A Dungeon’s Survival

Connie

No matter how many deadly ordeals I overcame, there never seemed be any end to the troubles that sought me out. Be it a veritable army of bandits, enemies with rare classes that were full tiers of power stronger than me, or even another Hero, there always seemed to be some new threat that wanted me dead. That was why I considered my current circumstances to be a pleasant change of pace, even if the pressure was as high as ever. Sure, I'd already been made aware of the next problem I'd need to worry about, but this one was different from all the others for a single, key reason. I had no reason to believe it would come knocking on my door, looking to kill me, at least not anytime soon.

Apparently, if the words of the same Fairy Council elder who'd previously tried to kill me for refusing to submit to their authority were to be believed–not that I'd take anything that man said for fact–another member of their ruling council–big surprise there–was causing problems by going rogue. That, in itself, wasn't something that bothered me, not at all. In fact, if the same organization whose oversight of Dungeons had gone so poorly that the world was now at risk of ending was having some internal disputes, the only feeling that inspired in me was that of wry humor. Sadly, the situation couldn't be so simple.

The witch of the Abyssal Swamp, that was what elder Rodrick had referred to her as. Supposedly a psychotic warmonger that had nearly caused the extinction of all mortal races on an entire continent in her prime, the fairy was now wreaking havoc in the very same kingdom I was set up in, and it was to the point that I'd even heard rumors about the situation from here. Considering how isolated and uninformed I was about anything outside of my immediate surroundings, that was no small feat. Needless to say, it wasn't a problem I could ignore forever. The risks were far too great for that.

Still, even then, I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted anything to do with that mess. My ability, Protection of the Fairy Queen, would be all I had going for me if I chose to get involved, and even that Custodian-gifted ability would only be so useful. Assuming the fairy in question couldn't get around its effects like she could apparently do with soul contracts–something that, to my limited knowledge, shouldn't have even been possible in the first place–I'd still be as unable to harm her as she'd be to hurt me and mine, and that was assuming it either worked or didn't. For all I knew, the ability would make it impossible for me to harm her, but she'd have free reign to do whatever she wanted to me. It was a terrifying prospect and only part of the reason I was hesitant to stand against such a foe.

At the end of the day, even if I had twice the advantage that ability granted me, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do anything to a level-one-hundred fairy. Currently, after accepting two of the level ups the last raid had netted me, I was sitting at level twenty. I was a mere first-tier Dungeon, soon to be second once I'd finished cashing in my experience and choosing my rewards. Compared to the witch of the Abyssal Swamp, I was a mere insect or, possibly, a nest of insects, given my capabilities as a Dungeon Core. It wasn't a fight I could take, no matter how many times I'd been able to overcome seemingly impossible odds so far.

Still, I had my reasons to consider getting involved. Sean, the Hero I'd only just allied myself with, was one of those reasons. If I didn't at least find a way to get a message to him, he was as good as dead. He was supposed to be heading to that impossibly dangerous Dungeon next, after all.

Then, there was the Dungeon Core that fairy was bonded to. They, too, were a Summoned Hero. Just like me, they'd been ripped from their home and forced to play the role of meat grinder for mortals.

The difference between us was that I'd ended up escaping from and cutting ties with the fairies who'd brought us here. They, on the other hand, were stuck with possibly one of the most dangerous and deranged individuals in the world as their guide. I couldn't be entirely sure the situation was exactly as described to me by elder Rodrick, but I knew how difficult my life in this world had been. With such similar yet different circumstances, I could only imagine what they'd been forced to go through, and for that reason, it wouldn't have sat right with me to leave the situation alone.

If they needed help and I, in any way, was in a position to give it, I wanted to. I sure knew I would've appreciated assistance from a group that didn't see me as a resource and sought to control me. I may not have, in spite of my title, considered myself to be much of a hero, but even I had principals.

Lastly, immediate or not, there was the danger such an individual represented that demanded some form of response from me. That fairy was a ticking time bomb that, if left alone, could threaten the entire continent, let alone me. Whether I ended up fleeing somehow or standing against that threat, either way, I was going to need both information and resources I that didn't currently have.

That was what made this problem so different from the others I'd faced up until now. For this issue, I wouldn't be desperately scrambling to put up some form of defense against an impending disaster. I was going to need to be the one preparing to start something.

Fortunately, with all of the experience the Onikuma's death and the Hero's raid had earned me, I had more untapped resources at my disposal now than ever. I just needed to make sure I was spending them on the right things. Slow and methodical was the name of the game. That was why, rather than rushing through my upgrades, I was taking stock of what I already had. I needed to build on my advantages, and to do that, I needed to understand precisely just what those advantages were, which brought me to now.

“You said you had something new that could help plants grow?” Rose asked as she made her way to the new room I'd been using for my experiments.

Well, maybe, I answered uncertainly, I have something, and it might be able to help.

I honestly wasn't sure. Back when I'd been forced to rush through level ups in an attempt to better my odds of survival during the last raid, I'd picked up several new perks, some of which I didn't fully understand. It was one of those that I'd come to realize might be of some use for gardening, but I still wasn't sure what exactly it did.

It's one the green ones, I explained as my newly awakened gardener took in the sight.

The room was filled with monsters. To be specific, it was filled with Crystal Puffers, a type of monster weed I'd unlocked quite a while back and had been using ever since. They were nothing new. What was new, however, were the mana crystals they were rooted in. There five new varieties, all of which had been awarded to me by a single perk.

[Environment: Great Caverns Deep Passage

Description: You can incorporate aspects of a passage from the depths of the Great Caverns into your Dungeon.

Effect: Allows you to summon and modify different uncommon types of stone, uncommon mana crystals, and some types of subterranean vegetation.]

It was a direct expansion to what my other perk, Great Caverns Passage, had given me. That meant I had new mana types to play with, five of them. As for what they did, that was what I'd been trying to find out. Even if I knew what each element was, that wasn't the same as knowing what feeding them into a Crystal Puffer's Mana Puff would accomplish, so testing it had been.

Their element is life, I explained to the Lizard Man, At first, I figured their main use would be for healing, but when I had them use their ability on the other puffers, I noticed them getting a bit bigger, so I tried it on other things. Mushrooms, plants, even a Mandrake, non-plant monsters aside, pretty much whatever I had them use the ability on has gotten bigger. It hasn't been overly drastic, and I'm not sure if it'll be useful, not when we already have Floral Accelerant, but it does seem to speed up growth, so I figured it would be worth checking if nothing else.

“I see,” my expert on all things plant related answered simply as she slowly approached one at my urging, the Crystal Puffer under orders not to act on her presence.

Her reaction was more subdued than I'd been expecting. To be fair, I was still getting a feel for my newly awakened gardener, her having only gained sapience the day prior, but even so, I'd thought I had a general grasp on her personally. That was why her lack of enthusiasm caught me off guard. As far as I'd been aware, she loved plants and anything related to them to the point of obsession, so I was thrown off by the way she stared at the puffer before her, feelings of doubt and hesitance radiating from her. That did not align with understanding of the Lizard Man.

Is everything alright? I asked hurriedly, worried that I'd overlooked something obvious.

“Their spores would need to be harvested in a sterile environment to avoid contamination. Having Crystal Puffers anywhere near the garden would risk spreading them to the room's light source. We would also need a way to preserve those spores without losing their potency. That is something we don't currently have.

“As for their usefulness, they're likely be more expensive, harder to work with, and less effective than the alternatives we already have. There may be some alchemical uses for them, and tests to see if they have any effect on magical potency could be worthwhile, but I don't see them being useful.”

That was a far more in-depth and well-thought-out assessment than I'd been expecting. It was also more blunt of an answer than any of my other monsters, Adraugon excluded, would've given me. Still, I didn't sense any hostility in her words, just plain honesty and critical thinking. I could appreciate that.

I see. Thank you for your opinion, I replied earnestly.

“Is that all?”

No, not quite, I stopped her before she could rush back to the garden she was in change of.

That may have been a mistake. Almost instantly, I could feel her getting her hopes up at my words. Sadly, I doubted she'd be particularly excited with the idea I was about to propose.

Even if Crystal Puffers aren't an option, I'd still like to see if burying life mana crystals throughout the garden bed would affect plant growth. I'm also interested to see if other elements would do anything.

I have access to electricity crystals now, too, which might help. I think I heard somewhere that plants tend to grow better after lightning strikes. I could be wrong about that; I was no farmer before being summoned here, but I don't think it could hurt to try. Also, I've got poison crystals now, which might do something for poisonous plants. Maybe.

Silence was her immediate response as she mulled over my words. The seconds quickly began to drag on, and again, I was starting to worry my ideas had been poorly thought out and a waste of time.

Then, finally, she spoke up, “It would be worth running the tests, but introducing new types of mana into the plants' environments could affect them negatively and alter the soil itself. We'd need new garden beds for each type of crystal you'd want to experiment with.”

That was another good point I'd failed consider. The way she'd taken up her craft so fast and effortlessly was impressive, and her expertise was getting to the level that I was starting to feel like I was only inconveniencing her and getting in the way of her work. That made me feel a weird duality of emotions, but at the of the day, that was why I'd invested so heavily in her and her fellow Lizard Men: to master their fields and advance them where I could not. Her single-minded obsession with plants had just expedited that, and at this point, I was probably better of leaving her to her own devices. This conversation had made that much clear.

Um, okay, I decided after a long pause, got it. Show me where you want those new plots, and I'll get them set up for you. I'll also give you a supply of crystals to work with. Anything else you need, just let me know, and I'll get it for you. Sound good?

“Yes. I will inform you of the results.”

With that, she began making her way back to her garden with no further delays. Our conversation had been brief with no small talk or fluff. It was just direct and to the point.

At first, I'd thought the newest member of our family had been relatively normal in comparison to some of the others. Clearly, though, she was just as eccentric in her own right. That was going to take some getting used to, but even as I made to follow her with my disembodied perspective, I resolved myself to make an effort to get to know her better. She was already a dear and indispensable part of our Dungeon. Whatever I could do to support her efforts rather than unintentionally hinder them, I would.