Red clutched at his head, the sound of notifications making his mind ache with the insistence that they be viewed. Something was happening in the garden, but he couldn’t see it with the wall of notifications blocking his vision. “Can I get some kind of notification list? Please? I need these one at a time.” He grunted as he turned away from the garden, hoping that by not focusing he would be able to absorb some of the information. To his surprise the system once again listened to his request, all of the notifications pressing together until there was a single box in front of him.

Notifications (10)

He blinked at the low number, having honestly expected it to be more. He shook his head though, knowing that he couldn't just ignore them like in his MMO days. “I am not gonna just let these pile up. If I do then that means I’ll never know when the important ones arrive.” He muttered to himself as he pretended to roll up his sleeves despite the fact that his projection was wearing a t-shirt. Red pressed on the message box and watched as the first of the notifications appear in front of him.

Alert! Minion has gained a title!

Minion: Lotus

Title: Lady Lotus of the Red Dungeon

Bonuses: Control over [Fae] tagged creatures, Noble Blood, one level of ascension, and five levels of experience.

This one seemed rather standard to Red, since it was similar to how Snips evolved a title without it being bestowed upon him. The only difference here was the fact that Snips’ title evolution didn't come with a bonus tag. Red could infer that it was different between monsters, creatures, and minions. None of the things that Lotus had gained through her title had actually managed to do anything to her powers or abilities. Two of them were social abilities that involved other minions, and he was pretty sure Snips didn’t get levels or ascension with his title.

He waved away that notification and activated the next, his eyes going wide at the title of the notification alone. As he read through the pop-up, he couldn’t help but feel his blood run cold as he realized he might have done something far beyond his means. The fear to turn around and look at what happened to his garden was mounting, and he prayed that he might be able to regain control of it. He swallowed, a dry feeling in his projected throat despite the lack of both moisture and tissue within it, before he turned to look at the notification again.

Secret Epic Parameters Met!

In the ancient days of the unseelie court of fae, there were many princes and princesses that lived and died by the magic carried in their own bodies. None more dangerous than that of the Princess of Poison. She was known for alchemy beyond that of the mortal realm, gold to lead, silver to mercury, even able to make the cyanide of an apple seed spread through the entire fruit. Long has her tiara waited for the time that another of the fae ilk would understand poison as she did.

Epic Parameters:

[Poison] tagged fairy - 1/1

[Garden] poisonous plants - 15/15

[Poison] Tree - 1/1

Fairy Hive - 1/1

[Fae] tag on dungeon - 1/1

Effects:

[Minion] Lotus gains title - Princess of Poison

[Minion] Lotus gains abilities - Hold Court, Regal Presence, Royal Decree, Off with their heads, Fae Trickery, Poison Gas, Poison Touch, and Poisonous Presence

[Minion] Lotus gains drop item - Princess of Poison Tiara

[Minion] Lotus gains [Epic] tag - When this is discovered, knowledge and acclaim of the dungeon will skyrocket.

[Minion] Lotus gains naming ability - This unit is now able to name and title any [Fae] tagged individuals.

[Minion] Lotus gains territory - The [Garden] room becomes a [Lair], and is able to be reoriented at the owner's request.

[Minion] Lotus gains ACSN and LVL - Ascension level four of five reached, level increased to 5 of ten for current ascension.

Red was near shaking as he considered the fact that there was now royalty in his three room dungeon. He wouldn’t be able to live up to the standards of such a magnanimous individual for years to come. He was certain that if he was still human, there would be palpitations in his chest as the anxiety built and thundered through him. How was he going to be able to resolve having such a powerful being when he was just a single floor dungeon. He needed to start it off by no longer panicking.

He took a deep breath in, holding the action for a moment before exhaling, fully aware that no molecules of air were even disturbed by the action. “Never gonna be able to handle this if I don’t face my problems.” He whispered with a sigh before he turned and looked at the garden. His eyes went wide while his jaw fell slack at the sight before him, having not expected such a dramatic change to have occurred.

His pathetic five by five foot dungeon garden was gone, and in its place was the palatial gardens of a fae domain. The entire garden was fenced off with large perfectly manicured hedges of Rhododendrons blooming in gradients of light pink to deep somber purple. The crisp green leaves existed in contrast to the flowers, a refreshing sight from the previous dark colors the garden had supported. Across the garden was a checkerboard pattern of Leech Grass and ordinary Grass. Each square of grass was about four by four feet wide, meaning that if anyone wanted to travel the gardens they would have to play hopscotch and remain only on the safe squares. The size allowed Red to get some measurement of how big the gardens were, calculating fourteen thousand four hundred squares told Red that the entire garden was the size of a common football field; approximately fifty seven thousand six hundred feet. "Wait... how the fuck did I do that?" He muttered, blinking away his confusion as he tried to understand what he just did.

He was rather shocked at his ability to count and calculate so much information on such a short notice. Red was certain that when he was a human, there had never been anything he hated more than mathematics. Some small flashes of memory involving the times that he had been failing at math danced through his mind. Perhaps because he was a living dungeon, his instincts included precise calculations without needing to learn them. "Wish that I could take these powers back to Earth. I'd be able to become a physicist... or at least be able to cheat at cards." He muttered as he began to narrow his view away from the entirety of the gardens. He was surprised as a pop-up appeared without prompting, causing him to glance around quickly for the reason. "Alright. So, if I see something weird, a notification will appear. It's a good thing this system is intuitive otherwise I would have not asked for that." He muttered before he read through the notification.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The Space Distorts!

The {Special}[Garden] requires more space than room size limitations allow. Spatial magic has been employed so that the [Garden] only takes up the same amount of space as a standard room in the physical world. The interior of the [Garden] is now capable of expanding as large as necessary.

“So… reality is subjective so long as the rules of a dungeon are being followed. This is also one of those special rooms that Ivy was telling me about earlier. Which means I get an extra room for this floor.” He muttered with a frown as he considered what he could do with that information. He was certain that eventually he would be able to expand the interior of rooms, but there was no certainty what he would be able to do with a power like that.

With a wave of his hand he dismissed the notification and began to walk deeper into the gardens so that he might be able to understand everything that he could find here. He was still unable to appreciate the sky since he didn’t have his awareness expanded just yet, but he was certain that the sun would shine down perfectly upon the gardens. There were entire plots of land that now held flowers in manicured arrangements with beautiful colors shining in the midday light. The closest arrangement to the door was a plethora of different water reeds surrounding a river fed by distant water features. When he approached the water there were lilies and blue lotus flowers dotting across the water, their gentle scents filling the air.

He began to follow the river, watching the many Feather reeds dance with their wing tipped heads looking like birds in flight. He stopped when he found there was a small statue surrounded by a large plot of angelic flora. He recognized Angel’s tears, but joining it were bushels of Angel’s Trumpets around the base of the statue. Interspersed with the beautiful bells of the tears, were pure white bells that were unmistakably Lily of the Valley. Then arranged to reach out of the display in long drooping stalks were flowers that resembled bleeding hearts. The statue itself was of Addison, wearing holy robes and seeming to be beaming with a sense of pride at the viewer.

"Now, I know Lotus took care of Addison a lot, but why make a statue of her?" Red tilted his head some, confused as to why there would be a statue of the small girl here. He wasn’t exactly sure if there should even be statues in the garden, and there were certainly plants that he didn’t recognize from the initial list. It was like the system was beginning to understand his mental state, another notification extracting itself from the pile to help explain why there were more plants and objects in the garden.

{Special}[Garden] has become a [Lair]!

The {Special}[Garden] room has become [Lair] to a powerful creature. As this creature is intelligent, it is able to make changes and summon forth any [common], [uncommon], or [unique] materials it deems necessary. This can include creatures, plants, and objects so long as they are requested by the [Lair] owner.

“Well, thank you, notification. So it’s kind of like there is a mini-dungeon that has formed inside of me. The dungeon intelligence of a Lair just so happens to be a monster or minion that still has to report to me.” He said with a nod of understanding, the box disappearing with a positive ding as it was thanked. Perhaps Red should be more positive, instead of constantly worrying about things. He had no reason to think that this place would be especially dangerous, up until what he saw in the next plot of flowers along the stream.

He could see that the gardens were still being decorated, since the area across the stream from him on the eastern side of the gardens was rather bare, save for some empty plots and markers where statues would go. His eyes were wandering over the other side as he stepped into the next plot. He jumped back for a second, worried that he might have bent a stalk or bruised a bud, before he remembered that he didn’t have the mass to do something like that. He gazed down at the root that had been trod upon before following it up to the maw of a very draconic looking flower. It seemed that Lotus opted to actually upgrade the Snap[Dragon] flowers to the point that they could bully Audrey2 with their size.

Evolution requirements met!

Snap[Dragon]s

Evolving into new species!

Snap[Drake]s!

New Monster Species unlocked!

Floral [Dragon]s!

A trio of notifications appeared to show how the small flowers had become a floral arrangement of agony. The snap dragons were a bouquet of colors, red, green, blue, white, and even a metallic silver in the back. The bestial plants were snapping at one another, attempting to figure out the pecking order of their new arrangement. Whatever it was the hydra of a plot was trying to figure out, Red had no interest in staying.

There appeared to be one more large plot of flowers before he got to the center of the garden, a short distance away from the trapped dragon flowers. A spiraling mosaic was all the remaining flowers that had been generated at the start of this whole escapade. The more safe flowers such as the gossiping pansies and the maiden’s breath were on the outer sections of the spiral. While things such as the hemlocks and nightshades fruited near the center. A casual float towards the center showed a flower blooming and giving a slight golden glow. The petals of the flower looked like the guard of a sword, while the center of the flower was the hilt. “Oh right, that’s the rare flower. Hero’s Might? Seems kinda important, I should put something to guard this later.” Red muttered, the rare flower being the least of his worries at the moment as he turned to follow the river once again.

Cross-Breed Successful!

Hero's Defeat and Devil's Might have been cross-bred to create Hero's Might!

At the end of the stream was the massive structure that had taken root in the center of the garden. From a distance if one didn’t look up, it appeared to simply be that of a giant pillar, no doubt holding up the ceiling such a large chamber would require. Red however knew what fairies in media needed, and understood that the towering structure was that of the Manchineel tree. The water which cut through the eastern portion of the garden was pouring from a single hole in the trunk of the tree. The water was plentiful as it poured out, but it was not the only hole in which strange substances were leaking from.

All along the tree were openings that dripped with fluids and thick substances, each of which were completely different from one another. Red peaked into the hole of one and found that the liquid fizzed and sizzled with the sound of acid, how the bark did not dissolve was beyond Red’s understanding. Once again to answer the questions brewing within Red’s mind, a set of notifications appeared to explain away the changes happening to his dungeon.

[Rare] Manchineel has undergone ascension!

The hideously toxic Manchineel has been empowered by the forces of nature. It has evolved into an [Epic] Alchemical Oak.

Effects:

Alchemical Openings - The tree now has multiple holes and basins that produce alchemical liquids.

Alchemical Apples - An apple from this tree will cause a random effect.

[Epic] Alchemical Oak has become a [Fae] Haven!

This tree has become the spawning ground for multiple different kinds of Fairies. It has grown to accommodate a much greater population as a result.

“So… it’s a living version of the alchemy jug from dungeons and dragons.” He muttered as he looked at the notification and then at the tree, wondering how many different substances it had now that its size was so massive. It was something to consider, but he needed to find Lotus first. At this rate he was trying to understand a city by walking its streets, but it would make more sense if the planner was explaining everything to him.

He began to walk around the base of the tree, the trunk seeming to be forty feet wide. He couldn’t see the top of the tree from where he stood. It was a far cry from the restricted little Manchineel it had started at just a little while ago. As he considered the arboreal anomaly, the foreboding sense of dread began to fill him once again. This was too much, he was growing far too fast and he wasn’t going to be able to keep control of the place at this rate. This was an entire enchanted fairy garden, and he was just a low level dungeon intelligence.

He approached the western side of the tree and found that there was a large opening in the side, a set of double doors left open so that any who wanted to see the princess may. He stepped into the entrance and looked around at the interior of the tree. The chamber appeared to be carved out of the tree, seemingly to avoid the risk of some alchemical unguent appearing within. The entrance was a long hall down into the heart of the tree, a throne chamber sitting at the end. The throne itself was a beautiful carved piece of Manchineel, fit for the royalty it was intended for with thick purple cushions to soften the experience. It was delicately carved, circles, arches, and the shapes of card symbols. It seemed that Lotus had taken in some of the symbols of Red’s games when she had ascended.

Red slowly approached from the entrance, passing pews while walking upon the rich violet carpet that lead all the way up to the throne. Red was uncertain if he was supposed to bow or not as he approached the princess. "Uh, greetings Princess Lotus. It's a pleasure to meet you once again." He said as he went for a bow, a giggle sounding just like the first time he had met the blue fairy.