Turns out I was, but also wasn’t, right.

The adventuring party, sans the one affected by asbestos, did enter early the next day. But once they saw the, admittedly, drastic change withing, they almost immediately turned back and left. I suspect for a good long while too.

Which means I have some time to do the necessary changes to feel safe.

Like, for example, adding another environmental hazard. And why not combine it with adding another thing I’ve been lacking? That is, water. Both the not-kudzu and not-cane toad would thrive more in an at least partially watery environment.

But why use such a boring thing like water? Especially since, with the power of magic, I could make my monsters treat some much more fun substance the same as water. Like poison!

And, if I play my cards right, this should also enhance the poison in both of my creatures! A perfect plan! More danger! Enhanced danger! And a lessened strain on my powers (since I will no longer have to make up for the lack of liquid with magic)!

So, without further ado, I once again initiate the magical ritual that imprints another monster pattern onto my crystal core.

How am I able to do this if I’m creating a liquid and not a creature? Easy, I’m not. At least, not directly.

Besides the fact that I have no idea how I’d go around making a material, I think this is just generally a better idea. Sure, it’ll leave me with only one last slot for an additional creature, but this is definitely worth it.

I’m, of course, talking about the deadliest poison. Well, the deadliest poison back on Earth, maybe there’s something better here. And technically it’s a toxin and not a poison, though I never really understood the difference. And technically I’m not talking about the toxin itself, but what produces it.

And that is… bacteria!

Sure, it may seem like a strange choice for a dungeon monster. After all, aren’t they supposed to be big and scary? Powerful defenders to stop invaders?

And yes, those are certainly qualities that are nice to have in my guardians, and eventually I’ll also have those, but if everything goes according to plan, I won’t need them just yet.

As long as my idea for a unique dungeon works out. One without limits.

But I’m getting off track now. Back to the bacteria. (Just one last tangent. Did you know bacteria is the plural? The singular is bacterium.)

Clostridium botulinum and their product the botulinum toxin. Commonly also known as botox.

Oh yes.

Sadly, I do not actually know that much about it. And the fact that it’s a microscopic bacterium doesn’t help at all in imagining it.

Thankfully, over the last few of these magical events, I’ve realized something. Magic doesn’t care.

It cares not for facts, logic, how things should be or anything of the sort. I’m not quite sure what it does care for, but belief certainly seems to be at least a part of it.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

And so, instead of trying to dredge up to scant few details I can from the recesses of my mind, I instead show the magic what I want from it. The few details I do know only acting as a hollow skeleton in the whole process.

I want a small, miniature, creature that is just a single cell. And I want it to produce botulinum.

That’s still more or less how it’s on Earth though, if a bit reductive. It’s time to weave some real magic into this creature. It’ll be a true monster.

I want it to produce said toxin constantly, never stopping for even a second. But how to power such an organism? After all, it won’t help me reduce the upkeep of my toads and vines if the cost just shifts onto something new.

Well, how about I make it eat breathable air? Huh, that’s impossible? There’re no real nutrients there? Who cares about that! It’s magic! And it’ll bring another hazard into play.

And, with one last twist, I make sure that it can act as a substitute for water for my monsters. How? Once again, magic. Though I suspect there’s a major factor of this one is going to be that all of them are my creations.

And then it’s done. Of course, nothing actually changes in my core room, but that’s to be expected. Only one single bacterium formed from that and I’ll have to summon more later.

Before that though, I have to do some more modifications.

Because while having the botulinum is all well and nice, and I did include the potential to act as water, my other monsters aren’t actually prepared for such a change. Which I’m going to have to remedy right now.

What follows is a long and arduous process. Unlike when I’m creating a new monster, modifying one is much harder.

For one, there’s resistance. Sure, it’s reduced compared to if I wanted to it with a creature whose pattern isn’t imprinted on me, but it’s still an additional obstacle to overcome.

And then there’s the whole magic thing. Which is to say, almost no magic. Yeah, magic does graciously assist me with creation, basically doing the whole thing, but now? All I get are vague whispers of what I’m supposed to do, with maybe an occasional nudge in the right direction.

It’s, quite frankly, exhausting.

It is really lucky that part of being a Dungeon Core apparently also includes adaptation for long periods of gruelling and (partially) mindless work.

What I suspect are at least a couple of weeks later, I’m finally done. Though it could be month, or even just days. It’s hard to tell without access to the sun.

Either way, all three of my monster guardians are now ready and primed to coexist. Hopefully in perfect harmony so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

I quickly spawn everything in. Well, I do carefully calibrate the amount of bacteria so that the rate at which they produce ‘water’ is just right. This way, I won’t become flooded. Sure, it would be another environmental hazard for adventurers to brave (and die in), but even I’m not that cruel to become a water level. Though maybe I’ll do a small layer like that eventually.

With that all finally done, I notice an almost immediate dip in the energy siphoned from me to sustain my defenders. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I am technically already capable of having a mostly self-sustaining ecosystem. But it’d necessitate more modifying. Later, then.

For now, it’s time to dedicate time to something I’ve been ignoring for some time now. My new defences should be enough, so it’s time to figure out this whole magic and supernatural thing. Or at least some of it.

***

Finally, after another two weeks, we were back. Though admittedly in a much less glorious manner than we intended. Our first dungeon dive truly hadn’t gone that well.

Worst of all, little Timmy never recovered. The tough breathing and painful cough remained with him even after we left the dungeon.

Even the healing Jared provided only offered temporary alleviation of the symptoms. It only took us a couple of days to realize that whatever conditions it was, there’s no coming back from it. That dungeon needed to be destroyed.

Even so, Jared didn’t stop healing him. Did it just prolong his suffering? Was it just torturing a dying man? Either way, it didn’t matter.

Around the halfway point in our journey back we encountered a pack of moghs. The nasty critters put up a tougher fight that we expected though we still beat them off easily. That did leave Jared with no power left though.

That night was a true nightmare. I don’t think any of us slept one bit.

The whole night was accompanied by the tortured wheezing and coughing of little Timmy.

By morning, it was quiet. We packed our things and left for home. All five of us.

But that’s in the past now. We’ve reached home and it’s time to make a report. Hopefully, the world will be a better place soon, one abomination less.