“That’s quite some grades you got. Though, seems most of it was because you simply lack wings.”

“Yes! Some teachers are so unfair! My parents are low-class and have small wings, but at least they can fly for a short while. But, I got no wings at all! Yet, they think I must become a low-class too. Never! I will show them that even a wingless imp can become someone! And I did! I became your Prime imp! Oh, my parents and other relatives, were so proud of me, when I told them.” The imp actually wiped a tear from his eye. Your parents were low-class, but had wings, you got no wings, but thinks you deserve to become a higher class? I'm sensing some faulty logic here.

The imp continued his rant. “My gang; Ah, I was, well actually, still is, the leader of a small ten-man wingless imp gang. We hang out together and talk shit about the winged ones. Well, not only that, but you get the idea.”

“Oh, I see…” Is this his back story?

“I wasn’t done. The gang was also super happy for me, but they quickly got sad again. With me gone, you see, their life would suck again and they would be forced to join the low-class. So, I invited them all as my personal underlings! Great, huh? No need for snobby winged imps when you got my gang.” The imp folded his arms and nodded to himself.

“That sounds great and all… But who is going to clean the ceilings and such things? Seems most of your tasks are pretty much based around the fact you can fly.” I have a feeling there is a reason why the wingless are generally considered, how should I put this... worthless.

“Eh, don’t worry. If we all help each other out, maybe we can reach the top walls. By climbing on top of each other and leaning on the walls, I mean.” The imp stacked his hands up high, to explain to me more clearly. Not that I needed it; understood what he meant from the start. Can already see them falling down in a pile of bodies and limbs.

“What about the ceiling? With no wall to support yourself on, how will you clean it or even expand it?” Not to mention, the ones in the bottom of the imp tower, would get crushed.

“Fear not, Heart. I have already thought about such things.” The imp waved with his index finger. Wait, he does not have five fingers, he only got four. Is it still the index finger? You know what, don't think I really care either.

“Oh, tell me.” He got a plan? He is better than I thought.

“You.” The imp stated bluntly.

“Wha?”

“You will do it.” The imp said in a serious tone.

“I’m sorry? What did you just say? Me, the immobile non-living Heart should clean his own ceilings and do the imp's job?” Sigh, seems he is serious. Well, maybe he got an actual plan. “OK, how exactly?”

“A Dungeon Lord, your own body, an avatar.” The imp said smugly.

“I can create my own body? How?” Now we are talking.

“Simple… You need access to a portal, at least two floors, lots of mana and gold, something to design it after, the ritual room and the ritualist working there.” The imp counted with his fingers, as he listed the things needed. “The portal, floors and something to design it after, will be easy. Mana and gold will just take some period of being frugal, until we have gathered the required amount. A stronger body is more expensive. The ritualist, that one will be hard. The room too, I have no idea how to build it.”

“So, not simple at all…” Too good to be true, it seems.

“I, I guess so.” The imp laughed awkwardly.

“What now? I know about your skills, and that I am creating a dungeon, or something. How do I actually do that?” I want to start doing something. Anything. This guy's voice is starting to get on my nerves.

“Well, first…” The imp took out a hollow tube, made of some kind of wood, from the bag on his back. He pressed one end of the tube a few centimeters into the ground. He put his mouth on the other end, and made a sucking sound, like drinking the last few drops with a straw.

The imp opened his mouth and spat out a small bug! Disgusting?

“Look! A wild beetle bug.” The imp held the bug in his palm. The beetle bug, laying on its back, twitched with its tiny legs. Making the gross bug even more gross was the fact that the imp's saliva covered its entire body, from the hell like experience it just lived through. Poor thing. Hm, guess I can't really feel any sympathy for it. Oh well, I tried.

“Uh, great trick, but don’t see how that will help.”

“Foolish, look again.” He ate the bug, it crunched loudly as he bit into the hard shell, and then the imp repeated the process.

“Okay, two bugs. Didn’t know there were so many here, but whatever. Get to the point.” Starting to lose my patience with his bugs.

“Exactly! This is a bug sucker! The bug sucker can draw bugs towards it, from upwards to fifty meters! First, you input your own mana. The mana undergoes some kind of change as it passes through the tube, and somehow, when it comes out, it’s able to locate bugs, as it spreads through the ground. The mana grabs the bugs, and then you must suck up the mana with your own lung capacity, which brings the bug with it. Stronger lungs, means longer range. Since you recycle almost all the mana you used in the first place, this thing allows you to find bugs with almost no cost.” He grinned while holding out the hollow tube in his palms, like it was some kind of treasure.

“Oh, that sounds… useful, I guess. You don’t want bugs in your home.” Though, the fact you have to remove them with your mouth lowers the usefulness of it, drastically.

The imp tilted its head in confusion. “I don’t know what you are talking about, but I will collect some bugs for you. You will take control over them, and finally, we will start breeding them.” The imp put the second bug in his mouth, and chewed it quickly. Guess those two didn’t count.

“Breed bugs? What kind of dungeon am I?” Did my imagination delude me? I thought I was something amazing. But a bug dungeon? Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Well, not sure if I ever was mighty in the first place.

The imp lightly facepalmed. “It’s only the first step. What eat bugs?”

“You?”

“Well, yes. But also slightly larger creatures!” The imp measured with his hands, about ten centimeters apart.

“Go on…” He seems to be on to something great, but I can’t figure it out, just yet.

“And, what eats these slightly larger creatures?” Slowly, the imp increased the distance between his hands. Twenty, thirty, forty... Until he could no longer spread his arms apart any further.

“Even larger creatures! Haha, you are quite smart.” Indeed. I thought about it all wrong. You must start small, if you want to become big.

The imp laughed and rubbed his nose and straightened his back. “Well, I didn’t take ‘Theoretical Knowledge’ for ten thousand years for nothing.”

“Ten thousand years. Is that normal?” Is it just me, or does that seem like a very high number?

“Eh, no, you only need to do ten courses to become low-class. Even if you fail them all, you can still graduate as low-class. I tried to become mid or high so I kept trying to improve my grades.” At least he was trying.

“This might sound weird, but how long does you imps live? As in age.”

“Forever. Until we run out of mana or have some external force end our life.” The imp did a throat slitting motion.

“You live from mana?” But, he just ate a bug?

“Yep, most do. You too. So don’t reach zero mana or we will all be in trouble…” Wait, what will happen? How can I see how much mana I got left? Maybe he doesn’t know either?

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Where does mana come from?” I have not felt any hunger or anything like that. Do I even need to eat? Can I eat? How do I consume this mana?

“Everywhere, I guess. But only some places have enough mana for many people. Like my school, it provides free mana for the students, though, they normally only stay for ten or hundred years or so. I was the oldest student by over eight thousand years.” The imp laughed to himself. “I’m quite proud of my record. Won’t be beaten for a long, long time.” He smiled, probably thinking about the legacy he created.

“Anyway, other places is dungeons, like this one. You feed us all by releasing it into the air and ground. That is why beetles gather. Other bugs will arrive soon, maybe bigger things too. So, we must hurry. After a Heart awakes, there is only a day or so before it’s discovered by larger beings that wants to eat you. Swallowing a Heart is a surefire way to success in life.” The imp nodded to himself again. He didn’t seem to notice he said something terrible.

“Hmm, I see. So, I’m in actual danger here and you have talked for what? Four hours now?”

The imp scratched the back of his head while laughing awkwardly. “Maybe we should have talked about old memories after you set up the basic ecosystem.”

“Yeah, maybe… You start gather bugs while I control them.” This guy… Will he be the death of me?

The imp immediately got to work and in only ten seconds, he had a new bug. He put it down on the ground, gently pressing the bug down into the dirt, to keep it from moving too much.

Five minutes later…

How do I control them?!

“Hey, imp-”

“Ah, call me Prime.” The imp interrupted me, as he removed another bug from his mouth. He had created a small pile of bugs on the ground.

“Prime, how do I control them?”

“Eh? Simply overwhelm their minds. Or something like that. Can’t remember all the details.” The imp shrugged, like it was not his problem, which it technically, was not.

“Can’t rem-! You took it for ten thousand years!” Maybe if he learnt it ten thousand years ago, I could forgive him. However, he took that course every time.

“Yeah, but it had something like ten pages. That’s too much for anyone to memorize!”

This guy is useless! No, must calm down. I need to focus. It should be like the other controls. Feel the bug, feel the bug…

I closed my ‘eyes’, turning the world into darkness. At first, I could only see the Heart glowing in white, surrounded by total darkness, like a star in the night sky. After a while, I managed to see a faint blue light, it was only a single light, but it was all I needed to practice on.

Ah! There it is! Attack! I focused all my mind power on the small blue light I could see.

“AAAAHH! Stop! You are! Attacking!! MEEEEE!!!” The imp shouted in pain, as he rolled around in the dirt, while clutching his head with his hands.

Huh? Oh, oops. Best to change back to normal vision for now.

The imp was down on all four, panting heavily.

“Sorry, I saw a blue light, some kind of cloud of particles, thought it was a beetle.” I kinda feel bad for him. Eh, maybe not.

He laughed weakly. “I forgot to tell you. Blue color equals an ally. For now, that’s just me. Green color equals a neutral lifeform. Any wild animals, like the bugs, or simply beings that have no strong feelings about you. Red color equals an enemy. These you want to kill. As creatures move from the different states, their colors will mix up, so be careful if you detect someone with small amounts of red. That one might rebel soon.” The imp got up from the ground, and brushed himself off. Some blood dripped out from his nose, probably caused by the mental damage. He simply wiped it off, not bothered much by the injuries. Either these imps are tougher than they look, or he is unusually unconcerned by the state of his body.

The imp continued: “Find the small green ones. The ‘cloud’ is related to the amount of mana they have, usually simply body size, so just keep trying. They are much, much smaller than mine.” Should have told me that earlier. That was your own fault.

I restarted the process. They should become easier to detect, thanks to the pile of beetles on the ground.

Ah! Is that them? So small. Like grains of sand compared to the mountain sized imp. Attack!

…

Not sure what that did. They look like they simply froze. Stopped moving their legs and all. Stunned from the attack?

“Now what? They just stopped moving?” I tried asking the imp again.

“Hmm, keep trying? Don’t know how all that mind thing works.” The imp shrugged. Ah, helpful as always.

I tried to move closer for a better look, however, I was still stuck at the ceiling. Ooh! Suddenly, it felt like I was falling. No, wait, I zoomed in. Oh, now they are easier to see. Submit yourself to me! No? Kneel before Zod! Wait, what’s a Zod? I meant: Your Heart! I command you! Surrender your will!

Okaaay, I think they can’t hear me, probably would not understand me either, even if they could hear me. Let’s think. They feed on my mana that I’m releasing. So, should I send mana into their minds? How do I do that?

After ten minutes of testing, I finally managed to control the mana I constantly release. I willed some of the mana to surround them and started probing their body. Apparently, mana ignores the physical form and simply goes through anything. I focused the mana on their small minds and it worked. The green colored cloud slowly changed over to blue, as I used mana to convert the small particles the cloud consisted of. It worked, but, I’m not so sure about the details of what just happened, but who cares. Now, little minions. Walk in a circle on the ground.

The ten beetles I converted to my cause, immediately jumped into action. They lined up and started to walk in a circle, each bug following the one in front. They showed no sign of stopping, even after ten minutes passed, so I told them to stop. The bugs were all dizzy, and their formation immediately broke as they, unsteadily, walked in different directions, trying to find a place to sit, and calm their minds.

This seems like a direct result of ordering mindless creatures. They can’t resist at all, and their lack of common sense prevents them from figuring out when to stop, when the order could be considered completed. These bugs would have walked in that circle until they died. Must remember to not do it too much in the future. Or be extra specific when doing it.

I decided to test it one more time. Walk two laps in a circle, and then do whatever you want. The bugs got up again, not a shred of hesitation, and did as told. They fell down again, the moment their two laps finished. Once they recovered a bit, they scuttled off, wanting to get away from the strange area, where something made them walk in circles.

That went better. This will be useful for fighting. Fearless minions is the best.

The imp saw the strange event, and figured out I had succeeded in my task.

“Hurray! You did it. Now we can finally begin! Well actually, you should repeat it until we got a few dozens at least. You can hunt them on your own, right? Should be plenty of them crawling around. Maybe other kinds too. Take over everything you see.”