Green-tipped leaves sprouted along brown stems. A patch of moss grew in the barren foothills of the Joulo mountains. It fed on the rains and spring and flourished under the summer’s sun. Over the months of summer, it had grown to become a green spot in the terrain. Unfortunately, its size lead it to being noticed by a nearby dungeon Core that was actively trying to eat it.

The asymmetrical crystal did everything in its power to drain the lichen of all the mana it had. A foot-wide crisscross of dozens of stems with tight clusters of leaves made the lichen quite visible. However, the Core didn’t seek the plant, instead the bacteria that grew beneath it.

The Core knew what bacteria was. It knew that was food. The plant was in the way of that food. It needed to be eaten so the Core could eat the bacteria. The plant needed to die.

The Core had gained much knowledge and power over mana in the last year. Doubling in size since its birth, the stone was an inch across, and its powers increased to match. It knew the plant was within reach. It wove its arcane net to prepare for the longest journey its mana had ever taken.

It exhaled its entire existence as it cast out everything it could into the net. Every bit of stored mana was pushed into the environment to reach its goal. The net lingered, and mana saturated the lichen as it was caught in the trap.

Eager for its prize, the Core inhaled. It drew everything towards its center as it reeled in its catch. There was a slight resistance, as the mana returned without the plant. Ethereal rocks, jagged and unrelenting, had broken the flow of mana. An unshapeable wall of dead mana sat next to the plant and protected it. Dead mana that would prevent the Core’s success.

The dead magic of the mountains had denied the Core its food.

Rational actions were out of the question. The feral intelligence of the stone only saw food it could not have. It tried again and again, always aiming for its meal. Each time, its attempts crashed into the ethereal barrier around the patch of moss. Day after day, the Core continued its hunt.

Ambient mana levels soared as the Core no longer carefully recycled each attempt of its hunt. It always had enough for the next attempt, and that’s what mattered. The discarded mana, no longer recycled, now filled the area as it leached into the ground. Channels were dug by the constant flow of will between the Core and its target. The microbes that filled the soil flourished under these conditions, spurred into exponential growth.

The bloom of life caused the moss patch to expand as the Core refused to relent. It could not understand the mana of the mountains could not change. It was like a mountain of stone against the tide of the Core’s desire to feed.

And just like a cliff that stood tall against the relentless ocean, it began to erode. Cracks formed on the cliff. Widened each day under the tide of anger at being denied food until the cliff fell.

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Dead mana mixed with the pure dungeon mana and diluted it. The Core’s influence exploded as it broke down mana to become food. No longer did it need to eat dirt to make mana to feed itself, the Core had found a new source of mana. It could eat the old dead mana of the world.

After a year, the dungeon Core had learned it could recycle. It finally learned what other dungeons learned in a single day.

However, it didn’t care. It still wanted to eat. The older mana was slow; it resisted change. The Core wanted to make everything food, it still wanted the plant.

The next net woven and cast out took its time as it reached for the target. The arcane fibers woven into it needed time to be purified. Intent and desire created a wave that rushed forth. They flowed through the channels dug by previous attempts and funneled directly toward the patch of moss.

The grooves in the earth had become a canyon of life. Bacteria feasted upon the energy and intent of the Core. They were dungeon creatures, microscopic hands that sought to carry out its will. As the slower wave of intent from their master washed over them, they all heard the command.

EAT THE PLANT.

HUNT. KILL. CONSUME.

Microbes rallied to the war cry of their creator. They threw themselves at anything and everything they could eat. Most notably, they feasted upon each other. They hunted and devoured. Kin consumed kin in their attempts to grow stronger. The greatest hunters divided to create the next generation. The species reached a precipice as they stood at the edge of evolution.

Not one was strong enough to lead them all, but in the days that passed since they began their hunt, it did not matter. A single organism was the one to take the plunge as it devoured those around it. It would become more. The others would stay microbes in the soil. This great devourer would be the one to answer the creator’s call. It was the one to evolve.

> Monster Evolution Successful: Slime

The newly evolved slime knew what it must do. It had heard the order. It was to eat the plant.

Elsewhere, a god stood resolute in their decision. They had spent months in preparation. With a sigh to calm her nerves, Joulo tore the lichen card in half. The two pieces fluttered from her grip as she took a deep breath, feeling the mana flow through her.

The ashen remains of the card as it disintegrated never reach the ground. Joulo had let the lichen grow over the summer, but as the winter set in, there was no time to wait. Its death fed her the mana she needed before the falling snow could hamper its growth.

All things collected mana over their life, releasing it upon their death. She reassured herself it was only natural to eat. To do what she needed to survive. Yet no words she said to herself reassured her, for every meal would be at another’s expense. She didn’t want to inflict her suffering upon another, for no life should be harmed.

However, the dungeon Core in the same mountain range had no such mental qualms. It enjoyed the plant’s death as the slime devoured it. It desired the mana that came from the end of one’s life. The slime had eaten the plant. The slime could eat what the Core could not. The slime was a new weapon.

It learned a new lesson that day: monsters good.

The Core was going to inflict so many horrors upon the world.