on their final mission before they returned to the dungeon where it had all started. The word was out, and the new dungeon seemed to be a challenge for even the most experienced of adventurers. Even its third floor was rumored to be lucrative for B ranked adventurers, and they couldn¡¯t wait to return.


    Their final mission was a basic subjugation one. They had been tasked with clearing rock trolls out of the canyons and caves of the Dunkall Mountains. The mage guild that hired them had been run out of the area by the fearsome beasts, and didn¡¯t want to send any of their higher ranked members to the area. They had been in the area, and no capable mages had been within a week of the mountain range. The trolls had attacked apprentice alchemist''s that were gathering ingredients in the area, and the journeyman mages weren¡¯t able to do more than hold the monster off during a frantic retreat.


    They finally reached the foothills of the mountain, and stared up at the cloud-scraping peaks. The Dunkall mountains were the tallest in the kingdom, and even after seeing them before, it was still a breathtaking to stand at the base of them. Looking at his map, Alex was able to find the location of the reported troll nest. The party quickly navigated to the proper gorge, and began the trek into the mountains. After an hour of walking through the narrow canyon, they reached the cave that the trolls had attacked from.


    The group¡¯s tank mumbled ¡°I don¡¯t smell troll,¡± and Alex stiffened. Something was wrong.


    He was too slow, and as he pulled his sword from its sheathe, he heard a massive crack, and his body tensed up in pain. Lightning coursed through him, freezing all his muscles and leaving him a twitching mess on the ground. As he fell, he saw that the rest of his friends weren¡¯t fairing much better. Their healer was frozen in place, screaming in pain. She¡¯d be lucky of frostbite didn¡¯t take her foot. Carl, the tank was laying beside him, similarly paralyzed. He heard the scout give a shout of pain, and the unmistakable sound of a body colliding with the earth came from that direction.


    As the spasms slowed, and he started regaining control of his body, a pair of boots entered his vision. As his eyes flicked up, he caught sight of his attacker, and wanted to scream. He tried to move his slowly recovering muscled, and launch an attack. But it was too late, the staff had come down on his head, and everything went black.


    Alex came to in a dark room, his arms shackled above his head. All of his joints screamed in agony, hours of holding his body up in an unnatural position had strained them to their limits. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the tears from his eyes. As he did so, his vision finally landed on something he hadn¡¯t noticed. There was a person sitting in a chair a dozen feet in front of him. As soon as his eyes connected with the strangers, the man spoke in a disturbingly calm voice, ¡°I see you¡¯re awake.¡±


    Alex could only barely croak out a few words, ¡°who are you?¡±


    ¡°Wrong thing to say, Alex,¡± said the man in that same tone. He flicked his finger at Alex dismissively, launching a small fireball at his feet. Alex screamed as his toes were burned. The fireball stuck to his foot, the skin sloughed off as the fat melted, and the smell of burning hair and flesh singed his nose.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He sobbed.


    ¡°Ah! Good question Alex,¡± said the man as he stood from his chair, ¡°you see, there¡¯s a certain dungeon we have an interest in. Can you guess which one?¡±


    All Alex could do was nod, but as he did so the fireball finally went out. The man smiled, and showing the first signs of emotion, he grabbed Alex by the head. Alex felt a rush of power flow from the man¡¯s hands, and he could feel the flesh of his feet knitting back together. His torturer was healing him. ¡°Good. Now that you¡¯re feeling better, you will tell me what I want to know. Yes?¡±


    Alex choked back a sob, nodding his head again. The man frowned at him, then forcefully grabbed his chin, jerking his head up to look him in the eye. The man snarled, ¡°I asked you a question Alex. The correct answer is yes sir. Now, tell me the correct answer.¡±


    As the man talked, heat built up in his palms, singing Alex''s face and causing his cheeks to blister. Tears streaming down his face, he barely managed to squeak out, ¡°yes sir.¡±


    The man smiled, immediately healing the burns. He turned and walked back to his chair, grabbing it, he started dragging it closer, making an awful sound as its legs dragged across the rough stone floor. As he walked he started talking, strangely calm again, ¡°now, this certain dungeon has decided to pose a threat to us. A threat which can not go unanswered. But there is a problem. We have asked all over, and even sent some of our associated to investigate. But we still can¡¯t find the core¡±


    He finished the walk back, and on the last word, he lifted his chair and slammed it back down in front of Alex. He looked to Alex expectantly as he sat, waiting for an answer. Alex, still trying to control hi breathing, choked out, ¡°the first floor. There are passages leading to a cavern. The core is in there.¡±


    ¡°Good, you understand that we¡¯ll have to keep you here until we confirm it. I¡¯m so glad we didn¡¯t need the rest of that bunch.¡±


    With that, the man turned and left, extinguishing the magelight behind him. Alex sobbed in the dark, hopelessness closing in around his mind.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 34,185/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 13.6/500


    Rooms: 130


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 34,912


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 372


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27


    Archmage Faltrar could feel success looming on the horizon. Pieces were falling into place, and even the longshot plan to capture the captain of the initial scouting party had born fruit. They had had no idea where the core was, and if what the man said was true, they would easily be able to reach it. If it wasn¡¯t true, well there would be consequences.


    With all the recent success, he felt confident in moving up the timetable a few days. They would mobilize within the week, bringing their mercenary corps to bear on the newest town. If they were successful, they would have protected mages across the kingdoms. If Faltrar was successful, there would be a major change. In his opinion, it was time for the mages to come out of hiding.


    With a core of five hundred mercenaries, and a few dozen highly ranked mages, they were close to invincible. This much magical might hadn¡¯t been brought to bear since the great war that had destroyed the magocracies of old. The fifty full battle mages, masters of their craft, along with all the novices would be a force that could make an army of thousands tremble. He smiled as he thought of the coming victory, fully confident in the outcome. It had been centuries in the making, but the mages would rule once more. And the most powerful mage would, of course, rule them.


    There was a knock on his office door, pulling him from the daydreams and happy fantasies. Calling, ¡°enter,¡± he removed his feet from his desk and sat up straight.


    His second, High Mage Victor, entered. Faltrar gave him a smile, and motioned for him to sit. ¡°What brings you here,¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to deliver the report, sir.¡±


    ¡°Very well mage Victor, let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    The man took a deep breath and started, ¡°Well first we have news from the City. The full scouting reports are in, but I will cover them shortly. More importantly, our mage squad failed to kill John, the man who discovered the poison, and are believed to be dead.¡± he paused for a moment to gauge the Archmage¡¯s reaction, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn¡¯t see anger. Faltrar waved away the man''s concerns, ¡°Victor, we march within the week, the man will die soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t realize we were leaving that soon. In that case, this scouting report will be invaluable,¡± Victor responded as he pulled a thick stack of papers from under his robe, placing it on the Archmage¡¯s desk, before continuing, ¡°these are the most up to date reports from our resources in the city, as well as those in the Duke¡¯s employ.¡±


    Faltrar nodded, and started reading the documents. He quickly skimmed the report, knowing that Victor would have already carefully read it all, and had even scribbled the important parts in the margins. Victor waited patiently, ready to answer any question his superior may have.


    ¡°Ten thousand residents?¡± was the first.


    ¡°Yes sir. The dungeon has been very profitable, and large numbers of people have moved in to support the adventurers there. Many are craftsmen or shopkeepers, but there is a significant number of family members. We estimate that there are only around a thousand possible combatants, including the city guard, the Duke¡¯s retinue, and even adventurers.¡±


    Faltrar smiled at the news, ¡°it will be a bloodbath. There is no way a thousand men could stand against fifty master battle mages.¡±


    Victor''s eyes widened at that news, and he couldn''t help burst out in shock, ¡°fifty battle mages, with that, we could take a kingdom.¡±


    Faltrar smiled at that, winking at his favorite subordinate.


    <hr>


    Pan had two major problems to overcome in the near future. The first, and biggest, at least in Pan¡¯s opinion, was with Adul. Due to his position in the dungeon, he was fed a large number of adventurers every day. He was a very successful boss, and due to his success, he was increasing in strength enough to start to pose a serious threat to any adventurers. Pan didn¡¯t want to limit his boss, but he needed to keep the fight to a reasonable difficulty. Luckily, he had a solution in mind.


    He had been inspired by the enchanted stones he used for the elite ant warriors, and wanted to do more with the concept. He could put Adul¡¯s experience and skill into the stone, and then spawn copies of him to fill in for the boss fight. Then, he could use Adul as a defense against stronger parties, or just let him do as he pleased on the lower floors.


    Deciding to go with the plan, he created a large gemstone, infusing the powerful enchantment into it. He then had Adul press his head against the amethyst, copying the memories and battle experience into a matrix woven onto the enchantment. The stone was hidden behind an enchanted door that only Pan could open. It seemed that if he didn¡¯t directly impede the way to his core, the system would let him completely lock a door, which was a relief to Pan. He had no idea what would happen if an adventurer got their hands on one, but he had no desire to find out.


    Since this core was static, any boss he spawned would be able to start from the same spot, keeping the encounter uniform for all parties. The copies wouldn¡¯t be as strong as Adul, who was able to pose a serious threat to C ranked parties, especially since the mad rush for the third floor, but that was the point. Eventually, he would have to do this for all of his bosses, but for now, he would let them gain strength for a while. Once they had replacements, he could always use them for special events or something.


    The second issue was monsters. He needed more of them. He always needed more of them, but right now that issue was especially obvious. His new floor was practically barren, at least with respect to monsters, and he wanted a way to get them without spending his precious dungeon points. He needed to save up for a certain skill, and it was an expensive one. He decided that the best course of action would be to do the same thing he had done to acquire other items he deemed necessary. He would let the adventurers do the work for him.


    The only problem was that a monster needed to be alive when it entered the dungeon, which meant he couldn''t purchase corpses. He would install a cage in the first room, large enough to hold anything they could get through the door. The massive door to the cage was made of a fine metal mesh, enchanted to hold back stronger monsters and reinforced with steel bars. The door would unlock when he allowed it, and the whole face could swing open to allow larger monsters in. He didn¡¯t expect anything massive, but it was always good to be prepared. There were a few smaller doors that could be used to give smaller creatures, or even plants.


    Next was explaining the rules of the animal cage. He needed to give sufficiently enticing rewards, especially for rarer creatures. With items, it was easy. The system gave him a way to determine the value of items, he assumed as a way to keep dungeons from over rewarding adventurers, at least while they were young, but he had no way to determine the value of animals. Luckily, the dungeon store valued creatures by their strength, size, rarity, and distance from the dungeon, so he had a way to give a reasonable price. The rules stated that the amount of gold given would be based on those four factors, and he would let the adventurers puzzle out the rest. He would remember to reward the first user highly, to get the word out.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Unsurprisingly, the new cage caused quite a stir the next morning, and there were plenty of people puzzling over the newest addition to the ¡°store.¡± It only took one man to break the ice, a regular dungeoneer who was used to Pan¡¯s peculiarities. He ran outside immediately, and returned minutes later with his horse. He brought the trusting animal to the cage and swung open the door, leading the gentle beast into the room behind. He left, closing the door after him, waiting expectantly for his reward. A token fell into a slot next to him, landing on the dispensing tray with a loud clack. He broke into a smile seeing it was valued at five gold, ten times the original value of the horse.


    His smile faltered when Pan activated the enchantments in the room. Instantly, the area behind the door turned into a furnace, incinerating the horse before it could squeal in pain. The enchantments woven into the metal mesh prevented heat from escaping into the room, but even then everyone shied away from the bright blue flames. As their attention was elsewhere, the man looked at the token once more, returning the smile to his face, before he secreted it away and disappeared into the crowd. He had seen the greedy looks on people''s faces, and it would be a good idea to make himself scarce for a few days.


    Pan was excited to get a horse. At first, he had been annoyed, but the more he thought, the more inspired he got. There was plenty of ways to make a horse into a deadly monster, and Pan couldn¡¯t wait to start. He immediately summoned a few in his experimentation rooms to start, but before as he started playing around with magical horses, he noticed something strange.


    There was a mage only party on his first floor. That was a little surprising on its own, but there had been a recent uptick in the mage population of the city recently, so it wasn¡¯t a complete shock. But this group looked suspicious. They were poking around the first-floor boss room, even after quickly wiping the boss. Then, one found one of the tunnels, and gave a shout to the party. They gathered around the hole, and played a game of air water fire to decide who went first. The finder played water against fire, and was forced to break trail, grumbling about claustrophobia.


    Pan was annoyed, people never went back there. It was known to be full of monsters, and there were no drops. Some alchemists ventured there for ingredients, but they avoided conflict as much as possible. This was a four person squad of mages, not a peaceful resource collection crew. He warned the creatures in the cavern to be on alert, as he sensed something off about the party.


    Sure enough, the group immediately set off for the other end of the cave, where his core used to be. They weren¡¯t here to gather ingredients, they were here for something else. Unfortunately, nothing on the floor was strong enough to take them, except maybe Adul who had retired to the cavern after being replaced. The only problem was the lack of trees, and his ambush tactics would be limited by the environment. Instead, Pan sent Adul back to the caves they entered through, cutting off their escape. It was unlikely that he could contain them, but he could try.


    The group reached the area where he had previously hidden his core. They seemed angry when they didn¡¯t find it, and they even probed into the ant''s nest in search of it. When they regrouped, Pan listened in on their conversation, and what he heard sent a stab of fear into his heart. One of the men had complained, telling the leader, ¡°I wish the core had been here, we could have ended this much easier. Now we have to resort to brute force.¡±


    The leader had tried to silence the man, but the damage had been done, and Pan was warned. These mages wanted to kill him, and from the look of it, they were part of a larger group. Now he absolutely couldn¡¯t let them live, but he had no resources that were close enough to stop them all. With a mental command, he ordered the entire cavern to strike, maybe sheer numbers could wear them down.


    The first thing to alert the group was the scratching of moving carapace as the hundreds of stone centipedes moved in on their position. The eerie noise caused their leader to look around nervously, before ordering a retreat. They turned and started a quick jog back to the caves leading to the first floor, trying to conserve their limited stamina.


    They immediately ran into a roadblock. Twenty centipedes had managed to get between them and their goal, forcing them to stop and cast spells. Right then, Pan ordered all of the small, noncombatant creatures into action, and the droning of wings nearly drowned out the spell chants. Some were cut off when thousands of insects converged on the group, stinging and biting any exposed skin they could reach. But the leader gritted his teeth and launched a wave of fire at the centipedes, cooking them inside their shells.


    The giant bugs screamed, and shells exploded as the steam inside found a way out. The powerful fire spell took out half the centipedes, cutting a hole through their lines and allowing the mages to make an escape. He shouted for them to move forward, spitting bugs out of his mouth as they attacked the soft area. The wind mage, who had finally gotten over the shock of bug bites and magical backlash, cast a gust spell on the group, knocking most of the bugs off of them, but slowing their forward momentum. Nevertheless, it was effective, and they were able to move much faster when not besieged by biting insects.


    Now in a full rout, they sprinted for the back wall, casting a few spells behind them in an effort to keep the swarms off them. Pan groaned in annoyance, he had nothing fast enough to catch them, and his only hope was that their desperate run weakened them enough that they would fall to any remaining centipede that could cut them off. Unfortunately, they had worked out the weakness to fire, and the leader would use basic spells that he could cast while running to clear the way ahead. But they were growing fatigued, and would soon be out of mana or stamina. Then, their healer said something to the leader, who called a quick halt.


    They formed a circle around him, and Pan could feel the large amount of mana the man was drawing on as he chanted. They defended him from everything that came near, and after fifteen seconds, he released the spell. It was a high-level healing circle, doing more than closing the wounds. All of the bites were healed, and any poison was purged from their veins. All of their stamina returned, and they received a buff to mana and stamina regen.


    With the morale boost, the group set off, able to run at full speed once more, and with the powerful buff, they were only winded when they reached the far wall, not heaving like they had been earlier. They sighed in relief, and dove into the presumed safety of the cave, feeling that their ordeal was over. The healer, pulling up the rear due to the exhaustion from casting the powerful spell, was the last to enter the caves. He was a powerful support caster, and Pan wanted him to be removed from the coming conflict. Sending a signal to Adul, who was hiding in the dark passages, he ordered the man''s death.


    The silent hunter moved in on his prey, and when he was inches away, he struck. His massive fangs pierced the base of the crawling man¡¯s skull, killing him instantly. Adul left the body where it was, and crawled forward once more. The next in line was the air mage, and it was a race to see if he would reach the tunnel before Adul reached him. A race the man didn¡¯t know he was a part of. The man lost.


    The leader was the first to exit the caves, and he turned to help pull the other fire mage out of the hole. The man stood and dusted himself off, but when he turned to help the air mage, who had been right behind him, there was no hand to grasp. He chuckled nervously, and looked at his leader, assuring him that the man had been right behind him. After a minute, they both looked disturbed, and were listening carefully for any evidence of their comrades. Slowly, they backed away from the hole, and then turned and bolted. The unassuming passage, which they had thought of as safety, had been a death trap.


    <hr>


    Archmage Faltrar was waiting on the reports from the final scouting party before he committed his forces to an all-out assault on the dungeon. If they had found the core, they would have destroyed or captured it. It was a long shot, but one he hoped succeeded. Despite the power of their forces, he still had a nerve-wracking decision to make. Would he commit the guilds to a war, and unveil their conspiracy to the world. He feared that he had no choice in the matter, but as the strongest mage in the kingdoms, and therefore the de jure head of the guilds, he had to make the best of it.


    The report came, and it was disturbing. Fully half of the party had been destroyed, and even worse, the newest member had said something that may have clued the dungeon in on their plans. They had lost a master healer, along with a very skilled air mage, to an enemy that hadn¡¯t even been seen. The men simply disappeared.


    Sighing, he asked himself how it had come to this, but secretly, he was looking forward to the coming weeks. The next ten days would determine the place of mages in the world, and it was up to him to ensure the future of them all. They would live or die by his decisions.


    ¡°Victor,¡± he called, ¡°sound the horns, we march on the morrow.¡±


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 34,185/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 13.6/500


    Rooms: 130


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 34,912


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 372


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28


    Pan¡¯s mind was in a flurry. He had no idea how long he had before his enemies showed themselves, nor how many he was facing. But he needed to prepare, and he needed to prepare for the worst. He would work under the assumption that a mage guild was planning on capturing or destroying him. He had no idea why, but that was unimportant. For now, he placed the surviving mages under constant surveillance, in hopes that he might learn more, but it was a longshot.


    A guild was not an insignificant enemy, and judging by the skill of the initial scouting party, it was a large one. If they had even ten battle mages, mages who had specialized in combat magic and reached the rank of advanced in their respective element, he would have trouble. These men hadn¡¯t been combat mages, but he could tell that they were training, and close to completing it. Killing the two was satisfying, and if he wanted to continue to add bodies to the pile he would have to focus on his strengths.


    The mages would expect a normal dungeon, not a fully sentient ex-human. The adventurers and forward scouts might know he was different, but that wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean the mages would expect much more out of him. The token system, inn, and payment for items would alert them to his intelligence, but they would have no idea that he was capable of so much more. For now, he would have to set up the initial skirmishes, and hopefully not have to waste any of his own resources to do so.


    First, he needed to weaken the mages in the town before the main forces reached him, without alerting them, or disturbing the local guild. He could use monsters, but he did not want to waste mana creating specialized assassins to operate outside the dungeon, at least not yet while there was an easier way. No, he would use the most unscrupulous adventurers in the dungeon to do his dirty work. Especially since the most powerful had already had an encounter with the mages. It would be good to have pieces in motion while he prepared the rest.


    The rogue leader, the one who called himself John, was currently in his rented room, waiting on his female companion who had just left to take a bath. He was lazing around the room, having just taken care of a few menial tasks like equipment maintenance. The only way to contact him would be through the chest in the room. Or writing on the wall, but Pan preferred the former. Inside the chest, Pan created a note telling the man what he wanted to be done. He placed a five gold bounty on every mage in the city. The bottom of the page had a map that roughly told where the less likely to wandermages were, as well as an exact count of them.


    To get the man¡¯s attention, he caused the lock on the chest to cycle, making an audible click. The noise immediately gained his attention, and he carefully walked over to the chest, checking it for anything suspicious. Slowly, the adventurer opened the lid, ensuring that nothing surprised him. The man seemed genuinely shocked to see the missive and gifts Pan had left for him, rather than something deadly. He quickly scanned the document, and smiled when he reached the end. He nodded, and Pan was surprised when he received a notification that he had never seen before.


    Quest Accepted


    Drake has accepted the quest: Mage Bane


    Mage Bane


    The mages of the town have threatened the dungeon. He would like you to kill as many as possible before the main forces arrive.


    Type: Repeatable


    Reward: 5 gold per mage killed, ???


    Special options: Recruit others to kill mages. Both you and the killer will receive full payment for each mage they kill.


    Time limit: Uncertain


    Failure: Death, Mages discover you, the dungeon¡¯s involvement is discovered


    Pan had never given a quest before, but this was incredibly convenient. It seemed that as a sentient dungeon, he had a few more abilities that he had never heard of a dungeon having. It was also nice to confirm that the man had been using a fake name. He only hoped that the man was as capable as he hoped. The gifts he had given him should help level the playing field even more, and Pan was sure that there would be at least a couple dead mages by the morning.


    He had used his knowledge of alchemy to create a refined version of the anti-mage poison that Drake had used. Pan¡¯s version was much more potent, and would evaporate in a much colder environment than Drake¡¯s. It was more volatile as well, and could cover a much wider area. He had given Drake five vials of the stuff, as well as the recipe. He would never be able to match Pan, but if he could produce his own it would be a boon during the defense of the dungeon.


    Drake began to equip his gear, and left a note to the healer that he would be out for the night. Healers were not on Pan¡¯s list of targets since the mage guilds didn¡¯t control all of them. A few were affiliated with the organizations, and Pan offered rewards for their deaths. There were a few mages in the dungeon, and Pan had given their location to his new assassin, trusting that the man would take them out as needed.


    There were a few all mage parties in Pan¡¯s inn, probably scouts from the main force. He had never considered them a threat, but after the earlier revelations, every mage was an enemy. Mages were required by law to be part of a guild after all, and since he didn¡¯t know which guild was his enemy, they all were. Drake¡¯s first mission was to kill these mages, and Pan provided him with all the help he needed. No door was an obstacle for Drake, and with Pan¡¯s perfect vision of the interior, he killed all seven mages that were in the third floor ¡°safe¡± rooms without a single issue. Sure, Pan could¡¯ve used his own monsters to do the job, but having monsters in a safe area was just asking for trouble. Besides, if the man got caught, Pan¡¯s involvement would never be suspected. Pan would make sure of that.


    Pan would have Adul take care of any more mages who entered the dungeon, allowing Drake to operate outside the dungeon. That¡¯s where the real threats were. The main targets were the two survivors from earlier. Pan¡¯s spies had seen them send off their report through some sort of magical device, and Pan was certain that the device would need at least a day to recharge before it could be used again. He wanted them dead before then. The coming forces needed to be blinded.


    While his employee took care of stuff aboveground overnight, Pan would focus on creating new troops to combat the coming forces. He had a good assortment of creatures to use, but what he needed was subtlety. The assassin spider was perfect for that, but they were too slow to do what he needed. He would still use them for sure, but he had other plans in mind. The spy flies were perfect because flies were everywhere, and his minions blended in perfectly. Now, he needed to create something like them that was also able to bring the fight to the enemy. He had two plans for that, and decided to try them both.


    The first plan was to take a regular honeybee, and swap out it¡¯s weak venom with the improved assassin spider variety. They looked exactly the same, but they packed a serious punch with reusable stingers. Their modified venom worked quickly, and was designed to put the target to sleep. It was a powerful combination, and he hoped it would serve him well.


    His second idea was to outfit his flies with a poison delivery system. He didn¡¯t want to make them like the bees, so instead of a stinger, he gave them a special organ that could secrete the poison. They would be able to poison food or water supplies, as well as any targets of opportunity.


    The poison itself wasn¡¯t deadly, but he wanted it available. It could be a useful resource in the coming days, and he figured it was better to have ways of delivering the substance outside his dungeon than to not have that option at all. It was cheap to make, and potentially tide-turning if he used it correctly. The main fight would need to be handled by his monsters that could kill, and he needed ways to neutralize the mages enough to allow his minions to get close and kill them.


    The other issue with mages would be their ability to pool their spells, especially ones of the fire element, to easily crush his dungeon. He had not faced anything like that so far, and had never expected to, an oversight on his part. An entire guild could easily wipe floors of his dungeon. The masters could draw power from the apprentices, who would drink mana potions allowing for a nearly endless barrage of spells. If he found no way to counter this, his forces would be destroyed easily.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Pan could easily think of a few solutions, but the problem was his fix needed to be future proof. If he did something massive to counter the mages, he would have to tear it all down once the problem was gone. No, he needed to be creative, and find a solution that would fit seamlessly into his dungeon. Something that could counter issues like this in the future. To be sure, he would prepare a few backup plans as well, but if he could stop them in an efficient way, he would prefer that.


    What he came up with was something he wished he had thought of long ago. It wouldn¡¯t just counter groups of mages, but single mages torching large areas as well. There was a certain kind of fungus that he discovered in the dungeon store, one that formed a mycelium network that could grow to incomprehensible sizes. They produced specialized pods full of spores, that when subjected to a rapid temperature change, burst violently, filling the air with the particles in a last ditch attempt to continue their gene line. This species was often the first to repopulate an area after a wildfire, due to the vast number of spores in the air giving them a fresh start in the nutrient rich ash of the devastated forests.


    With some minor tinkering, he could turn this property into a deadly weapon that was triggered when people didn¡¯t follow his rules. He made a modified version of the species, mainly focusing on the spores since the rest of the organism was nearly perfect for his purposes. He had never tried modifying that sort of living thing before, and he found that the things he could do with them were incredible. After hours of work, and the deaths of dozens of test subjects, he thought he had gotten a little carried away. But the final effect was well worth it, and he was quite proud of the disturbing effects he created. It would surely deter anyone from burning or freezing large areas of forest.


    The spores, when inhaled, didn¡¯t do much in small quantities. But if a large amount collected in someone''s lungs, say when the air is filled with spores after a large fire, they would begin to activate. The spores would quickly sprout, sending fungal tendrils throughout the victim''s airways and clogging their lungs. He had specially modified them to draw on the host''s internal mana to speed their growth, allowing them to take over mages in mere minutes. Even better, the parasitic fungus couldn¡¯t be cleared by normal dispel spells, only by more advanced healing magic. Once they had grown enough, the fungus would spread further, sending its tendrils through the body of the victim, freezing their muscles and joints, immobilizing them.


    Sometimes this would kill the host, but more often than not, the half-alive body would be preserved, kept alive by the parasitic fungus so it could continue to drain the mana. The victim may remain alive for a few more weeks or months, Pan wasn¡¯t sure, before eventually dying and being digested by the plants to further power the growth. All that would be left over was a pile of bones, bound together by a network of fungal threads, and covered in the fruiting bodies, ready to start the process again. Even better, Pan would be able to siphon off the mana, netting him large amounts of mana as long as the victim remained alive.


    Pan had made one other modification, creating beads of water in the fungal pod that when frozen, would cause the pod to burst. This should prevent them from switching to ice magic, something he found himself hoping they did. The more he could thin them out in the opening salvo, the better. He would need new monsters to combat the mages as well, but that could wait for him to prepare more traps, as well as hear back from his quester.


    The first thing he did was seal off the route to his first-floor breeding cavern with fire traps. Sealing it off would be good, but he wanted dead mages, and anyone investigating would be incinerated. In choke points, such as hallways between rooms, he added more traps. Most were set to release clouds of the anti-mage poison, and had magical safeties so he would only be dosing the mages and not every adventurer who walked through. There was also the added benefit of traps not showing up on trap detection skills when the safety was on. The world system was strange, and he hoped that it was set in stone, and wouldn''t catch on to his ruse.


    By the time he finished preparing his inanimate defenses, at least for now, the sun had risen and he could see his employee returning from his work. Pan had observed him take down another five mages in as many hours since he left the dungeon, bringing his total to twelve. When the man returned to his room, there were sixty gold coins, an obscene amount of wealth, waiting for him in the chest. The man could buy a large house in any city with that much coin, or open a business. The wealth was insane, and Pan hoped that the man wouldn¡¯t get greedy. He was rather fond of the seedy assassin, and hoped his newest piece wouldn¡¯t get uppity and need to be disposed of.


    With the new dawn, Pan started phase two of his plan. The drop rates were changed, adding anti-mage potions to every group¡¯s reward. He wanted a large amount of the stuff to be in circulation before the mages reached the city, maybe giving the adventurers a chance to stop them before they attacked him. To ensure that the adventurers would be hostile to any large groups of mages appearing on their doorstep, he put the second part into action.


    He had had Elaria collect the corpse of the fire mage that had been with the group scouting his cavern. It was relatively undamaged, with only a massive bloody bite mark on the back of its neck. He created a sealed scroll case, and inside placed made up documents, detailing fake plans by the mages to destroy his dungeon. It wasn¡¯t hard, and he copied the handwriting from the letter he had received from the mage guild leader when his application for apprenticeship was accepted. He made the document look as if it had been read through a few times, even going so far as to include a broken wax seal on the outside.


    Once prepared, he had the body placed on the second floor, directly in the path of a party that was known to be especially loyal to the guild, as well as not squeamish about looting dead comrades. It was surprising how often those two categories overlapped, but Pan supposed it made sense. As expected, the party stopped to loot the mage, breaking into a smile when they recovered the valuable wand. When they got to the scroll case, their leader excitedly opened it, but his expression darkened as he read the contents. After quickly alerting his group, they gathered the rest and quickly set off for the exit, rushing the missive to the guild hall.


    Pan could only hope that the guild leaders were tricked as easily as the adventurers, but he wouldn¡¯t hold his breath. If it failed, he would have to resort to more direct methods of communications, but he had no desire to overplay his hand and alert people to his abilities if he didn¡¯t have to. Drake had been necessary, money and the threat of angering a dungeon would keep his mouth shut.


    For now, Pan had done as much as he was willing to do, and he hoped that he wouldn''t required to expose himself. Leaving his flies to watch the reactions, he started designing creatures to aid him in the coming battle.


    <hr>


    Peter was in his study practicing magic when he was interrupted by a message. The blue flame flickering above his hand winked out as the man strode over to his desk to place a stack of papers in front of him. Usually, he would receive a briefing every morning, but today, there was a request from the guildmaster to attend a meeting that would cover recent events. Sighing, but feeling that something was wrong, Peter grabbed his coat and left for the guild hall to meet with Jack. As he left his study, the two guards posted outside the room fell in behind him, escorting the new duke on his errands.


    He found Jack waiting for him in the conference hall of the guild house. The old guild master motioned for him to sit, which he did. The long table had two others around it, the guild''s head of reconnaissance, who Peter had met before, and knew also worked as an information collector, and a nervous looking adventurer. Peter nodded at all three, before turning to Jack, ¡°what¡¯s with the meeting?¡±


    The old man breathed a heavy sigh, and turned to his lieutenant, nodding. The man slid a document across the table to Peter, who gave Jack a questioning stare. ¡°This man, Dylan, brought this to our attention. It was recovered from the body of a recently deceased mage in the second floor of the dungeon.¡±


    Peter read through the document, his eyes growing wider the further he got, ¡°surely this can¡¯t be real,¡± he mumbled to himself.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is, Peter. Master Glen already confirmed its authenticity. The handwriting and seal are a match for one of the larger mage guilds, and the man was a known member of the guild. It seems that we will have to prepare for war.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°We have no idea, but the increase in local mage activity we noted last week shows that this has been in the works for awhile. Even Glen, who is skeptical about the orders you hold, thinks that in light of recent events, the conclusion is inevitable.¡±


    Turning to the man he considered to be more of a spymaster than adventurer, Peter asked him about his reservations.


    ¡°Well for a start, the manner in which it was found seems too convenient. Documents on a dead body in a dungeon. Are we to believe the man was alone, because any comrades wouldn¡¯t leave him with such vital documents easily. Either we are extremely lucky, or someone wants to alert us without giving up their anonymity. The content of this letter put too many recent events into context, however, and I am forced to conclude that there must be a conspiracy at work.¡±


    Peter nodded, not fully agreeing with the man, but reaching the same conclusion. Before he could voice his thoughts, Glen cut him off, ¡°there is more.¡±


    Peter waved for him to continue, and the man took a deep breath, ¡°all five companies of the Black Sparrow have been hired by mage guilds. This conspiracy may run deeper than anyone ever could have expected.¡±


    Peter took a deep breath. The Black Sparrows didn¡¯t sound dangerous or menacing, but they were known as one of the most immoral mercenary companies in the region. If they had been hired by mage guilds, and it surely was guilds, Borrander was in for dark times. Something needed to be done, something drastic. Peter only hoped that it might work.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 14,559/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 12.1/500


    Rooms: 130


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 37,912


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 370


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29: The Battle for Borrander


    Faltrar was sick of horses. He mentally cursed his lieutenants once again for not allowing him to ride in a litter. ¡°Not a good look my ass,¡± he grumbled to himself as he rubbed at the sores and aches that had developed over the ten days of riding.


    But they were close, and should reach their destination by noon. They were currently resting three miles from their target, recuperating for the final hour of marching. He wanted all of his troops to be well rested for the coming battle. It would be a glorious surprise attack, and he wanted everything in his favor, so a two-hour pause to eat, drink, and relax seemed like a good idea. The only excitement so far had occurred when they came across someone else on the road, and had to capture them to prevent the news of their approach from reaching Borrander.


    He looked ahead, hoping to see the city, but nothing could be seen past the dense forest. He supposed it was good, since those same trees would cover their approach to the city. The city was reported to be on a large plateau, and the trees with a half mile had all been cleared away to build it. There were very few siege mages around, but the four he had under his command should be able to launch attacks from the tree line as the main force made their advance.


    He walked through the camp, gauging the feelings of his mages. The mercenaries didn¡¯t matter, they were just fodder and were used to combat. The mages, on the other hand, seemed nervous and excited. The majority had only fought monsters, but they seemed ready to fight the new war. The majority of mages who had killed before were his agents, and he could feel their excitement over the prospect of seeing all their hard and brutal work coming to a culmination. Today, the mages would place themselves on the map once more. Literally.


    An hour later, and they were back on the march, closing in on their target. Faltrar could feel the tension in the air as the minutes passed and they inched ever closer to their target. Centuries of work would either pay off, or go to waste on this day, and even Faltrar, one of the greatest mages ever seen, was feeling the pressure on his shoulders. It was as if every mage before him was counting on him, and in a sense, so was every mage after. Even as nerves frayed, he kept a calm demeanor, showing none of his stress to his men. Soon, the world would know of their actions today, and he needed to keep the world afraid.


    A man came running over to him, one of the forward scouts if his uniform, or lack on one in this case, was anything to go by. He shouted, still heaving from the sprint,¡°Almost there - city is in view of scouts. We¡¯re three minutes out.¡±


    Faltrar nodded, thanking the man before waving to his lieutenants. Immediately, a flurry of activity broke out. Horns sounded, signaling men to get into formation. The mercenaries were far quicker and more disciplined than the mages, getting settled into blocks of twenty men each, leading the way down the road. Mages followed them, preparing shield spells and drawing power from their nearby apprentices. The blocks of mercenary troops, along with their magical defenses, settled into a quick jog, heading for the break in the trees, and the battle that was sure to break out.


    Within two minutes, the formations were pouring out of the the trees, sweeping out onto the man made plain in front of the city. The five hundred men, separated into twenty man blocks, quickly formed a perimeter around the road, guarding their magical backup. There was no fighting, but they saw the gates of the city close a half mile away. A steel portcullis was dropped down, barring entry to the army, at least it would have if this was a regular army.


    The semi-circular array of men marched forward, advancing on the main gates of the city. When they were a quarter mile away, a massive surge of energy came from the back lines, and four large fireballs arced over the heads of the vanguard. They saw defenders duck behind crenelations on the wall, but they weren¡¯t the target. The first fireball struck the steel bars, plowing through them as if they were made of straw. Fire exploded outwards from where the missile had detonated on the gate. Melted steel formed rivulets of glowing metal and even some of the nearby stone was temporarily melted, forming smooth glass-like walls covered in small hardened droplets.


    The massive fireballs had been staggered, and the next three came in quick succession, blowing through the defenses. The heavy steel reinforced oak gate had survived two fireballs, but the third blew a hole through its charred surface. The fourth came to add insult to injury, and exploded in the middle of the gate, throwing the remains off their melted hinges into the people behind it. Flames licked out of the hole, catching more, cooking them nearly instantly. In a matter of moments, the once formidable front gate had been turned into a charred hole surrounded by glowing stone and bubbling metal. If any defenders had looked out, they may have been relieved to see the four siege mages collapse in exhaustion.


    Faltrar was pleased by the effects of the opening salvo, and he hoped that the gate would cool by the time the army made it there, but that much stone should soak up heat quickly. He was a little disturbed by the sight of defenders on the wall, the attack was supposed to be a surprise but instead of men rushing to fill the defenses, they were already in place. He put it in the back of his mind for the time, there were other things to focus on, and there was no way even a prepared defense could stand up to the might of all the mages in the kingdom.


    When the army was within three hundred yards of the wall, a barrage of arrows was launched at them by the defenders. While not accurate, they were easily able to land the majority of arrows on the advancing formations, causing a few men to stumble in surprise when an arrow bounced off an invisible shield directly in front of their faces. The next volley came three seconds later, but this time each arrow had the telltale glow of magical imbuement. Archers had a variety of skills to draw on to penetrate shields, and the basic ones were for penetrating armor, magical or physical.


    This barrage caused the shields to flicker blue, becoming visible as the magic interacted. This time, a few arrows penetrated the barriers as they were temporarily overwhelmed, striking a few mercenaries. Faltrar sighed, casualties were inevitable, but as long as it was limited to the mundane portion of the army, he didn¡¯t care. This continued for awhile as they advanced, slowed by the need to remain by the mages as they focused on defending them from the deadly barrage of arrows. Even if a few men died after each volley, they were still faring far better than they would have without the mages.


    The closer they got to the walls, the more accurate the defenders were, and by the time they crossed one hundred yards, the archers were able to strike with pinpoint accuracy. It seemed that some nonverbal command had gone out at that point, as immediately the volley fire stopped, and they switched to picking targets, still firing in waves to overwhelm the shields. Within seconds, over twenty mages fell to the accurate fire of the defenders, luckily most were apprentices, and only six groups lost their defensive shields. Dozens of undefended men fell as the archers quickly targeted the defenseless men, but the majority managed to hide behind their shield long enough to reach another group''s defensive shield.


    The defender''s momentary success didn¡¯t go unpunished, however, and the main force of mages, whose advance have been covered by the mercenaries unleashed a barrage of their own. The attack came a little early, and they were two hundred yards away, slightly out of range for most, but seeing their comrades die sparked anger in them. The massive blast of arcane energy crashed against the defenders, tearing them from the walls. Fire exploded out from impacts, cascading over the crenelations, burning the men hiding behind them. Archers were caught by more accurate ice darts or magic missiles, throwing them from the battlements, most dead before they hit the ground.


    Seeing the approaching magical forces, a horn blast sounded a retreat from the walls, and the archers fired a final volley covering their scrambling retreat. A wave of magical attacks peppered the walls, but caught few of the defenders as the majority had already fallen back. With the archers gone, the mercenaries were free to charge the gaping hole in the defenses. With a roar, they ran for the open gate, hoping to secure a solid foothold in the city to bring the magical forces to bear. Once in place, they would be free to plunder while the mages went about their business.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The mages who had been defending them were swept up in the rush, and their shields dropped as their focus was broken. The mana they were channeling dissipated, and a few of the less experienced mages faced a backlash as the energies were cut free without control. They pushed forward with the men, ready to recast the shield spell once inside the enemy''s defenses.


    The first of the mercenaries poured through the open gates, but were quickly cut down by a storm of arrows. The wave didn¡¯t stop, and wave upon wave of arrows hurtled into the narrow gates, cutting down men in droves. It wasn¡¯t until the mages managed to get afthe shield up that the killing stopped, but even then the concentrated fire was able to break through, killing a man here or there. The men, now on the back foot, grouped around the mages, defending them from any arrow with their lives. With the casualties stemmed, they slowly pushed through the gates, advancing onto the main road just beyond the gate. There, they prepared to fan out and set up a perimeter in the plaza.


    Before they got into the city, the last of the defenses came into play, and a tide of boiling oil poured from murder holes in the ceiling of the gateway. The defenders had timed it perfectly, and the oil came just as the mages were passing through, having their magical defenses weakened by a surge of arrows. The mages, along with their bodyguards screamed as the superheated liquid poured over them, blistering skin and cooking them inside their armor. Their screams didn¡¯t last long as the tide of arrows surged once more, clearing the gateway of living souls.


    Despite the massive casualties inflicted, over two hundred men, including thirty mages incurred by this stage, it was too little too late, and the fodder had served its purpose. The mages had made it to the gates, and with their support, the defenses were blasted away. The men behind the murder holes were blasted away in a raging inferno of magical missiles, clearing the gates for good. The bodies in the corridor were reduced to ashes, and the stone cracked as the stress caused grew too strong. A blast of ice came next, cooling the structure enough to allow for passage, further shattering the stone. Only earth magic kept the gate from collapsing on the army.


    With the path forward clear, the rest of the mercenaries charged through, defended by bolstered magical defenses. The tide of men wasn¡¯t even slowed by the arrows, and seeing how ineffective their defense was in the face of the powerful arcane offense, the defenders fell back once more, retreating to another series of prepared defenses. From then on, the mages held the upper hand completely, inflicting heavy casualties on the defenders as they fell back. To be sure, the urban environment took it¡¯s toll on their forces as well, but the majority of losses were of the expendable variety.


    With their position secure, Faltrar had moved his command into the guard barracks inside the gate. They had secured half the city, but the series of prepared defensive locations told him that his attack hadn¡¯t come as a surprise, a worrying proposition. It had been anticipated, and well in advance as shown by the extensive preparations. He was still winning handily, but at a much higher cost than had been expected. The mercenaries had been hit hard, and their commander was livid after realizing nearly half of his men had been lost. Faltrar reminded him of the more than generous pay, shutting him up quickly.


    The advance was pushing ever closer to the fortress guarding the plateau, the strongest point in the enemy''s defenses. Luckily, the siege mages were recovered enough for another barrage, but hadn''t launched one yet because their lines were too far away. It was aggravatingly slow, and any squad that pushed forward too hard was quickly swallowed up by the enemy¡¯s slow methodical retreat, exacting a toll for every inch. Angered by the slow advance, he ordered the mages to cast a volley at the fortress, since it was likely they would be ready for another by the time their lines reached the stone monolith.


    The massive fireballs arced over the city, slowing the fighting as both sides craned their necks to follow the impressive display of arcane might. They crashed against the defenses, softening them up for the planned assault. Like the first, this barrage targeted the main gates, blowing them wide open. This time there were two, one lower wall outside the plateau, and a second at the mouth of the fortress at the top. The attack blew each wide open, killing dozens of men mustered behind them. The corridor was wide open for further advance, but they wouldn¡¯t reach the fort for another half an hour at the current rate.


    But to Faltrar, that didn¡¯t matter. Taking fewer casualties was important, and he could slow the advance to preserve the lives of his mages. Besides, the longer it took, the more magical attacks he could launch, further softening the fortress. As the battle continued, the pace of advancement sped up. The defenders were being thinned out at a prodigious rate, and the holes in their lines were allowing pockets to be surrounded, forced to surrender or fight to the last man. With a final push, the lines were broken, a horn sounding in three long deep blasts, ordering a full retreat by the defenders.


    They ran back to the fortress, the retreat operating in stages. Each group would run one hundred yards, turn, fire, and repeat, covering each other in such a manner. Faltrar had to admire the well planned and disciplined retreat, even if it was all for naught. The siege mages had recovered, and the retreating men made an excellent target. As they reached the fortress walls, and presumed safety, packing together in an effort to push through the ruined gate, the attack came.


    Four more balls of flame arced out, heading for the crush of nearly three hundred defenders. Seeing their doom coming, some ran back to the city, the lucky ones able to run into the fortress. Still, the majority never made it, and nearly two hundred men died in a fiery armageddon as their bodies were torn asunder in the massive conflagration. Tens of others were injured and maimed as the flames tore limbs away and disfigured them with terrible burns. They didn¡¯t suffer long as the charging horde killed the survivors in their push for the plateau. The few who ran back to the city were hunted down, forced to fight like caged animals before being put to the sword.


    The fortress, the strongest point in their defense, was about to fall without a fight. Faltar smiled, tasting victory, but the joy fell from his face as the resistance picked up. The men who had charged into the empty fort found themselves ambushed when they charged through the gates at the top of the hill. Winded from the sprint up the incline, they were quickly cut down when defenders charged from hidden positions in the keep. Faltrar only saw the attacking force repulsed, thrown back out of the gate they had just charged into, cut down by nearly a third.


    The resistance was short lived, as the coming mages cleared the entry with a devastating storm of magical energy. With the path cleared, they repeated the tactic from the main gates, advancing under the protection of magical shields. The fortress fell quickly after that, with brutal struggle taking place in the tight corridors and rooms of the main structure. They pushed out the far side, securing a foothold in the inner city, preparing for the final purging of defenders. There was a lull in the fighting, as the mage army stopped its advance to regroup and recover in the new fortress, consolidating their forces for the final push.


    In the inner city, men waited nervously, afraid to breathe. The coming onslaught was determined to wipe them from the earth, casting them into the cold embrace of death. Half an hour later, as the setting sun dyed the sky red and orange, the attack came. In the blood red light of the sunset, the defenders made their final stand, slowing the advance in the same manner as earlier. The retreats grew slower as fatigue took over, and the calls to fall back grew more rapid, the defenders nearly in a full rout.


    Faltrar was relieved. The fight, though much fiercer than expected, was won. The toll was high, three hundred mercenaries and one hundred mages dead. Most of the dead mages were apprentices, but that didn¡¯t make the number any easier to swallow. Amazingly, the defenders had managed to kill seven of the fifty battle mages, seven more than ever expected. But worse, something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong.


    ¡°Sir, it appears that the majority of the forces were able to retreat into the dungeon,¡± came the ominous report from Victor.


    ¡°How many escaped?¡±


    ¡°Well sir, we estimate that of the fifteen hundred man who joined in the defense, about one thousand died or were captured. Five hundred had retreated into the dungeon, along with around four thousand residents. It seems that the rest fled. They knew we were coming at least a week ago, perhaps more. That also explains the deaths of the mages we had stationed in the city.¡±


    Faltrar sighed. The cornered defenders had chosen to retreat in a way he had never even suspected. They had inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers, but the number killed was the total expected defenders. What¡¯s worse, they had lost far more than projected, leading them to the current stalemate. They had taken the city, but their main target, the dungeon was well defended. That many men could clear the dungeon easy, and use it as a powerful base to make a final stand. It would take a supreme effort, by the mages, not to mention lots of lives, to root that infestation out of the dungeon.


    For now, they would focus on securing their position, and clear the city of any survivors. The prisoners were secured and a guard rotation was set up around the dungeon to prevent any nighttime attacks. As the sun set, the mages settled in for the night, prepared to secure their hold on the city the following morning. Faltrar sighed, he had done all he could for the day. Tomorrow, he would have to decide on what to do. For now, he would rest, his mind fatigued from the action of the day. Sighing, he waved for Victor to leave, and headed for his bed.


    The next morning, he sent his men to rebuild the defenses of the city. The contingent of earth mages could make quick work of any repairs. It would be needed. Once word of his coup spread, every kingdom in the area would look to stamp out the upstart mages. He knew this was coming, and so he had prepared for it. The mages here would establish a new city, the capital of their new kingdom. They could worry later about the dungeon at its center, and the infestation it housed. In a war of attrition, the losers would be the group hiding out in a dungeon. He laughed at the thought of trying to survive in such a hostile place. Besides, as word spread, mages across the kingdoms would rally to their cause, bolstering their numbers. He had been planning for this all along. Soon, people would come, looking to make a profit in a city of mages.


    The only problem was the dungeon. Who knows, he just might keep it around, if it could be properly leashed. A dungeon would make his new kingdom rich, the economy boosted by the valuable resources extracted from it. He absentmindedly swatted at a fly buzzing around his face as he planned for the future, a future based on what would become the greatest city in the known world. Yes, the Kingdom of Faltran rose today, out of the ashes of Borrander. The phoenix on their flag would be a beacon for generations, as the magically inclined flocked to the capital, a new center of magical learning and advancement.


    Faltrar looked out at his new city, the fantasies floating through his head tantalizing him with dreams of a better future for his kind. All he needed to do was hold on.

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30


    ambushed


    Pan had spent the week before the attack preparing his own defenses, of which, he had created many. The day before the battle, he watched as the city prepared for its own defense, a sign that his warning had been heeded, something he already knew from his spies, but was nice to confirm. He listened in on all of their meetings and was surprised to learn that they knew more than he did in some areas. Their own information network, which spanned the kingdom, had learned of the movement of large amounts of mercenary troops and mage guild members. Their conclusion was even more frightening than Pan¡¯s. All the mages were coming, not just one.


    This revelation set Pan into a flurry of further preparations, nearly draining the entirety of his mana on multiple occasions. As an apprentice in training, he knew that the best way to face mages was in a war of attrition, a war that as a dungeon he was well equipped to wage. He needed to use that to his advantage, and attempt to drain them of their mana over a long time, throwing in periodic ambushes and attacks from the rear. He already had his plans in place to force them to fight in a normal way with the fungus, and now worked on ways to fight them once they were following his rules.


    The first and most obvious was to increasing the size of his floors, forcing them to fight longer. While that seemed easy for a dungeon to accomplish, his floors had already been near the maximum size he could efficiently make them, and expanding them further would take exponentially more mana. Nevertheless, he had gained a few levels since creating them, and would be able to expand most of the floors by at least twenty percent.


    He did so, creating fifty new rooms on the first floor, nearly doubling its size. The massive network of caves now ended in a much more linear section, designed to string groups of attackers out, allowing him to face a larger force with a much stronger one, as well as leaving plenty of avenues for flanking attacks. A swarm of ants could prove to be incredibly deadly in the winding cave system.


    For the second floor, he only increased the size of the massive chamber, since it was the most deadly portion. He wasn¡¯t able to do much aside from increase the size, but he would be sure to come back to add more threats to the dense jungle he had created. The third floor was more of the same, and he just made it larger, able to increase the diameter of it by half a mile. The rest of his time and mana was spent on creating new defenses for his dungeon, both biological and magical.


    The first big surprise came nine days after his warning to the adventurer guild. Somehow, his spies had missed a key part of their plan, and he was now watching a large group of adventurers and city guards escort around two thousand civilians into his dungeon in a long procession. They had gathered in the square outside of his entrance, drawing his attention. It seemed like the adventurers wanted to lead a group of refugees to the safe room before the third floor, hoping it would serve as a refuge. Pan had nothing against the plan, the massive number of people might just be the solution to his mana shortage problem. The issue was their plan to clear a path to his safe zone.


    Not wanting to let them stroll through freely because it might give away his intelligence, he ordered the defenders to give a token resistance, but to preserve their numbers for the upcoming important battle. While they were consumed with the task of shuttling the civilians to the safe zone, Pan would prepare it for the massive influx of people. Using more of his rare and precious mana, he worked on expanding the area, as well as its facilities.


    Pan could think of plenty of ways to milk these people for their precious mana, something he would need to fuel his defense against the mages. That many people would need food, water, and other supplies. All things that they could not get to the surface to receive. In Pan¡¯s opinion, fleeing into a dungeon was foolish, as it was a place full of danger, and if the siege was lost, they¡¯d be stuck underground for an unknown amount of time. But the prevailing sentiment was one of hopeful optimism, and the refugees seemed to think that they¡¯d be avoiding the coming destruction. The smart ones, at least in Pan¡¯s opinion, fled north, ready to return if word of victory came.


    It was a gift, however, and he decided to not look at it too closely. Thinking of all the mana that they could give him, he found himself hoping that the mages would win, allowing him to keep them and farm them for mana. With the defenses he created, and the added support from the adventurers, he would be able to defend himself easily, and with the support of the civilians, he would be able to quickly grow large and powerful enough to not be threatened by the mages, even without the human support.


    He found his priorities quickly changing as he pursued this new line of reasoning. He needed to strike a balance, and force a stalemate between the people in the dungeon, and the mages outside it. The city needed to fall, something that the leaders seemed to be sure would happen, even if they didn¡¯t share that sentiment openly. But, he needed the attackers to be weakened enough that they wouldn¡¯t be able to threaten him. If he could have laughed, he would have. This siege might just turn out to be the most profitable point of his life as a dungeon.


    Thinking of ways to put his new plan into action, Pan realized that depending on the number of enemies, he wouldn¡¯t have to do much to force the resolution he desired. He knew, from the adventurer¡¯s intel, that the mages were bringing around five hundred mercenary troops and an unknown amount of magical support. If what they were saying was true, Pan figured that the arcane support would be significant. If the defenders could bloody the mages enough, then retreat into his dungeon, they would be wary of pursuing such tenacious opponents into the advantageous terrain of the dungeon. Yes, this could work out perfectly in Pan¡¯s favor. With a little battlefield manipulation, he was certain he could win this.


    The next day, he sensed the coming army. His flies could only travel five miles from his entrance before the connection became too tenuous to work properly. Anything past that, and he risked severing the connection, forcing the fly to return to space under his direct influence to reconnect with him. Still, some of his furthest observers noted a cloud of dust rising from the road off in the distance. Due to the size of it, he could reasonably assume it was the coming army, and the town seemed to think so as well, lining their archers along the battlements over the road.


    The opening of the battle was violent and relatively bloodless. The mages were behind sturdy shields, and the defenders had solid fortifications. A few died when the gate was destroyed, but it wasn¡¯t significant. Following the opening salvo, things heated up and dozens died on each side as they worked to counter their opponent¡¯s defenses. The mages, while powerful individually, obviously lacked the discipline and tactical knowledge to fight in a large group, something the Pan was sure they¡¯d learn if given enough time. Their uncontrolled fire at individual targets on the city walls led to more survivors than would be expected from such a powerful barrage. Pan hoped to use this hot-headedness to thin the herd a bit before the final retreat.


    Despite the flaws in the mage army, the strength could not be understated, and the defenders were forced to retreat from the wall, even as they had some success with their defense. The mages, once in the city, spread out to secure their hold on the lower section. It was now that Pan decided to step in and do his part. Whenever a mage pushed too far from the front lines, and was swallowed up by the enemy formation, Pan had a hornet there to meet them. The little insects could easily pass through the shields, not stopped by the magical barriers. Once there, they would hide in the mage¡¯s robes, ready to strike at an opportune time.


    Inevitably, the mages would run across a pocket of defenders and prepare an attack. The adventurers, knowing that their only path to survival hinged on killing the mage, would concentrate fire on them, hoping to overwhelm the shields. Imagine their surprise when the mage had no shields, and spent his final moments swatting at some place in his robes. In this way, Pan was able to remove dozens of mages, along with their mundane defenders who were relying on the magical defenses for safety.


    Despite the success of the tactic, Pan was hesitant to attempt the same on mages in large groups, careful to not overplay his hand. His interference should never even be suspected by the mages, otherwise, no amount of adventurers defending him would protect him from their wrath, no matter the cost.


    He watched as the battle reached the final stages. The defenders were nearing a full retreat, their numbers thinned by around two-thirds, and the survivors fatigued from the vicious fighting. The artillery strike on the fortress had put the cap on their defeat, and now they simply fought to cover their retreat, and attempt to thin out as many of the remaining mages tomorrow. Despite the defeat, they had done an exemplary job of defending against a vastly superior force, somewhat due to Pan¡¯s influence, but mostly due to their ability to match themselves well against their enemy''s weaknesses. They had lost, but they would live to fight another day, protected in the depths of Pan¡¯s dungeon. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Pan knew that the next few days would be important, and would decide the tenuous fate of the survivors he sheltered. For now, he planned to gather intelligence, hopefully figuring out the reason behind the attack. It was beginning to get a bit tiresome looking after all his spies, and despite his massively improved thought speed and multitasking abilities, he was starting to feel his thoughts slow from his constant connection to ever increasing numbers of vigilant flies. What he needed was a minion to take care of all the spies for him. Maybe even a network of minions.


    He would start from the top, and work his way down from there. What he needed was a lord of the flies, someone or something that could take in all the information gathered by the underlings, filter out the junk, and forward the important bits to Pan. Flies made the ideal spies, but making a fly into something to handle the takes he wanted it to do would take a lot of work and mana.


    With the whole night to create his minion, he set to work. The most important part of this creation would be intelligence and memory, something Pan felt well equipped to endow. Using a large horse fly as his base, Pan began the process of sculpting the creature into something useable. An enormous fly would work, but would look ridiculous. He had no desire for a horse sized horse fly, so he changed it¡¯s body, mirroring what he did with Elaria.


    The distorted fly continued to twist and turn as Pan molded and sculpted the carapace, finding an aesthetically pleasing way to fit all of its organs and limbs in place. What he ended up with was bordering on horrifying. His new master of spies was a six-foot tall fly, with a long slender body. It¡¯s rear legs looked like a grasshopper¡¯s, stretching out behind him as support. The front too worked to stabilize him, planting just in front of his now enormous head. He had created a massive head, ensuring he had plenty of room to make a brain capable of coordinating large numbers of minions.


    The natural iridescence of the carapace was enhanced further, making him shine blue and gold in the right conditions. His now useless wings, too small to lift him, were transformed into a much tougher, heavier, still transparent material. Pan used some magical imbuements to allow the wings, which now hung around as a robe, to hide the spymaster, like an invisibility cloak. They would bend the light around him while simultaneously drawing shadows close, rendering him invisible in dark places.


    Pan¡¯s next focus was on the inflated bulb that would serve as the brain case. The largely spherical protrusion would need to house the brain, as well as a few special pieces Pan had devised for this creature''s future role. As he worked on expanding the brain, a difficult and expensive process, he worked to make it very efficient when creating new connections and accessing memories. This brain would need to filter through the observations of thousands of spies, so Pan made sure to go all out in processing power. Once done, he had a few more spaces left in the head of the fly.


    In one, a central space in the middle of the forehead, he created a small diamond. From the diamond, he ran a vein of silver, terminating at the back of the head. This would be the mechanism through which it would be able to see what the flies were seeing. The crystal worked as a decoding device for the signals, enchanted for the purpose. The silver worked as an antenna, capturing the magical connection signal Pan used to connect with his creatures. The whole thing was based on a complicated soul enchantment that hijacked the connection between Pan and his fly minions. And only his fly minions.


    The other empty spaces were taken up by large mana stones, two storing mana to give the spy master ample reserves if he ever needed it, since the enchantments required quite a bit in upkeep, and the last at the back of the head working as an advanced memory storage device. The spymaster could place important bits of information into the matrix enchanted into the crystal, the same as he used for his bosses and elite ants, for Pan to access. This way, Pan could get the important bits while the fly was busy.


    Now all Pan needed was a name for his new lord of the spies, and the iridescent gold gave him the perfect idea. Golding. As he said the name, he felt the mana leave him, bestowing the name. Finally satisfied, he placed the important information that allowed for quicker personality creation into the crystals embedded in its head, laying the foundations of the traits he wanted the new minion to have, and woke him up. It moved a bit, getting used to its new body before looking around, and speaking to Pan¡¯s mind, Thank you, master.


    After a quick conversation confirming that Golding had assimilated the information and understood his role, Pan activated the enchantment in his head. Instantly, Pan felt the connection to all his flies disappear, even taking away the mana they provided him upon their death. Golding stiffened as the flood of information burst through the enchantment, crowding his mind. Pan had kept a mental connection with him for this part, as he had experience with sifting through all the information himself. He helped guide Golding¡¯s frozen mind, allowing him to think better as he showed him how to process the information.


    It took hours for Golding¡¯s mind to adapt to the flood, a feat which Pan found impressive. That much information flowing into a person¡¯s mind would probably drive them crazy in seconds as they struggled to make any sense of it. His spymaster was still far below his own abilities with it, but he knew that with time, Golding very well may surpass his ability to track the observations of thousands of individuals at once. For now, Pan had him focus on the important members of the mage forces in the city, not bothering with following crafters to gain insight into their techniques.


    Leaving him to learn on the job, Pan could feel the relief from unburdening his mind of the spies. He still kept his bees and used them to keep watch over Golding, at least until he felt confident in his abilities.


    With his night¡¯s work done, and the pressure alleviated, at least until the mages made their next move, Pan looked to see how the refugees were doing. They all seemed shocked, many were crying. Although the news of the defeat in the city had come hours before, the realization that they were trapped in the dungeon distressed many of the refugees, some to the point of attempting to flee.


    The majority of the noncombatants had very little to fear from the mages, and had only fled to avoid the coming destruction. Nearly eight hundred had left through the tunnel in the morning, being welcomed with open arms by the conquerors. A city runs on its citizens, and the skilled workers and artisans were a necessity for the rebuilding. The only people who were not safe were guild affiliated crafters, and the few that left were cut down when their allegiance was discovered. The only people remaining in the safe room were adventurers, guild crafters, and family members of both. They risked being executed as political enemies if they attempted to leave.


    The remaining eighteen hundred settled into the grim reality of their new life, knowing that the rest of their lives might be spent trapped in a dungeon. Of course, plans were already being made to retake the city, but the optimism was scoffed at by most, even if the hope it brought was much needed. The people forced to remain looked at the deserters with distaste, even if they understood those that could leave making the choice to do so. A few were even killed when a particularly angry group of adventurers took their return to the city as a personal offense.


    Most of the trapped people, however, accepted it, wishing that they could do the same. They spent their time sharpening their blades and preparing to defend themselves against any coming attacks, which were sure to be launched. Something Pan found funny, as he could see both sides, and the mages planned to let the dungeon soften up the ¡°trapped rats¡± before exterminating the infestation. Even in a dungeon as lush as Pan¡¯s, feeding two thousand people would be a monumental undertaking, and the attrition from such a dangerous take would leave them vulnerable.


    Pan had no desire to let the mages know that he was perfectly willing to feed the refugees, at the cost of mana of course, so he had waited for the last of the people who wished to leave to do so before unveiling his improved safe zone. From now on, anyone attempting to leave would be considered an enemy by Pan, as they could let the information out, and would be hunted down to the best of his abilities.


    Stone walls slid open, revealing the expanded areas Pan had created in preparation for the coming flood of survivors. There were housing and sanitation facilities for everyone, along with new additions. He had a row of mana crystals, each embedded in a box. When the proper amount of mana was paid, he would create different food items in the boxes, such as flour, salt, sugar, honey, and a variety of vegetables and fruits. For meat, they would have to hunt. He wouldn¡¯t do the cooking for them, they had to pay for an oven or use a fire pit to do that.


    There were more crafting stations, enough for each skilled individual to ply their trade. For materials, they would have to use the actual dungeon, as spawning ingots, ores, or other raw materials could get expensive. People just couldn¡¯t get enough mana for him to get a reasonable return. The ore veins regenerated passively, costing him much less, so they would have to use those to cover their metal needs. Miners would be highly valued as the new internal economy developed.


    The people stood in awe of the newly revealed area, and Pan could sense the morale of the defeated army improve. The facilities were in many cases better than what they had access to on the surface. Pan felt gleeful as he watched their reaction. Soon, they would be utterly dependent on him, flooding him with mana as they got used to what he had to offer. They seemed to think spending fifty mana for enough flour to bake a few loaves of bread was a good deal, especially as it cost no money. If they knew what Pan could do with that fifty mana, they would think twice about spending it.


    Pan waited through the day, watching as they settled in and figured out their new place in the dungeon. They even sent out a few parties to gather resources from the third floor below them, forcing Pan to pull back the newly created forces that were prepared to oppose any attack launched by the mages. He wanted to save them for later, as revealing his new creations too soon might blunt their initial effectiveness. Surprise was his sharpest weapon after all.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 12


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 1,034/100,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 1.1/500


    Rooms: 130


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 35,152


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 372


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31


    Faltrar had just finished delegating responsibilities to his most trusted subordinates and was on his way to finish the final task. With the sun almost reaching its zenith on the first day of the new magocracy, he sent out the messages. There was a mass network of powerful enchantments called the mage relay which allowed one mage to communicate with another across vast distances instantly.


    Through this device, which he had brought with him from his old guild headquarters, he reached out to the mages working at a so-called hub. From there, the message would spread. The battle was a victory, and mages now had land to call their own once more. His entire guild had relocated, but many of the other guilds had left low-level apprentices and noncombat focused personal behind. Now, that word had been sent, the remaining mages would pack up and migrate to the new kingdom before the neighboring countries even knew there was a new kingdom.


    He figured he had about a week before news of his takeover reached civilization, carried by refugees leaving their home. The morning had been spent rounding up any leaving the dungeon who were considered non-threatening, such as people who had immigrated to Borrander to practice a trade. They were allowed to keep their land unless it was in the inner city. Those who had their prime real estate revoked were compensated quite fairly; given good plots of land in the lower city, and a lump sum of gold to cover the difference. There was one way to keep their land, and that was to prove that they had magical talent in a test proctored by the mages. Most took the test, hoping to find some talent buried in their souls. The few that had talent were inducted into the guild as apprentices and signed up for the mandatory training. The guild would prosper if the business owners in prime locations were affiliated with them.


    More people trickled in from the forest outside where they had camped out to avoid the destructive battle, and the same vetting process was applied to them. Any known members of the local guild or their family members were rounded up and sent to the prison camp for processing. Most were evicted from the city after having their land seized with avery minormonetary compensation. Others were kept as political prisoners, to be used as bargaining chips or held for ransom if the opportunity ever arose.


    All told, the population dropped to around five thousand residents, excluding the mages and their hired help. The rest either fled, died, or were captured. A few still trickled in here or there, and Faltrar expected that to continue. Over the next week or two, however, he expected nearly one thousand mages and apprentices to come. Either called by their guild, or chased by the angered king, he didn''t care. But they would come.


    His guild, now the richest and most powerful by far, had been ordered by him to administer the magical aptitude test, given by placing an enchanted stone against someone¡¯s skin, to everyone remaining in the city. Anyone found with magical potential, even if very minor, was conscripted into the guild, something few argued with as a mage was nearly guaranteed an above average life. Power had its privileges, and now that he had the resources, he would scoop up every potential mage he could, putting the squeeze on the other mages. He wanted to immediately reform the guild structure, but he knew that he would have to take some time to stack the deck in his favor.


    The next week would be spent organizing the city. Faltrar assigned the low ranking people to fix up the city and maintain order, while the high-level people had meetings and hashed out the finer details of how their new government would run. After that week, Faltrar knew that they would need to find out how their enemies were responding, and hopefully resolve the conflict diplomatically. If Rivan decided to contest their claim to Borrander, he would have no choice but to defend their conquest. But hopefully, the matter would be resolved by pen and paper, rather than by fire and sword. He would have to send a diplomatic envoy soon, and hopefully, they would be accepted by the king, and allowed to negotiate in his court. But the mages would forevermore be independent, ensured by any means necessary.


    Now all he had left to deal with was that damn dungeon. Hopefully, he could convince some guilds across the border to the north to join him, bolstering the number of combat-capable mages. Maybe even guilds from farther afield than Geran would join the new magocracy. In time, he knew, mages from across the continent would flock to the city. All he needed to do was survive. Time, with regards to the dungeon, was on his side, however, and the longer he waited, the more men he would gain as they lost more in that hostile place. In a few weeks, they could stamp out the last of them, especially if the king decided Borrander wasn¡¯t worth the lives it would take to take the city from well-entrenched mages.


    <hr>


    Peter was starting to think that this dungeon had created a paradise. The safe zone was an oasis in the center of an ocean of deadly monsters, sheltering the thousands of trapped people. The facilities were advanced, and it was actually more sanitary than the city, which impressed him as he had spared no expense on having a proper sewage system created. Food cost nothing but mana, time, and a little effort. There were already businesses cropping up that would charge a copper and a unit of flour for a loaf of bread. They spent mana to rent a specialized baking room, furnished with high quality enchanted ovens and tools. Even the bowls were enchanted.


    The bakeries, however, couldn¡¯t compare to the smithing, enchanting, or alchemy rooms. All the tools were of higher quality than they had back in the city. The anvils were perfect, the forges adjustable, no bellows were needed, and the tools were reported to be a pleasure to use. Smiths walked around grinning, unable to contain their joy when given the chance to work in an enchanted forge in exchange for mana. Even the grinding wheels were enchanted, spinning when a rune was powered. The wheels could even be swapped out for one of adifferent grit, allowing for amazing detail work and polishing.


    The few alchemists were similarly impressed, having access to flawless glassware and sources of perfectly adjustable, invariable heat. The only issue, and it was a small one, was the need to venture into the dungeon for resources. The miners needed to find veins to collect ore for the smiths, requiring guards to keep the tortoises at bay. Alchemists needed to collect ingredients, again requiring a few guards to keep them safe. But Peter considered it a blessing. It kept the whole safe zone economy running. Everyone had a job, and everyone bought stuff, preventing certain professions from being able to hoard all the money.


    As he walked down the stairs inside the central tree so he could reach the small field surrounded by rain at its base for a meeting with other leaders, he considered how suspicious it all was. It was all almost too perfect. The dungeon had it all set up in such a way that everything ran smoothly. But it all seemed too complicated for a dungeon, which everyone knew was unintelligent, to plan out. At least until he realized how the dungeon set up even more complicated systems in the form of its floor spanning ecosystems every day. For now, he would keep these suspicions to himself, or maybe between him and Jack, at least until he could gather enough evidence to confirm them. It would be best if people didn¡¯t think their leader was a lunatic.


    Reaching the bottom, he strode out onto the field that seemed to be a normal patch of sunny grass, at least until you looked up. There were others sitting on the grass, having a picnic in the only area that bore any resemblance to the outside world. He smiled, happy that some people were adapting to the new hardships so well. Motion caught his attention, and he saw Jack waving at him from a table that had been set up nearby.


    He waved back, and grabbed a loaf of bread and a few fruits and vegetables from the table on his way over. The table had been set up for everyone, as a way to boost the morale of the remaining people. ¡°What¡¯s the news Jack?¡± he called right before taking a bite out of the crisp apple he had snagged. Jack rolled his eyes at Peter, but seemed to find some mirth in his unconcerned actions.


    ¡°Well for one we¡¯re all trapped in this dungeon. Show a little concern.¡±


    ¡°Oh lighten up, my concern has nothing to do with how trapped we are.¡±


    ¡°Well yes, but it has everything to do with how long we stay trapped.¡±Stolen story; please report.


    At this, Peter sighed, finally showing what was buried beneath his nonchalant facade. He looked down, shaking his head. ¡°Jack,¡± he said, his voice wavering, ¡°we¡¯re stuck. Probably for good. You know it. I know it. But nobody else seems to. Those mages are well dug in, and at this point they probably outnumber us. There is no escape, only survival.¡±


    Jack¡¯s mood fell, his body language showing that he seemed to agree with Peter¡¯s assessment. ¡°I know boy. But we can¡¯t give up hope. It¡¯s up to us to keep the people going. The king will respond. His majesty will take it back.¡±


    ¡°Do you really believe that? Do you think a kingdom could uproot mages in a defensive position? No. He may try, but we both know he¡¯ll fail. We should not be hoping for the king to miraculously swoop in and save our sorry asses. We should be preparing for the long time we will undoubtedly spend trapped in this dungeon. Otherwise, we all will die.¡±


    Jack nodded solemnly, he hadn¡¯t wanted to say it, but Peter had come out and done it for him. He didn¡¯t want to accept it, but in his heart, he knew Peter spoke the truth. He seemed to deflate, and he sat on the bench beside the table.


    ¡°Look,¡± Peter said, sitting down across from Jack, but staring into his eyes with an intensity he had never displayed before, ¡°we need to make the best of this. We can survive, perhaps indefinitely. But we need to be ready. The mages won¡¯t tolerate our existence, and we need to be ready for that. Soon, the people will grow worried. We need to be ready for that as well. When the other leaders arrive, we need to begin preparing for the long term. Not a few weeks, nor months, nor even years. We need to assume that this is all we have left. We need to grab this chance by the balls to succeed. Only then will we have hope.¡±


    Jack nodded, and for the first time since the defeat, he truly smiled. Peter painted a bleak picture, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel inspired. Maybe, just maybe, this boy would find himself, and lead them all to a better future. He might just be the leader they needed, and that Jack knew he could be.


    ¡°Now,¡± Peter said, reverting to a calm demeanor as if nothing had happened, ¡°let me tell you why I think this dungeon is special.¡±


    <hr>


    The rush of mana Pan received from his customers was staggering. He was practically reeling from the moment they had started paying into his system, and it only grew more powerful with time as more and more people bought things. Overnight, he had gone from having almost no mana, to having close to the maximum amount. He watched his status screen as the number grew ever closer to the one hundred thousand mana max, and the level up he so desperately wanted. It had been awhile, and he was more than ready to increase his power once more. Soon enough, he had it, purchasing level 13 without any hesitation.


    Level 13


    Need 250,000 mana for level 14


    +50 Dungeon Points


    His capacity more than doubled, and he watched as the zero on his screen instantly climbed back up as his economy continued to strengthen. He mentally shivered in delight, watching as he gained more mana in an hour, then he could have gotten in days. With this, no mage would ever be able to stop him.


    Checking back with Golding, he confirmed that the mages weren¡¯t planning anything in the short term, but he did learn that they expected their numbers to swell over the coming week. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He could make over one hundred thousand mana each day. Every day they left him alone was another day he grew stronger. He felt drunk on power, the energy he had at his command was staggering. But as long as they didn¡¯t threaten him, the mages could stay. He could learn so much more from observing them than the boring mundane adventurers.


    He decided to use the insane amounts of mana to continue to level up, then claim as much volume as was feasible, further boosting his regeneration. He would reach level fifteen or sixteen, and then change to working on other projects. He felt secure in his position, and although it would be easy to use all that mana to summon an unstoppable horde and overwhelm the mages, he felt inclined to let them stay. Level ups seemed like a poor choice to invest his mana on, but aside from floors, he had nothing that he would be able to spend the massive amounts of mana on, and he didn¡¯t feel ready to make another floor. His fourth wasn¡¯t even complete, and nobody had reached it anyway.


    Another day passed, and he watched as both sides prepared for the future. It had now been two days since the attack, and he was surprised by how quickly the mages had fixed the city. There were already a few groups coming in, those that had been able to afford horses or carriages, and they slipped right in, adding their labor to those already in place. They had done in two days what would have taken weeks for a similar number of regular people. Pan chuckled to himself, knowing that he too would feel superior if he was in their shoes. He almost was, but now he was something that was so much more.


    The city looked better than it had before, the earth mages revealing their full abilities with shaping stone. The walls had been grown as if they were a giant stone plant, and the smooth, slightly overhanging walls seemed so much more imposing than the brick ones the city had had before. Hell, they had even enchanted the massive thing, building magical formations, which Pan quickly memorized, into the walls directly. Mana stones were embedded along the walls, powering the structure, and allowing it to be recharged.


    From what he gathered, the wall had both passive and active defenses. Arrows wouldn¡¯t be able to strike over it, and it would take one mighty siege engine to damage its magically reinforced stone. But if any attacker was foolish enough to hide by its base, seemingly out of danger from the defenders on top, they would find themselves roasted by magic similar to Pan¡¯s own defensive enchantments.


    They didn¡¯t just limit their magic to rebuilding the walls. Every building in the city was fixed and reinforced with earth magic over the few days, making the city look like it had been built without mortar or bricks. The biggest changes were to the inner city, and the fortress and upper levels had undergone a massive change. For as much good as the mages did, their elitism was firmly entrenched, and only magically talented people were allowed access to the inner city.


    They spared no expense in rebuilding the inner city to their liking, and many earth mages exhausted themselves, collapsing on the spot. But it was beautiful. The walls of the plateau had been turned into a sheer cliff face, perfectly smooth, and enchanted to be strong and resistant to weathering. Large scale enhancements like the mages were using interested Pan, and he was learning much from watching the mages rebuild and fortify their prize.


    These large scale enhancements were much more intricate and costly than a normal enchantment. The process reminded Pan of how his walls and stone were reinforced. He didn¡¯t know, but observing dungeons was how mages learned the technique centuries ago. They would force large amounts of mana, sometimes taking dozens of mages, into the object they wanted to enchant. This was how they designated the area they wanted to be affected by the enchantment. Then, depending on the power needed, they would use soul power or mana to bind the area to a formation carved into it. Once complete, the magic would be set, and they would only need to return to maintain it.


    What they did next really got Pan thinking. They had an insane amount of small mana stones and gems. They were using earth magic to place these in safe locations all across the city, and add a few enhancements to make sure that they were secure. From there, they used an enchantment Pan had never seen before, linking two mana stones to a gem. Higher quality gems would be linked to bigger mana stones. Using this, they created a network of magical power lines connecting to places all across the city. The range was only a few hundred feet for each, so the wealth being sunk into this was insane, but Pan saw what they were attempting, and was suitably impressed.


    Once the network was in place, they connected all the enchantments in the city into it, allowing them to draw power and maintain themselves without needing constant check ups. Back in the center of the now circular plateau, they were refitting the town hall into the governing place for mages. In the center, they hooked up a truly massive mana stone into the network, acting as a central mana battery. Pan had thought that his mana stones had been huge, but this one blew him away. It could hold a little over fifty thousand mana, enough to power the enchantments in the city for months at a time, unless an attack forced them to use their active defenses.


    They created a large enchantment taking up the whole room the gem was defended in. Once they activated the impressive formation, Pan was shocked. It was slowly drawing mana into the gem, recharging it just enough to counter the passive power draw of the city¡¯s magical defenses. Pan thought the whole system was ingenious, but aside from the mana gathering formation, it was all relatively useless to him. He could easily and directly channel power to any place in his domain, so the network idea may never be useful to him. But it was nice to know it was available, and if he ever needed one he could do it.


    He watched the sun set and rise once more, observing the hordes of people go about their day, unaware of his presence. He was finally close to another level up, and decided to go for it as soon as he could. It only took a few more hours to reach the two hundred and fifty thousand mana needed to buy level fourteen.


    Level 14


    Need 500,000 mana for level 15


    +50 Dungeon Points


    It was another filler level, but the extra mana capacity and dungeon points were welcome. He had been hoping for new skills, but maybe level fifteen would have some. It seemed like a logical time to get a new one. Well, he had plenty of time and mana for now, and in his opinion, was relatively secure from the mages for the time being. He would take advantage of this opportunity to grow and expand as much as he could, as that was the most expensive part of being a dungeon.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 14


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Mana: 34/500,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 2.0/500


    Rooms: 180


    Floors: 4


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 35,152


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points: 472


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless

 Chapter 32

    Chapter 32


    Pan decided that his next course of action would be to add in more floors. Something that had bothered him for a long time was the sharp increase in difficulty between each floor, making it hard for low-level adventurers to progress farther than perhaps the first floor and a half. He had been worried about adding weaker floors because of the mages, but it would only serve as more distance for them to travel before they could directly attack him. Besides, if he wanted to he could bring stronger creatures up to repel an unnecessarily powerful force.


    With all the mana at his disposal, it would be a waste to not use some on basic housekeeping that had seemed too expensive to bother with before. It would take one hundred thousand mana to buy a new floor, and he intended to stick it between the first and second, creating a more gradual transition into what he considered his true dungeon. It would also have the added benefit of separating his captives from the mages, as well as the surface.


    This new floor would be nothing special, and he didn¡¯t want to create too many new monsters for it. He decided that it would be best to stick with the jungle theme since the current first two floors were already jungles. While he waited for his mana to reach the level he needed, he worked on drafting the layout and any new species in his experimentation rooms.


    He decided to make the new second floor a long winding path with a river in the center. Following the river to the center would be the way to the boss fight and the exit, but would also be the easiest. Along the river, various tributaries would flow into it. Following them upstream would lead to more dangerous areas, as well as greater rewards. It also allowed him to hide reserve troops behind enemy lines if a large force tried to push straight through.


    He already had plenty of creatures to place in a jungle floor to make up the base of the ecosystem, so he only had to make a few new predators to provide a reasonable challenge for adventurers on their way through. He worked on different ideas until at the end of the day he had enough mana to buy the new level. Without a second thought, he purchases it, signaling to the system where he wanted it. It connected between floors seamlessly, and he felt the mana rush out of him. He was also surprised by a new window appearing in his vision.


    New Achievement: Adept Dungeon


    Congratulations Dungeon, you have advanced far enough to contain five levels, the first major achievement on your path as a dungeon. You have survived the trying early times, and the path forward is now open to you. Be prepared, as future advancement will come slowly and incrementally. Good luck.


    Titles: now available


    Name: now available


    Other effects


    Pan was shocked. He was now an adept dungeon, meaning he was considered basic by the system before this. Of course, his circumstances were different, which had allowed him to be much more than a regular dungeon, but still, it felt a little insulting. But when he thought about it, it made a little sense. He had never heard of a dungeon with only four floors being as challenging as his was, and once they grew beyond five floors, they were supposed to increase in difficulty more quickly. What surprised him was that he had now unlocked the ability to receive a name and titles. He hadn''t known that they were locked, and hopefully, he would have one or both soon.


    The ominous part was the intimation that the path would grow harder and slower as he went forward. He saw the first signs of this when he looked at the cost to make a new floor. One million mana. It would take him ten days to gather that much, and he couldn¡¯t even store it. It might take twice as long to get the levels needed to reach it. At best, it was three weeks away, not that he needed it now anyway. Resigning himself to much slower growth than anticipated, he began his work on the new floor, shifting the rest down by moving the stone around it like a massive esophagus.


    <hr>


    Peter was in his private room practicing his magic when it happened. The event started with a massive surge of mana, seeming to rush up from far below. As the only magically awoken person in the dungeon, something his grandfather had done for him without the guilds knowing, he felt the pressure more than anybody else. The absurd amount nearly knocked him out of his chair, the pressure of it all caused the edges of his vision to darken, and by the time it was over he felt as if he was staring at the world through a pinhole.


    He tried to stand, but doing so caused his vision to darken again. He was forced to wait, and while he did so he noticed a barely perceptible change in the mana of the dungeon. It seemed stronger, denser, and more energetic. More importantly, it seemed to be flowing. It was like a river the size of a lake, but flowing so slowly that a small stream could move more water. But it was flowing, and he noticed it.


    After the few minutes it took him to process this, the event truly started. It started with a shake, and a massive screeching sound, as if the very stone of the earth around them was in pain. Then, a rumbling started, and his stomach dropped. It felt as if he was being swallowed by the earth, and he would have been more terrified if he had known how close he was to the truth. For minutes, everything shook, not violently, but far from imperceptibly. Nothing fell, no stones cracked, the dungeon walls were far too strong for that. Even massive earthquakes were unable to break the magically reinforced stone dungeons were made of, at least from what he¡¯d heard. But this was no earthquake, it was something different.


    He had no idea what was going on, but the massive rush of mana left no question in his mind over who was responsible. It was the dungeon, but he had no idea what it had done, and that worried him. Finally able to stand, he rushed out to find Jack, and maybe get some sort of clue as to what was going on. He rushed through the halls to the central doughnut-shaped area around the tree, seeing nothing but people in a controlled panic. Nobody was injured, but everyone was worried and had questions for him. Questions he couldn¡¯t answer.


    He finally found Jack in the center, calmly organizing people and reassuring them. Peter got there just in time to hear him send a few healers out to run around and make sure everyone was alright. Things were calming down, but Peter still found a table to stand on and grabbed everyone''s attention with an air magic enhanced clap. With the room silenced, and people gathered, he asked that they remain calm, and carry on since as far as they knew, nobody had been hurt and nothing had been damaged. There were questions, but he had no answers. He promised to keep them updated as more information came in.


    His speech over, he leaped down from his makeshift stage, and went to find Jack. When he found him, he found him in a huddle with the healers he had sent out, along with about two dozen other people standing off to the side. He waved, catching Jack¡¯s attention. The old man smiled and walked over, grasping Peter¡¯s forearm in a friendly greeting as he said, ¡°good speech, you seem to have calmed the people down. Now come my boy, there have been some interesting developments.¡±


    ¡°What developments?¡± he queried as he allowed Jack to guide him over to the group.


    ¡°Well,¡± he started, ¡°I doubt you missed that massive surge of mana before all the rumbling.¡±


    ¡°I should think not, all that damn power nearly knocked me out.¡±


    ¡°Well, it had another effect on a few other people. You are no doubt well versed on mana and magecraft. That massive surge served to awaken a few people, and we now have twenty-one untrained mages in our company.¡±


    Peter¡¯s eyes flicked over to the group of bystanders he had observed before, and when he glanced back to Jack, the man nodded, answering his unasked question. Mages were awakened in two ways, either a mage tested them, and after finding them talented, used their own mana to awaken theirs, or it awoke in a life or death situation. It seemed that the massive surge had pulled the latent energy out of its slumber in the talented individuals they had with them. The question now was how talented they were, and if they had awoken with any spells.


    If a person was particularly talented, they may awaken with a basic spell, maybe two. The spell would always be of their specialty, so a fire mage might awaken with a fire spell. It wasn¡¯t common, but neither was it rare, so he expected a few. Two in five mages awoke with access to one spell. If they didn¡¯t receive a spell on their awakening, further tests would be needed to determine which elements they were suited for. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Magic and skilled worked in largely the same manner, and were woven together tightly. Spells had their own level, but it had a cap. The real power of a spell was determined by the skill level the caster had in the governing elements, such as fire magic. Most mages had a few different elemental magic skills, as most spells had minor components from different elements, but their specialty would always be much higher leveled. That specialty was determined by their talent level.


    Everyone had a talent rank in every skill, ranging from abysmal to genius. Their talent determined how fast each skill leveled, and one needed at least an average talent in one magical skill to awaken their mana. Above average talented individuals had a chance to awaken with a spell, and genius ranked people were guaranteed one. If they were talented in more than one element, they could receive more spells, meaning maybe one in two hundred mages had multiple spells upon awakening. Peter was one of those one in two hundred. He had been awakened by his grandfather who had been distrustful of mage guilds, a reasonable worry in light of recent events.


    The other part of talent ranks was that there was a chance that they¡¯d drop upon ranking up a skill, depending on the person¡¯s suitability for each rank. Someone might be above average in the adept rank, but only average upon reaching expert. Abysmal was the lowest possible talent rank, and if that point was reached, the skill could no longer be leveled. Each higher rank had a much lower chance of dropping at level up. The whole thing seemed random, but was actually based on each individual''s ability to learn a skill.


    Pulling himself from those thoughts, he decided to see who awakened with what spells, and then determine everyone¡¯s talent level with the skills. He realized that he had been absently staring at the new mages while he thought, and coughed to cover his embarrassment. ¡°Line up, and we will see what you all got.¡±


    They rushed to follow his orders, and he started at the right end, with a short girl, maybe twelve years old. Why had they brought children with them into a dungeon? It was madness. He sighed, and asked her, ¡°did you receive any spells?¡±


    She shook her head, and he pulled a small enchanted mana stone from his belt. ¡°Push your mana into this,¡± he ordered. Meekly, she asked him, ¡°how?¡±


    ¡°Reach into yourself,¡± he started, loud enough for everyone to hear, ¡°find an energy in there. Will it to obey you, and push it into the crystal.¡± He didn¡¯t have much to say, one they found the mana in them, controlling it would be instinctive. Spells were the hard part of being a mage. Even he had never gotten a spell past level six, and he was a genius level fire and earth mage, with average talent in dark and air. If he had joined a guild, as was required by law, he would have progressed much faster, and could have become one of the more powerful mages in the kingdom. The strongest mage in the kingdom, Faltrar, and the man Peter presumed was his enemy was reported to have received four spells upon awakening. A genius in fire, water, air, and light, with some skill in dark and earth.


    It took a few minutes for the girl to figure out how to do what he asked, and he could see the others doing the same. A few had smug smiles on their faces, probably those who had received a spell. When she finally got it to work, the crystal glowed a pale brown, signaling an average talent with earth. He told her this, and moved on to the next person.


    At the end, there were four earth, two fire, three water, seven air, two dark, and one light. Nine had received spells, three air, one fire, one water, one earth, both dark, and the light. He sent them to practice their spells, and looked to those who didn¡¯t have a spell.


    ¡°I can only help a few of you, those with air, fire, and earth. Everyone else needs to go elsewhere and practice with your mana. Try to form it into your element. With enough time and practice. You should gain the skill for whatever mana you have. One you reach the beginner rank, you will get a basic spell, so practice hard.¡±


    They seemed crestfallen, but they had magic, and with enough practice, they could gain spells, allowing them to advance their skill faster. With those he could help, he first helped them gain the skill they needed, and from there a spell or two. It took hours, but they all eventually had the skill and at least one spell to practice with. Luckily, there were practice rooms to rent, and they excitedly left to use them.


    The difference between an awakened mage and a regular person was the ability to use their mana. A normal person could push it out of them, like those that bought stuff from the dungeon, but a mage could access their source, and actually, control the mana. It sounded like a small distinction, but the implications were massive. While a normal person could only push it out, a mage could grasp it and shape it into something, bending the energy to their will. Only someone with the talent could ever have the ability to do that.


    They used spells, which were simply patterns of mana that executed different actions. A fireball was a packet of mana that traveled in a line at a target. As a mage grew more skilled with a spell, they could modify the packet of mana to hold more energy, run more efficiently, explode, travel faster, or a myriad of other effects. As such, one mage''s level five fireball spell might operate far different from another''s, but they had both reached the requisite level of understanding of the spell to get it to level five. Spells were gained in four ways, they were taught by a master, a long process, but the most common, developed by a master mage, learned at rank up, or learned from a spellbook.


    He had taught the most basic spells in hours, but he knew that anything more advanced could take days or even months to teach. As of now, they had small spells such as ember, sand, or breeze. Basic spells that only helped them learn to manifest their element, or light a campfire in the case of ember. Hopefully, they could gain a useful spell when they broke out of the beginner ranks, because he didn¡¯t have the time to teach twenty apprentices.


    <hr>


    Pan laughed at the people as he moved their floor. It reminded him of kicking an ant mound and watching as the workers hurriedly scurried around, surveying the damage. They recovered quite quickly, and Pan was surprised when he noticed how the massive rush of mana he used to buy the new floor awakened a few mages in their midst. None were anything special, as was expected from such a small sample size, but the fact that he had awakened a few was surprising. He filed that little tidbit away for later, as it may have potential future uses.


    He spent hours working on his new floor, creating a massive river system compacted into a few square miles. It was like a massive fountain, and all the water was pumped back up to the beginning through the use of enchantments. The whole thing flowed rather slowly, as his enchantments couldn''t handle too much water, but it was enough to keep it mostly clear. He populated it with fish he already had, including the piranhas, as well as a few water snake species.


    The whole floor was muggy and humid, but utterly silent. He fixed that with the annoying drone of millions of mosquitoes. They weren¡¯t deadly, at least along the main river, but deeper in along the tributaries he had clouds that could completely drain anyone caught by them. There were a few concessions made, and he had a few herbs growing that could repel them if properly applied.


    The edges of the river were clear enough to walk along, but were hemmed in by dense jungle that extended for a few dozen feet. At it¡¯s widest, the river was two hundred feet across. The beach was ten feet at the narrow points, and much more where sandbars extended it. Pan created a few species of crab to guard the sandy paths, some burrowed down, hiding in plain sight, while others would attack from the water. The largest was four feet across, and would be a reasonable challenge for D ranked adventurers, slightly easier than a stone centipede to defeat. Along the side paths, however, they were much more dangerous, growing harder shells and stronger claws. These crabs might give a C ranker a tough fight when in groups, which they were.


    He also added plenty of birds, which had plenty of room to fly above the river. Deadly eagles, which he had been forced to buy, swooped down to pick fish from the slowly moving river. They could also harry unattentive adventurers, and a lucky strike might be deadly. Again, those along the smaller streams were deadlier, able to carry people away with a little help from air magic. Jaguars also hid along these paths, brought up from the floor below.


    After finishing the monsters, he added the necessary filler creatures, such as various insects, amphibians, and rodents. There were the capybaras from the third floor, now the fourth, present here as well. Once done, it looked like a sunny jungle river, complete with the drone of insects and chirps of birds. But something was missing. It was a river, surrounded by trees. If someone made a raft, they could avoid fights entirely. That just wouldn¡¯t do.


    About halfway down the river was an especially narrow and shallow stretch, surrounded rocks and rapids. In the center, he made a small gravelly beach, with a large copper vein abutting it. But this wasn¡¯t just any copper vein. It was a hidden boss, designed to stop anyone attempting to pass the floor on a boat. It was a massive ore guardian, appearing to be so ancient that it had turned into the very thing it guarded. It looked like a rock poking on the edge of the beach, but it was actually the tip of a twenty-foot wide tortoise shell.


    He had to slightly restructure the beast to make it work, but the final version should prevent anyone from using a raft. At least after the first group tried. It had a sort of blowhole on top, allowing it to stay submerged. But when a raft came down the river, it would stand, damming the river, and forcing the group into a fight they could not win. It wouldn¡¯t even bother with anyone mining its shell, but who would dare to touch it once they realized what it was. The ancient looking beast, tinged green from the aged copper on built into its body, would be a powerful deterrent to anyone attempting to cheat the system.


    Pan decided to forego an actual final boss on the floor, allowing people to pass directly to the next floor. They could always choose to fight the hidden boss if they wanted that sort of challenge. That massive beast also had a few hidden features to provide a significant roadblock to any large groups of mages attempting to penetrate deep into his dungeon.


    It had taken him a nearly a day to finalize construction of the floor, and he was amused to see adventurers poking around the walls he had in place while he made the floor. He quickly dropped them, allowing them access to the floor, but only from its real entrance. It wouldn¡¯t do for them to experience it in reverse.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 14


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: Pending


    Titles: None


    Mana: 3,591/500,000 (+1000)


    Soul Energy: 1.1/500


    Rooms: 181


    Floors: 5


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 42,002


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 45], [Enchanting: Lvl 41], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points:472


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless, Adept Dungeon

 Chapter 33

    Chapter 33


    Pan watched as the adventurer parties probed around his new floor. They had been forced to go around through the hall that led them back to the first-floor boss room to enter the floor from the beginning. From there, they mapped out the large river system he had created, at least as much as they safely could. The main body of the river was safe enough, but the areas around the small streams and creeks grew deadlier the further they explored, forcing many to turn back before they ever reached the reward chest at the back. The few parties that did reach them were rewarded with coins, potions, and even a few enchanted items.


    This discovery prompted many to rush through to the end to report back to the town under them. A few enchanted items in the proper hands could greatly increase their chances of survival. Pan laughed, they were excited over his scraps, and he wondered what they¡¯d think about his real treasures. His current alchemical experiments revolved around creating a resist magic potion, in light of recent events. He had gotten a reasonably powerful version created, but more importantly had finally reached the adept rank in alchemy, gaining access to the skill¡¯s perk tree.


    The perk tree was initially useless upon its unlock at skill level fifty, but with each subsequent level up he received a number of points to buy perks with based on his talent rank. Below average received five points on each level up, average received ten, above average got fifteen, and genius gained twenty. The points could only be spent on perks in the skill they were earned with, so perk acquisitions had to be carefully considered. Unique perks could be earned by individuals who met certain criteria. Luckily for Pan, his unique status as a dungeon was enough to qualify him as a genius alchemist, and he was certain he would have a few unique perks available as he gained access to more of the perk tree.


    He had so far reached level fifty-two in alchemy, and had put his perk points into the first perk, Improved Potions, which cost five, ten, and then fifteen points per level, and gained him an additional five percent potion strength per level. He had ten points left over, and had to decide which of the next two available perks, Improved Duration I orImproved Rank I,he would buy. Improved duration added an additional five percent to duration per level and improved rank gave him a two and a half percent chance to rank up the potion per level.They were each ten points, but he finally decided on Improved Rank.


    As it was, his resist magic potion could nullify eighteen percent of magical damage for forty seconds. It was a powerful potion, but against an army of mages, it was practically useless. It might turn the tables in a battle against one, but against any truly powerful spells, it was no better than clothes. Nevertheless, the adventurers who received his experimental rejects were excited, and challenged more of the dangerous areas in search of treasure. Despite all Pan¡¯s effort in creating a system that allowed people to explore without getting weighed down by loot, there was still something about opening a chest at the end of a long and arduous battle that enthused the adventurers. If only they knew what rewards awaited them on the fifth floor.


    <hr>


    Faltrar had just received word that the diplomatic envoy to Rivan had made it to the capital, and was currently awaiting a meeting with the king and his court. They had been given a way to connect to the mage relay, but they were unable to do anything other than send reports. Hopefully, they would be allowed to construct an embassy, and install a proper communication station there. Sighing, he steeled himself for the trickle of reports that would come in over the following days. He did not think the king would receive the news and demands for independence well, but hopefully, the mages had a sufficiently large stick to threaten them with.


    It didn¡¯t matter. The future was theirs, and the king couldn¡¯t do anything about it now, no matter how hard he tried. There was a chance that he would attack, but Faltrar was fully confident in their ability to defend their city from the king''s army. Besides, he was wrapped up in internal power struggles with the aristocracy, which should keep him busy, and afraid of sending his military too far from the capital. The nobles would surely be afraid to give the king any military aid, and may even attempt to usurp his throne if he sent his army out. No, they were safe for now, and the king would need more time to prepare a counterattack, time the mages could use to solidify their position.


    The other unknown was The Kingdom of Geran to the north, who should be receiving an envoy within the next few days. He was hoping that he could gain their support as a way to weaken Rivan. As it was, they were a collection of mages claiming to be an independent city-state, but not yet acknowledged as independent by the kingdom they had carved their land out of. Their political situation was still tenuous, and they teetered on the edge of war. All the more reason to finally burn the tumor festering in the heart of their city to ashes. It would be better to limit their fighting to the one front that was their impermeable walls.


    It had been a few days, almost a week, and that should greatly weaken any survivors in the dungeon. The contingent of mages that guarded the entrance was growing bored. It was time to gather a solid war band and begin the assault. The goal was to gather information and inflict damage to their numbers and morale.


    ¡°Victor,¡± he called, waiting for the man to enter his office.


    ¡°Yes archmage?¡± Came the response as his trusted aide opened the door.


    ¡°Go with plan alpha, It¡¯s time we begin to remove this festering wound from our city.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll send out the orders immediately.¡±


    <hr>


    Battle Mage James was gathered outside the dungeon with six of his comrades. They were sent to determine the strength of the remaining defenders hiding in their midst. To assist in the task were twenty mercenaries to hold the front lines, a handful of healers to support them, and a dozen support casters to add to the group¡¯s firepower. He found himself looking at the assortment of people selected for the task,assessing them, and tuning out the words of Victor who was briefing them. He quickly snapped his attention back to the man in time to catch the final portion of his speech.


    ¡°...and remember, limiting casualties is your number one priority. One of your lives are worth far more than a few of theirs. Time is on our side, so all you need to do is keep up the pressure. Now get to it, you¡¯re all dismissed.¡±


    He sighed at that. There were seven highly trained battle mages sent to accomplish the task, each one bringing an inconceivable amount of arcane firepower. They were more than a match for a few mundanes, especially those trapped in a dungeon and beset by the monsters within. Starvation, dehydration, fatigue, and sleep deprivation would have already done a number on those people. Dungeons were known to be the most inhospitable places in the world, more so than any barren desert or arctic glacier.


    The first inkling of doubt seeped into his mind when he saw the first floor. It wasn¡¯t a lifeless warren of stone tunnels and damp passages. No, it was a vibrant and well-lit jungle, full of warmth and life. Intellectually, he had known that the dungeon was different, but all the stories about its life and energy hadn¡¯t prepared him for this. He had known, but now he knew. This was a place that was incredibly conducive to life, and if it was all like this, starvation and dehydration would be the least of the survivor¡¯s worries.


    He hoped that there wasn¡¯t enough food to support the hundreds that had fled. He hoped that anything in here was inedible. He hoped that their only food source was monster flesh. But at every juncture, his hopes were dashed. They would be facing fed and hydrated people in close quarters. Now he knew why their leaders hadn¡¯t spread word about this dungeon. It was all part of their propaganda campaign to keep the noncombatants happy. This extermination would be long and difficult, which was why they couldn¡¯t let up the pressure now, or ever. This was why they couldn''t¡¯ lose a man. James found himself really wishing he had paid attention to the briefing, nobody else seemed surprised by what they saw, or the implications of it.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He swore under his breath a few times, then vigilantly swept his eyes around the twisting tunnels and caves. Up ahead, the mercenaries were having a good time walking all over the large ants and spiders that guarded the first floor. Nothing needed his less than delicate attention so far, but he couldn''t help the restless feeling that preceded action. He knew that there¡¯d be action today, and prepared himself for it mentally. He¡¯d probably take a life today, and no matter how many times he was forced to do so he couldn¡¯t shake the feelings that came with it. Despite this, doubt never entered his mind. He was on the right path. A path that would lead him and his people to a better future. If he had to kill, so be it.


    His chance came an hour later when they had reached the second floor. The whole thing was a massive river, with beautiful beaches alongside it. The adventurers they came across were walking along one of the tributaries, seemingly excited about a recent acquisition. They barely had time to draw their weapons as they came around the corner, their boisterous behavior announcing them to the waiting warband. Their faces paled, but were immediately blackened when a torrent of flames and arcane energy tore them to bits, reducing them to a pile of ash and smoldering scraps of equipment.


    One of the mercenaries let out a strangled cry, upset over the loss of loot, but the mages paid him no mind. They were on a mission. A mission to kill everyone in the dungeon. They could get their loot later, once the dungeon was cleared of hostile people. James couldn¡¯t wait for that day. He had heard that this dungeon would one day be the richest in the kingdom, and a skilled mage like him could make a fortune off it.


    They continued on, passing the burning embers of the forest behind the adventurers. He coughed when he sucked in a breath of the acrid smoke, still unnerved by the stench of burning human. No matter how many fights he was in or how many creatures he burned, human always had a distinct odor. Maybe it was mental, but the smell made him want to vomit like no other just the same.


    They explored further, and came across another party, and allowed the mercenaries to kill them for the loot. Despite their initial success, and the ease with which they had penetrated the dungeon, he still couldn''t fight the budding nervousness in his chest. He just couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that they were being baited, strung along by some greater force. The deeper they went, the more the feeling built. Something was going to happen, and probably soon.


    The hammer didn¡¯t fall when they reached the end of the second floor, nor when they reached the halfway point. At least the dungeon¡¯s hammer didn¡¯t. They had picked off a few groups, bringing their total body count to around twenty-five or so, but it seemed that they had unknowingly let one escape. As the party meandered through the dense forests of the second floor, the attack came.


    It started with a wave of arrows, something James had learned to hate. The battle for the city had taught him just how deadly mundanes with ranged weapons could be, and within the confines of this forest of giants, they proved to be just as effective. Although the shields were up, they were targeted with the brutal efficiency of a well-practiced attack, sending powered arrows at selected targets. The massed damage temporarily overwhelmed their shields, and he watched helplessly as two healers died while one was severely injured. Only one was left uninjured, and he was hurrying in an attempt to save the other.


    He gritted his teeth and prepared for the counterattack, drawing on his mana to charge a powerful fireball attack. He still hadn¡¯t seen the enemies, but the trajectory of the arrows told him it came from the trees. Scanning the canopy, he finally found a target just as he finished the spell. He had decided to launch a powerful initial attack in a vicious attempt at shock and awe. It worked, and the massive conflagration in the canopy elicited a series of screams. The large area of effect spell he had cast took its toll on him, but the attackers paid a much heavier price. Around a dozen charred bodies rained from the trees high above, and the attacks of his equals added to it. But yet more arrows came, and took more of their supporting members.


    ¡°Fall back,¡± James cried. There was no way that they¡¯s attack with anything less than overwhelming force. Even now, a few of the shield casters had fallen, opening dangerous weak points in their formation. They had already lost ten men, three of them healers, far too high a cost. They needed to get out now and preserve as much of their force as they could. They were only the probing force, not intended to skirmish with the enemies.


    The formation tightened around him, and he defended them with supporting fire in the form of massive gouts of flame that licked the canopy. Where he swept his blazing ropes of flame, archers ducked, buying his people time to huddle up and strengthen their magical shields. It drained him rapidly, but he was able to keep it up long enough for the group to begin their fighting retreat.


    Now in the denser cluster, the shields were bordering on impenetrable, and very few arrows made it through. Those that did barely had enough energy to cut their targets. Their defense may have been much better, but it seriously handicapped their offense and mobility. They were backing away, slowly removing themselves from the firing lines of the archers, but the tight formation also hampered the mage''s ability to cast anything other than basic spells. The more powerful spells, especially those requiring excessive somatic components, were unable to be cast, and he was reduced to throwing fire darts at his enemies. They were quick and accurate, but he could not cast them quick enough to equal his fireballs, or even flamethrower spells in damage.


    But they were escaping. The archers could not easily move between trees to pursue them, and those that tried were targeted while the crossed the aerial gap high above the forest floor. Their wind mage ensured none ever reached anything but the forest floor. They seemed to have surprised the adventurers by retreating, and they were in a mad scramble to keep them in range. But unfortunately for them, the thick forest made any truly long shots impossible, and the mages had made it far enough away to change to a more mobile formation.


    They made a hasty retreat back to the large crevices of the first half of the floor, carrying the wounded as best they could. Their healer was busy, and he showed his skill by making a few quick patch ups while running, allowing them to travel even faster. As he ran, another battle mage came over to him, a cocky fire mage named Roland.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you call a retreat?¡± He asked, giving James a puzzled look that bordered on a condescending sneer, ¡°we could have killed them all.¡±


    He responded slowly, ¡°they attacked us, and they were prepared. They wouldn¡¯t do that if they weren¡¯t confident. We could have killed them all, but they would have killed too many of us before we killed them all. We have already lost too many, so the mission is over.¡±


    This seemed to cow the bloodthirsty mage slightly, especially when he realized that the loss of life might make their leaders consider the mission a failure. James sighed, the younger mages never looked at the bigger picture. A retreat here was better than a pyrrhic victory, since they needed to save every resource they could for the future.


    They reached the crevices, but it didn¡¯t go as expected. There was a contingent of adventurers blocking the way, situated a dozen or so feet back into the cave. They were already engaged with the mercenaries who had run out ahead, and had picked off a few isolated individuals. James swore, he hadn¡¯t expected this. He had kept the mages together, but the infantry had been sent out to keep the way clear of monsters, giving their enemies the perfect opportunity to pick a few more off.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± James yelled to his fellow battle mages, ¡°torch the fucking mundanes.¡±


    They all looked at him wide eyed, but he paid them no mind as he was already preparing his spell. Within seconds, they were following his lead, and seconds later a massive volley of spells was released. The adventurers, momentarily distracted by the impressive light show in front of them, lost a few men as the mercenaries took advantage of the situation. Their elation over an easy victory was short lived, and magical energy tore through the battle lines, shredding friend and foe alike.


    Torrential waves of flame cooked men in their armor, fanned by howling winds. Spikes of earth sprung from the ground, impaling anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire. Arcs of electricity danced across both sides, welding armor into solid pieces. Once the raging winds and flames settled down, all that was left was a field of petrified corpses, locked in place by the remnants of their armor.


    ¡°Move out,¡± called James, and the mages left.


    <hr>


    Pan was actually stunned by the callous actions of the mages. To think he had almost been one of them. They had killed their own allies just to retreat faster, an act which had probably saved their lives. But that didn¡¯t excuse what they did. The adventurer force following them had been similarly horrified when they realized the story the blackened statues told. Most spat on the ground and cursed the mages for their disgraceful conduct. It was amazing how a sense of superiority could make a group act. They considered themselves to be better, and so were willing to commit atrocious acts in the name of furthering their group. They wouldn''t have done the same if those in front of them were mages. But as much as he wanted to smite that group, he couldn¡¯t. It just wasn¡¯t part of his plan. Part of him wished that they had managed to unleash the spores, but their magical attacks hadn''t been large enough for that.


    Still, the battle told him much. He now knew that his humans could defend the caves, although at a heavy cost. The mages now had the intel they had gathered, which told them nothing about Pan¡¯s ability to fight them, and would likewise be much more confident when attacking with a larger force. If Pan could lure them into a much larger attack, then sufficiently bloody their noses, they would be forced to leave him alone for awhile. Time was on his side far more than it was on theirs, so he needed to grab as much of it as he could.


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 14


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: Pending


    Titles: None


    Mana: 31,242/500,000 (+1000)


    Mana Regeneration: 12,000/day (+100,000 from people, approximately)


    Soul Energy: 1.1/500


    Rooms: 181


    Floors: 5


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 41,099


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 52], [Enchanting: Lvl 44], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points:472


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless, Adept Dungeon


    Perks:


    Alchemy: 5 points


    Improved Potions III: Potions are 15% stronger


    Improved Rank I: 2.5% chance to increase potion quality

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34


    Slamming his fist on the table, Faltrar roared, ¡°the time for games is over, I¡¯ve tried to do this as peacefully as possible, but this has gone too far.¡±


    The council around him nodded in agreement as they glanced at him, as he ranted and paced, or the object that had set him off. They had been holding council in the large hall created for this purpose when the gift was delivered. A large box, beautifully crafted, had been delivered by a messenger from the Kingdom of Rivan. The box itself wasn¡¯t offensive, but the severed heads of their emissaries in the velvet lined container had led to Faltrar''s explosive outburst. An outburst that had spread the messenger across the marble floor of the council hall.


    It seemed that the king would not accept their request for independence, and would need to learn the hard way to not mess with the mages. Faltrar, coming to a decision, stopped his angry pacing and called to the council, ¡°it is time we stop this peaceful nonsense, the only way to secure our future seems to be with force. We need to show these mundanes that we are not to be taken lightly. Have our spies determine if they are planning an offensive action against us, and if not, we will launch one of our own.¡±


    The council hall erupted into mutterings, but Faltrar could tell he had their approval. This insult could not go unanswered, and he would have the full might of the city bent to his will. Inwardly, he was pleased. The king¡¯s actions had allowed him to usurp absolute authority much sooner and easier than he had anticipated. The council now saw the need for a strong leader to spearhead their advancement into the future. The first part would be stomping out the enemies beneath their feet. They had been too gentle and waited too long. The best option was, and always had been, an overwhelming attack in both numbers and firepower.


    Pan watched the humans as he received a report from Golding, ¡°creator, they are planning an all out assault on the humans within the dungeon, and will push further with hopes of killing you if the attack goes well.¡±


    Pan had known this for a few days, as the planning had begun a while ago, but watching the humans gather over a fifteen hundred mages, nearly two thousand men, outside his entrance made it that much more real. Golding thought the attack was much more serious than Pan, but he didn¡¯t know all of his plans. He knew what these mages had coming, and it would all work out in his favor. Everything always did when you had complete control over your domain and nearly unlimited mana to influence the outcome of any situation. The problem was he hadn¡¯t gotten as much time as he had wanted, but the week since the last attack should be enough.


    Despite his confidence, and the assurances he gave Golding, he was still nervous. This was the largest gathering of mages in perhaps a thousand years, and he was their target. He was prepared, and had every confidence in his plans, but watching them march into his dungeon with nearly three hundred warriors at the head was enough to waken the niggle of doubt he had pushed to the back of his mind.


    That niggle came right back to the front when an especially tight group of mages stepped into his senses. Something was wrong with them, and it wasn''t just the tight defensive formation that tipped him off. Something about him screamed at his senses, and primal instincts from the dungeon side of his mind he had thought were locked away reared up at him, demanding that he do something to annihilate all traces of the presence he felt. One man, right in the middle, well defended and cared for, was the source.


    Pan pushed the feeling away, but couldn¡¯t shake them. He took heed of the warning, however, and started coming up with ways to deal with this man other than throwing everything in the dungeon at him as instinct demanded. The mages seemed to know to this reaction dungeons had to whatever this man was, and he was heavily guarded by powerful mages, warriors, and spells. He was better defended than the Archmage, who had stayed behind to run the city while the subjugation force was out.


    Something nefarious was definitely afoot, and Pan intended to stop whatever they were planning in it¡¯s tracked before it ever progressed past this stage. Unfortunately, he needed to wait, as the first floor only had weaker creatures, and he wanted to save his stronger strikes for later when the mages were too deep to retreat quickly. To compensate, he prepared a second attack to strike at the unnerving man while the others came. The new second floor would become a graveyard for this man, as well as hundreds of mages. If all went to plan. However, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the old adage, no plan survives contact with the enemy, any time he focused on the strange old man.


    Deciding to go all out, he called to Yagaru, asking him to participate in the flanking attack he had planned to take care of this man. Deep in one of the tributaries, he hid yagaru along with a screening swarm of monsters to strike the man. Even if they cleared the smaller streams, the force would remain undetected in the cavern he had carved out for this purpose.


    Back in the safe zone, he could see the survivors running around in near-panic. Some scouts had seen the mages advance, and although they had no idea of how many they were up against, they knew it was the big push they had been dreading. The flurry of activity was punctuated by calls for order and men arming themselves to launch a desperate defense. The plan seemed to be to buy time and grab attention, giving the noncombatants time to flee or hide. Some hoped to run through the side tunnels and make a break for the dungeon entrance to disappear into the city. Of course, the entrance was guarded by a few mages and some warriors with swords. It would take more than a little luck to escape.


    A few plunged deeper into the dungeon, hoping they could hide or find somewhere that the mages either wouldn¡¯t go, or wouldn¡¯t reach. Pan thought it was a pointless hope. If the mages got that far, even he would have trouble stopping them. He would be throwing a lot at them soon, and a failure there, as unlikely as it was, would mean that the mages would have a pretty clear path straight through to the safe room. Defenses would be pretty relaxed past the safe room until his last line of defense on the fifth floor.


    It took time for the opposing forces to get into position, and it appeared that they would meet on the second floor. The mages had not yet lost a man, and those injured were quickly healed and returned to the front. They continued on in this manner, which was fine with Pan as he was not yet ready to unleash a cloud of spores across the mage army. That would come later when they were too tied up in combat to do anything.


    It appeared that the adventurers could only muster around four hundred defenders, and they hid in the dense foliage that abutted the river near the end of the floor. They seemed to be planning for an ambush, but Pan did not think it would go well for them.


    The mages soon reached the second floor, and just as Pan had hoped, they didn¡¯t bother clearing the tributaries, just the main path along the river. The enemies were quickly dealt with by the melee fighters in the front, and any coming from the sides were blasted away with a barrage of spells. They were rather inefficient with their magic, but it hardly mattered with how many of them there were.


    He watched, growing more and more nervous as they approached the area he designated as the kill zone, where his ambush would be sprung. He had moved his creatures around so that his attack would coincide with the adventurer ambush, maximizing confusion and surprise. The two thousand man strong army was strung out along half a mile of river bank, meaning they were less able to apply force locally than Pan. An advantage that he wished to maximize.


    He watched the column gradually creep inexorably closer to the ambush prepared by his humans, and the coming attack. When they reached the point, the middle of their army was surrounding the massive turtle boss blocking the river, repositioned for just this purpose.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The first mages had just reached the exit of floor two, and the staircase down to the third When combat truly started. A stinging volley of arrows lashed out at them from the cover of the foliage. Dozens of mages fell as coordinated groups targeted single mages to overwhelm the shields. Rapidly, much faster than expected, the mages pulled themselves into defensive formations, grouping around a mage or two who shielded a knot of others. The arrow volleys continued, a group of archers would select a target and fire on it, hoping to overwhelm their defenses with massed fire. It worked well on single targets, but against a group of mages all supporting each other, it was nearly ineffective.


    Seeing this, a few signals were sounded, and multiple groups focused on one enemy formation. This did manage to break through, and they often targeted the one holding the shield, leaving the group momentarily defenseless against follow up shots from other groups. There was a drawback to this, as their overall rate of fire dropped severely, and many other groups were no longer under the suppressive fire, letting them focus harder on offense.


    And focus on offense they did. They had been far from motionless during this, and now a steady stream of elemental attacks was blasting into the forest, tearing down everything in their path. Like a thousand lumberjacks, the magic cleared the forest along the river, and the people hiding in it were quickly forced to retreat or die. Of the two hundred men along the bank, barely fifty managed to escape from the forest during the minute long magical barrage. But this was all going to plan.


    From across the river, another volley of arrows arced through the air, picking off the mages selected as the most dangerous. In mere seconds, the three hundred arrows cut down ten of the best battle mages in the front. The second surprise attack was followed by another volley seconds later, but by then the shields had been strengthened once more, and even fewer men were caught by arrows. The mages launched more magical attacks across the river, but the longer range benefited the archers, as they could be more accurate over the distance. Nevertheless, the insane firepower brought by the mages took it¡¯s toll, and the defenders knew that if they didn¡¯t run, they would soon all be dead.


    That was Pan¡¯s cue to launch his assault. With the violent and flashy fighting up front, the rest of the mages had stopped to observe. The undisciplined mass was not paying any attention to their surroundings, and most men were focused on doing whatever they could to change the outcome of the battle up front. Their focus was quickly redirected when a massive roar came from the middle of their army, and a harmless looking boulder moved to reveal it had been a tortoise of terrifying size all along.


    The massive beast crashed into the unexpecting mages next to it, tossing the bodies around as if they were grass clippings. Fireballs and lightning splashed off its shell, and even rock shard or icicles only chipped pieced from its massive stony defenses. As it rampaged through their army, focus was once again redirected where Pan wanted it, and the mages had turned to launch their attacks onto the enraged tortoise.


    The massed attacks quickly took their toll on the beast, and hundreds of spells managed to wound it in some ways. A leg was injured, slowing it. An eye was missing, taken by a lucky icicle strike. Shell was nearly cracked off in some areas, and others had melted, turning into a flow of lava down its shell. But that was when Pan¡¯s next attack came. The noise of hundreds of mages screaming, chanting, and shouting had drowned out the sounds of the coming swarm until it was too late.


    A seething tide of monsters burst forth from the underbrush, catching the army completely off guard. Just as they struck, Pan cut the mana to the lights, casting the entire battle into darkness. Spots were lit as mages deployed light spells, but the momentary confusion was more than enough to kill many of them. From each tributary river along their formation¡¯s length, creatures charged into their masses. Many were cut down in the moments that the mages had to target them, but it was not enough. They dove into their formations, too close for most spells to be effective, and they kept coming. Spells couldn''t be cast for fear of friendly fire, and all that could be done was hold a powerful shield to defend themselves.


    The mass confusion spread, allowing Pan to punish them much more than he should have been able to. The smart mages grouped up, reinforcing each other by shunting more and more power to a collective shield. The inexperienced mages were either caught on their own and cut down by overwhelming numbers, or followed their more experienced comrades and survived. The once two thousand strong army was now down to eight hundred in a matter of minutes, but those eight hundred were the best combat mages the city had to offer.


    The tide began to swing back as the shield maintenance stabilized, and mages were able to disengage from supporting the channeled spell. With defense taken care of, they launched an offense of their own, and it was blistering. Waves of fire launched out from the clusters of survivors, hot enough to set the forest ablaze. Chitinous bodies exploded as body fluids turned into steam, and the screams and hissing drowned out all else. A deep red glow was cast across the river, and the only light was from the fires of spells and burning trees. The acrid black smoke choked many monsters, but the shields kept the worst of it from the mages.


    That was Yagaru¡¯s hint, and he burst from the burning remnants of the forest with a massive roar and burst of lightning. The massive bolt cut right through the shield, exploding in the middle of the cluster. Nearly two dozen men were tossed around, and the momentary drop in shield coverage allowed monsters to burst through and attack the mages once more.


    But something was wrong. That one mage Pan had been wary of was casting a spell, and the feeling of it made his nonexistent skin crawl. It felt as if thousands of insects were crawling around his soul, burrowing into it, and moving around. It didn¡¯t hurt him, but it scared him on a deep and base level. Suddenly, he got it. He understood, and the fear magnified.


    RUN YAGARU, he shouted through his mental link with the beast, but it was too late. The soul mage released his spell. An ephemeral bolt, made of the soul energy Pan used for enchanting, launched itself towards Yagaru. It traveled faster than anything Pan had ever seen, and struck him square in the chest. Immediately He dropped, writing on the ground. The energy grasped onto the link between them, causing Pan a massive amount of mental pain as well.


    It was like an acid, and it crawled towards Pan through the link, dissolving whatever it touched as it traveled ever closer to him. The closer it got, the more Pan hurt, and the more fear he felt. He could barely feel Yagaru at this point, but one more message came through.


    Sever the link.


    And he did.


    He cut the link that bound Yagura''s soul to him, and the pain immediately stopped. But Yagura''s didn¡¯t. He could see it, eating away at the majestic beast as it writhed around in pain on the ground. He could see his energies unknitting. The bonds that held Yagaru to his body were fraying, and there was nothing Pan could do.


    With a defiant roar, Yagaru gathered his remaining energy, and with a force of sheer will, directed it back at the man who had killed him. Pan watched, seemingly in slow motion, as the bolt of electricity traveled through the air. It broke the shield as soon as it struck, shattering the dome as if it was made of glass. Men collapsed as the backlash shattered their minds, the energy released was so great. The bolt continued, streaking through to the knot of men surrounding the now collapsed soul mage. The bolt collided with a man at the front, locking every muscle in his body up in pain before jumping to the next man, and then the next.


    In less than a second, Yagura''s last attack annihilated the men around the soul mage, and everything within twenty feet. The blacked bodies around still gave off sparks of electricity, and the sand had turned to glass.


    But none of it mattered, at least not to Pan. Yagaru had died. He felt something within him bubble up, something he thought his transition as a dungeon had expunged from his psyche. Rage. Pure, unfiltered rage. In that moment, everything broke down inside pan. All of his rationality, all of his careful planning, everything. It all gave way to the rampant, unstoppable tsunami of emotion. These men would die, they had to die. He would ensure that they would die.


    He called upon all the power at his disposal, the insane amount of mana he had saved up with help from the survivors, and set it to the task of expunging these pests from existence. Creatures knit themselves from the energy in the air, right in front of the mages. A stampede of monster was coming from the lower floors, and as if they could sense it, the remaining mages broke into a hasty retreat.


    That run turned into a sprint as they witnessed the monsters forming from the corpses of slain creatures around them. That sprint turned into a full speed rout as they heard the monsters draw breath, as they heard the pounding of feet come from behind them. They sucked ragged breaths full as they pelted down the path, trying to reach the exit. But they were too slow.


    Each breath sucked down a cloud of parasitic spores, and the effects were first seen in the weaker members. They screamed in pain as their bodies were petrified from the inside, falling to the ground as fungi sprouted from every orifice. Their mana fueled the explosive growth, leaving a forest of mushroom covered bodies in the wake of the retreating army.


    They ran through the first floor, those in the rear being dragged down by the monsters that pursued them. The fear in the air was almost a physical force, pushing them to run harder, faster, and longer. They finally reached the exit, only three hundred strong, and ran toward the city, towards safety.


    But they were wrong. The horde pursued them even there, the power behind them enforcing its will on their chasers, forcing its influence to follow them.


    When Pan came to, he was greeted by a cloud of blinking icons and message screens, telling him about his rage filled exploits. He didn¡¯t remember everything that had happened, but he knew the broad strokes. The first notification only confirmed his hazy memories.


    New Title: Corrupted Dungeon


    A corrupted dungeon is on that has sent its hordes out of its caves with the purpose of killing humans. What¡¯s more, it has exerted its will on the outside world in pursuit of this endeavor, corrupting the world with its influence. All sentients consider corrupted dungeons an affront to the world, and will do everything in their power to cleanse the land of their blight.


    Effects:


    -Can claim the surface


    -is hated by almost every faction on the surface


    Dungeon Menu


    Level: 14


    Type: Sentient Dungeon


    Name: Pending


    Titles: Corrupted Dungeon


    Mana: 128,970/500,000 (+1000)


    Mana Regeneration:10,000/day (+23,000 from people, approximately)


    Soul Energy: 1.1/500


    Rooms: 181


    Floors: 5


    Animals: 100,000+


    Plants: 100,000+


    Monsters: 42,002


    Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 52], [Enchanting: Lvl 44], [Dungeon Ore Vein], [Mental Communication]


    Dungeon Points:472


    Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless, Adept Dungeon


    Perks:


    Alchemy: 5 points


    Improved Potions III: Potions are 15% stronger


    Improved Rank I: 2.5% chance to increase potion quality

 Not a Chapter, Just an Update

    Not a Chapter


    First of all, sorry for the long and unintentional hiatus. Sorry for not giving any updates, but it was just as hard to say I was having trouble continuing the story as it would be for you all to hear it.


    So, where to start. I guess the biggest issue would be the best place. The truth is, I have been unhappy with the direction my story has gone, and the longer I am away from it, the more discontent I am. Honestly speaking, the last twenty-five chapters feel like a mistake to me, as they have been pulling away from what I feel made my story unique and fun to write. I got so wrapped up in making cool creatures and environments, that my story just starts to feel like another dungeon story, with progressively harder waves of enemies trying to kill him, and not much aside plot development aside from that.


    I would like to go back and truly write a story about a ¡°bound¡± dungeon, and not one who immediately kills it¡¯s master and runs off to be a dungeon just like any other. That being said, I don¡¯t hate what I have written, much the opposite, it¡¯s just not the story I want to tell, and I want to give it a redo. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I don¡¯t want to delete all my hard work, but I also don¡¯t want to leave it unfinished. I have been considering redoing the first few chapters, cutting it around chapter seven or eight, and starting fresh from there, but under a separate book page on the website. But I¡¯d like to get the opinion of the readers, and to give them an update on what¡¯s been going on, and an idea of what to expect in the future.


    I¡¯ve also been trying out many new story concepts that aren¡¯t dungeon based, and have wanted to give one of those a try for awhile now, but I need to polish my skill with writing dialogue and characters who can do stuff aside from sitting around and making things.


    I¡¯ll post a link to the rough draft of the final chapter of book one, and I would like to finish the last thousand words of the ¡°old¡± version. Alternatively, I could write something different before coming back and revisiting this story, which I have been leaning towards so I can get some practice writing something new, and then come back and apply what I learned to the redo.


    As always, give me your thoughts and opinions, and I¡¯ll do my best to respond quickly. I¡¯ll be heading to class after posting this, so give me a bit of time to reply today.


    Unfinished Chapter 35 (1 POV is unfinished, around 1000 more words.)


    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JxQ9eJj5Iws3JM6MS_izHZu2V32jKapJXEIngbjD5UY/edit?usp=sharing