Chapter 37: Snowed In
Saturday, April 1st, 3:55 PM
Dungeon Ciara
The snowstorm became a blizzard, and my humans hunkered down, with many pairing up to share warmth. Of course, that led to fits of mating among some, though I didn’t know their names.
It amused me that Steven wasn’t included. I wouldn’t have cared as much, but I got a kick out of it since he acted a fool to my Soybean.
My thoughts turned to Sunny and Sandy, and I looked out from above the harbor gate, but the snowfall was so thick I could barely see twenty meters away.
I hope my girls return soon.
The cuteness of Katie, Elizabeth, and Valerie cuddling up beside their mother with Nino and Hanzo helped my mood a little.
Still, I worried for my pups.
Unable to do anything about their absence, I figured it was time to tackle an idea I’d been turning over.
[Beans and Michael, would you please bring Joe and Mike to the basement? I’d like to discuss something.]
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“Right. What do you need us for, Dungeon?” Joe asked when they reached the main floor of the basement. He ran a hand through his short hair to dislodge larger snowflakes that had yet to melt.
There’s that voice again—whoa.
“I’ll be damned.” Mike grinned, and he glowed blue.
“This is what allowed you to revive?” Joe rubbed his chin, gazing at Michael and Rihelah.
“Yes. She’s got room for two—err… one more. Glad you’re with us, Dad.” Michael hugged his father.
With eager eyes, Joe said, “Alright. I’ll do it.”
Something changed inside Joe. The power that filled him to near bursting did not diminish, but he no longer felt full. His body was lighter than before, and Joe stared at his hands in wonder.
[Welcome, Joe and Mike. I’m Ciara.]
“Hah. Your voice isn’t what I’d imagined,” Mike chuckled.
[What were you expecting?]
“Something… more frightening or matronly. You sound nicer than I thought.” Mike shrugged.
[I’ll choose to take that as a compliment.] The Dungeon didn’t sound pleased.
“Can we learn to revive others who have died?” Numbness flooded Joe’s chest as he forced the question out.
[I have no idea. I’ve only been a Dungeon for about a week. Sven will know more.]
“You built all this… in a week? Holy balls.” Mike raised his eyebrows.
[The place where you’re standing was my basement before the war. It’s been altered, but yes, I created the new spaces in that time.]
“So, why were we allowed to become residents, and what does that mean?” Joe asked.
“It means that, so long as the Dungeon lives and you remain in good standing with her, you cannot die.” A voice deeper than Joe’s shook the room. Joe assumed a high guard, and Mike shouldered his rifle when they spotted a reptilian creature of dark red and shadows hovering between Michael and Joy with its wings barely moving.
“What the hell is that?” Joe asked, inching forward.
Star-shaped pupils in the creature’s too-intelligent eyes shone with amusement. “I am Sven, the Dungeon’s spirit guide. Welcome, humans.”
“You’re Sven? Hah. You’re not what I was expecting.” Joe relaxed and put a hand on Mike’s shoulder.
“What did you think I would be?” Sven beamed, showing wickedly sharp teeth of black crystal.
“You’re the size of a cat.” Mike stifled a laugh.
Sven’s smile grew wider.
[Don’t show off, Sven. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for you to scare the hell out of everyone.]
“No fun.” Sven crossed his scaly arms. Then he filled Joe and Mike in on the big picture regarding Dragons…
“That’s a lot to take in. If I didn’t already have the gift of healing from Lord Auronox, I’d think you were full of shit,” said Joe.
“Would you like to see a little more of our Universe?” Sven’s eyes glowed bright red.
“That would be helpful,” Mike replied.
The room vanished, and Joe stood with the others atop an enormous dark red mass that undulated slowly through the blackness of space. Tremendous wings rose to either side, and a mansion-sized copy of Sven’s head turned to smile back at them.
“Sven, what is this?” Rihelah asked, clutching Michael around his torso.
When Sven replied, his voice shook Joe to the core. “A memory. Observe.” A huge clawed hand pointed ahead as they neared a blue and green planet similar to Earth.
A Dragon appeared behind the planet.
Scales of slate-gray covered its titanic shape as it grinned from behind the planet, making the terrestrial body seem tiny and fragile by comparison.
Another Dragon materialized. Its regal body of iridescent crystal dwarfed the mass of the first Dragon by several orders of magnitude. The star-shaped pupil of its eye bathed in an iris of shifting colors.
Joe expected a cataclysmic battle as the two faced off, but instead, each sent minuscule tendrils of energy to collide with the planet, causing it to rotate faster as time sped up and the world seemed to orbit its star every ten seconds.
Time slowed, and the planet was left horribly scarred. Continents were split or erased. Vast forests turned to deserts. Oceans remained, but the rest was a wasteland.
The smaller Dragon scowled and disappeared before the larger curled protectively around the planet.
Sven moved them closer to the remains of the world.
As they neared, Joe realized from the enormous, nearly-flat horizon above its atmosphere that this world was at least several times larger than Earth.
They touched down in a massive caldera that made the worst remains of Santa Cruz seem inviting by comparison. The bones of great beasts and dragonkin lay half-submerged in stone, still glowing where some terrifying power had consumed their flesh.
Rihelah retched, and Joe looked closer at the scene. Sprinkled like blackened hailstones among the tremendous carcasses were human skulls—millions of them in piles that stretched endlessly across the landscape.
“Do you see?”
The basement appeared around them again. Everyone was silent except Sven.
“That planet was D-Grade. F-Grade Earth is sixteen times less resilient. If you fail to act, a worse fate awaits your world.”
“How are we supposed to fight against something like that?” Rihelah cried, her hand gripping Michael’s tight enough to crack his knuckles.
“Life and death. Predator and prey. In the end, all paths find a balance. But all are paved with struggle and hardship. Species, worlds, and even galaxies rise and fall. Fight on, and you may survive. If you lay down and despair, Earth will perish.” Sven disappeared.
“Sven? Where did he go?” Joe’s lips tightened as he looked around.
[He does that. Sven drops in to hand out advice, then disappears without a word.]
“How long until he comes back?” Joe asked.
[Sometimes he appears multiple times in a day, but it seems tied to moments when he feels like talking.]
Joe sighed heavily. Missed my chance to ask about resurrecting Anna. He slammed the stone wall with a backhanded fist, then healed his shattered bones.
Afterward, the basement was silent, save for heavy breathing from all those present as Joe looked at his feet and bared his teeth. A sniffle made him look up.
Siobhán and Joy leaked tears and clenched their fists. Rihelah frowned deeply, Michael gritted his teeth, and Mike wore a familiar stony face, but everyone’s eyes shone with determination.
Joe asked, “Dungeon, can you empower others the way you have with us? Can other people become immortal?”
[I’m only able to grant residency to a few, Joe,] Ciara said quietly. She didn’t sound happy about it.
“Then what do we do? Even I’m not confident that I could win against your creatures.” Joe frowned.
“If Uncle Joe can’t, then nobody can.” Rihelah shook her head.
[People need to train, as Sven advised. I’ll relocate some of my daunting minions and create others to help with that. First, help me decide how difficult to make things and train the people to fight. You should also have them harvest and work the metals I’ve provided. Everyone will need weapons and armor to survive against my creations.]
“No one knows anything about mining or blacksmithing. We already checked after you showed us the new mining area. It’s pretty, but…” Siobhán furrowed her brow while petting Nita, who rode on her shoulder.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Then it’s time some of us learned.” Joe locked eyes with Mike.
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Sunny stepped carefully beside her sister through the deepening cold-white as each held on while careful not to kill the captives they’d taken from the strange, aggressive dog pack. The silly, smaller canines had tried to hunt the Labs.
Her paws were cold, and the slow rain continued to fall, but it felt good to keep moving.
[Bad dogs make Sandy sad.]
[Bit Sunny’s neck.]
Sunny growled. Both their captives whined, trembling in fear.
Sunny not be tricked. Smells like fight-want.
The huge door made by their mom opened when they approached, and Sunny wagged her tail.
[Girls, you’re home! What are you—coyotes? They didn’t hurt you, did they?] Mommy sounded worried.
[Bad dogs not strong.] Sunny replied.
Her neck was sore, but their mother’s reassuring voice made Sunny happy.
[Others ran away,] said Sandy.
[Good! Bring them into the Dungeon, and Mommy will take care of it.]
[Sunny roll in warm-grass?]
[Sandy want warm-grass!]
[Yes, babies. You can, as soon as we’re done with the bad doggies.]
Sunny pranced with excitement, causing her captive to yelp. Ducking her head in shame, she smoothed her steps as they headed for the Dungeon’s entrance.
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I had Devilflies tie up the exhausted coyotes while Sunny and Sandy headed for the fruit orchard.
As my pups cleared the Twilight cricket area, minions bit and injected venom to dispatch the coyotes.
In the minion creation interface, I went a little overboard. The 150-cm-long wolf creature I’d made by enlarging a coyote was a bit much, considering my goal of helping humans to grow stronger. With that in mind, I returned it to a typical size and made its fur darker.
Three Forest coyotes formed the first small pack to roam my second floor, with a fourth at double size to serve as their alpha. I made three such packs and assigned them territories to guard, with the first starting a hundred meters beyond the initial swimming and mining area.
Twenty Devilflies were called down to live on the second floor, with orders to behave as dragonflies naturally do unless they were attacked, in which case each would defend themselves.
Tiny squeaks emanated from my old core room, drawing my curiosity.
Oh, how cute!
Turd and Mocha gently cleaned thirteen squirming newborn mouse pups.
As I ogled the baby mice, The Voice spoke.
Wow. But it sounds like they can die permanently. I should avoid sending the little muffins into danger where minions will suffice.
I should tell my beans and the others.
[Hey, humans.]
“We have names, ProfCon.” Siobhán snorted beside the others, where they all sat discussing their strategy while it snowed. Nita hung in a corner.
[When I want to talk with all of you, ‘humans’ is quicker.]
“What do you need?” Joe asked.
[I just learned something. Turd and Mocha had a litter of mouse pups. It turns out that if my residents mate and bear young, their children are called Dungeon-born. The Voice said they’re stronger and smarter than usual.]
Rihelah shrank in her seat as everyone except Michael stared at her. “What?” She shot hunted glances back at them, though her lips had curled into a smile.
“Nothing.” Mike coughed.
Michael rolled his eyes, lightly smacked his father’s arm, and pulled Rihelah close as the others chuckled.
“You took mice as residents?” Joe scoffed.
[When I first started, I needed all the help I could get.]
Mike said, “Huh. Mice were helpful?”
[I’ll have you know that when Turd and Mocha aren’t mating like—well… mice, they’re hard workers.]
“We know people like that!” Siobhán beamed at Michael and Rihelah, and the others burst out laughing.
Rihelah sighed and Michael shrugged with a satisfied grin, earning a punch in his shoulder.
[Does anyone know which is best for high-quality leather? Cows, horses, or deer?]
“Cow leather’s more common than the others, but I’m not sure which is the best quality.” Mike shrugged.
“Why do you ask?” Joe asked.
[I’m growing a redwood forest, and it needs more animals.]
“You’re what?” everyone asked in unison.
I grinned as I opened a new tunnel from the basement to meet with the entrance to my second floor.
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“Well, I’ll be go-to-hell,” Joe muttered as he stared at the trees growing inside the immense cavern.
Waterfalls, creeks… It’s warmer than I’d anticipated. But those lights are different… Joe squinted at two bright points high against the cavern’s ceiling. He felt warmth radiating from them, like the evening sun.
“Star-sized Dragons toying with entire planets, and now this, a half-mile under the Earth.” Mike shook his head.
[It only reaches around 240 meters in depth, but this floor is four kilometers long and more than a kilometer wide, with many alcoves and a few surprises.]
“How the fuck did you excavate all this?” Mike whispered.
[I’m a Dungeon, Mike. I can do a lot of things, and I’ve only just started. Now, I’d like you to help me plan out what animals you think people should hunt.]
“Son of a… we get to help with this?” Mike looked around at the 10-meter trees.
[You’re residents, so the Dungeon is your home. We’re a community, aren’t we? I’m a de facto administrator in this place, but I’m only one person. I don’t know what everyone thinks. People outside will need help, and I’m in a position to provide that. So, lend me your thoughts?]
“Fuckin’ A.” Mike smiled.
“I’m starting to like your Dungeon Professor.” Joe muttered, resting a hand on Siobhán’s shoulder. He froze when she hugged him tightly.
“I—um, sorry, Joe. I know you’re still trying to… I didn’t mean—” Siobhán pulled away. Her face turned bright red.
“It’s okay, Killarney.” Joe rubbed the top of Siobhán’s head.
Siobhán smiled warmly at Joe, then her eyes opened wide, and she smacked his hand away. “Hey! Don’t treat me like a kid.”
“Sorry.” Joe grinned.
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[I’m not sure which of these will fit you, so I’ve just piled them in.]
A few hundred swimsuits appeared inside the changing areas for my closest bathing pool.
“Holy shit,” Joe remarked.
“Yeah, that’ll do.” Mike laughed.
Since my residents would be using this area from time to time, I added heated showers to each side so they could wash up.
“How in the hell?” Michael shook his head.
Joe, Mike, and Michael stopped to watch me shape two shower stalls into the back of the men’s changing room. It took around ten seconds to create all four at the same time. The pressure vessels took a bit longer to complete, but watching them gawk at my work was sort of fun.
“Batshit crazy.” Joe shook his head.
“Two shower stalls in a few seconds. Do they work?” Mike asked, twisting one of the valves. The shower in front of him hissed for a second, then rained water over the shallow, textured stone pan I’d made.
Mike twisted the valves, testing the water with his hand for almost a minute.
“It’s not heating up,” said Mike.
[It takes a while to warm the water. Since I just created this, it hasn’t had time yet. You should use the pool outside while you wait. The girls are way ahead of you.]
Siobhán ran ahead of Joy and Rihelah in the stylish white and black two-piece she’d selected. She leaped into the air and cannonballed into the two-meter-deep pool, sending a small wave crashing against its stone sides. Climbing out of the water with the posture of a wet cat via the steps I’d added, Siobhán rubbed her upper arms and shrieked, “It’s cold! Ciara, you said this pool was heated.”
[I couldn’t test it myself. I’ll warm it a bit more, and you can tell me when it’s enough.] I added two more hearthstones to the pair already beneath the pool.
“Yeah. It’s almost as cold as the ocean!” She shivered in her bikini as the others approached.
“It can’t be that cold.” Joe smiled.
“Jump right in, then!” Siobhán threw her arms outward. Her shoulders pulled up against the straps of her top, and they snapped where they’d been poorly stitched, revealing her large, perky, pink-nippled breasts to the others. I felt envious, despite my new reality.
Rihelah stuck a hand in front of Michael’s eyes as everyone stared.
“Eeep,” Siobhán squeaked as her hands felt the places where her straps had been. She looked down, her eyes widened, then she covered herself, shooting a quick pout at Joe.
“I—uh…” Siobhán raced toward the changing room, protecting her chest while her whole body turned red. “Be back soon! Forget what you saw,” she called out.
It figures she’d have amazing breasts to match her face and personality. Auronox help me. They’re even more shapely than Rihelah’s. Mine weren’t even a fourth as big, and Soybean’s are twice as perky as mine were in my twenties.
I wish I could be a girl again. Especially with so much beef on display…
Joe and Mike rippled with muscle as they stepped into the pool, seeming unconcerned by the temperature.
Life certainly isn’t fair.
I sighed.
From the downcast expression on Joy’s face, it was clear she felt the same as me.
You’ll find someone, Joybean. I believe in you. At least you still have an opportunity to try.
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Floors: 2
Minions: 122/240
Residents: 12/12
Denizens: 45031
Traps: 3/10