Red frowned as he realized the clear risk that came along with Lotus’ plan. To have monsters start filing into the dungeon meant that everyone inside would be in danger. He doubted that anything could actually do harm to the princess, but that also didn’t account for Addison. The young girl’s room was right there at the entrance to the dungeon, where she could easily get hurt if something came barreling through. He needed to find a way of protecting her that meant she wouldn’t be at risk of random monster attacks.

“Map.” He said to the air, delighted to find that it instantly produced a map of his dungeon and where everyone was. That was not the only thing that was on the gridded map of the dungeon, there were also a few buttons at the bottom of the screen. One of the buttons was grayed out, implying either it could not be changed or it was inaccessible for the moment. That particular button was labeled ‘themes’, which made Red believe that he couldn’t access it without having more than just the fae theme already in his possession. Some small part of him felt a bit sad at the fact that he could not restore the dungeon back to its base, having hoped that he could have had that swampy feel return. It was warm, like a nice cabin where you could get cocoa from a woman you were half certain was a witch.

Shaking himself from that thought, he gazed at the other two options. One was delete, and he wasn’t sure he was willing to try that with both limited space and the population density he was working with. The other was exactly what he had been hoping for, arrange. He pressed on the button and found that the map became a drag and drop menu of the three rooms. It seemed that he was able to orient the rooms however he chose so long as they were still connected. The first thing he tried was switching the bathroom and the garden around in the map. He paused for a moment, looking around to see if there was any notable change in the environment as the rooms were apparently swapped.

There was no indication that anything had happened, other than the fact that his map read as the bathroom and garden had indeed swapped places. With that he quickly rearranged the rooms to have the garden as the entrance, and the two rooms be the bathroom in its original location, and the bedroom in the far back. He gave a sigh of relief, feeling like he had just averted a crisis before it had the chance to start. "There, at least I can learn to start being proactive, rather than just dread every little thing."

With the plan in place, and his core showing as being in the bedroom once again, Red turned and planned on heading into the bathroom. If Lotus planned on bringing in more monsters, then he needed to make sure that all of his current monsters had spawners to protect them with. Thankfully that was already a cost he had prepared for, a pair of slimes only taking half a minute and the lobsters done by the time his first cursory glance of the garden was complete. Once again he appeared in the bathroom without the actual motion to guide him, causing a slight headache as his mind tried to catch up through the lens of human perception. He was getting better at least, having not stumbled once he appeared in the bathroom.

He was surprised to find that around the glittering form of Snips, the crawdad population had seemingly boomed. What few crawdads remained were lost amongst nearly twenty of the mud bugs crawling around the pools of the fountain. They seemed rather pleased as they followed around the lobsters like generals to their battalions. The lobsters themselves looked to have craggy shells of hematite or chromite. The composition of their shells explained the logical leap how they could go from being rock to metal.

“Sorry guys, but these two aren’t sticking around. I only spawned them so that way we could get some more lobsters in here for Snips, as well as keeping the lobsters alive.” He said with a sigh, some of the crawdads dropping their claws in a crestfallen nature. He was starting to get a more empathic link with the creatures of his dungeon, and was rather certain they were sad to see their new friends go so soon. Red bit the inside of his cheek, the lack of sensation not helping his resolve as he pressed the button to create the rock lobster spawner.

Once more he was tempted by the option that he could fuse the two spawners together, meaning that the overall amount in the room would remain at one. He pressed the accept button and immediately was met with a notification. He had been expecting it, but this was the first time a notification had ever given him a twinge of excitement.

Alert! You are about to merge two spawners together!

Fusing spawners together can have unpredictable results, and can increase the difficulty of the produced creatures. Are you sure you wish to continue?

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Yes No

Devious ideas began to run through his head as he considered all of the options of what could happen if he fused spawners together. He obviously wouldn’t be able to waste his fairy spawner, but there were plenty more monster and creature options to fill that gap. If he began mixing spawners and getting powerful creatures, then he would never have to worry about the safety of his core ever again. He could create an impassable army that could protect his core room no matter where it might be.

With a devious cackle he pressed the yes button, watching as the mound of muck began to grow in the basin of the fountain. The water began to brown because of the level of soil and grime that such a deposit would take, before the two rock lobsters took their place tending to the mound alongside the previously sacrificed crawdads. With bated breath he waited for the timer on the spawner to count down. He hoped that he would be able to get some kind of payoff that would make fusing the spawners worth it.

After a few minutes of waiting, the first of the new crawdads came out, clacking its sharpened claws in the water as it appeared. This was certainly a new creature, its shell far more sleek and shining than that of its previous kin. It scuttled from the water, basking in the light of the stained glass window and showing off its own radiance. It was glittering red, not like that of the chitinous shells around it, but like a gemstone. This crawdad was somehow now a gemstone crawdad!

New Monster Detected!

GemCraw!

Living amongst its more heartier kin has caused this crawdad to evolve a crystalline lattice structure so that it might defend itself. While some may be a girl’s best friend, they are every toe’s worst foe.

Red pumped his fist in the air with excitement, clearly delighted by the fact that he had managed to do something right. The GemCraw was a monster which meant it was able to do more damage, and the value in its shell would no doubt attract more people to his dungeon once it came down to that. Though his mind wandered to the spawner, considering it for a long moment as he wondered something. He raised his hand up to the spawner, hoping that speaking aloud would continue to give him everything that he wanted and more. “Spawner Info.”

Spawner Information: Mixed Crustacean Spawner

Level: 2

Size: Small

Spawn Rate: 20 mins (lobster), 5 mins (Crawdad)

Threat: 3

HP: 20/20

Description: Within a pool of water a group of crustaceans have built a home. Not only that, but their cousins and siblings join them. This mixed spawner is home to lobsters and crawdads of all kinds, even if they snack on one another. Everyone is welcome so long as you don’t bring a crabby personality.

Potential Spawns:

* Crawdad: Common

* Rock Lobster: Common

* Metal Lobster: Uncommon

* GemCraw: Uncommon

* Refined lobster: Rare

* Bladed Crawdad: Rare

* Greater Lobster: Super Rare

* Metal Crawdad: Super Rare

* CrawMaw: Epic

If Red’s eyes still had pupils, they would be sparkling as he looked over the options. “Would you look at all the things that can spawn! I bet this is double what I would have gotten if the spawners were on their own.” He said with excitement, tapping on the bottom option to see what exactly a ‘CrawMaw’ had to offer. He frowned though as he found that there wasn’t anything popping in when he pressed on the name. He experimented and pressed on the crawdad option, finding that it gave the basics on the mud bugs.

“Alright, a little disappointing. I don’t get to know the specs on a creature until it has actually spawned in my dungeon, or has been brought here.” He muttered as he looked at the list of possible spawning creatures. He considered it for a long moment before dismissing it. He took in a deep breath as he looked at his ruby GemCraw, wondering what the others were going to look like.

With that thought crossing his mind, he turned his attention to the wet slapping noise of two slimes as they were brought from the sink. They slipped onto the floor with a loud splat to show their presence. Red couldn’t help but get a mischievous look on his face as he looked between them and the spawner for the crustaceans. There was not much going through his mind as he considered exactly what could happen. The truly unfortunate thing, was that there was no one here to stop him from doing something foolish.