Ulrick’s team moved cautiously, their eyes sharp, each step drawing them deeper into the heart of the swamp. A stifling silence replaced the typical hum of insects, adding an unnatural weight to the air. The trees around them grew more twisted and contorted, the gnarled roots and flesh-like bark creating an unsettling scene.
Then, in a clearing ahead, they saw it—a monstrous, pulsing tree twisted into a cluster of sinewy trunks. Dark sacks dangled from its branches, heavy and dark, like bloated fruit ripe with something unnatural. Beneath the tree’s shadow, a figure moved—larger than the others they’d seen. It was a some four legged thing, and around her, her brood stirred in anticipation.
“What in the gods’ names…” Nole breathed, her voice barely a whisper.
Before they could fully grasp what they were facing, the brood emerged—the beasts numbering close to ten, each one hissing and skittering forward with unnatural speed.
As the creatures skittered closer, Nole felt a wave of revulsion churn in her stomach. The little nightmares moved with an unnatural, jerky rhythm, their skinless, sinewy bodies gleaming in the dim light. Their exposed muscles twitched with each movement, and small, segmented plates of darkened bone covered only parts of their bodies, leaving the raw tissue beneath unsettlingly visible. Worst of all were their mandibles—thick, sharp, and slick with some unknown fluid, opening and snapping with a sickening click as they closed in.
“Gods, they’re like… living nightmares,” Nole muttered, her voice filled with disgust as she aimed an arrow. She had faced beasts and monsters before, but these things were a mockery of life, twisted and wrong. The sight of them made her skin crawl, and even the act of breathing felt difficult in their presence. She didn’t just want to kill them—she wanted to forget she’d ever seen them.
“They’re coming!” Gale shouted, gripping his sword.
“Form up!” Ulrick commanded, raising his shield. They closed ranks, with Brill sending a burst of fire that momentarily halted the creatures’ advance, leaving scorch marks on their twisted forms.
But it wasn’t enough. The creatures surged forward, surrounding the team. Ulrick swung his axe, cutting down one, but another latched onto his shield, snapping its mandibles as it tried to push him back. Nole’s arrows flew fast and true, piercing two monsters, but the creatures were relentless, advancing even as their numbers dwindled.
Vin worked quickly, pulling out a vial of herbs and chanting, a faint glow surrounding his arm as he healed a nasty gash he’d sustained in the initial assault. But as he finished, Gale let out a shout, clutching his side where mandibles had gouged through his armor.
“Vin! Over here!” Gale gasped, fighting off another creature with a shaky swing.
Ulrick’s eyes darted around, assessing the situation. They were losing ground. Two Beasts lay dead at their feet, but they’d barely made a dent in the swarm. He realized grimly that they were at the breaking point.
“Fall back!” he ordered, voice firm. “Everyone, pull back to the rim!”
As they began to retreat, Nole took a few steps back before two of those monsters lunged at her, their claws tearing at her arm. She cried out but twisted fiercely, ripping herself free. Her quiver was torn from her shoulder, clattering to the ground as she staggered back, bleeding but determined.
They pushed through the mud and vines, scrambling for safety as the Creatures skittered after them. Finally, they reached the edge of the swamp, collapsing against the twisted roots of the trees. Vin immediately set to work, his magic flowing as he tended to their wounds, though his face showed strain from the effort.
Catching his breath, Ulrick glanced around, taking stock of the team’s condition. Brill’s leg was bandaged, though he winced with each step, and Nole’s arm bore deep scratches, blood seeping through Vin’s makeshift bandages. To much at once to heal with his magic he uses his first aid skills to bandage the more shallow wounds where his magic would be a waste.
“That was… too close,” Brill muttered, staring back into the swamp where the twisted trees hid the creatures they’d left behind.
Nole nodded, her face pale. “And I lost my quiver. I’m down to a handful of arrows.”
Ulrick nodded, taking it all in. “We’ll report everything to the guild. But we need to bring back more than just injuries. Let’s gather some plants and harmless creatures around the rim. This swamp is hiding something unnatural, and the guild will need all the evidence we can get.”
The team moved carefully along the edge, taking samples of strange plants and capturing small, less threatening creatures they encountered. With their limited supplies and weakened state, they knew better than to venture any further.
When they finally set out on the return journey, each member bore signs of the brutal encounter, and a silent resolve settled over them. Whatever this dungeon held, it was unlike anything they’d ever faced—and they’d need every ounce of preparation before returning.
Chomp:
Chomp scurried through the twisted roots, his many-legged form blending seamlessly with the muck and shadows of the swamp. Master had given him a task: watch the intruders and report. Though Chomp’s mind was simple, the command was clear, echoing in his thoughts like a drumbeat.
He crouched low, hidden behind a thick knot of roots, mandibles clicking softly as he watched the strange creatures—two legs, tall and covered in odd, shiny skins. They smelled unfamiliar, sharp and tangy, and moved clumsily through the swamp, stumbling and splashing.
When the fight began, Chomp's attention sharpened. He observed as the Flesh Crawlers, his kin, swarmed forward with fierce hunger. One of the tall creatures, with a blinding flame, set fire to a Crawler, making Chomp twitch with confusion—fire was strange, bright, dangerous. Chomp’s instincts urged him forward, but Master’s command held him back, watching silently as his kin fought and fell.
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As the intruders retreated, Chomp followed in the shadows, skittering noiselessly across mud and rock. When they reached the edge of the swamp and began to climb out, he watched them closely, storing every detail in his mind. The retreat of the intruders meant one thing: Master’s land was safe, at least for now.
As they disappeared over the caldera’s rim, Chomp lingered, staring at the empty spot where they had been. He felt a small swell of pride—Master would be pleased with him. With a final glance, Chomp turned back, melting into the swamp’s murky shadows, ready to return to Master and report everything he had seen.
Adrian:
Adrian pulsed with satisfaction. The Flesh Crawlers, simple creatures though they were, had performed admirably. Alone, they were no match for the average foe, but in a swarm, they’d proved to be formidable. After hearing Chomp’s report, Adrian pieced together the childlike descriptions, drawing valuable insights from each one.
So, there were humans in this world—humans seemingly rooted in a medieval age. That didn’t surprise him, but the confirmation was satisfying. More interesting was their magic. Though he’d expected its existence, witnessing it firsthand through Chomp’s description of fire conjured from thin air gave him more clarity on what he’d face in the future.
Adrian couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret that he hadn’t claimed a kill in this first encounter. Still, his creatures had driven the intruders out and performed their task well. He was beginning to understand the lay of his surroundings, too—the swamp was encircled by a rocky rim, a natural barrier of sorts. He had no idea what lay beyond it, but now he knew exactly how to find out.
“Chomp?” Adrian sent the thought out, feeling his loyal scout respond. “I have a little mission for you. Climb up this rim, take a look around, but don’t go any further. I want to know what surrounds us.”
Chomp seemed almost delighted by the task, his childlike excitement pulsing back along the bond. Adrian observed him, amused. In a strange way, Chomp was the perfect blend of horror and loyal servant with a hint of innocent enthusiasm, like a grotesque puppy eager to please.
Watching Chomp scurry off toward the caldera rim, Adrian’s focus shifted, his mind already calculating. He would learn everything there was to know about this land.
Adrian focused his efforts on expanding his vision throughout the swamp. The first step was producing more Oculnids, placing them strategically across the dungeon to widen his field of view. He threw a few additional Collectors into the mix as well, directing them to gather biomass and locate potential sources of new DNA strains. His objectives were clear: expand his awareness within the swamp, accumulate more DNA samples, and fill this “parasite counter” required to unlock new parasite options.
His patience was soon rewarded. One of his Collectors returned with a sample of a Poisonous Parasite, pushing him to two of the five required parasite samples. Still, two samples felt like a small start, and Adrian knew he’d need far more to develop his arsenal.
After some thought, he issued new orders to his creatures. His small swarm of Collectors would focus exclusively on retrieving dead animals, prioritizing them over any other gathering. To support this effort, he commanded his Flesh Crawlers to leave every second kill untouched, allowing it to be retrieved for DNA analysis.
With so few parasite options available, Adrian was reminded of his early days in the lab. Back then, he and his colleagues had started with minimal samples, relying on time, effort, and determination to build a foundation. They’d painstakingly extracted, cultivated, and experimented, turning small discoveries into groundbreaking progress.
It was a game of patience and strategy—one he knew well. Adrian’s pulse of anticipation echoed through the swamp, his new creatures setting out to fulfill their roles. He would wait and see what this land offered him. And, given time, his options would grow, one parasite at a time.
It took nearly a full day, but finally, Adrian’s patience paid off. The last sample had been collected, bringing his parasite roster to completion: Blood Parasite, Poisonous Parasite, Hallucinogenic Parasite, Paralytic Parasite, and Controlling Parasite. As the final sample was absorbed, a system message appeared:
Parasite samples 5/5. New Passive Skill: Parasite Infection. New Spawning Option: Parasite Queen.
“Now we’re talking!” Adrian thought, anticipation tingling through him as he concentrated on his newly unlocked passive skill.
The system’s response was immediate:
Parasite Infection: Every dungeon monster is infected with various parasites. Though harmless to their dungeon hosts, these parasites’ eggs have a small chance of transferring during close-quarters combat. Upon hatching, they impart one of five random effects. The effect’s potency depends on the host monster’s evolution and the victim’s resistance. Ranged attacks using biological weapons like quills, needles, or body fluids also carry a lower chance of infection.
Adrian let out an exhilarated pulse. This was exactly what he’d wanted—an invisible weapon, one that would infiltrate without his foes even realizing it.
Next, he focused on the newly available Parasite Queen, waiting for the system to provide an explanation.
Parasite Queen: A six-legged creature typically found near water sources in hot climates, resembling a crab with a shell-like structure on its back. This shell has multiple openings, from which it perpetually oozes a liquid containing different parasite eggs. When this liquid mixes with water, the eggs hatch, and the parasites seek out hosts within the ecosystem. Cost: 20 Bio-Mass
Adrian couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement—almost like Christmas morning. He immediately spawned a Parasite Queen to examine it firsthand. The creature was disgustingly beautiful, oozing the precious parasite-laden fluid into a nearby pool. Adrian marveled at its crab-like form, perfectly designed to unleash his parasites into the ecosystem.
With his new passive skill and spawning option, he was ready to fully weaponize his dungeon. He took stock of his bio-matter reserves—283/1000—and immediately launched into a spawning spree, setting his plans into motion. When he finally paused, his reserves had dipped to 93 bio-matter, but the investment was more than worth it. His dungeon was transforming, becoming a fully infected ecosystem primed to handle whatever intruders dared venture in.
Satisfied, Adrian pulsed with anticipation, feeling his swamp settle into an ominous quiet. The next adventurers wouldn’t know what hit them.
When Chomp returned, he launched into an eager ramble, his clicks and hisses reflecting his excitement as he described what he’d seen beyond the rim.
“It goes waaaay down from the rim!” Chomp clicked, his mandibles twitching. “And when it stops going down, it’s all flat! So much green down there. And waaay back, there’s something strange—like a little circle full of stones, but there’s smoke coming from them! And around them, there’s lots of brown with green lines in between. But it’s far, like… at least ten swamps away!”
Adrian listened, intrigued, as Chomp continued.
“And the strangest thing, Master! There’s no big cloud outside the rim. Just little white ones, and so much blue in between! And it felt weird out there—heavy and weak. Not so weak I couldn’t move, but it was… not nice! I was happy to come back to the swamp where I feel strong again.”
Adrian absorbed every detail, his mind piecing together the scene Chomp described. A vast, flat landscape—a forest or field. The “little circle full of stones” sounded like a village or settlement, and the green lines between the brown might indicate farmland. And beyond his influence, in the clear sky outside, Chomp had felt a weakening sensation. It seemed his dungeon’s aura granted a distinct boost within the swamp’s boundaries, reinforcing his creatures and discouraging any prolonged presence beyond it.
A faint sense of satisfaction washed over him. He was starting to understand his place in this world—and the world’s place around him.