Okay, did I say that the future got lighter when Eevee left? More like I’m freaking out right now. It had only been twelve minutes, and already I thought the worst had happened. Many of the simulations included getting lost, finding a ferocious monster, and even eating something and then having a stomach ache. In my panic, I noticed that I could check the status of Eevee and see their ‘life signs’ were positive. Nothing too detailed due to my lack of influence outside. I can’t even see their Hp. At least I have a semblance of information due to her being connected to my dungeon. I didn’t know this was possible. Maybe I should look more into that, and Cheri supported my self consultation. They told me I should educate myself with the tools, stats, and privileges of being a Dungeon Master. That and also to stop worrying about my new monster.
All monsters in a dungeon respawn back to their designated rooms after death for little cost to the User. This includes monsters that are assigned Gatherers and Scouts by the Core that leave the Dungeon. Even if death we’re to befall the creature, it will not be permanent.
Total Scouts 0/2
Total Gatherers 1/1
Even if you have an unnecessary bond with the creature, the User must stop heightening their anxiety levels and be assured by the facts. You gave thorough orders to the monster. Said monster can’t perish by normal means, and it seems intelligent enough to not consume anything hazardous to its health. Why is the User worried in the first place?
“Because.” I choose my words to convey the source of my anxiety. “Would you put your faith in a Child to not get into trouble?” I let my words sit there, hoping some of them will compute to the AI. “Would you, in all that is responsible and reasonable, ever put your life, future, everything, on the shoulders of a Minor?” It didn’t take long for an answer.
No. The User was correct that this is not the wisest of decisions. But what other choice is there to consider? We have a pittance amount of Spark, and the User’s affinity continues to be a detriment to our success. Worrying about possibilities that we have no control over is foolish at best. I suggest the User must learn how to use the tools given to them to make a dungeon. Focus on what’s controllable, User.
Of course, Cheri the AI would say something about probability, but it did help me calm down a bit. After the Eevee gets back, I need to prepare the dungeon for more rooms, more items, and more Pokemon. I go into a trance at the thought of more friends that could call this place home. I’ll focus on getting the tools down, but a part of me is still concerned for the little vixen. “Oh well, guess you’re right about one thing. Let’s form a build plan and roadmap for the next Spark influx. Cheri, I might need some insight into ecosystem management.” I get to work on my side and forget about the Eevee for a while. I mean, how much chaos could one small pokemon do?
…
During the conversation between Core and Advisor, deep in the darkness of the underground passage, the subject of chaos is making way to the surface with inefficient time. The cavern is full of twists and turns, perilous drops into the unknown void below, and a chilling absence of light that makes any pathfinder trip up on an unsuspecting root. Although concerning, it is not the main reason for erratic stops in progression. It’s mainly because the Eevee is easily distracted by matters most important to her career; Which rock is the coolest?
The Eevee is wrought with indecision as she looks at both small stones in front of her. One is light gray with bumps, and the other is gray with specks. Both are roundish and are found by her on the trip to the surface. So both are equally important due to them being significant as they are her first find. After an undisclosed amount of time, she came to a verdict. She pawed at the gray stone with bumps. The texture is more unique than having specks in her mind. She looked at the other rock with thinly veiled disappointment. It got very far with the color difference but without any texture to compliment the design. What’s the point of having spots in the first place? At least the other rock is honest with what it has instead of masking it.
She takes both rocks and adds them to a pile of others. There are so many rocks that she can’t just leave them behind without putting them in one place. After she was satisfied with her highrockery, she went to continue her journey to the surface, making a mental note of the pile to later move it back to base after her mission.
After a half-hour of hopping over crevices, going around weird Zubats, and the occasional rock appreciation, she makes it to the end of the tunnel. At first, she thought she saw a familiar Home glow but quickly noticed it was not the same color. Home was blue, this is yellow. She then understands that this is the color of the surface, and she quickens the pace with an excited “E’val!” jumping up slight inclines of earthly debris to make it to the opening of the cave. The opening is a crack in the stone ceiling spilling dirt and rock into a pile, just wide enough for a thin adventurer to squeeze through and give a more muscular one a bit of adversity. But for the small fox, she effortlessly slipped out of the cave entrance and found herself somewhere new.
She lands on a flat stone embedded in the ground, shakes off the dust and dirt, and soon looks around the vicinity. She became frozen with astonishment. The young Vixen is currently in a small clearing surrounded by trees and bushes. She looks at the beautiful blue ceiling with puffs of white cotton that floats without care. It’s so detailed that she could reach out to touch it, but she fully knows that it’s too far even to consider jumping to reach it. It is mind-boggling that a room can be this tall, be so vast that she couldn’t see the edges no matter how much she focused her vision in a direction. After the awe of the scale of the larger’ room,’ no, a ‘world.’ She took in the immediate surroundings and looked back at the cave.
A suspiciously small hole, she guesses it takes two of her length from the tip of her tail to her nose to cover it, takes place on a hillside that leads into the cave. The clearing is filled with tall grass, flowers, and diminutive bushes that can hide all sorts of small creatures or a great bounty if lucky. In front of the grassy knoll is a flagstone trail covered in dirt and moss leading into the forest. Two tall pillars flank the path leading to the cave, made of stone that crumbled with time, with various trees shading the trail like welcoming travel partners giving moral support.
The Pokemon stood there for a few minutes, then soon shivered, not because of the pleasant breeze rolling by but with excitement. She makes pace and explores her new environment, taking in the sight of various fascinating things: Rocks, flowers, trees, rocks, bugs, and more rocks. She is ecstatic for more amazing new things, so many new items (rocks) to collect for her home. So she decided to get started.
First, she gathered any different color/shape leaves, as those are plentiful and light to carry in bunches. Then soon got to any fallen branches and nuts from the trees nearby. The brown vulpine looks at her collection with pride but is not satisfied. So she looked for other new things to add to the increasing mound of objects and found two things that may interest her collection mission. She first found a strange flower bush with red berries. The Eevee didn’t get to eat yet, and the berries looked tempting. Her ‘Anticipation’ didn’t warn her that these cherry-like fruits were poisonous or deadly, so she assumed they were alright.
When she took a bite, she tasted the fruit. At first, it was earthy, but it quickly changed as the Evolution Pokemon jumped up with a yelp. The worst thing has happened. The berries were bitter. She spits out the pit with pure disgust, and her initial excitement is tarnished. These were not berries in her mind. They were red-colored lies and deceit. She was tempted to leave these berries here to never be near her Home at all, but she has a job to do. She reluctantly took a twig bunch of the bitter devils (she decides to call them) and placed them into the temporary pile.
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After her unintended surprise, she moves on to the second thing that caught her attention. A burrow near a tree by the edge of the field. The Eevee might have deduced that something might use the burrow as a shelter. And, of course, like a good friendly neighbor, she decided to visit and meet a fellow. Not even thirty seconds later, she was chased out by a weird one-tailed Vulpix, growling and heckling at her. She looked back and scoffed, thinking that was a bit of an overreaction despite her being polite and calling before entering. Her excitement is wading after both the red devils and the rude Vulpix have tested her will to try new things. The Eevee didn’t give up. She stubbornly continues her pilgrimage past the treeline and into the forest.
She went into the forest with a jaunt, looking at the waving branches overhead. She appreciated the greeting. The Pokemon explored over hills, passed small creaks, and explored through thick underbrush. She sees that the woods are alive with songbirds, hopping amphibians, skittering reptiles, and even an ant hill with its army of servants. Probably one of many with populations in the thousands in the untouched grove alone and could be more beyond the pillars of wood. She then came across a jutting stone wall, too steep to climb to the top, so she tried to go around it.
Ten minutes after tracking around the cliff, she notices it is bigger than she thought. Before she tracks back, the sound of rushing rapids fills the air. She came across a waterfall that roared with fury, falling from the cliff that blocked her path, and that waterfall flooded into a river that cut off. With nowhere else to go, she decided to follow downriver. Hopefully, finding something more interesting. Not like she didn’t find anything intriguing. The Eevee found new rocks near the river bend, some shinier, smoother, slipperier, and colorful with streaks of ore lining randomly on its surface. Well, she found them, so into a separate pile they go. As this is its own highrockery fiercely contending for dominance, but will give sediments if they were to come to an arrangement.
Her long ears poked through the grass as she continued to follow the river, and in another ten minutes, she found the river expanding. This expanse leads into a lake with a mirror surface. Unlike its narrow rapid counterpart, the lake showed still tranquility, giving a serene view of the glass-like blue depths. The Eevee now thinks it’s the time to get a drink and approaches the lake. As she leans down to lap the waters, her ‘Anticipation’ goes off, and she jumps to the right. What takes her place is a round gelatin-like splat, and a blue blob forms and gurgles with indignation at its failed ambush. She looked at the thing that had the nerve to attack unannounced and viewed where it ambushed from. The lake’s waters jumped with disturbance as its resident predator leaped onto the shore from the shallows. The creature’s glossy, translucent form gives it a natural camouflage in the placid waters, utilized to catch unsuspecting prey. But it didn’t account that the prey it chose to hunt has a natural intuition and a tendency to fight back.
The Pokemon stands her ground as she growls at her opponent, but her face holds a smirk. This is what she is made for. Finally, she can battle. The blob gurgles at her and flattens. Unaffected by her intimidating posture, it leaped at the Eevee from its windup. The blob’s adversary doesn’t stand to take the hit and dodges to the side away from the lake. The Vixen evades the blue jelly monster with ease and readies her own attack. The blob took the opportunity and bounced again at the unexpecting Pokemon. She braces for the inevitable by locking herself in place to minimize the damage.
*Plop*
It lands on her head and rebounds off. It felt like being pelted by a water balloon thrown by a fast pitcher, a little surprising but not life-threatening. She looks dazed at the glob of blue in front of her, thinking that there should be more to it, but she doesn’t feel any different. Only disappointment remained as she looked at the slime with pity. Said slime remained unperturbed by this and readied to leap again. She took her paw and placed it on top of the gelatinous ovoid, holding it in place. It gurgles and puffs in a vain form of a warning, but the paw remains on its surface. Nothing but a bit of energy to keep the limb from sinking into the blue body. She likes the little slime, as it doesn’t give up despite the circumstance it is in.
After a minute of seeing the reactions of unwavering jello, the Eevee thought that it was time to end this charade and readied a tackle, hoping to knock out the blue opponent. What she didn’t expect is that after one’ Tackle,’ she practically runs through the slime as it bursts with a fierce *POP!* spattering everywhere on the gravel shore and on her brown coat. The Vixen is shocked, knowing that her retaliation did more than “knockout” the slime. She then looked back at the blue streak on the ground with a bit of sorrow. She didn’t want to kill it, just to knock it unconscious. Before she started to mourn for the slime, she heard a chuckling voice behind her.
“Although I lived in the land of strife, it is refreshing to see a monster adverse to taking a life.” The Pokemon heard as she hopped around to look at the new intruder. She sees what looks like a Turtwig but thinner and darker green. It was the same size as her, with black eyes filled with what she could feel was wisdom. The Turtwig looked at the sorry display of the leftover slime and spoke to her again. “I can understand your plight, but spend no tears as these things recently are a blight. It has been like that for about a year. For most you find, mainly do not have a mind.” The Eevee was surprised to see a Turtwig talk in a weird dialect, but soon her focus was on what was said. “E’voi?” she questions, making sure she heard right.
“‘Turtwig?’ What is that? Never mind, clean off the slime you splat. (Didn’t think I looked like a stick…)” He mumbled the last part, but it was loud enough for the ears of an Eevee to easily hear. She didn’t say anything about the off-rhythm remark but found the idea of cleansing herself welcoming. The Vixen turned to the lake to take a dip, checking the temperature first, then just walked in. After a minute of rolling in the water, she shook off the droplets clinging to her fur. She soon found out that despite the mess the slime made, washing her fur made it look more reflective and healthy. “As you can see, the slime can give a coat the most sheen, but be careful. Others are attracted to those who gleam.” The hard shell reptile warned. That makes sense to her, as who wouldn’t be looking for shiny things? Soon the Pokemon finally gave in to curiosity about the new friendly face. “E’voi?” she tilts her head while questioning the identity of the wise Turtwig. “Oh, a name you seek? I’m just some tortoise with beast speak. You look famished, follow me. Do you enjoy fruit or fish?”
After about half an hour, they are now at a cove connected to the lake, the ceiling about six feet high and the cove only fourteen feet deep. The Vixen soon licked her chops after finishing a hearty meal and making conversation with the ‘Tortoise’ in front of her. “So, you are Eevee. It’s nice to meet thee. Although I am well versed in the forest’s lore, I have never seen a monster like you before.” The wise Turtwi- Tortoise seemed like it was confused with her existence. That was fine. She was the first created by ‘Father’ after all. “E’vavoi,” she responded. “Ah, a dungeon monster. That explains your existence, but what are you doing by the water? Why travel such a distance?” The Tortoise seems concerned about her, but she happily explains her mission. “E’val!” “You seek objects for your Core? Hmm, I think I’ve seen unique items before if you care to listen more.” She quickly nodded her head, as the information about objects and the land around her home were just too valuable to pass up.
But before that, the Tortoise stopped and stared at a couple of birds passing by, chirping and squawking. “I see. Before I tell thee, I have a mission for an Eevee.” The Tortoise stated with no shame in his voice. Said Eevee is looking at her shelled acquaintance with a pout, obviously annoyed at the switch-up. The Pokemon grones out an “Eeel’voi” with displeasure. “Now, now, It won’t take long. You will get any resource you seek if you play along.” The Tortoise chortled. She now knows he won’t be giving this information quickly, so the Eevee looks determined and nods to his sudden request. “Huh, agreeing already? One should have looked for dishonesty, no matter what deal it may be.” She looked resolutely at the Reptile, and he didn’t ask for confirmation again. “Go west of the lake, and watch over an individual for my sake. For a life may be at stake.” She took in this information, but she questioned how he knew this with a “Voi’ev?” “Eyes in the sky speak with beaks. I hear their calls and know what moves within the forest walls. Beast Speak is beneficial after all.” The old Tortoise states with cheek.
She soon stares the Tortoise down for a second, then abruptly gets up from her comfortable position into a readied stance. Looking towards the exit of the overhang, she lets out an “E’voi?” for one last question. “You’ll know when you see them. Just past a few river bends. Only watch until his trip ends.” She unenthusiastically thanked him for the non-answer and left to find this ‘individual’ he spoke about. It was almost midday when she reached the lake’s exiting river, running past the mirror surface with determination.
Downstream, a young lad is readying up to head into the forest for a fishing quest. He would be excited if bugs didn’t fly into his face. After a particularly aggressive swatting, one of the boxes of fishing equipment attached to his bag dropped and spilled its contents everywhere. “It’s going to be one of those adventures, isn’t it?” the boy said in irritation. As he looks ahead upriver, he feels that the water itself is against him by pelting his body with droplets. “Well, I wonder what I’ll find this time.” He tries to self assure himself as he picks up the contents, unknowing of the life-changing event he is heading towards.