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The Dungeon, Medea Island

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As my Constrictor Cobra got killed by one of the more successful delvers, I took note of the weaknesses he took advantage of. The snake's intelligence was lacking if it had been so easily baited, and its response to the man clinging to the back of its head was... disappointing. Bucking like a bull wasn't effective against Platinums; its best chance would have been to slam the man against the ground.

Something to keep in mind.

One thing to note though is that I think the guilder, Haythem, got a much larger percentage of the monster's mana than he would have inside the dungeon. I can't confirm it, but I feel he would get more 'experience' out of it without the natural 'suction' being in my dungeon caused to all the free-floating, unaligned mana inside.

Either way, I had two days of use out of my new deniable asset before it got demolished. And I made sure to get plenty of use out of it.

On the first day, I kidnapped three cows and one bull. How? By having my Giant Snake wrap them up in its coils one by one and run off with them. I made sure that it only attacked when no shepherds were watching, so the first thing they knew about their missing animals was when they counted and found some missing. I didn't take their largest bull, though. I don't want to ruin them.

On the second day, I attacked a different farm. I stole six sheep and two rams. They had more sheep than the other farm had cattle, so I didn't feel bad about it.

I also wanted chickens, but the henhouses were much closer to the farmhouses, and the risk was too high for me. The farmers were also much more aware and active, keeping an eye on their flocks and herds. With the number of missing animals in such a short time, and broken fences leading into the jungle, the cause was obvious. They couldn't figure out what was 'killing' their animals since the tracks it left were strange since it's not like any average person has seen the tracks left by a giant snake before.

And now that its tasks had been fulfilled, I'd needed to decide what to do about the giant snake monster in the jungle. And just leaving it there wasn't an option. I could have brought it down into the dungeon. Make it a desert snake for the Ninth floor.

Huh, that's not a bad idea. When their numbers are bigger, I might nick a few of those I released on the surface.

But anyway, The Cobra Constrictor was big, aggressive, and dangerous when not directly controlled by me. Leaving it in the jungle could get ordinary people killed, people who do not wish to see me dead since they made the town in the first place because I'm here.

Thus, I had it attack a herd of sheep openly, one pretty close to town. The shepherds watching their flock saw the monster and ran for help while it was distracted by their animals. The shepherds alerted the nearby guilders, who included Haythem, one of my long-term delvers who doesn't seem to want to cash in on the bounty anymore.

He dealt with the monster in style, which works for me.

But with that sorted, I can focus on my newest acquisitions.

I now have sheep and cows.

The first thing I'm going to do is modify the sheep into two distinct species. I gave one group a more goat-like body with greater balance and climbing instincts. Given these were domestic sheep, I also made sure to lower their wool production and put a cap on how long it could grow. These will live on the Eighth floor, scaling the mountain's various peaks. I gave both genders forward-facing, deer-like horns. I tried my best to remove that pesky head-butting tendency, so they didn't gore each other in the future. Not sure if it worked yet.

I modified the other group of sheep quite a bit more.

The first thing to do was make them bipedal, which involved tweaking their legs and muscles to make it work. I stopped their wool growth entirely, relegating it to a skinny coat. I also did a bit of pigment augmentation to make their skin black and their wool shades of red. I turned the insulation of their coats to keep out the heat rather than keep it in and adjusted their different body parts to the heat-resistant examples I had already developed. I increased their intelligence to Drake-kin levels and made their upper limbs end in hand-like claws rather than hooves. Happy with them so far, I released them on the sixth floor.

Yes, I made Sheep Demons. I ensured they contacted Tear to get appropriately equipped before leading them to their new home. They'll sit tight and raise their numbers for a while before mixing with the other monsters on the floor and training for future defense efforts.

The Cows, however... I don't quite know what to do with them yet.

There's the obvious route of minotaurs, giant bulls, etc. Perhaps for the floor after the desert. Maybe some rolling plains? Bah, that's quite a time away, given my progress on the ninth. For now, I'll put them in their own little meadow.

Speaking of the Desert Canyon, progress has stalled while I worked on acquiring and modifying my new monsters. I'll focus on construction for the next few days. Perhaps I can get the whole cavern carved out and begin its transformation into a desert. I also need a fresh water river running through the canyon, too... perhaps I can have the water from that lead into a lake in the plains on the tenth? Yes. That sounds appropriate. I'd like horses for this future floor, but while some have been brought to the island, they're primarily workhorses used to pull carts of produce from the farms into the port. If some nobles bring some in for pleasure riding or to pull ornate carriages, I'll take those. It's not like they can't replace them.

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The Sixth Floor, The Dungeon, Medea Island

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Kataren woke up to another day in the Drake-Kin Village, just as she had the last six. She opened her eyes as her room was brightened by the light shining in the window. The room was sparsely decorated, as the Drake-kin believed heavily that the occupant had the right to decorate their living space. She had been encouraged to find things that pleased her or brought her joy.

Every day she spent here, she was freshly reminded that her captors were more than raving monsters. They were people with their own wants, likes, dislikes, and desires. She often thought about the oddly shaped monster cores she had retrieved from their lesser cousins, the Kobolds... was it months ago now? She wasn't sure. Their cores were pointed. Not to the extent of those found in guilders, but they seemed to be headed in that direction.

There was a knock on the carved wooden doorframe, and a grey-scaled claw pushed aside the woven curtain that acted as her door. "It's time to rise, Kata. We have plenty of work lined up today," the Drake-kin announced. Kataren nodded and sat up, pushing aside the warm blankets woven from the shed fur of Chromatic Tigers.

"I'll be out in a few minutes, Huea." She replied. The grey head of her housemate/guard nodded and retreated, the curtain falling back down. Kataren stood from the crude bed and crossed the room to the small chest that contained her possessions. She pulled out the surprisingly comfortable cloth under-tunic and donned the simple leather-and-fur armor over it. The clothes weren't bad, any way you look at them. Just simple. Though sometimes she wished for the expensive fabrics and enchanted gear she had once used. No point in that, though. She was sure the Dungeon had probably given them to one of its defenders to use or study.

As she pulled on the clothes, her hand brushed the warm metal of her collar, a reminder that she was a prisoner in this place, even if she wasn't alone in a cell. She closed the chest, leaving her puzzle cubes inside. Clothed and ready for the day, she pushed past the curtain door and out into the communal room. Drake-kin dwellings are quite like what she had experienced with inns. Everyone had their own rooms connected to a group living space where they could mingle and eat. This morning Kataren emerged to find a dozen Drake-kin all eating what smelled like Grilled Fish. She searched the brown and grey scaled heads for a particular headdress and quickly identified the correct one as its owner waved to her.

Huea was a Mage, or 'Shaman' as the Drake-kin called them. There were a few others in this dwelling, but many were warriors or archers. Something they all shared was that they were young; from what she could figure out, they only recently became 'of age' and would be expected to contribute to the defense of the dungeon when the time came. She navigated around the packed tables to the small one her watcher occupied.

"So, what are we doing today?" She asked as she sat down and started eating the food Huea had grabbed for her.

"Well, to start the day will be some physical training with the more elite Drake-kin." Huea began, giving her what she'd come to learn was a smirk. "They need practice. Afterward, the Shaman Council wants to ask more questions about magic and the elements." Kataren nodded between bites. She wasn't exactly pleased to be training monsters to kill her fellow Guilders or giving their mages more knowledge to exploit for the same ends.

It's not like she had much of a choice, though. It was this or go back to the Cell. She much preferred being here surrounded by people than in that dark, blank, unfeeling cell. So, she quickly finished her meal and left the building with Huea.

They pushed past the entrance curtain, which depicted a young warrior raising his spear, and out into the bustling cavern.

There were dozens of openings on three tiers in the rock, just like the one she'd just left. She emerged onto the highest tier and had to travel down a few staircases to get to the training grounds, a small pit in the middle of the cavern. There were already a few duels in progress, using wooden weapons.

She spotted a couple of warriors that she recognized from previous fights. They'd put up a decent challenge. And it wasn't like she was a dedicated swordswoman either. The twins could have beaten her at any time. However, Kataren was at least partially trained and could hold her own, especially one-on-one.

"So, who am I fighting first?" She asked, just before a wave of silence spread across the cavern. Heads turned, following and moving out of the way of their leader. Mushu strode confidently to the center of the dueling area and locked eyes with her.

"I will be your opponent today, Guilder." The Drake-kin, easily half again as large as any of the others around them, drew his spiked mace. "Draw your weapon. I wish to test my skill against yours."

Kataren gulped.

This... would be painful.

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The Dungeon, Medea Island

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I smirked as Kataren squared up against Mushu for their duel. I made sure to tell him not to injure her badly. She was far more useful to me alive than as a corpse. The Drake-kin of the Seventh Floor Village surrounded the arena to watch. As I was settling in to watch, I felt a familiar mana signature enter my dungeon.

Really? NOW?!

Urghhhhhh. Fine.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from the fight as Mushu rushed in, mace raised. I'll have to catch their next fight, I guess. I let my focus shift to the first floor, where Neo had just entered, escorted by her ever-present shadow. She hadn't brought her aunt and uncle this time, though I could see them in the line of delvers through Gull's eyes.

The sun had yet to rise, though my monsters were already up and about. It looks like she wants to get this done before the delvers enter. She crossed the cavern, approaching the stone structure around the cavern to the next room. I flicked a string of mana, causing a section of the stone bricks against the wall to loudly and obviously, shift. The stones rotated and moved aside as a specific alleyway wall did.

Neo and her guard passed through and found themselves inside a bare room with a table and two chairs, with a door opposite the one they entered. From the other side, Teka emerged. She sat down at the table after giving and receiving an acknowledging nod.

"I am Teka. Provide the animals and ask your questions." She started. Neo nodded, took a pouch from her side, and then placed it on the table. She reached inside, her arm up to her shoulder being engulfed in the small bag made of a silk-like material. She pulled out two small cages, which deformed the opening unnaturally as they passed through. Each cage contained a... rabbit.

Ha. Haha. HAHA. AHAHAHAHAHA. SHE THINKS I CAN'T MAKE A MONSTER FROM A RABBIT?!

BIG MISTAKE!

"A breeding pair of central Phenocian Rabbits. The cage on the left is the male, and the female's on the right." She pushed the cages across the table for Teka to examine. She squinted her slitted eyes at the rabbits. She must have caught some of my amusement because she gave a toothy smirk. I quickly relayed how she was to respond. I wasn't going to possess her.

"The Dungeon is pleased by your offering. Ask your questions." She said. Another Kobold entered through the dungeon-side door and retrieved the cages as Neo began. She sounded like she'd practiced these lines a few times over the last week.

"My first question. How deep is the dungeon, currently, in terms of floors." She stated. Hmm. She's learned about vague wordings, I see.

"The Dungeon is currently constructing their ninth floor." She responded after a second. That certainly surprised her. I'd overheard her discussing theories with her secretary/guard, and I knew one of her more certain ones was that I was at least twenty floors deep.

"My second question." Neo continued, "Is about your Floor Guardians. We've noticed that the Guardian of the Third Floor is identical in looks and voice to the one killed a few weeks ago. Is it the same monster, or one that closely resembles it?"

Oof. She's asking the tough questions today. And I couldn't even prepare for these since she'd recently put anti-eavesdropping wards over her desk. Just the desk, not the whole room like the twins had.

"Mushu, the First Drake-kin, is indeed the same as the one slain," Teka responded, emphasizing the boss monster's name and race. "The dungeon provided him a new body so he might continue his vigil." Neo nodded like she expected that answer and was merely confirming it. Well, her aunt had indeed gone back down and fought Mushu again, actually managing to slay him that time. She would have observed the respawn crystal's mana-net catching the boss monster's mana.

"Third, have you ever encountered sapient beings from outside the dungeon besides humans?" Another very particular question.

"The Dungeon has not. The only other sapient beings the dungeon had seen are the ones it has made." Teka responded. I considered my more intelligent monsters Sapient at this point, with or without that pointy core. They were capable of making their own choices and decisions beyond their next meal or base instinct. They worked to improve themselves and their surroundings. Neo nodded slowly, then continued.

"Fourth, what are the shadow monsters from the Fifth floor?" Ah, a question she wasn't informed enough on, so she couldn't specify.

"The 'Shadow Monsters,' as you call them, are Golems." Neo blinked at that answer and looked like she was about to ask for clarification but held her tongue. Something to note here is that the Phenocian language doesn't have an exact word for Golems. At least, not one most guilders are aware of. Perhaps some magician in a tower is experimenting with them, but I highly doubt it. I'm confident what I've made is unique and couldn't be replicated unless it was by another dungeon.

"Last question," Neo started, "The party of high-level guilders who delved to your fifth floor claim their missing party members were transformed into monsters or overcome by some parasite. If it's true, I would like to know what caused that transformation." Ah, they want to know if any guilders they send to the fifth floor will also be turned into zombies. Fair enough. Thankfully they have the wrong idea here and didn't ask quite the right question.

"The Shambling Fungus that 'overcame' them, as you put it, was a potent strain which the dungeon has since destroyed. A milder version that doesn't require 'overtaking' a host to exist has since been developed and spread throughout the Mushroom Forest." There. A bit of info that I didn't 'have' to give. I could have left it off after the first sentence. Neo nodded and stood. Teka followed soon after. Surprisingly, Neo stretched out a gloved hand for a handshake.

"Thank you for answering my questions, Teka," Neo said politely. Teka looked at the hand suspiciously but, at my prompting, reached out and delicately shook the hand up and down. It wasn't quite a traditional handshake, but it was close enough.

"I was only fulfilling the Dungeon's part of the contract," Teka answered. Neo retracted her hand and left the small room. She left the dungeon with a few minutes to spare before sunrise. I quickly ordered the Rabbits brought to the same cavern as the cows, then rushed down to the Seventh floor.

DAMN IT! I MISSED THE FIGHT!

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