Analyzing…Challengers Detected…Commencing Dungeon Run
Challengers:
Cheep-Cheep: Rank F(4), Level 19, Hunter Gatherer
Chi-Chala: Rank F(3), Level 14, Hunter Gatherer
Meek-Fee: Rank F(3), Level 13, Hunter Gatherer
Dorn Heavyclaw: Rank F(3), Level 13, Tunnel Dweller
Mita Heavyclaw: Rank F(3), Level 12, Tunnel Dweller
Good Luck, Dungeon Core!
The System notification brought Obu out of her planning session, which was being held within the confines of her gemstone body. She left her half-finished schematics behind as she moved her awareness to her Dungeon. It had been a day or so since Razum had left and through the bond they shared with their father she could feel he was hard at work, his massive mind churning away.
When she arrived, she found Cheep-Cheep and his crew had returned but she couldn’t help but be concerned for the little creature. He had received a simply massive influx of Experience after his victory, enough that he should be well on his way to level twenty. He didn’t need to run the Dungeon with his pals and the excess Experience might hurt him. So, as she let them feel her presence by summoning lights, she began the process of speaking when Cheep-Cheep spoke up before she could get a word out.
“Hey-Hey Dunn-Junn. Can they hunt?” He pointed to the rest of his pals and she sighed in relief that he wasn’t including himself in their number. She also thanked whatever magic was at work that let her communicate with them and be understood in turn.
“Sure, that is fine Cheep-Cheep. It is a pleasure to meet you all finally! Well, officially that is.” From the way the little things jumped at her voice, it seemed as though she had startled them, similar to what happened when she spoke to Cheep-Cheep the first time. They calmed down even as Cheep-Cheep gave them a wave and stepped back outside the Dungeon, heading off to who-knows-where.
Left with the four others she spoke again. “Now then, I think you all should reach the next threshold by completing the first two rooms so attempt to do that and we will see where you all stand.” She pulsed her lights once before letting them fade. Checking to make sure her two rooms were functioning properly and had all of their monsters accounted for, she let the group continue while letting her presence fade.
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She didn’t feel the need to stick around so she went back to designing her newest monster. The System acted as her note-taker, compiling her thoughts into a more ordered mess. Her slimes were the focus of her thoughts. She didn’t know if slimes had ever reached sapience before but the Framework hadn’t directly excluded them so it must be possible. Now she just needed to figure out a way to fit the Slimeling Framework she had within the Sapient Framework. She sunk her mind into it letting everything else fall away.
POV Cheep-Cheep
Leaving his supporters to run the Dunn-Junn while he went about his own business, Cheep-Cheep headed out and away from the green one’s den. He had been working on incorporating his new Instinct-Gifts into his hunts and he needed a quiet place to solidify the remainder of his gains. He traveled quickly into the forest until he arrived at the spot he had been going to train at for the last few days.
The sound of rushing water filled his ears as he gazed upon a scene of natural beauty. The very same waterfall that Dug had discovered some time ago maintained its crashing course down the side of the mountain until it slammed into the pool below. Cheep-Cheep had taken to training here, the sound of the water helping to keep him focused as well as drown out any noise he might have made that would have drawn the attention of other hunters.
He scurried his up onto the slick rocks activating one of his newer gifts to cling to its slick surface. He made his way carefully to where a portion of the waterfall broke off to form its own deluge. It was here that he planned on surpassing his limits and finally reaching the next stage. He kept a firm hold on his active gift, feeling his way carefully until all that filled his vision was rushing water. He steeled his mind and then stepped into the crushing power of falling water.
Immediately, every other sensation was washed away by the freezing pain that accompanied his decision. Had he not already accustomed himself to the pool below he would have lost control of his gift and plunged back into it like the first time he had tried this. As it was he could barely hold his concentration as the water beat upon his head, shoulders, and back. He stood firm, refusing to yield, even as his body was bruised by the power present. He focused his energy and that other, nameless, potential and pushed it to his skin and from there to his fur.
He held it there, feeling his way to something new, drowning in the sensations. A trial by fire was what the tall folk would have called it, not like Cheep-Cheep knew that. His Experience and will mixed with his internal Aether to form what he knew to be an Instinct-Gift but what they would have called an Ability. Gradually it took shape within his subconscious before manifesting in an outward expression of power.
Cheep-Cheep felt the shift as the pain receded to a dull ache. Looking around he could see that his Aether now formed a protective barrier at the surface of his skin that shed the water around him and protected him from the cold. He whooped with glee, knowing that this meant he was now level 20 and able to climb even higher. His whoop turned into a startled squawk of panic as his Aether bottomed out and he lost both of the gifts he had been using at once. He slipped and the water slammed him into the rocks before washing him into the pool.
The cold water shocked his senses but it wasn’t so bad after having gotten used to it. He swam to shore before looking up at the Life-Words that flashed across his vision. He had succeeded and the ensuing Quest was all that he had imagined it would be. Flopping onto the ground, the little Muskeeran giggled with glee, knowing that his revenge was close at hand.