《Dungeon of Trees and Thunder》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 There is no such thing as fate or luck. There is only the will to succeed and the drive to live. Never doubt yourself, for to doubt is to fail, to fail is to die -(Everett the Emperor, conqueror of the Western World) Today would be the day he finally succeeded. It would mark his ascension to the realms of a master pill refiner after all his years of hardship and struggle. He could still hear the other children calling him things like waste and half breed when he closed his eyes but he had proved them all wrong. While the other children of the village were living out their days as farmers, carpenters, and bakers he was an alchemist of renown. While certain nobles and other more prejudiced people would avoid his work because he was a half elf, many more cared more for his skill than his looks. Not to say he was bad looking, not to be vane but he was a handsome man still the smoother skin, a more refined bones structure and pointed tips to his ears gave his true heritage away. Over the years he¡¯d had a few flings but no one he was really able to settle down with. Most of the women would be with him for the time it took to receive a few gifts from him but then quickly fade away, or the kind of women who didn¡¯t mind spending a night or two with just for the excitement that hint of exotic his heritage gave him but they wouldn¡¯t settle for a half elf in the end. All of his misfortunes would change though if he could finish this experiment. He would become the fourteenth master alchemist on the continent and from there not even kings or emperors could look down on him. His influence would rival that of gods, his legacy would be eternal, maybe he could even pave a path towards peace between the major races so no more half breeds like himselves were cast aside left to fend for themselves in the world. He would step away from the hundreds of other Greater Spirit Rank Alchemists and reach the peak of alchemy. Too think it all started with his mother dying the irony of it all, if she¡¯d lived he might have never gotten to this point in life. But that was the past and this was the future. He would shake the world with this experiment no longer would dungeons be a thing of mystery a rare creature never truly understood. ***** After his mother passed away the village cast him out into the wilderness with little more than the clothes on his back. For five years he¡¯d roamed the woods hiding from beasts and struggling to survive as he learned about all the dangers of the wilderness. Finally just after his 17th birthday he stumbled upon a cottage. In their lived an old man, his eyes half blinded from the countless years they¡¯d seen. Other than his mother he was one of the first people to show kindness to him to really care about him. The man was beyond ancient but in no way was he infirm and from him the boy learned many things about alchemy. In the mornings he would prepare breakfast then head out to chop fire for the stove and hearth. Later as the sun rose higher in the sky the two would set out into the woods the man pointing out all the different plants to the boy. In the evenings sometimes he learned about alchemy than old man''s skill might not be what it once was but he was still a powerful alchemist. For four years the young man learned from the man until he reached the peak of journeyman rank alchemy. Then after they celebrated his 21st the man sent him out to find his flame. Two years later he returned with the ¡®swampy spirit flame¡¯, a lesser divine flame, the old man congratulated him and gave him the final piece of his legacy accepting him as his fourth disciple. Two weeks later he finally passed away and the young man buried him underneath his favorite tree. ***** As he combined the massive water mana crystal with the blood of an earth dragon he heard the roar of thunder and looked up. The sky had darkened but that was not his concern no mere weather could stop him. As he mixed the ground up feathers of a roc and dust from the horn of a unicorn he spoke the the ancient grating words of the abyss. Filled with power the crystal changed from the mere water stone it used to be to a clear crystal roiling with a myriad of colors. All it needed was lightning and fire he thought and it would be complete. However even as he brought out his divine flame he felt the first bolt of lightning strike him and the crystal. Why he wanted to shout, after everything I¡¯ve gone through still the heavens punish me. Even as his muscles convulsed his heart stopping and then shuddering to life once more. His organs burnt beyond recognition he knew this was the end. Nevertheless my achievement shall live on he thought as he forcefully refined the crystal burning the fires of his life to imbue it with remnants of heavenly tribulation. Completed he saw it glow before a second boom of thunder shattered his achievements. The last thing he saw was the second flash of lightning even as he felt it coursing through his veins his body falling to the ground as the crystal tugged upon his soul. **** Through the creation of an artificial core, your soul, and the spark of life from a bolt of heavenly lightning your dungeon core has formed. Wait what the hell happened the last thing I remember is. Crap this is what I get for experimenting with the unknown. I should have just made a 100 years life potion, maybe a sovereign pill spirit, or even an elemental bestowal pill. Why did I have to try to create my own dungeon core. That tiny voice though at the back of my head though said it worked didn¡¯t it. That¡¯s not the point I shouted at it, I died or at least my body did. Dungeon Cores must choose their resident races (pick 2) Crap I don¡¯t want to do this right now but even though most people would think it stupid I know I want plant monsters. As a former alchemist I know many things about the different types and how to cultivate them besides everyone always underestimates plant monsters. Other than that I¡¯m not sure. Demons and undead are out because of all the different holy churches. I¡¯ll toss slimes out because I already want plants and in a lot of ways plants and slimes are similar. They both have varied evolutions and most plant monsters are mindless like slimes. I think I want an animal type because while goblins or kobolds would be useful they offer much worse loot than animal types and dungeons with low amounts of loot are often destroyed by the greedy, especially young ones. I¡¯ll pick birds because they will give them the advantage of flight and they can hide in the trees among my other monsters before swooping down on adventurers. Dungeon: ???? Mana: 2,113 Mana Regen: 1 mp/h Skills: Dungeon Manipulation, Earth Magic, Water Magic, Forest Spirit Flame (Divine Flame), Heavenly Lightning Flame (Divine Flame), Creature Creation Okay, let''s just set all the doubt aside and try to make this work for a minute. I don¡¯t want my core taken because I haven¡¯t formed a dungeon yet. Creations: Moss (2 mana), Grass (5 mana), Maple (50 mana), Mandrake Monster (60 mana), Hummingbird (10 mana), Woodpecker (25 mana), Hawk (50 mana) The knowledge just flowed into me, I instantly knew how to create all of them. While it might seem limited it was better than nothing. Before they picked their starting race all dungeons knew how to make was the most basic moss. He also had his old mana pool but it looked like once he used it he would have to wait for ever to increase it back up to that again unless he could increase his regen. First off he needed to see what he had to work with so he started spreading his influence over the area. It was similar to utilizing the spirit, a type of vision given by the soul.Slowly his influence expanded out, first 1 meter then 2 until he reached 10 meters in all directions from his core. It was mostly a clay based soil in all directions, however I did find a chunk of magnetite which is promising. Now to be honest I thought it was just some kind of rock but once I scanned it the information about it just flowed into me. Apparently it is a high quality iron ore and occasionally pieces of it can become magnetized. Magnetized magnetite is known as lodestones an important part of making a non magical compass. So it would be useful as a source of loot. Materials: Soil, Clay, Magnetite, Lodestone ***** Dwarf Maple created (30 mp) The Dwarf Maple ended up about 8 feet tall and wide once I funneled another 30 mana into it to make it finish growing. Of my three rooms I ended up filling the first room with moss and grass before placing four mandrakes scattered about. One was near each entrance while the other two were on the most likely paths through the room.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The second room was covered with more grasses and moss but also held three dwarf maples. I created a nest in the branches of the farthest back maple for a pair of hawks, then created five more mandrakes, and for the hell of it created a woodpecker. People might be distracted by the sound of the woodpecker drilling and miss the moment of attack from the hawks and mandrakes. The last room had a grove of 7 dwarf maples and the floor blanketed with grass. My core was hidden in the far wall near the floor. I planted a tuft of grass in front of it to help shield the glow and keep me away from the prying eyes of adventurers. After some thought I created 5 hawks and 2 woodpeckers giving me one bird per tree. The hawks would swoop down and attack while the woodpeckers would hopefully provide a distraction. Spread out in the center of the grove I placed 5 mandrakes, their attacks would be weak but hopefully there shrieks could put and with they might be able to tangle up an adventurers feet causing them to stumble presenting an opening to the hawks. The boss room was 10 meters across on all sides, For a total of 100 square costing me 100 mana. The other two rooms were smaller with the first being 4 by 8 meters and the second 5 by 10 meters. Overall creating the rooms and short narrow hallways was only 190 mana but populating the rooms was the real cost. 840 mana alone was spent on the mandrakes and they weren¡¯t even very powerful creatures. 1,815 mana was spent on turning these rooms from dirt to an inhabitable dungeon albeit a small one with only 3 rooms. Now I just needed to add the finishing touches. By crystallizing 10 lightning mana I created a common grade lightning attribute mana stone which emitted a faint light illuminating the rooms. Next was the creation of a common grade water mana stone which would give off trickles of water for the plants use. After placing them the dungeon had 6 lightning attributed stones and 10 water attributed mana stones. As rewards for clearing the rooms in addition to the beast and monster corpses I created a chunk of magnetite, the standard size of just over a pound with magnetites weight, for the first room. The second room got the same reward as the first while my third and final room got a much better one. It had a chunk of lodestone and a common grade earth attribute mana stone as a reward near the back of the room on the opposite side of the back wall as my crystal. Dungeon: ???? Mana: 118 Mana Regen: 19 mp/h Skills: Dungeon Manipulation, Earth Magic, Water Magic, Forest Spirit Flame (Divine Flame), Heavenly Lightning Flame (Divine Flame), Creature Creation After finishing the last change his consciousness grew fuzzy and I fell into a sleep like daze. Awake but not aware, seeing all but not processing anything. Slowly the hours passed and the changing of the sun brought the dawn of new day once then twice high above in the lands touched by the light of the sun. Until with the setting of the sun I awakened. What was that all about I thought. It almost felt like a mana burnout, which I guess in a way it was. I used almost all my mana and like a person I collapsed into a mana coma of sorts. I would have to be aware of that especially since as I was a dungeon mana was everything to me. How high does it have to be too be fully aware? Dungeon: ???? Mana: 1,004 Mana Regen: 19 mp/h Skills: Dungeon Manipulation, Earth Magic, Water Magic, Forest Spirit Flame (Divine Flame), Heavenly Lightning Flame (Divine Flame), Creature Creation So I was fully functional above 1,000 mana points, and could probably withstand dipping down to 400 or 500 points but below that my mind shuts down. That is troublesome but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. As a reward for creating a simple dungeon, 3+ rooms you may choose a name. This was my chance to start anew so what would I call myself. Arvid that would embody me in the days to come. An ancient name for an eternal being. From this day forth I am of tree and eagle, Arvid. As a named dungeon you earn the right to impose dungeon laws and expand downwards creating ever more layers. So that was how I got those powers. I hadn¡¯t tried expanding downwards since I could hardly make a first floor but I knew that dungeons had the right to set up certain rules in their domain. With it I could set up automatic repairs, secret areas unlocked by hidden conditions, and extra rewards for meeting certain criterias. With these new abilities I set up an automatic repair function so that whenever a floor was empty it would be automatically repaired. In addition I set up an extra reward of a common grade water mana stone that can only be earned by completing the first floor without destroying any of the trees, significantly harming the grass and moss, or attacking my woodpeckers. Now all I had to do was open myself to the world. Sure I¡¯d like to stay hidden for longer but on the off chance that my displacing the dirt and creating the dungeon was noticed I couldn¡¯t risk being labelled as a sneaky dungeon. They¡¯re the ones who hide never connecting with the outside world and because of their elusive habits and the frequent monster hordes they spawn hatred against them over 50% are destroyed when first found. After waiting until I had enough mana to do it in one shot I made a tunnel about 6 meters long and just over a meter and a half wide out the side of the small hill I was in. The entrance looked like a hole in the side of the hill so I used my extra mana to grow two dwarf maples one on each side of the entrance before turning the outside layer of the entrance into an arch made of magnetite and hardening it enough so that it wasn¡¯t worth the effort of excavating to get a bit of iron ore. ***** Over the next six days I just worked on accumulating mana and expanding my influence. As a dungeon none of my previous cultivating techniques worked but I was trying to piece together something from the various techniques I knew of but for now it was a bust. However, today I got a sensation like someone was staring at me. You know the feeling where the hair raises on the back of your neck and you can feel someone''s watching you even if you don¡¯t know who. ***** (Adventurers POV) ¡°I¡¯m telling you I saw a bolt of Heavenly Tribulation strike this area, then a few days later there was a shift in the earth mana. Some kind of natural treasure was born here and a powerful one at that.¡± The leather armered man insisted this time he was right about something. ¡°I don¡¯t know Michael, how many times have we went on these blind searches to help you find some rare beast or heavenly treasure. It was probably just some regular lightning and a slight tremor.¡± A refined looking dark haired gentlemen in light metallic armor complained. ¡°I think he¡¯s right about something happening, I felt the change in the surrounding mana. However, I doubt it¡¯s really caused by the birth of a heavenly treasure¡± She held up a hand for them to stop, brushed a strand of bluish black hair out of her eyes tucking it behind her ear. ¡°I¡¯m going to try sensing for the origin of the disturbances we should be close enough.¡± Sitting cross legged she brought her hands together palms touching and fingers pointing up. Slowly a bluish glow distorted the air around her as she concentrated slowly extending her senses outward. After ten minutes or so she shook her head and went to get up when she let out a gasp. ¡°What is it Michelle, did you find something?¡± The first man asked anticipation in his eyes. Had he finally found a real treasure? With eyes filled with confusion, shock, and awe she stood up dusting the dirt off her robes. ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon. From the aura it appears to be a newly born one, but this is big guys if I¡¯m right we really found a dungeon.¡± ¡°Wow, you actually found something. I guess lady luck shined on us today.¡± A big blond haired brute covered in plate armor had a massive ax resting over his shoulder gripped in one hand and a giant kite shield strapped across his back. ¡°Shut up Jedrek. We found a dungeon do you know what this means? ¡± A dark haired elven beauty hit him upside his armored head with her bow. ***** (Dungeon POV) I chuckled at the adventurers looks of awe and desire for my dungeon. They hadn¡¯t even seen it and they already consider it a treasure. So unlike my prior existence back then one look at me and they looked away in disgust, spat to the side, or cursed me a halfbreed. Still my happiness faded away as I looked harder, the adventurers were all mid C rank way stronger than anything I had in my dungeon. Hopefully they don¡¯t want my core, if they do I hope they can¡¯t find it I think as I conjure up a massive lightning attribute mana stone using 100 mana. Without looking too closely one might think it a dungeon core and if not they might accept it and not search to hard for my core. Finally after about a half hour of searching for the exact location of the entrance they arrived. They didn¡¯t seem too impressed with the entrance but the elf women commented that it was better than the ones on most new dungeons and some old ones. They entered in single file do to the narrow hallway with the giant in the lead his shield blocking all potential attacks, followed by the lightly armored man with a rapier and buckler. The two girls went next with the last man, Michael I think his name was brought up the rear. They came into the first room armed to the teeth quickly assembling into a V formation before looking around in disbelief. I heard quite a few ask the others if this was really a dungeon or not. A lot of their wariness left them when they saw just common grass and moss in the cave. That¡¯s when the first two mandrakes popped out of the ground letting loose ear shattering screams. One attacked the feet of the giant with the shield but it¡¯s teeth and hands couldn¡¯t penetrate his armor. The other had better success on Michael who was clothed in leather armor, it¡¯s teeth pierced through his ankle even as he let out a girlish shriek, vaguely reminiscent of a squealing pig. However a blow from the giant''s axe and and a spear formed of condensed earth mana easily killed them. The others were all poking fun at Michael, from what I could tell he was an earth mage or something, but he had a short sword in one hand. However, the Elven beauty called their attention back to the mandrake, apparently they were an uncommon material in a few mortal rank alchemy recipies. I¡¯d guessed they were low mortal rank but had never personally worked with them. It only took them a few minutes to clear the room and then they waited while the guy with the rapier sketched out a map of the room. After picking up the magnetite ore by the hallway to the second room they entered the second room. I would like to say that it took them longer to clear it than the first but that would be a lie. They didn¡¯t expect the bird but they quickly dealt with the mandrakes to end the shrieking while the bluish haired mage maintained a shield of water over their heads against the birds. After killing the mandrakes in a blow each the archer shot two arrows quickly dispatching my two hawks. Only the third and last room gave them pause when the water shield collapsed before the mandrakes were completely finished off but a rain of arrows halved their numbers and a couple more swings of axe and sword killed the last of them. After searching the room they gathered all the loot including the bonus water mana stone and the giant lightning mana stone I hoped to use as an imitation core. A couple of them pointed over to where I¡¯d hid my core but in the end they left it alone. I¡¯d survived my first encounter with adventurers. Chapter 2: Part 1 Chapter 2 (Part 1 of 2) A dungeon is a place filled with mystery. The longer I study them the more question I posses. How can something closer to godliness than a mortal could ever comprehend be so stupid? If a dungeon had the brains of a mortal they could conquer the world, grow an empire that spanned across time and entire civilizations. -(Master Mage Pierre Augustus, the ¡®Dungeon Scholar¡¯) (Adventurer Guild Master''s Office, Edgar¡¯s POV) It had been three days since we found the dungeon and sent word of it to both the closest elven city of Mapleton, 7 days travel from the dungeon, and the nearest human city Whiterock, named after the massive deposits of marble common in the area. Still the policy around dungeon discovery was that the full details were required to be reported in person at the closest settlement with a guildhouse. We arrived at Whiterock last night just before the gates closed but now we had to go report our findings. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s even a dungeon?¡± A haughty voice asked, the man was dressed up more outlandishly than almost every women I¡¯d ever met. My family was lower class nobility in one of the Eastern Kingdoms but I had never met someone as ostentatious as Baron Gable. He was a short man barely 160 cm (5¡¯3¡±) but he made up for it with the wedges on his shoes to give him another 10 cm (approx. 4¡±). Still it was his arrogant attitude and the crazy way he dressed that got me. The silver scaled tunic was fine if flamboyant with it¡¯s ruby studded trim and buttons. Besides that he had a massive silver and red plumed buccaneer style hat with skin tight red leggings underneath his tunic which just emphasized how puny and scrawny his legs were. However, the real kicker was the feathered sword belt. He had a jeweled and gaudy rapier that was a mere ornamentation on his belt but it was the trail of feather plumes that dragged behind him almost touching the ground. What kind of man wants a feathered tail to follow him everywhere, can he even sit down I thought. ¡°Yes we have confirmation on the dungeon isn¡¯t that right Edgar?¡± Snapping back to attention. I gave no indication of my lack of attention a skill I¡¯d trained for over a decade in my younger years. ¡°It is most certainly a dungeon, so far our knowledge of it points to a plant and bird based dungeon with water, earth, and lightning attributes. This could be a massive boon to the surrounding area especially with how rare plant and lightning type dungeons are.¡± Lightning dungeons were some of the most popular dungeons because of the unique items they can produce but are also the rarest attribute for a dungeon to posses. While plant types are just as rare and often bring in high ranking alchemists into an area. The guild master and Baron Gable kept debating about the specifics of them all I slowly tuned them out. I don¡¯t really care how long it takes them to find a suitable number of craftsmen or the specifics of the supply chain. Sure I am happy to reap the benefits of a functional in or tavern but the most important part to me was getting back in the dungeon as soon as possible. It might be low level but our team wouldn¡¯t have to worry about competition and this was was a very rare specimen of it¡¯s kind. ¡°Your team will have to head back to the dungeon, I want daily reports on the dungeon so we can further analyze the materials and see if anything new pops up. Make sure no one takes the core, this dungeon is the best thing to happen to the area in a long time.¡± I looked up and nodded at the guild master. Our kingdom was a relatively weak one and this could go a long way in improving it if the dungeon kept growing. The baron had slipped out while I zoned out after mumbling something about informing the king I think.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ***** (Dungeon POV) The monster¡¯s died but after the adventurers left I realized that about 90% of the mana used to create them returned to me and the 10% loss was more than made up for by the mana I managed to siphoned off of the adventurers when they were here. The adventurers gave off an aura of life for lack of a better world, as they fought I could collect fragments of it and it was like pure adrenaline in my system, it turned into large amounts of mana. In total I earned about 1,000 mana from the adventurers after factoring in the cost of spawning new monsters and birds. Dungeon: Arvid Mana: 4,354 Mana Regen: 19 mp/h Skills: Dungeon Manipulation, Earth Magic, Water Magic, Forest Spirit Flame (Divine Flame), Heavenly Lightning Flame (Divine Flame), Creature Creation Now it was time to truly finish my first floor. I created 7 more rooms each roughly the size of the third room but not all of them were such perfect squares these ones had more rounded edges and sides. I linked them all with short narrow hallways like before. There was only one path through my dungeon and to each step forward was to be paved with blood. Now in order to really challenge adventurers I needed stronger monsters, the ones I had now were just regular animals or weaklings. It was time to start experimenting, I¡¯d been jumping to due this since the beginning but was too worried about the mana cost, now I had no choice I needed stronger monsters. Looking at the hawk flying just over my core I grinned it would be the first. ***** I¡¯d wasted almost 2,000 mana but I think I had my new monsters finally. In total I had created four new monsters. The hawks became static hawks which were twice the size and had a kind of electrical defense. I had infused their wing and tail feathers with lightning mana causing the feathers to turn a goldish yellow color. Personally I thought they looked stupid with their brownish colored bodies and bright yellow tail and wings but looks weren¡¯t what mattered. When attacked the inherit lightning mana in their bodies automatically counterattack, currently it was mostly just painful but it did slightly stun the attacker and deaden nerves.. The woodpeckers were also greatly improved. I decided to experiment of making them armor. Infusing their feathers with earth mana and then fusing the hair follicles which made of the feathers with magnetite ore them into a metal version of their former selves. The change to metalback woodpeckers caused their defenses to greatly strengthen but flight was greatly hindered they could still climb the trees but from their they attacked by jumping down and have gliding half falling at adventurers. The most startling change I had brought about was the dewdrop birds. The hummingbirds lost some aspects of their physical form and took on more slime or water like qualities. They would reform if cut in half or smashed and only magic or certain skills could be used to kill them. Basically they were water slimes in the form of hummingbirds but the system still considered them a bird type since they evolved from hummingbirds which was good to know. The last monster was one I had created solely with my own knowledge of plants and earth magic. The mossy boar was formed using a mana stone core that was then seeded with moss and manipulated by earth magic. A mixture of golem and plant, unlike true golems it would grow stronger like a plant over time if it survived. In the future I would make more creations like this I already had a bigger version in mind but it was to strong and mana intensive for now. The only downside was the costs to the new monsters. Dewdrop birds were the cheapest at 50 mana, metalback woodpeckers cost 60 mana, static hawks cost 75 mana, and mossy boars which were by far the strongest cost 200 mana. Even though it was expensive it was still worth it if I could ensure my survival and continued growth. Chapter 2: (Part 2) Chapter 2 (Part 2 of 2) (Michael POV): As soon as we entered the dungeon you could feel it, the mana in the air was thicker was so thick you could almost taste the energy in it. Every breath contained hints of the elements, mana permeated the air. It was thick with humidity, hummed with the crackle of electricity even as sparks occasionally flickered into existence. If I were to describe it I might say it was like walking into a thunderstorm, like the heart of a thundercloud. Strangest though was how the earth seemed almost alive faintly moving. Like the dungeon had a heartbeat and with every breath it took the earth trembled. This was always the thing I could never get used to about dungeons. They made the very earth submit to their presence it shifted to their bidding, perhaps it was the earth mage in me but it filled we with feelings of repulsion at the way it reigned over the land a false god in many ways but at the same time it gave me waves of envy they commanded the earth and it moved they spoke and it moved, it controlled the earth in a way no mortal could ever achieve. The dungeon was still as weak as ever at first, we breezed through the first three rooms they hadn¡¯t really changed. Only the ear shattering shrieks of the mandrakes kept one''s nerves on edge. It sounded like nails on chalkboard. It wasn¡¯t until we got to the third room that we found a significant change there was a tunnel leading farther into the mountain, the dungeon had expanded. In the first few rooms we hadn¡¯t seen any real change just 1 less mandrake in the second room while the third room had been reduced to only 2 mandrakes and 4 hawks but it''s normal for a dungeon to move monsters around, though from what I can tell it looks like it¡¯s sticking to 6 monsters a room from now on, we¡¯ll need to list that in our report. The fourth room was filled with new beasts there was one of what looked like a metal woodpecker and four tiny slime birds, they looked like blue bird shaped slimes as they zipped around the room, a real pain in the ass to kill but extremely weak. At least there¡¯s not a, I thought when a shriek set all our nerves back on edge and I cursed even as my ears felt like they were bleeding. ¡°Well at least we know the dungeon can make new creatures.¡± Some of the known dungeons just make the same thing over and over just in bigger quantities like a slime dungeon that just makes basic slimes but spawns hundreds per room in lower floors turning them into a wave of slimes. The others glared at me but I could see they were happy to see less of those damn mandrakes, the banshees of the plant kingdom. I¡¯m sure some of the rookies would get nightmares about them. Leaving their nice comfy farmhouses for a picturesque adventure only to be rudely awakened by the screaming, their lives forever haunted by the screams day in and day out. After the Violet we all inspected the remains. I guess this is what passes for loot in the dungeon. I stood back after a minute and let Violet tell us what they were good for. ¡°It looks like the slime is water based. It can be used as a solvent in some low grade mana and water attribute potions. Not too valuable but enough to get some adventurers and apprentice alchemist out this way. On the other hands these metallic birds are another matter. If I had to guess the feathers could be refined into iron ore or made into some kind of feather armor but I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°What no feather pillows out of these beasties.¡± Everyone glared at Michael, he was just reminding them of all the comforts of civilization they were missing out on. Still at least they knew the loot could be useful for something. I trusted Violet¡¯s analysis she was skilled when it came to identifying objects, some kind of rare analysis ability. It was time to clear the dungeon though. The fifth room was the exact same as the first and the as the fourth and the only thing of note was that after one of the slime birds shattered from Michelle¡¯s frostbolt some slime landed in her hair. It wasn¡¯t corrosive or anything but that didn¡¯t stop her from bitching about it.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. In the next two rooms there was one less slime bird and a second of the slightly stronger metallic ones but still for adventurers of our level it was a walk in the park. I hadn¡¯t had to someone even one of my beasts this whole time and I doubt I¡¯d ever need to in a low level dungeon. Still I could see how a unique dungeon like this with it¡¯s birds and plant combination would be useful in training new adventurers, help keep them on their toes. ***** Finally at the eighth room we got something new. We all easily slayed the birds with a single blow still but this time Edgar got a nasty little surprise when he cut through his, a hawk with yellow wings and tail. He let out a curse and we all turned to look. I held my sides laughing his slicked back hair was standing straight up. ¡°You got your first afro man, I¡¯m pleased to see you trying out new styles. Is this the new trend with all the nobility.¡± The others all chuckled at him while he gave me a rude gesture with his finger belying his noble heritage. Then turned his glare on everyone else, after we all calmed down from our merriment we walked over to the bird. It looked like a hawk but the edges of it¡¯s wing and tail were covered in bright yellow feathers and even in death it still sparked with energy. I snickered when I saw he couldn¡¯t comb it back though no matter how hard he tried before turning my attention to the bird I¡¯d heard of these before. ¡°I think it¡¯s a static hawk. They¡¯re hawks born in regions filled with high concentrations of lightning mana. Every attack they make is filled with lightning energy plus they have a innate defense a type of weak force field of static energy it¡¯s a fascinating defensive mechanism.¡± They were rare but not particularly powerful from what I¡¯d read about them in an old bestiary. Then grinning to myself I decided to say something I knew would make them all curse me. ¡°You know guys every animal we¡¯ve fought has an enhanced version so don¡¯t you think the next one will be a¡­¡± They all cut me off cursing at me not to jinx it even as Jedrek knocked me upside the head with a massive armored palm. My head was still ringing when we entered the next room but the sight of 6 birds nearly had me weeping with joy. Does that mean no more mandrakes praise Elvira the goddess of light. She smited the horrible mandrakes so they might not spread their plague across the dungeon. Despite what I¡¯d said they got to me just as much as the others, well maybe not Violet she had it worst with her enhanced elvish hearing. After cutting down two bird slimes, beheading two metal birds, and shooting down the pair of static hawks with a combination of ice and arrows we reached the boss room. It wasn¡¯t what we expected to say the least. Well the two static hawks were but a 350 pound green boar surely wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d guessed. Charging Jedrek slammed it with his shield causing its whole face to smash in but to my surprise it wasn¡¯t dead. The greenish head quickly reformed and from it sprouted two foot long tusks it was mad now. The tusks only produced sparks when it hit the massive kite shield but from that one alone showed how hard they were. Sneaking in Edgar slashed the beast''s flank with his rapier even as an air hit it¡¯s right shoulder and a frostbolt his face. I stayed back so I could jump in where I was most useful. Shaking itself it shrugged off the magic and arrows but between Jedrek, Edgar, and myself we managed to slowly hack it up. The beast was constantly healing up the surface wounds but deeper wounds stayed and after losing a foreleg it quickly perished before our blades. Ignoring the fallen birds we all huddled around the boar and an old rusty looking iron chest set against the back wall. The boar appeared to be made of moss was my first impression but I stood back to let Violet do her work. Then gasping Violet fell back from the boar her eyes wide. ¡°It¡¯s a plant construct. I¡¯ve only heard of them but supposedly they¡¯re the biological versions of golems and artificers constructs. I don¡¯t know how this appeared in a dungeon but this is big. The knowledge is almost solely controlled by high ranking alchemists and a handful of elf mages.¡± Looking closely at it you could see the green was actually a dense network of moss. While the bones appeared a mix of wood and iron it was brought fully to life by a large common rank earth mana stone. How did the dungeon do this, aren¡¯t they just mindless beasts looking up towards the core as it lay hidden near the ceiling behind a carpet of moss. I thought what other shocking things will you how us. Chapter 3 (Part 1) Chapter 3 (Part 1 of 2) (Dungeon POV) I laughed when I saw how stunned they were by the mossy boar. What would they think if they found out I already had a second type of plant construct in the making? The only thing holding me back from using it was the high mana cost and that I couldn¡¯t let my dungeon be too strong in the beginning or no one would come. Most of my mana and life energy would be harvested from the newbie adventurers. Those stupid sons of farmers and cobblers who thought all you needed was a dull sword or a woodcutter''s axe to be a hero. Even as a young boy I never remembered dreaming of a hero. I was the villain of the village not the tiny rat faced kid who smiled as he tortured squirrels and mice or the big ogre faced brute of a boy who broke more than his share of bones. Even as a child I learned that everyone was primarily judged not by their actions or words but by who they are be it noble, craftsmen, or peasant. I was a half breed no more had to be said that was all everyone thought I would ever be. However, I proved them wrong as an alchemist people looked up to me, sure no parent wanted their child to be me apprentice but they were in awe from my feats of alchemy. I was going to be the first half elf master alchemist in over a millennia. Now I was a dungeon though and everything else is the past. I need to set that all aside and just take the useful pieces of my past, the hate and memories of humiliation wouldn¡¯t help me. Looking around I found my spatial rings they held what I needed to progress. I had two spatial rings one was a world ring capable of sustaining life, it cost me a fortune but it contained my 5 personal plant creations. I had spent years perfecting them ending up with four spirit rank plants and one spiritual rank grass. They would be some of the higher ranking rewards for the dungeon but it was my other ring that I needed now, these were way too valuable for the first few floors of a dungeon. The second ring was a spatial ring and it contained most of my former possessions, the most important of which were the high level mana stones. With the stones I could significantly expand my dungeon. It should be enough for at least another two or three floors. I can¡¯t wait for them to come back the second time they would be knocked off their feet. If I progressed enough I might even be able to hinder or stop their journey to my core. I doubt I can stop a party of mid C ranks but there¡¯s no harm in trying.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ***** (Michael) The guild master was shocked to say the least when we reported our findings and in the end Edgar was riding out to Mapleton. The guild and alchemist association wanted to personally analyze all of the materials so we could identify the useful loot of the dungeon; they were especially interested in the boar construct. Still it would be nice to know the true value of all these things. Among two dungeons of similar strength the one with the better loot is almost always the more popular one. ¡°So do we go back in the dungeon?¡± I asked filled with eagerness this dungeon was a true treasure and I couldn¡¯t wait to plumb the depths of it once more. ¡°You heard what the Guild Master said Michael. We¡¯re to scout the surroundings and prepare for the construction of the dungeon outpost. It will need an inn, tavern, armorer, and alchemist shop at the very least. Not to mention he specifically designated you the job of scouting out high level beasts in the area. You¡¯re a beast master so you need to kill, tame, or dominate the stronger beasts in the area. We can¡¯t have a beast horde descending on the town.¡± Violet glared at me her eyebrows scrunching together as she gave him a death glare. With Edgar gone she had taken over the job of keeping the rest of us in line which was probably for the best, though I¡¯d never tell her that. Grumbling I set out into the woods after summoning Dinah, she was a crowned jaguar. A true was a monster of a cat and also one of my bond beasts. Roaring she ran around off into the woods before heading back over to me and butting my leg with her torso sized head and nearly knocking me over. Growling she expressed her displeasure over our bond. ¡°I know girl but did you really think we needed you for a newbie dungeon. You could solo it on your own.¡± That helped smooth her ego like I¡¯d known it would. No female could turn down flattery no matter their appearance, be they beauty, beast, or crone. Rubbing her head I tuned out her purring focusing on the surroundings as I sent out pulses of earth mana letting me expand the range of my senses by an order of magnitude. Turning toward the North a grin split my face. There was a Night Bear in that direction which had set up control of the area, it though it was king of the Northern Forest. Well it wouldn¡¯t be a king much longer. Night Bears were black bears infused with dark mana; night bears tended to be more aggressive and vicious than normal bears. They also happened to make one of the finest Bear Steaks I¡¯d ever tasted and Violet was an excellent cook. She wasn¡¯t one of those hippy elfs who¡¯s afraid of meat, she followed the way of the wilds where everyone depended on nature''s bounty for sustenance, a trait everyone in the party was grateful for once they tasted her cooking. Chapter 3 (Part 2) Chapter 3 (Part 2 of 2) (Dungeon POV) Pulling out my pile of mana stones I looked through them to see what I had. There were 3 High Grade Spirit Stones of earth and water attributes I used to use for cultivation, that would give me over 12,000 mana. However the majority of the mana came from the 153 low grade mortal spirit stones I had. They weren¡¯t very useful for cultivation but it was easy to use them as a fuel source for my flames when I was refining. That way I had more mana to focus on combining the ingredients and manipulating the flames. I had almost 28,000 mana it was time to get started. The top floor was basically cave like, I¡¯d shifted some soil down from the top to the floor for the plants but layout was basically a series of interconnecting caves. I wanted something a little different for the second floor. In order to utilize my birds and plants to the best advantage it would be an one big room with tall ceilings and trees everywhere. Now I just have to figure out how to prevent adventurers from sneaking past all the monsters to reach the boss room. After some thought I created 6 keys, one of the 6 would occasionally drop every time a certain monster was killed. Using the 6 keys gained from killing all the beasts they can unlock a reinforced steel door that¡¯s over a foot thick. Adventurers of C rank and above could forcefully break the door after a couple of attacks but that didn¡¯t really matter. This was another floor aimed at weak adventurers. As I put the last of the plant life in the room I considered what kind of monsters to spawn. For completing the second floor in near record time you have gained the right to acquire the floor 5 bonuses early. You may decide to become a temporal dungeon or a spatial dungeon. *****If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. You may also choose your third race from the remaining two options: Okay this was unexpected but I had heard that older dungeons had weird ways of altering reality. First I would choose my third species since it could affect the first choice. Elementals were magical beings formed from the very elements. However, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll choose them. For one unlike insects they are insanely hard to evolve. Their speed of reproduction is so slow it¡¯s almost nonexistent and my plant beasts were just as good as golems in many ways. Plus the water bird had ended up similar to a water elemental or slime so they probably wouldn¡¯t help me out too much. Decision made I picked insects now I just had to make the hard decision to focus on rapid evolution and advancement or creating basically multiple copies of myself, though there is only 1 core. In the end I knew my answer I would always choose quality over quantity if I didn¡¯t then I could never be a true alchemist, I¡¯d just be one of those half rate pill makers who churn pills out by the dozen never paying any mind to the inferior quality of their products. I felt something in my core change and then everything just seemed to shift. My dungeon seemed to speed up while everything else outside my walls seemed to slow down. However after that first distortion it was gone. The only difference was the two parts of my mind that monitor the inside and outside of my dungeon sped up and slowed down respectively. Time was wonky to me but I guess I¡¯d just have to get used to it. It¡¯s not like I could do anything outside my dungeon so the outside didn¡¯t really matter except for in the detection of threats. ¡®Okay focusing back on what¡¯s important what kind of monsters did I get?¡¯ The new race option gave me a large centipede (30.5 cm, foot long), a type of poisonous spider, and a bunch of tiny ants that seemed worthless. It¡¯s experimenting time again, I didn¡¯t become an alchemist without a drive to experiment, for example one of the requirements to become a higher level alchemist is to create your own unique plant. Channeling earth mana into the centipede I got it two reac 3 feet in length, it¡¯s armor was much thicker with a crushing strength lurking inside it. The spider reached the size of a palm and turned a deep blue with crystal white legs. A type of frost spider its venom would cause organs to shut down and freeze in great enough quantities. The ants ended up the wierdest no bigger than a grain of rice they didn¡¯t get any bigger but create a tiny surge of electricity and with a large enough swarm of them they can take down almost anything effectively shocking them to death. Spreading my new beasties over the forest I spawned flocks of water birds, metal woodpeckers, and static hawks. They all spread out over the area hiding in trees, among the grass, or nesting in clumps of moss. Then tweaking my idea of the monsters dropping keys I spawned 6 mossy boars each one with a key embedded deep in it¡¯s body right next to the core. Adventurers would have to wonder all over the forest searching for the mossy boars and fighting the other creatures along the way. For the boss room I created an even larger earth enhanced centipede, a mossy boar, and a mandrake, the last just cause I saw how much it annoyed the adventurers. Now I had some things to consider about the third floor, it would be a large increase in difficulty. Both the first two floors could be cleared by a party of F rank adventurers but the next floor should be more along the lines of E rank difficulty. Chapter 4 (Part 1) Chapter 4 (Part 1 of 2) (Dungeon POV) After a day of pondering on the layout it least it was a day from my perspective I had some ideas for the next set of floors. The first two floors would be geared towards rookies, F rank parties in other words. The next three floors would be for E ranks and after that I would increase the difficulty. O sense giving all the good stuff to weaklings and this would cause the greedy and over eager to delve deeper than they could handle giving me an influx of life energy as they perished. First off I created a complex of interconnected caves 25 in total but of them an adventurer only had to pass through 20 to reach the next level the others lead to dead ends and traps. Yes, I finally decided to introduce a few traps to my dungeons. In the passage between the first and second there¡¯s a pitfall hidden by a carpet of moss and two others are scattered across the floor. For this floor I went back to a more cave like theme, only the floor was covered in moss and a few clumps of grass while the walls and ceiling were left bare. Each room has two or three dwarf maples whose branches skim the 10 ft ceiling in places. In others stalactites and stalagmites create hiding places for creatures to lurk behind. Now to decide on the monsters, which should I pick?You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. In the end I decided on a consistent number of beasts for the level. It would be easy for adventurers once they got the technique down but every room had a diverse collection of beasts. A mossy boar and the larger armored centipedes from the last floor''s boss room were the strongest in each room. Besides that every room had a pair of static hawks hidden in the upper branches of the maples, a frost spider behind the stalactites ready to inject its venom in unwary adventurers and the good o¡¯ll mandrake for luck. Can¡¯t leave out my first monster and adventurer¡¯s seem to love him. By the end of the floor they might have grown used to the monsters but together the monsters can each prey on a different weakness. The mossy boar and giant centipede are strong tanky creatures that can overwhelm weaker foes. Mandrakes can distract the enemy causing them to lose focus at crucial times. While static hawks even in death can debilitate those unprotected against their electricity and frost spiders are the silent assassins jumping at any perceived weakness. I already had my boss picked out from earlier. A larger version of the mossy boar I called a giant mossy boar. A frost spider and static hawk would distract adventurers while the boar gored them from the front. The last of my floor was used to create a long winding labyrinth I filled with plants. My monsters would hide around bends ambushing adventurers or pushing them back into pitfalls. Lastly I made the boss a massive glob of water mana.