Rori's first thought was, Aww… they're actually kind of cute. His second thought was, Description.
Names: Mrrrgrgl, Grrrmrgrl, Lrrrmlrgl, Rrrlmrgl
Levels: 8, 9, 7, 6
Species: Fishling
Classes: Tribe-Kin (Common)
Delver Count: 4
Well, now I know what it's like to have dyslexia, he thought after trying to read the names. At least I CAN get their descriptions, that counts for something. Maybe this will tell me more. Fishling. Description.
Fishlings are amphibious, carnivorous beings that subsist primarily on clams, fish, and whatever animals they can hunt using primitive tools. Barely sapient, this species is generally considered to be a dangerous nuisance by other sapient creatures. They-
Before Rori could finish reading, the Fishling named 'Grrrmrgrl' raised its spear and gave a loud cry of "MRLGRMMMGRGLRM!". Three similar sounds came from the others, and then they began a mad sprint through his dungeon's 'foyer' and into his core chamber.
They completely ignored the glowing bridge and floating boss room, instead dashing down the stony shore and jumping into the lake.
Hey! That's cheating!
Heedless of his complaints, they swam rather quickly to the core structure in the center of the lake and pulled themselves onto the steep shore, stopping to stare at the white-glowing orb above. It was hard to read fish-face, but they might have been awed. After a significant stretch of silence, one of them began jumping up and down and chanting wildly, quickly followed by the others. If they were using a language, Rori could not understand it. One of the fishlings even grabbed a stalagmite in one hand and started spinning around it, somehow reminding Rori of a female lead in a musical, despite the absurdity of the comparison.
These antics went on for a while.
Wondering what the heck was going on, Rori opened up their species description again, finally managing to get all the way through.
They have varying cultural customs depending on region, but one constant is that all Fishlings worship pearls as holy symbols, believing that consuming one grants good luck.
Rori looked back up to their current object of fascination: the luminescent, spherical, pearl-like object that was his core.
Uh-oh.
One of the fishlings, Grrrmrgrl, stopped chanting and started climbing the ever-steepening slope. This caught the attention of Rrrlmrgl, who tackled Grrrmrgrl. There was then a brief and violent struggle for dominance. Thankfully without using their spears.
Not so cute anymore.
Finding it uncomfortable to look at and listen to, Rori opened up Interface and searched for something that he could use to distract himself that he could to do to protect himself. They were already at his core structure, so changing anything else would be pointless. And if he couldn't move his core structure, maybe he could still…
Modify.
Special: Primary Core Structure
Properties: Path to the Core, Harmless, Immobile, Occupied, add…
Add.
Action not allowed.
What?! But the option's RIGHT THERE! Right next to the Occupied property.
A description of 'Occupied' popped up.
Hey, I didn't ask for… he trailed off as he read the first sentence.
Occupied templates cannot be modified. Templates become Occupied when a living invader touches them, and lose this property when that invader, and all who have touched it since, are no longer in the dungeon. Other ways exist for templates to acquire the 'Occupied' property which prevent indefinite Path to the Core adjustment while delvers are present.
Just as he finished reading, the fishlings caught his attention again. Or rather, one of them did.
Grrrmrgrl gave what was probably a victory shout of "GRRRRRRRRMRGRL!" as it stood above three bruised and battered fishlings.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
It then started climbing the core structure unopposed. Once it reached the glowing orb, it didn't hesitate to open a very wide mouth and clamp down, causing Rori's entire vision to be blocked by disgusting red flesh and razor-sharp teeth.
Mrrrgrgl, Lrrrmlrgl, and Rrrlmrgl could only watch in envy and awe as the cave dimmed and their sister lit up like a glowing moon. They could literally see their sister's insides, and they wondered if this is what it looked like for someone to ascend to goddesshood, like the old legends say.
But after a few seconds, Grrrmrgrl gave a muffled growl, and seemed to struggle at something. She tried to pull, but the pearl didn't come loose. She tried striking the spikes holding it in place (without letting go of her precious pearl, of course), but the stone column didn't break or budge. She tried putting one floppy foot on the stalagmite, her other floppy foot on the stalactite, and then began yanking with all her oral might. The pearl still did not come lose.
After many long minutes of failure, and with terrible reluctance, Grrrmrgrl eventually let the pearl out of her mouth. But not out of her possession! Oh no! Hoping to get better leverage with her arms, and still squatting with both feet on either stone pillar, she gripped the pearl with her hands-
Leave, power. Crush, great power.
-and Grrrmrgrl stumbled in surprise when a bright thingy appeared in her vision – even brighter than the pearl, somehow – along with a loud voice talking in the tongue of her kin. She fell backwards- not into the lake below, but onto the flat-thing that hovered two body-lengths beneath the pearl. She hadn't realized her struggling had twisted her around until the glowing ground was beneath her. The platform was a scary, new, strange thing, unlike the familiar stone and water, and she had been planning to avoid it. But now that her butt was resting on it, she marveled at how soft it felt. Even softer than the elder's furs that she'd once touched, before getting a swift thwack to the head from his staff.
And the elder… the voice was like his. It sounded smart and wise, and more than a little powerful.
But now the thingy in her vision and the voice were both gone. She looked around, but she didn't see any elders. She looked down at her kin, who were the only ones talking. Mrrrgrgl, Lrrrmlrgl, and Rrrlmrgl were calling up to her in alarm, confusion, and greed.
She looked over the edge of the flat-soft thing (still marveling at its feel) to let them know that she is not dead, it was just a strange new thingy that happened, and the pearl is still. Hers. Rrrlmrgl. Hmph! Sore loser.
Grrrmrgrl stood… hopped a little at the slight bounciness of the platform… and with a noise of great frustration (and inner dismay, bouncy is fun, but she couldn't play), she focused on her pearl again. She climbed the short way up and put her hand on it. She flinched but did not fall.
The thingy in her vision showed a Fishling touching a round thing, then getting bigger and walking away. Next it showed a Fishling crushing the round thing, and getting even bigger than the first one. (These were not lifelike images, but pictograms, like Fishlings used on the rare occasions that they felt like drawing in the mud.)
Leave, power. Crush, great power, said the wise-sounding voice. Again, no elders were around that she could see.
It must be an outsider elder, Grrrmrgrl concluded. She paused before responding. Even if it's an outsider, an elder must be respected. But since it's an outsider, she felt she could argue with it.
Eat! she thought, instinctively communicating with her mind instead of her mouth.
Leave, power. Crush, great power, repeated the wise-sounding voice, just like the elder when a hatchling wasn't listening.
Eat! she repeated.
Leave, power. Crush, great power.
Eat!
This back-and-forth argument lasted until her kin interrupted from below again.
"I talk with elder! You quiet!" she ordered.
Once again, her kin looked up in awe. They didn't see the elder, but he could do magic-things, and he commanded great respect. They also didn't hear their sister talking to him, but again, magic. With his name invoked, they fell silent and waited patiently.
Leave, power. Crush, great power.
Take! she decided, trying to compromise.
Leave, power. Crush, great power.
Take! she tried again.
Once again, a back-and-forth that went no-where. The outsider elder wasn't budging. She couldn't argue, she would have to choose.
Grrrmrgrl considered the offered choices, her body swaying back and forth to match her inner ambivalence. She wants great power. But she doesn't want to crush the pretty pearl! She wants to eat the pretty pearl! Or at least take the pearl with her so she can show it off (and eat it later). If she crushes it, she can't take it or eat it!
More! she thought. In her language, it was a word that meant 'tell me more', 'share story', or, perhaps, 'describe it'. At her instinctual use of the description function, the outsider elder finally said something new.
The system responsible for automated dungeon-conquering procedures elaborated standard delving practices in a way that the simple-minded creature would understand. Leave, come back again. Crush, gone forever.
All of this, from start to finish, was done without Rori's approval or input. Currently, all he saw was the message of Offering automated reward to conqueror…
Grrrmrgrl was still torn, but eventually made a decision. If she's more powerful, when she comes back again she'll be able to take the pearl. And then, of course, eat it. She made her choice.
Leave, power.
Grrrmrgrl, Mrrrgrgl, Lrrrmlrgl, and Rrrlmrgl all disappeared from the dungeon interior in a flash of light.
This is how an extra fishling in the Cave-Watcher tribe rose above level 10, and how Soul ID: 0.0.irori, illegal inhabitant of Core ID: 0.0.931-48, learned a valuable lesson about fishlings, delvers, and cheese.