Red selected the slime spawner over the mixed spawner, watching as the pool of water gained an oily sheen. Not only that but the mud at the bottom seemed to gain little chunks of gelatin in the mud over some of the crustacean eggs. Red waited with baited breath as he hoped that there would be something new popping out when the next slime popped out of the spawner. He slumped his shoulders when he noticed that the first slime spawned from it was only that of a regular demonic slime like the one he had spawned earlier. “Damn… guess I just have to wait for the RNG to do it for me.” Red said with a sigh, leaving the new options a mystery as he hoped they would be good.
He waited patiently for the passive spawns to give him something that would be of note, but found that the percentile spawns were actually far more strict to their randomness than the usual video game. He waited days, finding that there was nothing that truly could make one of the unique monsters to spawn. He spent days waiting for a pop-up to appear, all the time assisting the plan that would help start netting them a net gain on mana. Lotus wasn’t wrong, since she had begun work on the gardens there was a sharp reduction in the mana flow. Addison’s meager levels were only ticking up the points by single digits at the moment.
He floated near Lotus as she prepared the scouts that would be heading out into the swamps and gathering either a single strong monster or multiple small ones to get into a fight with. “So, are you sure that they are going to be alright out there? I know they were specifically created for the job, but I don’t want them to get hurt. I don’t know if they will respawn if they die outside of my dungeon.” Red said with a bit of worry as he thought about it. The last thing that he wanted was to lose lives permanently over a mana making scheme that Lotus cooked up.
“Red, I assure you that there is nothing to fear when it comes to this plan. The scouting fairies will gather up a group of lower level enemies, and then once the monsters are in, the soldier fae will begin stabbing them through the chest.” The princess mused with a smile as she motioned a gloved hand over to the group that were to be performing for queen and country this day.
Minion Info: Scout Fairy
A fairy who has dedicated their life to scouting out the dangers of this world. The most skilled around, do you even know who you’re talking to?
Minion Info: Soldier Fae
This fae has studied the art of war and is now willing to fight for his home. I think he knows a little bit more about fighting than you do, pal!
Red was starting to worry that the longer that he was connected to the system, the more it was going to start using information from his memories to affect the system. He had no clue what that kind of connection between his original human world and whatever world this was. There was certainly nothing positive that could be gained from that game becoming intertwined with his dungeon. The last thing that this world needed was explosive cyclopses and vanishing assassins.
“If you say so, Lotus. I trust you to do this. Just remember that I do not support anything that costs us permanent lives.” He said firmly as he watched her roll eyes at him. He took in a deep breath to calm himself, still pretending as if he actually needed to breathe in order to do anything. He loved the way that his fairy princess acted, but did not enjoy the fact that there was such a careless attitude towards life.
She nodded, not seeming to register his words on her face as she waved a hand towards the squad of scouts that zoomed out of the garden entrance. He held his breath,still an ineffectual action, as he hoped that this would bear fruit he needed to expand his awareness soon. It seemed that the more he expanded the interior of his dungeon, the more expensive the awareness expansion could become. He needed to get the expansion now if he ever wanted to see the sun again.
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Within an hour the first of the scouts returned, zipping to Lotus’ side. Red and Lotus were sitting at a nice patio set with a sun umbrella above their heads. There was a pot of tea as well as two cups of the steaming brew, even though Red could not drink from the cup that had been provided. Lotus gently took a sip of her tea as the scout spoke to her, before doing a spit take in Red’s direction. The core had never been more delighted in the fact that he was incorporeal, the fluid passing through him without any negative affects. “So I am assuming that this scouting mission has been a failure?” He muttered as he stirred his crystal finger through the hot tea, still no affect on the material plane.
“No… no it was far more successful than it was supposed to be. It seems the scouts have managed to find and attract an entire hoard of zombies towards the dungeon. They are on their way now and seek to get the core.” She said with a frown as she began to move around the troops and other fae of the garden. She needed to make sure that there was no way that the zombies could get to the deeper parts of the dungeon.
Red gave a groan and pushed his hands through his crystalline hair as he tried to think of what to do. “I’ll be right back, rally the troops.” He muttered with a frown before he was suddenly in the bedroom with Ivy and Addison. Addison was wearing a new dress that Lotus had commissioned one of the tailor fae to create, and was enjoying a game of checkers with Ivy. The two seemed rather relaxed, no clue that the dungeon was about to be invaded by a hoard of zombies. “Hey girls, we are going to have some unwanted guests arriving in the garden. Please make sure to stay in the bedroom until I give the all clear.” He said pleasantly to the two of them, the majority of the bathroom brigade getting the silent signal to join the fairy forces.
“Sure thing Red, Ivy just won your core anyway.” Addison said with a smile as her lunch appeared, a meal of chicken strips with ketchup and French fries appearing. Ivy held up the glowing red bauble, showing that she did indeed have it.
“You’ve been gambling with me? You know what? Don’t have a whole lot of time with the approaching fight. We will discuss this later, ladies.” He said firmly, getting a laugh out of both of them before he teleported back into the gardens next to Lotus. She had the entirety of her fifteen soldier fae standing in their wooden armor. The monsters and creatures of the bathroom were piling into the river so that they would have a better suprise attack if any of the zombies drew close.
Just as the last of the monsters got into position, the remaining four scouts whizzed through the open doorway of the garden and floated back into the Alchemical Oak where they would be safe. Red took a deep breath, able to hear the moaning and groaning of zombies as they found their way towards the signs of life. The worst part was that the many poisons of the garden would do nothing to the undead horde that was coming into his dungeon. The fairies overhead that had ranged abilities were scrambled in attack formation as the zombies began to file in.
Alert! New Intruder Detected! Zombie
Alert! New Intruder Detected! Zombie hoard
Red took a deep breath at the zombies filing in, counting about twenty-seven unassuming corpses that wanted nothing more than to feast on his creatures and gain the power of his core. He looked to Lotus who was frozen in terror, trying to say something only for the words to die in her throat before she could even get the chance to stammer them out. She was utterly terrified, and it was clear that she would not be able to get the order out for her army.
This was a defining moment for the two of them, and he was certain that it would be talked about for years to come. He could take charge, order people onward just as he did with the battle of the ghoul. This was different though, that was when he was the highest in the chain of command with no real structure yet. The last thing that he wanted to establish was that his word always superseded the word of his princess. She needed to be the one to lead her troops into battle, even if she was scared.
He gently put a hand on her shoulder as the shambling zombies began to spread out with all the potential targets that they had. He took a deep breath before leaning in and whispering that only Lotus could hear. “You are the Princess of Poison. You can do this. I believe in you.” He said softly to her, hoping that he would be believed.
She looked at him for a long moment before clenching her jaw and giving a firm nod. With poisonous magic dripping from her fingertips, she pointed towards the approaching retinue. “Charge!” She roared, similar to the way that Red had done not so long ago, the battle beginning.