Axeel wasn’t sure that the being in front of him was actually trying to address him, but he answered anyway with a quiet, drawn-out lowing. The being seemed to shift, light bending strangely both around and through it, and he could feel its gaze on him.
“You can understand me?”
Axeel nodded as best he could. He was sure the being would know what it meant, but the motion was strange for him, and he knew he looked ridiculous throwing his head up and down like that.
“I see. I wonder if that elf-looking kid would be able to as well?”
Axeel didn’t know, so he didn’t answer. Instead, he tried asking a question of his own with more lowing.
“Um…” the being started, clearly unsure of itself, “I don’t understand you, it seems. Not sure if I should be able to, either. That sounded like a question, though, right?”
Axeel nodded again, and the being shifted in place.
“Were you hoping to learn something from me?”
Axeel shook his head side to side.
“Hm. Did you want something from me?”
Axeel wasn’t sure if the being could give him what he wanted, so he twisted his head back and forth, not a ‘no,’ but not a ‘yes,’ either. After a few seconds, the being finally spoke again.
“Do you want to leave?”
Axeel nodded, hoping this being could help him fulfill the strange longing he had felt for many years.
“Well, I don’t know if I can help with proper wanderlust, but I could let you join me as part of my dungeon, how about that?”
Axeel thought for a moment, remembering the townsfolk talking about creatures from the dungeon leaving sometimes before nodding again.
“Well then, sounds like a deal. Do you know where the dungeon is?”
Axeel shook his head side to side in the negative.
“Hmmm. Alright, then, I guess I’ll just have to guide you. Maybe if you’re actually inside, I’ll be able to understand you.”
Axeel nodded once more, and slowly followed the being as it moved away. He wasn’t sure what was in store for him, but it couldn’t be worse than constantly being stuck in that barn.
—
Ockraniaz stared as Axeel followed The Shimmering Death away from the fields. They didn’t go into the town itself, which he was relieved to see, and instead followed the south wall. He waited until they were out of sight to leave his meager hiding spot behind the barn, then started running toward the town.
—
As Axeel approached the dungeon entrance, his nerves bristled with excitement. He had always longed for a more interesting life. Being a farm animal was nice, sure. He never had to worry about where he was going to sleep, or if there would be enough food, but he always felt different from his brethren. He had a strange desire for more, though he could never describe what ‘more’ meant. Now, though, he felt like he had an answer. He wanted more to *do*. He wasn’t satisfied doing the same thing every day, like the other aurochs. He needed variety. And if the humans’ tales about the dungeon were true, he might still be able to help them by being part of the dungeon himself. Or at least, that’s what he hoped.
—
As I got near my entrance, I felt an odd tugging on my new form directing me back inside. I let it pull me, and my perception snapped back into place where I had been when I went to ‘sleep.’ It was bizarre, getting transplanted back into my dungeon form. Having the old, familiar sensations of a human body back had been nice, and I made a mental note to try and activate that mode again sometime. For the moment, though, I needed to focus on the huge bull that had followed me home. He barely fit through the front door, thanks to his massive shoulders, and his hooves clacked loudly in the empty stone chambers as he passed through the Entrance Hall and entered the Statue Room. He almost immediately noticed Georg watching him from the prickly pear platform he perched upon, and gave a respectful bow of his head to the massive spider. Georg bowed back after a moment, and the bull approached where my core was hidden.
Or rather, where it *had* been hidden. My core was nearly the size of a golf ball now, and had broken a fair number of the thorns that once covered it, letting the dark green light within to spill over the plant and the wall it grew from. I supposed the growth was a result of the improvements I had made, but why was it glowing so much? It definitely wasn’t that bright before. I decided to ignore it for now, and get back to the task at hand. The bull was standing near my core, now, and I knew better than to give up such an obviously powerful creature’s support by losing track of what I was doing. I zoomed in on my core to bring my perception to a more appropriate level, and then focused on pulling up the bull’s description box.
Aurochs (Enhanced)
A large, durable herd animal often domesticated both as farm animals and as war beasts. Their thick hide is tougher than most types of leathers, and their horns are strong enough to puncture thin iron. Recruitment available. Enhanced creature, cannot become scion, does not grant spawner.
I stared at the box. Then I stared at the bull. Then back to the box, then back to the bull.
[What the hell does Enhanced mean?] I demanded of the box. Unfortunately, no answer seemed forthcoming so I filed it under ‘Things I Need to Learn About.’ That list was getting long, which bothered me, but I couldn’t do anything about it yet.
[Alright then,] I thought out loud as I focused back on the bull and the task at hand, [you still feel like throwing your lot in with me? I make but one promise: I intend to make things as interesting as possible here. If you’re looking for something specific, you may wish to look elsewhere.]
The bull seemed to contemplate that for a moment, then nodded again and sat down, making a familiar box appear next to his head.
Recruitment request received.
Would you like to recruit Aurochs (Enhanced)?
[Yes]/[No]
I focused my perception on ‘Yes’ to bring my new creature under my influence, and a handful of notifications appeared, as usual.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Ten mana awarded for recruitment of new species Aurochs.
Ten mana awarded for recruitment of Enhanced creature.
Five Existence Points awarded for recruitment of new species Aurochs.
Two Existence Points awarded for recruitment of Enhanced creature.
Aurochs upgrades unlocked.
New Traps available.
New Mechanisms available.
New Materials available.
Threshold achieved. New area available.
My interest immediately piqued at the last line, and I quickly felt the room beyond the Statue Room connect to me.
[Well now,] I said to my new Denizen, [looks like you got me a couple bonuses. Before I get ahead of myself, though, try communicating with me, let’s see how it goes.]
“Can you understand me?”
I stared for a moment.
[You just spoke.]
”Yes, as I attempted to previously.”
[No, I mean… hm.] I moved my perception back to a floating space and considered how to explain it. [I mean, it looks like you’re speaking normally. Are you actually making the same noises you did before?]
”I think… wait. No, I’m not. I’m… I’m speaking! Is this what actual speech is like?”
[Well that’s unexpected. Georg, can you talk, too?]
[I don’t think so.] He gave a sort of shrug with his mutated front legs, but his response was definitely-
[Wait a second, could you respond like that before?]
[No, I only just became aware of how to do so.]
I stayed silent for a time, pondering the implications of my creatures gaining new abilities by recruiting other creatures, before making a decision.
[Ok, one thing at a time. We can deal with the question of “How did we gain new abilities?” later. First, let’s take a look at stats.] I focused on Georg to open his stat screen first. I had opened it before to give him his Brutal Bashers upgrade, but I hadn’t actually taken the time to study what was in there. Quite a lot, as it turns out.
Georg
Green Lynx Spider Scion
Level 2
Combat Rating: C
Skill Rating: F
Agility Rating: C+
Knowledge Rating: D
Willpower Rating: D
Magic Rating: F
Upgrades Applied: Scion Status, Brutal Bashers
[Upgrades Available]
Total Kills: 78
Moths: 78
Deaths: 0
Combat Type: Ambush
Georg’s stats were a treasure trove of information. Beyond showing me his personal strengths and weaknesses, simple inference was all it took to confirm two things. First, magic could be actively controlled and manipulated. Not really surprising, but it wasn’t a given. Second, and more important, was that this world clearly had a heavy focus on combat. This was the second kill counter I’d seen, and the inclusion of a death counter and a combat style category was enough to cement the idea that the world I was now in was clearly intended for dungeons to be a place of conflict. I couldn’t wait to see how far I could stray from that intention, but for the moment, I was probably going to be stuck with it. Regardless, time to move on to my new denizen. I closed Georg’s stats, and focused on the bull to open his.
Axeel
Aurochs (Enhanced)
Level 1
Combat Rating: D-
Skill Rating: D-
Agility Rating: D
Knowledge Rating: C+
Willpower Rating: D+
Magic Rating: F
Upgrades Applied: Enhancement
[Upgrades Available]
Total Kills: 1
Snakes: 1
Deaths: 0
Combat Type: Undetermined
Axeel’s stats were… confusing. I had expected his combat rating to be higher, given his raw bulk, but clearly the system was using more than straight muscle to decide these things. I tried focusing on the Enhancement upgrade, and finally got an answer as to what the hell it meant.
Enhancement
This creature has had one or more traits magically enhanced by a mage. Enhancement disqualifies this creature for other general-purpose upgrades and titles.
It still didn’t tell me exactly *what* had been changed, which I found annoying, but at least I could confirm that someone had actively chosen to do this, and it wasn’t some random twist of fate or a reward from individual achievements. Hopefully it wasn’t something bought by some poor farmer who just lost his best bull. Either way, I didn’t know a way to reverse the effects of recruiting a creature, so if someone decided to come in and get mad, there wasn’t much I’d be able to do about it. In fact, I wouldn’t even be able to pay them a standard price, would I? A few seconds of flipping through my menus confirmed that no, I couldn’t. This kill-crazy world hadn’t even given me any loot options to start out with. No money, no items, no random-chance chest, no loot of any kind to actually get people to come in. What kind of trash-tier dungeon doesn’t have any loot?
[Alright, I’m getting ahead of myself again.] I closed all my menus, and returned my attention to my creatures. [First off, do either of you want me to look at your upgrades? I have ideas for how I want you two to operate, but I’m not going to just start slinging mana around if either of you want to stay as you are.]
They both seemed confused by the question before Georg responded.
[We are your underlings, Master, we do as you bid.]
[Ok, first off, don’t call me that, it feels super weird. Second, I’m not gonna run this place like some tyrant. I don’t like the idea of overriding someone else’s free will, and you two, at least, clearly have free will. I don’t think the spawners or plants do, but anything can happen, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that turns out to be the case later on. Regardless! If I have the opportunity to get feedback about potential decisions, I’m going to take it. More perspectives means better consideration of possibilities, and I’m not going to throw away a perfectly good advantage when this world is so heavily geared towards fighting. So, again, I ask you both: Do you want me to look through your upgrades, or do you want to stay as you are?]
They both seemed to consider the question properly this time, and Georg spoke up first.
[I think I’d at least like to know what’s available. I like how I am now, but there might be things I’m interested in.]
“Yes,” Axeel agreed, “that sounds like a good idea. I have no idea what might be possible, so getting some idea of what can be done would help.”
[Excellent,] I praised, [just the answer I was hoping to hear. I specifically worded that question to leave out that option, so that I could see if either of you would be willing to come up with your own answers. I’m glad you two are smart enough to think for yourselves, because up until this point, I was worried. Now then, let’s get started. Please hold all questions until the end of the tour.] I opened Georg’s menu first, and read off the options as I scrolled.
Hearty
Cost: 2 EXP
Increases Health.
Heavyweight
Cost: 2 EXP
Increases Strength.
Limber
Cost: 2 EXP
Increases Coordination.
Observant
Cost: 2 EXP
Increases Intellect.
Thick Shell
Cost: 10 EXP
Increases the thickness and durability of the Scion’s exoskeleton, granting a percentage bonus to Health and Strength.
Brutal Bashers
Purchased
Launch Legs
Cost: 8 EXP
Modifies the Scion’s legs to be able to jump great distances with ease.
Camouflage Shell
Cost: 10 EXP
Allows the Scion to change the color of its exoskeleton to more closely match its surroundings.
Venom Spines
Cost: 15 EXP
Gives the Scion’s natural spikes a low-strength poison effect when dealing damage.
There were more options that were greyed out, but I realized another problem almost immediately after reaching the end of the list. I sighed, annoyed with myself.
[I only have seven Existence Points to spend. I can’t buy most of these,] I lamented. I had been so caught up in the moment that I hadn’t been paying attention.
[Well,] Georg said, rubbing the back of his head with a pedipalp, [at least that makes it easy to choose which of us is getting an upgrade, huh? That’s fine, though. Like I said, I’m happy with how I am at the moment.]
[I appreciate your understanding,] I said, switching over to Axeel’s menu. [Well. That’s interesting.] I stared curiously at the only two upgrade options available for the aurochs.
Armor Hide
Cost: 6 EXP
Increases durability and resistance to all forms of physical attack. Disables Piercing Horns upgrade, unlocks new upgrade tree.
Piercing Horns
Cost: 6 EXP
Increases damage and armor penetration of all horn-based attacks. Disables Armor Hide upgrade, unlocks new upgrade tree.
[Seems like you’ve got a choice to make, buddy.] I looked at Axeel after reading off the options. [Looks like whatever system we’re beholden to wants you to either be a damage sponge, or a damage dealer. So, would you rather be a tank and be hard to kill, or be a dps and be hard to survive?]
Axeel didn’t need to think about that question long.
“I would prefer to keep myself alive rather than end the lives of others.” If I still had a face, I would have grinned.
[Excellent to hear. Let’s see what this looks like, then.] Georg moved a few steps away, and I made the selection.
The change didn’t do much in terms of his physical shape, but I could see the areas of his joints, in particular, become thicker and more muscular. Once his legs looked sturdy enough to carry a cargo container, his skin seemed to swell a little before gaining a metallic sheen along with his fur. His entire form was bulkier now, and his color darkened from a wheat-like gold to a light brown, almost like bronze. Once the transformation was finished, he shook like he was drying himself off, sending a not-quite-unpleasant jingling of metal through the air. It was like someone had tried to use boxes of nails as an instrument.
[How do you feel?] I asked as he started moving around again, clearly getting used to the extra mass.
“I feel… heavier, for a start. But I also feel… somehow lighter? Like the weight isn’t affecting me, somehow.”
[Well, that’s weird, but if it isn’t actually bothering you, I suppose it isn’t a problem. Any other changes? Anything you think might be an actual problem I should know about?] I hadn’t had the chance to ask Georg about his first upgrade, nor had I thought about it at the time, but I wasn’t going to make that mistake moving forward. My trust in the world not warping my creatures’ emotional and mental states wasn’t the highest.
“No, everything feels fine. I just feel, well, bigger, but not?”
[I think the word you’re looking for there is ‘denser,’ if you mean more weight in the same amount of space.]
“Yes, that’s it. Denser.”
[Well, then,] Georg said, [I suppose now we just need to get more resources to keep making upgrades, right?]
[Yes and no. We definitely need to get a better handle on how everything works, and more resources will enable that. However, there should always be an end goal to that sort of thing. Resources without purpose are nothing more than wasted effort.]
[That makes sense,] Georg said, rubbing his Bashers together in thought. [But what’s our end goal?]
[I’m not sure yet,] I admitted. [Like I said, I don’t know much about how the world works, yet. If it’s anything like I’m expecting, though, I’d care to bet we’ll find something sooner rather than later. I do have a couple of ideas that don’t need any external impetus, though.]
“What’s an ‘impetus?’” Axeel asked. Clearly, whatever link recruitment made wasn’t sufficient to transfer my knowledge in any meaningful way.
[An impetus,] I explained, [is a force that causes movement or action. In this case, I expect other forces in the world to cause us to make choices and react to them.]
“Oh. That’s reasonable.”
[I thought so, too. But I have a few ideas of my own, too. Let’s get started, shall we?]