"Okay. You are a bit larger than I expected, but I can work with that."

My newest creation was walking around the first cave, exploring. I could sense its desire to spin webs and wait for prey to get insnared. I had decided what to do when I finally created this fellow.

"Status screen. Shadow Spider."

Name

Shadow Spider

Level/Class

1 - Dungeon Minion

Race

Shadow Touched Spider

Essence

0%

Health

80/80

Mana

30/30

Stamina

80/80

Corruption

0%

STR

8

8 Damage base

DEX

10

AGL

10

END

8

VIT

8

PER

10

INT

3

WIL

3

LUCK

2

Equipment:

Bite: 3 DAM + STR

Perks/Restrictions:

Creates Webs: +30% Chance of being caught and immobilised.

Shadow Touched: +10% to surprise attacks chance to hit and -10% to ranged attacks when in Shadow.

Produces Shadow infused Spider Silk(common).

Vulnerable to Light: +5 Damage for Light sources. This may cause Fear in a minion.

"This is a little different. There are no skills or magic, but you can create a resource. Throw in a light vulnerability as well…. Yes, you are a bit different."

Tougher than my toads but nowhere close to the boars. Costing six CP and four Shadow. It is more expensive but much more dangerous in the right environment. Talking about environment time to make the floor.

"I have come to a decision: The first cave will be the first room and the second will be the guardian room. We need more spiders here…. Scratch that, just one more."

I added the standard door to represent the exit to the guardian room. Unlike the higher floors, this led the adventures back into the first room. I had to keep the cost of my new creations in mind as I would need more for the Guardian. Creating the second was easier for me, but my current mental state was still slowing everything down. The two spiders were scuttling around.

"Right, you two have fun spinning webs while I do some housekeeping."

The spiders did not need to be told twice and were looking around.

"Open alert."

The first was the notification of the new spiders and I said yes to their assignment to this room.

Loot Assignment.

The following rewards will be generated randomly after killing the two Shadow Spiders.

Cythian Copper coins x12 (Chance – 80%)

Cythian Copper coins x14 (Chance – 20%)

The odds and types of rewards may be set manually, but this will increase the room respawn's overall support cost.

Do you wish to alter the rewards: Yes or No?

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Hhhmm."

I was not sure. My visitors who had left things usually came to violent ends and through them, I had acquired a list of things I could use as rewards.

"No."

Dismissing the alert. Not in this room, but later ones were a different story. Finally, I agreed to the room's respawn costs. I started work by moving my focus to the other side of the cave. The first cave was a twisted U shape. The stairs connected to one side now I began creating a corridor on the other heading south. I had to expand my aura a bit more to encompass the area the room would be in. With the earlier floor, I had broadened my aura to control the space I planned to use. With the discovery of the caves, I was less willing to do this. It would take longer, but I had to use my aura manipulation skill again.

The corridor was short and the room I carved was also on the smaller side. I had done something different when descending the stairs to this level. I had pushed the stairs to the limit of the space I could claim. This meant I had more ceiling height in the rooms I was creating. This was part of my plan for the floor.

The room did not take long, and it was listed as 4B on my mental map, so I made my first change. The thick wooden support rafter beams on the first floor were not used anywhere else in my Dungeon. I thought about that and realised they would be perfect for this floor.

I was creating two that crossed each other in the centre of the room above the seven-foot mark. I had to widen them to allow the spiders to walk across them without issue. One running east-west, the other north-south. In the walls, I made four alcoves above where they met the walls. Now that I knew the size of my spiders, I adjusted them to allow the spiders to fit inside them. This enables the spiders the ability to attack from above. To confuse the Adventures more, I also add nooks on the ground. Spiders are ambush creatures by nature and they will give them options on which direction to attack from.

The walls, ceiling and floor were the same stonework I had used on the other floors. Patches of blue moss lit the room. After creating and erasing patches, it took me about an hour to find the right light level.

The last thing to be added to the room was the spiders. Two spiders are to be in this room as well. They were created and set loose in the room. I confirmed the alerts of the spider creation and reward assignment.

"Looking good. Next room, here we come."

I pushed my aura south, taking over more rock and very little earth. Nothing of interest was found as the area became mine to play with. Out of the east side of the room, I cut out a new corridor heading south again.

Room 4C was going to be a new shape. All the rooms I have made on the floors have been rectangular or square in shape. All the remaining rooms on this floor were going to be shaped differently. This room I made now was an octagon in form. In this room, I made sure to leave four pillars of stone. I had to reinforce them and alter the outer stone to reflect the stone cladding.

I had the same rafters in this room but in a different configuration. Linking pillars together and three to other walls. I hollow out routes for the spiders to move through the pillars and more ambush spots. This was with more alcoves and nooks added to the walls.

"Right moss time…. Shit, I will need to add it to the corridors as well!"

Now, I had figured out how to get the correct illumination level I wanted; it did not take long to get the corridors and room lit.

"Spiders. How many?"

I paused here and reviewed my CP and Shadow mana, which are available for use. Looking at the numbers, the CP was correct, but the Shadow mana was not what I expected. I thought about this and reviewed all my memories of using it.

"I am not getting taxed like my CP!"

This was something so obvious that I had completely ignored it until now; it was staring me in the face. Every time I create a minion using mana, the amount I use is deducted but regenerates over time. When the minion is respawned, it removes that much mana again. This is what happens with my CP, but the cost is locked off, so I cannot use it, leaving my minions unable to respawn.

"This means I can have a scenario that leaves me without enough mana to spawn my minions after my Dungeon has been cleared."

This was an issue!

"The plan was to create an illusion spider as the floor guardian. I will need to rethink this."

My ability to regenerate Illusion mana was terrible. If I invested five units into its creation, I would only have fifteen kills before I ran out of mana (including the creation cost). If one died a day, I would not have regenerated even close to one unit of mana for replacement.

"Shit! Illusion spider for the Guardian is a no-go. Light was a better choice, but I do not think it works with what I am trying to accomplish here."

Well, this scuppered all my plans. What to do?

"Finish the floor, then worry about the guardian."

It was the only thing I could think about doing for the moment. Maybe inspiration would strike as I worked on the rest of the floor.

The next corridor continued south and then turned west. I was using my aura manipulation skill to channel my aura in the direction I wanted to go. This slowed me down as I was almost inching along at a higher cost in CP.

Taking a short break as my CP was almost gone. I checked the rest of the Dungeon and found everything was restored. It was night again as I had spent the morning fighting for my survival and expanding the new floor the rest of the day.

There was an alert that I had been ignoring, so I opened it.

Level Up!

Aura Manipulation has increased to level 8. CP use was reduced to 92%.

"Hey, something has improved, at least."

My CP regeneration had also gone up to 3.9 per hour. I did not know how long before dawn, so I had to wait for my regeneration to tick up to continue working on the floor. I might stop using my aura manipulation skill to speed things up. The risk is finding another cave that might lead to a network or even contain something nasty.

"Well, not much to do right now."

Larry was in the rafters sleeping while Puck was down on the third, flying around the boars in the second room. I had nothing to do right now. I could interact with Puck, but I still felt crappy. I was really in no mood to interact with anything.

Nights are the worst for me. With nothing to do but wait, my mind wanders and my present state does not help.

It was in these empty hours that I had to confront what I was and the truth of my existence.

I could not call it new as I have been here for several years. During this time, I have changed, and because my Core is able to retain all my memories, I have to remember what I was and what I am.

In the beginning, I felt bad about killing. Even the scumbags and slavers that first came into my Dungeon. I do not regret my choices with the pixie or the slave women I let go.

Over time, this regret faded with each following death. The Adventures coming to test themselves against me now do not even give me a flicker of remorse.

How much of my humanity remains?

This question haunts me in ways I never expected.

It is telling that I call them human and see myself as the Core/Dungeon. I think about the many visitors and deaths that have happened in my Dungeon. The only times I find myself roused with any emotion are when I think of those brought here in chains—those who did not choose to come and test themselves here.

"That is consistent about me, at least."

I find it strangely comforting that I do not tolerate such things in the place I control. I was a bastard when I was human, but even I had lines that I would not cross. But I was from the west and certain things had been engrained in me. Slavery was terrible and was one of the few that stuck. Killing was wrong; evidently, It was now more of a suggestion.

"Who am I kidding? It's not even an issue for me anymore. "

My humanity was diminished, or my link to it was. Could my isolation be blamed? Or that I was still changing and adjusting to my new existence?

My mind was the one place I could not escape from and these questions, along with others, haunted me through these long, dark hours.

In time, which feels like a tortuous eternity, dawn comes.

I can tell as the tower is now bathed in Shadow, not darkness.

Beyond my limited view of the world, there was the new community where the local Adventures now lived. Everything I could see was covered in white as the snow was thick on the ground and the building. The only exception was a path cut through the snow leading away.

I unlocked my doors. It will still be many hours before my CP has been restored. The Adventures will provide a distraction, at least. Larry perks up at the bolt being slid open.

"They should be here soon."

I wait. Nothing at first, but then I can make out a figure approaching out of the weird static-like fuzz. It was hard to tell at first, but it was holding a lantern and wrapped in what I think are multiple layers of clothes. The figure is short and I cannot even guess the sex.

It trudges up to my doors and reaches out to test if they are open. When tried, the door swings open slightly and the figure closes it immediately. It turns and hurries away much faster than it had arrived. I soon lose it in the grey static that covers everything a few meters from my Dungeon.

"Must be a scout to see if I am open yet."

My theory bears fruit as a group of Adventures appear not long after.

They quickly enter and close the door behind them. They spend a few minutes shedding their outer winter layers before proceeding. This gives me time to look them over. I dismissed the alert, telling me they had entered. They were getting annoying, popping up with every group.

"I have seen this group before."

They were an Iron grade group that had been here three times before. Well-equipped and balanced, the group of six efficiently handled most of the threats my floors presented. They never passed the second room on the third floor, which always confused me.

"Well, today might be different."

They started forward with little hint of danger. They descend the stairs and their whole demeanour change on the first floor.

"I strangely appreciate a professional group."

I expected them to travel down to the second but more likely the third, but they entered the first. I noticed that most of the groups were avoiding the second floor at the moment. It took me several days before it dawned on me that none of them liked walking back to the settlement wet!

"Odd. They normally avoid this floor."

The wasps are crushed with little resistance. The rewards are collected, and they move on to the next room. The traps are mapped by now and are avoided. The second room wasps do no better and fall in quick order.

"I wonder what they are up to. This floor is no challenge for them."

The Guardian is soon engaged. It puts up a bit better of a fight, but it, too, is soon cut down. They collect the reward but do something I have never seen before: they collect the Guardian's corpse and take it with them.

"And what are you lot up to?"

They put it into a large sack and headed upstairs. They redressed in their winter outer layers and vacated the Dungeon. They closed the door behind them and disappeared from my sight.

"Huh?"