As natural as having two Dungeons at once felt, Thomas was rapidly starting to figure out some of the limitations of that process.

Firstly, being able to freely control either dungeon wasn’t the same as the ability to control both, so his theoretical workload for Dungeon upkeep had doubled. Currently, neither Dungeon was in constant use, so he was mostly fine on that front. More bored than anything else.

No, “bored” was decidedly the wrong term, he still had plenty of things to do, things that were even fun, but the thing he really wanted to do, which was to watch delvers struggle against the defenses he’d constructed.

Which just left him forced to wait, only lacking the thing he really wanted to do but otherwise fairly happy. He had an almost infinite ability to replicate the things he’d already found, the catalog of things he had found was immense, and his ability to come up with ridiculous stuff with those was even more immense and utterly over the top.

For example, he’d built himself a silly little mad scientist’s laboratory just outside his core room. No regular delver not going for his core would ever see it, but he’d had a lot of fun sticking crap in there, and then decorating it liberally with eerily blood-like cherry juice and fluorescent paints he’d found as parts of a picture someone’s kid had made for them.

Also, obviously a place like the Natural History Museum had plenty of specimen jars he could copy, along with the preservative fluids within, and he had literally thousands of extinct or magical critters whose body parts he could suspend within.

And right now, Thomas was playing chess with Elias. On a life-sized board. Not with black vs white but dinosaurs vs ice age creatures.

Ancient horse ancestors and regular velociraptors were the pawns, Giant Sloths and Camarasauruses were the rooks, Utharaptors and sabertooths were the knights, wooly rhinos and scolosauruses were bishops.

Thomas, playing as “dinosaurs” had a regular, feathered t-rex as a queen and a draconic rex as a king while Elias had a megaloceros, a prehistoric deer with giant antlers, as a king and a sabertooth as a queen.

Of course, with this setup, there hadn’t been anyone who’d obviously go first, they’d just flipped a coin, resulting in Thomas starting.

That … that hadn’t helped him in the slightest. In fact, he was fully in the process of getting his ass kicked when something alerted him of an invader, so he immediately swept the area around the Natural History Museum with the sentries on the roof before he realized that that wasn’t where the issue was located.

By the time he’d realized he had to go search at his other location, the invader was already inside. A giant wolf large enough to rest its chin on a regular car’s roof without having to stretch in any way, with midnight black fur and eyes that burned with a violet light.

***

The void wolf slowly padded into the newly created place of power. Unlike its prey, it had held supernatural power, and grown by another bound after the world had shifted, as had its pack.

And yet, somehow, it was still the weakest being in its pack, forced to explore this place before all the others. This … construction. It smelled oh so enticing, except in the place of an appetizing smell, it was something less tangible. Yet the sensation was there, drawing the pack in.

However, alongside the temptation was a curtain of danger, like a watering hole without any tracks around it that would indicate that it was in use. Because if a resource like that lay bare, unused, there tended to be a reason for that.

And yet, this particular wolf didn’t have a choice as it carefully advanced into the strange habitation construction, forged by the two-legged tool users based on the smell. A den.

It advanced the only way that lay open. A large path, with plenty of space to turn around and retreat. At least there was that.

The wolf slowly padded forward into a vast room that stank of dried wood and old, dead, skin, sensing nothing amiss other than a slight hum of power, but it was barely different than the standard background hum of energy ever-present in this place. Enough that it would have fled on its own, but not quite enough to chase it off with its pack behind it.

And then, from one moment to the next, power spiked and chunks of hardened earth flew through the air, straight at it.

One exploded against the surface of its fur, sharp fragments biting into the skin below even blunted against the power infused into its hairy shell. A second flew straight at its head, but when its jaws crunched down on the attack, it was sucked straight into its second ability, removed from reality.

The number of projectiles suddenly increased, some smashing straight through the defensive power before breaking, others bursting at a distance, but it was too much even so.

Especially since the already used-up projectiles were reappearing.

And then, the attack ceased, and the power behind it faded away. Had the creature exhausted itself?

***

“Jep, void wolves,” Elias nodded once Thomas had finished describing the critter. “Their first power is a pocket dimension pocket that lets them eat as much as they want without any consequences, if they can reach it, they eat it. Their second is a spatial distortion on the fur that creates another pocket space above the skin. Basically, if you want to hit one, you have to aim between half a meter and three meters past where you can see it.”

“Three meters,” Thomas said flatly.

“If they’re powerful. E-Ranks aren’t.”

“And what are the next powers they get?” Thomas asked. He’d only fought the scout so far, chances were it was considered expendable, and most likely the weakest member of the herd. Pack. Whatever.

“D-Rank’s where they get dangerous. Most people call that power Void Step, they basically shorten the space in front of them to walk really far, really fast. And at C-Rank, Void Chomp lets them put stuff between their jaws even if it doesn’t fit or already dodged.”

“Ruh-roh,” Thomas muttered.

“What?” Elias asked, sounding confused.

“Never mind, it’s starting,” Thomas shushed the fairy as he watched the rest of the pack enter. Telling the Poltergeist to self-destruct by hurling the pot that held its consciousness at the wolf had allowed him to call the wolves inside. Or rather, cause the scout to notify the others via a loud bark.

There were seven of the critters. The scout, E-Rank, two smaller wolves that were F-Rank but clearly also not fully grown, which was likely the reason why they hadn’t led the way, three larger E-Rank adults, and finally, a D-Rank alpha.

Well, as much as “alpha” was even a real concept. Thomas was fully aware of the fact that the idea of an alpha wolf had been perpetrated by a scientist who’d fully believed that wolf packs were led by a dominant male, except that same scientist had disproven that idea himself only a few years later. “Alphas” were merely the parents of the pups, in charge much the same way the “man of the house” was in an old-fashioned, patriarchal society.

But Thomas did like the term, so he decided to use it for the big guy, even if it was highly likely that it was incorrect in the extreme.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

So he leaned back and watched, wishing he still had a body to munch popcorn with. Sure, he used monkeys for most actions like jumping for joy or facepalming, but using them for eating felt a little weird. Somehow. The unfamiliar fangs how much larger food was by comparison, and the way their tongues tasted things differently, combined with the eerily familiar portions of the act of eating just made the whole thing feel … off. Just off. Not something he wanted to indulge in for very long.

The wolfpack advanced through the library and marched straight past the next room, which was filled with various educational or just plain funny stuff. Like the handful of weapons found in the museum, interesting amphorae, ceremonial clothing, and some weapon-shaped money.

That last one looked like particularly cruel weapons but had apparently been the traditional means of transferring wealth for a dowry in the Sudan and Congo a couple of centuries ago. But it wasn’t the concept itself that tickled Thomas’ funny one, rather, it was the idea that someone might try and turn those in at a bank and the teller’s reaction that made him want to burst out in giggles.

The wolves, obviously, didn’t give a flying fuck how much effort he’d put into decorating everything and just charged straight through. One of the small wolves suddenly grew half a meter and broke through into E-Rank even as Thomas watched. Had it just been that close to the threshold, or was exploring a Dungeon filled with D-Ranks just that profitable?

But the creatures were now through, advancing into the next room. The rainbow-colored wonderland of ancient stone sculptures reimagined in gemstones, as though a hyperactive toddler had run through with a magical wand that could transform stuff into crystal. It was pretty, admittedly, though Thomas had to admit he might have gone overboard. Just a little. Teensy wensy bit. Maybe. Possibly. Theoretically.

In theo- … ok, he definitely had gone a little mad with power when he’d built it, but it had just been so much fun! Not that it would ever not be fun to do this.

The wolfpack advanced while Thomas was reshuffling his defenses in the rooms ahead. He really wanted to test out his boss, but also decided that letting the enemy get all the way outside the core room for the sole purpose of having the strongest creature in the Dungeon get some action was foolish.

So a literal bull was sent tromping through a literal china shop, squeezing through not only the Egyptian section but also charging through the hallway of Chinese art with enough speed that several ceramics were thrown off their pedestals.

Whoops.

However, after doing enough damage in passing that even a Dungeon would need several minutes to fix everything, the Guardian Gestalt reached the hall above the main entrance, with only a single staircase separating it from the room with the invaders.

And with a mere thought, Thomas also sent a couple of the undead cats and Crypt Guardians into the marble room as he wanted to see them in action properly.

***

The wolf was still nervously dancing side to side as it marched through the hall of shining earth. What a strange, strange, world. It wanted to run, but Father would ensure that whatever fate it escaped by fleeing the place of power would befall it regardless.

And by the time it decided that was worth it, it was already too late. Spires of white stone rose from the floor and closed off the entrance while the countless identical rock beings began to make themselves known as being alive, closing in on the pack.

Whirling on the closest foe, the wolf felt a stone lance swish through its fur, only its own power saving its life.

Die, rock thing!

The wolf lunged and closed its jaws over the creature’s head and began to draw it in, the bottomless hole in its stomach annihilating the stone it had just bitten down on. No matter what creature one was facing, it wouldn’t survive past the loss of its hea- …

A sharp pain in its throat was first, swiftly followed by all strength leaving the wolf as its vision grew black and it fell to the ground.

***

“What does it take to kill one of those Hoplites?” Thomas wondered as he watched the now-headless Marble monster jam its spear into the scout’s throat.

It was a rhetorical question, of course, he knew that unless one fully broke them to the point where they couldn’t do much of anything, they’d keep on trucking, but it was an entirely different thing to see it firsthand.

A moment later, the big D-Rank wolf was there, a mere three steps having carried it halfway across the room, and smashed into the murderous, blood-covered statue with its paw. The Dungeon monster promptly toppled over and shattered, then vanished.

Yeah, that thing was tough. And therefore, perfect.

Thomas swiftly began to adjust his orders, having the Hoplites throw up even more pillars to block the wolves’ retreat while sending the various reinforcements after all the little wolves. He wanted the big bastard to face the Dungeon boss.

The last remaining F-Rank was the first to go, with a cat mummy landing on its back, having jumped from light fixture to light fixture until it was in the perfect position. And then, the monster sank its fangs into the wolf’s neck.

Baleful black light edged in emerald green flashed around each of its fangs, flesh rotting upon contact, skin drying up and cracking right up to the point where the D-Ranked monster chomped clean through its victim’s spine. At that point, the decay stopped as swiftly as it had started, the curse no longer active on a corpse.

The alpha was there in a heartbeat, swallowing the cat whole. And that was the end of that particular one of Thomas’ minions. It seemed that even with magic, size did count for something, especially when the creature with the greater size also had a power that allowed it to use its advantage to the fullest. A pocket dimension stomach that could basically annihilate anything kept in its maw for a few seconds … it looked like Thomas had found a power for his hippos once they hit E-Rank.

But a single D-Rank trying to defend a bunch of lower-ranked creatures amidst a sea of foes at its own rank was too much.

And Thomas finally got to see the Crypt Guardian in action as it unfurled four bandages, two from each hand, revealing the desiccated, skeletal, flesh underneath as the cloth wrappings lashed out, each one catching a different limb on its target wolf. From there, it just advanced while reeling in the soon-to-be corpse, its corpse arms slowly vanishing beneath the linen again until it was able to press its still-bare fingertips against the wolf’s throat.

The same light that had appeared when the cat had attacked flashed from the points of contact, destroying the flesh, but at a far slower rate.

Thomas knew the standard tactics of the Crypt Guardian was to curse first, then keep fighting the weakened foe normally. However, it seemed when they had the option, they’d kill with the curse too.

Simply by continuing to press its fingers inward, it began to inject its curse deeper and deeper while adding more instances of it, until it was finished ripping clean through the wolf’s neck and the disintegrating effect vanished once again.

That particular Crypt Guardian was unable to defend itself against the alpha when it retaliated, biting the mummy in half, but by that point, every other invader was dead and the Dungeon monsters stopped dead in their tracks at Thomas’ order.

Watching the furious wolf rip its way through his defenders wasn’t exactly fun to see, but Thomas wanted it to be intact when fighting the boss.

Growling and snarling, the alpha void wolf slowly padded deeper into the dungeon, covered in stone powder and corpse dust, angrily glaring into every nook and cranny it passed. Thomas couldn’t blame it, but he was really hoping it would hurry the hell up.

Eventually, it wound up taking a full five minutes to walk fifty meters, but it managed to reach the target he’d intended for it eventually.

Oh, this would be good!

The Grave Gestalt, as Thomas had decided to call his boss just now, stood patiently waiting on the opposite end of the room that normally held a regular undead bull, staring at the void wolf, which glared back, a rumble deep in its throat before charging.

And the Gestalt charged right on back, only to flash through the empty air as the void wolf used its power.

Fuck, that thing was fast.

So Thomas told the bull to wheel around and charge once more, barely causing the wolf any issues as it was able to sidestep again, even managing to take a bite out of the Gestalt’s side.

Thomas let that happen two more times, until he finally ordered the Gestalt to use one of the Bull’s powers, ruinous charge, creating a cursed aura around itself. The curse applied by it was the weakest one he had access to, but it also had the widest range of them all.

Of course, the wolf dodged the charge and then tried to leap in to attack but reeled back when it got smacked right in the face by the curse, and that moment of distraction was enough for the collection of Spiriti glued to the back of the bull to lash out at its back with its swords, able to stretch out its arms well past the point where the wolf’s defensive power was able to prevent an impact.

Snarling, the wolf void-stepped into the far corner, turned around, and gave the bull a measuring glare.

And then, the world transformed into a blur of black fur, swiftly followed by clouds of dust as the wolf appeared right next to the Gestalt, only to leap away again the instant the boss responded, until it finally managed to get into a position to rip out its target’s throat with enough force to decapitate it.

However, the bull-portion of the boss managed to trigger its Ruinous Charge for just long enough to unleash the curse aura and further hurt the wolf while the Spiriti carved into the alpha.

But Thomas could see the feeling of victory glow in the alpha’s eyes as it glared at the headless body of the Gestalt, breathing heavily.

And then, the bull reformed.

It had two lives left and the nighf-infinite stamina of the undead.

The wolf … didn’t. Especially not with it having been cursed twice, and vastly overused its power. Unless a given power explicitly required mana to funtion, it would function basically for free up to a certain limit, at which point it would start to drain one’s physical stamina, with the drain increasing the more one overused it. And this wolf had gone so far over the line Thomas doubted it would be able to see its starting line even with a spy satellite.

When the Grave Gestalt trampled the invader into the ground, it was barely able to dodge more than a single meter.

Ok, he’d created an absolute monster, one that hadn’t even eaten a Champion slot during its creation.

Awesome!