** ** ** Dungeon Core ** ** **

Yes! I am level twenty now! Now I only need, twenty-thousand mana to level up to twenty-one. I mean that not too hard. I can achieve that in around four days at my Mana Absorption rate.

It was time to decide what to focus on yet. He was a sculptor not a city planner! Bastill knew that he was not born to be a tactician or a mathematician. He remembered hearing about equations to maximize the largest results in the long run, but he had no clue how to achieve that. Should he build more floors to increase the rate or let his current rate carry him to the next level? The Racoonoids were often a distraction but he slowly moved away from focusing on them. Only giving them a nudge once in a while. The trials had also taken a lot of focus, but he had finally finished them up giving him more time on his hands.

The ability he had received at level sixteen was already in effect, but he had yet to see many results, so he didn’t bother with it. Besides it was a passive ability that effected the flora’s diversity which would let the plants in his dungeon evolve strangely without his guidance. It was called Accelerated Flora Evolution. The most noticeable achievement was the plant he had named Viagre, which he used in Ardor’s Trial.

He had gained important abilities at level eighteen and twenty to assist him in some of his less than frugal mana expenditures. Level eighteen gave him Natural Mineral Production, which produces minerals and ores passively in his dungeon. This allowed him to finally stop summoning iron for their crafting. Instead he spent a little bit of time to teach the Racoonoid’s how to mine it. Taking a slight bit of responsibility off of him. He no longer had to watch the little guy’s supplies.

Level twenty didn’t give him a new ability, but rather improved on what he already had. His forced evolution had improved to the intermediate level. He looked around the dungeon and with his aura looking at all he had made.

He found himself lost at what to do. He had completed all he really could do.

This life never came with a manual. Well, I guess no life ever does…

He momentarily reminisces on the days as a human having no purpose, until he found his skill in sculpting. At least he still had the ability to sculpt in this life. Without it he would probably be lost to the world.

I’d definitely lose my mind if I couldn’t mold the stone. I mean my skills are better then ever! My masterpieces actually come to life now!

While he thought, he turned his mind to his current problem. While he was protected for now, his foes mainly consisted of weaker adventurers. If more powerful ones came, he would be done for. Not to mentioned that the S ranked adventures would be here to harvest him eventually.

Looking at the recent skill improvement he received at level twenty he decided it was time to release some new creatures to give them time to adapt into their habitat and balance into an ecosystem.

He made a quick glance to see which creatures that he had learned that he hadn’t used yet. He still hadn’t used the praying mantis, centipede, deer, wolf, blue bird, bear, field mouse, rat, or ant. Some of them had been collected recently through some fortune offerings. The ants had actually been collected by them invading into the dungeon.

The invasion of the ants happened because an adventure dropped some sweets on the floor in the first room, which attracted the ants. They had promptly been blown up after the dungeon aura overwhelmed their small bodies. It was quite a tragedy for the ant colony.

He cleared the fourth floor of all his experiments, before he started upgrading the animal’s physiques and body’s. He didn’t want to just turn them loose with their basic level of abilities. He first spawned out what he wanted to be the main alpha predators of the floor to be. He took a male ant and enlarged it. He began to slowly shape its body to be slimmer. He molded the body until it began to take on several humans characterizes. When standing up it reached the height of seven feet tall. It was still largely ant based, furthermore he enhanced the carapace. He forced mana into the carapace, filling it to the brim of its capacity. He then began to beef up and strengthen its internal organs insuring it could put out a burst style speed and strength.

The ant had long, robust bottom-legs that were designed to support its weight standing up. Meanwhile, it’s four arms were athletic and sleek, while still maintaining power. The antennae’s where redesigned with a large help from the angel feather catalyst. They no longer sprung from the head as two separate appendages, but rather one appendage that wrapped half a foot above the head in a halo.

Ants with angel halos… might as well give them wings!

So, he did. He fashioned wings that draped across their back like bird wings. When the angelic ant tried to take off it barely made it and inch off the ground while beating it’s ten foot wing span. He had gone back through to cut down on the carapace a bit. Taking away the mass, while trying to retain its rigidly and sturdiness. He additionally increased the wingspan to fourteen feet.

With further testing it showed that while they couldn’t soar through the air majestically, they still could use it to leap twenty feet and glide back down to the ground. He began feeling quite proud of his angel looking ants. He began to think about other aspects of ants.

Ant’s already put out an amazing amount of strength compared to their size? And they have amazing reproduction capabilities… I feel like I’ve tried to make these mistakes before.

Imaging his dungeon over run with ant’s that could walk upright like humans, Bastill mentally shivered at the idea. He decided on making some checks and balances to the environment. At this point he had finished up with the ant design.

New Creature Evolved

Learned Angelic Ant

He looked at the stats of the angelic ant to get a better Idea of its capabilities.

Stat Menu

Level: 35, Race: Angelic Ant, Name: (Unnamed)

Age: 1, Gender: Male , Vocation: Monster

Characteristics

Strength: 56, Constitution: 56, Dexterity:28, Intelligence:05, Wisdom:05, Charisma:05

Traits

Hive Mind- All ants share a common mind

Angelic Wisdom- Low intellect being governed by a sense of religion and spirituality. Can build monuments to increase devotion to their god and buff their species.

Innate Abilities

Mandibles- Bite, Advanced; Wings-Lunge and glide, Advanced; Carapace-Armor, Expert; Antennae- Senses, expert

Welp I made a cult apparently. Again. I never knew low intelligence inherently made creatures more susceptible to religious tendencies…

He hadn’t made anything that started off this strong or this dumb before. Well with exception of the Troll Squirrel, which he checked and found out was the first thing he had ever seen with a stat in the negatives.

He was looking forward to what the hive mind ability would look like when he had more of them. He was always rather curious what type of monuments they would possibly build. The racconoids liked to worship him. Would the ants follow that pattern? Afterall he was quite the supreme being. He spawned a single female ant. Following that he manipulated the environment on the fourth floor. He formed the environment for them to start off in as a large hill made of dirt.

Next, he began by making the creatures that would combat the monster ants to keep them in line. The very next creature he altered were the rats, because they also held decent birthing rates naturally. He once again went about enlarging the animal to seven feet tall, while standing up in a two-legged fashion.

He designed the hands to be razor sharp, while it would be very effective against the wings it would not hold out against the defense of the angelic ants. Armors weakness was bludgeoning force and mass. Maces and morning stars worked the best against them. With that in mind he began to manipulate the end of the tail into a morning star styled attack. He hardened and grew a large spikey mass at the end of the tail.

In order to bring out a larger combat potential he increased the muscles density. Bastill payed special attention in beefing up the tail’s muscles and flexibility so that it could be a more effective weapon. He used the ceremonial blood as a catalyst as he began to increase the rat’s aesthetics and athletic ability.

The rat’s eyes glowed bright red. He decided to reinforce the rats defense by thickening the fur. He made sure to keep it thinner in joint regions to maintain flexibility and maneuverability. Furthermore, to protect the head he brought the bone to the surface and encased it around the skull. He made sure to keep it out of the rat’s eyes. It still had a bit that came down between the nose.

Bastill really liked the bone helmet look. Thinking about the bone, he decided to redesign the tail with the same principle. The end of the tail became a spiked bone mace that was tinged red with the influence from the catalyst.

New Creature Evolved

Learned Blood Bone Rat

Let’s take a look at what we have.

Stat Menu

Level: 42, Race: Blood Bone Rat, Name: (Unnamed)

Age: 1, Gender: Male , Vocation: Monster

Characteristics

Strength: 38, Constitution: 28, Dexterity:55, Intelligence: 30, Wisdom:10, Charisma:15

Traits

Devout- As a social creature they have complex societies based on merit. Ceremonies held by rats will boost and buff their species.

Precognition- Eyes have a chance to see a glimpse of the battle a few seconds before it happens.

Innate Abilities

Teeth- Bite, advanced; Tail-Bone spiked mace, expert; Body-Flexibility, advanced;

The rat overall was a lot more balanced and overall more powerful then an ant. The ants would make up with the number of ants they would be able to field. He was looking forward to the flexibility and tail mace coming into play. He felt that it had a great synergy. The devout trait was quite peculiar to him. He almost felt uncomfortable. The thought of rats making sacrifices before battle was playing through his mind. Reminding him of his own birth into this life, he involuntarily shivered at the thought.

The precognition ability stole the show though. It was such a unique ability and he believed it would be a great skill in the coming battles against S ranked adventures. As a common monster four this level it was in the middle of the C rank.

The ant’s ability relied on it’s quick and powerful attacks along with their great armor. They also had the slight flight capabilities, which was really a powerful lunge and glide. It was quick and powerful, but this power was one directional. The rat on the other hand was evolved into an acrobatic being that could leap and flip through the air and angle their deadly tail to attack.

Its time to dig down for the fifth floor and begin designing new creatures for it. The best way to grow is to expand the environments and new species. Especially now that I have the intermediate forced evolution!

As he was about to turn his attention to the next floor to excavate, he noticed a strange aura permeating into his dungeon. He quickly narrowed it down to the hole of doom that in his cores room. A dark aura was leaking out of it into his dungeon driving his own dungeon aura crazy.

A large fuzzy dark hand stuck it’s hand out of the hole to get a grip. Bastill looked at what was coming out of the hole and used observe to see it’s stats. Noticing that it was tainted, and he had no control over it. He swore and began calling all of his elite and boss creatures down to his floor.

“Shit, Shit, Shit, KITSUNE! BRING EVERYONE HERE NOW!”

He summoned some of his newly made Angelic Ants and Blood Bone Rats directly into his room to keep it busy before the others could come.

“Kitsune!?,” Bastill called.