Slimy Experiments (1/2)

Wasting no time, I spent my first 6 Mana of the Day to summon three Amber Slimes! Blue glowing particles of light flew out of me and slowly formed their shapes. Soon, three Lv.1 Amber Slimes appeared, wobbling and jumping up and down before me. They almost looked excited just to be alive. I shivered at first as they reminded me of my attackers but that feeling faded away soon. These little fellers were like an extension of me. They had a will of their own and yet were completely loyal to me, almost like sentient antibodies, protecting my main body, which was the core and the dungeon itself.

I patted one on its blubbery body and it shook with anticipation for a command. "Now you all hop along to the reception room and guard the entrance. If any hostile creatures come inside attack them! If they are not hostile, then.. um.. Retreat back to the Core Room!" I said, trying to sound authoritative. I had a psychic link with them and could either give them mental commands from anywhere within the dungeon or even see through the senses of any of my monsters. This would later allow me to better coordinate and strategize against potential enemies. The small Slimes hopped off to the Reception Room and I took another look at my reserves.

[8/6 Mana points remaining..]

"Ok.. Inspection time.." I murmured and started a slow walk through my caves trying to come up with ideas. The small insects were settling in, the plants and water I had created, provided them with enough to sustain themselves. I noticed a small white line, almost like a milky fishing line hanging from a small crevice in the wall. I checked closer and spotted a small spider-like creature resting in the crevice, the white thread extending from one of its two pincers. It looked like a cave spider from earth but had pincers like a scorpion. It would appear that my insect population had a attracted this arachnid predator overnight. I decided to assimilate the little critter, who was barely as big as my palm. Creatures whose threat level were zero or below, didn't need to be killed in order to be absorbed by my dungeon. They were just injected with an insignificant amount of Aether and that's all it took.

[Acamar Cave Fisher Lv.0]

The message flashed in my head and I suddenly knew more about the creature. These guys apparently were very good hunters, extending these white threads of sticky silk from a hole in their left claw to trap small insects. They then, reeled them in close to finish it with their strong pincer claws. I needed something scary like this. I extended my hand and the small critter skittered on to it. It had a pale grey coloring, good for camouflaging in rocky terrain and caves of course. I focused on my Aether points and decided to sacrifice 5 of them for starters.

Aether points were condensed reserves of Aether energy, energy that could transform into anything I needed or empower anything I needed. If I ranked up my cultivation skill enough, I could create raw Aether points while cultivating but for now the only way I could attain this precious resource, was by defeating creatures and absorbing their essence. I injected the small arachnid with the cosmic energy and it suddenly grew by a huge amount! It became 20 centimeters in overall length within my hands, looking like a lobster from hell. I scratched its head and placed it down as I knelt over it.

[Acamar Cave Fisher Lv.5]

The difference was impressive but I couldn't imagine my little monster being able to actually hurt a grown person or another monster. I reluctantly sacrificed another 5 Aether points and its level reached 10. I was then interrupted with a message saying that my creature had reached its peak and could now evolve!

[The specimen does not have an evolutionary path! Would you like to sculpt its evolution?]

"Hell yeah I do!" I responded excitedly. The Cave Fisher became enveloped in bright white light and hovered in front of me. By injecting some of my Mana into the form I could alter it and enhance some of its features. I could even bestow skills upon it but sadly, I had none to share at this point. First, I augmented its size, swelling it up to the size of a small dog, about 50 cm head to tail. I sharpened it's pincers and gave them a very mild venom coating. It was a venom that caused blood not to clot, giving each of the creature's successful strikes, a 10% chance to cause a bleeding condition! And finally I strengthened the stickiness and resilience of its silk. For an aesthetic finish, I darkened it's coloring slightly and gave it very faint, golden markings, just like mine! Branding is everything after all.. I named my new creation and I was happy!

[Dire Cave Fisher Lv.1 Born. Congratulations on assimilating your first creature! Congratulations on evolving your first creature! Congratulations on sculpting your first Evolution! Experience was added to the Skill "Monster Summoning" 35% progress towards Rank 2. 3 Aether points awarded!]

I smiled with satisfaction and patted my new monster on its head. I had 5/6 Mana points remaining and it cost 3 to summon another one of these buggers. I decided to do so and created an additional Slime while I was at it. I posted the two Fishers in the Reception room, hiding them in small openings in the ceiling. I instructed the arachnids to attach several silky threads from the ceiling that reached all the way to the floor. Anyone could see and attempt to avoid them but in combat that luxury wouldn't be available and monsters would probably not know what they were and get tangled in them. I hoped this way we could also get our hands on some more creatures and monsters.

I took the slimes and we withdrew back to the Core Room. I had to cultivate in order to gather Mana quickly enough, that is, if I wanted to get more work done today. I sat down to meditate as my Slimes gathered around me. I concentrated to a point where I could only hear the occasional droplet of water falling from the stalactites above my hot spring, onto its still surface. After a few hours of harvesting mana I got back to taking care of my Dungeon. I spent 10 more Mana points untill that evening, just shaping the terrain and adding a few small rodents to our fauna. The small desert mice had fallen victim to my Cave Fishers at the entrance and were added to my roster. I also sent out 2 slimes to scout for anything useful. As long as they absorbed it with their bodies they could bring it back to the dungeon for assimilation! Sadly once a creature left my domain I had no psychic link to it and couldn't see through its eyes or give it mental commands. Additionally my dungeon monsters could only survive outside my domain for up to an hour at my level. I imagine that if my core becomes stronger this factor should increase as well.

The day went by uneventfully, thank Trishda. I managed to add a few stalactites and stalagmites to my large Cave Room. I added some aquatic plants to the pond, also increasing its size and depth after that. I received a new trespasser in the form of a small snake. It was almost a meter in length and seemed to be a kind of rattle tailed viper. It slipped through my Fishers with its sly movement and I knew it was venomous to boot. I didn't want to get close but the serpent had impressed me enough to make me want to assimilate it! I grabbed two of my slimes and used them like projectiles, hurling them at the snake!

My first attempt missed by a meter but the second Slime hit the serpent at its midsection, sticking to it. The snake reached around, biting into the Slime, injecting it with venom! I was surprised to see that my Amber Slime was actually damaged by this but not enough to kill it, unfortunately for the snake. The Slime engulfed the serpent completely, suffocating it in the process and then devouring it with its acidic stomach. I gained some experience from that but 80% of the gains went to my critter. I got a few extra coins and 5 more Aether points.

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Race: Superior Dungeon Core Lv.1

Avatar: Arsani (Hermaphrodite)

Age: 29

HP: 30/30

MP: 0/6

XP: 20/30 -> Lv.2

Aether: 13 pts

Physical - 7 (Well Above Average)

Mental - 3 (Average)

Social - 5 (Above Average)

Magic - 3 (Average)

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