When I finally came to my senses, I found myself in the middle of a room that was easily over three hundred, perhaps even four hundred meters in diameter. Wherever I looked, the entire floor was covered with soil and stones; not a single piece of green was in sight. It looked like a desert in here, and the only splash of color was a walking and living fire in the shape of my summoned monster.
"I need grass..."
It was more than that. I needed grass, flowers, shrubs, trees, insects, small animals, and many other things to make my dungeon truly feel alive. Unfortunately, I had none of that, as my only resources were the basic elements of fire, air, earth, water, and all the materials I had gained from those who hadn't made it out in time.
My mana was looking a bit better now, comfortably at eighty-five out of a hundred. Even the regeneration had normalized—I was now gaining ten mana per hour instead of having it stolen from me.
Yet, at the moment, there was nothing useful I could do with my mana. I could imagine digging a hole to fill it with water without looking at the green panels, but I didn't feel thirsty at the moment. As far as I knew, neither I nor the fox ever would.
With a sigh, I rose and waved my long tail behind my back. This was all a story for later. Right now, I needed to focus on Cilia's tasks.
The next panel had already appeared before me, revealing that I had indeed done a good job redecorating my first room.
『Quest 3: A Place to Call Home
Task Completed: Use your dungeon points and mana to change and decorate your room.
Reward: Unlocks floor themes
Well done, sleepyhead~』
I couldn't help but smile at Cilia's remark. It felt good to know someone was watching over my sleep. Sure, I had the fox to keep me company, but the malevolent monster seemed to mind its own business unless it was cuddling up to me for comfort. I couldn't help but feel a little lonely.
As if Cilia could sense my slight unease, a new quest appeared, gently forcing me to think about something else.
『Quest 4: The Big Picture
Task: Choose a theme for your floor
Reward: Unlocks a new monster of your choice
Themes can be changed for each floor and affect temperature, weather selection, flora, and fauna. After all, you can't place anything on a floor that doesn't match your vision! Some themes are less restrictive than others, so choose wisely! Say "floor" to get started!』
"Floor!"
Upon my command, a tiny panel appeared, offering me not many options. Instead, there was a single line allowing me to select the theme. However, when I focused on those few words, a much larger panel appeared.
「Available Themes:
0 DP: Cave, Forest, Meadow, Salt Desert, Sand Desert, Savannah
50 DP: Dry Highland, Wasteland, Bushland, Cavern, Hot Bushland, Mangrove, Ocean, River, Stone Desert
100 DP: Alpine Grove, Alpine Highland, Alpine Meadow, Ravine, Castle, Cliff, Misty Forest, Cold Ocean, Frozen River, Sky, Ice Cave, Inactive Volcano, Jungle, Lush Cave, Swamp, Rainbow Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Stony Coast, Taiga, Temperate Highland, Forest Maze
150 DP: Beach, Cold Desert, Cold Bushland, Frozen Ocean, Ice Swamp, Jungle Mountains
200 DP: Forested Highland, Hell, Highland, Cemetery
250 DP: Dungeon, Active Volcano
300 DP: Floating Islands
350 DP: Enchanted Dungeon
Dungeon Points: 4770」
Needless to say, I was stunned by the sheer number of options. I didn't even know what half of them would do. Concepts like Rainbow Mountains or Sky and Hell were entirely foreign to me. And who knew what the difference between an enchanted dungeon and a normal one was?
Fortunately, the option I felt most comfortable with seemed entirely straightforward. Naturally, I chose the active volcano. I wanted my monster to feel at home, after all!
After confirming my selection with barely more than a thought, the selection screen disappeared quickly. There were no real changes in my room, but somehow I knew my options were now somewhat limited. After all, it would be strange to find blooming landscapes or even trees inside of an active volcano.
Before I could lose myself in that thought, two new panels appeared. One showed that I had completed my task, allowing me to finally choose my second monster; the other displayed a short selection of said monsters.
「Unlock Monster:
Air Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster that can hinder enemies with wind magic. Loves chasing after gusts of wind and enjoys playful games with leaves. The air fox is a highly playful and mischievous monster.
Earth Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster that can withstand severe wounds. When it is not currently digging or shaping the earth, this monster prefers resting in its den. The earth fox is as stoic and stubborn as its element.
Water Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster with healing abilities. Enjoys swimming in calm ponds and watching small animals. Has a gentle and nurturing character.」
I couldn't help but feel a bit cheated. Were there no new monsters? Would I have to manage with just these four forever? Such weak monsters would never be able to defeat a group of adventurers!
Still, I had to make a choice. Once again, I ruled out Water. I simply couldn't imagine such a monster being happy and healthy in a volcanic area. The Air Fox had better chances, but compared to Earth, it seemed like the clearly inferior choice.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
"Earth Fox," I decided after a few moments.
The panel of monsters disappeared in an instant, making room for a much smaller one that revealed I had indeed unlocked the earth fox. I immediately went and summoned it.
Once again a cloud of mana began spreading from me. It circled around me, faster and ever faster, to then condense into a thick, marble-like ball. Soon the ball began to glow in a brown color, to then grow legs, a head, and a tail. A second after doing so, it dropped to the ground with a thud, giving attention to the fox’s weight.
The monster’s fur had the appearance of rich, brown soil, and it was adorned with subtle patterns that mimicked the textures of the earth. The creature's eyes looked like amber, they displayed an eternal will to endure even the hardest tasks for its master - me.
The body of the earth elemental fox was compact and sturdy, with a sense of weightiness that seemed to anchor it to the ground. Its paws seemed to always crumble and rebuild themselves, and as it moved, a gentle trail of fine earth particles was left behind.
As soon as I had grasped the full appearance of my newest monster, a new, large board appeared. Cilia was giving me yet another task:
『Quest 5: Sunny with Chances of Fox
Task: Choose the weather for your room
Reward: Unlocks the Vulpine Circle
The Vulpine Circle is a ritual that requires two foxes to channel their energy and elements into the circle. Together, they create a powerful synergy that can shape the elements. It is important that the foxes act in harmony with each other and have a deep connection to you. If one of the foxes is distracted or restless, it can disrupt the entire ritual and prevent the desired results!
Additionally, it is crucial that you maintain a clear mind and strong concentration throughout the entire ritual. Any strong emotion can influence the energies in the circle and disturb the balance. Therefore, it is advisable not to perform the ritual when you are oversaturated with mana.
Once the Vulpine Circle is fully activated, a magical connection is established between the foxes and the elements. This allows you to create a new, multi-tailed fox, which inherits the elements of the participating foxes.
The Vulpine Circle costs fifty mana per tail the participating foxes have and once you have created a specific fox, you can summon it without using the Vulpine Circle.
I am looking forward to seeing what you will do with this~』
I couldn't help but thank Cilia again. Without her explanations and tasks, I wouldn't have known where to start. Only now, as she mentioned the weather, did I realize that the scenario in my head was indeed lacking in that regard. Sunshine alone didn’t make for vulcanos! I needed thunder and lightning, thick, black clouds, and ashen rain.
"Change weather!" I commanded my core.
A new panel appeared, displaying not the weather but the available temperatures to choose from. Both ‘hot’ and ‘freezing’ cost fifty dungeon points, and ‘warm’ cost twenty-five. Only ‘cold’ was entirely free. But who would want a cold dungeon?
I almost immediately chose the hot option, believing it would best complement the volcanic area I wished to create. Of course, that meant I would be subjected to the heat as well, but that was nothing a simple roof over my head couldn't compensate for - hopefully.
After making this choice, the weather options appeared:
「Weather
Sunny/Clear Sky: 0 DP
Cloudy: 25 DP
Partly Cloudy: 15 DP
Rainy: 50 DP
Windy: 50 DP
Foggy: 50 DP
Stormy: 75 DP
Changing Weather
Spring: 100 DP
Summer: 100 DP
Dungeon Points: 4520」
This decision was much easier. I wanted my lightning, thunderstorms, and the black sky! What was a volcano without them?!
"Stormy!" I decided almost immediately.
Once I said that, a few dark clouds appeared on the artificial horizon of my room. They began to move slowly across the sky, occasionally obscuring the sun but never rewarding me for my decision. There was no sign of rain or thunder yet; but the gentle, albeit hot breeze that accompanied the clouds was more than welcome.
Cilia gave me a few minutes to enjoy my own creation before grabbing my attention once more. She showed me a board that explained to me that I had indeed just completed another one of her tasks and unlocked the Vulpine Circle. When I dismissed the message by shoving it away with my hand, a new one appeared in its place:
『Quest 6: Where the Magic Happens
Task: Combine two foxes with the Vulpine Circle
Reward: Unlocks a New Monster of your Choice』
My gaze wandered through my empty room, searching for a place to put the magic circle at and finish my new task. Any place was good, to be honest, as there was currently nothing at all in my dungeon. It was only a vast hall, nothing more, nothing less. Still, I decided to place the ritual near the edge of the room, knowing that there was still a huge volcano waiting to be placed here.
After deciding on the location, I concentrated on the title of the ritual - Vulpine Circle - and did my best to imagine a magical circle of some sort appearing underneath my feet.
The dungeon core didn’t leave me waiting, it immediately went to work. Before I knew it, a cold shiver ran over my skin, making me hug myself in an attempt to warm myself up a little bit.
The ground beneath me began to shake. Nine pedestals made of marble rose all around me, each covered with the four basic elemental runes. The runes each bore the color of their element - red for fire, blue for water, white for air, and brown for earth - and had been meticulously carved into the stone. Lines of obsidian now grew from the ground, connecting the pedestals to each other. In the center of the circle, right under my feet, another pedestal rose, larger than all the others combined. Here, I knew, the new foxes would be born. Naturally, I couldn't wait for that to happen.
Exhausted, I checked my mana only to find out it had indeed dropped to zero. I could only wait for it to fill up once again.
Minutes passed as I sat on the ground, concentrating on regenerating my mana, only to find out it had no effect at all. I just couldn’t affect my core by meditating, which felt pretty foreign to me, having seen magicians do it all the time. Was it really not my own mana I was working with here? I thought the core and I were one and the same!
Needless to say, I quickly grew bored of just trying. Instead, I focused on playing with my foxes, playing fetch them using stones the fire fox couldn’t possibly melt, or simply chasing the two of them around. But there were only so many games you could play with monsters, especially when they suddenly go to sleep exhausted.
Seconds went by like hours as I watched my mana slowly creep towards one hundred, about one point of it being regenerated every six minutes or so. When it was finally full, I felt a deep relief flood my body.
With a smile, I walked over to my two foxes, who were by now cuddling with each other, deep asleep. I gently woke them up and told them about the ritual, which they somehow seemed to understand. Apparently, the two of them were more clever than I gave them credit for. Or it was simply a monster thing. Maybe they had an easy time listening to the will of the dungeon? That was what I was now, after all, a mere dungeon!
- - - - -
Poorly Drawn Earth Fox:
image [https://i.imgur.com/DekG6ei.png]
Somewhat precious looking AI Earth Fox:
image [https://i.imgur.com/OPo6J9m.jpg]
Poorly Drawn Dungeon:
image [https://i.imgur.com/0SyY5Ro.jpg]