‘This might surprise you, but the buying and selling of monster parts is a highly regulated trade. It makes money off all levels and the country needs to get their hands on it. That is why every piece of a monster's body that has been procured from a Dungeon must be written down and put into ownership by the person who registered it within a few minutes of them leaving the Dungeon. Any pieces of Monster-Parts that you can’t prove ownership of will just be… taken away. And that is what we will have to face if we don’t make sure we have proper credentials for all pieces that we will be trying to sell. It’s not something we can get around without going over to the underground markets, but even then it will not be profitable in any way since the currency gain will be close to nothing. While we might be able to still use that method, it will not help us in the long run.’

‘That is… quite the problem needed to get over before I can attain power,’ the Core had to amend, not sure how to deal with all that.

‘How we gain power, you mean,’ the Queen corrected, to which the Entity just send a wordless nod back. Not that it physically did it, the nod being more a mental one. ‘And I don’t believe I said that was all the issues related to it. From what I have gathered, there are still restrictions on what you can copy. If it’s material, it needs to be within the Domain so you can absorb it. Not the hardest criteria in the world. Yet when it comes to creatures, they are required to die within your Domain before you can create them yourself.’

‘I don’t really have any way to prove or disprove that,’ the Entity said, not sure what to think. ‘How exactly do you know that?’

‘Because most Dungeons don’t have extremely exotic creatures gained from absorbing the dead bodies of adventures and the peculiar armour they all seem to be wearing,’ the Queen answered. Adventures, huh? Those were not a bunch the Core wanted to get close to, the very word promising more trouble than it was worth. ‘While I do like to look at my children as valuable to me, they are not looked at with the same eyes by many others. They are mere level one creatures and can be found in many places of the world. Outside of a few specialized variants, none of them has parts that are notably good to harvest. Some of the Mana-Nodes could perhaps be worthwhile for the lower-levelled bunch, but the word required for such a thing wouldn't be worth it.’

‘Then if we don’t have any creatures worth selling the parts of, how do you think your plan would work anyway?’ the Core had to ask, the conversation being grimmer and grimmer. The idea that had seemed so filled with promise was slowly turning into a world of problems. There was not even one part that would work in the long run, was there?

‘I would like to think that we could find some creatures that you could spend time-evolving, but I am not sure if you’ve reached the level required for such things yet,’ the Queen answered, saying something was very interesting to know more about. ‘However, we can still get creatures imported through the power of the Enlightened. The buying and selling of rarer creatures is quite a profitable trade and I wouldn’t imagine that it would be too hard to buy a semi-rare creature that we could mass-produce the parts of. If my eyes don’t deceive me, you do have more than a few [Ore-Veins] lying around. With the right eyes on that, we could attract quite the business.’

Eyes…

‘Just whose eyes do you imagine would be looking at those [Ore-Veins]?’ the Core stated, not liking where it was going. ‘It is beginning to sound like you want… others to find this place.’

‘That is exactly what I want to do!’ the Queen said. ‘It would solve all the issues we have. We would be able to sell through the use of one of the [Enlightened], whether that be through Blackmail or [Mind-Control], and it would also allow for you to gain more information about the world. I am not truly versed in much in the current day, but I would imagine that the more short-lived creatures would be able to provide more than you would ever need.’

‘... Are there no other solutions?’ the Core had to ask. It did not like the idea of letting intruders into its domain on purpose. Its entire life had been centred around attracting minimal attention and now that goal was meant to be reversed entirely? Did the Queen not understand the risks that would come with such a thing. ‘Perhaps some other alternative that would provide an utter lack of anybody coming and finding this location?’

‘There is always the solution called sitting here and doing nothing but trying to find one of the rarer classes. With the frequency of new ones getting discovered, I believe it would take you a decade or three. Or… since you’re familiar with this, it might even take up to an entire century, depending on what you would try to find. Interaction and battle is the quickest way to boost growth, but studying instead can provide results at the same level, though it will be a fraction of the efficiency that the former would have,’ the Queen said. ‘What exactly are you worried will happen if people find your location?’

‘That they will crush my core and grind it to ashes,’ the Core said without any hesitancy. The sheer speed of the answer forced the Ant into a moment of silence.

‘I suppose that is one way to think about progress in your life,’ the Queen amended, though she still didn't share the Entity’s opinion in any conceivable way. ‘But you need to understand that the lack of taking risks will slow down your progress to an extreme degree. Random chance will doom you if you decide that staying away from the world is the right choice. Trust me on this. I have seen more fall because they hid than those who fought valiantly and with resolve.’

‘I am still not entirely sure this is a good idea. Bringing in people capable of killing me with one hit is not something I would want-’

‘Who said such people will come?’ the Queen questioned. ‘Even if you’re quite powerful, the creatures currently at your disposal isn't anything that would warrant extermination. And since you can control your actions, we can make it seems like you’re the [Passive] Variant of a Dungeon, only defending itself instead of sending waves out to attack. When we mix that in with plenty of [Ores] and other things that can be harvested, it will bring many to low-levelled people here, none of which will be powerful enough to harm you.’

‘When you say low-levelled, what exactly do you mean?’ the Core questioned. It was slightly softer on the idea with time, attracting the good kind of attention seeming alright. With no dangers to its health, it could see itself slowly killing creatures and harvesting them for its gain. It would use the Mana from the caves to supply Energy, use that to create more and more [Ore-Veins], and then kill off a few of the people that come around now and then. The passive increases in knowledge from absorbed items and gear would allow for expansion in the realm of knowledge. And if things worked out alright, one of the so-called [Enlgihtened] could be created by the Core itself and used as a puppet for all the outer-workings. There would be no need to trust another entity since the Core would be in complete control of what was being done. It was glorious.

Yet the idea of people coming to fight the creatures… was still on the side where caution came along. The Core saw a need in having the creatures be there since the

dangers of seeming like a bottomless pit of Ore would turn out very badly in long run, but also knew that it would bring along people meant to kill those creatures. If they posed no threat to the total safety of the Entity, it supposed it was acceptable, even if it would still be wary of them. And the need for more creatures was also something that it needed to get done with.

‘About level ten to fifteen, I suppose. That is the ranking most people reach before they even think about fighting monsters of any kind,’ the Queen said dismissively as if it was no big deal. The worst thing about it was that the emotions being sent out mirrored that thought, even when it was very obvious that the minimum was higher than the level of the Core.

‘I nearly died fighting you, and you are level nine. How do you expect me to survive a larger group of Enlightened that are more powerful than you?’ the Core questioned. Any thoughts about seeing the deal as reasonable were wiped away, the thought of having daily fights on the scale had with the Queen not being something that the Entity would ever accept. The thought of being so close to death daily was… there wasn’t even a word for how little the Core wanted to do something like that.

What could only be taken as a mental sigh came from the Ant Queen, though the slightly dropped head told a deeper story than that.

‘I believe we were meant to be worried about my memory. Yours is meant to be working just fine,’ the Queen commented with a sarcastic tone. ‘There really shouldn’t be any need for me to say thing again but it seems you’ve forgotten it somehow, even if it was the most important thing you needed to remember from this entire conversation. Higher levels don’t equal higher power. Previously, I had a [Epic] class that allowed me access to Black Mana in very extreme amounts. It was a Class normally reserved for creatures in the upper fifties but my unfortunate circumstances forced most of that power base away from me. However, this still leaves me with the class that gave me extreme power. Which leads me to ask you how exactly you think that a newly started [Adventurer] might have a single chance at having the same amount of sheer power that I have? For a [Common] class to have had the same measure of power which I had previously, it would have needed to be somewhere around level twenty-two to twenty-four.’

… Ah. The Core supposed it should have thought about it a bit more before it began to throw all the fundamentals away. A number wasn't just a number. It was a factor, a base, where all sorts of multipliers could be added onto it. Just being level five or ten could mean nothing if the class wasn't of the same rarity. Even then, it could mean one was powerful in completely different things. It was just a bad way to measure anything.

‘I see,’ was all the Core had to say about that, feeling a bit sheepish about its mistake. ‘I suppose I should listen to your words more than I already do.’

‘How astute an observation that is, little rock. Perhaps you should realize it before you start to throw my ideas away without any thought put into it,’ the Queen answered, though she seemed to find it at least a little humour. ‘However, there is still much that needs to be accepted. Since you are quite powerful for one with your age, I do believe revealing yourself to the outer world would be the wisest choice. Time will be required to get things settled in, and I would not mind trying to evolve a few of my children so they can reach higher levels, but growth is important no matter what. We might be able to let you reach a few more upgrades in skill, but your upper limit will soon be reached. You need enemies to fight and pressure to build, lest you will remain in your current position for aeons before anything will even have a chance of happening.’

Ignoring the thought of the Core being more powerful than it was meant to be and just how that was possible, it moved on to the other parts said. Subjecting itself to having more people inside it wouldn't be the greatest thing in the world, due to the large amount of danger that would be possible to likewise have. Yet the benefits were quickly becoming larger than anything else, and the Entity was falling to the temptation.

‘Fine,’ was the final decicion. ‘How exactly are we meant to start this?’

‘Don’t quicken things too much,’ the Queen said, striking down thoughts of hurrying up fully and utterly. ‘If you remember, this entire conversation was around [Classes] and while I do believe we have talked plenty about it, we should both realise that there are many other things about my [Status Screen] that needs to be discussed. The shifts between topics might be mighty well for streamlining, yet the seeming acceptance of leaving other subjects behind is not something you should grow a habit of doing. We are going back before anything else. Do you understand?’

‘You do realise that I am the one meant to be the one who controls you and not the other way around, right?’ the Core questioned, unsure of what it thought about the current relationship.

‘I do what is best for you and not what you might like at the current moment. When you get to know more, I will perhaps follow your words but until then it's me who will be pulling the strings…. to a degree. This bond of yours does still restrict me in more ways than I would like it to,’ the Queen said before going right back to her previous demeanour. ‘And you are not going to spend an hour on why that might be. Instead, we are going right back to the next part of the status screen.’

It was like she could read the Core’s mind. Which she likely could, to some extent. The actual amount of emotions being funnelled through might have increased with the next connection. And with how much more control the Queen had over the Energy, it was not too peculiar to imagine her knowing some details that were still invisible to the Core.

However. No thoughts were to be had about it, just as had been stated previously. While the Entity was in full control, it still understood the benefits of advice from a trusted source. And who was more trusted than the one the Core wouldn't be able to get betrayed by due to it owning her entire being? There was no real contender about it, and there was likewise no negative thoughts about it when the Entity opened up the [Status-Screen] so it could refresh its memory.

Character Screen

Name:

Mother Carapace

Gender:

Female

Level:

9

Class:

Necromancer

Race:

Giant-Ant

Title:

Dungeon-Boss

Health:

180/180

H-Regen:

0.12/sec

Mana:

170/170

M-Regen:

0.13/sec

Stamina:

150/150

S-Regen:

0.14/sec

Cost:

XX MP

Basic Stats

Strength:

22

Wisdom:

16

Vitality:

17

Intelligence:

13

Dex:

14

Willpower:

10

‘Your Health, Mana, Stamina, and all the associated Regens have dropped significantly,’ the Core reported to the Queen, knowing there was not incredibly much to say about the topic but likewise knew of the need to get it out.

‘I have been able t feel that lack of Mana swimming around inside, but the two others are quite hard to feel for,’ was the answer, though it left much to be desired. ‘Just how much has each fallen? And don’t give vague estimates. I need exact numbers.’

Okay… that required a bit more thought, including that the Core needed to pull the old Status-Screen up into its view. It felt lucky that the [System] itself provided that, lest it would have feared that some of the details could have been missed.

Character Screen

Name:

Mother Carapace

Gender:

Female

Level:

9

Class:

Leader of the Colony

Race:

Giant-Ant

Title:

Queen of Hollows

Health:

200/200

H-Regen:

0.12/sec

Mana:

230/230

M-Regen:

0.14/sec

Stamina:

160/160

S-Regen:

0.15/sec

Cost:

90 MP

Basic Stats

Strength:

25

Wisdom:

22

Vitality:

19

Intelligence:

14

Dex:

15

Willpower:

10

‘Your health has fallen by twenty, your Mana has fallen by sixty, your Stamina has fallen by ten, and your Mana and Stamina Regen has fallen by zero point two and zero point one respectively,’ the Core reported again, making sure the numbers added up correctly.

‘A larger loss of Strength, a slightly lesser one with Vitality, and barely even a loss with Dexterity. Not bad for the physical stats, though I would have liked the losses to be more focused on them rather than the mental ones,’ the Queen stated, displeasure clear in her voice. ‘Six entire points of Wisdom that could have been used for many things. The loss of Intelligence is bad as well but I would have much rather lost that than the former.’

‘Why is that?’ the Core asked, curious for the answer. If it had to truthfully choose, the current time would have made it prefer Intelligence. While total Mana was good for spawning in more powerful creatures, the ability to have more space would be preferred to quite an extent as well. ‘I would have thought Intelligence more important for you.’

‘Wisdom is highly regarded for me because so many of my spells are highly intensive on Mana, little rock. You can give me all the Energy I want but I need to have it all at the same time if I need to spend it all instantly. With a lower Wisdom, that just won’t be possible.’

That was fair, the Core supposed. With the increasing number of hints that the ant used to be more powerful than she currently was, it was becoming more obvious that she likely knew spells not allowed for her current level. Oh, what she could do with enough Wisdom backing her. If the Entity ever figured out how to increase certain stats, it would most certainly do so for the Queen.

‘Wisdom is also good for controlling my minions, I suppose. Those children can be unruly without my direct influence over them,’ the Queen amended after further thought. The Entity accepted it as such for a moment until another question came around.