I spent the remaining time by going back to my core and having my golems make a new tunnel to said room from a newly dug area that branched off from the first hallway that my golems had dug. It started about halfway down the core-hallway, and I made sure to connect it to a large domed room that I fully intended on eventually putting a boss creature in at some point. Said boss room also wound through several others and eventually the path entered into the mess/kitchen/barracks room I’d originally absorbed. I figured out how to fill in the other half of the core tunnel that connected to the hallway I’d broken into and blended the end of it into the original stonework. You can’t even tell that there was a golem-made tunnel there now, heh. I felt some peace of mind for the first time in over a day.

My peace was entirely broken however, once the timer ran up moments later. Several popups sprang forth in my vision, causing myself no small amount of alarm.

[Dungeon Entrance opened. 50 Exp gained.]

[First Dungeon Raid occurrence. 150 Exp gained.]

[Due to Dungeon Entrance Opening and the First Dungeon raid happening simultaneously, an additional 100 Exp is awarded, as well as one perk point.]

[Multiple work orders completed. 5 Exp gained.]

I-wha-WHATTHEFUCK!? A dungeon raid already? I zoomed over to my dungeon entrance far above, and froze in a uniquely human instinctual fright. Then another sinking feeling of dread hit me. Oh fuck I’m gonna get hit with the multi-level unconsciousness again.

The wooden ceiling of the basement had caved in, and down poured dozens of shambling undead that all headed straight for the stairwell. There was a vast variety of them, but mostly human. Here and there were also tiny undead, but clearly not dwarves or gnomes based on the tattered remnants of their clothing. One passed right through me, and it shocked me right to my core. Several more passed me by and I retreated to the core room.

Where the fuck did they all come from? How did they find my entrance? What or who is controlling them? These thoughts raced through my mind as the invaders continued down the stairwell. At least the stairwell’s about a hundred and fifty feet high, so I got a little time to get things ready. And they aren’t those damned runner-zombies, they’re just classic shamblers. Small miracles, I guess.

Calming myself, I returned to the dungeon-view to see how things were going. To my alarm, there was already a pack of twenty zombies wandering about in the first hall, heading towards the Shredder Golem. How the fuck? They shouldn’t be down here already! I turned my gaze to the stairwell and noted that there was definitely some sort of fuckery going on, as once a zombie got about ten stairs down, they appeared roughly twenty stairs from the bottom.

[Dungeon Entrance Teleportation was established to prevent dungeons causing adventurers to experience excessive wait times from entry to fighting.]

The. Absolute. What. What sent that message? Sure as fuck wasn’t System, since they abandoned me. Maybe it’s a part of the legacy system or something? Figure shit out later, right now, worry about zombies.

I looked over to where the Shredder was, and noted that for some reason the golem hadn’t opened up. There was a zombie crawling halfway over the golem right now. Oi! Shreddy! Open up, we got invaders!

I expected the golem to open up, what I didn’t expect was a golden glow to briefly explode from Shreddy and the name to pop up above the golem in my sight.

[First Named Dungeon Creature detected. One Perk Point awarded.]

The unaware zombie fell down into Shreddy’s deadly embrace, and disappeared in a drawn-out splash of viscera and gore. Okay, another fifteen exp from that, and about eighty pounds of organic material... Not bad for a zombie. The next several shambled over the edge and suffered the same fate, giving me a huge wave of relief, which immediately translated to worry as I saw the Exp gained rise with each one that died. Both Shreddy and I gained the same amount of exp, though I noted that he at least didn’t seem to have the same ramp-up debuff that I had. Now, to worry about that damned levelup curse. Fuck, maybe there’s a perk or something that can help alleviate that?

Noting that I was for sure going to suffer from the multiple-level up problem, I sighed and opened up the Perk menu.

Perk points available:

8

Creature Boost I

2

Increases the total amount of creatures the dungeon can summon.

Trap Boost I

1

Increases the amount of traps the dungeon can utilize by 10.

Worker Separation

3

Worker-creatures now take up slots in a Worker list, instead of total Creature list.

Mana Capacity I

1

Allows you to store up to 50 more mana.

Mana Regen I

2

Increases your mana regeneration by 5.

Universal Summons I

6

Reach deep into the realm of souls and become a gateway to realms unknown to this universe. Untether yourself from the reliance upon the reincarnation cycle, and usher in a new era of endless possibilities.

Due to being from the Primordial Universe, and being a summon yourself, you are allowed to summon a team of up to three groups of either items or individuals from different universes each year.

The current maximum size of these groups can be no more than ten items or individuals, with no physical size limitation.

Each group of helpers may be from the same universe, or several at the same time. Sentient beings who are summoned do so with their consent, so are thus guaranteed to not be hostile to you, with a significantly less chance of being given reason to turn against you. The summons you may acquire are only capable of arriving to this universe if they were about to die in their home universe. Beings summoned may be wounded, best have some healing magic or healers handy.

In regards to items: if they would have been completely destroyed in one instance, in their home universe. Small items are brought in fully intact with no damage. Additionally, once used, you have ten minutes to bring in your three groups.

Warning: this ability will anger the gods, for this treads upon their domain. Are you truly ready to join The Great Game?

Okay, that’s an odd number of perks, and I am SURE taking that summons! But... Eh, this’ll be good. Last one wordy. Makes me think too hard, brain hurts. Gonna save the last points for later.

[Perk: Universal Summons acquired. Remaining summons: 3]

Alright, nice. Now to see how this works. I once again had to go to the dungeon-view to see a new button had appeared. I pressed it and was immediately given a choice to either specifically select a being or group if I knew their universes, or just pick a spot in the dungeon and have a random being or item pop in. I chose the latter option, selecting a spot in the old mess-barracks.

[Universal Summons activated. Remaining summons: 2. Remaining time: 10:00.]

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

A golden portal opened up, rapidly turning blue. Within moments, it disappeared leaving a single hulking suit of blue and gold armor in its place. It stood larger than a man, was blocky and industrial-looking, and I got a little popup that stated I now had a Summoned Creatures Counter. Ah, so summoned folks don’t count towards Dungeon Creatures, they’re their own thing. Nice, very nice.

The suit twitched its arms, and that’s when I noticed the positively gigantic multi-barreled shotgun on one arm, and what looked like a large drill-head on a piston on the left arm. Oh, oh my. The chunk-chunk sound of the gun reloading was music to my ears. I saw the helmet, somewhat sunken-looking due to the neck armor rising high on all sides of it, twitching from side to side, and was pleased far more than I should be. God DAMN is that the objectively best helmet cosmetic! Though I guess it’s not cosmetic now, isn’t it. Eh, provides far more neck protection than anything the others could provide for it, anyway. Now, what’s he gonna do?

“I wonder if the suits’ll be cutting me a bonus check for this?” The man’s voice, distorted somewhat by the speakers in his armor, came out as a baritone rumble. He looked around and eventually stared straight at me. “Who’re you?”

“I uh... I’m Fel, the dungeon,” I replied with a short wave, flabbergasted. “You can see me?”

“Yeah, but you’re kinda fuzzy, like a badly tuned hologram,” he said while waving a hand at me. Where am I?”

“Well you’re, for lack of a better term, inside me. You ain’t in Kansas anymore, my friend. Not sure if it’s a plus or minus for ya, but you’re the only one from your homeworld here right now.”

“So, no Vanu, no Terrans?”

“Nope, and no NS either.”

“Sweet. I can’t remember the last time I got a break from the constant fighting,” he let his arms drop to his sides in a somewhat relaxed posture. “Must’ve been... I dunno how many years now. I lost count.”

“Well... there may or may not be some fighting in your near future, and I apologize for that.” I rubbed the back of my head with chagrin. “Kinda got a zombie problem, though it’s barely in check at the moment. Oh, and I’m gonna go unconscious for a while, damn levelup sickness.”

“Levelup sickness? Oh, I got a whole new HUD! I’m gonna check this out real quick if you don’t mind.” From the minute twitches of his helmet, I could see he was experiencing a similar situation to when I first woke up.

[Universal Summons remaining: 2. Time remaining: 8:25.]

Oh shit, right. Gotta use that ability another two times, else I lose it. Kinda sucks, but understandable for such a powerful ability. Right, that’s one defender... I think I’m going to try for a bigger group this time. Hmm, now which universe to grab from? Ideally, I want this group to have plenty of ammunition, medical supplies while I’m out, and food.

Inspiration struck, and a significantly larger golden portal opened up on the opposite side of the room which rapidly turned a glowing olive drab. The first gentleman watched with interest as a maximum-sized group appeared within the room. Oh shit that takes up a lotta space. HOLY SHIT THIS WAS A GREAT IDEA.

Newly appeared, and looking around warily, stood five soldiers, one of which had a red T-shaped symbol on their helmet and shoulder pads. The medic, and three of the others, were all wearing helmets that completely covered their faces with opaque visors, while the last man stood looking extremely confused. Behind them stood three pallets, stacked as tall as a man, and behind those stood an extremely familiar vehicle. Oh my god it’s even got that special flame paintjob. Wait... that’s only nine? Where’s the tenth?

“Well howdy there partner!” A Southern voice spoke up from next to me. A voluptuous transparent blue woman in an outfit that could only come from the Wild West stood next to me. She tipped her Steston hat at me and then took a relaxed posture with one hand on her hip.

“Uh, hi. I’m Fel, local Dungeon Core, and you are?” I introduced myself. The medic was tending to the wounds of the helmetless man while the others stared at the power armored trooper, weapons across their torsos but not aimed at him.

“I’m Angela, UNSC Civilian Logistics AI. Covvies’d just begun glassin’ what was left of my home when I got the summons,” she replied despondently. “Where are we?”

“You, like myself and everyone else in this room, are in an entirely different universe,” I replied. “ My apologies, because I do hate to cut this a little short, but I do have a small problem I summoned ya’ll here for.”

She turned around, and raised the brim of her hat as her eyebrows raised. “Ya got a bit of a zombie problem?”

“Yep. Shreddy’s keeping things at bay for the moment, but at the turn of the hour, both he and I are gonna go unconscious while the whole level up process runs its gamut. Takes anywhere from a few minutes to three hours. Unless you somehow got multiple levels to go at the same time... Which I am certain I’m about to experience again. Adds an unknown amount of time to the process which is annoying as hell I might add. It’s why I summoned you all here. Speaking of which... I got one more round to do.”

The next set of portals appeared and disappeared as quickly as they came. From them, appeared four more pallets of UNSC ammunition, two more troopers wearing what I was fairly sure was ODST armor, and I was pleasantly surprised to see three more people appear from the power-armored man’s universe along with another new vehicle.

Judging by the gear, one medic and two engineers. Thank god the room’s just barely tall enough, but I’m going to need some massive renovations if I ever want this Sunderer to get the hell out of here. Small plus, the new guys are all NC, so there shouldn’t be any issues with the MAX. Said new guys were excitedly conversing with their counterpart, I gave them a little privacy while I turned to my thoughts.

Now that I think about it, this perk’s kinda busted. Whole vehicles, and pallets of items, count as one item to bring in! I wonder... No, no, gonna have to test that next year, when I’ve got much more space available. I checked the perk, and noted it now had a 365 day timer on it. Okay, that’s handy. One year here’s the same as a year on good ol’ Earth if this thing isn’t pulling my leg.

“So, what do ya want us all to do?” Angela asked me. The Summoned all turned our way, and I was happy to note the helmetless man was patched up. He looked rather familiar, somehow.

“First thing’s first, thank you all for coming,” I stated, and bowed slightly in their direction. “I am Fel, the local Grand Dungeon, and I’ve summoned you all here to protect little old me. I cannot defend myself in the conventional sense, and you’re all technically inside me. Don’t think about it too hard, you’re just gonna give yourselves a headache.” That got a few chuckles. “Right now, in about forty-five minutes, I’m going to be forced unconscious due to the damn stupid level up process of this universe. Takes anywhere from a minute to a few hours, though it seems I’m stuck on that max timer from the few times I’ve already gone through it.

Anyhoo, there’s now plenty of food, and hopefully ammunition here to last you until I wake back up and can work on providing those again. Right now, there are foreign invaders of the undead variety near the entrance of our home.” I gestured with my hand through the door that led towards the entrance of the dungeon. Far down its length, zombies filled the hallway from wall to wall, Shreddy was barely keeping up with the deluge, with dozens more appearing from the stairwell, almost knocking down those below.

“Best way to kill ‘em is to either destroy the brain, or burn ‘em to ash and dust if my understanding of zombies holds true from my home universe. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we have any flamethrowers, though with this new universe comes a few new tools. Namely, magic. Some of ya might be able to use it, and being able to project flames from your hands or just launch fireballs will be mighty fun I tell ya. Unfortunately, I don’t have any way to really teach you how, nor do I have anyone here currently able to do that. Might be able to make one later, but sure as hell we’re on our own on that front for now.”

I stopped to take a few breaths. The soldiers didn’t look nervous, so that was a plus in my books. The starstone golem took this opportunity to waltz right in and turn its torso to stare at me. The lil’ guy’s got no face, that’s kinda uncanny but cute in a way.

“Woah woah! He’s friendly!” I exclaimed as I saw guns from both groups turn towards the little golem. “That little guy’s a golem made of starstone. He’s kinda taken to being the leader of the four golems I’ve got digging out new tunnels and rooms down here.”

“He’s kinda cute,” Angela stated with a giggle.

“So, that thing’s alive?” Came the voice of the helmetless man. Aside from his lack of headgear that helped show the scar on his right cheek, his armor was completely different from the others from his universe. While theirs was black, his was tan with a silvery repaired slash on the chest piece. On his left shoulder an ace of spades playing card was held in place with a black strap.

“For a given sense of the term ‘alive’, yes.” I replied. “Not exactly in the conventional sense, but more like a roomba if you get what I’m saying.”

“Okay... not the weirdest thing I’ve seen today,” he shook his head in bemusement. “Where is that music coming from?”

“Ah, that’s from one of my, now technically our skills,” I explained. “I’ve got eh, let’s call it ninety-percent control over it. The other ten percent is just for ambiance. It's been playing the same thing you’re hearing now, for the last twelve or so hours. I tried changing it, didn’t work. Though...”

I focused on Life in Stereo, and commanded it to cease the current track. To my surprise, it worked. I sighed in relief. Oh thank god. At least I’m not going to drive everyone insane with it. Note to self, figure out how to stop being so scatterbrained. Silence reigned supreme for a moment, broken only by the echoing moans of the zombies up the hall.

“Alright, ya’ll know the gist of what’s going on,” I began. “Also, welcome to a form of immortality, I think. If you die in the dungeon, you’ll most likely just resurrect here since you’re one of my defenders now. I’m going to do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen, however. No idea what’ll happen if that occurs outside,” and with that I began explaining as best I could about why we were all there, which took until I had fifteen minutes before I was forced asleep while my new defenders asked questions.

When I brought up the wheat resource node, one of the NC engineers asked if I could turn the pallets of items into their own resource nodes. Absorbing one of the ammunition pallets nearly knocked me out with the sheer number of new things I could make, from whole bullets down to the propellants within. This led me to realize I could make two new nodes: one of ballistic ammunition, and one of explosives. The latter could produce rockets and grenades of various qualities. Which led to another discovery in regards to Angela, with three minutes till the new hour.

“Well boy howdy, that’s good,” I sighed in relief.

“Yep, while you’re out I can take care ‘o things,” she smiled as she finalized the first Light Ordnance Node. “Plus, you’re plumb outta mana so ya couldn’t make them nodes even if ya wanted to. This whole Advisor class just might be pretty handy.”

She’s got access to some of the same things I can do, like making resource nodes, ordering around the golems, and making things under my specializations. Can’t use my Summons perk which is fine, and she’ll have a bit of a better time managing things due to her nature as an AI. And to top it all off, her doing those things doesn’t eat my mana pool, just hers, though any uncored golems do eat into my regen. At least the guys’ll be in good hands, hopefully she doesn’t get hit too hard with the levelup sickness like me. Well, things can’t be too bad, right? Right?