Dungeon Wars

by Jeffrey Logue

  The Yhe was furious. It screamed a sound of rage incarnate at the loss of its beasts, unheard to any near it. The new thing, the enemy thing, was once again destroying its plans. There were no two paths to take, there was only one.

  “Destroy the slimes, then destroy the dungeon!”

  Chapter 25

  Flying through the air, with no control over direction or speed. For the briefest of moments, weightless in the sky, seeing for miles around in every direction. Now, falling, faster and faster towards the ground. Trees, which were once small blotches, growing rapidly as the wind whips by, slicing into flesh and lacerating. A single last moment of unrestricted speed before bashing through leaves and twigs and limbs, before breaking through the foliage. Finally, free, but for just a moment, as a figure looms below, ahead. No time to understand, as body slams into body. Fluids, gore, soaring through the air alongside dirt and dust like an orchestra of destruction. Injury too great, darkness closing in.

  Nothing.

  Doc suppressed the urge to groan as the pain returned with a vengeance, another slime death being experienced in full. With the mana obtained from the loss of all his treasure, he’d created over five hundred slimes and sent them blasting into the enemy forces. These slimes were not the same type as those currently in his dungeon. The slimes could only serve as extensions of Doc, which meant that, without his direct control, they’d be unable to act on his orders.

  Already, Doc had died three hundred and thirty-two times in the past five minutes: 192 deaths on impact with the ground, 25 from direct tree trunk collision, 85 suicides after taking critical damage from enemies, and 30 self-explosions above a group of beasts. Doc felt each one, time after time, forced to ignore the spiritual pain and push through the continued slaughter of his slimes. A new death, eaten by dire wolf before dissolving its insides. Another death, pierced by a spider’s fang, the spider’s head now melting in agony. One more death, being slammed into the ground by a hand, taking the entire arm with it.

  Compared to the original invasion, however, Doc was fine. Before, the pain had been unexpected and tragic, a further loss to his precious dungeon followed by the sensation of pain he was unaccustomed to. Here, now, he embraced the pain in full. His dungeon was filled with individual slimes, each living their own existences free of his will. The days spent watching, learning from them alongside the trials of his dungeon bosses and his partner had filled Doc’s hollow soul with a purpose: to protect his family at any cost. Compared to the pain of losing any of the interesting new things in his dungeon, this was nothing.

  “Explode,” Doc muttered, watching as another slime self-detonated into a small herd of mutated rabbits. He felt the explosion and watched with cold eyes as the rabbits melted into gore. Seven more killed, seven less threats.

  Counting visible corpses, Doc estimated that he had eliminated over three hundred of the mutated beasts, and the numbers were climbing. Already, the forest for a few miles around the clearing was smoking from the acidic destruction of the land and plants. The landscape reminded Doc a lot of what Claire had described before, the various hells where evildoers went. Not that Doc understood what qualified as an evildoer.

  What he was sure of, however, was that this enemy dungeon was both evil and destructive. The slimes under his control were starting to die faster, as the horde of mutated beasts regrouped and unleashed counter attacks. It was clear that the puppet master of a dungeon had picked up on the slimes’ weakness as well, as Doc winced at the sudden loss of forty more slimes: wolves picking up large branches to pierce the slime cores, spiders sacrificing a single leg to pierce from above, misshapen ground birds using wind magic to slice through the slimes. This enemy dungeon was smart enough to have its forces used unnatural ranged and close-up attacks. However, Doc noted that a few of the mutated beasts had randomly exploded during the course of the fight, an indication that their mana poisoning had reached critical levels.

  “They won’t last long, but I don’t have anything saved to waste more time. If only I had enough mana to create some tier 2 slimes for this assault,” he muttered regretfully. “How much more could I have done here?” Doc paused for a second to think. “Well, I suppose poor dungeons can’t complain too much, especially since I had the opportunity to kill this many.” With the enemy soon to defeat his vanguard, the dungeon had to be prepared. Doc turned his attention inward toward his two waiting bosses.

  “Ayla, Aisha, are you both in position?” he asked through their bond.

  “We are at the tree line facing the entrance, Doc,” Ayla reported. “However, none of the slimes we passed seemed prepared for an invasion of this level. Are you sure they will fight? More importantly, will they be effective?”

  “They will fight,” Doc assured her. “At the very least, every slime in the forest is territorial and will defend their area to the last slime. Also, no matter what happened before, my slimes will always choose to fight outsiders over their fellows. Now, these monstrosities are almost done killing my advance force slimes, so expect them to head your way in a moment.”

  “Find the other dungeon, Doc?” Aisha asked.

  “No,” Doc said disappointingly. “The enemy dungeon does not appear to be within the distance my slimes landed. Though the ground stinks of corrupted dungeon, they were unable to trace the mana to an underground source. I am unable to create an offensive move without knowing where the heart crystal is, unfortunately.”

  “Calling them back, then?” Ayla wondered. “Our younger siblings will certainly be helpful to the defense. Their training—”

  “No, Rowen and Anadine will remain at the ready for when I detect the enemy dungeon,” Doc said. “The enemy numbers in the hundreds, but that’s only within what I could detect. It isn’t a number we can defend against forever, and I will find the enemy’s location sooner or later. In case the enemy’s numbers continues to grow, they’ll need to move at a moment’s notice to capture or destroy the enemy heart crystal.” Doc paused. “My slimes, they have all been killed. Be prepared girls. I only have enough mana to revive each of you once. You won’t die permanently, but if I die, of course, there will be nothing left to revive you. Try to treat your lives as preciously as possible.”

  Aisha snorted. “Live for the hunt, die for the family. Doc, we shall fight, and we shall fight to live. If we die, then fight was not good enough.”

  “I still don’t understand that attitude,” Doc admitted, “but I suppose it isn’t a bad way to live.” He let out an audible grunt. “They are coming.”

  Leaving his girls, Doc’s spirit floated up to the cavern ceiling. Gazing down, he took in the entirety of his dungeon forest, with its many slime inhabitants and groups. The southern bug slime group, the eastern herb slime garden, the grey slime cavern; he took it all in, even the hidden alcoves of mimic slimes. Looking up, he locked eyes with his luminous slimes. Having burned all his treasure, he could no longer create the light or darkness elemental slimes. With his will enforced, the luminous slimes fled back to their nightly home, removing the light from the cave. Another thought, and the light eater slimes came forth, plunging the forest into complete darkness.

  Even if they were unable to see visible light, the slimes of the dungeon were extremely sensitive to movement and mana. Below, the slimes that were used to the sight of the luminous slime’s mana vibrated in distress, confused at the sudden change. Even the ones fighting other slime families quickly separated and regrouped. Meanwhile, the forest lion and the kobolds each reacted to the vanished light. Doc could see both groups without effort, as they quickly gathered and rushed toward the only remaining light in the dungeon—the entranceway slope leading up to the collapsed first floor.

  The forest lions were led by the original inhabitant of the forest, who confidently led the three newcomers through the darkness as they swung from tree to tree. The largest lion, the one Doc had witnessed challenge the older one time and time again, seemed subdued and eager to learn—or as eager as a wild ani
mal could look, he supposed. He’d have to reexamine his records to see what had prompted the change.

  The kobolds, on the other hand, were preparing for war. The male kobolds dressed in fur and armor made from hardened slime, led by the one wearing the funny hat. The females were left behind, as well as the smaller versions, though Doc noted it a took a moment of persuasion to have the females put down their weapons, which for some reason were scarier looking than the ones the males were holding. An organized group, the kobold warriors also made their way toward the light, eager to spill blood.

  The two unknowns settled, Doc returned his attention to the slimes of his dungeon. Ever since he’d mastered the spawn nests, the slimes in his dungeon had changed from extensions of his will and body into fully separate entities with sometimes unique traits and personalities. At each slime’s side, he had stood by and watched, experiencing life to their fullest without feeling their deaths. The slimes lived their own lives, separate yet connected to him. He could no longer control them, using them mindlessly to fight his battles. Instead, he could only take a more round-about way to communicate with the slimes.

  Every slime, from the mini slimes hidden in the traps to the tier 2 leader, suddenly felt a shock in their core. An overwhelming feeling of dread, fury, and a desire to live touched them, directing them toward the dungeon entrance. Doc wasn’t sure if the slimes would respond to emotional pleas, but he remembered the bug slime leader reacting to the death of its subordinates at the tentacles of the grey slime patrol. The way it had scratched though the drawing, Doc could almost feel the anger most uncharacteristic of a slime emanating from it. As slimes did not communicate by sound (and Doc was too tone deaf to try singing to the bug slimes nests) this was the only way he could think to communicate the danger approaching the dungeon.

  Doc let out a weak sigh as his last slime was killed by the horde, and then he felt an incredible ire directed towards him. He recognized the feeling as the enemy dungeon attempting to communicate with him, similar to how the undead dungeon from before had done. For whatever reason, only feelings were sent.

  Hate.

  Aggression.

  Fury.

  And yet, hidden beneath all of that, a combined feeling of fear and desperation.

  “A dungeon this strong attacking me, yet it feels fear?” Doc wondered aloud in his heart room. “Is there something I’m not seeing? Hey Claire, what—” Doc stopped himself as his instinctual nature to ask a question came forth. He locked his sight on the sleeping pixie below his floating crystal. Her face was peaceful under his purple light. “Sorry, Claire, I can’t keep putting these pressures on you. The answers to all my questions, I will figure them out myself,” Doc resolved.

  Forcing himself to tear his direct attention from Claire, Doc refocused on the slimes in the dungeon. In the darkness, the forest was filled with the sounds of slimes sliding, hopping, and squirming toward the light. The masses of slime moved in units, each family coming forth in full. Doc felt a pull on his soul as, for once, his slimes were united in a single thought: defend. Even if he couldn’t speak to them, even if they did not know he existed, the slimes still heard his call and responded to him. They ignored the forest tigers and the kobolds, as the two groups were not newcomers to the dungeon, and marched onto the forest closest to the entrance. Interestingly, there appeared to be single slimes leading some of the family groups, like the small bug slime from the southern hive.

  Putting the observation aside, Doc watched as the horde ran toward him. They were close, and it didn’t take them long to reach the tree line surrounding his dungeon. However, all they did was let out roars, not daring to cross the edge of the trees into the clearing. It was as if this horde of unspeakable horrors was afraid.

  Doc stared at the army, thinking, Why would a group of magically enhanced beasts controlled by a dungeon be afraid? Unless...

  “The dungeon is afraid of me,” Doc realized. “It is reluctant to fight me... because it is unsure of victory? No, this army was made for that purpose, so what could a dungeon fear besides loss and... pain. Pain, pain, it feels pain!”

  Doc felt like smacking his crystal around when the answer hit him. “Those monsters, they aren’t dungeon beasts. They’re all-natural things under the dungeon’s control. If it wants them to obey, then it must control them directly, like how I controlled my slimes. It experiences their deaths just like I do!” He considered the revelation. “But at this point, I doubt that fear will hold it back for long. If it feels pain from death, then I bet I can trace the animal’s connection to the dungeon once they die.”

  “Ayla, Aisha, slight change of plan,” Doc said, moving his attention to the worg twins. “I want you two to go out and slaughter as many as possible. I think I can use their deaths to find the enemy’s location.”

  “Understood Doc,” Ayla said.

  “We obey,” Aisha followed up.

  The purple dungeon spirit then soared out of the heart room, up past the dungeon floors, and for the first time in a long time exited the dungeon. His spirit, which normally was in the vaguest humanoid form, took on a more slime-like appearance as he observed his surroundings. The emotional connection from before was still there, emanating from the corrupted ground that surrounded his dungeon. Doc could tell that this enemy dungeon was staring at him from somewhere.

  Doc, smiling on the inside, formed a fake crystal above his dungeon and pointed it at the army. Chuckling aggressively, he threw the crystal at a dire wolf, piercing its head before it had a chance to react and killing it.

  The mutated beasts let out a collective scream of outrage and surged forth toward the dungeon entrance like an angry mob.

  “Heh, guess you felt that, you little shit,” Doc laughed as he returned to his heart room. His role, for now, was done. All he could do now was watch and put faith in the dungeon he had created.

  *

  “Here they come,” Ayla muttered as the ground began to faintly vibrate. She looked up towards the light emanating above, watching how it flickered with every shadow passing through the entrance. “We’re lucky, I suppose, that the old first floor will squeeze their forces into a smaller number. Aisha, did you spread—”

  “Covered the sloop in pee and dead slime,” Aisha confirmed. “Very steep, and very slippery. High ground now slip and slide ground. Easy for the first wave.”

  “If you say so,” Ayla said, cracking her neck. “Remember, we only get one extra life here. We watch each other’s back and slaughter up the middle before retreating and repeating. If either of us perishes, retreat and wait for respawn.”

  “My plan, remember? I know by heart,” Aisha snorted.

  “Sure it was,” Ayla grunted.

  The two worgs listened as the sounds of claw and foot against dirt grew louder, alongside the yips and barks and screeches. Ayla reached her tail over and touched Aisha’s.

  “Sister, let us have a splendid hunt!”

  Aisha let out a blood-thirsty howl. “Let us have a blood-filled hunt!”

  The first monster, the dire wolves, appeared over the top of the slope. Slipping on the slippery mix of pee and slime, they let out fearful yelps as they fell head-first down the slope one after another. The two worgs surged forward, using their teeth to tear through as many throats as possible before they enemy recovered. The slime-hardened teeth pierced flesh, muscle, bone, and blood every time they flashed, and fairly soon, every dire wolf was dead.

  “Too easy,” Aisha howled.

  “Look up,” Ayla pointed with her nose, “The spiders are covering up the trap.” Above them on the slope, inert spiderwebs were being flung, sealing the slipperiness under their solid webbing.

  “Get ready for the next wave,” Ayla announced, retreating back to the forest with Aisha.

  Aisha perked up her ears. The worg sister let out an evil smile as the sounds of slithering came from behind them. In the darkness of the forest, two pairs of red eyes stared out at the approaching enemies. They were soon
joined by hundreds of glowing orbs, a sight that would send dread through any observer.

  The slimes had come to join the hunt.

  Chapter 26

  After the encounter with the kobolds and the odd, yet dangerous, slimes, the forest lion had followed the scent trail of the other lions back to its home. Poking its head into the entrance, it found all three female lions moping on the ground, clearly dispirited by their capture at the hands of the kobolds. The forest lion, having experienced such a thing once or twice in its youth, empathized

  Still, they had been the ones to run out despite his warning. The forest lion entered its nest, alerting the three inside.

  The lead female got up and walked over to face it. She stared into its eyes but lacked its usually aggressive look. With a whimper, she lay on the ground and bowed submissively towards the forest lion, followed by her followers. The forest lion, taken aback by the submission of the females, sat on its butt and starred. It was unused to this submission being shown towards it. Even back in its youth, it had been the one to bow to the larger males, and certainly always to any female. The females were the leaders, the protectors, and the strongest of its kind. How could the forest lion accept such submission?

  With a growl, it lashed out and swiped the lead female in the face. The female lion, taken aback at such a provoking attack, let out a screech of anger and jumped to its feet, blood dripping from a long, shallow cut on its face. It yowled at the forest lion, demanding to know why it had attacked.

  The forest lion merely sat back down and waited until the lead female was done and calmed down. Its tail stretched out from behind it, slithering along to the floor to the female leader. When it reached her, it rose up and touched her nose. This was the forest lion’s expression of respect and trust, to offer the most valuable part of their body to the face of another lion. A dangerous motion, as a rival could easily tear the tail apart, ruining one’s life and likely calling an early death.