Chapter One: A Strange Opportunity
As I behold the dusty basement, I wonder if I made the right choice. The car crash was instant, at least. The angels dont exactly pay much attention to why people die, but a semi barrelling down a hill is usually because of failed brakes. They told me I could go see about the pearly gates, or get reassigned. Apparently accidents like that are a bit of a loophole.
Also apparently: those weird isekai stories are a thing. There were a whole bunch of weird different worlds out there to send adventurers and such to, but I wasnt all that interested. That kind of thing is fun in a game, sure, but in reality you only get one life. Or two, I guess? I was about to leave to talk to Saint Peter, when the lady angel presenting the options tried one more. It was to become a dungeon.
I was incredulous, but also intrigued. How does one become a dungeon? Well, one gets hit by a semi, I suppose. But how does one actually be a dungeon? Would it be like Dungeon Man in Earthbound? It was such a weird option, and she looked so desperate to fill that position, that I shrugged and accepted. I figured, worst case: Ill end up back here eventually, and I can just head to the gates instead.
After accepting, I started to just. dissolve, and the angel seemed so happy, telling me I wouldnt regret my decision. She was wrong, as watching my feet fade away filled me with regrets pretty quickly, but I had already agreed, and I cant stand backing out after agreeing to something. Even if it seems like its going to immediately suck.
Which brings us to the basement. Do note that I said behold, and not that I looked around. As far as I can tell, uh I dont have eyes. It makes sense, if Im a dungeon. Im just curious what kind of definition of a dungeon equals what feels like a run-down house. If most of those isekai stories are like playing an RPG, I feel like this one is more like a weird city-builder, like maybe Dwarf Fortress. I just hope its not as difficult.
I feel like Im a floating viewpoint, and its pretty weird. I can also focus kind of out and feel the whole house. I even have a few little indicators for things. For one: I have denizens, which feels grandiose to call some rats and a bunch of spiders. I also have invaders in the form of roaches and flies. What I dont have is any idea how to do anything.
After observing around a bit, I notice a tiny little orange gem that pops up with the word Core above it. I dont know what it is, but the cupboard I found it in is labeled as my Sanctum, so thats probably important, even if the gem is super tiny. More like a shard or a chip than a gem. Either way, Id really like to put it somewhere more secure than just a cupboard.
The spiders seem to want to protect it, though. Ive seen them weaving an impressive tangle around it. Well, impressive for spiders. Maybe they just like the little glow it gives off? The flies definitely do. I watch one of my spiders finally scuttle up and bite into the first of the captured flies, and feel something weird.
Mana Obtained!
Yeah, weird. More little notifications pop up as the spiders dig into their meals, each showing over the little flies before fading. So I get mana from the spiders doing things. What does mana do? Its gotta do something, right? If this is like a city builder, I probably use it to build my city of spiders and rats, though that still doesnt answer how.
I try mentally yelling at the rats to do a backflip or file my taxes, but they ignore me. They do occasionally eat a roach, which seems to be more mana than a fly, but I get the feeling thats not saying much. I focus back on the spiders, since they seem to be actively, if accidentally, protecting the core. I notice one just starting to build a new web, and try to give it a command.
Hey. Spider. Weave a heart into your web, instead of it just being a circle.
Woah. That took a bit of my mana. Not a ton, but more than a couple flies would give. And sure enough, I can already see the little spider weaving a heart for her web. While interesting, what does that actually do for me?
I mentally sit down to consider. Denizens seem to be on my side. Invaders seem to be against me. I get mana for killing invaders. The core is probably important. I mentally nod to myself as my next task is decided: get the core somewhere safe. Where would be somewhere safe? The cupboard is safe-ish, but I feel like I can do better. Pretty sure Ill need more mana to do that, though.
Did I call this a city-builder? Because I think its an idle game, and I cant even click things to make it faster. I did find a few things of interest, at least. I found my spawners, I guess? Theres a rats nest in the basement, and the little room under the stairs leading to the second floor has a spider egg sack. I mostly discovered them on my quest to find something to click. When I focused on those two, though, I was presented with the option to spawn rats or spiders, respectively, for a mana cost. Spiders are dirt cheap, and rats are a bit expensive, at least at this point.
I spawned one of each anyway, and after a little timer ticked down, a spider crawled out of the sack. Not a spiderling, a grown spider. Similarly, an adult rat came out of the nest in the basement. I tried clicking them, too, and discovered they are much easier to command than the normal spiders and rats. Looking closer, theyre listed as Scion Spider and Scion Rat. So I guess I have kinda creepy little avatars?
Well, with creepy little avatars, I can at least move the core. The rat cant exactly get up into the cupboard, and the spider would be too vulnerable out in the open. But teamwork makes the dream work! Its not too difficult to get the spider to web the core and carry it, though it does seem a little bigger now. Maybe its from me having mana? Either way, I need to get this thing secured sooner, rather than later.
With the spider holding the core, I have it dragline down to land on the rat, and were off to the races! And by races, I mean basement. Theres a little hole in the wall under the stairs that seems like a great place to put the core. The rat can just barely squeeze into it, and the little space is about the size of my fists put together well, my fists as they used to be. Its gonna be weird getting used to not having fists.
I even get the idea to have the rat gnaw a bit of wall from a different part of the basement to make a cover for the little hole. With the spiders webbing, the whole thing seals up and youd never know it was there. It even changed the title of the little hole to Secret Sanctum, so Im pretty proud of that. Seems like my mana generation has taken a hit for it, though. Probably because theres no little glowing source to attract flies.
I found more things to click. Or rather, I have enough mana that clicking things actually gives me options now. Specifically: I can make traps. Or grow traps? I dont know what else to call it. When I click a door, I can make it have a squeaky hinge, which doesnt sound like much of a trap to me. The description is interesting, though.
Squeaky Door
Detectability: moderate
Chance to activate: guaranteed
When opened, the door emits a loud squeak from poor hinges, alerting all denizens up to one room away.
Its not like roaches and flies will be opening my doors, but for bigger stuff, that could be nice to have. I spend the mana to do it, mostly just because. I also set a rotten floor board in the main room of the house.
Rotten Floor Board
Detectability: impossible
Chance to activate: low
The rotten floor board will snap under a careless foot, briefly immobilizing the intruder and alerting all denizens up to two rooms away.
Playing with traps gives me something to do besides just spawning more spiders and rats. Only the first ones are scions, which kinda sucks, but the new ones are cheaper, at least. They also seem kinda weak compared to even the normal critters. The normals seem to almost listen to them, though. I started having my spiders build webs around my various windows and other places flies could get in, and the normal spiders seemed drawn to them.
Similarly, I had my rats actively patrolling for roaches, and the normal rats started frequenting those areas more, and so ate more roaches and got me more mana. Which Ive been spending on upgrades for my rats and spiders. Well, upgrades on their spawners, at least. For the spiders, upgrading the egg sack seems to just make more egg sacks, which will passively spit out more spiders over time. With the various entrances mostly covered, I set a few of my spiders to just webbing up the basement, which the normals seem to take to with gusto. Anyone arachnophobic is going to stay well away from my basement.
They even register as a swarm now, instead of individual spiders, which is encouraging. Ive only been able to afford one upgrade for the rats so far, though. As far as I can tell, it just spawns slightly-tougher rats now. Which is fine, its not like roaches are dangerous to them.
Oh. That could be, though. Someone just knocked.
Chapter Two: The Visitor
My front porch has felt fuzzy to me ever since I got here. Maybe its technically outside my borders? I can feel someone standing there, and what sounds like speech, but I cant make anything out. Not like theyre speaking a language I dont know, but more like theyre underwater. Or I am. Either way, Im pretty sure my front door isnt locked. I dont think I even can lock it. I can trap it, but I cant just keep people out. Probably for the same reason I cant just keep flies and roaches out.
I decide to spend a bit of mana to pull everyone back, my rats and spiders all scurrying to whatever hiding places are available. Whoever is out there is either in no hurry, or has great timing, because the door only opens after everything is hiding.
My first thought is to wonder why an elf decided to come visit. Yeah, I know what an elf is, and Im not all that surprised. Ive played DnD. The only people who lose their crap over an elf are people with the hots for Legolas. This one doesnt look too far off from that, though he looks almost bored rather than attentive. Hes also talking to himself or into some kind of recording device.
Can confirm house is a dungeon. I could feel its attention when I knoc- shit!
Hah, suck on that rotten plank. I even got some mana for that, which is the first time Ive gotten it for something besides killing things, which is nice.
No, Im fine. I managed to find a rotten floor board. Nothing came to try to eat me, though.
Oh, right. If Im supposed to be a dungeon, I should probably at least make a token effort. I wouldnt want to be rude. I spend a bit of mana to send the wimpiest normal rat to go see what hes about. I spend the extra for a normal, not one of mine. I wouldnt want the normals to follow one of mine and swarm the guy.
I dont think I need to worry about that, though. His eyes lock to it as soon as it enters the room, even with furniture and stuff in the way. This guy might be a bit high level for me.
Level one rat, single, passive spawn. The elf pauses for a moment as the rat continues to approach, the little thing not even aware its been spotted yet. Roger, engaging. He whips out a knife and tosses it at the rat, killing it instantly. Hes definitely too high level to be slumming it in a newbie little dungeon like me. I got mana from him killing the rat though. Thats weird.
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Huh, thats also weird. Hes not listed as an intruder, but as a Delver. Im pretty sure Ive seen the roaches get a spider or two, and I didnt get any mana for it, so why for him? As I think on it, he looks around and talks to his device or team. It seemed like someone was talking back.
No sign of the Sanctum, nor any other specialty rooms. The one under the stairs is close to becoming a spider lair, looks like. Level three spider swarm in the basement, and a level two rats nest. No hostility aside from the single rat, looks specialized for pest control still. No resource nodes one minor chest in the attic.
Woah, wait, hang on there elf guy. Resource nodes? Chests? I can do that?! And hands off my chest! Im no lady, but you should still buy me dinner first! I briefly consider siccing the swarm on him, but decide against it. He didnt sound too concerned about it being level three. I dont want to waste that kind of resources for them to just be killed though with what happened with the rat, it might be alright? Nah, well save that for later. For now, I should put up at least some kind of defense of the chest.
Lots of movement, looks like it wants to protect the chest. The swarm is staying put, though I see a new one forming on the stairs up. Level one swarm confirmed.
Yeah, whats your stupid knife going to do against a swarm of spiders, huh?
Oh.
Skills are a thing. He doesnt shout the name of his attack, but a few flourishes of his knife sends winds to scatter my swarm and destroy the webbing they were putting up. I got a bunch of mana from that, though, and he didnt even kill many of my spiders. He just dispersed my swarm. Ok, uh need to stall him.
Swarm dispersed, minimal damage done. His bored look shifts to a smirk for a moment. I told you I know what Im doing. Besides, this one doesnt seem actively malevolent. If it was, itd bring out the big guns and try to bury me in rats and spiders all at once. Or put a spike under that rotten floor board.
While he takes his time climbing the stairs, I spend some mana on more than just moving rats around. I can upgrade my traps, see?
Squeaky Door
Detectability: moderate
Chance to trip: guaranteed
When opened, the door emits a loud and annoying squeak from rusty hinges, alerting and attracting all denizens up to one room away.
Its subtle, but its there. Now stuff doesnt just know a door is opened, they are incentivized to go look, instead of probably hiding. Theres another upgrade still, but its a bit expensive for me just yet. Now to see what elf-guy does with my new trap.
Eugh upgraded squeaky door. I hate that trap. Its not just annoying to the Denizens. Alerted two level two spawned rats and four level one passives. Engaging.
He pulls out two knives and Im worried hes just going to do the same to my rats as with the spiders, or even with that first rat. Thankfully, its either on cooldown, or he just doesnt want to expend the effort on rats. He still takes out each rat with a single attack, but my brave little rodent soldiers do their job of slowing him down a little. None of them even come close to biting him, but they make a good effort. With their sacrifice, my last defense is in position, at least. I seriously doubt Ill be able to take him down, but if I can even score a hit, Im gonna count it as a win. And, if I keep getting mana for what this Delver kills, I should have enough to do something interesting.
Successful encounter. I dont see any other movement, but I dont think its just going to give me that chest. Proceeding with caution. He quietly continues to the ladder to the attic, and Im already a bit proud of making him be cautious. I hope hes not too cautious, though. I want to take at least one of his hp to keep. At least, I think he has hp. My spiders and rats dont, which is probably why he can take them out in a single attack.
As he climbs into the attic, I can hear a bit of surprise in his voice and see a small smile on his face, which now looks attentive. Confirm boss encounter, level two mixed rat swarm with Scion buff. Negative on Scion position. Engaging.
He does his windblade attack again, but the rats are heavy enough they cant just be scattered like the spiders were. Theyre definitely blades of wind, though, as I see many rats in the swarm sliced into. The rest surge forward and he acrobats around my dusty attic, occasionally sending another blade of wind at them. They get close a few times, and I think the Scion buff he mentioned might be making them a bit tougher, as I see a few rats actually wounded and still trying to attack, instead of simply dead from any damage.
Still, the outcome was clear from the start, and soon the swarm loses cohesion and scatters. Boss complete. Checking chest now. He walks over to the chest, and as he lifts the lid, my rat Scion pops out and bites his hand before darting away, leaving him startled as he watches it vanish into a hole in the wall.
Stupid mistake, didnt get the exp from the boss fight, so it wasnt over. He shakes his head before continuing to talk. Exp gained, now boss is complete. Chest contains potion of minor healing, he relays as he plucks it from the chest. He pops the cork and drinks the potion, causing the little bleeding wound on his hand to quickly fade.
Dungeon is cheeky but not overtly hostile, despite lack of resource nodes. Dungeon is suitable for low level small parties up to the attic, basement is forbidden. Path to Secret Sanctum is probably down there somewhere. Note that dungeon already displays unorthodox methodology and ability to adapt to Delvers. Intruders at minimum, dungeon seems to prefer a clean house, dust notwithstanding.
That seems to finish his report, and he heads for the ladder. I dont bother sending anything else to mess with him. Partially because hes cleared me, I guess. Thats just how you do when youre cleared. Partially because he doesnt do more than simply peek into the basement, so he respects that I want to keep something to myself. But I mostly dont want to spend the mana on it.
I have just enough to upgrade me, not just my spawners.
Chapter Three: Expansion and Upgrades
Upgrading myself was definitely a good idea. My porch doesnt feel fuzzy anymore! I can even feel my roof and a little of the land around myself, too, though theres a little tower thingy on my roof thats still beyond my reach. I can feel movement outside, but I cant tell if Im some creepy house in the woods and thats trees swaying in the breeze, or if Im a rundown house in the middle of a huge city.
Even better, though: I have two new spawners! I have a nest of blackbirds on the roof over my porch, and I have an ant hill in the yard. Of course, with new spawners, comes new Intruders. Wasps have started showing up, and they love to harass my poor spiders. The spiders sometimes get them in the webs and eat them, giving me a nice bit of mana, but the wasps sometimes can get the spider. Im just glad I went a bit overboard with the spider spawner, and they spawn as fast as the wasps can get them.
And I can confirm that Invaders dont give me mana for what they kill. Stupid wasps. Theres also Invader ants, which dont seem to be able to take over my hill, but Im still a bit concerned about it. Im going to be putting a lot of mana into that thing once I get more. The ants seem like theyre designed to handle the roaches as well as the other ants, too, so theyll be able to pull double duty once I get them more upgraded.
And Ill want them to, too, because the last new Invader is my new gold standard for getting mana: mice. The rats go after them, so the ants get to pick up the slack with the roaches. The mice didnt come in from me upgrading my awareness, though. They came in after I made a resource node!
I checked all over everywhere I could find and it looks like Ill be hosting herbalists for the foreseeable future. I managed to grow a little patch of herbs in the backyard, and even sprouted some mushrooms near the foot of the stairs in the basement. Im going to make them work at least a little for the mushrooms, kinda reinforce the idea that the basement is for me, not them. And the mice love the shrooms, so I keep several rats nearby.
Oh, the room under the stairs on the first floor is now, officially, a spider lair. It even spat out a venomous swarm the other day. And speaking of spiders, my Scion doesnt fit in my Secret Sanctum anymore. Little guy is a tarantula now at least, so I have him in a little nest near the mushrooms to eat more mice.
While my spider is working on being a tank, my rat seemed to like the hit and run on the elf, and hes very sneaky now. If I didnt know everything about this house, Id swear hes teleporting, but hes been making little tunnels through the walls that it seems like only he can fit through. Hes my little Scout. Hes great.
Thats Scout with a capital S, by the way. My scions have titles now! The spider is a Guardian, and the rat is a Scout. It seems like they give different buffs, too. My scout gives things extra awareness now, which I think means an extra room worth of distance for noticing things. The Guardian makes things tougher in his room. Since hes in the basement, that means the swarm in there is even more of a hindrance and more difficult for invaders or delvers to get through.
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So, with a good scion rat, I decided to upgrade the nest several times. You know, give him more rats to buff and stuff. After a certain point, I got to decide a path for it, which confused me. Rats dont have paths. Theyre rats! On Earth, maybe, but not here. Ill start with the path I didnt take: Plague Rats. Yeah, no. If Im in a city, I dont need to bring the black death, thanks. Besides, I think the one I took is more interesting: Packrats.
Im not exactly sure how, but they seem to spawn random stuff every so often, and put them places. I still only have the one chest in the attic, but now adventurers can look in my various drawers and cupboards and find interesting little things. Rough little gems, coins, sometimes theyll even put some fungus caps somewhere. They love hiding stuff in the chest, though, which makes sense.
The blackbirds I quickly upgraded to crows, partially to help with the mice, and partially because crows are cool. They also like to collect shinies or thats where the packrats get the stuff. Either way. The crows also find the wasps delicious. Im not sure thats how the food chain worked on Earth, but Ill take it. Good birbs. Protect my leggy-bois.
My real project, though, is with the ants. They spawn a bit differently than the other things. For my other things, I just queue up what I want and bam, I get it. They also periodically spawn stuff on their own, too. With the ants, though, they only spawn workers passively. And I cant tell the hill to spawn more workers. I can upgrade it, or I can trigger a nuptial flight. I upgraded it several times, and then the option for nuptial flight started blinking.
So I went ahead and spent the mana for it, just to see why it was blinking. Well, that lead to interesting things. For one: despite having only the one hill, there were several different types of ant available in the mating flight. I steered clear of the carpenter ants, at least for now. I wouldnt be surprised if they can do actual carpentry eventually, but Im just a house right now. I dont need ants chewing through my wood to find a place to live.
The option that stuck out to me, though, was the leafcutter. Thats the ant that farms fungus to eat, and I thought thatd be a cool one to use as my Guardian. Army ants and fire ants could be interesting for offense, but I like me some defense. I had her hitch a ride on my Scout down to the basement, and he stopped by the mushroom patch for her to get a bit of the mycelia. frёewebnoѵēl.com
I had honestly expected her to just suddenly have a little bit of fungus to grow and nurture, but that works for me. Ill bet those mushrooms attract Delvers almost as much as they attract mice, so I definitely want more of them. Shes a pretty active queen, too. She put her little bit of fungus next to my core, which is looking about like a marble now, laid her eggs, then went out to forage. I mean, I guess shes safe enough in the house, especially after I told a few spiders to watch over her.
Only the flies seemed interested in her, so spiders were the obvious choice for protectors. She gathered a bit of paper to bring back for the fungus, and sat down to just chew and process it for the thing. Its relaxing to just watch her work.
Oh, my crow scion says we have Delvers approaching. Multiple? Thisll be interesting. I didnt get a chance to do much outside yet, aside from the herb patch. I had also wanted to get a chest in the basement, but was more concerned with getting my new Guardian settled. Ah well, theyre here now.
Chapter Four: The Pitter Patter of Little Feet
I approximate a squint at the Delvers my crow alerted me to. Is he sure theyre Delvers? They look like kids. One looks a bit bigger and is green, so probably an orc or something? The other is also green, but is shorter. Like a lot shorter. Probably a goblin. Once they step onto my property, I listen in on what theyre saying.
The goblin looks nervous, but the orc is putting on a brave front. They look kinda dirty and poor, but mostly healthy. Are they from an orphanage or something? The nervous one speaks up. I dunno, Freddie are you sure this is a good idea?
Sure its a good idea! I saw the inspectors check this place out, its definitely a Dungeon!
Doesnt that mean we should stay away? Im with the scaredy cat on this one. Dungeons dont seem like the kind of place for urchins to play.
No! If it was a big established one, yeah, but this ones fresh! Old Staiven said hed apprentice anyone with an ounce of magic if they could bring him some spellspores, and this is just the kind of place theyd grow! I think.
But you dont have any magic, Freddie.
The loudmouth just waves that off. But you do! So come on! A party has to help each other! Huh that Freddie seems like a good sort, at least. I thought I was looking at a bully situation. But do these kids even have levels yet?
Well, I still cant lock the door, so I guess theyre coming in. They each ready their weapons, which are just two different sticks, looks like. Freddie there has a hefty stick, not quite a club, but it looks like itd be up to dealing with rats and spiders. The other kid has a more whippy stick with a little shard of glass tied to it, I guess to act as his wand.
I spend a bit of mana to send two wimpy rats to greet them. I dont want to overwhelm these kids just yet. It takes them a bit longer to notice than the elf did, but Wimpys gasp alerts Freddie. The kid stands between his friend and the rats and yells at them, trying to scare them off. But these are my rats, theyre not gonna run off. They have a job to do, and they are going to do it to the best of their abilities.
The two rodents scurry forward, and Im just hoping the kids can run away before anything too bad happens to them. I didnt need to worry, though. Freddie would have a good golf game back home and sends a rat sailing into the next room. Wimpy, however, points his wand at the other rat.
Frost! The little thing ices up and decides that running is preferable to dying. Which is fine by me, I still get mana for them being defeated, not just for them getting killed, which is great all around, really.
There is a pregnant pause before Freddie whoops in triumph. Yeah, we did it! See, your magic is good enough! Now we just gotta find those mushrooms. He looks around, obviously without a clue as to where they could be. He heads for a cabinet and Wimpy calls out to him.
Be careful! You dont know if its trapped!
Itll be fine, dont worry! he says as he opens the cabinet. His eyes shine as he sees the silver piece sitting in plain view. Wow, a whole silver! We should come here more often! The boost in mana I get as he takes the coin makes me agree with that idea, too. Packrats and crows were definitely the right choices for upgrades.
The two poke around the main room, gathering coins from various containers. Freddie is not as observant as Wimpy, though. That kid peers at the spiders in the windows and the rats hunting roaches, keeping a distance as he watches. When Freddie makes to open the door to the spider lair, though, Wimpy actually grabs his hand.
Not in there! Look, he says and points down at the slow stream of spiders coming from under the door. Freddies eyes widen and he backs up a bit. Yeah I dont think we could handle a swarm just yet. Ah, good. He knows his limits, too. I like these kids.
Wimpy looks around and points at the stairs going down. Uh I think the mushrooms will be down there. They like darkness. Freddie readies his stick and Wimpy makes his little wand act like a flashlight, and the two slowly descend into my basement.
I actually spend a bit of mana to keep things calm down there. Everything knows the basement isnt for visiting, but Im willing to give these kids a chance. They seem to know theyre getting in a bit over their heads, but the brave little buggers keep going, as careful as two kids can be.
The spider swarm hisses at the light and the presence of the kids, but dont attack. From Freddies look, I think he might be arachnophobic. Still, he does his duty, standing between Wimpy and the swarm, even as his stick wobbles in his hand. How long t-to get those mushrooms, Rhonda?
Rhonda? A girl, then. Huh. Just a few seconds she says, sounding a bit sorry about the situation. She focuses on the mushrooms and plucking several of the bigger ones. Once I get the notification that shes gotten three units of mushroom (I have no idea what a unit actually is, but its more than just three caps), I decide thats enough for now.
Im not a mean dungeon, but I feel like Id lose my license if I just gave this stuff away. Not that I actually have a license, but still. I have my spider scion start to emerge from his little nest, in clear view of Rhonda. At the same time, I let the swarm start to slowly advance.
Uh Rhonda! Theyre coming! Her Eep! of reply gets him to look and see the scion emerge. Hes my biggest denizen by now, about the size of a dinner plate if you count his legs. To the kids, he probably looks the size of a horse.
Run! orders Freddie, and Rhonda is all too happy to oblige. The two book it, and I keep my spiders from giving chase. I got a bunch of mana for defeating the delvers, and I cant help but smile to myself as the two slam my front door and lean against it, panting from the run and from the fear.
After about a minute, though, the two start laughing, relieved to have escaped. That was crazy! exclaims Freddie, riding the energy of his adrenaline tapering off. Did you get enough? Rhonda nods and pulls a double-handful of mushrooms from her pocket. Yeah! Old Staiven will have to apprentice me now! Rhondas happy smile slips, even though Freddie is still beaming. But what about you? You still dont have any magic
Freddie shrugs. Ill be fine. Maybe the Church of the Crystal Shield will accept me? We got in and out of a dungeon, after all! Rhonda smiles at that. Youd make a good Paladin, even if youre scared of spiders, she adds with a giggle. Freddie gasps. Dude, you saw the size of that Guardian spider!
She laughs and nods. Yeah, I also didnt argue when you said to run, hehe. He laughs as well, and I get a new alert.
Quest updated!
The Next Generation completed their quests in you! Mana rewarded.
Oohh, thats a lot of mana.
Chapter Five: The Second Inspection
So, what am I to do with this sudden windfall of mana, thanks to those kids? Ive got enough to upgrade myself again, and I do want to, but I want to make sure Im prepared before I do that. My ant queen has been busy, her little workers finally hatched and all got to well, work. Ive been mostly spending my income to upgrade her, keeping my total above the point for me to upgrade myself, but not spending it just yet.
She can make majors now, which are just bigger and meaner ants. Theyre not all majors, still need workers, but invader ants are basically a solved problem now. Her workers have been digging into the dirt of the little Secret Sanctum, as I want my large marble of a core to be beyond the reach of anything strong. Fittingly enough, the ants are hard workers, and progress has been going pretty smoothly. A foot a day might not sound like much, but after a week, itd take adventurers with picks and shovels to get at my core.
Which makes me more willing to let delvers into the basement. I even grew a new chest down there, too. Nobodys shown up to try to get to it yet. My swarm is now level five and venomous, but I know its only a matter of time before some strong delver comes by to clear it out. Theres even a magic dagger in the chest, so thats sure to draw delvers.
Also sure to draw delvers are the new mushroom nodes. With my queen around, I can put new nodes in little other spots around the house for a discount. Theyre mostly in cabinets and cupboards and such, just a small patch for the ants to feed from, and for mushrooms to grow. Im kinda proud of my little ecosystem.
Oh hey, elf guys back. Maybe he wants that dagger? I focus in on him as he does a loop around my yard.
Dungeon has expanded since last inspection, crows refuse to shut up. Good crows. Patch of herbs in the back yard, not high level. Birds upgraded to crows, anthill appears heavily upgraded, but no obvious signs of ants outside. Appears Dungeon prefers to focus on interior at this time.
He gathers a bit of herbs from the patch before walking around to my porch and knocking. Hmm no movement inside after announcing my presence. Ah, so he could sense me shuffling my things around last time. He heads on inside and looks around the main room.
Entrance busy with patrols of rats and small spiders. Dungeon not reacting to me this time, may be trying to lull me into a false sense of security. Spider spawner in the spandrel is now a minor lair. What? Spandrel? He facepalms at whoever hes reporting to. Thats what the little room underneath stairs is called. Speaking of rooms, still no sign of Sanctum or other specialty rooms.
He seems to double-take as he glances at the stairs to the basement. Lesser chest in the basement, behind a level five venomous swarm with Guardian Scion buff. He gives a low whistle. Surprised it spawned a chest down there, though. Last time, basement was a clear no-go zone. May have moved path to Secret Sanctum. Hah, you wish, elf guy. Im a smart dungeon.
He starts to poke through my various containers, pocketing the loot and getting me a nice bit of mana in the process. Container loot above average for level, to be expected with both packrats and crows. I can sense several small mushroom nodes scattered through the house, so probably leafcutter ants as well. Dungeon seems to prefer to be cooperative, though not a simple toybox. Rat swarm upstairs still level two, most of house still recommended for new adventuring groups. Will examine basement to investigate report of orphans having been down there. From this growth, someone has definitely been in here.
I should have expected the kids would talk. They seemed really excited about those mushrooms, so someone would ask where they got them. I hope those two were able to do their things. They seemed like good kids.
Elf guy cautiously descends the stairs, and I make a note to put a rotten floorboard or five there for next time. Confirm spell spore mushrooms just past landing in the basement. Guardian spider nest nearby, and venomous swarm as well. Dungeon could have easily finished the kids off.
His eyes lock to the chest in the back. Chest contains a magical weapon. Permission to retrieve? Acknowledged. Engaging. Oh, he does want the toy! I spend the little mana it takes to alert the swarm and the Guardian spider. Tiny, as I like to call my spiderbro now, is definitely bigger than any spider back home could ever dream of getting, about the size of a cat. His aura not only makes the spiders nearby tougher, but also makes them do more damage, too.
Nothing personal, elf guy, but you gotta pay the toll if you want the goodiebox. Deliberate pincer maneuver by the spiders. Dungeon definitely could have kept those kids if it wanted. He smiles and pulls his daggers. This is gonna be fun!
He decides to engage my scion instead of the swarm first, probably because with all the webbing around, he wouldnt be able to acrobat around like in the attic. He stabs poor Tiny, but the little guy seems to be able to take it. He webs one of the elf's feet as the swarm closes in, but that grin of his stays on his face. He kicks Tiny back and pivots on his stuck heel to unleash those windblades of his at the swarm, and the big mess of webbing. Theres too many spiders for him to keep them all away, though, and he gets many little bites.
I can even see the little poison effect floating over his head now. It doesnt seem to have dampened his spirits, though, even as Tiny jumps onto his back and sinks his fangs. Is he going to leave soon? I kinda like the friendly rivalry we have, I dont want to accidentally kill him.
Shadow Blade!
Oh. I didnt need to worry about that. He seems to melt into shadow before flashes of steel permeate the room, and he even kills Tiny! No! My swarm is done, too. I wish I still had eyes to glare with at the jerk who killed my Tiny!
Whew, boss encounter finished. Confirm had to use Shadow Blade, basement is for high level solo or medium groups. Grabbing loot before Scion respawns. Wait, respawns? I focus on my spider lair while the elf guy opens the chest to get the coins and dagger, and sure enough, I see a little portrait of Tiny with a timer counting down. I look over at my mana for that fight and if I had a jaw, Id need to pick it up off the ground. Thats a ton of mana from that fight.
Elf guy drinks one of his own potions as he ascends the stairs, and I let him go. I still feel a bit sore about him killing Tiny, but at least the little guy will be back before too long. As the elf reaches for the knob of the door, he pauses and glances back into the room. Don't spend it all in one place. Id hate to lose a dungeon like this.
Wait, lose?
Chapter Six: Making Friends
Ill admit: elf guy shook me up with his cryptic parting words. Well, at least it seems to confirm that my core and my Sanctum are important. Definitely keeping it Secret for now. Some of his other words also make me curious. He mentioned other rooms. Other rooms like what? If theyre anything like the Sanctum, Ill probably want to keep them secret, too. And, if theyre anything like the Sanctum, the room can be tiny.
I set my queen to digging out a few extra chambers for me, and to keep expanding the Sanctum. The Core is about a golfball now, so I cant get complacent with the chamber its in. I wouldnt want it to get stuck. It actually doesnt take long for the first chamber to be finished, and when I focus on it, I see a couple interesting options: Library and Lab.
Hows that supposed to work? Well, no time like the present. I designate the first chamber as a Library, and it pops up as a Secret Library. Cool. A small scrap of paper also appears in my library. I focus in on it as I wonder what it does.
Whats this?
Oh. Its like a little notepad. Uh erase? Ah, good, that worked. I dont exactly have enough paper to just go putting useless questions like that on it. The second chamber is about finished now, too, so I designate it as a Lab, and sure enough, its now my Secret Lab. No papers appear in it, though. How do I make it work, then? I poke around with it a bit, though I dont get anything to pop up. Until an ant wanders through with a bit of mushroom in her mandibles. Combine, eh? Well, that has all sorts of interesting implications. I tell the queen to send a few workers to get some of the herbs from the patch and a bit of the spell spores, because I think its experimenting time!
No, wait its visitor time. Oh hey, its the kids. Theyre looking better now, too. Rhonda has a simple little robe on and a wand that doesnt still have bark on it. Freddie has some clothes that look similar to denim on, and a little wooden shield to go with his club. It still has bark on it, but its a bit thicker and has a decent knot on the business end. Seems like a good upgrade in gear to me.
This time, interestingly enough, its Freddie who seems uncertain about being here. Really, Rhonda? Thats what you want as a familiar?
Well no, actually. Freddie seems to relax at her reply, at least until she continues. That was a Scion, so I cant make that my familiar. But there might be a different big spider like that to tame. Freddie visibly shudders at the idea of taming a spider, and Im curious. A familiar? Interesting. I have been getting a decent number of odd larger spiders recently.
So how do we go about taming one, then? Beat it up and nurse it back to health? Rhonda looks aghast at the idea. What? No! I have to befriend it!
How do you befriend a spider? Freddie asks incredulously, and Rhonda looks a bit bashful. Im, uh not sure. Old Staiven has a bunch of books on familiars, but he says he believes in learning on the job. Freddie doesnt look very impressed about her mentor, and Rhonda cant help but speak up to defend him. He didnt send me out with nothing, though! He said I should find out what my familiar wants, and provide it.
Then whats a spider want, besides to crawl on peoples faces while theyre trying to sleep? asks Freddie, shuddering once again. Rhonda just giggles. Well food and safety, I guess? But these arent just normal spiders here. They also want to guard their dungeon.
But if theyre your familiar, wont they not be able to stay here to guard the dungeon?
Um kinda. But I had an idea for that!
The bucket?
The bucket! she exclaims with joy, brandishing a wooden bucket with a small plank over the top.
So hows that help the spider defend the dungeon?
Well just catch some invaders, then feed them to a spider!
Without feeding us to the spiders, too, Freddie deadpans. Rhonda simply smiles and nods, and he rolls his eyes before continuing. OK, so whats an invader? Uh us?
She shakes her head. No, were delvers. Were kinda supposed to be here. Invaders want the core. Old Staiven said with a new dungeon, mice are probably the biggest invaders.
We saw rats, though. Thosere bigger.
Those are denizens, theyre also supposed to be there. Lets try to catch a mouse out here, then try to find a big spider to feed! Huh, thats interesting. I set my crows to leave the kids alone and observe, giving them a chance to catch something.
Hey, what about this big bug, instead? asks Freddie, holding up a large hissing roach in his hand. Rhonda recoils a bit before steeling herself. Thatd probably work? With that, she removes the plank, and Freddie plops it in the bucket.
I mentally shrug and leave them to their hunting, because I can also sense my two reagents are in the lab now. I even have a use for the scrap of paper in the library! Let me see Ochredill and Spell Spore
Ochredill + Spell Spore = ?
Perfect. Hey, ants. Come chew these two things up and mush them together. Im amazing at science. A couple worker ants come to do my bidding, and theyre soon chewing and mushing. Its taking a while though, so I go see what the kids are up to.
I never expected a bucket of roaches and mice to be so easily identifiable by the sound, but it is. The kids look pretty proud of themselves, too. So, we have spider treats. Whats the next step? asks Freddie, seeming a bit more at ease. Kid seems the type to prefer doing than just talking, but at least hes smart enough to know to follow a plan.
Well now we go inside and look for big spiders, and see if any of them are tameable. Freddie still doesnt like the quest, but hes not backing down, good lad. Well, lets go then. He leads the way back to my porch and heads inside, casting a weary look at my various denizens. I have them stand down, despite the big bucket of invaders they have, and the two start looking around.
What kind of spider are we looking for, anyway?
I think I want some kind of hunting spider. Weavers are cool, but I dont want to have to deal with webs everywhere.
So how do we find one of those?
Well theyll be hunting, I guess? A hunter, eh? Well, the best laid plans of mice and men, as they say. Sure, I have a couple large wolfspiders wandering around, about the size of a hand. Thosere probably exactly what she wants. But that bucket also gives me an idea to make their quest a bit harder.
Dont look at me like that. Im still a dungeon, not a supermarket. Or a pet store. I send one of my wolfspiders to scurry through the room to get their attention. Then I send a couple more. Theyre kids, not the elf guy. I cant expect them to spot everything. Freddie actually is the one to spot the 5th spider I send through. Like that one?
Yes! Don't lose it! Rhonda says with excitement and dashes after the spider. They both try to be quiet, but have you ever heard a kid be fast? They can be fast or quiet, not both. Still, I get them to the kitchen, where my little trap is set for them. I do have a couple wolfspiders milling about, mostly because they hadnt wandered out after I had sent them yet.
The real fun is up on the ceiling. Adorable little newbies havent learned the importance of looking up yet. Rhonda hands Freddie the bucket, who puts his club away to take. Kid has a good mentor. If you have to choose between a weapon or your shield, take the shield. Rhonda removes the plank and levitates out a roach, and tries to coax one of the wolfspiders to come eat it. Freddie is keeping a look out, but I dont think the kid has a great spot check, you know?
On the ceiling, my little traps prepare themselves. Ogre-faced Spiders are cool. They have the usual eight eyes, but two of them are huge. Probably because they dont make normal webs and dont do the normal hunting like wolfspiders. They make nets. And they need those eyes to aim those nets.
While Freddie is looking away from the bucket, and Rhonda is distracted, one of the spiders descends, opens her net and plucks a mouse from the bucket without being noticed. She returns to the ceiling and quickly enjoys her meal, before preparing another net.
Come on tasty invader to eat! tries Rhonda, having little luck feeding the spiders.
Maybe they prefer the mice? suggests Freddie, even as another mouse is plucked from the bucket without him noticing. Rhonda sighs and returns to the bucket, tossing the roach back in and levitating out a mouse. I hope so, she says, sounding worried that her plan wont work.
I know the wolfspiders do prefer the mice, but the ogres dont really care either way. The two young delvers return their focus to the wolfspiders, while another net plucks out a few roaches. The wolfspiders immediately notice the mouse, and the nearest one prepares to pounce. There you g-Eep!
I guess she wasnt prepared for them to move quite that quickly. Probably fortunate for her that she was levitating the thing. The mouse is dispatched with a crunch and quickly eaten, and I can actually see a little bar over the spider's head starting to fill.
Its working! Quick give her excited face turns to one of confusion then concern as she turns back towards Freddie. Sitting on the bucket for stability, her dragline keeping her weight off it, one of the ogre-faced spiders is staring at Rhonda as she chews on a mouse.
Freddie says Rhonda, not wanting to startle her friend. I, however, can see the little taming bar fill, and silently laugh as it looks like Freddie gets a notice.
Taming complete? Wha-AAAHHH! His outburst scatters the wolfspiders as he backs away from the bucket and his new tame. She simply holds the bucket now, and reaches a leg in to pluck out a roach to eat as she watches her new master and his party member.
Chapter Seven: Moving Day
Ah, those crazy kids. After Freddie found himself with a new animal companion, there was much consternation. He wanted to release it, of course, but thats only an option for rangers and tamers, silly boy. He definitely looked like he was considering cross-classing in the near future, though. Rhonda, however, still needed her own familiar, and the two got the bucket back with hopefully enough mice to spare.
They actually tracked down the one that Rhonda had started taming, partially with the help of Freddies spider who Im going to call Fiona. Fiona seems to take her new position seriously, as she netted the wolfspider as soon as she spotted it, which was significantly earlier than the two kids. Im pretty sure the taming bar filled slower, what with the wolfspider being restrained like that, but Rhonda got herself a spider familiar.
I let the two kids go on their way peacefully, and got another pile of mana for them finishing a quest as well. I smile to myself as they leave my perception, hoping theyll come back for some more shenanigans. For now, though, I have an experiment in the lab to check up on.
Its definitely done something, but I dont know what. The mush is faintly glowing yellow, which might be a good sign? It didnt blow up, or melt through the dirt, so I consider it a win so far. Not knowing what else to do with it, I tell the queen to have a few workers eat some. If they explode or something, theyre just a few little worker ants.
And hey, they didnt explode. They didnt die, either, which is even better. I watch the ants and notice a pretty immediate change. Theyre quick little buggers now, wow. I tell the queen to keep tabs on them and turn to other things for now. Ive been sitting on quite a pile of mana for a while now. My core is close to the size of a tennis ball now, so I should do something with it.
Now, my new upgrades for me will let me expand up, out, or down, and theyre all tempting. Up will let me get that little tower thing on my roof, which feels like a great place to put some stronger stuff, maybe something between the strength of the basement and the attic. Out would give me more ground to look at, maybe let me see the fence or wall or whatever. The kids more or less confirmed to me that Im in some kind of town. Its not like urchins can just go wander out into the woods and expect to come back safely.
Down is also really tempting, though. There could be caves there, or maybe ores or something. If Im going to live up to the title of dungeon, Ill need to head deeper eventually, right? Well, deeper is probably also more dangerous, and I want to be ready for dangerous stuff.
Up it is, then. It feels weird to not have the run of the whole house, when I am the house. Ah, its a belfry. Fittingly enough, I have a bat spawner in there, too. I dont know what my new invader is yet, though. Bats eat bugs or fruit, and I doubt Im gonna get attacked by killer tomatoes. I feel like I have bugs more or less handled, so what will they throw at me? Feels like something sneaky, whatever it is.
Or maybe itll actually be nothing? It wasnt all that much mana, and didnt give me that much extra floor space. It more gave delvers roof access and the belfry than it gave me new rooms, so not all that much, really.
I decide to risk expanding out, since I still have a lot of mana to spend. Man am I glad I did. I do, in fact, have a wall and a gate, but I also have a huge expanse of a yard. My new spawner is a personal favorite, too: snakes! Heck yeah Ima have noodles wandering around. I upgrade my little snek den and the bat belfry until I need to choose a path, and leave it hanging for now. I want to see what happens with the new invaders before I make any choices.
Mana Gained
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Wait, what? A new mana thing? Where is aha! One of my snakes got something! Its a mole? Uh-oh. My Sanctum is still Secret, but moles will eventually stumble over it and the core! Ok, I need more sneks, and I think I need them small, so were going vipers. I wanted constrictors, but no way is an anaconda going to be able to hunt moles.
Alrighty sneks, go and my snakes! Seagulls! I hate seagulls! The vipers fight back a bit, but these gulls are bad news, wow. My only real options to fight them in the air are my crows and my bats. I could make them vampire bats, but I dont think thatll do too much against seagulls.
I spend most of my mana to upgrade my crows nest to a ravens nest, and the new birbs descend on the gulls like theyre the new taste sensation. A group of crows may be a murder, but these ravens are definitely an unkindness to those stupid seagulls. Aahh thats some nice mana income now, though.
Right, surface secured again, need to secure the Sanctum. My rat scion has been working on my walls and various nooks and crannies, making all sorts of secret passages and such around, and I see a great spot for my new sanctum. Im glad he hasnt really been getting bigger, unlike Tiny. I thought he would be, especially after the nest spat out a dire rat the other day.
A scout needs to stay lean, I suppose. Anyhow, the location for my new sanctum is going to be in the chimney on the second floor. Well, technically in the attic. Theres never been a fire in there since I got here, and with the spiders and ants to build a little chamber in it, I can move my core!
Of course, I need to be careful about that. First thing: Scion roll call! Tiny! Keep doing your thing, buddy. You hang out in the main room for now. If you keep getting bigger, Ill need to give you an actual room for your lair, too. Youre about the size of a small dog now. If anything says Dungeon closed for renovations, its a spider big enough to play fetch.
Scout rat! Congrats, your names Teemo now. Get the other rats on high alert, especially along the route to the chimney! Youre going to have to be the one to carry the core, so Im counting on you!
Queen ant! Youre moving shop! Well leave the lab and library for now, but get ready to hitch a ride on Teemo. Get as many majors as you can to eat the rest of the ball of go-juice. Oh, and how are those workers? Theyre still speedy? Awesome, we need to get more of that stuff made, but later.
Raven, Poe! Youre my early warning and first line of defense on the surface! I dont expect the gulls will be able to do much, but keep an eye out. And if any delvers show up, do your best to discourage them. I dont want anyone inside until my new secret sanctum is secured!
Bat Scion! Uh sleep tight? Not a whole lot for you to do right now, sorry. Ill get back to you.
Fluffles, my new snake scion! I see that mp bar, mister. Youre running escort with Teemo. Dont go burning me down or something. OK, we all know the plan? Then break!
Outside the new dungeon, the quiet port town can feel the shift in the activity of the old abandoned manor. While before, the place had been almost welcoming, today it is not. People can see the ravens staring at them as they walk by, and can hear the occasional squawk of a seagull being intercepted as soon as it enters the grounds of the old estate.
The representative of the Dungeoneers Guild stands at the gate, scribbling furiously as she takes down notes, her pointed ears occasionally twitching as she works. Suddenly, the mood seems to change like someone flipped a switch. The ravens caw and relax, and the electricity seems to just vanish from the air. She notes that, too, for when the inspector next returns. It could be a sign of something having gone wrong.
Chapter Eight: A New Project
Ah, everything went right with the move! I even learned exactly what the go-juice actually does! Well, almost everything went right. Let me explain. My ants started moving my core through the tunnels and towards the crack in the wall, when a mole finally found the core! I tell you, at that scale, moles are terrifying!
The Queen, though, quickly rallied the troops to fend off the invader, and the little soldiers started zapping it! Lightning ants! Isnt that cool?! Anyway, I only had about a dozen lightning majors, but with them and the normal majors, and the Queen directing them in the fight, the mole barely even got to touch my core.
It took a tiny bit of my mana before they could push it back, and the affront of it touching my core seemed to send them into a frenzy. The lightning majors are all dead now, but that mole is also very very dead. Queen got the ants moving the core the rest of the way, and Teemo soon got ahold of the orb, and Queen, with Fluffles watching over them all.
With the mole incursion making me cautious, Teemo led everyone through a secret passage and into the crawl spaces in my walls. He wasnt taking any chances, which I definitely appreciated. It seemed like the various invaders could all sense the core was vulnerable, even if they didnt know where it was. Ive never seen the invaders number that high! It feels like every hand, foot, talon, wing, claw and tail was on the ground to repel them, and I cant help but be a bit proud of my denizens.
Thanks to the secret paths, my core was quickly placed in the new Secret Sanctum, safe behind layers and layers of thick spider silk and packed dirt, as well as the stone and mortar of the chimney itself. My raven Scion even set his nest on top of the chimney, with various spiders actually protecting the opening from various insects. All in all, a very successful relocation, and I signal the all clear.
Everyone goes back to their normal doings, and I ping Tiny to head outside. I have an idea for what to do with all that free real estate, and Ill need his help. I also set my bats to be fruitbats. I want to make me some agriculture, and is there any more cultured agri than a hedge maze?
See, I have all sorts of interesting things I can grow out here, and a thorn hedge is one of them. If I set them up right, I can make a maze. If Im gonna have a labyrinth, Im gonna need something to live in it, and I dont have a minotaur. I do, however, have Tiny. I also have various larger critters to help populate the maze, too. I have a couple dire rats and even a small swarm of crows. That should be plenty to populate the maze, at least for now.
I also have the ability to make a ton of nodes out there. Ive got several options for herb nodes, and a bunch of spots for various wood nodes, too. I go a bit crazy with spending my mana to get the thing up and running. I dont need to expand downward right now anyway, and the increased numbers of invaders means more mana production, too.
I havent seen any Delvers in the last few days, though. I had a few, aside from the elf guy and the kids, but none recently. I wouldnt mind a bit of extra mana from them doing stuff, but Im not exactly hurting for it. Im definitely glad I made my bats into fruitbats, too. The hedge maze is a bit out of the range of Queen and her workers, and fruitbats are just the kind of things to help make my herbs and trees grow better. More herbs and trees should mean more Delvers, right?
I even sprout a few chests out in the maze, along with the aforementioned various nodes, just to sweeten the pot. Theyre all listed as Least chests, which Im pretty sure means they kinda suck. That might be from how Im organizing everything out here, though.
See, in the house, its basically dungeon business as usual. My critters defend me from invaders and challenge delvers, everything to the death or to retreat/rout. Out in the maze, though, Im setting things up differently. Ive had Teemo out to teach the dire rats a few things, and Ive also had Tiny practicing his webbing. Hes approaching the size of a horse now, and I wonder if even the elf guy might have to actually try to be able to beat him.
Which would be difficult for me. See, if nobody comes to get my stuff, I dont get that bonus mana. So I have a new job for Tiny: hide and seek. I want to get Delvers to explore the maze and have to avoid Tiny. If he catches them, hell web them up and dump them outside the maze. I think I can even have Fluffles levitate them from there to just outside the gate.
The dire rats will be playing annoyances, stealing stuff from the Delvers as they spot them. I wonder if the Delvers will consider the area even more dangerous than the house. HP are a lot easier to replace than stuff sometimes. Im not too worried, though. I think challenge translates to reward levels, for the Delvers and for me. Its a weird and different challenge, but one I hope will pan out.
And if it doesnt, well Ill have more herbs and things to experiment with in my lab. Ive tried a few other combinations, but so far, the Bottled Lightning (despite not being in a bottle) is my only success. I get the feeling that I dont want to mix everything one to one, but I dont think I have much other option at the moment. Id need a bigger lab to upgrade it, but I want to keep it secret. I think that will have to wait until I expand downward a bit and can get into stone. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
I have upgraded my library a bit, and moved it into the wall not far from the chimney. Its not the most efficient as far as working with my lab, but its secret and a bit bigger, giving me a full piece of paper to work with now! It might not sound like much, but Ive been able to keep track of each combination Ive tried in the lab
Speaking of the lab, Queen has started to produce a specialized worker for in there. Ive been calling them alchemists, because thats basically what theyre doing. Theyve been slowly producing more bottled lightning for use in the rest of me. I actually want to get the basement swarm of spiders to be venomous and lightning powered! Thatll be quite a boss fight! Itll also take a lot of bottled lightning to accomplish. I like that it seems permanent, but its a pretty significant dose to achieve.
The lack of Delvers still has me concerned, though. The maze is still growing, and while the fruitbats are occupied, other flavors of bat are just kinda milling around. Sure, some help look for moles, but the number of snakes is starting to increase now that I have enough ravens to handle the gulls. I focus in on one of the normal bats, wondering what I should do with it. Theres not a whole lot of stuff to do at night, after all.
Chapter Nine: House Keeping
I have an option for the bat, but I have no idea how itd apply to a bat.
Mount Expedition
Hows a bat mount an expedition? Its a bat, not an archeologist. Well, one way to find out. Mount that expedition, my bat! Oh, number to send. Uh three? It accepts three. Good. Where to? Thats a good question. I already know basically everything in my reach. Its kinda cool, actually. Outside my walls, though its still a mystery. Wait can they actually go outside? Bats! Your expedition target is across the street, past the main gate!
And off they go, huh. Cost a bit of mana, but not too bad. The little guys do that bat flutter over the top of the gate and vanish from my awareness, and now I see I have some Denizens on Expedition. At least it looks like they should be back in a few minutes.
Is it a few minutes, yet?
How about now?
Still no?
Ah, there we go! Welcome home, bats! What news do you bring of the world outside the walls? A bakery? Seriously? Im a dungeon with a bakery across the street? Im not sure what I was expecting, but a bakery was not it. Well, that fully confirms Im in a town. I just hope the whole town around a dungeon thing works better than it did in the first Diablo game. Yarnam? No, I think that was Bloodborn. Tristram! Or something like that, anyway. Well, as long as nobody goes and tries to jam my core into their face, it should go well, right?
Either way, I want more info, so I start sending out expeditions with my bats, keeping them in groups of three for just because. I also give them larger areas to identify, which takes them longer, but doesn't cost me extra mana. I guess its because it technically leaves me vulnerable to have them out for too long, or leaves them vulnerable. While they explore, I look in on my library and see about sketching out a rough map.
And I immediately run into a problem. I can only put words on stuff in my library. Or numbers. Or drawings, wait what? How can I draw a lightning major, but not a wall?! Queen, do you have any ideas? Nah, shes busy organizing her ants and following the list of combinations on my paper.
Do I need a map room? That seems kinda specialized. A whole room just for a map? None of my room options were for a map room. I focus in on one of the little chambers that doesnt seem to be in active use by Queen, and see what my options are.
Armory is a bit beyond what I can actually use right now. Maybe if I get carpenter ants I can give them little spears, heh. Garden? Yeah, dont need that any time soon. Prison? That sounds like it could be interesting, but I dont need another complicated project. Im still growing my maze. Workshop sounds cool, but I still dont have anything that would work in it.
War room? Why would I need a war room? What does a war room even do? I dont have wars to plan. I dont need to push figurines around a map? Is that what the war room does? Because a cartography room would be too easy? Its also not exactly cheap, even as a little ant chamber. I mentally sigh and spend the mana.
A little bit of leather pops up in the new Secret War Room. There are two dots. Dungeon. Bakery. Well, at least its some kind of map. It doesnt even have a compass rose to say which way is north. As my bats start to come back, though, more dots appear. Looks like Im smack dab in the middle of a commercial district. Am I not the first dungeon here?
Elf guy did say he didnt want to lose me as a dungeon. It could also just be luck in my spawn, though I dont know why someone would leave an abandoned manor with a big yard to just stay abandoned for however long it takes a dungeon to happen. I doubt just any old random ignored basement can suddenly become a dungeon over a weekend.
Most of the dots are pretty boring and probably not much use to me. Tailor. Cartwright. Haberdasher. Apparently the town is big enough to have someone make a living making hats, so thats cool. Alchemist. Enchanter. Oh hey, a church. I wonder if its the Shield one that Freddie goes to. I wonder if Rhonda is apprenticed at one of the magical places, too.
I dont get any shop names, though, and I dont know if thats because bats cant read, or if I need to upgrade the war room to get more details. Either way, I probably shouldnt spend any mana on it just yet. The maze is hungry, and nobody has come to visit in a while. I should double check my scions.
Tiny is doing great. Theres a small grove of trees growing near the center of the maze, and hes webbed it up good to make his nest. He hasnt gotten much bigger just yet, but I havent been able to spare him much mana for it. Hes still listed as a guardian, which Ive taken a closer look at. Basically, if hes in his guardian area, he buffs my stuff and gets some good buffs himself. I dont have any numbers to go by, aside from his level (Lv 8 now, by the way), but I can see him moving quicker in the maze than not, so his transfer is complete.
Teemo is being the best sneaky rat, and seems to be teaching my other rats things. Hes still a scout, and making various paths all over the place, which seems to let my other rats get to where theyre getting to quicker. I had considered making him electric, but I want to wait until I get venom for him instead. I named him Teemo, he should be able to do poison stuff. The packrats have been occasionally getting electrified, too. Queen must be doling out bottled lightning outside her ants occasionally. Fine by me. Faster packrats means faster accumulation of goodies for Delvers.
Speaking of Queen, she got a title that I wasnt expecting. I had put her around the core to be a new guardian, but I guess I should have expected shed become my Alchemist with what Ive been having her do. I definitely appreciate the discount on upgrading the lab. For her latest project, I actually had Teemo grab a potion out of one of the chests. That cost me about twice the mana I would have gained if a Delver took it, but I want to test something. Now I have an actual Alchemist, I wonder if Queen can analyze stuff. This trial and error stuff is taking up way too much paper to keep track of. If I can get me some healing ants, or maybe healing spiders, thatd be cool. They could even weave their own bandages!
Poe is keeping a good lookout, and I might send him on an expedition come daylight. If Tiny is lord of the maze, and Teemo lord of the house, then Poe is lord of the yard. Hes been coordinating with Coda and Fluffles to keep the moles and gulls at bay. I wouldnt be surprised if he gets some title of his own soon, too.
Fluffles has been growing well, thankfully not as well as Tiny. I do want him to be able to get into all those nooks and crannies, after all. He also seems to be specialized in force magic, by which I mean picking up and moving things without hands, which is fitting, in retrospect. Ive seen him snag a gull out of the air and bring it down for vipers to bite. If he keeps catching things like that, maybe I should get a jail soon.
Coda, the bat scion, has been mostly occupied with tending the maze and most of the nodes outside the house. He has also been sure to keep the sonar bats on a good rotation to keep helping Poe scan for moles. Hes probably my least effective combatant out of my scions, but hes doing a great job with the nodes and maze. Ive been getting steady discounts on growing and upgrading everything out there, and Ive even seen him getting seeds from the expeditionary bats. So maybe I should get a garden or greenhouse or something, actually. frёeωebɳovel.com
Finally! Someones at the gate!
Chapter Ten: The Party
Oh, I wonder whos there? It doesnt feel like elf guy. For one, theres too many feet. I focus, and see an actual party, neat! First inside is some kind of half-bird person with a bow. Probably their version of elf guy. She has a modest-but-noticeable swell at her chest to make me call her a her under that leather armor. Id make a white-meat joke, if I could make it not sound cannibalistic.
Behind her is a dwarven fighter. Big beard, big axe, big shield, smol legs: dwarf. Him and the birb give a wary eye around the dawn-lit yard, looking more serious than the elf guy ever did. Behind him comes an elf or maybe half-elf? She doesnt look as graceful as elf guy, but definitely has the ears. Maybe its because hes such a high level? Or because hes a rogue or something. Either way, shes definitely a caster. Shes got a blue robe with some embroidery, but not the conical brimmed hat. Her staff is painted white with a bunch of small gems bedazzled at the top. Is she a light mage? Or maybe shes not specialized? Thatd be interesting. I havent seen anyone do multiple elements yet.
Wait, they brought the kids? Poe peers down from his nest as he awakens and confirms it: thats Rhonda and Freddie. Its not like theres a second pair of kids with spiders following them around. Fiona, the net-casting ogre-faced spider has gotten a bit bigger, and seems to have marked Freddies shield with one of her webs. At least the kid doesnt seem scared of spiders anymore. Rhondas jumping spider, Lucas, is riding on her hat, his big eyes keeping a lookout.
Did we have to bring them? asks birb lady, and I agree. I mean, adult supervision is probably a good idea, but that party looks like they want a more traditional dungeon crawling experience. I dont think bring-your-kids-to-work-day is a thing here.
Hey, speaks up Freddie as he looks around. The only person who's been in and out of here more than us is the Guild Inspector! I mean hes not wrong.
The dwarf chuckles and motions for Freddie to stand next to him. Alright, Laddie. Youre our guide, so guide us. Were here t take a look round and try n see if aught has happened tyer dungeon between inspections. So, what dyou see?
Freddie and Rhonda both look around, and their spiders do as well. Aw, theyre so cute. Im glad they got spiders, the kids have terrible spot checks. Fiona and Lucas have great vision, I just dont know if they can alert the kids to anything besides simple threats. Rhonda speaks up first.
Well theres a lot more activity outside than there was before. Last time, we didnt get the feeling of a dungeon until we went inside, but now we feel it passing the gate.
Yeah, continues Freddie, pointing up. Theres also birds and stuff now, too. Look at the size of that raven up there. All eyes turn to Poe, who preens himself a bit. No, I dont think you have a fanclub, Poe. Well, maybe the birb lady. Shes squinting at you.
Raven Scion. Doesnt look hostile. You kids said they all were staring at people a week ago? Huh, I dont remember that. The kids do, though, and nod their heads.
Yeah, one afternoon the whole energy of the place shifted. It went back to normal, but people have been nervous ever since. Rhonda fidgets and leans out like she could see around the house from the gate. Should we look around a bit more outside before going in?
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Birb and dwarf both nod at that suggestion, and the caster lady speaks up. Alright, Ragnar and Freddie in front, Yvone, Rhonda, and myself in back. Freddie looks a bit nervous about that, but doesnt make any moves to return to the back. Ragnar just smiles and nudges the boy with his shield.
Ach, dinae worry, lad. If aught happens, Ill protect ye. Its mjob, after all! he says with a laugh, which helps Freddie loosen up a bit. Now, Im all for a nice field trip and tour, but I need some mana! Wheres my weakest viper Ah, there you are! You and a couple rats, lets give the party a nice encounter to gauge their skill.
Movement, warns Yvone the birb as she nocks an arrow, and the front line readies their shields. Around the corner come my little chosen fight: a level one viper and two level two rats! Pretty sure elf guy could handle that fight without even batting an eye, but the party seems to be taking it seriously. Or at least taking the viper seriously.
Leave the snake tme, lad. I can handle a wee poison. Keep the rats off our squishies, aye?
Uh aye? Freddie replies. I can practically see his practicing running through his head as he slowly advances. Looks like good form to me, but I havent exactly trained with a shield. Fiona, net the left one. He hardly finishes before she does just that, immobilizing the one rat, though it doesnt look like itll stick for long.
Ragnar swings at the snake and misses, and takes the counter on his shield, keeping its attention nicely. Freddie is luckier and hits the rat with his hatchet, before Rhonda sends a little icicle to finish the rodent off. Yvone catches my snake with an arrow in the neck? Do snakes have necks? Not far below the head, and that seems to end the little noodle. Im a bit sad to see the little guy bite it like that, but I needs me some mana, and hes given me quite a bit for the cause.
The other caster doesnt get to do anything before my rat escapes the web, and then escapes the encounter, giving me a nice bit of mana for the whole thing. Elf lady speaks up. I sensed hardly any malice in that encounter. What do you think, Yvone?
No. If the dungeon was murderous, it could have sent far more than a weak viper and a few rats. Just the raven scion up there may be able to handle all of us. Oh, dont puff up at that compliment, Poe. Youre probably not *that* tough though you are level three. I think these guys are level one. I still cant quite tell.
The encounter finished, the party soon rounds the corner, and I see them all stop and stare. I wonder what has their attention? Theres the ochredill patch by the house, which isnt anything to be stunned by. They can see the anthill from there, though I dont think thats it, either. They can see the hedge maze from there, but its hardly knee-high yet. Theres the various herb and tree nodes in there, and the couple chests, too. Maybe they like the look of the chests?
Oh, nope. Its not that. Its Tiny. Hes very plainly sunning himself not far from his webbed up copse of trees. Rhonda manages to put to words what everyone is thinking.
...Thats a big spider.
I think thats the one that was guarding the spell spores the first time, adds Freddie.
Well I dinae think yer dungeon has gone murderous on ye. That thing woulda been a much more deadly fight than the snake and rats. Everyone nods, and Yvone squints at Tiny.
That is strange, though. Ive never heard of a dungeon growing such a large bramble field. Nor having such weak chests guarded by something like that. Elf lady nods.
I think thats a question beyond our expertise. Perhaps we should check the house? If it really has been a while since anyone has delved, there should be some very nice rewards inside. Oh yes! Poppa needs moar mana! You guys might level from some encounters, too. Hey Poe! Coda! Get me a few weaker fliers inside! Ima rally the spiders and see if the party knows to look up, and see if the kids learned that lesson.
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Turns out, the kids did learn the lesson, and the party hadnt yet. Thanks to Rhonda and Freddie, they spot the ambush of ceiling spiders. Elf lady gets webbed, but everyone gets out of the fight with all their hp intact, and I get some more mana. Yvone finds the rotten floor board, and the looks on everyones faces was worth far more than the mana I got for it.
There is loot a-plenty for them, too, and I think everyone is going to be able to get some kind of upgrade for their gear after this. Rhonda finds some stonelily petals in a drawer and gasps at them, so I guess theyre a good ingredient. I still havent found a use for them yet, but I will eventually. Or rather, Queen will, eventually.
At the stairs up, I toss a spider swarm at them. I was starting to get concerned it might be too much for them, until Rhonda and the elf lady cast their spells. Rhonda casts a freezing gale, while the elf calls her spell earth pulse. Then the two raise their implements together and shout Avalanche!
For a moment, Im worried they might have overdone it. I dont think Im rated for avalanches. Thankfully, it just seems to be the name for a combined earth/ice spell, and the swarm is frozen and/or squished. I wonder if I should tone things down, but I think thats about the difficulty I want for a decent encounter for them. The next few are fairly simple: a few bats, a few crows, a dire rat guarding a room with more containers than usual.
While they work on that, I decide to change the encounter in the attic. I like the rat swarm, but I dont think the party is quite equipped for a boss swarm encounter. If they dont smoke it like the spiders, everyone will be pretty quickly overwhelmed. Besides, I have a good idea for a different boss.
Ragnar is the first to climb the ladder to the attic, and he goes nice and slow. Hes not exactly a stealth master, but Im also not exactly going to let the encounter just rush him as soon as hes spotted. His eyes widen as he sees what I have in store, and he quietly climbs back down the ladder.
Whatd you see? asks Yvone, and Ragnar exhales. Two dire rats, lightning enhanced. Looks are exchanged as everyone weighs their options. On the one hand, theres a chest up there with quite a bit of loot by now. On the other, theres some pretty serious potential pain between them and it. Ragnar seems to get an idea.
Aelara you know protection from elements, aye? Can y teach the lass?
The elf lady, apparently Aelara, considers that for a few moments. Perhaps. Its not a particularly difficult spell. Would your master disapprove, Rhonda? she asks the girl, not wanting to step on the toes of the one shes apprenticed to.
Well he does believe in learning on the job, admits Rhonda, and Aelara smiles. Ah, he sounds wise then. Now, Ill only be showing you how to protect from electricity for now. You can work against any element, but that will take a bit more time to teach than we have.
I pay attention, too, and write what I can in my library. Fluffles will be practicing this later, definitely. Im pretty sure the rats lightning will still do some damage to the group, but it should be much more manageable for them now. The casters look pretty tired by the time theyre done, though. Im afraid well be down to simple cantrips for the fight itself, apologizes Aelara, and Rhonda nods. Personally, Im impressed the kid had enough to cast it on two people.
As the party starts to ascend, Freddie offers a plan. I think I can keep the attention of one of them, with Lucas and Fionas help. You guys can focus on the other with Ragnar, then get mine? Ragnar chuckles. Theyll focus yours first, lad. Im nae gonna let ye try to tank one o those for longer than needed.
Yvone and Aelara nod, and Freddie nods as well. Ragnar is the first to climb onto the landing, and the time for planning is over. I keep the rats from leaping forward, letting the party climb up and organize themselves briefly, then allow the rats to attack.
Yeesh, are those dire rats or pikachus? Definitely glad they had the foresight to protect from lightning. Everyone looks a bit crispier than theyd prefer, but nobody is grievously wounded, even if Ragnars beard is smoking. Him and Freddie leap to their plan, and it seems my rats need to recharge after that. Yvone looks like she has something up her sleeve as she takes a few precious seconds to focus on the rat being harried by Freddie and the spiders.
True Strike! she shouts before losing the arrow, right into the eye of the one being ganged up on. It had taken a few other attacks from the others while she prepared, and that attack of hers finishes the first dire rat off. Over with Ragnar, Im not quite sure how hes doing, actually. Hes been bitten several times, and though hes bleeding, hes laughing and I think swearing at the rat in dwarven. He doesnt look too concerned about his blood slowly leaking out, and it looks like his hp, while below half, are pretty stable there.
Yvone doesnt have another true strike in her, apparently, but everyones combined efforts soon finish the second one off as well. As the mana rolls in for me, I see Ragnar stagger, his hp dipping dangerously. I think he has some ability to let him put off damage for a bit? Aelara is on him quickly, though, and even with only cantrips she gets him stabilized.
Ach, that was a good fight, he says, taking a seat on the floor, not even bothering with the chest. Speaking of, I make sure Teemo isnt planning a hit and run on whoever opens it. I neednt have worried, though. Looks like hes in the maze, blazing trails for the thieving dire rats.
Yvone nods, cautiously approaching the chest. Good thing Aelara insisted we bring our guides. I dont think we could have handled that on our own. The two kids exchange looks before Freddie speaks up.
I think you would have. Last time we were here, it sounded like a swarm was up here. And you guys havent seen whats in the basement. This dungeon he trails off, uncertain of his dungeoneering knowledge. Rhonda, though, soon picks up the slack.
It doesnt do normal dungeon things. The first time we were here, we went into the basement to get some spell spores. There was a huge swarm of spiders watching us the whole time, but they didnt advance. Well, not until I got enough spores for Old Staiven. Then the spider scion crawled out of the wall and the swarm started to advance. We ran. I dont think they even climbed the stairs to come after us.
Freddie nods. Yeah. They had us, but let us go, after scaring us half to death. He shrugs as Yvone seems to decide the chest is safe, and opens it. This dungeons weird, but I dont think it wants to just kill people.
Its generous with loot as well, adds Yvone as she pulls out a nice shield from the chest, and the sound of coins sliding off it as she pulls it out can be heard clearly around the attic.
That looks like a good shield for Mr. Ragnar, says Freddie, and the dwarf chuckles and shakes his head. Id never hear the end of it if I ever used anything but mah family shield, Laddie. I think its about enough to cover yer guides fees, though, aye? he says, looking to the other two adults, who both share a small grin and nod.
Im sure well find something in that chest to pay young Rhonda as well. She holds up her hands before the two can try to refuse. Its non-negotiable, young ones. Even if it wasnt guild policy, none of us would be comfortable with you two not getting at least some share of the loot after putting your lives on the line with us.
The two kids look a bit bashful about that, I guess they never really considered that their lives could be on the line. I mean, they werent. Even if I had to spend all my mana to call the rats off and loot myself for potions, I wouldnt let the kids get hurt. Still, I like this party. I hope they come back. Good role models for the kids.
They take their time looting and have a bit of a rest to divy everything out. Rhonda gets herself a nice scroll of Frozen Armor, which Aelara says her master should be able to teach her how to transfer it to her spellbook more permanently. Freddie, of course, gets his shield. The party gets most of the coins and potions, which the kids are more than fine with. They have full pockets from the other containers anyway.
They leave, and I send a few blackbirds after them on an expedition to see where they go. Looks like the longest expedition Ive assigned yet. I also have a huge pile of mana after all that, my core is looking more like a softball now. Im pretty sure Ill be fine in the chimney until about basketball size, so I have a fair bit of time left. Still, if people start coming back to delve, Ill finish the maze sooner than I thought.