As the young Vixen is on her journey, the forest doesn't seem disturbed by this new addition. The sun still shines down its life-giving light on the expanse of endless treetops. The birds still sing merrily as the flocks stay relatively safe in the canopies from the dangerous predators that lurk on the ground or in the sky above. The wind blows, moving the leaf cover, making sunspots dance amongst the grass and fruit-bearing bushes. The flowing rivers continuously run calmly, leading to a raging torrent down inclines where falls hammer down the sediment and then calm once again.
Near east of one of these falls is a grass-filled gnoll with cracks leading into the earth, shedding mysterious darkness that beckons any who dared to enter its depths. If any wayward adventurer were to enter, they would automatically feel the lingering cold air that permeates the cavern chamber, but soon that feeling will transition into something remarkable.
To those who are starting, some might say that the cavern may feel alive in some way. Further, into speculation, some might say they hear mysterious sounds that reflect off the enclosed walls. Others may refute this claim, stating that it is a fabrication of delusions. One might say that either could be right in their own way as neither has any concrete evidence. To adventurers, they could give less of a damn. Perhaps these so-called 'mysterious voices' will stay a mystery. Some entities couldn't blame their decision, as why understand something that couldn't be explained via normal extensions? One could only have the right tools to know that these voices are debating a decision that may shape the cavern's future.
…
"I understand your well-thought-out argument. But I hate the idea, so we're scrapping it." I look at the screen in front of me. We've been at this 'debate' for hours, and neither of us wants to compromise on our opinion on what makes good dungeons.
User. This is the most efficient use of our Spark. Stop holding onto your petty ideals and understand we were at concurrently. You have no reason not to implement traps. They are essential to this building plan.
The build plan they were referring to is the western wall in the Core Room etched with a very detailed overhead of our potential dungeon layout, along with various other less than stellar attempts that dotted its surface. By Cheri's explanation, the design in front of us is the most optimal build with our current resources. A mixture of hallways, 90-degree corners, and surprisingly clever trap placement. It's one of the most popular templates among Tier 0 dungeons. I have to admit. It's a damn good starter dungeon map. Perfect use of every bit of Spark we might get with our first few influxes, but with a glaring flaw.
"It's too effective. Are all these traps necessary? Do I look like a Mystery Dungeon? I thought dungeon crawling was supposed to be a challenging adventure, not a mass grave. On top of that, some of these rooms require monsters to be in them. Do you think Pokemon grow on trees? We already hemorrhaged all of our Spark for one of them at a discount." I say to remind my text-based coworker of our biggest downside.
Although I cherish my safety like any other living being, the very fact of protecting myself via lethal deathtraps doesn't help with my morals. Yes, I am a dungeon core, but I am not a soulless rock that demands blood to thrive. As stated by Cheri, we need adventurers only to enter the dungeon to gain their emitted Spark. No death is necessary. So I would use any means to gain Spark without going Tomb of Horrors on everyone involved.
If the User would forgo traps as the main deterrent, enlighten this system on what other alternative the dungeon could implement. Pokemon could only take you so far without additional factors. We both understand that they are a costly purchase, so we need something else to supplement them.
I took time to think about what Cheri said while they went over many other suggestions, then the most important question hit me. 'What do I want out of a dungeon?' It's so simple yet one of the most challenging decisions to make. Here I was considering that I could make a glorified pokemon gallery to make due on my promise to my siblings and to show how cool Pokemon are to anyone who visits. But is that what a dungeon is all about? That idea falls flat on its face without meaning or substance to hold it in place. What was missing?
As I was thinking about solutions to this dilemma, I checked on Eevee's vitals out of habit and found something surprising.
Status: Eevee [LV: 2] (Female)
[Pokemon is currently in battle! Specific commands are restricted during combat!]
HP _/14
ATK 7
DEF 7
SpATK 8
SpDEF 7
SPD 7
Description: A female Eevee with the Rash nature, this special Pokémon conceals many different possible evolutions thanks to her unstable genetic makeup.
Maturity: Juvenile phase.
Note: Mineral collecting Rocks!
I looked at the status with confusion. I reloaded the page again if I saw things. Nope, still there. I can't even open the vitals monitor like before. Is this one of the restrictions placed? I tried to do anything else with the screen and failed. Cheri finally noticed that I was no longer participating in the discussion and queried about my silence.
"It finally happened. Eevee is battling. But I can't see what's going on. Why I can't interact with her status screen?" I asked Cheri. My worry is now slowly rising as I wait for their answer. Soon a box appeared, and I quickly read it.
Due to the gathering monster being in conflict, some restrictions have to be in place by the system so the User can't get certain unfair advantages. The system will lift these limitations at the end of combat.
I asked what Cheri meant by advantages, and to no one's surprise, they answered with silence. Then I questioned what would happen if Eevee were to lose, and they gave the answer I wasn't looking for.
If victory is not achievable, the monster will flee or perish. The system or User will not interfere.
"Then we will get to her ourselves before that happens" Before I attempted to cross the barrier, Cheri flew in front of me and chimed loudly.
And accomplish what exactly? Even if passing the viewpoint barrier is remotely possible, what can you do in your current state? Sit and watch the event unfold? You are overreacting again. Control your emotions and have faith in the Eevee's ability. Because what else is there to do?
Soon, I halted myself, then took a deep mental breath. For a second, I thought the dungeon imitated my action. The feeling was amplified as airflow subtly changed direction heading towards the gaping maw of a cave exit. Cheri's right. I need to calm down. I can't do anything about it, and stupidly trying to get past the impassible barrier won't help. The only thing I could do was stare at the status in hopes that the worst won't happen.
"Please remember the rules, Eevee. Get out of there if you're not strong enough." I could only pray that she didn't do anything too reckless.
…
The morning locusts chirp throughout the forest, knowing the sun is at its highest above the verdant canopy. Soon, a slight breeze whispers out of the cracks of dirt and gravel, leading into open-air carless of its direction. Several squirrels took an opportunity to catch some locusts for easy protein, but one got unlucky and had a slime land on top of it. The slime acted deliberately and decisively, [Envelop] its catch, and began digestion.
A hawk looked down at the current scene, nonplused about another creature's hunt. The hawk soon took off, sensing an updraft in the vicinity, boosting through the sky with natural ease as it finds and soars above a river. The hawk vividly remembers this river leading towards its favorite catching spot filled with juicy fish that could satisfy its hunger for another day. Soon it sees a familiar visage of a mirror lake that glares out the reflected sun like a beacon. Once the reflection first confused it, it can not be fooled anymore. The hawk glides to find the slightest disturbance on the lake's surface.
As one hunter stalks its next meal, another is standing at one of the shores of said lake, claws digging into the gravel. The creature's pale grey skin encapsulated with stitched black leather and a muted pink nose peeking out of a dark blindfold, sniffing the air for its prey. It screeches out in a rage at the new challenger that decided to attack while it was in mid-ambush.
“SCREeeAAALL-KeKeKeKe!” It bellowed a squeal that led to a chitter at its new target, a brown vulpine monster staring back with stalwart caution. The long-eared Pokemon kept its eyes locked and was still as a statue. Standing behind the Pokemon is Markus, holding his scratched arm to prevent bleeding. The young boy was shocked at the display. One moment, the molerat creature was almost on top of him, claws aimed at his jugular. The next moment, this weird dog thing rammed into the gray assailant and pushed the claw towards his side instead. And now it seems that the small beast is placing itself between him and the hideous monster.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"It's you. Why did you protect me?" The boy said in shock. The small Vulpine looked back at him as if he had grown a second head. The gray molerat twitches its neck, then leaped at the diminutive beast. As if it knew the attention was off it for a second. It pounced for a quick kill. The small beast quickly jumped to the side. Gravel lifted from the earth where the tiny creature was as a claw half its size struck down with vicious speed, only barely missing when the long-eared Vulpine dodged with similar swiftness.
As the battle was fully underway, Markus understood that his presence was a distraction. He turned and ran to distance himself from the fight, knowing that the larger predator had its attention on the little beast. Furious at its prey getting away, it took a parting swipe at the young traveler's back only to get pulled back, missing its swing again. The grotesque monster feels its tail being bitten down and dragged. The monster roars with fury. Thoroughly enraged, it swung its backside to throw off the irritable little pest. The tiny beast lets go of the tail and flung a few meters away, landing on the rocky beach with a roll. The Vulpine spits out the black hairs from the bitten tail, staring at the monster with [Anticipation].
Without the boy's interference, the battle can finally get underway.
…
Eevee was staring past her combatant's form, eyeing the human's back. Thankful that he got the right idea to back out on time before this beast catches him off guard again. Before this whole kerfuffle started, she followed him as her mission required the Eevee to watch over the young child. She was only peering from a bush not far from the lake near him, resting while he struggled to catch some fish, when she felt something off. Only when the Vixen noticed that the forest had gone deathly quiet is when the monster materialize out of nowhere, attacking the human. Sensing that the quarry was in danger, she took off with surprising speed and (Tackled) the creature to the side. Now she is head-deep in a battle that just appeared with no explanation.
Just looking at the thing is already troubling, as every time her eyes wander off without her input, it takes some effort to refocus on its being. Is it an Ability? Does that mean that this creature is a Pokemon? If so, this is by far the ugliest Mon she has ever seen, despite being the only one she has seen since her conception. The Vixen soon growled, now is not the time for useless thoughts! A Mon is right there, in battle position. This thing is fast, and her [Anticipation] can barely track it. Thankfully it's enough for dodging, but a battle isn't all about not getting hit.
Soon, the stalemate came to a close when the monster twitched one of its ears. It shot out to the Vixen's left, heading more inland. Then with the claws digging into the gravel, it launched itself to her exposed side in less than a few seconds. The Eevee sprinted forward, keeping parallel to the shoreline. The monster was not deterred by the close miss and followed behind, gaining on the small Pokemon with focused ferocity. The Vixen is still surprised at how fast this thing is despite its size being three times more than her!
After a second of catching up, the creature is now within claw range and attacked with a left downward swing, and the nimble Eevee lept towards the right side. It's an opportunity to get into its peripheral and pirouette into a counterattack. However, as the Pokemon turned on their opponent, a right claw followed after the first one, and the Vulpine had to get away quickly. Without thinking, she jumped over the claw and into the creature's face. The toothy maw was about to bite its target when two paws pushed down its snout, causing the monster's rodent head to land on the gravel. The Eevee scrambled up its head and down its spine to jump off and get away up the shore.
With (Tackle) as the only move to do physical damage, the Pokemon doesn't have any meaningful way to attack the creature. It was too fast for any tackle to land, and without something distracting the gray monstrosity, it won't fall for a surprise attack again. If only there were a meaningful way to damage or hinder the creature somehow. The monster couldn't even care less about the Pokemon's struggle, for the small prey is only delaying the inevitable. It spun around, facing its foe. The Eevee prepares to run again but notices the creature is not running at her.
The gray monstrosity squeals as it uses its front paws to cover its face. The Pokemon was confused by this behavior until she noticed the black cloth over its vision had loosened just a bit. Her eyes widen as she figures out that her panicked clamber of the creature has jostled the rag loose. She looks back into the forest and then runs towards it, stopping only to look back and (Growl) at the monster, hoping to goad it to give chase. The creature, angered at the audacity, took the bait and raced into the treeline to attempt to massacre the cheeky morsel.
The Vixen scurried around trees and through bushes to gain distance on her pursuer. After a few seconds, she thought she had lost their chaser until she heard rustling from her right and felt a sting from her flank. The Pokemon slamed into a tree from the force, rattling her skull from the impact. She lands on her paws with a stumble and shakes off the whiplash. The monster chitters gleefully at its clever attack. Their meal finally had its comeuppance, and it bleeds for their actions. The Eevee stumbles as she puts pressure on her back leg. Red scratch marks that burn like Ember fire run across her upper thigh. Her HP would have been in the red if she didn't use (Growl) to mitigate her opponent's ATK.
The Eevee growled in pain but stood tall. Even injured, a pokemon can still fight. The gray monster slinked back into the bushes, now within its preferred environment. She didn't stay to find out what it was doing and started moving northward, adrenaline replacing the pain. Bushes rustle behind her. It is neither catching up nor slowing down, only keeping pace. Is this thing toying with her? The Eevee keeps her ears perked. Not for the creature but for something else. After a bit of running, the injury starts to take its toll. She hides behind a tree to rest briefly. Pressing her injured flank against the tree stings the wound but stops the bleeding for the moment.
Unknown to the Eevee, the creature was only a few meters away. Already aware of the prey's location. It only stayed back, so its target ran into exhaustion from the blood loss, and now it's ready to finish this game. It used its [Shade Skulk] skill to slowly exit the bush, moving carefully as its target was keen. Closing in on the tree, it knows the prey is there. Even if the target is silent, the creature can smell the stench of mana blood. It's over. There is no escape. It slowly encircles the tree, claws poised to grab the little Vulpine and ensure a quick death.
It reaches from the right side, claw striking down. Anticipating a pitiful yelp and nails full of fur, it felt only a tree root and heard not even a peep. The creature quizzically paws around and then searches the area. It hisses with irritation, how did its target escape? The scent of blood only leads to this tree and nowhere else. As it circled around, the monster sniffed the air again, and it clicked. The blood trail leads to the tree's base and then up the trunk.
"E'vaaaallll!!!" The Eevee shouts out as the front of her skull collides with the top of the creature's head. But that one attack was not enough. "Skralllll!!!" The creature jumps around in humiliating panic. Clawing its face, running through the foliage, and bashing against trees to get the Pokemon off, but she is holding on, dangling by the blindfold of the monster. The Eevee is bleeding, battered, and exhausted, but she won't let go of the blindfold. She wants it. She needs it, she has to have it! It is the only way to win! Her sheer tenacity paid off with a sound of a ceremonious rip!
She fell off the creature with jaws bitting into the cloth as she rolled into a bush, breaking her fall. The injured Vixen hobbles out of the brush, dropping the blackened eye cover and panting heavily. She hears a demonic screech jumping towards her, poised and blinded by primal rage. Both limbs missed, but the creature slammed into the Pokemon and rolled past the bush into a clearing. Rushing water roars in the background as the Eevee is pinned into the soft sand. As she struggles to get free, she looks up to see the creature's visage towering over her.
Its eyes now revealed two sunken onyx orbs too small for its sizeable gray head and wrinkled nose. They glint as the creature looks down with unbridled hostility. The tiny pest got in the way. It stopped it from hunting the boy, harmed it in ways never thought possible, and attacked it using cheap imitation of the hunter's skill. It can no longer live with this embarrassment! The pest must DIE! It Squeals victoriously as one arm pins the Eevee and the other reaches over their heads for the final blow. The arm now at its apex shoots down with the intent of slicing into her neck. She closed her eyes and was calm. The Eevee fought gloriously. She was finished...
As if!
Her eyes shot open as she shifted her weight to the side. Like water, she miraculously slipped out of the monster's grip with a *SHOOP* and roll out of the strike. Now bewildered by the Eevee's [Run Away], the monster felt its chest cave in. It backed off, trying to gauge where the Pokemon went, but now with surprising difficulty. It tries to hear, but a continuous roar deafens the area. It attempts to smell only to find the scent of cascading mist. It can not see because of the bright lights of its surroundings. It chitters and screams in confusion, holding in place as if desperate to detect any sign of its quarry.
The Eevee looked back at the waterfall she first found on her journey to the lake. Including the deafening sounds of it and the river create constant spraying rapids that mask her scent. She didn't think it would be that effective, but coincidentally the droplets also reflect the sunlight everywhere around this time, blinding the photosensitive opponent. Now the Vixen can retaliate without restraint. She looks forward, thinking of the payback she could give to this overgrown, bald Raticate.
Catching her second wind, she dashes forward. The twitchy baldy barely hears the footfalls and swipes in front in hopes to deter whatever is closing in, only hitting the air and sand in the process. The Eevee effortlessly stepped out of the way and (Tackled) at its side, then hopped out when another limb came down a split second later. This continued as she kept circling, attacking, backing away, and then repeating. The monster is now battered, tired, and frustrated. The hide armor now has rips and dents, some even fell off during the ensuing battle.
It can't hear anything, is constantly blinded by the setting sun, and now the scent of its foe is everywhere. It's losing ground by the second by this unexpected reversal. But it now has only one chance to end the fight. There is one thing that the Vixen could not hide from its supernatural senses, her Mana. The gray monstrosity opens its paw, and a deep purple encloses around its serrated talons. Its last ditched effort sapped almost all of its Mana and Stamina. It does not matter to the monster, as it instinctively knows it can't possibly miss from this distance once it's locked on. The monstrosity used (Homing Rend).
The Eevee was about to attack from the riverside, but something was nagging at her, telling her to evade now! It wasn't [Anticipation] this time, but it felt similar, urging her to trust its guidance. If she were some wild pokemon, then she would have scoffed at the feeling for merely distracting her from attacking, but now she met Father and Grandpa Tortoise while taking their knowledge and advice. If she has room for them, why not one more? She listened to the feeling and took its guidance. Her body moved on its own, and she fell to her left. Letting herself go limp as a ragdoll.
A microsecond after, a talon wreathed in shadow brushes across her fur, cutting the mane. Afterimages of a claw make a sickly purple crescent moon while it carries its form with it, cutting deep lines into the sand and kicking up a bit of the water behind her like someone threw a heavy stone into its rapids. Right after, she soon felt winded and then splashed into the cold waters. Before she even hit the surface, the Eevee fumed as she thought, I TRUSTED YOU! The rapids soon took her.
The monster tumbles from its lunging attack, now realizing it did not feel flesh or bone but the piercing reality of being fooled again. How!? It thought it was absolutely sure that it couldn't miss. Why!? It lamented, how can the world be so cruel to make something so despicable? WHAT ARE YOU!? It was the last thought as it fell into the water behind the target, throwing itself and the Eevee, who got caught by its hindleg, into the rushing current.
The Vixen bumped into stone after stone, tossed around like laundry in a washing machine that has been blasted by Kyoger's water spout. Bump after crash, she finally started to lose consciousness and let go of her breath. Before she closes her eyes, she felt something snag her and pull her to the surface. It felt like arms holding her tight as she drifts into a dreamless sleep.