“You’ve got a plan?” Lily said, disbelief dripping from her voice.

“Hey. I’m smart and I’ve been planning on my dungeon run for a while,” Gus said.

Before she could reply Max jumped in. “What’s your plan, Gus?”

Gus dropped his bag and pulled out a thin rope. “This is my plan. Just watch.”

The end of the rope held a compact grappling hook. He pulled on it and four hooks expanded out and locked into place. Each limb was serrated with inward facing blades. Gus made everyone get to the side as he unwound the rope. He spun the grappling hook in a circle to his side and let go, sending it flying forward. The first throw hit the ceiling, but the second one flew through the air in a perfect arc. It flew forty feet, using up most of the rope’s length.

The grappling hook caught a parasite and dug deep into the top of its red bulbous body. Gus yanked on the rope, intending to pull the monster into the traps. He hadn’t counted on the monster’s size and intelligence. The parasite pulled back, easily able to overpower Gus.

“Help!” Gus yelled.

Max and Yang were already moving, having seen where this was going. They grabbed on and held tight. It was just enough to stop Gus from sliding into the eighth room’s traps. James and Lily joined in and the tug of war shifted in the human’s favor.

The level 12 monster scrabbled and pulled on the rope, but it was stuck fast and no match for five people at once. They slowly pulled it into the range of the ninth room’s traps. Dozens of hexagonal blades shot out, eviscerating the parasite. It fell to the floor, dead, before they could even drag it into the eighth room.

Medium amount of essence gathered

One of the blades cut the rope and the five humans fell to the ground from the sudden slack on the line.

“Good job, Gus. I don’t suppose you have another grappling hook in your bag?” Max said.

“No. I wasn’t sure I would need this one, let alone a spare.” Gus said as he stared at the cut end of the rope.

“I think I can jury-rig a replacement,” Max said and sat down.

He created a small hammer with a loop on the bottom and two wide hooks behind the hammer. He combined it with two drills to cover all directions. His backup knife acted as a crossbar and duct tape held it all together. It wouldn’t win any beauty contests, but it would hold.

“Damn, son. What else you got in there? Any way you can rig up a bomb too?” Gus said as he inspected the new grappling hook.

“No, I have parts for a crossbow, but it’ll take more than duct tape to make it usable again,” Max replied.

Gus spun the improvised hook around to test it. It was heavier than his last one. The extra weight made it harder to hook the next monster. They had caught on to the ploy and were jumping or flying out of the way. A frustrating fifteen minutes later, they finally hooked a centibee around its middle. They all pulled hard to get it into the range of the traps before it could unconnect itself. They just barely succeeded and brought it into range of the next set of blade traps. Hexagonal discs cut through the air and shattered the centibee’s chitin. It was dead in moments.

Medium amount of essence gathered

The remaining three monsters didn’t wait to get hooked. A parasite and two centibees charged in at once. The parasite bounded over the other bodies and landed in the eighth room. The plants on either side of the room swelled up and shot a spray of spikes into the monster.

The organic spikes weren’t as effective as the metal discs. The level 12 monster was pierced by dozens of spikes and kept going. Unfortunately for it, there were more traps. The parasite stumbled into the range of another trap and died.

Max wanted to cheer, but there were still two more monsters alive. The centibees buzzed past the fresh corpses and barreled towards the humans. The last trap went off, but it only grounded one of the monsters.

The uninjured centibee flew straight for the closest human, Yang. It lined up its stinger and pierced deep into her stomach, and then all the way through her. Yang shattered into tiny pieces that faded away. The monster buzzed in a circle when it realized it had been fooled by a Decoy.

Behind it, a blue clone appeared and started ravaging the grounded centibee. The warped copy could still fly and it was able to stab at the real monster’s eyes over and over again. Lily’s summon appeared behind it and the two blue monsters made short work of the injured one.

James sent a spray of glass shards into the air at the final monster. Most of them shattered on the centibee’s exoskeleton, but some of the glass shards hit its wings and grounded it. Max and Gus attacked the instant it landed. The two super strikes hit the monster in its head and sent a spray of bug guts everywhere.

Medium amount of essence gathered

Medium amount of essence gathered

Medium amount of essence gathered

Level Up

They waited a second, but no new monsters attacked. The ninth room was empty except for black and white electronics. It felt excessively sterile after the eight rooms of moving flesh and plants.

Max pulled up his system and used the two points from the level up to advance his Levitate. He already felt stronger and faster because of the reduced inertia, a bit more would be fantastic. When he was done, he had a forty percent reduction in his effective mass. He could really feel the difference now. He felt like he could run a marathon and leap over a building. For now he had to content himself with walking.

The team slowly wandered through the room, afraid to touch anything. Max warned them where the traps were set up, but that didn’t ease anyone’s mind. This room felt strange, like they were intruding on a neat freak’s home and the violent owner could return at any time.

A metal arm dropped from the ceiling and shoved a hologram in Max’s face. He jerked back, but it wasn’t an attack. It was just a menu. The writing was strange, but the translation magic helped him understand it.

Do you want to browse the genetic trait library?

Yes

No

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

On a whim, Max selected yes. A small zap hit him and the message changed.

Only authorized parties are allowed access to the trait library.

Max rubbed his finger where it hit him. He was about to warn the others, but the same thing happened to Gus and James. The ladies watched it happen and laughed. The men grumbled and they avoided the arms as they made their way through the room to the exit door.

Thanks to Gus’s rope, they hadn’t used up much mana and still had enough charged hammers to fight with. They decided to open up the next room and repeat the same strategy. To Max’s surprise, the plan went off without a hitch. There were seven level 12 monsters in the 10th room, but the traps in the tenth and ninth rooms were enough to mostly deal with them. The rest were put down by a generous helping of violence.

Just like the ninth room, the tenth room was stacked with electronics and devoid of any columns. It did have one unique feature though. Instead of traps around the exit door, there was a small hexagon room with windows all around. A person stood up and looked at them through the window as they walked into the room. It was the same species as the custodian, with a darker brown exoskeleton.

As they neared the center of the room, the person shot at them with disc blades. It yelled, “Get back, trespassers, or the next shot won’t miss.”

Everyone ducked down behind a stack of electronics. Max turned to Lily and gestured for her to speak.

“Uh...” Lily cleared her throat. “We aren’t trespassers. We are pest control. The manager sent us.”

There was a brief pause and the ant/lobster/person called back. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

Lily stuck the bladder over the top of the stack she was hiding behind. “We got this from-”

She cut off as the person shot the bladder and made it spill coagulant everywhere. Lily dropped it and stumbled back. She got some on her hands, but it didn’t form a crust like it had against the parasites. She wiped it off and yelled back at him.

“Hey! What was that for? The custodian gave us the coagulant sprayer because he knew we were sent by the manager,” Lily said indignant.

“Really? Sorry. I guess I’m a bit jumpy. Can you hold it up again?”

She slowly raised the empty bladder above her head and held it there for a moment. “Is that good enough for you to prove who we are?”

“I was wrong, sorry. You can stand up, I won’t shoot.”

Nobody got up at first. It was tough to trust someone that had just shot at them. Max took a deep breath and raised his gauntlets above his head. When they weren’t shot he slowly stood up.

The insectile person was holding her weapon to the side out a different window. A little nametag hovered above her head.

Trait Clerk

“I really am sorry about shooting at you. It’s been a rough few days. I would have escaped when the creepy crawlies first arrived, but you know how the manager is. He would have literally killed me if I let anyone steal from data storage,” she said.

Max lowered his hands. “Mind putting down the gun? I’m sure we’d all feel better if you did.”

“Sure, sure,” she said and dropped it to the floor. “It’s not like they give us real guns anyway. This thing wouldn’t crack a standard shell. It’s really only good against the little flesh bags there. I’ve been trying to keep them under control, but new ones keep arriving.”

“So are you security or something?” Max asked as he walked forward. The others peeked up but didn’t get closer.

She laughed, “Or something. I’m actually in sales. I’m supposed to sell traits to clients that come in, but we haven’t had a customer since this all started. Oh, hey. If you are here that means we can kill the rest of the beasties together, right? I would love to lock up data storage again and go home for once.”

“You got it. Happy to work with you, Trait Clerk. Do you know what’s in the next room?”

“Yeah, that’s the lesser data storage. The two nasty mommas are in there making babies. I would have killed them myself, but with just the one disc flinger I wasn’t confident of my chances.”

“Should be easier with us here. What’s the room like? Any defenses we can take advantage of, disc shooters, poison sprayers?”

She shook her head, “No poison sprayers on the first floor. Those are on the second and third floors. No disc shooters in that data storage room either. Can’t afford to damage what we’re protecting, right? Not that it matters now, I’m sure the disgusting beasts have made a mess in there by now.”

Gus and Lily had joined Max during the conversation, and the other three moved closer. They discussed strategy and capabilities. The Trait Clerk seemed upset they weren’t stronger, but just like the custodian, blamed the manager for being a cheapskate. Max suggested they set up traps of their own. He had a few ideas that might even the odds.

When they were ready, Lily’s summons opened the door. The Trait Clerk sprayed the room with metal hex blades, filling the room with projectiles. It was hard to miss. The room was dominated by two large monsters, both with a concerningly high level.

Blood Parasite Level 24

Toxic Centipede Level 24

That was twice the level of what they could comfortably fight, even as a team. The monsters turned as one and roared, the air shaking. The parasite was so big it’s head almost touched the ceiling, and the centibee was wide enough that it couldn’t fly.

The room was filled with broken machinery and cracked open crates. Both monsters rushed forward, sending debris flying. Only one of them could fit through the door at a time. They shoved each other, vying for first. The centibee scrambled through the door first, already attacking. It popped the mushroomantis with a single chomp of its huge mandibles.

The huge monster kept coming, its beady little sensors fixated on the Trait Clerk. It ran right into the trap they had set for it. A noose pulled tight, wrapping up its legs and pulling it to the side. Max jumped up from behind a stack and slammed a drill into the top of its head. A small hole sprouted from the magic drill effect, but the monster kept squirming, loosening up the rope that bound it.

Max made sure the drill was stuck in the hole and slammed his war hammer into it. The magic effect did what it was designed to do and imparted a large amount of force to its target. The drill shot into the monster’s head through the mouth and out the other side. Max had another drill ready, but it wasn’t needed. The centibee mother was dead.

He turned and ran. An instant later, he was glad that he did. The momma parasite was out for blood. It slammed down its barbed tentacles where Max had stood a moment ago.

The Trait Clerk diverted the monster’s attention with a few well timed shots. It roared and turned to the insectile person again. It stomped forward and sent stacks of electronics flying. Ashley hopped up and sent her light beam spearing towards its upper mouth. The magic power wasn’t enough to blind it, but it was enough to slow it down.

Gus and Yang tipped a pile of electronics onto the monster, complete with metal arms on top. Yang had spent the last five minutes gradually heating up the stack of electronics with her Convection card. The stack was glowing red in places and giving off an acrid smell. The objects hit the monster in its side and burnt it deeply. Gouts of steam rose from where the hottest pieces fell.

The monster screeched in pain. The sound hit them like a punch and they fell backwards. The Trait Clerk was the first to get back up and keep shooting. Max hurried over with another drill and a fresh hammer.

James stood back up and cast Decay, like he had been doing this whole fight. Ashley joined him with several more light flashes. Lily held a hammer in her hands, but seemed scared to jump into the fight.

Gus slammed down his hammer on one of the wildly flailing tentacles, but missed and wasted the charge on the floor. Yang was better with her weapon, standing just outside of range on the burnt side of its body. One after another, she cut the tips off the monster’s tentacles.

Max came up from behind it, aiming for the spot where its mouth hinged open. He activated and tossed the drill, a small hole opening up in its back. He hadn’t been sure that would work, but he was glad it did.

Scratch that. The drill fell out of the hole since it hadn’t been stuck in tightly enough. Max couldn’t pick it back up because the monster’s tentacles were writhing around where it fell. He grunted in frustration and grabbed a nearby hexagonal electronic plate. He would need to transmute a new one.

His help turned out to not be necessary. A combination of blood loss and burn injuries had the monster slowing down and stopping a few moments later. It slumped to the ground, lifeless.

They waited to make sure it was really dead, before breaking into a cheer. Ashley gave James a high five. Yang broke out into her widest smile yet, a slightly upturned lip. Lily gave Max a hug and Gus slapped him on the back.

Major amount of essence gathered

Major amount of essence gathered

“Great idea with the traps. You’re a regular Macgyver,” Gus said.

Lily stepped back and blushed. “Sorry I didn’t help more.”

“It’s fine. We won!” Max said and raised his hammer triumphantly.

The Trait Clerk ignored the celebration and sifted through the wreckage of the eleventh room. Whatever the room had looked like before, it was unrecognizable now.

She said, “The manager is going to pitch a fit. He better not fire me. I protected my room. As long as they didn’t get to the data vault, I think things will be fine.” She turned and swiftly walked over to the door to the twelfth room.

Ashley whipped her head around and yelled, “No! Don’t open that!” She sprinted towards the door to stop the Trait Clerk, but she was too slow.

The insectile person opened the door as she turned back to see what the human was yelling about. A four foot wide tentacle shot through the door and wrapped around the trait clerk and squeezed. Her head popped off.

Ashley slid to a stop and turned to run away. She was too slow. A second tentacle snaked through the door and shot across fifteen feet to wrap around Ashley’s waist. She cried out in horror and pain as she was pulled back towards the twelfth room. Her screams suddenly cut out as the monster crushed her. The razor sharp barbs on the tentacle kept squeezing, and a moment later Ashley was cut completely in half.