The Land: Predators

by Aleron Kong

  The one hundred thousand points of concentrated magic required to awaken a Basic Element was much more doable. Adding the fact that the four elements that comprised his Place of Power - Water, Air, Dark and Life - cost 100x less meant that it was a much more accomplishable goal. He just hoped he hadn’t made a mistake that would haunt him in the days to come.

  He finally got to the last item he planned to add. Richter stared at the vial of black liquid and hoped he wasn’t making a mistake. Sion was already bitching that he was taking too long though, so Richter just went with his previous reasoning. ‘This might work out well or go horribly wrong, but either way, it would probably be cool.’

  Item Accepted! This item can be used as both Loot and Resource: Blood of the Dark Aberration.

  HISSSSS!

  Dungeon Ability Added! Consume: Higher level monsters in your Dungeon have a very small chance to absorb the traits, abilities and/or properties of other creatures they consume. These new monsters can pass their powers on to their offspring or be recreated by the Dungeon.

  Quest Update: The Power of Blood I

  Bring the blood of five powerful creatures to your Dungeon to accelerate its evolution.

  Current Count: 2/5.

  Despite the fact that Richter had dropped the blood in, he still cringed slightly. The searing pain he’d experienced when his Mark of the Adventurer had changed had not been fun! This time, thank Abrams and Whedon, was different! There was no pain.

  The Symbiosis Boon of your Mark of the Adventurer may now access the perk gained from the blood of the Dark Aberration: Siphon. You may now absorb residual energy from the bodies of enemies that you have killed. You must be in physical contact. This will add 10% of one of a creature’s attributes to you. Effects last one day and cannot be ended early. Each creature consumed requires that 50 mana from your mana pool be devoted to maintaining these stats. This mana will not regenerate until the energy is released.

  Whaaaatttt! This was amazing! He hoped he didn’t have to do something nasty like eat a slime monster or something to “absorb” the energy, but even if he did, it probably wouldn’t be the worst thing he’d ever put in his mouth. The time limit wasn’t as good as… no time limit, but it was still awesome. An extra five points of Strength or Constitution was well worth decreasing his mana pool by fifty points in a fight! There had to be a downside, because this Symbiosis Boon was just too awesome!

  Then he read the next prompt. And there it is, he thought sourly.

  Know This! The Symbiosis Boon can only use one blood type at a time. In the future, these may be exchanged by physically touching the Well of Offering, but switching blood types will remove any active effects gained while using the old blood type. Which blood perk do you choose?

  Deadly Charisma: +2500 Relationship Points with any sentient dead, undead, or living dead. +10% Relationship Points with any sentient dead, undead, or living dead.

  Siphon: Add 10% of a slain creature’s attributes to your own at a cost of 50 points of your mana pool.

  Still awesome, Richter thought, and the fact that he could switch by touching the Well of Offering was cool. In fact, it looked like he had already found a loophole in the fact that he had to wait a full day for his mana to return. He could just switch blood types and restore his magic pool if needed. With a faint smile on his face, he chose “Siphon.”

  A strange and tingling warmth permeated his entire body.

  “Are you done yet?” Sion asked.

  Richter looked at him and made some creepy eye contact, “Oooohhh yeaaaahhhh.”

  CHAPTER 46 – Day 143 – Kuborn 33, 0 AoC

  Richter handed out Potions of Clarity.

  Randolphus spoke up, “The Dungeon is young and so shouldn’t be a significant danger to a group such as ours. At least at the beginning. That is still no reason not to take the danger seriously. I have known high level adventurers to fall and never rise even on the highest levels of a dungeon that they had spent years adventuring in. I also do not know if the loophole of being Richter’s Companions will allow for us to dungeon dive without repercussions. If the Dungeon reacts negatively, it will attack our party with everything it has.”

  Everyone nodded in understanding and acceptance. Richter took the lead and entered the portal. The room looked much the same as last time. Dark red columns still obscured their view, though there was plenty of space to pass between them. The same diffuse red glow came from in front of them, and occasional animal noises split the silence. There was an almost oppressive feel in the air.

  “Huh,” Richter commented softly, looking around.

  “What is it?” Sion asked at the same volume.

  “The bodies of the two men I condemned. I thought we’d find their remains.”

  Randolphus poked his head over Richter’s shoulder and said, “The Dungeon is always hungry.”

  Gahhhh, Richter shouted in his own mind. Randy was so friggin quiet, that he was barely able to keep the surprised shout inside. The chaos seed seriously considered enacting the “bell around the neck” protocol for the Spy, but the bastard could probably travel silently even wearing bells with a vibrate enchantment. Hmmm, vibrate enchantment… Suddenly, Richter was distracted by the Mist Village’s newest export idea. Nobody went to Brookstone for a “massager.”

  Sion elbowed him in the ribs when he saw his friend was staring off into space again. The chaos seed came back to himself and motioned for everyone to position themselves for battle. This was, of course, unnecessary because they were all waiting on him. Still, he enjoyed making special forces hand gestures in combat situations. Everybody did.

  Terrod hefted his new high steel buckler with +2 Defense and his high steel sword of Sonic Damage. Neither weapon was the best Richter could make, but they were still powerful. Bowdin was working on a blade made specifically for the captain. He assured Richter that the final weapon would have requirements within Terrod’s capabilities, and that it would be ready before the army left to battle the lich.

  Yoshi stood beside him, and the decaemur knight rounded out the tank roles in the party. Sion stood with an arrow knocked and Randolphus stealthed into the darkness. Hisako began casting a spell. Light surrounded her hands. The illumination made Richter realize that the mist lights he had summoned last time were gone. Apparently, the Dungeon would consume anything left behind, he thought sourly. The Hearth Mother finished her casting.

  A bowling ball-sized sphere of white light flew from her fingertips. It shot between two of the dark red columns. Once it had passed them, the ball split into three copies of itself. One remained at the spot where it had multiplied and the other two flew off in different directions. Each of those passed between a different set of columns. They split again and again and again. In the space of thirty seconds, the entire cavern was well lit by hanging orbs of white light.

  Without the gloom, the entire foreboding vibe of the Dungeon faded away. Richter looked around for his chamberlain to see if his stealth had been broken, but either the man was hidden behind a pillar or his skill was advanced enough that he could hide even in full light. Then the chaos seed looked at Hisako. The fact that he was impressed was written all over his face. The Light Master, who was most likely centuries old, just smirked and cocked her head as if to say, “I’m nice like that.”

  With those preparations complete, Richter employed the same plan as last time. Alma flew into the air and began to scout. He reminded her again to be wary in case there were aerial predators. She sent back the mental equivalent of a sniff of disdain.

  *And you should remember not to trip over your feet, master.* she thought to him.

  Richter chuckled. He guessed he could be like a mother hen to her. The chaos seed pulled out his Traveler’s Map and made it show a live feed of what Alma was seeing. Hisako leaned over the map as well.

  Once again, the dragonling flew in concentric circles. This time she started seeing monsters further from the red center of the room, and there was more than just on
e type. The koran tuskers still rooted around in the grass, but there was a second type of monster that slunk around as well. They were about three feet at the shoulder and had the build of greyhounds. Their fur was green in color. They were sleek creatures that picked up and placed their feet down carefully. They were moving slowly, but even from Alma’s aerial view, they gave the impression of a coiled spring. Richter had no doubt these creatures could launch themselves forward at great speed. Their heads seemed overly large for their bodies, and a long tail whipped behind them, bending like a cat’s. Three thick claws curved downward on each paw.

  The two types of monsters seemed to more or less ignore one another. Alma did see a bit of conflict when one of the porcine tuskers got too close to one of the new beasts. The dog monster snapped at it, and it looked like the jaws actually extended outside of the large head. The monster’s incisors were four to five inches long, and the rest of its mouth was filled with sharp teeth. At this display of dominance, the tusker squealed in panic and ran back to the safety of four others of its kind. The hound ignored it after that. Richter continued to watch and saw that while the tuskers normally seemed to cluster together, the new creatures were solitary and dotted the cavern. Strangely, there seemed to be baby pig monsters mixed in with the other tuskers this time.

  “Jenit prowlers,” Hisako stated quietly upon seeing them in the map. “They have little in the way of natural armor, but are incredibly fast. Their necks and jaws can elongate slightly to ensure that they bite their prey. Their claws are also strong enough to score sprite armor.”

  Richter looked at her in concern, “What about enhanced sprite armor?” The question could also have been, ‘What about my shit?’

  The Hearth Mother just smiled at him. She had that same slightly insane look in her eye that Sion had when going into battle, “You will probably be fine.”

  “Super helpful,” he told her sarcastically. She nodded back happily and Sion snickered from off to the side.

  Alma had finished her scouting of the cavern. Most of the monsters were still clustered in the center under the large red jewel. The problem was that there were about 50% more tuskers than last time and about thirty of the jenit prowlers.

  “There are more monsters than I expected,” Randolphus said, phasing into view. The problem was, he phased in directly behind Richter.

  The chaos seed had to stifle yet another startled gasp. Giving away their position to the Dungeon monsters with a ladylike shriek would not have been the best. Richter gritted his teeth instead, “Do not sneak up on me.”

  Randolphus looked back and answered in his most polished and arrogant voice, “You do realize you just said that to a Rogue, correct, my lord?”

  Richter rolled his eyes, “Why do you say there are too many monsters?”

  “Not ‘too many’,” the Spy corrected in his cultured voice, “merely more than I expected. Your Dungeon is only several days old and we killed many monsters yesterday. Dungeons have amazing powers, but even they are limited in what they can create. Each day, the Dungeon generates a finite amount of power, called Dungeon Points. These are used to fuel everything that the Dungeon does, including creating monsters.”

  “So?” Richter asked. “It used Dungeon Points to make more monsters.”

  “That is possible,” Randolphus admitted, “but I adventured in another young Dungeon, barely two centuries in age, and I have read of many more.”

  Two hundred years? That was young? Richter asked himself, but he didn’t interrupt.

  “When I say that the Dungeon uses its Points for everything, I mean everything, my lord,” the chamberlain continued. “Creating new rooms, spawning monsters, generating treasure to draw us in, growing minerals and anything else it might do. Young Dungeons typically cannot generate large volumes of monsters all at once. They focus on growth and leveling.”

  “If a Dungeon uses all its Points to make monsters all of the time, then it’s neglecting its own growth?” Richter asked. He was finally getting what Randy was trying to say. If the Dungeon Points could be used to level the Dungeon up, it would be a waste to stay at level one and just keep making weak monsters.

  “Yes, my lord. I recognize, however, that I have never been in a Dungeon that utilized a Deeper Magic, let alone a Higher Energy. The amount of Dungeon Points it can create each day is quite high, so this could explain why it was able to regenerate so many monsters in a single day. There is also another, simpler explanation. It might have created a Lair.”

  It was quiet for a few moments. I know this guy isn’t going to make me ask what a fucking Lair is, Richter thought. His expression must have reflected his inner thoughts, because Randolphus soon added, “A Lair is a Room that greatly increases the breeding rate of the Dungeon’s monsters. It would explain why there are young tuskers amidst the rest. Dungeon creatures mature at a rate dozens of times faster than their real-world counterparts. The Dungeon can also accelerate their growth for much less energy than it takes to spawn a monster from thin air. The Lust ability you told me of would also make this more likely.”

  Richter nodded. The Crypt Mistress ichor had given a bonus to the Dungeon, making Lairs 10% more likely to develop. He hadn’t known exactly what that meant at the time, but it made sense. It also increased the monster spawn rate by the same amount. There was another possible reason for the large number of monsters that Randy hadn’t mentioned yet.

  Turning to Hisako, he asked, “Could my Life Mastery or the Quickening be at play here?” The bonus he received from having claimed Mastery of the Life ley line increased the growth of the physical manifestation of his village by 30%. The Quickening increased the yield of all resources by 25%.

  Hisako stopped to consider the question academically. Her mind quickly shifted to the potential dangers of a Bloodstone Dungeon boosted by Celestial magic. Her heart started beating rapidly as she considered it, but she willed herself to calm. Lord Richter was an agent of change, that had been clear almost from the beginning. Change could never be stopped completely, but it could be guided. As she formulated an answer, she resolved to pay close attention to both the Dungeon and her ally. The accomplished leader let no evidence of her internal thoughts play across her face.

  She shook her head in response to Richter’s question, “I do not believe the Dungeon itself would be viewed as a resource. The Quickening could very well affect the growth of resources inside of it, however. As far as the bonus from your Life Mastery, I cannot say. I know of no documented Dungeons built upon a Life Place of Power.” She did not sound too sure about either supposition to the chaos seed.

  It looked like Randy’s Lair idea was the best one they had. Still though, Richter didn’t get why it was important, “Okay. What you’re saying makes sense, but why should we care? You keep telling me that we want the Dungeon to be stronger. More monsters sounds like a good way to accomplish that.”

  “Because, Lord Richter,” Hisako said with an excited gleam in her eyes, “Lairs always yield better treasure, and battling Lair-spawned creatures imparts more experience than fighting regular Dungeon monsters.”

  “Ah,” Richter said finally catching what they were throwing, “and I’m guessing Lairs also have a stronger monster that you have to overcome to clear them out?”

  “They do indeed,” Randolphus answered, surprised that his liege knew that detail.

  Richter finally smiled. So … a mini-boss in a Dungeon and good loot besides. The gamer inside of him was doing a dance. There was still one thing that didn’t make sense to him though. “You keep saying that I need to grow the Dungeon and make it stronger, Randy. Wouldn’t wiping out a Lair have the opposite effect?”

  The chamberlain shook his head, and to Richter’s satisfaction, he saw the man grimace slightly at the shortening of his name. It was the little things in life that made it worthwhile, in the chaos seed’s mind. The Rogue answered with his customary cultured voice, “Dungeons thrive on battle, my lord. You have already seen that it is using a s
econd monster type today. That is most likely because we killed the tuskers yesterday. It will lose a small amount of energy when its creatures are killed, but it can gain most back by reabsorbing them. It also learns and grows by having us battle its monsters.”

  It was getting stronger by observing them? Richter wasn’t a hundred percent sure that he liked the sound of that, “So the monsters will learn and adapt to our tactics?”

  “Nothing quite so cerebral, my lord. Remember, while the Dungeon is alive, it is not aware in the same way that we are. Also, these beasts are not capable of intelligent planning. They will not drive us into traps, for instance. It is possible that the Dungeon will one day house creatures that are capable of tactics, but I do not believe we will have to fear that for some time to come. There is also another reason that I recommend we search for the Lair. There are certain perks that come from conquering them.”

  “Alright, you’ve sold me,” Richter acceded. “Before we do anything else though, we still need to kill the monsters in this first room, right?” Both the chamberlain and the Hearth Mother nodded. “Then let’s get to it.”

  Richter decided their best course of action was to draw the creatures to them. Here at least they had the cavern wall at their back, limiting the directions from which the monsters could attack. “Buff up everyone.”