Fred was frustrated. The weird monster army that had camped outside of his dungeon had led to him leveling faster than he could ever have dreamed. Dozens of creatures had perished in his dungeon after that initial mega feast and catapulted him up to level 17. After passing level 10 he had been allowed to pick an elemental affinity to further enhance his Dungeon. He had picked fire as the insectile monsters and their zombie slaves seemed particularly vulnerable to his tar and explosive balloon traps.
He had now a...not very impressive but at least not an embarrassing catalog of monsters to choose from. Swarming Armor Piercing Chickens, Fire-Breathing Dire Chickens, Banshee-Scream Roosters, Haystack Golems, Carnivorous Balloons, Floating Mega Chickens, and Combusting Tar and Feather Slimes. It was a far cry from the very limited creature selection he had dealt with before the arrival of the army.
And still, he was slowing down both in the growth and the kill-count department. The monsters were able to penetrate deeper and deeper into his Dungeon, in spite of the rapid expansions and numerous new rooms that had been added to it. His initial trap strategy was also growing less and less effective as the survivors of the delves adapted to them.
The traps were the only thing that kept the monsters from overrunning his Dungeon, but they took fewer and fewer lives with each passing delve. Even when he moved the traps around they were growing less and less effective overall. And that was not the worst thing. What was worse was that until recently his fire affinity had proven to be a great boon, and then suddenly the creatures practically shrugged off all but the most intense of flames and heat. Only the Tar and Feather slimes could do anything and the explosive traps only did damage because of concussive force, Fred was starting to grow afraid.
Especially because the forces invading his Dungeon were growing stronger over time. And that was not just the case with the adventurers anymore. One pest, in particular, had grown to become a thorn in his side as it kept surviving against all odds.
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Ignoring the continuously growing horde of Workers and Soldiers, the Sovereign Swarm was dominated by two primary collections of Units. Insects/insect-adjacent Fungal Zombies, and domesticated animals who had become Fungal Zombies. For every Subject infected, they usually had somewhere between 50-100 animals coming along with them. Cows, cats, dogs, sheep, various birds, horses, and of course goats.
This particular Unit had been a rather stubborn and aggressive goat prior to the infection and was one of the first Units that had been sent into the Dungeon and who had survived the delve. It had been able to fend off the combat chickens that got near it, while seemingly by chance not being struck by any of the first traps.
When it entered the Dungeon for a second time it kept up the lucky streak and was only barely harmed all considered. By the fourth time it had passed through the Dungeon the luck had become uncanny and the magic of the Dungeon imprinted that on it. The Lucky Goat Fungal Zombie, who could walk through traps and not be struck by any and who accidentally was never killed or permanently wounded by the defenders of the Dungeon.
The mind behind it all had not noticed the growing power in the Unit before it was too late. Luck had its limits of course, but since the Dungeon had never focused on pushing the goat specifically, it managed to grow the aura of luck around it until it was powerful enough that it became difficult to kill.
Now, the goat was limited by its status as a mere Unit. The power of the Dungeon marked it and made it level up, but the abilities it gained were all passive as it lacked the capacity to use active powers. However, that did not stop them from being boons to the Sovereign. It was paired with a group of Units that had similarly accomplished much in the Dungeon and helped boost their survivability as well.
An aura of luck protected a group of Units that had survived from the beginning and while it could only protect about 10 Units or so, the aura was growing in power after each delve and the Adventurer-Collective was certain that it would become a true boon to the Swarm soon enough. A human baby Fungal Zombie, 4 Soldiers, A Swarm Champion moth, 2 Workers, 1 Spiderling Engineer, and the Lucky Goat were noted for having survived time and time again individually.
Collectively, they had grown to become the second most effective group sent into the Dungeon itself. Second only to the Subjects who had grown similarly over the course of their Adventures. Technically speaking flooding the entire Dungeon with a small army was better than sending in this "Unit-Squad", but it was proportionally much more costly than sending in smaller groups.
The Dungeon was being ironically enough considering the theme, farmed by the Sovereign Swarm and it was paying off considerably. Resources were found and the loot collected was growing more and more potent as the Dungeon grew with the delves. Adventurer Subjects and Units alike were also finding more personalized gear.
For instance, the Lucky Goat had been awarded a bell that would synergize with its aura and divert one fatal attack per day. In addition to armor specifically tailored to fit the twisted and semi-starved body of the Lucky Goat. And it wasn't alone in getting personalized equipment. Bor the Battle-Scribe had gotten pens that let him write scrolls with blood that contained explosive magic. Zilla the Acolyte had found robes that let her extinguish fires with a prayer. Mariam had been given magical armor that conformed to her body shape that made her faster, and the Child had found a magical sling.
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Adventurer-Collective was certain that she could finish her older brother, the Antmite General's work and fully suborn the Dungeon given another month or two. Especially after Mar had increased in tiers and come with the new traits: Greater Heat Resistance and Mundane Flame Immunity. Fire, which had once been a weakness could now only do harm if it was magical and even then it would have to contend with the Greater Heat Resistance that everyone in the Swarm had.
The Fire-Breathing Dire Chickens could for instance not burn the Units faster than they would regenerate at this point, just as the Lucky Goat could attest to at this moment. As it battled through one of the newer chambers of the Dungeon, a large house of mirrors.
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A Dire Chicken burst out from a mirror portal to tackle into the Lucky Goat and accidentally slipped on the slick floor and faceplanted before it. The goat bleated eerily before stomping on the head of the chicken while it unleashed a gout of flame right into its snout. Flames licked up along the hairs of the goat, but they barely singed the fur of it before the flame winked out and regeneration repaired the damage.
In another corridor adjacent to the Goat a Spiderling Engineer was wrapping up a small horde of angry chickens in a net of spider webs and honey comb, while Soldiers protected its back from any ambushing dungeon monsters. This new chamber was an experiment on Fred's part, he had hoped making narrow corridors that would force the Lucky Goat to be separated from its fellows would make him or at least they more vulnerable.
But no, the aura of luck permeated the squad and seemed to have grown in range to the point that they did not need to be adjacent to the little bastard anymore. Traps misfired or malfunctioned as the group pushed in through the Dungeon and the Units had grown competent and powerful enough that they managed to withstand even his stronger monsters.
The Goat and the Baby were the worst problems really, they had two inconvenient powersets that fucked with every tactic he tried to array against them. Luck and innocence respectively, the Lucky Goat protected his group from mishaps, traps, and the worst attacks. The human infant protected itself in a far more insidious manner.
It had started early on when Fred had noticed that the monsters would go so far as to turn human children into these "Fungal Zombies". Fred was a Dungeon but he could not bring himself to harm the children even if they were inhuman abominations at present. Unfortunately, that was something his innate Soul Guidance System noticed and the surviving infant zombie had been marked by his own power.
The infant was protected by a brand of innocence that initially made the monsters around it weaker but now had grown to the point that some of the dungeon creatures would outright refuse to attack it even as it was feebly attempting to attack them. The power was not quite the same as an aura, but it was madly inconvenient and made his monsters weaker while trying to wipe out this pesky group.
Luck and innocence, were two things that along with the growing Adventuring crew were making minced meat out of his Dungeon. Fred roared in frustration as the small squad of Units once again left his Dungeon practically unharmed while taking with them loot and resources gathered from his depths.
"Something has to be done about those, they are going to reach the Sanctuary Chamber...or even worse my core if this keeps up."
Fred mumbled to himself as he watched the Units retreat back out through the exit. He had initially been very confident in being able to grow faster than the monster swarm could adapt to his Dungeon, but ever since they grew resistant to his flame and more and more of their kind survived and earned abilities of their own. Well, he was growing uncertain that he could keep them out even with his traps and growing cadre of monsters.
He knew that if he reached level 20 then he would unlock a second affinity for his Dungeon, but part of him worried that he would either not reach that kind of level in time. Or, worse that it would not be enough by the time he did. It was not something he liked contemplating, but he was forcing himself to do it as the situation seemed more dire than before.
Then he felt something approaching his core through the emergency exit he had spawned from the Sanctuary chamber where the farming family stayed. He had grown in level to the point that he had spawned multiple exits but kept that only one entry. After all, he didn't want the Swarm to besiege him from multiple points, but he could potentially send monsters out to raid them even if they couldn't survive for long outside of his Dungeon.
So he was very surprised when he felt...something pass through his exit and fly around in the Dungeon. It was a small thing and none of his monsters or traps seemed to react to it, almost like it was only partially real or intangible in some way. A crimson blur whirred through his chambers until it circled around his core gem and landed on him.
It had been so fast that Fred had not been able to fully perceive it until that moment. The shape on him was a little pixie girl that was pressing her face against his core and staring into him. Fred could feel his metaphorical heart beat faster because he knew what this was! His dungeon fairy! At last!
"Can...can you hear me? Are you my Dungeon Fairy?"
Fred asked in a small and hopeful voice as he tried to speak with his mind to the little woman that looked at his core with a strange expression on her face. She canted her head and seemed to wait for a few moments before smiling without opening her mouth and replying slowly, almost uncertainly Fred thought before her reply dispelled that thought.
"Why...yes, yes I am. I have come to help you."
Her mental voice was sensual to the point of being more akin to a purr than a conventional voice as she stroked the outside of his gem with her little hand. The contact made Fred feel like he was shivering with dread and delight alike as the little figure focused all of her attention on him. She looked at him like he was the only thing of value in the whole world.
"My name is Estiella and I...am your Dungeon Fairy. I can help you more than you could ever dream."
The beautiful pixie said as she rubbed her entire body against Fred and he felt his core shiver as she mentally whispered to him.
"First, I can help you get a much stronger guardian to protect your Dungeon."