Author Note:
Although it's a bit late, happy Eid al-Adha to my muslim readers.
Sorry for the delay. While in the weekdays it's always difficult to find enough time to write because of work, this weekend I also hard to find time because I have to take care of a little girl -her nanny didn't come and the girl won't let me alone for more than 10 minutes. Huff. While I don't really mind doing it, quite happy actually, but this delay is the inevitable result.
Anyway, I can see the pattern now. Expect one or two chapters each week (hopefully not less) and some extras if I have more time.
Thanks in advance for reading, hope you like this chapter. Don't forget to let me know if you find any mistake.
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(Uh, only 97 mana points left... This is bad, isn’t it?
(Wait, now that I think about it, is it really bad?
(Will I die if I run out mana? Or... something else will happen?
(I’m not sure.
(But my instinct tell me it’s dangerous.
(It’s better not to take an unnecessary risk.
(In that case, what should I do?
(Because the ecosystem has been established, I don’t have to worry about my monsters.
(They can survive without I have to feed them my mana.
(However, since I turn the growth and breeding frenzy mode, my mana has been drained constantly.
(Only small amount though, at the rate of 4 mana points per hour for now.
(But the consumption will increase as the monsters numbers increase.
(Should I turn the mode off?
(No, no, monsters are my lifeline.
(Their current numbers weren’t enough to defend my dungeon if a strong adventurer party come.
(Moreover, now that the dungeon has become so big, there are so many areas to cover.
(If I can’t get enough mana from the dead creatures inside, then I need to look to the outside.
(That’s right, mana is the life energy.
(Everything in this world should have innate mana, especially living creatures.
(Since I’m being surrounded by a forest, there should be an abundant amount of mana around me.
(All I need to do is sending peons to dig the resources and bring them back to the nearest Great Hall.
(This dungeon business is like a Real-Time Strategy game after all, of course starting with miners is the basic.
(To think I would forget such basic and spent my whole resources for defenses.
(Let see... I suppose I can make use of one of the bugs for miners.)
I browsed my animal list and decided mosquitoes are the most suitable for the task. I had one that flying nearby to land on my palm. It had grown significantly from the original size because of the mana it had accumulated and now the average size of a mosquito was about a normal bee.
I focused on the mosquito on my palm and felt its tiny core. The image of the mosquito then entered my mind. First, I modified its proboscis so it could directly suck mana instead of blood or nectar and had enough strength to penetrate even a hard shell. Next, I enlarged its body size a bit, twice of the current size, so it could collect more mana. After that, I created a special room in its abdomen to store the collected mana. Lastly, I strengthen its wings so it could fly faster, higher and further.
The cost was all covered by its already accumulated mana and I paid nothing. Satisfied with the result, I released my concentration grip at its core. It began to shed its skin on my palm right away.
*Ding!*
Requirements meet. New race is acquired!You have successfully created Mana-sucker race from Mosquitoes.
*Ding!*
With your intervention, {Mosquito} has evolved into {Mana-sucker}.
I let the mosquito flew towards a portal to the first room I had opened to fulfil its new role. Not long after, I sensed many of the mosquitoes evolved into the new mana-suckers and also flew towards the outside world. I couldn't help but to grin with that.
(I'm a queen bee, waiting for my workers to bring me honey~♪
(Well, one problem is solved, all I need to do is wait.
(Now, since I can't expand nor play with magic with the limited mana, what should I do?
(Hmm.
(Right, if this is a Real-Time Strategy game, the next essential step is uncovering the map.
(I need to learn the strategic locations like resource sites, enemy bases and advantageous terrains.
(Like [Firzoa]. I only know the town is in the same side of the mountain, but not sure where exactly.
(If only I have a satellite view...
(Nah, I doubt I'll ever be able to build such a complex structure.
(So, the option left is, uh... Surveillance planes?
(Ah, I should be able to modify one of my creatures for surveillance purpose.
(They should be able to send me feedback through the link too.
(Let see...)
Once again I browsed my animal list, before choosing the flies this time. I thought, with their compound-eyes, they should be able to perceive more things and become excellent surveyors.
I sensed a nearby fly and ordered it to come to my palm. Feeling the core, the image of the fly entering my mind. Their eyes were different than human eyes, able to see 360 degrees and thousand images and various light spectrums simultaneously. The low resolution images shouldn’t be a problem with that many images altogether. However, the race’s short sight would need a fix.
First for the eyes, not only enlarged their proportion to two fifth of the body, I also changed their structures into what was called schizochroal eyes. They no longer had as many ommatidia but in return each of them were now a simple eye, therefore they wouldn’t have problem to focus on object at varying distances.
Second, I enlarged and strengthen the body as a whole. I also extended the abdomen a little to balance the extra weight on its head after what I’ve done to the eyes.
The wings and brains received a special treatment as well since I would need them to explore as far as possible and process various informations.
In addition, I installed an organ to produce a smokescreen in case they needed to shake off predators.
Like with the mosquito earlier, the mana accumulated in its core was enough to cover all the evolution expense. The older generations of the insects had gathered considerable amount of mana. Yet, because they hadn't met any evolution requirement, they had been stucked in the same albeit bigger form. That was where an intervention was needed.
I ended the mental connection to the core and soon after a small-bird-size fly came out from the shed skin on my palm.
*Ding!*
Requirements meet. New race is acquired!You have successfully created Spy Fly race from Flies.
*Ding!*
With your intervention, {Fly} has evolved into {Spy Fly}.
I opened another portal to the first room and had the fly out. To my delight, the other flies begun to evolve one after another too. I gave them a specific order to find animal nests through our link, along with scouting the surrounding area. Some stronger animals could be a good addition for my dungeon, like wolves or bears. Oh, snakes and lizards too, for the sake of my future dragons.
Dragons, defined as the strongest creature in almost every fantasy literatures and games, of course I wanted them. Between the snake-like eastern dragons and lizard-like western dragons, I wanted both if possible. However, unless I figured a way to make the snake-like dragons flew without wings, I probably had to be satisfied with the western dragons alone.
Anyway, catching alive was harder than killing, therefore I would need some preparations. Fortunately, I already had a type of spider monster, their thread should be useful for the purpose.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I filtered amongst my thirty four lesser tyrantulas I currently had and found one had stood out accumulated mana compared to others. Wondering if I hit another jackpot with a variant, I opened a portal to where the concerned lesser tyrantula was. Only to see a battle underway. One versus four, a lesser tyrantula against four fierce rats.
When I thought the lesser tyrantula was going to be massacred, one of the fierce rats actually get caught by a sticky thread and fell. The spider with a body diameter about thirty centimeters long made use of the fallen rat to block other rats movement and escaped.
It climbed a wall while releasing a thin sticky thread trail, which one of its pursuer carelessly stepped on it. The lesser tyrantula suddenly turned around and swung a thick thread like a whip to another fierce rat pursuer, which easily evaded it.
However, it evaded it to the side where its glued brethren was, causing both to be sticked together. Before they could even struggle, the lesser tyrantula already showered them with another sticky threads. The last fierce rat was also shot down with a sticky thread when it tried to run away. It was a complete victory for the spider.
Finally realizing my presence, it stopped and turned at me with all of its eight eyes. “Nevermind me, you can continue to collect your prizes,” I told.
It obediently continued by injecting poison to each of the captured rats one after another, until they stopped moving. After that, it wrapped them like cocoons and dragged them back to its cobweb near the ceiling, before started to feast itself with them.
I decided to wait it finished its meal because I had fallen in love with the beast. I wanted it to participate in my first hunting game.
While waiting, I checked the dungeon overview and saw my mana points had increased. The number rose by 1 mana points every time a mana-sucker returned and released the collected mana into the air, which then absorbed by the dungeon. I was sure the number would increase as the mana-suckers grew larger.
I considered the possible bad effect to the surrounding area if I kept on sucking their life energies, but then decided to worry later. For the time being, increasing my mana points and survivability were my primary objective.
Through the link I also found an imaginary map. The dungeon entrance was at the center and a small area around the entrance was shown, indicating the area that had been explored by the spy flies. It was steadily expanding even now.
(Funny. According to the map, the rocky hill where the dungeon entrance located wasn’t that big. Does it mean, no matter how much the dungeon grow, it won’t affect the outside? Like, in a separate dimension?
(Oh, I can zoom in too? This isn't so different with satellite view, is it?
(... Ah! There are moving animals too.
(Let see… squirrels, small birds, beatles... Uh, is this all?
(Wait, under that log, is that... Yup! There you are, mister lizard.
(Hey, spy flies, don't lose sight on that one, you hear me?)
Something tugging my leg, which turned out to be the lesser tyrantula. “Oh, you’re finished?” I asked. “Good. I want you to help me catch several animals, okay? Come,” I told. It hopped to my stretching arm and climbed up to my shoulder.
I opened a portal to a room of gi-ants’ nest. “Some of you, come with me,” I ordered and opened another portal to the first room. I crossed to the now empty room with my giant ants army and stepped outside for the first time since I came to this dungeon days ago.
Following my spies' direction, I went straight to the lizard. It was probably sensing a danger as it tried to run away. However, since it had been monitored closely by my aerial spies, it couldn't escape.
I had my gi-ants spread and encircled the lizard. As the encirclement tightened, it was forced to run towards me and became easy target for my little spidey's sticky thread. I quickly dominated its mind.
“Got ya!”
*Ding!*
Requirements meet. New kind is acquired!You have successfully captured a Lizard.
I had my new lizard to return by itself to the dungeon and made a clear order to every single creature in the dungeon that they weren't allowed to harm it.
“Find other lizards as well, I need more to start breeding them,” I ordered the flying spy flies above.
(Let see… What else is there in the map?
(Oh, something is marked with dot? What is it?
(Hmm, a rabbit burrow?
(Ah, there're different color dots as well?
(Trees of koalas... Mouse deers’...
(I see, they’re the animal nests I told specifically to search.
(But to think all of them turn out to be useless herbivores.
(I’ve no use of those unless they’re as strong as elephants or bulls.
(Wait, I take back what I said.
(The big dots in the south... It’s a monkey territory, isn’t it?
(Fast and smart. Even though they’re small, I can make use of these herbivores.)
Thus we marched to conquer the monkey kingdom in the southern forest with the spy flies lead. On our way we captured another lizard, killed several boars and rabbits -and had my army feast on them, and also converted a tiger before finally arrived at the monkey’s territory.
Since the tiger was by far the strongest animal in my possession and a too valuable of warforce, I didn’t wait until next generation to have core. I personally created one and put in it right after I had converted it.
The monkeys conquest went well. We let none escape, although several gi-ants were fallen in the process. They as well as the dead monkeys became fodder to my army.
I had half of the new converted monkeys returned to the dungeon while the other half joined our conquest further southwards, to a newfound wolf den.
I spent two and half days conquering the south, converting animals I thought useful while turning the others into my army’s stomach filler, using the time when they were eating to return to dungeon view and prepare nests for my new animals.
We were about to challenge the first humanoid creatures’ village we found, the goblins, when my spy flies sent me an emergency alert.
A party of seven adventurers was heading my dungeon from the east. It was no joke. Not only there were more than twice adventurers than Rowd’s company, but they also brought a priest with them.
(Uh, life as a dungeon sure is rough, isn’t it?
(To think my base will be attacked when I’m away.
(And I’m supposed to be a still new dungeon too at this time, am I not?
(How do those high-rank dungeon even able to survive their early days with this kind of continuous attack, I wonder.
(No, it’s possible that the party is just passing through.
(Anyway, I need to return now. Even though I mayn’t be able to arrive before them.)
Dungeon OverviewDungeon TypeCaveLevels1Rooms31Biological Types29Non-biological Types3Drops Types5Dungeon Skills5Titles0Mana Points2,944
Biological TypesPlants (2)#N/AFerns, MossesAnimals (17)#N/AAnts, Bats, Centipedes, Cockroaches, Flies, Frogs, Lizards, Monkeys, Mosquitoes, Moths, Rats, Snails, Snakes, Spiders, Tigers, Wildcats, WolvesMonsters (10)#N/A
Ants
Bats
Flies
Frogs
Golems
Mosquitoes
Rats
Snails
SpidersGolems
Gi-Ants
Great Bats
Spy Flies
Poison-spitter Frogs
Fighter Golems
Mana-suckers
Fierce Rats
Rock-shelled Snails
Lesser Tyrantulas