Chapter 2 Day 1: Please stop eating me.
I bobbed, up and down, up and down. The anger in my veins swelling as every fiber of my being demanded freedom from the accursed smell.
Obviously, it should be noted that I don't have veins, or a circulatory system, or well… functioning organs, but you get the gist right? Of course you do.
Wait… Do I have functioning organs? If I can smell I must have an odor receptor right? But why? I'm a rubber duck! Who would give me an odor receptor and why?! Is IT YOU GOD?! ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME?! EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?! I SWEAR I’LL DESTROY THE VERY WORLD YOU TASKED ME TO SAVE!
-1 HP.
Ow! What the hell?! A sudden prick hit my skin, causing me to yelp internally.
-1 HP.
Wait? What?!
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OK! I get it! That's annoying!
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HEY STOP THAT!
In an attempt to identify the threat I squeaked loud and hard.
Immediately I regretted it. My soul burned as the stench entered my rubber body, but it was a necessary trade off to activate my Squeakerlocation, the ability revealing to me the sight of something amorphous that had latched onto me.
A SLIME!
HEY! HEY! GET OFF OF ME!
-1HP
OW! STOP THAT! THAT'S ANNOYING! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!
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ARE YOU AN AGENT OF TRUCK-KUN?! HERE TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED?! OR AN AGENT OF ADAM! HERE TO TORMENT ME FOR SLANDERING YOU!?
Yet my tantrum went unnoticed to the soulless creature. Instead it continued absorbing me, latching onto my body and dragging me into its jellyfied maw.
It was lukewarm, like a slimy blanket wrapping around my skin. Embracing me like a mother's womb.
In short. It was absolutely VILE and disgusting. Then, it hit me.
This was happening. After a hundred years I would finally die. The legendary Hiro turned Rubber Duck, finished off by a slime. Who woulda thunk?
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At least the smell was better, but not by much. Oh nice. Now I'm tasting it. Actually, how do I even taste?
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Sitting there being dissolved, I lamented my life thus far. Back in my day I could easily dispatch these low level monsters with ease, now, I would be eaten by a worthless slime of all things.
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Oh how the mighty have fallen, but at least I'd finally be at peace.
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I embraced it, waiting for the darkness to take me.
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-1HP
-HP
Man this is… kinda taking awhile.
-1HP
Ok.. how much HP can I possibly have?! I'm a rubber duck for ducks sake!
At my command, an interface suddenly lit up, forming in my mind’s eye that brushed away the usual darkness.
[Dungeon System Interface!]
[Name: Hiro Dungeon]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 6999/7000]
[MP: 1000/1000]
[EXP 0/500]
Tamed Monsters: 0/10
[Pending Quests:1]
Wait. What the hell is this?! WHY IS MY HP SO DAMN HIGH?!
AND WHY ISN'T IT DECREASING?!
[HP: 7000/7000]
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[HP: 6999/7000]
[HP: 7000/7000]
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[HP: 6999/7000]
Then it suddenly hit me, I was regenerating, faster than I took damage. For every two HP I lost, I would simply recover five.
Great
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Just great! I groaned. My one shot at ending this nightmare and of course I was too strong to be consumed.
-1HP
But hey, this was interesting, a system, and what's this about a pending quest?
-1HP
Focusing on the quest icon it suddenly expanded, showing a box with text.
[Quest List!]
* Mark Your Territory!
Reward: +100Exp +Skill
Mark my territory? It seemed from the box the system wanted me to set up my dungeon.
There was just one problem.
How the hell am I supposed to claim territory when I'm being dissolved?!
-1HP
Alright hold up, I've got skills right? Let's try using those.
At my will, a skill list suddenly appeared.
[SKILL LIST]
Bubble Blow: LvL1
* Using mana, you create a bubble of charged mana. When it pops, it releases a light burst of mana. 5MP
Squirt Water: LvL1
* Squirt Water. Using Mana you create and squirt water out of your beak. 5MP
Summon Rock: LvL1
* Summon a small Rock. That's it. It summons a rock. 10 MP
Impart Instruction: LvL1
* Teach skills and share experience to minions or selected creatures.
Squeakerlocation: LvL2
* Using squeaks, you ping your nearby surroundings to paint an image in your mind. 1 MP
[Dungeon Core Tab: ->]
Well.
How useful… not! WHAT KIND OF SKILL IS BUBBLE BLOW?!
Wait. What’s this?
I focused on the dungeon core tab, opening it.
[DUNGEON SKILLS]
[Domain Expansion 0/1] Using mana, you may radiate your will and designate a surrounding area as part of your domain. Any other claims to the area will be contested with the higher will being the victor. 500MP[Sustained]
[{Locked}Designate Minion LvL 1: 0/10] Creatures you target must make a will save against you. If they fail, the creature is forcefully placed under your command. 20 MP Per Minion
Huh.. half my mana to mark my territory. Why not?
I gave it a go, immediately I could feel my range of senses expanded, my sense of self emanating from my body like a weirdge out of body experience. My will, my mana. It crept out in a circumference of about fifty meters. A sphere that expanded my consciousness to everything inside it.
Immediately I became aware of everything I already knew was around me. The slimes, the bubbling acid, the grime on the smooth mold covered pillars that supported this shrine dedicated to filth and manure. Yet somehow, more than that. For the first time in an age, I felt for the first time that I owned something. That it belonged to… me.
[Quest COMPLETE!]
[Territory has been marked! You are now on your way to becoming a great dungeon!]
+100 EXP!
This was now my home. My Domain. MY CASTLE! MY FILTHY FILTHY CASTLE THAT NEEDED TO BE CLEAN!
[Designate Minion unlocked!]
[Incoming Quest!]
[Designate a Minion! 0/1]
A flood of emotions hit me. But I couldn’t let it overtake me. No, there was work to be done. Things I needed to do, minions that needed to be gathered.
I hovered over my interface, observing the designate minion as my HP constantly tick down and then up.
I knew then, immediately who’d my first minion would be. Although it wasn’t some powerful dragon, necromantic lich or magical cyclops, it would have to do.
After all, we all have to start somewhere if we’re going to conquer the world.