Realistically speaking, I had probably already created a monster already. It stands to reason that a normal creature empowered by mana, from a dungeon or otherwise, would be considered a monster. That would mean that Scout was my first monster.

The only issue with Scout, is I only have one of him. I need something with a stable and numerous population that I could use as basic monsters.

Insects come to mind. If the mutations pass down, then I only need a few of a kind to start up a population. If the mutations don’t pass down, then perhaps I could set up some kind of enchantment to automate the process.

In either case, I would need to have Scout bring me some test subjects.

The DM inside me tells me spiders are a good catch-all type of monster. Depending on how much I can control how they change, I can make a myriad of different monsters from the same base creature.

I carve out a 20 foot by 20 foot room, 10 feet high, beside the first chamber in the dungeon. I carve a pathway between the room and one of the rooms in the grid of rooms, the one directly left of the first accessible room. I will use this new chamber as a testing ground. I create doors flush with the wall so that no normal person would ever notice there was anything there.

With the room complete, I have Scout go fetch me some spiders. He returns shortly with a fairly large but very mundane looking spider in a talon. He deposits it before my core and I focus on it. I repeat the process which I used to bind Scout to my service.

The spider is mine.

Now the question remains, how much can I change?

If my work with the plants was any indication, I would be able to change a lot.

I open the hidden door and have the spider move into the new chamber before I begin to work.

The changes to Scout weren’t intentional, they were simply a result of me naming him. I am sure that I could go back and change Scout if I wanted but there was really no need too at the moment. These changes, however, would be meticulous.

I started by scaling her up. From a body length of about half a foot, to one of three feet long, legs and fangs included. That was definitely draining. I focused on her exoskeleton next. I increased resistance to damage and made it tougher, a veritable suit of armor. I focused on her fangs next, increasing the potency of her venom. I also increased her general strength, reaction time, and speed.

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When it was done, I was utterly drained and also - somehow - not horrified at the creature I had created. This thing is straight out of a horror movie. I suppose there is some comfort in knowing I can control it with a thought.

I should probably name you too. Once I have a bit more mana that is.

There were also two more modifications I wanted to try.

To that end, I set the spider about the same task as Scout - supplementing my mana income.

Scout and the spider both exited the dungeon and set about hunting. I made sure to also tell the spider to get enough food for herself before bringing stuff back for me, I didn’t want my new creation to starve in the name of mana generation after all.

I knew Scout could fly fast, and I assumed the spider would be too, but seeing the spider accelerate down the hallway was quite frightening - the sheer burst of speed it was capable of was immense.

After a while, I get a strange feeling from Scout. I shift my focus, and look through his eyes. He seems to have seen something near the edge of the forest and is flying to investigate.

A small village, with people going about their daily routines in the streets. It’s far enough away from the dungeon that I probably won’t have to worry about an errant hunter from it stumbling upon me but I can never be too careful.

I order Scout away from the village, and hold my hopes that no one saw the abnormally sized bird.

A few hours pass, and with an increased influx of mana from two monsters, I feel fuller than ever.

It’s time to try my final modifications to the spider.

I figure keeping a steady population of spiders would be easier if I could just have one print smaller versions of itself - so that’s what I set out to do.

The mana drain is a lot higher than before, I suppose changing a creature’s method of reproduction is a lot more extreme of a change than making basically a bigger version of itself. I also try to limit what actually comes out, they won’t be as big or strong as her - which should mean more of them can exist at a time. I also allow her to spawn children at will, or as fast as her body will physically let her. It doesn’t seem like I can make her survive on just mana like I did the plant, though.

Now I suppose all that was left was to name her.

“You, henceforth, are Mogala.” I stated. My mana swirled around the spider. I watched as she grew even further. Her exoskeleton developed spines and hardened even more. Mogala was a name I had given to a giant spider who lived in a mountain in a D&D campaign I once ran, I felt it was fitting.

Mogala’s body was now 7 feet long, more than twice the size I had manually made her. This would be a problem.

This would be a massive problem. A problem as big as the spider that was now stuck inside the chamber, and far too large to explore any of my dungeon.

Since I don’t know what effects making her smaller again would have, assuming it was possible, I would need to remodel the entire damn dungeon!

I suppose it's for the best. I wasn't too happy with how the original design turned out anyway...