A figure lands in a grassland in the middle of nowhere. No predatory animals come around here do to only small prey. The figure points her index finger in the air and speaks some words. Inaudible to any mortal ears. Then she turns her hand upside down dropping something miniscule into a ant hole in the ground.

[Z]

After Dungian gave me the last bits of advice on being a dungeon she dropped me into a ant colony disappearing in the wind.

The fall felt like an eternity, but it is only due to my small sizes. Once I land an ant immediately comes and picks me up walking me down their maze like hallways. This ant brings me down far into the colony then at a random intersection jams me into the wall tapping me for good measure then it goes back to doing whatever it does.

On the way here Dungian told me the basics of being a dungeon which now feel like instincts. Step one spread influence and cultivate, step two subjugate monsters. That’s the basics.

I begin to cultivate drawing in the earth essence from around me. I’m not consuming everything and hoarding it, I release ambient essence from cultivation which replaces that I consumed. Every cultivator does this.

I do this for several hours until I’m satisfied with the amount I can play with. I can check the amount of essence I have by simply looking at my spiritual body. The first sphere is about twenty five percent full the second is still blocked.

Okay so now I must spread my influence. The way Dungian explained it was like forcing my essence into the ground. I’m the size of a grain of sand so any territory will be a dramatic increase for me. I go to the left of me where there is a grain of sand the same size as me. It’s light brown and right for the taking. I grab my essence with my minds eye and force it into the sand. The sand blocks the essence I send to it but as I pore more essence at it it’s defenses start breaking then finally it happens.

My essence goes inside it then into it’s being. I can feel it become apart of my body and my perception grows. I can see three hundred and sixty degrees around my core, but now it’s like my eyes grew and I can see farther.

I check my essence levels, I’m at five percent. Spreading influence takes a lot of essence I won’t be able to grow quickly at this rate. Uggh I was hoping to be summoning monsters by the end of the week. Well nothing I can do about it looks like I’ll just have to grind for the foreseeable future. And grind I did.

I don’t need sleep in this form so I can constantly be doing something. I cultivate for about three hours then I spread my influence into the grains of sand near me, my fellow brothers of the wall. Doing this cycle I gain about eight grains of sand a day, to be honest I don’t actually know how long I’ve been doing this so it could be longer.

But to my estimate over three months have passed sense I’ve been dropped here. Making my total grain count to be 168. I’ve got the entire hallway around me under my control or a segment at least. And I’m three sand grains into the wall.

I’ve also noticed something I can’t see beyond my influenced ground. When the rare ant walks through I can’t see it until it is in my territory. I wonder why I could see Dungian and Magian. Is it because they are goddesses? I’ll be sure to ask them when I see them next.

With my time being completely taken up by cultivating I don’t notice that the ants are coming around more often. What used to be one ant a week has turned into one ant a hour, but I don’t notice like I said.

Spreading influence has also become a bigger challenge. It now takes fifty of my essence pool to conquer a grain of sand. I think distance has a factor in how much essence it needs. I can go into the wall farther, but that won’t help in seeing.

An ant comes into my vision. I ignore it like always, but it does something weird. It starts picking at my walls with its pincer. Then another ant comes doing the same thing and another one and another one. Finally fifteen ants are in my room picking at my walls.

What are they doing? Are they trying to take my sand? No you can’t have it it’s mine now! Fearing the worse I try to see if I can crush them with my walls. I can’t I’m not far enough into the dirt.

Then another ant comes into my hallway. Carrying a small white sphere with a little black spot in the center. What is that?

Some of the other ants leave coming back with the same sphere. What they do with it is also weird. The coat the bottom of them with a little bit of saliva the set them on the wall. Side by side and soon on top of each other. My entire hallway is covered with them within a couple of hours. Two ants stay and watch over them.

What can they be? I look at them closely unable to see inside of them other than the black dot. I try to subjugate it but I’m met with absolute resistance. I’ll need way more essence if I want these things. And I will. I already have a plan in mind.