After everyone had a chance to recover from their fight with Chorus, Chandra let Zack have it. She yelled at his wisp for what felt like twenty minutes. Zack, of course, not only wasn’t paying attention to her—his disembodied awareness wasn’t even in the wisp.
Chorus was a burden on Zack’s mana because she didn’t have a spawner to take care of her for him. That meant not only did he have to clean up the mess by himself, but he had to manually respawn her. He did so gingerly, before checking to see if Chandra was still ripping into him.
She was losing steam, but still going strong.
Zack figured it was probably time he paid attention to her, and popped back in to catch the last few words of her tirade.
“—you can’t just make some horrible freak of nature like that and sick it on people!” Chandra finished, crossing her arms.
“Are you done now?” Zack asked, just to be certain.
Chandra narrowed her eyes, as though considering whether or not she wanted to give him more hell. A slight dip of the chin was all the acknowledgment Zack needed to start defending himself.
“First, Chorus is meant to be horrifying. She’s the boss of the spider room. That whole area is designed to be as scary as possible. It preys on a half dozen different phobias,” he explained. “Secondly, I’m not sicking her on people. She’s a boss monster. She’ll reveal herself to anyone that makes it to her room, but she won’t attack anyone unless they attack her first.” Or get too close, he silently added. His bosses had a range they would permit adventurers to enter their rooms before they would go to town and start attacking. They were also programmed not to attack anyone that left their room, or were in the process of running away. This was intentionally designed, since bosses could easily kill people if they weren’t careful.
Boss fights weren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Zack knew this and didn’t want to force the issue. He wasn’t trying to kill people, he was trying to train them to become stronger. He couldn’t do that if they died in his dungeon. That was why Zack went to such great lengths to ensure healing items and Medibolds were readily available. He wanted people to learn and grow, then come back for more.
“Lastly, calling Chorus a freak of nature is just plain mean.” Zack noticed that Chandra was looking significantly more cowed. Her ears were pointed to the ground, and her tail was tucked between her legs. “I will take your feedback into consideration for future rooms, though,” he quickly added. Chandra was one of his coworkers, and he didn’t want to upset her. He wasn’t about to redesign Chorus based on feedback, but it was clear that her design made Chandra very uncomfortable. The least he could do was swear off making another like her in the future.
“That’s all I can ask for, I suppose,” Chandra grumbled, crossing her arms. She looked less frustrated, and more like she was hugging herself.
Archie must have noticed her state, too, because he came over and put a hand on her shoulder. “You did wonderfully out there, my dear,” he assured her. He had to look up to peer into her eyes, but he did so earnestly.
That was enough to assuage her concerns, and at a quick request from the rabbit, she retreated to go speak with Alex and Greg. That left Archie and Zack alone to confer with one another.
“I didn’t mean to scare her,” Zack mumbled defensively.
“I hardly blame you for that,” Archie assured him. “I’m not sure if fear is quite the word I would use, either. There is something else there, but I couldn’t tell you what. It’s a topic for another time.”
“Did you adapt a spell like we wanted? I saw you moving pretty fast out there.”
Archie’s face scrunched up. “No, I didn’t,” he said, grumpily. “What you saw was simply an exercise of my natural lapine agility. Nothing different than what I could exercise as Thumper, however magnified now that I am of a higher level.”
“Dammit,” Zack swore. “I was so sure that would work.”
Archie shook his head. “I was willing to entertain the notion, however I suspected all along that it would amount to nothing. After all, what is a natural monster evolution but another form of breakthrough?”
Zack bobbed in place. “Now that you put it that way, I see what you mean. Breakthroughs and adaptations are essentially the same thing, triggered under very similar circumstances. If you can’t reach a breakthrough, a monster adaptation is out of the question.”
Archie nodded and crossed his arms. “I feel like there is a part of the puzzle we are missing, but I could not tell you what it is.”
Zack tightened his wisp in frustration. “Are you sure you don’t want the healing spell?”
“You’re not replacing my skin with healing potion,” Archie said sharply.
“Ugh, okay, fine. But now we’re right back where we started. How do we get you a new spell?”
Zack must have been expressing his exasperation louder than he meant to, because the others came over to join in the conversation. Archie got them up to speed on his status, and they all seemed surprise that he was unchanged. The explanation that adaptation and breakthroughs were too close to one another didn’t seem to click with them as well as it did for Zack, though.
“We need to consider this a bust,” Zack said. “There has to be something else we can do to get Archie a new power, but right now this isn’t it.”
Alex ran a hand over his face, his brows knit together in thought. “Well… Archie’s a dungeon born monster, right? Zack made him, which means he’s limited to what Zack can do or know.”
“To a certain extent. Don’t forget my camouflage ability,” Archie reminded him.
“I’m willing to bet you got that from the stooltoads, actually,” Alex pointed out. “It’s not uncommon for wild stooltoads to have camouflage powers.”
Archie’s brows shot up, before dropping into a frown. Curiously, Zack pulled up the stooltoad pattern. He fed the pattern a little bit of extra mana, just to see what would happen, and…
“Huh, would you look at that,” he muttered. “Higher level stooltoads, around level five, naturally develop the camouflage ability.”
Archie sputtered in disgust and horror at the implication he might be related, even distantly, to such a creature. Now it was Chandra’s turn to put a hand on his shoulder to ease his concerns.
“So Zack can only get spells or powers he already absorbed?” Greg offered, getting the conversation back on track.
“That can’t be it, can it?” Zack asked. “I mean, I have a lot of random spells and powers from the monsters in my collection, but that can’t be the only way I get more.”
“And you don’t have any rogue-friendly powers?” Chandra asked.
Zack shook his wisp from side to side. “The closest I can think of is the spiders’ ability to climb walls. I’m not sure how to apply that to Archie without giving him spider legs. It’s a natural ability they have.”
Archie cocked his head and flicked his ears. “Admittedly, the ability to climb walls is appealing. It would certainly make fights in my room more interesting.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Are you volunteering for that change?” Zack asked, already pulling up the spider pattern.
“No!” Zack was shocked that both Archie and Chandra blurted out at the same time. When all eyes fell on her, Chandra’s tail was tucked between her legs, and the insides of her ears were burning red.
“Chandra… Are you afraid of spiders?” Greg asked, cocking his head.
“W-what gave you that impression?” Chandra asked, hugging herself and looking away.
“Oh my god, you are,” Greg clapped a hand on her shoulder and barked a laugh.
Chandra’s blush turned all the deeper, her ears flattening against her head to hide it from the world. “Spiders are gross and scary, okay? Are you happy that you got me to say it?”
“There’s no shame in having a phobia,” Zack said, bobbing in place. “Like I said, I designed that room to prey on a bunch of different fears. Spiders are just one of them.”
Chandra looked like she might pounce on Zack’s wisp for daring to put her in such a spot, but instead she shut her eyes and took several deep breaths.
“She does have a point,” Archie said, scratching his chin. “As appealing as the ability to climb walls would be, I cannot deny that adding spider limbs is unappealing. Is there not another way to bestow that ability?”
Zack mentally frowned and considered that. Spider climbing was a function of the monster’s biology rather than any innate magical ability. The same held true for stooltoads and Medibolds: these were abilities they had because of their bodies, not because Zack bestowed powers upon them. Even Chorus’s venom was a function of combining spiders with toads, rather than something he intentionally gave her.
But did that mean he couldn’t mix and match abilities?
Curiously, Zack spawned a spider in the middle of the hub. Chandra leapt back in surprise, but when the monster didn’t move, she started to relax. Zack peered deep into the monster’s pattern, trying to get a sense of where the different functions were stored. As he did, Archie paced around, his eyes glowing a faint green colour.
“As one of your monsters, it would seem I am able to perceive the same information as you,” Archie noted, when he felt Zack’s gaze upon him.
“Good. Two heads are better than one,” Zack bobbed his wisp in approval, then turned his attention back to the spider.
He focused on seeing past the external shell, at the magic holding the creature together. Everything Zack spawned was technically made of mana, rather any other true forms of matter. That meant mana was behaving a certain way once he ascribed it an associated shape.
As Zack studied it, he started to notice a pattern within the pattern. It was hard to spot at first, the mana threads so densely packed together they were difficult to identify. It looked like a node, where threads intersected with one another.
“Hey, Archie, do you see that?” Zack asked, mentally pointing at one of the nodes.
“I do.”
“What are you guys looking at?” Alex asked. At some point, he had joined them in staring at the spider, though he couldn’t see the depths of its pattern like they could. Zack regretted that he had to leave his best friend out of the process, and made a mental note to figure out a way to include him in the future.
“It’s an isolated section of the spider’s pattern where mana intersects,” Archie explained. “All dungeon created monsters are essentially threads of mana sewn together to create a shape.”
“Literally a sewing pattern,” Chandra realized, snapping her fingers.
“There are, however, places where these threads intersect with one another in ways others do not,” Archie continued, with a brief nod of acknowledgment to Chandra’s comparison.
“Let me isolate them real fast,” Zack muttered.
Piece by piece, the spider fell away, until all that was left were a handful of wisps hovering in mid-air. They were indistinguishable from the wisp Zack used to make Archie talk, or the one he used as a stand-in for his real body. There was, however, something incredibly distinct about them.
[Spell Node: Spider Climb]
[This node contains the ability to climb walls like a spider. This ability costs both mana and stamina if the user does not have spider physiology.]
[Spell Node: Venom]
[This node contains the ability to generate venom. This ability costs mana. Venom must be applied to a piercing or slashing weapon in order to function. The strength of the venom is based on the user’s Endurance attribute.]
[Spell Node: Sticky Webs]
[This node contains the ability to generate sticky silk webs. This ability costs mana if the user does not have spider physiology. The strength of webs is based on the user’s Endurance attribute.]
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Zack said, letting a whistle slip out of his wisp. “Archie, you see these?”
The rabbit nodded. “Are those what I think they are?”
“Spells. The spells built into the monsters from the get go,” Zack confirmed. “Let me try something.”
Zack quickly absorbed the spell node containing the sticky webs spell. As soon as it disappeared, he was delighted to see that he learned the pattern for the spell node. That meant not only could he conjure new versions of that node whenever he wanted, but he could just as easily apply it to his other monsters going forward.
“It looks like I have to deconstruct monster patterns I acquire in order to get new spells that I can give to my mobs,” Zack said, excitement in his voice. “It’s like you guys said, my monsters are limited by what I have. It never even occurred to me to try breaking down my patterns to get at the nodes beneath them! I bet I can do the same thing with my potion patterns and get some better healing spells.”
Archie approached the two remaining nodes hovering in the air that was once occupied by a spider. “May I have these?”
Zack considered absorbing the nodes first, but decided he could very easily deconstruct a spider to get them again. Archie was clearly eager to acquire the venom and spider climb powers, both of which would be invaluable as a rogue.
With permission, Archie plucked both nodes out of the air and popped them into his mouth. He swallowed them whole, faint glimmers of green shining within his throat as they entered the very core of his being. As Zack watched, the new spell nodes quickly integrated themselves with Archie’s pattern, the threads of mana connecting to each other like they were always meant to.
“Archie? You good?” Greg asked, watching the rabbit curiously.
Chandra looked like she was ready to bolt if Archie started sprouting spider legs, and Alex already had a hand on his sword, just in case.
Then, Archie jumped high into the air, landing on the ceiling. He clung there for a moment, smirking down at the others, before standing up. “It would seem I can walk on walls and the ceiling,” he declared, demonstrating by striding over to the wall and walking down it. As he reached the bottom, he drew one of his daggers. He ran two fingers over the blade, and revealed that it was now coated in a sticky green fluid. “And I can envenom my weapons.”
“Three spells!” Zack cheered in delight. “Archie has three whole spells!”
No sooner had he said the words, a new pop up appeared in Zack’s field of view.
[Quest complete: Back to Spawn]
[Learn or create an advanced monster pattern.]
[Reward: Spawner upgrades.]
If Zack had a fist to pump, he would have been doing so with joy. It had taken far more effort than he had expected, but he finally managed to get a monster that qualified as advanced. Now he could finally get to work erecting more advanced spawners capable of handling stronger monsters.
As soon as he experimented with them, of course. He needed to figure out if his spawner upgrades had limitations to them. Doubtlessly there would be new problems in need of solving, but for now this was a moment worth celebrating.
“I have it,” Zack said, as he noticed his friends were watching him curiously. “I unlocked the ability to make more advanced spawners. I won’t be limited to five points of mana per spawner. At least I assume I won’t. I’ll have to dabble in it, which might take a while, but still. It’s something worth celebrating!”
Chandra relaxed, as it became clear that Archie would not rapidly transform into a horrifying spider abomination. Greg nodded his approval, while Alex gave Zack an eager thumbs up.
“More importantly, this means that we officially have a new boss monster for the meadow. Archie will be able to operate as the boss for the second floor, which means I can finally get to work populating it,” Zack declared happily.
“Actually, why don’t you let me handle that,” Archie offered.
Zack blinked in surprise, his wisp flickering with the mental twinge. “Pardon?”
“I am an extension of yourself, or have you so soon forgotten? I don’t have all the powers you do, but I can see the world as you can,” Archie explained, crossing his arms. “Seeing as it is my floor, would you do me the courtesy of allowing me to have creative control over it?”
That got a snort of laughter out of Chandra. “Zack hates it when we make suggestions,” she warned.
“I am not making a suggestion. I am asking for the right to design my home,” Archie explained. “You forget, I live here. As such, do I not deserve the right to ensure it meets my standards?”
Zack made a frustrated noise. He didn’t like the idea of surrendering control of his dungeon to anyone. Archie, however, raised a very good point. He wasn’t just any other person, he was an extension of Zack. Part of the dungeon, given intelligence and free will. As much as Zack wanted to hoard creative control, he couldn’t deny the rabbit had a very good point.
“Zack will still need to actually create the things I need for my floor, but at the very least allowing me to design it will ensure it is complete with everything I want,” Archie added, as he noticed odd looks for the others. “It was a fight to get him to add a stove and a bed. Seriously, there isn’t even a bath.”
The look of horror that flashed across Chandra’s face was all Zack needed to know that this was a fight he’d lost. If Archie didn’t get his way, Chandra would never let Zack hear the end of it.
“Fine! You can design the burrow!” Zack said in defeat. “Where’s Jean-Claude? I need him to throw up his hands for me.”