I looked into the little mouse nest to see how they were handling their loss. The 2 remaining adults seemed to be scrounging around, feeding the little ones while occasionally stopping to watch the entrance. Looking in, I felt a pang of sadness as I realized what I needed to do next. These mice were not evil, just creatures trying to survive in a world that had changed around them. But much like they were trying to survive, so was I. And for me to grow stronger, I had very few options available. I could always wait for the insects and such to give me the needed experience to grow, but I had no real timeframe for how long that would actually take. Plus in the very first tutorial I had received the System blatantly warned me that just near everything alive in the world wanted to either eat, control, or destroy me. So unless I just wanted to leave myself open to these options I had to make some tough choices.

In my old world, humanity believed that they had generally escaped the law of the jungle. But to me it just felt like we had covered it with the façade of society. And even that was dependent on where you lived. We were still animals, using instincts to survive, we had just changed the way the game was played for us to fit in and feel better about ourselves.

Either way, those politics were not my problem, at least until I met any sapient species. I was in no hurry, but I knew that not having anyone to talk to or spend time with may get to me eventually. Maybe being reborn as a dungeon core would change that, but considering I still felt what was basically human emotion at the soon to be death of a nest of mice, I doubted it.

Well, no point in delaying the inevitable. Looking at the nest I realized that I could send my bat inside, but it would be a tough fight, leaving it with way to many disadvantages to chance. Instead I had 2 other choices. Either I sent some of the mice my ecosystem skill had created to clean house, or I could use my newest addition, the Amazonian giant centipede. Though centipedes were directly related to several mythologies and folklore, including Japanese and Egyptian, the mouse was more of a potential. On the other hand mice are seen in many mythologies, though many see and use both rats and mice as being the same creature. The Chinese zodiac uses rat, but actually encompasses both from what I remembered.

Both were also great uses for my cave theme, so the choice is relatively a tough one. If I focused purely on the one with the easiest chances, I had no doubt the centipede would be best. Even without a Mana core, its size and venom would make it a simple choice. But on the other hand, the Fanged field mouse had better chances to evolve in comparison. The fight might be bloodier, and I would probably have to send more than one, but I felt that they would gain experience and a chance to grow much easier.

In the end I chose the centipede, due to the fact that it would only need one, plus sending mice to basically kill and cannibalize other mice felt off. It was a completely natural thing in the real world, but that was that, and this was My World. Though I was weak now, in essence I was like a god of creation here. I not only molded the world to fit my wants and desires, I could make living breathing life. The biggest difference was that I knew what a true God was, and that what fragile hold I had here wasn’t even comparable in the face of that Reality. But overall this was my own space and in the end I was the one who was able to make that choice.

I focused on the centipede that was currently the farthest ahead in power, one of the few that had been made by the Ecosystem Skill. Being thankful for the blessing the skill was, I sent the equivalent of a mental order to the centipede to station outside the nest. It’s not like I could talk to this creature like my bat, more just nudge at it with what I wanted and it followed along. This showed me the difference in intelligence my bat had, due to its oversized Mana core. Once it got to the entrance I saw the mice inside freeze up, their instinctual knowledge that a predator was around alerting them to the centipede’s presence. I took one last look, before steeling my nerves and sending it in.

As it rushed in, I turned away. A cowardly option for sure, but I did not enjoy or want to enjoy what was basically a one sided slaughter of not only mature mice, but infant ones as well. My bat, hanging on the stalactite above my core seemed to feel my discontent, offering small squeaks I interpreted as sounds of protection and comfort.

I focused in on it, “Thank you little one, I’m alright.”

It wasn’t the complete truth, but it was a new fact of my life. I would make no promises to myself that this would be the last time. I didn’t just think, but knew, I would have to make similar choices in the future. There was no need to try and cover these feelings up with false promises, I just had to take them as they were and continue on. I once again felt feelings of hope and comfort come from my bat. Even though it was not a sapient creature, that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be one in the future. Even now the emotions coming from it gave me the feeling it was more advanced than what a normal bat would show. Or maybe bats were all like this, and humanities lack of connection and inability to discern these things is why we had never noticed.

Either way, the deed was done and my centipede curled up in its now slightly messier and emptier nest. I looked around the cave room, seeing how the creatures interacted, hunted, fought, and lived inside my cave, in a balancing cycle of life. This was just the beginning to my brand new life. And to think it was still only the first day.

For as crazy as the first day had been, the next several were absolutely boring. I once more opened my status page, hoping to see something new in it. It was almost like when you would go into the kitchen for food, not see anything you want or need, and then going back 5 minutes later like something would have changed.

Name

Mythos

Species

Dungeon Core

Level

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

3

Sub species

Pearlescent

Life

3/3

Life Regen

.5 per min

Mana

25/25

Mana Regen

5 per min

Strength

n\a

Intelligence

18+2

Constitution

3+2

Will

28+2

Dexterity

n\a

Luck

5

Monsters

2

Rooms

1

Ability Points: 4

I had grown a level, but it hadn’t been from the mice genocide. I ended up having to wait 2 more days to top off the experience with the insects and such. I had also distributed a few of the points around, leaving some as a just in case. It felt a little wasteful, but I figured that maybe in an emergency I could place them where needed. Of course there was no guarantee that would even work, but it was a risk I was going to take. Plus I had noticed that even though I had gotten the plus 3 and 4, in Intelligence and Will respectfully, I had not gained an extra point in Constitution this time. Thus I decided to just spend 2 points in each of those categories, giving me some nice rounded numbers. I had only gotten one extra life point, but the boost in regen was worth it.

Overall I had gotten a high enough boost in my Mana that I decided to create a second bat. I had finally gotten around to check that my first bat had been female, meaning I made my second one male. I wasn’t sure if they would pair up as a mating pair immediately or if I had to wait. For now it would seem my first bat was the de facto leader of the two, taking charge in their little hunts of my smaller creatures. Surprisingly they were still the only 2 to be considered monsters in my little cave. This led me to believe that it was because I specifically had made them and not the Ecosystem skill.

The centipede I had used to clear out the nest was doing surprisingly well. My 2 bats generally left it alone, as they tended to hunt on the other side of the cave closer to the entrance. The centipede on the other hand kept to the back wall, hunting down the mice and other creatures there. Overall it would seem that due to these 2 hunting groups, the mice were not advancing overall. Most lived in small nests they had created in the cracks, venturing out into the center to hunt the beetles and such.

There was one mouse that stayed by itself, that was a possible point of interest. It was the sole survivor of a centipede attack, a different one from the back. It had been a small group of 4, which had been spawned in as 2 pairs and had joined together. The centipede had struck when the survivor had been hunting, killing the other three and taking the nest. When the mouse had returned to the now centipede occupied nest it flew into a rage of sorts and attacked. I’m not sure if it was pure luck or if the centipede was lethargic from its meal, but the mouse came out the victor. It had a few scratches that would no doubt be scars when they fully healed, but now it hunted out centipedes specifically. It seemed to have developed a skill to be immune or at least resistant to the centipede’s venom, as I saw it take a bite in one fight but keep moving.

Either way there were several things going on in my little ecosystem, but generally everyday was the same. As I thought that, I felt something new enter my perception. I looked over at where the feeling had come from, only to notice that it was at the crack in the north wall that led out into the world. As I focused on the presence I made a creature that was very obviously unlike one from Earth. With the body that was in line with a skink, a small lizard, but covered in a mixture of fur and feathers. It also only had a nub of a tail, though looking closely it would seem that had not always been the case. It did not use its tongue to taste the air, like other reptiles, instead it seemed to use 2 whiskers trailing off its face, almost like a catfish. The coloring of feathers and fur was a mottled white, but closer inspection showed it was actually colorless, like a crystal. It reminded me of a polar bear, with the skin also being the darker color underneath.

So basically I had a possible reptile, with polar bear fur slash feathering and skin, using catfish like whiskers to sense its surroundings. It was like the platypus of earth, a mixture of different traits that seemed to work. As I was wondering on the seemingly hodgepodge of the creature, it fully entered the cave. It warily looked around before it, its whiskers brushing the ground sporadically. Lifting its gaze it scanned over me in the air, before looking elsewhere. Then it whipped back to me, eyes laser focused on my core. At first it seemed to be in fascination.

Then it began to drool.