As much as I like finally being able to perceive magic, there are more important things to worry about.

Like the fact that I fucked up.

Not in a major way, but that doesn’t change that I did mess things up a bit. Mainly in my creation of liquid for my dungeon.

Yes, it was smart to make the bacteria consume breathable air, and yes, it did lower the passive drain on my energies. However, I didn’t completely think it through. And because of that, the decrease was much lower than it could have been.

Indeed, I, the absolute moron that I am, forgot that my monsters also need air to breathe. Which just added to what I needed to supplement my creations.

It is fortunate then that I already have a solution to this problem. And best of all, I’ll be killing two birds with one stone. It’s time to initiate the plan. The plan which made me pick the cane toad and kudzu vine.

It is because both of these had a very special classification on Earth. A classification as an invasive species. Which I’m going to use as a basis for some magical modification on them.

It is time to break one of the fundamental rules of this world. Or at least, one that the gods impose on us dungeons. I’m not too sure about the origins of this one. Could be either.

Be that as it may, Dungeon Core and their dungeons cannot expand above ground. It is impossible. They just simply aren’t able to do it. And where the dungeon can’t go, its monsters can’t go either.

But what if they could?

What if, due to magical shenanigans, a monster had the ability to, even if only temporarily, leave the dungeon?

Would that simple fact allow the Dungeon Core to expand the core there too? Or, if not, could the monsters build building for the dungeon to expand into? After all, from a certain angle, a building is not above ground, but still part of it.

Yes, that is my plan. I’ll be the dungeon not limited by location.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

And, while I’m at it, it’ll also allow my plant to breathe the fresh air above ground. Perhaps they could even carry it down into the dungeon.

Hmm, that’d take a huge amount of modification. But it would also be interesting. And to be honest, I’m getting really fascinated by the idea.

An area above my dungeon covered by strange, bulbous plants. And when you follow their vines, you’ll see them lead into a hole in the ground. My dungeon. And if you follow them even more, you’ll eventually see these strange growths appear on them periodically as they descend deeper and deeper. And then if you observe for some time (though a delver would never have the opportunity), you’d see that the frogs (and eventually other monsters) periodically come to those growth to suck in some fresh air.

Yes, that is something I definitely want in my dungeon. Sure, maybe nobody’ll ever realize what they’re there for. They’ll be too busy fighting, suffocating and dying of poison to notice. But I’ll know, and that’ll be enough.

But that’s for the far future. the far, far future. I first have to see whether it’s even possible.

Which is, once again, the crux of the problem. I have little to no idea how magic works.

And a major change like this most certainly will necessitate at least some magic. Especially if I want to break this seemingly fundamental law.

Perhaps the normal shifting and changing of the imprinted pattern is enough, but I doubt it. I don’t just want to change how the monster functions or imbue some minor magical qualities.

I want them to become proper magical creatures that’ll carry my influence with them.

Argh, why does this have to be so hard?

Actually, maybe I do have an inkling of an idea on how to it after all!

This may be just a basic starting point, but it’s something.

Every time I did something with magic before, which is mainly just creating my monsters and my core, one unifying thing about all of them was the massive amount of mana gathered at those times.

Now, I’m not sure if that’s the fuel of magic, if it calls magic here or something else, but I might as well try to do it. Just one small issue with that.

How do I manipulate mana?

Because, as far as I can tell, any supernatural ability I’ve shown so far is something baked into my existence and an actual manipulation of the mystical.

Sure, I can conjure creature, but that’s the equivalent of pressing a button. Even the original creation of a monster is more or less the same. just change the button for a switch.

Destroying and creating matter also works in the same way. The only difference is that I hold the button pressed.

And then I only have… matter manipulation. Wait, that’s it!

Well, maybe not directly, but that’s it! That’s the one ability that feels much more natural than the others! Maybe I can actually perceive what happens while I’m using it. And then replicate it. Hopefully.

And you know what, my dungeon’s been in need of a redesign anyway. Might as well combine research with redecorating. This straightforward passageway was too simple and easy anyway.