Vorinus awoke from its slumber, glancing sleepily about its influence. The monster tunnel remained silent, and the access point to the ravine continued to radiate mana. Somehow, it knew that the ‘Lesser Humanoids’ dwelled there.

It was time for another evolution. Forced evolution.

Vorinus reached out to its mindscape, hunting for the desired blueprint. Crayfish…Axolotl…Assimilator…Kelp…Fish? It unfortunately couldn’t be the Mimic at its current rank. Vorinus was disappointed.

The decision wouldn’t be easy.

The crayfish hive was growing steadily, and additional species would provide vital resources to the burgeoning colony. Conversely, the group of axolotls were sociable, and very adaptable, and the introduction of a new variant could swiftly improve their combat value. Assimilators were unknown to Vorinus. The Hivemind hadn’t shared information on them. Fish and kelp, on the other tendril, were utterly useless. With their evolution, Vorinus’s growing Corespawn Ecosystem could grow to great levels.

But Vorinus could feel the right choice.

Kelp had enormous evolutionary potential. Different from its surface counterpart, this species developed a unique means of acquiring energy: mana. By using Manasynthesizers replacing chlorophyll, the kelp could gain enormous levels of energy from mana rich cave systems like this one. Vorinus was quite excited-

“Aye, George. Look at this, eh?” a voice called from beyond the staircase.

“Looks like flesh! No way Lord Braudenburg can be allowed to see this!” another yelped.

“Quite yer yapping. It’s only for disposing of prisoners! Like our own Dungeon!”

“You? Owning a Dungeon? Heh, fat chance ye lump of mud!”

“Whatever. I’m a tad pissed off, though. Why’d we have to hike to these mountains-far from all the taverns-and dump ‘em in here?” the first speaker muttered.

“Braudenburg doesn’t like his subordinates asking questions.” ‘George’ whispered.

Suddenly, five loud thumps echoed through Vorinus’s caves. Five wrapped up bundles crashed into the axolotl pool.

{NOTICE: ADVENTURERS PRESENT IN THE DUNGEON}

{ADVENTURER COUNT: 5}

{AVERAGE RANK: 0}

{ESTIMATED SURVIVAL CHANCE: 1.3%}

{ESTIMATED MANA GAIN: 93.9%}

{ESTIMATED BLUEPRINT GAIN: HUMAN (PRISONER}

Vorinus hadn’t actually encountered adventurers until now, but it was sure that they weren’t typical ones. The voices…humans, perhaps…up above had mentioned prisoners. They had committed a crime of some sort. Vorinus didn’t care, as long they gave it mana.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: HUMAN (PRISONER)

One of them drowned before they could escape the bags. The rush of mana was intoxicating to Vorinus, and its core shivered as the energy coursed through it.

But Vorinus was focused on something else entirely. Crossing blueprints.

It had learned during the rush of mana, that it could fuse virtually any blueprint together, but only some would actually be viable. Curious, Vorinus took the kelp blueprint, and shoved it into the ‘Human (Prisoner)’ blueprint, all within its mindscape.

The scientific diagrams flashed with a brilliant hue, and…warped.

Humanoid arms and legs were replaced with bundled kelp, even as the kelp itself was combined with bone. The face was cannibalized, along with most of the organs, used to fuel the growth of the flora-fauna hybrid. At last, it was done, but Vorinus was drained, even with the mana surge.

{ABYSSAL KELP+HUMAN (PRISONER) BLUEPRINTS FUSED: KELP PRISONER}

Kelp Prisoners are Core-spawned fusions of human and Abyssal Kelp. Their skeletal structure is solely human, but all other organic structures have been replaced by magically enhanced kelp. Kelp Prisoners are able to gather mana using evolved Manasynthesizers, and can regenerate their forms using it. In addition, they have advanced intellect, and can use simple tools. When no prey is near, they lie dormant, disguised as a large group of kelp plants. Once prey is located, they open their fang-lined maws, and rip it apart.

Vorinus was very, very pleased. The Kelp Prisoners would allow it to invade the deeper caves at last, and maybe even kill the creature that had slaughtered its own long ago.

But first, it would need to kill the rest of the prisoners.

Ordering all its creatures to turn on them, the prisoners were torn apart in their bags, then quickly devoured. Mana caused Vorinus’s rank to shoot up rapidly, and most of its creatures evolved.

{CRAYFISH SENTINEL EVOLUTION: CRAYFISH WARDEN}

Managing to force its way past the evolutionary bottleneck of its ancestors, the Warden is highly specialized in its purpose: Capturing and eliminating prey. Most of its armor has been focused on the front of the creature, and it has developed a throat organ allowing it to spit an extremely sticky substance. Once prey is caught in the goo, it is rapidly pursued by the Warden, and dispatched.

That was surprising, but Vorinus had learned to accept things like this. It decided to let the Crayfish Hive construct a place for the new species on its own.

{ASSIMILATOR EVOLUTION: ASSIMILATOR DRONE}

A rare species of Assimilator capable of flight. Six long wings allow it to cover ground quickly, and its streamlined form helps in this regard. Drones have a different role, which is obtaining new hosts. As such, their tendrils have been altered to instead induce paralysis, allowing it to carry prey safely to standard Assimilators.

{NEW TITLE GRANTED: NATURAL SELECTION}

Have two Mobs evolve from the same circumstances.

{NEW TITLE GRANTED: SLAUGHTERMASTER}

Kill all adventurers in a party.

This was even more shocking, and Vorinus began to notice a disturbing level of synergy between the crayfish and Assimilators…

An idea for later.

Vorinus conjured five Kelp Prisoners using its bolstered mana supply, and was able to create a singular Mimic. The twisted creature of translucent flesh immediately began to mimic a dead human, form mutating so grotesquely that the other mobs turned away.

When it was done, the Mimic stood in a human stance, features crude replicas of a human’s. But Vorinus knew that it had replicated all the beneficial traits of humans, and used all the information in its blueprints. The Mimic would be a valuable asset.

At last, Vorinus called its host forward, the crayfish, the Assimilators, the axolotls, the Kelp Prisoners, and even the Mimic. No expense was spared.

The ravine soon loomed before Vorinus and its army, but in a short time, they had managed to make their way across, and began a mass genocide of the native life.

First came the bats, as the lone Drone dragged them into the waiting jaws of the Fanged Axolotls.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: MANAENHANCED BAT}

Next, the strange pulsating mushrooms were eaten by the crayfish, surprisingly.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: HYPNOTIC MUSHROOM}

Satisfied, Vorinus continued the expedition, its influence rapidly enveloping the region.

That was when it spotted an enormous eyeless serpent, covered in silvery armored plates. It had been the beast to kill Vorinus’s first creations.

Vorinus wanted revenge, not even noticing the shining crystals that unleashed so much mana into the environment.

The serpent was swarmed, and at first, Vorinus seemed to be winning, but the creature rose with a thunderous roar, shaking off even the Kelp Prisoners. With a darting bite, the entire group of Axolotls perished. A swipe of the tail killed the Mimic instantly.

The Kelp Prisoners struggled to pierce the beast’s armor, finally grabbing sharp rocks, and wearing away at the armor. The Assimilators managed to harry the creature, occasionally shooting caustic acid in between plates. Every drop caused the monster to shriek, but the Assimilators were dwindling. No one noticed the crayfish, silently burrowing through the thing’s head armor, careful not to disturb the owner of the armor.

At last, the Assimilators were slain, and the serpent turned on the Prisoners. One by one, they were crushed or eaten, leaving only an armless one, and the Crayfish Hive against the towering beast. When the crayfish finished their excavations, they called to the Prisoner, even as they began brutally mauling the nearby flesh. The Prisoner leapt upward, and pierced the creature’s skull.

It was done.

Silver ichor spilled from the wound, showering the Prisoner and the Crayfish alike. Several things happened at once.

{NEW DUNGEON FACTION ESTABLISHED: SILVERWURM CRAYFISH HIVE}

Leader: Crayfish Queen

Special Traits:

-Dragonslayer: Additional damage to draconic creatures

-Expansionist: Grows domain over time

-Adaptable: Evolves new species over time

{NEW DUNGEON BOSS: CRAYFISH QUEEN}

A unique evolution of a Crayfish Warden caused by the mana-rich blood of a Wurm. The Crayfish Queen is covered in resilient silver-chitin hybrid material, and possesses the ability to psionically command her entire Hive. Her size is increased, and her armor more evenly distributed, but she can still spit glue-like goo. The Crayfish Queen is also able to produce fertilized young, specialized from available Crayfish blueprints.

{NEW DUNGEON BOSS: KELP ARGENTDRAKE}

A unique evolution of a Kelp Prisoner caused by the mana-rich blood of a Wurm. The Kelp Argentdrake is a completely changed species, now vaguely resembling a dragon-human hybrid, although made of silvery kelp. This kelp is extremely light, but impossibly hard, preventing almost all damage. The Manasynthesizers of the kelp have been largely improved, allowing for increased regeneration, and the ability to expel mana in an explosive eruption from the mouth.

{NEW BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED: ARGENT WURM}

{NEW TITLE ACQUIRED: CHAMPION}

Slay a creature over 5 Ranks higher than you.

The notifications from the Hivemind were overwhelming, and Vorinus nearly blacked out from the amount of information being planted in its head. What was a boss? Why was killing that serpent so special?

Vorinus frankly didn’t care at this point. It just wanted to revel in the endless river of mana cascading into it from the Wurm and the crystals it finally noticed. The sensation was wonderful.

FInally, it went about adding the cavern to its Dungeon.

The ravine was widened, and the back of the cavern lengthened.

First, hundreds of the ‘Hypnotic Mushrooms’ were placed at the bottom of the ravine, where their slightly magical qualities would hopefully cause some adventurers to fall. Next, numerous bats were placed above it to “help” the stronger willed ones perish. The bats normally weren’t very strong, but in this situation, they shined. After that, the cavern was split into another room.

Here, water flooded the area, the sandy floor filled with innocuous Abyssal Kelp. However, lurking amongst their lesser brethren, were the Kelp Prisoners, chained to their pools for thematic and balancing effect. Still dangerous, though.

Another door led to an extremely bright room, containing a singular Mana Crystal that empowered everything nearby. The Kelp Argentdrake dwelled here, serving as a challenge before the Argent Wurm itself, even though the Argentdrake was technically a ‘Boss’. The room served to help the Argentdrake move around in the water, or hide in the thicker kelp. Few would be able to beat it.

But the Wurm was worse. Empowered even further by the remaining Mana Crystals, it now served as the guardian of Vorinus’s core. Its silver plates glinted brightly, and its serrated maw opened hungrily. It could even cast lesser Earth Manipulation!

Extremely pleased, Vorinus returned to watching its Dungeon live. It was bitter about the Mimic, though.