“You worry too much, Doc,” Anadine chuckled, “I doubt I’ll be killed by pitfalls or aerial slime attacks.”
“Just a precaution,” Doc said. He turned to Rowen next. “Rowen, take your bone and blood slime minions, the ones still alive anyway, and create fake monster nest remains along the walls leading to the cavern. Feel free to have the blood slimes leave puddles of blood on the ground in the room right before the boss room, too. I’m not sure what a monster nest, real or fake, looks like, so I’m counting on you and your studies.”
“You can count on me,” Rowen said. “But I want to make known that I think this is a bad idea.
“Noted,” Doc said.
“It sounds like you have an interesting plan.” Claire flew up to Doc’s crystal and smiled. “I’m delighted to hear it. What else are you going to do?”
“The third floor—former third floor I suppose—still has parts covered in plants. I’m using my environments ability to encourage the plant life to propagate up into the large cavern to cover the rubble and remains in a layer of green. Once plants have randomly spread across the cavern, I’m going to only encourage the herbs to grow from then on. This way, the cavern will not only be green, but will have an herbal scent to it. I’ll also have the vines dominate the walls and ceiling to reinforce the illusion of an underground wilderness. I’ll keep the third floor in the maze form without allowing the plants to spread, however.” Doc paused. “I suppose I could use my environments ability here to create natural traps later on, some forest log tricks and the like.”
“You’re making a forest within the dungeon, then?” Claire observed. “That’s a surprisingly well thought out plan from you Doc. Not only will you have the perfect place for plant-eating animals, it’ll encourage predators to follow as well. I assume you planned this when I first explained what an ecology was?”
“Something like that,” Doc said off-handedly as he concentrated on the rapid plant growth. “If I understand your idea, I need to start small and work my way up to larger creatures. The blood of humans mixed with the scent of booze will turn away anything scared of human adventurers while also attracting little creatures that can feed on the two liquids. The forest will be their new home, at least until I kill them for their bodies.”
Claire rubbed her chin as a worried look past over her face. “Doc, what are you basing this assumption on again? The blood and alcohol, I mean.
“Just from observing the insects that used to enter the dungeon,” Doc admitted. “It was just trivial things, but they helped teach me their habits before getting eaten by the bug slimes.”
“Right, but Doc, have you considered the difference of where we are verses where we were?” Claire asked slowly.
Doc turned his attention to Claire. “You mean how we’re in a forest now instead of next to one? That’s why I’m propagating the plants inside the dungeon. Though I suppose instead of a forest it’ll look more like a large garden, since I don’t have any trees yet. Oh, but that herb is rather large...”
“Not that.” Claire frowned. “It’s just that we teleported as far away from that enemy army as magically possible, ending up in a place so desolate it’s known as the northern wilderness. In that case, haven’t we ended up somewhere where adventurers and humans aren’t a big issue to monsters? In which case, instead of dissuading monsters, wouldn’t all that blood end up attracting them as a delicacy they’ve never had before?”
Doc and Claire shared a long look.
“Oh.” Doc said.
“Master Doc, there’s a problem!” Anadine’s voice rang through the mental link. “The forest is filled with the sounds of wild animals and monsters, and they’re getting closer! It sounds like a stampede!”
“Retreat back to the heart room with Rowen!” Doc ordered at once. “The boss slimes should be enough to handle them!”
“Doc, you don’t have your instance ability, either,” Claire reminded him, “so that horde will enter and fight your bosses all at once. Even if you shut the door, the smell of blood is still present in the air. I’m sure they’d break through the wall to reach the blood-soaked tunnel.”
Doc hummed a little ditty he’d heard from an adventurer.
“Well,” he finally said, “it appears we’re going to have to hide for a time then.”
The dungeon shuddered under the immense weight of the stampede.
“Maybe a little longer than a time,” Doc relented.
Chapter 3
“This actually takes me back,” Claire hummed wistfully. “Back when it was just Doc and I, the fool literally exploded his front door into existence way before he was ready, inviting that first squad of adventurers into our home. It was that silly act that led to our success, though, so I can’t help but look upon that event with fondness.”
“That’s the spirit, Claire,” Doc said. “Way to keep a positive attitude. See, guys, this isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to us.”
“No, most definitely not,” Claire agreed. “If anything, this situation is nowhere near as bad as demon invasions, dungeon invasions, army invasions, or being framed as a murdering corrupted dungeon. Nope, this is a fairly typical day for us… even if we’re being forced to hide in our own home.”
“Right, so this isn’t an unprecedented disaster,” Rowen said sarcastically. “Because during all those other events, you at least had an army of slimes and a variety of floors to slow down your enemies. Unlike now…”
The heart room shuddered loudly once again, making everyone tense up. The horde of monsters were rampaging up above their heads, a cacophony of snarls, whines, roars, and barks. Worst still for Doc and co., the blood trap had inadvertently attracted mostly carnivores instead of plant eating herbivores, resulting in the mess above them. Upon finding the lack of prey, the monsters and animals had turned their berserker selves on each other.
“Honestly, though,” Rowen grumbled, “how is being in such a dangerous situation a calming situation for the both of you? I’m tense beyond belief, and that’s in a body without a single muscle.”
“I must agree with my younger brother here. That’s almost horrifying to hear,” Anadine said. “Having been through so much already, it’s amazing to see the both of you numb to these types of situations to the point of relaxation. However, wouldn’t having a more cautionary mindset be prudent here? It would not do us good if you were to treat this incursion like before.”
Rowen twitched violently, whirling around to look at his fellow slime boss. “Hey, I’m not your brother,” he growled. “We aren’t related, and I’m hundreds of years older than you.”
“Silly little brother,” Anadine poked Rowen’s body teasingly. “We’re both slimes now created by Doc. Since I was born before you, that means I’m your older sister! And if you want to argue about our previous human heritage, then given both my and your royal status, there is a good chance you are distantly related to me.”
“Don’t assume so much familiarity with me. We aren’t friends,” Rowen snapped, slapping away Anadine’s tentacle.
“Fine, I’ll give you some space,” Anadine said, her tone indicating she’d have rolled her eyes if she had any. “Just remember, we’re in this together, so it would be good for both of us to accept the situation as is. I’ll have you know I happen to be a great person to have as a sibling, and I’m sure you’ll learn to see it.”
“Fat chance of that,” Rowen muttered under his breath as he sulked. “My sister... anyway stop forcing yourself on me. I’m still getting used to this confusing body of mine, and I don’t need you distracting me.”
“Oh really?” Anadine’s eyes turned mischievous. “So, what happens if I poke you like this?” She reformed her tentacle and playfully poked Rowen a few times.
“Stop it, I’ll—!” Rowen cried, but it was too late. Having just been reborn into a slime less than twenty-four hours ago, Rowen hadn’t quite managed to learn how to stay condensed. The body of a slime was quite different from the bo
dy of a human, after all. Unlike the stoic and unchanging human body, slime bodies were fluid, literally, and the slime itself was controlled by the core located at the center. Unfortunately for Rowen, his lich slime body had evolved a scattered type core that existed throughout his slime. It was like having his brain everywhere at once, with each part having control over a different section of slime. Needless to say, the excess poking resulting in the breaking of his concentration and the deflating of his body into a puddle—a withering, wiggling, angry puddle.
“Hells curse you!” Rowen cursed from the floor, tiny tentacles squirming frantically to reform his body in vain. “Just you wait until I reform my body!”
Ignoring the struggling boss slime, Anadine turned her body to look at the ceiling. Her slime body vibrated with the rhythm of the sounds, allowing her to listen better than any ear would. “Sounds like the riot is about over,” she observed as her body slowed its tremoring. “I think now would be an opportune time to check on what’s happened to the rest of the dungeon, my lord.”
“Wait, let me,” Claire cautioned Doc. “If they sense your magical presence, they might come back and start searching for your crystal. I can use my pixie magic to hide my smell, and they can’t enter the pixie tunnels.”
“Alright, but be care—,” Doc paused as he felt something move within him. The world around him vanished, replaced by images and pain.
Large purple body, standing at the foot of the tunnel. Orders received. Defend the home. Ground shaking, slime jiggling. It comes. The horde, the sickening mix of claw, fang, scale, fur, drool, and sounds. So many sounds, all mixing together to form one giant organism. It stood no chance against it. It could not do its duty. Blackness
Changeable body, the bug slime boss. Death of predecessor enrages. First form, beetle, slaughter begins. The horde breaks, but reforms. It is fluid. Strong attacks, quick attacks, unable to defend. Unable to block. Unable to stop. The armor breaks. Worm form. No better, less armor. Ant form, legs pulled off. Lost too much slime. Blackness.
Clear pink slime, magic coursing through slime. Minions slaughtered. Fire breaks the horde but blocked by magic. Water magic, earth magic—all too much. Barriers failing. Shadow ambush. Blackness.
There were none left.
Doc screamed hoarsely as the pain and death of his three upper floor bosses flowed into him. He’d never felt this before, never once wavered at the sight of his creatures dying. It was different now; he had a hole inside him. It used to protect him, used to be the lightning rod. The protection no longer existed. The humanity used to birth him, gone, and with it, justification and reason. It was not mindless monsters dying out there, it was him, over and over again, small parts cut off and dissected from his soul. He’d never felt pain before, especially none like this.
“Doc, hey Doc, are you okay?” Claire asked worriedly. Doc’s consciousness returned in a flash. Was it all a dream? Whatever had occurred, he only had echoes of the experience. He was still devoid of emotion.
“I… yeah, I’m okay,” Doc replied, feeling the cold sweat feeling once again. “I was just, lost in thought. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Rolling her eyes as she sighed in relief, the pixie flew up to Doc’s crystal and rubbed it affectionately. “Silly Doc, don’t ever worry about me like that. I’m the one who worries in this relationship.”
“I’ll do my best to keep that in mind in the future,” Doc chuckled.
Winking mischievously, she zoomed back up into the tunnel entrance and zoomed to the cavern’s observation room.
Doc’s crystal blinked as Claire’s vision connected with his, creating a moving series of images that Anadine and Rowen could see reflected onto the wall and the other sides of his crystal. Thankfully, this dungeon ability used up only a smidge of Doc’s mana.
“It appears most of the monsters have become bored after fighting each other,” Claire reported a moment later, her eyes examining the second floor from her hideout in the pixie tunnels. “Due to the feeding frenzy, most have either died or fled, but there are a few predators roaming the green on floors two and three. Thankfully, their strength is at most comparable to your tier 1 or 2 slimes. Looks like the blood didn’t attract any bigger ones. On the bright side, it looks like a number of critters have also entered the dungeon to take refuge.”
The image on Doc’s crystal shifted to images of various bugs, small rodents, and a few large animals with teeth. Doc focused in on the larger animals, noting their various bodies. When he was done, the image shifted again to focus on the various smaller animals scattered through the third and second floors. None of the animals had stayed on the first floor once the blood was drank, but Doc watched in interest as numerous insects interacted with the booze-drenched ceiling.
“The plan wasn’t a complete failure, then,” Doc noted in relief. “Claire, can you identify all the animals that are still in the dungeon?”
“I can,” Claire’s voice said in affirmation. “Let’s see, besides the insects, I can see mice, rats, bats, lizards, snakes, and a few birds. The predators roaming around are forest lions, dire wolf, anaconda, and some forest raptors. So, while your plan wasn’t a complete failure, here’s the bad news. Every slime up here got torn to shreds, including your bosses.”
“What!” Doc exclaimed in horror as he remembered the visions that had just flown through his mind, “All of them? Are you sure?”
The image shifted to the remains of the bug slime boss, torn to shreds with slime mimicked bug parts scattered across the floor.
“Yup. Although I can’t find your jungle slime boss, I can see the remains of all your other upper level boss slimes scattered around. They really didn’t have a chance against an unlimited horde like that. Given your current level of mana, I don’t think you’ll be able to remake them anytime soon,” Claire observed. The image changed to show Claire sitting on another stone chair in her observation room. She was holding three bottles, each containing a bit of slime from the three dead bosses.
“Alright, I see. Those damn monster slaughter my bosses in cold blood and couldn’t be bothered to eat up the remains!” Doc gnashed his imaginary teeth in fury. To a dungeon, it was with respect that Doc used every part of a dead body. Even if it was experiments or food, Doc had come to the understanding that using every useful part was the proper way to show respect to a dead foe. To see his bosses strewn around, trodden on and ignored, piqued his anger. “In that case, Anadine and Rowen, take ten furry slimes and get rid of all the large creatures crawling inside my dungeon! Make them pay for their wastefulness and cruelty!”
“Yes sir,” the two slimes wiggled in acknowledgement. Rowen, having recovered his body, shot a quick glare at Anadine, who winked at him using her slime. They waited for Doc to summon the tier three slimes. They continued to wait for a few more minutes.
“There aren’t any furry slimes around, are there?” Rowen finally sighed.
Doc’s crystal shuddered as anger and embarrassment warred with each other.
“I can no longer summon them, along with the other tier threes,” he finally said in terse breath. “I’m... missing something?”
“That’s alright, Doc,” Claire comforted him through the image, “we’ll just have your boss slimes here summon up some minions.”
“What boss slimes?” Anadine asked. “Didn’t you say they’re all dead?”
“You and Rowen, of course,” Claire snickered. “You both have boss powers, or is that something I forgot to mention?”
Anadine and Rowen shared an intrigued look as their attention shot up to Claire’s face on the crystal. The pixie had stored the bottles in a bag she’d picked up from somewhere and was flying back down the tunnels towards them.
“Claire, is this one of our boss abilities, to summon minions?” Anadine asked eagerly, “Why haven’t I heard about it before?”
“Because you didn’t need it yet,” Claire answered, returning to the heart room. She floated down to sit on Anadine’s body
. “With Doc low on power, it has become imperative that you both quickly learn your abilities as bosses. First thing first, though, you both need to know who you are.”
“I’m me and always have been?” Anadine pondered curiously. “Or is this a deeper philosophical question?”
“Not spiritually or mentally,” Claire waved her hand dismissively, “I mean as a slime. Now, contrary to what you may think, both of you are actually very high tier slimes. Anadine, you are a Doppelganger slime, tier seven. Rowen, you are a lich slime, also tier seven. Both of these slimes are among the legendary monsters of this world, monsters so rare and powerful that they’ve conquered entire countries. Forget the legend of the nine-tailed fox seducing its way into power, a doppelganger slime is recorded to have once replaced a king and had its lesser minions become ministers. The lich slime was recorded to have once raised a mighty undead army to battle the legendary skeleton dragon army, creating a battlefield that still reeks undead mana.”
“This means I have some incredible bosses under me,” Doc said, a hint of pride emerging in his anger. “That means they’ll be able to slaught—Hold on, Claire, didn’t you once tell me that a dungeon couldn’t maintain control over monsters stronger than it? Back when I wanted to have dragon minions using the kobold race.”
“What I said then is true now,” Claire said smugly. “Tell me, do these two really seem like monsters who could overthrow kingdoms?”
Doc watched Anadine and Rowen jiggle.
“Nope,” he deadpanned.
“Hey!” the two slimes shouted.
“Exactly. These two here have that potential, but after swearing loyalty to you they’re power is restricted to a percentage of your max power. Even if a legendary dragon swore loyalty to you in some insane situation, it would be transformed into a baby until you were stronger than its max strength,”
Dungeon Wars Page 4