“Help you move?” Miradeen asked, befuddled. “I… don’t think it’s strictly possible…”

[What do you mean?] Marianna responded. She found that odd considering she’d managed to roll her small core to… She didn’t want to think about it. But that had taken extreme effort, and Mari wanted to move her entire crystal body, not just her core.

[The old dungeon you were in never moved his shell?] She realized quickly what she’d said, and tried to apologize, but the queen waved her hand, showing a couple of teeth in what Mari interpreted to be a weary smile.

“Well,” she began. “I can’t say that he didn’t change locations… But--” She was interrupted by a loud explosion from the front of the dungeon. Spooked, Marianna quickly minimized the viewport she was looking into and found the source of the issue through Smitty’s eyes.

The creature that angrily smashed the head attached to its long neck into the walls of the main corridor looked like a fusion of a leopard and a snake. It hissed and curled its lips back into a snarl as it continued to slam its head into the walls, turning the bricks to dust. The loud booms echoed throughout the dungeon, and as she watched, Mari noticed its eyes were slammed shut.

Then she saw the reason why. The monster’s eyes were leaking blood, and the Ratman warrior who stood before it could be the only reason why. His face showed clear terror at his predicament, but he didn’t flee as the monster flailed its paws blindly. He jumped back into the cave, dodging the swipes, and grasped the bone sword he wielded tightly.

Mari struggled to figure out how she could help. She used [Review] on the Ratman and the monster.

Baruk (Warrior)

Baruk, a Warrior of a tribe of Ratmen living in the territory of Dungeon Marianna, is a fearsome fighter. His loyalty to his people is trumped only by his dedication to being the strongest he can be to defend them. Having never fled a fight, even ones he couldn’t win, Baruk has been entitled “Baruk the Brave”.

Marianna could see his valiance at work at this very moment. How could she have been so stupid? Didn’t the Ratmen mention something about that evil dungeon Cordon having sent monsters after them? And Mari had traps available to her! Why hadn’t she built any? Her eyes shot over the words in the next box.

Overseer #1 (Smitty) Notification

Analyze unknown creature?

Approving it, Mari watched as Smitty directed a tentacle towards the monster. Green smoky gas shot from the tip, and flooded the room. The monster coughed, but Baruk didn’t seem bothered by it, and took advantage of the situation. Dashing in, he dropped to the floor to dodge another blind swipe, and slid underneath the beast, slicing the tendon in its leg. The monster screamed, a piercing sound that made Mari mentally cover her ears. It didn’t help.

Baruk now stood, back to the outside of the cave, and climbed up the back of the monster. Its head whipped around, and it snapped towards him. The warrior stumbled, barely dodging the vicious teeth, and slipped, falling to the ground.

Overseer #1 (Smitty) Notification

Analysis complete. Serpopard analyzed.

You may now [Review] the Serpopard.

Mari activated [Review] as she watched the warrior, the breath knocked out of him, roll across the floor, dodging the downward strikes of the blind serpopard. It didn’t seem bothered whenever it smashed its face into the ground with great force. Dirt bricks flew across the room as it carved holes into the ground and walls.

Serpopard Tracker

This creature is a Serpopard. A fusion between serpent and leopard, this foul monster was created by a Dungeon Core. It is exceptionally well suited to hunting prey.

Mari glowered at the beast, terrified that at any moment, Baruk might be caught and killed. Blood continued to drip from the eyes of the monster, but it seemed to have adapted to the pain as it snapped towards the warrior.

Miradeen came sprinting around the corner of the corridor, out of breath, and followed by Yeshi. The second warrior quickly drew his own blade, this one made of metal, and dashed into the fight. The serpopard, hearing his approach, swiped in his direction, catching the new warrior off guard. He quickly flicked his sword towards the oncoming paw, and blocked the sharp talons, stopping them merely inches from his face. His eyes burning with rage, Yeshi opened his mouth and bit down into the hard pad on the beast’s foot with his sharp fangs.

It roared, and flung the warrior across the room. He hit the wall, dropping to the ground, his shoulder dislocated. Baruk shouted, and stabbed at the beast from underneath, but it seemed the monster’s hide was too thick. His sword snapped against the monster’s belly, bone fragments scattering across the floor. Baruk covered his eyes with his other arm to protect against them.

Miradeen quickly raised her bone staff, and channeled a spell Marianna couldn’t quite make out, blasting green energy towards Yeshi, covering him in a shining virescent glow, while the serpopard pounced towards Baruk as he tried to dodge. Its claws dug into his hind legs, and pulled Baruk in as its snake-like tongue darted between its long teeth. Mari could see that the serpopard had a row of normal animal teeth, though much larger, and in front of those, it had two huge fangs that dripped with poison.

The glow around Yeshi faded as his head snapped up, and his shoulder popped back into place. He glanced around, disoriented, before finding his blade. He grasped it, and charged back into the fight.

“Evil demon of Cordon, die!” He shouted, and slashed his sword towards the serpopard’s chest. To Mari’s surprise, his sword actually cut through the thick fur and tough skin. The beast roared again, and Mari watched as Miradeen channeled another spell. This one she heard.

“Fallen from grace, I do not discriminate. I, queen of suffering, with broken crown compel you!” The tip of her staff glowed a bright white, and the rat queen slammed it down towards the ground like she was chopping wood.

The serpopard’s head twisted sideways and rapidly crashed into the floor, creating a large crater around it. A moment later, a pained whine oozed out from its mouth. As it struggled to stand, Baruk ran forward, grappling the head of the monster. Yeshi spun his sword around, charged towards the head, and swung downwards towards the skull Baruk held down.

But the monster’s serpentine tail came whipping around from behind, and swept the feet out from under Yeshi. Then it forcefully shook its head, sending Baruk rolling away. He stood up, and jumped up onto the flank of the beast, climbing it once more as the monster clawed at him. Yeshi ran forwards, swinging his sword at the monster. It must’ve heard the sound of the blade, because it dodged and focused its attention on the warrior in front of it. As its head snapped forwards, Yeshi jumped backwards, and punched the beast in the nose.

The serpopard recoiled in pain, shaking its head, and stumbling sideways. Baruk was almost crushed as it crashed into the wall, but he managed to hop onto its back in time. He climbed the neck of the monster, and bashed his fists into its face. Yeshi called Baruk’s name, and tossed the sword to him. The warrior atop the beast caught it, and jabbed the sharp steel downwards, directly towards the serpopard’s brain. But even coated in blood, wheezing in pain, the monster did not give up. It rolled onto its back, causing Baruk to drop the sword, and used its hind legs to fling him off its neck.

Marianna tried hard to think of anything she could do. Would a trap even help? No, structures take time to build, and who knew if she’d even have the resources for one. She’d just be wasting her time looking. How about summoning something to fight? She scolded herself for that idea. Creatures took even longer than structures, and all she could make anyway was Overseers, unless she wanted to try her luck with the Research Root. But it had no reliable time for the research it performed.

Could she try to cast magic...? Would that help? As she thought that, Miradeen channeled yet another spell.

“As razed queen, I rise from the depths of agony. Heed my commands, and tumble into the abyss!” This time, the tip of the queen’s staff became coated in a black globule of energy as she cast her spell. It floated slowly off the staff as the battle raged on, and approached the serpopard.

When it touched the black bubble, the serpopard flinched. It cried, and tried to pull away, but its efforts only seemed to hasten the approach of the darkness. As the spell covered more and more of the monster, the warriors backed away. They seemed to know what spell Miradeen had cast.

Everyone watched as the serpopard struggled as it was absorbed by the darkness. Mari could only imagine what it must be feeling from her spell. When the monster’s arms were fully submerged, they stopped moving. The rest of the creature continued to struggle, and it began to shriek as the darkness climbed up its neck, immobilizing it.

Kicking away from the darkness again only proved futile, and the orb slowly absorbed the rest of the monster, its shrieks dying away. The bubble condensed, completely coating the serpopard, and its black body lay there on the cave floor.

Yeshi approached, having retrieved his sword once more. He lifted it above the head of the immobilized beast, and plunged it into the skull. The black spell shattered, and the eyes of the serpopard, previously shut in agony, fluttered half-open as the light left them.

Mari sighed in relief as the opponent was defeated with no casualties. She was about to ask if everybody was okay when Miradeen collapsed to the ground, her hands balled into fists. And she cried.

Baruk collected the fragments of his bone sword and made eye contact with Yeshi, tilting his head towards the queen. The tall black rat got his meaning and sheathed his sword, approaching Miradeen. He helped her stand, and shuffled her back to the community while she sobbed.

Marianna couldn’t help but feel useless. What had she done during that fight? She hadn’t even tried to help! The three rat fighters had done all the work, while she stood there analyzing the whole thing. She berated herself as she realized she could have probably prevented this whole situation if she had just constructed traps ahead of time.

She mentally covered her face in shame, and minimized all the viewports, laying down in her illusionary bed, staring into the darkness. She was a terrible person.

What if somebody had died because of her?