The core awoke to a clamour, as what it hoped for most competed with the twisting it had grown to love. It was able to set aside the feeling, to focus on the words. It seemed the others had differences of opinion, suggestions related to vipers, skeletons, and goblins rushed in, and the dungeon considered each carefully. The idea of using skeletons to distract intruders while arrows- which the voice in question believed would be unaffected by, or atleast less so- peppered them from the outside, was intriguing. Meanwhile, a pit full of vipers sounded terrifying and exciting, risking intruders not having to fight while guaranteeing a kill if they did fall in. On the other hand, the idea of having goblins push victims into pits was also appealing, as was the idea of using pits not as a means of killing, but to make them unable to fight back. If the core had wished to have its options simplified, it seemed it would have to come up with a way to get direct feedback from lots of the voices at once.

Perhaps the idea which interested the core the most, however, was that of so called "slimes". While they weren't available to purchase, the core could tell, in the same way it had known it could create defenses in the first place, that there was a way it could make slimes. It simply hadn't discovered it yet. This brought up the idea that perhaps waiting longer to summon its first monsters would be valuable- if its first minions were stronger because it waited, surely it would be able to become much stronger in the long term?

Eventually, the core turned its attention to the sensation, and was blasted with nearly as much information as it had received from the voices.

Intruder Slain! Congratulations! The dungeon has slain its first intruder! The dungeon has gained 5DP as a reward for this occassion! Material Absorbed DP Gained

Large Crustacean x1

2DP gained

Large Snail Shell x1

1DP gained

New Monster Unlocked! Thanks to absorbing new materials, you have unlocked Giant Crab, a basic aquatic type minion!

The core reeled, then began to celebrate, as the voice's idea was so immediately confirmed. It could increase the number of options it had available to summon! Immediately, it rechecked the list of monsters it could summon.

Monster Description Goblin A basic humanoid monster, it is intelligent enough to guard specific locations, but also cowardly and weak. Unlocks additional Traps, and allows more advanced trap combinations. 10MP Giant Rat A basic beast monster, it fears fire but will attack anything which enters its lair. More powerful than the other first tier monsters. 10MP Skeleton A basic undead monster, it is difficult to destroy, and may restore itself before intruders leave the dungeon. Weaker than the giant rat, but can guard any location, comes in greater numbers, and knows no fear. 10MP Viper A basic stealth monster, it is the weakest of the first tier monsters, and only marginally more intelligent than a Giant Rat, but its bite injects a dangerous venom. Unlocks poisoned variations of certain Traps. 10MP Giant Crab A basic Aquatic monster, capable of fighting underwater. Unlocks construction of water features within the dungeon. Nearly as strong as the Giant Rat, but comes in lower numbers than other monsters. 15MP

The core found itself stumped, and remembered that the voice which was considering skeletons had asked about skeletons and their greater numbers. The core had simply accepted this as being the way monsters worked, but now it realized it did not understand what it meant, especially as the giant crabs apparently came in lower numbers.

Deciding to experiment, it focused on Skeleton, seeking to gain as much information as possible.

Skeleton

A simple construct made of bones, the skeleton is incapable of thinking, marking its greatest strength and weakness, as it will never flee and will obey orders without hesitation, but can never act without explicit orders. When skeletons are selected as a floor's primary monster, the dungeon will be populated with 60% more skeletons than if a less numerous monster were selected.

Skeletons can return from the dead at a small chance when an adventurer reapproaches them.

High level undead rarely evolve directly from skeletons, and are instead summoned in addition to the skeletons already on a floor.

Success! The core began to feel like it could understand things, or atleast like it could ask the right questions to let the voices explain things to it. Perhaps it should try to learn about the other options, so that the voices could make a better decision?

Viper

Vipers are small, venomous snakes with a deadly bite. While treatable, lone targets will rarely make it far before succumbing. Vipers hide in ambush, and strike only when a target is distracted, or in overwhelming numbers. When vipers are selected a floor's primary monster, small holes and borrows will appear throughout the dungeon, allowing ample hiding locations.

Unlocks the use of poisons in Traps and potions. Allows weapon-bearing monsters to have their weapons poisoned.

Goblin

Goblins are weak, cowardly humanoids, who rely on traps to fight their battles for them. They flee before powerful enemies, and refuse to fight unless they have a numerical advantage. Higher level goblin evolutions can inspire or force basic goblins to fight, even to the death. Goblins are known to construct complicated dwellings inside dungeons, and these structures can often be repurposed for combat.

Grants greater freedom when combining Traps, as well as more complex basic traps.

Giant Rat Giant Rats are the most directly dangerous basic monster that can be encountered on a dungeon's first floor, but behave like normal animals and can be frightened off with fire. Despite this weakness, they are greatly feared, as some rat evolutions appear nearly identical to regular rats, but are much more dangerous. Giant Crab Giant Crabs are similiar in nature to Giant Rats, and are nearly identical in terms of threat on dry land, if slightly weaker. However, they can fight without impediment in water, making them incredibly dangerous in a dungeon which has taken full advantage of this fact. They also lack a Giant Rat's inherent fear of fire, but instead come in reduced numbers. When Giant Crabs are selected as a floor's primary monster, the dungeon will be populated with 40% less Giant Crabs than if a more numerous monster were selected.

The core considered its options for some time, but was still unable to discern which choice would be best. Eventually, it decided to experiment further with what it could learn, and satisfy a curiosity.

The core spent several minutes focusing as hard as it could on the concept of Slime. When this failed to work, it altered its approach. First, it tried Unlockable Monsters, before moving on to every possible combination it could think of. Unfortunately, nothing relating to monsters or slimes worked. It seemed the core was unable to gain information on monsters it had not unlocked, no matter how hard it tried.

Instead, the core turned to its dungeon- while it was glad its defences had worked, the fact that something had already wandered in made it terrified. It didn't think it could fit in many more traps in the space it had available, so instead it decided to expand the space it had. Immediately, it knew that it could dig a new tunnel like the first one for 2mp, and that for 7mp it could make a room slightly smaller than this one. Considering carefully, the core dug the tunnel, before deciding to dig a new room, almost twice as big as the current room, but it only dug half the room, allowing it to save one mp. Proud of its decision, the core decided to check how long it took to recover mp.

Unnamed Dungeon MP:1/10 defeated invaders: 1 Untyped Dungeon MP Regen: 2/day DP: 8

The core was dissapointed by the regen, but not surprised- it had been unconcious long enough for something to enter the dungeon before it had reached 5mp, so it knew it must have been out for a while. Since it would be waiting a while either way, the core experimented with minor markings in walls, and found it could easily leave lines in the wall, which it could then smooth over. With this in mind, the core wrote quickly on the wall, and quietly sent a wish out, asking the voices to say- quietly- which monster they would prefer, or if it should wait for the Giant Crab or another harder to access first monster.