《Down the Deep Blue Hole》Volume 1 Chapter 9: Instead of going to you, how about you come to us?
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*Huff*Huff*Wheeze* We're safe....for now. I reeaaally don't like the feeling I'm getting from the opposing dungeon. The desire to kill, or killing intent, I can even feel it. His bloodlust is out of this world man...Was his mother a Vampire? Haha, geddit, cause he thirts for blood! Hahaha! *Ahem* Down to my current situation. My final line of defense, named Plan Stonefall, was my insurance policy just in case all else fails.
You see, I did not let my larvacks go free either. Near the entrance to the tunnel, I had the larvacks create many, many intersecting tunnels that cut out into a boulder with the bottom aligning nicely with the ground. It took an entire month to create this you know? Praise me more! So as I was explaining, the boulder is now veeeery loosely attached to the ceiling. Not so much such that simply touching it will not cause it to fall, but enough that when I got my larvack to cut through the last portion, the trap immediately deploys and will fall down. From the best of my knowledge, ants can't really tunnel that well but knowing how dungeons work........ it's probably not likely that I have more than 2 weeks of leeway. I'll have to utilise this time well. I mean, of course I will! I am the best and everyone knows that!
You have succesfully created and deployed a trap! The Trap option in the Catalogue is now open!
OH! Ooohhhhh! This is goooooood! A new option in the Catalogue? Hell yeah! Let's go! "Menu, Catalogue"
Catalogue Monster Creature Trap [Locked] [Locked] [Locked]
Oooohhhhhh. "Trap"
Trap Availible Traps [Falling Boulder] [Falling Boulder]
A simple yet effective trap, it involves a boulder falling down from the ceiling.
Required Build Time: 1 month (can be sped up with DP)[100DP/week]
Deployment: Manual (1 Larvack required)
Deploy Time: 2 mins
Recharge Time: Never
Faaantastic! Actually, not so much. I only have 2 weeks tops, this takes 1 month to buil- Hold up. How much DP do I have? Hmmmmmm.......mmmmmm........Hrrmmmm.....Ummmuu......eeettooooo....
WHAT! [1000 DP]?! How? I mean, I did kill a lot of ants but still, isn't that a little too much? How many ants did I kill? 1,2,3,4.. arrgh I lost count. I won't complain though, I need that fat and juuiiiicy DP. Moar! The more the merrier! It appears that it costs [400 DP] to insta build a trap, but it seems like I can economize a little....
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The dungeon master began to prepare once again. Firstly, he had the largots and militarvae to dispose of all the ant corpses into a corner, mix it in with some of the plant fibres(they were destroyed in the battle) and covered it with some stone pebbles. A wise choice, since the soon to be rotting dead ants may lead to disease, which would be detrimental to his dungeon. However, the reason why he had added plants and covered it with stone is still unkown. The 3 larvack were went back to hard work again, creating pebbles and making traps. The previous battle may have tired them, but there was no time to rest. The enemy was restless and soon, the second wave will come.
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The managots were better off, having stayed in the back the entire skirmish. These larva were working hard as well. They were trying very hard, in fact, to attempt to increase the mana quality of the dungeon. This, of course, made their feces completely useless as a result and were thrown into the pile with the dead ants. That being said, they had managed to acquire a skill [Primitive mana Purification] as a result(black used to substitute white). As a side note, the dungeon master had hypothesised that there is never such a thing called "impurity" present in mana. Simply put, those that are considered "impurities" are actually simply energies that were currently not needed. Similar to purifying gold, other precious metals such as silver or even platinum is considered an impurity and removed. Those were in no way not valuable, just not currently wanted. Thus, the dungeon master suspected the feces still have uses and he had simply.....thrown it away.
An area with higher mana density is very beneficial to the dungeon. The plants function better, which will produce the much needed manaleaves, the larvacks will have plenty of energy to continue digging and the injured militarvae will be able to recover faster. If achieved, the mana density increase will provide the much needed boost for them to increase their chance at winning the Dungeon Battle. The dungeon master had also closely scrutinized the strange glittery stone. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a strange, tiny light blue crystal embedded in the stone. This strange crystal was small, very small but also quite easy to find within the chunk of stone. Before long, the dungeon master had recieved a notice regarding the stone.
You have discovered a lesser impure mana crystal. The most basic of mana crystals, they still provide a substantial amount of mana. You have now recieved more information about the lesser impure mana crystal. It can now be purchased in the Catalogue. Conditions for [Mana Manipulation]:{1/10} achieved. Conditions for [Domain manipulation]:{1/5} achieved.
Considering the job done, the dungeon master looked away and proceeded to do other things. From army planning and procedure to making sure production is still at its maximun rate, he was busy. And the business helped distract him from his current fears and worries. For now...
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-2 weeks-
My stratergies are sound. This is a battle I cannot lose. I must not lose. I have so many more things I have to do. The flames of the future greatest dungeon cannot be snuffed out here! I wil-
*PSSHHT*! That was the dreaded sound, earlier than I expected even. I watch as my boulder blocking the entrance melt as a swarm of ants rushed in once again. This time, instead of doing the funnel technique I did last time, where I had larvae arranged in a / formation and put the pressure on the vertice, this time I was ready for a swarm. The most effective method to defend against a swarm was what I like to call the gorge technique. A curious thing I had discovered was if done fast enough, the half-digested stone acted as a strong and fantastic glue. Doing so, I made a huge extended tunnel covering the entrance that slooowly narrowed into a 10 ant sized hole. Thus, my larva would not be fighting 10 against a thousand but 10 against 10 a hundred times.
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The ants nearly filled up the tunnel to the brim, a seething mass of insects constantly clambering over each other. They streamed out of the tunnel, in such great numbers and speed that one questioning their senses that only 10 ants can exit at one point of time. The battle ensued once again. Ant fell again and again, like a never ending stream of water, came back again and again. The unrelenting tenacity reminds me of the ants in my old life. Their shining quality in contrast to their mindless personality. Yes, the mindless ants controlled by the Quee-
The Queen. How could I ever have forgotten. More so, it's a dungeon's Queen. Which means that that must be my goal. One of the conditions of winning the Dungeon Battle:"enemy dungeon may no longer fight back" or something similar..and the Queen is the only one capable of recieving instructions according to the starting monster guide. This has to be the way, this in the only way!
Stratergy Impromptu complete! Commence implemetation!
I mean, seriously, the ants don't stop coming do they? For now, we push back! Fighto! You over there, don't you see that your friend over there is engaging 1v8? Help him out! Team Equites, There is an opening there! Charge in halfway and meet up with Team Clipeum, then back out. Team Obturbo, on my signal! Aaaaaaaaaannnnd, now! Team Sicarius, those 3, take them out! We're doing just fine, keep this up!
.... ..... .....*crrk*clack*crrk*... ... ...
Oh my lord..... what in the world is that abomination? If those previous soldier ants were soldiers, then these would be super soldiers. They were like the consort of the omnipotent king, the guides, the gaurds, the escorts. They were the Royal Ants. Armed to the teeth, with a razor sharp mandible as long as my larvae and double their size, these lumbering giants were a terror. A single Royal Ant required the entire of Team Equites and Team Clipeum to take down, allowing the other soldiers and normal ants to continue streaming in. They barely fit into the tunnels, no in fact they were too large for it, they simply pushed through it with brute force. The once favourable tides of battle once again swung into the opponents favour. The element of surprise gave them the upper hand.
Making my larvae move into a - ) formation(the single larca at the front facing the tunnel), the lone larva held off 2 of the Royal ants simultaneously while slowly retreating. The rest of the ants and soldiers were finished off by the rest at the back. I call this the trap technique. Why? Because just as the 2 Royal Ants seemingly gained the upper hand, a boulder fell from the ceiling and squashed them flat. Yup, I'm creative alright. It's called the trap technique since it leads tougher enemies to the trap with a single larva while the rest hold off the weaker ones. Repeating this another 3 times, I, sad to say, had ran out of traps. I could only build 4 traps in this 2 weeks, just when I need them the most... but at least, we were still holding off. Granted, they have a queen, which means that a battle of attrition results in my loss. But I won't let it come to that. I will win this battle, this war. None of my monsters will die. I vow in the name of pizza.
---(2 hours)---
I'm tired. I'm exhausted. 2 hours of close attention to every minute detail. I mean, come on, who would not get tired. I got bored? Nah, no way I can get bored if my life is on the line. Still, it gets pretty tiring you know. Anyways, the final preparations are met. Time to implement Operation Trojan Ant, or OTA! Team Sicarius, do you copy? Crrsht, over. I need backup at coordinates: tunnel entrance, please send assistance, over. Also, watch out, you may never know when the enemy might just send in the...i...r..........Queen.......
I watch, in dumbfounded silence, as the Queen heaved herself through the entrance, the walls of the tunnel melting away.
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