A Dungeon’s Survival

Cameron

No sooner did my Bloodthorn Vines make to attack the group than the spear of the large beastkin man pierced them. The reaction was swift and efficient as the weapon was driven through the monster's appendage. From there, it was jerked back. The motion was enough to rip apart the vine as though it were paper. The sight filled me with dread.

Yep, of course, why would there be normal people?

From the moment I witnessed that display, I knew I couldn't treat the invasion as anything other than an emergency. I no longer cared if they were from the guild. They posed enough of a threat to me that I couldn't afford to pull any punches.

My mind made up, I began going over my preparations. I needed to make sure they were perfect while I still could, but I continued to watch the group while I did so. They weren't slowing down for even a moment, but they also didn't seem overly concerned. They didn't rush. They didn't panic. They just kept moving ahead at a steady pace, completely unfazed by the monsters that stood in their way.

Swiftly, the woman in the group dispatched the Bloodthorn Vines through a feat of agility and precision with her blade. It wasn't the same kind of acrobatics I had grown used to seeing from the moth girl–no Flur; after her help and the incredible display of skill she had shown during the bandit raid, even if it wasn't actually for my sake, I at least owed it the member of the scouting group to call her by her actual name.

Whereas Flur's movements resembled a tornado, fast, deadly, and unstoppable, this woman's were more akin to a landslide, immensely powerful but far less refined. In the end, it made little difference, however. The monster never stood a chance.

After killing it, they progressed just far enough down the path to trigger the rolling boulder trap I had previously moved. It came from behind them, a giant rock barreling toward them. It crashed down from above the entrance with a boom and sped their way. It soon reached them, and in an unnerving display of strength, the orc man guarding their rear caught it with both his hands.

He didn't stop the boulder, but was able to redirect it. With a grunt, the giant mass of stone was hurled into the spiked pit below. I was left stunned and speechless, but I didn't allow myself to stay that way for long. With a renewed sense of urgency, I redoubled my efforts to make sure I was as prepared as possible to handle their approach. As I was doing that, the gnome called out, “Wait.”

The group froze and went on high alert. They scoured their surroundings in an attempt to locate unseen dangers, not that I had any waiting for them aside from the second monster in the room. It didn't seem to be a threat that had caught the gnomes attention, though, and neither was it the mana crystals they had been walking past and completely ignoring.

“I'm detecting much more mana from that way than up ahead. There's probably a branching path hidden behind the trees.”

The direction in which he was pointing was directly toward my core. I froze in my preparations. That was not good.

The group found the hidden passage. Adraugon, take position. Archie, Vie, Pee, gather around my core. We're going to have to make a stand. Fabian, I need information. Why was that mage able to detect mana in this direction? That's not something you told me people could do, and no one else has been able to. What's going on?

Technically, the first alchemist to have ventured into my Dungeon probably could, but he was an exception, not the rule. This wasn't something I had prepared for. Why hadn't I been told it was a possibility?

“Um, Cameron?” came Fabian's voice in a notably unsteady tone.

Yeah?

“Please tell me they used an item or something to detect the mana.”

I felt immediate unease at his question.

No, it didn't seem like it, not unless his staff can detect it?

“Oh no.”

Details Fabe. I need details, not ominous remarks, and I need fast.

“Mana detection abilities usually only become available after reaching the second tier of power. At minimum, that mage is probably as strong as the man who was leading those bandits.”

My composure momentarily broke at those words. It made sense. I couldn't see any normal person being able to shove aside my boulder like that, but it also meant I was probably dealing with multiple overpowered freaks. That was not a something I was prepared to deal with.

Are you kidding me!?

“Cam–”

Hold that thought. I need to make new preparations, fast.

The path to my core was heavily protected, maybe even more so than the direct path ahead, but if the group was going to be coming straight toward me, that meant none of my other defenses would do me any good. There was nowhere near enough time to move them, and I needed to get value out of my DP. With that goal in mind, I instructed the monsters in my bog to start killing each other. That would at least free me up some Dungeon Points.

With those orders given, I refocused my efforts where they would make the most difference: on the modified Bloodthorn Vines I had protecting my core and serving as my last line of defense. Without any hesitation, I dumped the bounty of experience the Bloodthorn Vines had generated into the monster. That was enough to raise its level from one to eight.

[Please select a type of bonus.

Extra Stats / New Spell or Ability / Upgrade]

I didn't stop to do that immediately. Instead, with a glance back outside to make sure the group really was coming my way before I took excessive measures, I began rapidly dumping my DP into the monster to raise its level further. It was costly to say the least. As much value as I'd been getting from the way I had set up my Dungeon, Fabian was right about one thing: leveling up my monsters through Dungeon Points, something that was usually a normal means of empowering them, was not a viable strategy for me. It cost me seventy points to just raise the thing's level twice.

It was by no means a worthwhile trade-off. I could have gotten far more value in terms of stats by using Monster Customization on it instead. The reason I didn't do that, however, was because, by leveling it up, I had managed to get it to level ten. That gave me another option.

[Please select a type of bonus.

Extra Stats / New Spell or Ability / Upgrade]

I now had two bonuses I could get for the monster. Stats were out of the question. If those were what I had been after, I would have just upgraded it. Instead, I was after abilities. That left me with the options of either getting new ones or upgrading the ones it already had. New ones seemed like a good choice. Both of the abilities the species had gained since I acquired them were powerful after all, but there was no guarantee that more new ones would continue to synergize so well. In the end, I decided that empowering the ones it already had was the best course of action. I selected Upgrade, and was met with three choices.

[Upgrade: Longer Vines

Effect: The monster's vines lengthen by +10%.]

It wasn't bad. It was something I could design an upgrade around, modifying the monster to get the most out of the bonus, but it wasn't an ability upgrade. I needed something else.

[Ability Upgrade: Blood Drinker

Description: Blood Drinker bestows more power from consumed blood.

Effect: Blood Drinker receives the following change: For every fluid ounce of blood consumed, all of your stats are boosted by +1% for 5 minutes. → For every fluid ounce of blood consumed, all of your stats are boosted by +2% for 5 minutes.]

I could work with that. It would help the monster to get started in a fight, but since it didn't raise the hard limit of bonus stats it could gain through the ability, it would only make so much of a difference. I kept it in mind and read my last option.

[Upgrade: Gluttonous Vines

Effect: The monster's vines drain blood +20% faster.]

And, I selected the third option. It wouldn't allow the monster to empower itself as fast as the second would, but it would allow it to drain blood faster, both healing itself more and increasing the blood loss inflicted. Overall it was better. It had more versatility.

With that out of the way, I chose upgrade for its second bonus too. Even as the group reached my secret passageway, having climbed up the wall on the other side of my spike pit and squeezed between the dense trees, I continued to read. I needed to get this done immediately.

[Upgrade: Barbed Thorns

Effect: The monster's thorns become barbed, making them harder to dislodge once stuck in a target]

Why didn't I think of that?

Somehow, with all of the modifications I had experimented with, the idea of making thorns barbed hadn't even crossed my mind. I dismissed the option immediately, but even as I looked through the rest, I opened up Monster Customization and began checking the cost of adding them myself. It wasn't worth it for this specific monster, but I would keep it in mind. I moved on.

[Upgrade: Gluttonous Vines II

Effect: The monster's vines drain blood another +20% faster.]

It was a repeat of the upgrade I had already chosen. It had been good the first time, and it was still good. I decided to take it if my last choice wasn't anything special.

[Upgrade: Stronger Metabolism

Effect: When consuming a substance, the monster benefits +20% more from it.]

Hey, look at this, I thought to Fabian, words flowing from my mind at a mile a minute, Would it affect blood absorbing abilities.

I sent him the information on the ability as I spoke.

“Yes,” he answered.

It was a simple response, but it was all I needed, so I chose Stronger Metabolism. It wouldn't cause the monster to exsanguinate its foes any faster, but it would stack with Gluttonous Vines, making the bonus marginally more potent. It also had the potential to work for something else.

Archie, strength elixirs. Start splashing the vines' thorns.

I then dumped twenty of its unassigned stat points into STR to ensure it would get the most out of the bonus as possible. Even if it was only a matter of an extra point, I wasn't going to leave any advantage underutilized. I put three of the last seven in its VIT to maximize its potential ability bonuses. As for the last four, I slotted them into its COM. I didn't want it to suffer the same fate as the Plated Gators, being strong physically but useless against magic. That was doubly so when I was up against a powerful mage.

While I was doing all of that, the group entered the room that housed Adraugon's hoard. They did not seem impressed by the smattering of coins, junk weapons, and pieces of armor that littered the area. In fact, they seemed to turn their noses up at my awakened monster's treasures. As they did so, I sensed the faintest surge of anger and indignation from the miniature dragon. He took that as an insult. I hoped that meant he would put a little extra effort into the fight that was to come.

He didn't attack them immediately, instead opting to go with his usual hit-and-run tactics. Vie and Pee were also ready and waiting to strike, squeezed into the miniature tunnels above. Archie was breathing heavily in anticipation from behind the tree that housed my core, and the Bloodthorn Vines were completely still, waiting for my directions. Fabian was waiting in the Fey Realm, watching through our bond. We were as ready as we could be. The only thing that wasn't ideal was my unspent DP.

I still had eighty-one, and with no time left to do anything more intricate with it, I decided to use sixty of it to summon one of my new limited monsters, the Shade Lurker. Who knew? Since I hadn't experimented with it yet, maybe it could surprise me. Probably not, but even at level one, I wouldn't write it off completely.

Then, as an afterthought, I gave both it and the Bloodthorn Vines Velocity Transference. It cost triple on the vines thanks to the levels I had bought for them with DP, but with almost everything spent, I was satisfied. I didn't feel great about the fight, but with my remaining Dungeon Points sitting nearly at zero, I felt as good about it as I could. It was time.