The Dungeon Without a System

Chapter 106

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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I left Kata, Huea, and Hallmark to talk on the Ninth and moved on. I still had a few things to check before I allowed myself to dive back into designing islands on the Eleventh.

Firstly, I checked on the Metal Ants again and was impressed by their progress. They'd already cleared out a couple of chambers, and the queen had begun to lay new eggs. Workers took the eggs to the second chamber, where they were watched and guarded. Letting them carve their own tunnels and chambers was a great idea. I'll have to keep an eye on them, though. I'll have to curb their breeding numbers and instinct to expand when there's enough of them. The Guilders will likely never pass through this floor often enough to be an effective population control method.

The Drake-kin were still doing well, though the village was a fair bit emptier than just a few weeks ago. Plenty of Drake-kin had moved to the Eleventh, though the ones connected to respawn crystals were still here. Speaking of, I needed to move the Kobold minibosses down. They deserved bigger crystals and an evolution. I don't want to just make them Drake-kin, though. I'll think about it.

With the Seventh done, I moved on to the Eighth.

First things first, it was time to check on the fungal Hivemind I left in a set of caverns down here. I purposefully hadn't looked in those caverns since I sealed it off, so this should be cool.

It was incredible. Originally, I'd just given the brain-like fungal mass all of the designs for the humanoid fungal zombies the hiveminds on the Fifth had created. While this separate Hivemind had used those designs, it had put its own twist on them.

The entire interior of the cavers was coated with fungal flesh, a pulsing pink that seemed more flesh-like than anything else. It was damp, wet, and unsettling.

It was perfect.

Of course, this was all in the pitch black of the caverns, with no natural light source, and the fungal mass had chosen not to evolve any.

Where the tunnels made you think you were inside a living being, the caverns showed this was indeed a fungus. The giant mushroom had also grown here, their caps merging to make multiple floors and their stalks growing so close as to make the place maze-like. It was here that the fungal monsters roamed. The Hivemind had taken the humanoid base and turned the arms into another set of legs. Each limb ended in serrated spikes, letting the monsters cling to the roof and walls with ease. Surprisingly, the fungal carpet was undamaged by their passage.

The torsos were covered in tendrils and antennae designed to detect the slightest change in air pressure. They were all blind, after all. They hunted prey based on what I would call passive echolocation. Watching them stalk the tunnels and mushroom terraces... they were terrifying, twitching at the slightest change in the wind.

The Hivemind blocked off the cavern its brain-like fungal mass rested in from the rest of the system with a solid wall of the fungus, disguising it as just another wall. I believed it'd fool Isid's eyes, and that was enough for me.

All in all, it was incredible. All that remained was to make going through all this horror worth it.

And I knew just the way.

The first peak was connected to the second by two paths; a narrow wood-and-rope bridge and a treacherous trek over a glacier. The second peak led right into the third, splitting into two paths: The first was treacherous and exposed. In contrast, the second was strenuous but guarded by a large number of monsters and manabeings. I decided to make a third: a tunnel. Practically a direct route from the crossroads right to Pyry's arena. A short distance into the tunnel, it would transition to the same fungal carpet, leading to a solid mass of fungal matter. I left a fungus-infested skeleton at the base of the wall, holding a slate with a message written in Runic.

The fungus... it has infested the peaks. There were signs on the Second Peak, but I did not believe it. Now, the most direct route to the Ninth is blocked. The lower caverns, the abandoned ones. They must be where it made its home. I suspect the Ruby Sphere, stolen not long ago, is being drained of its power to fuel this rapid growth. It cannot be destroyed, but a single touch by a mage should be enough to deactivate it. However, I've heard odd noises while inspecting this wall. I will move tomorrow when the blizzard abates.

In the caverns, I formed another pedestal—much like the ones on the Fifth, though with a key difference. Instead of a key, this one pulsed with life, and in the pedestal's 'bowl' was a monster core. It was large and mostly covered with fungal flesh. I tweaked the core itself to glow red and enchanted it to 'dim' and go dark upon being touched. It would also signal the Hivemind to pull back its fungal stalkers.

Finally, It would signal the fungal mass blocking the tunnel to retract and reveal the path.

If they instead decided to break the crystal, the opposite would happen. They would be swarmed with stalkers, and the mass would be reinforced.

With that, the Eighth was as complete as I could make it, barring further tweaks. Okay, that's enough of a break. Time to go back to the Eleventh.

It was time to make something entirely new, unconnected to the Elemental Isles. A much, much larger island containing the mostly intact ruins of a modern city.

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The Port, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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Captain Eli Hart looked over the crowd of Children arrayed before him.

"Let me get this straight," he began, talking slowly and deliberately. "You want me to take you to Theona? To the former Phenoc Kingdom, to do... what, exactly?"

"To spread the teachings of The Creator to all willing to listen, yes, Captain Hart," The robed Capriccio replied, the crowd nodding along eagerly at his words.

Eli pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"You are aware, of course, that outside this unique island, there are no beings other than humans?" Eli explained, scrambling for something that would dissuade the crowd. "Humans, who have killed anything born from a dungeon for millennia. You will face discrimination, hate, outright assault, and I have no doubt many will bar you from entry into towns and maybe entire duchies."

"That is why we will be making port in the lands of Lord Kolchiss," the same Capriccio continued. "We have contacted him through his daughter, who is the steward of Atlantis. He has promised us safe harbor and lodgings for our stay. From there, we will prove we are peaceful and only wish to spread The Creator's teachings. Time will spread stories and rumors about us, and while I have no doubt some will be unfavorable, we know our calling."

Eli sighed. He had a feeling nothing he said would change their minds. It was in the set of their jaws, the gleam in their eyes, and especially in how they held those books to their chests. This time, he looked at the crowd carefully, not giving them just a passing glance.

It was around thirty strong, with each race of Children having at least one representative. Minotaur, Scorpan, Capriccio, Drake-kin, and Kobolds were all dressed in robes. Their robes were cut in different ways, a given due to their different body structures, but in such a way that, in the end, they all looked similar. They wore various idols, the most common being a teardrop-shaped pendant hanging from a chain made of hands linked together.

It was more intricate and delicate work than he'd expected. He had few goods actually produced by the children in his hold. There was plenty of this new fabric, which came from a tailor in town, and pre-made clothes made of the same fabric. Then again, the fabric was probably from the dungeon itself and merely collected by the Guilders.

The scorpans were carrying the group's luggage, which was contained in cages harnessed to their lower bodies.

"We're willing to compensate you handsomely for ferrying us to our destination," their spokescapriccio continued. However, Eli raised a hand when they went to put their hand in a pouch at their side.

"Before we start the haggling, can I ask a question?" he asked, and the Capriccio nodded. "I know you have your own ships; why do you not just use them?"

There was a moment of silence, and the Capriccio narrowed... Her? Her. She narrowed her eyes. Eli had been around a few Capriccio recently. Though they were similar, there were a few subtle differences between the males and females. This one had well-groomed wool, and her red irises were a thin line around her goat-like pupils.

"We thought a ship crewed entirely by Children would be... ill-received," she began, gesturing to their party's imposing Scorpan and Minotaur members. "Regardless of safe port or not. But by arriving on a well-established ship with a well-known merchant, we borrow some legitimacy, and they're more likely to give us a chance."

Eli rubbed his stubble as he considered this reasoning and found he agreed with her. The people of Theona had never encountered talking or thinking monsters before. Their whole experience with the beings was defending themselves from ravenous manamutants and monsters who periodically flooded the countryside, born from unknown dungeons. They wanted nothing but to kill and consume anything they could get their claws and jaws on.

These strange beings, however... Not human, certainly, with different values and morals. But people, all the same.

"Alright, come aboard. Come with me to my quarters, and we can negotiate. Might I have your name, my fair lady, as you seem to know mine already?" Eli finished, letting a roguish smile grace his features.

"I am Baalzebub, Priestess of The Creator," the capriccio said. "With me are the missionaries willing to leave the lands of The Creator behind, boldly exploring beyond what we know of the world. I'm sure you'll come to know them on our journey, as short as it should be."

Eli bowed slightly, waving his arm up towards the gangplank. Baalzebub nodded and marched past. The smaller Children followed quickly, though the minotaur eyed the plank with mistrust, and the scorpan seemed despairing.

"Ah... Perhaps, the cargo crane?" Eli suggested, pointing out the crane designed to lift cargo to and from the ship. One of the Scorpan began clicking in that strange language, and a minotaur sighed, nudging his fellow.

"C'mon Towers. You'll just have to bear the indignity. It's not exactly designed for beings like us, right?"

The Scorpan seemed to huff, then walked off towards the crane. As the others followed, there did seem something familiar about that Scorpan... Eli shook his head. Probably saw him around the town. Eli followed and directed his nervous crew that, yes, they did need to use the crane lift.

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Private Training Ground, High Temple of the Gods, Theona

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Tamesou Akio raised his sword, catching the blow and deflecting it to the side. He felt confidence swell within him. He'd done it!

The unseen gauntlet-clad fist that followed the strike knocked him to the ground. The demon had a smirk on his face as Akio fought for breath. Gut punches always left him breathless, and this was no different. "You may knock me down," Akio declared, stumbling to his feet again, glaring at the demon as he did. "But I will always get up again! You'll never keep me down!" Akio declared. In the corner of his eye, he saw Miss R-Sophie raise an eyebrow at him from the sidelines.

The rest of the training session went about the same. Akio was improving, but man were the gains he experienced painful.

Akio stumbled to the circle's edge at the wave of the demon's hand, dripping with sweat. He gratefully accepted the waterskin from the lounging Miss-Sophie and gulped it down as fast as he could. The handle of the sword in his hand was slick with sweat, and he had to rest the tip on the ground to prevent it from slipping from his hand. It was a close thing.

"So, do you still want to be a paladin, Danny-boy?" Sophie asked with a smirk. Akio could only wheeze in response as he flopped to the floor, his waterskin empty.

"Young Akio is much too determined to give up now, Surely!" the demon replied for him, his resplendent golden armor gleaming in the morning sun. The demon approached, not a hint of strain or tiredness in his voice despite the hours of training. "Besides, he's gained more skill with the blade in the last week than I did in a year at his age! Ah, I do envy the blessings you summoned heroes are granted. The speed of your growth is simply incredible."

Akio found the strength to lever himself off the ground and glare at the smiling paladin. As much as he hated to admit it, the demon was right. He'd barely known how to swing a sword on their first day, and now he had enough skill to train with the weapon, if not the strength or endurance to last long.

"And how is your training progressing, Young Sophie?" the demon inquired. I know Jinasa is putting you through your paces and that she is quite the capable trainer."

"It is going well, thank you, Guard-Captain Heliat," Sophie replied, her tone more formal than usual. Master Jinasa often states how exceptional it is, how quickly I master the spells she teaches. However, my training with my daggers keeps me humble."

"Wonderful. I must again give you both my sincere apologies," the demon said, shifting uncomfortably. "The summoning ritual has never summoned any so young as you and your friends before, and I find myself quite beset with guilt,"

"And we've already forgiven you," Sophie replied. "From what the Archpriest said, you cannot control who you summon. You are not responsible, though we are thankful you champion us against the other Summoned Heroes."

Urgh, that was another annoying point, Akio allowed. After the shock of the summoning, magic being real, and their new lot in life had worn off, the adults summoned with them finally realized there were three teens amongst them. They'd attempted to keep the trio out of the training, citing that they were far too young to fight and kill anything, much less monsters and risen undead.

Of course, Akio, Bruce, and Sophie denied being protected in the swaddling, awkward way the adults had attempted. None of them had any authority over the teens, and by the laws of this world, they were all adults. Of course, as adults were, they hadn't taken being denied by teenagers very well. In the end, Captain Heliat had to intervene and move them to separate rooms.

Even now, they are training in a separate area. The adults had tried to take advantage of using the same training ground to sway and cajole them to return to their quarters.

They'd refused.

Bruce walked over from where he'd been training, his water mage trainer following along, amused, as Bruce attempted to pull the water from his soaking clothes.

Akio laughed, Sophie giggled, and Bruce gave a wan smile as his latest attempt at getting the water out succeeded, but he lost control and splashed on the teen's boots.

All was well.

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