by Troy Neenan
1 wasp nest.
1 wasp queen.
2397 wasp larvae.
1252 insect corpses.
You have lost 48 bull ants and 9 wasps.
David shrugged. There were always more where they came from. What disturbed him more was the sleep-mode function. He had not felt tired since becoming a dungeon, but simply resting his eyes had resulted in an entire day being wasted.
He would look at the settings later.
A trumpet blew through the speakers and David looked at his monitor to see that he had received another window.
Congratulations.
You have earned the achievement Insect Initiate.
You have shown that you have a way with insects.
5% more control over insects.
Well, that was nice and all, but what David needed most was some real monsters and miners.
He stared at the monitor for a moment longer; expecting another prompt or email to surface, but nothing came. He turned his focus to the ants that were carrying the nest around on their backs like it was a soccer trophy.
It was all too slow. If you didn't count the Japanese light novels, David knew that he had a surprisingly good start, but he needed more than ants and flies. He needed some real powerhouses, real monsters; miners, and things that could drag in trees.
Out of the corner of his eye, the dungeon avatar noticed that the monster icon was flashing. He clicked on it, sure that it was just an update on the wasp counter or some new spider that managed to crawl inside.
A tutorial-like window popped up.
While other dungeons have access to magic and various anomalies, your basic knowledge of your world's science has allowed you access to other methods to create monsters. You now have enough resources to modify your creatures in various ways. You have unlocked, Splice, Evolve, and Mutate.
“Okay.” David trailed off.
He didn't know what set this off but he would take it. With nothing else to do today, David followed the tutorial's instructions. He clicked on the splice button.
Genetic splicing is still a new science that involves taking the DNA and RNA of creatures and overwriting them with other traits. Select a minion which will act as the base ingredient, then select a second creature with the characteristics that you want. Build a genetics lab to understand and refine the process.
Genetics lab? Well that would be cool to have if David was able to make his first fucking room.
Following the tutorial, he selected a bull ant and he got a list of the animals that he could splice them with, including Morgan and the hell butterfly. Not liking the idea of creating a hell ant, David decided to mix an ant with a wasp. A combination that couldn't possibly have ill effects.
He watched as the ant's exoskeleton became pure white. The abomination that burst free of the cocoon was like a kick to God's teeth. It was definitely ant-like, but it was about the size of a teaspoon and it had the type of arse a Kardashian would admire. A hooked stinger stuck out of its bum like a crooked turd, its end dribbling a yellowish poison.
A sound distracted David’s attention.
Congratulations. You have created your first unique monster.
The Australian Devilweeper.
Congratulations. You have unlocked Berserk mutation.
Congratulations. You have unlocked Devilweeper Neruotoxin mutation.
“Mother of God!” David shouted, he turned his head back to his new monster and cringed.
The Devilweeper was completely out of control. It sent its arse flying in every direction like an epileptic fencer, managing to sting twenty bull ants in about two seconds.
David tapped rapidly on his mouse trying to gain some control over the evil bug. A warning sign flashed in the corner of the screen.
Creature is out of control. You cannot influence creature.
Well, that wasn't good. Seeing that this thing was a true terror, David had no choice but to destroy his creation. Using a short-cut key, he selected all of his armies and had them murder the Devilweeper.
The thing lasted a whole second before it was torn limb from limb. Even when its head was bitten off, the Devilweeper wanted just one more kill.
“Jesus,” David breathed.
It took several hours of blatant procrastination before the dungeon AI attempted to create his next monster. It was more out of boredom than anything else. He wasn't exactly going anywhere except slowly insane. The problem was that he wasn't really swimming in the type of creatures that he particularly liked.
Even a yapping Chihuahua with mange was a step above what David had to play with.
This time he selected something that was less likely to blow up in his face. He selected a common moth and tried the evolution tab.
From what you understand of the natural sciences you have unlocked forceful evolution. Evolution is a slow process, taking millions of years of breeding in and out traits. From simple microorganisms into the mighty dinosaurs. Unfortunately, your limited understanding of this very complex science narrows your possibilities.
First select a minion that is under your control.
The screen had changed so that it was now split in half.
David selected the common moth and was given a description of the tiny thing.
Name: Moth.
Race: Insect.
Rarity: Common.
Traits: Flying, metamorphosis, insectoid.
Habitat: Cave.
Food: Plant fibres.
Accomplishments: None.
David's eyes were immediately drawn to the accomplishments. The more accomplishments a creature had the larger the chance that a creature had to change. Of course, evolution was a bit more complicated than that. Evolution was about adaptation. So making a rat do the Macarena for a laugh and hitting the evolution button wasn't a guarantee that he would somehow create a Latino dancing, and singing rat.
As this was just an exercise, David hit the evolution button. A prompt appeared.
How much DP would you like to invest in the moth's evolution? The more DP you invest the higher the success of creating a deviation and the more variations you can pick.
“Alllrright,” David trailed off. It seems like he was going to have to pay if he wanted to create his mutant army. Yay for fucking micro-payments.
David invested five DP in his moth and prayed to Darwin that he hadn't betrayed the race of man.
The picture of the moth slowly dissolved and in its place was a loading screen showing a strand of DNA being broken up and reassembled. It was looking as if even stuck as a mythical creature you still had to deal with loading screens.
That's when something truly horrible burst onto David's screen. Something that caused the blood in his veins to go cold and his imaginary bowels to scrunch up into a knot.
“You're shitting me?” David said, seeing the advertisement for a tower defence game. “You have to be fucking with me. What the hell?” If it wasn't bad enough that YouTube sold out, now the bastards found a way to somehow send ads to his dungeon.
By reflex, he hit the exit button and was returned to his evolution screen. It was a second or two before the dungeon truly realised what had just happened, he had just passed up the chance to buy a game. A real game. Not this shitty dungeon thing but a computer game. And if he could get computer games...
“Netflix!” David tapped on the screens, trying to get back the screen. “Come on baby. Youtube. Hell, I'll take Foxtell. Please. Please.”
David tried to find it but couldn't. The icons and settings stayed where they were, nothing changed. “Ahhh!” he screamed and thumped the desk with his fists, “That's okay. When the next ad comes up, I'll get it. No problem.”
David looked at his evolution screen. It appeared as if the moth could evolve into two variations. One had its wings pure black and the other moth had a hint of blue on its abdomen like it was trying to sneak on a pair of jeans. Neither of them was worth the five dungeon points they cost to make.
Unable to
get out of the swap, he regretfully chose the black winged moth only because it looked more interesting. It didn't even earn a congratulations. If he wanted to get anywhere he was going to have to spend the big bucks.
This time he went for the mutation tab.
Mutations are traits and abilities that you have discovered and can give your creatures. Each creature has a certain number of mutation points that can be utilized based on its size and nature.
You currently have these mutations.
Berserk.
Minion type: Any.
Rarity: Common.
Giving this to a creature will make it uncontrollable and act violently towards everything.
2 mutation points.
Devilweeper neurotoxin.
Minion type: Insect, Plant, Beasts.
Rarity: Uncommon.
People might think poisons and neurotoxins are the same but you know better. Neurotoxins attack the nervous system, causing paralysis and permanently damaging motor control. The sting of a Devilweeper will not only cause a 7 on the pain meter and partial paralysis, but it also causes the wound to constantly weep bloody pus that attracts other Devilweepers
5 mutation points.
There didn't look like much of a choice. Either he was going to make a creature that was so insane that he couldn't hope to control it, or make it insanely venomous.
A thought came to David, “Hello hello.” he leaned forward in his chair as if conspiring with the display. It looked as if he could play with some plants.
Over the course of their raids, the ants had managed to gather a few seeds. The dungeon hadn't really needed to plant them as he didn't have much room or a light source, but not having much else to do; the dungeon selected a thorn bush seed and selected neurotoxin mutation. The thorn bush had seven mutation points available.
David was surprised at how many mutation points he could give the seed. Then again, he didn't know if seven was a lot or if it was nothing.
A second later and several new prompts appeared.
Congratulations. You have made Satan's Prickle Bush. The thorns of this bush are coated in Devilweeper venom.
“That is just evil.” David said. He pictured some sad sod getting pricked by a single thorn and getting swarmed by an entire nest of those evil things. When the dungeon returned to the desktop he discovered that a new icon had popped up, depicting a gold trophy. With nothing else to do, he clicked on it.
New quest alert. Successfully evolve ten creatures into monsters. 0/10
New quest alert. Synthesize 10 new monsters using splice. 1/10
New quest alert. Discover mutations. 2/5
New quest alert. Find your core.
Your core has gone missing, find and reconnect with it.
Reward: Unknown.
Penalty for not completing: Loss of Dungeon points per day.
New quest alert. Raider I.
Successfully send your minions out of your domain and have them gather new tools and minions. 2/10.
Reward: 5 Dungeon points.
New quest alert. Make your first room.
A dungeon with only one room is a pitiful thing indeed. Create your first room.
Reward: Access to room types.
For the first time, David now had a clear goal in mind. The raids were easy enough, he had enough ants and wasps to pick up a beer bottle and drag it back, it was just going to be a pain in the arse. The monster making and the core quest were going to be the more difficult to achieve. As for the room, it was as slow as a glacier. The sun was going to burn up before he finished that quest.
He was sure that he was going to need more than a few ants if he was going to get out of the dungeon equivalent of the nappy phase.
David viewed his kingdom, his nerd mind working through the processes. He now had a clear goal. This was good. Goals were good. The dungeon's tools and resources were limited however, but that was just a matter of creativity.
Chapter Seven
A crack made of golden luminescence cut deeply in the skin of the wall. For an awkward second nothing happened, there was a lot of silence and very little else, but then the crack began to grow.
The crack in the wall grew like the interest on a student loan. Slowly, millimetre by millimetre it spread, gaining speed with every passing moment. The sound was like an enthusiastic dog trying to dig through a cement floor.
It branched up and out, transforming from a simple scratch and into a drunken spiderweb of fissures. Curiously, for all the scratching and the breaks in the stonework, not a particle of dirt fell onto the ground or was cast adrift in the air.
After a handful of seconds the cracks slowed and eventually stopped. What had been a solid slab of stone and dirt was now, a doorway made of light and shadow.
Despite golden light peeking through the fissures, the light never truly filled the chamber nor did it touch the opposite wall, it was as if the universe would not allow the radiance to fully exist. Except for the light of a single, humming lamp, the cave remained in the dark.
A fist, covered in black steel punched through the now weakened stone. The hand opened up, as if tasting the air and then grabbing at it. Instead of the crunching of stone, a muddy sucking noise tore through the tiny cave. A forearm emerged from the hole in the wall followed by a man's grunting curse.
The man let out one more scream as he found his freedom. Particularly exhausted, he fell to the ground, panting and sucking for every breath.
From the corner of the chamber, a dark form watched the spectacle. Its back hugged the wall as if needing the extra support, happy to study this new thing that intruded upon its world. The figure noticed that the doorways golden light rippled with more shadows. Others were coming.
On the ground the man sputtered. His waving locks, his beard, and his eyes seemed to mirror the cold black armour. His yellow and green teeth seemed to be the only colour on him and he expressed his frustrations through snarls.
“That fool Erik Highion. I should have killed him when I had the chance,” The man in black cursed.
The figure in the corner continued to watch. The man was like a walking cliché, a living example of every villain in every story book. They could feel that a festering darkness lay inside this human. Anger, frustration, narcissism, and a self-importance that would get him far in any reality tv show. He was beautifully irredeemable.
By the time the man in black was on his feet, four more heavily armed soldiers were inside the cave. The man's followers wore simple steel armour and bore a mark the figure in the corner didn't recognize. They honoured their leader by bearing his mark, and in return, when they went to sleep and realised what they had done, they could blame each of their deeds upon their dark master.
That was how each of them lived with themselves. It was how they survived. They were innocent. It was their master's fault. They were just following orders.
The man in black glowered at the room, “Where in the abyss is this? This is not Skomahain.” He reached within his armour and drew out a semi-precious stone on a gold chain. With but the power of his cold will, the gemstone burst into light. “Better,” he said, glad something was still dependable.
The man in black admired his new surroundings. He was in a cave, there were scattered bottles on the ground and what looked like somebody's broken bed.
This was definitely not his stronghold. “Where am I? Chal? Issión? It smells like home but there is something else in the air.” he placed his hand on his armour, “Why aren't you speaking to me Ie? Where has your voice gone?”
Then he saw her.
Pressing her back against the wall was a young girl. The pathetic thing was dressed in a tattered rubbish bag, her skin and hair filthy. She stared at the men with wide eyes and a fearful expression.
“Who... who are you? What are you doing in my home? How did you appear like that?” her words came so quickly that the man in black wondered when she had time to breathe. She also spoke in a strange language that none of his
men recognized.
One of the soldiers under the man in black's command moved towards a sheet which acted as the cave's front door. Outside it was night, the heavens displaying both stars and satellites which stared down upon him with indifference.
He looked at the barren landscape. It was like no desert that he had ever seen, life was all around him but it was just so desolate. He turned his attentions back towards the stars and squinted, “My lord. I do not recognize the constellations.”
The man in black wasn't listening. He was still feeling the loss of the battle. “Curse you, Highion. I will carve my name into your flesh. I will rebuild your damn village just so I can burn it over again. I will...”
“Um. Hello,” A small girl said trying to get someone’s attention.
The man in black's eyes locked onto the girl like a heat-seeking missile. He took a dangerous step towards her, his hand on the handle of his sword.
The girl was dressed in mouldy tunic, her dark skin had flecks of dirt on it and her eyes seemed dispassionate. Her hair was the colour of soot and she stood crookedly as if she had a limp.
Seeing that she may have done something silly, the girl picked up a glass bottle. She presented it to the man like it was a fruit basket, “I have some water if you...”
The man in black backhanded the bottle from the child's hands and it smashed against the ground. How dare she speak to him. This little bitch needed to be taught who her betters were.
A cruel smile stretched across his face. He would show her and Highion what happened when you tried to cross him.
Not caring if she screamed or not, the man in black forced his lips onto his latest victim. He needed to vent his frustrations and this tiny thing before him was perfect. Besides, he had never met a child with black skin before, maybe she would be fun to leave in a crying mess.
The soldiers, used to such acts, examined the area. Their host had very little in the way of belongings.
“Ahhh,” One of them cursed. His compatriots immediately drew their weapons and swung towards him. They found their comrade stomping on ground furiously. He held his hand up to them, “Spider bit me.”
