I finally made it back into Roxy's dungeon and choked on the Basher. The dungeon was much larger than when I had left it. It had at least doubled in size, and that was just the front cavern. The floor wasn't rock anymore, but lush grass. Several bashers ran past my feet when I stepped inside.

"Another Basher?" Roxy asked. "Is that all there are out there?"

"You are so picky. I should just kill this damn rabbit and get the experience" I said.

"No, It's ok. It is hard to find animals with cores that can be Bound. They are so hard to subdue without killing them" she said.

She bound it, and then she explained why monsters with cores were ideal for binding.

"Monsters with cores can be respawned much easier and faster. They don't need to be rebuilt completely, I have their basic blueprints from their cores" she said.

That made sense, but I needed to ask her the question I thought about earlier.

"I fell asleep for hours in here, so it should have been dark outside. It was barely midday. Explain that please."

"That would be the Time Dilation. In relativity to the Domain of a dungeon, the outside world is 3/4 slower. That is how Dungeons can re-populate after adventurers have completely killed off all of its creatures."

"That is very convenient," I said.

"I know. I told you I could help you. You could stay here and train your spells and skills."

That reminded me, I hadn't checked my Status in a while. I bet I had some stat points to spend.

Name: Ascendant Race: Young Dominator Level: 20 Exp: 24% Skills Affinity Traits Spells Vitality: 20 Toughness: 20 Intelligence: 20 Agility: 20 Core Hp: 400/400 Regen: 20/m

Endurance: 400/400 Regen: 20/m

Mp:400/400 Regen: 20/m

I placed all of my points, bringing all of my stats up to 20. I took a quick peek at my skills and spells.

Skills-

Bite

Inhalation

Slash

Mana Empowerment

Stomp

Mana Control

Spells-

Observe-Active-0mp

Mana Bolt-Active-20mp

Earth Bolt-Active-20mp

Regenerate-Active-30mp

Visual Learner-Passive-0mp/s

Earth Armor-Passive-10mp/s

Crystallize-Active-Variable mana cost

Tame-Active-Variable mana cost

I must have gained that Earth bolt from the Earth Basher. It was like shooting a rock spike at the enemy. I Went back out into the wild, once again, and started shooting it at the damn mosquitos. I could rapid-fire them at a swarm, and disperse the buzzing cloud.

I checked my Nanobeast count, and they were up to 235. I needed a strong animal test myself. I casually strolled down a game trail. It looked decently traveled, with some of the underbrush cleared away. I could see small animal prints leading down the path. I shot an Earth Bolt into the ground, every few feet. It would help if I needed to find my way back.

I saw a pair of much larger tracks, looking like a quadruped form. It had 4 large claws on large feet. They were very recent. I could still feel the ground moving from the footfalls of the creature. It had to be close

I heard a low growling noise. It sounded close but not within 20 feet. Suddenly, a roar shook the jungle. Another roar answered it. A massive impact shook the trees. The fight had begun.