3

I felt it again, and growled.

The humans were back.

I raced out and felt Uge wake up without prompting. I made it to the Core room nearly instantly, and there they were.

Three of them this time. Including the older man that kept showing up.

He once more killed Uge with just a single cut, her every attempt to strike him failing under that simple movement…

Grrrr! Stop killing my Goblin! My glare at the three didn't affect the first man, but the other two both flinched as my glowing eyeball followed them around.

"Relax, it can't hurt you. C'mon Core is here."

The three walked over and the two… Well they were older humans. A man and wife, they kind of reminded me of farmers? Both were probably as old as the first man, and they both had a delighted little gasp as they touched me…

That doesn't mean I'm happy about it!

"What's this?" The woman asked afterwards, noticing one of the carrots that we had left out for rabbits near the entrance and picking it up.

"Hmm? Carrot." The farmer man said, and looked to the armored adventurer guy.

"The Dungeon was making a farm room last time I was here. Could be it finished."

"Already? These are full grown."

"It's a dungeon. It does things at its own pace… C'mon That should be it's only monster. Let's see what she's up to."

I noticed the woman putting the carrot into her pocket which was a little annoying, but whatever. It was just one. I had a bunch, but most were still growing.

They struggled through the small tunnel, which made me grin my eyeball glaring at them the whole way, before opening to the farm.

The leader's necklace light was the only thing they could see by, but the two… Farmers? Both seemed interested in the farm room.

"Look at them all." She whispered, bending down, and plucking up an unready Quirrel…

That one wasn't done!

I yelled, but she ignored me as she checked it out.

"They are growing so fast."

"Dungeons do that."

"Do you think we can eat these?" The man asked, and the adventurer nodded.

"You can. I've eaten Dungeon food before. Nothing wrong with it. Just be aware, some dungeons like to poison food sometimes randomly. So it's always a bit risky."

"O-oh." The woman uttered, looking horrified, but the man just laughed.

"It's too young for something like that. Give it another couple years, and I might be a bit more worried."

The two nodded at that, and gathered a few more of my carrots and Quirrels. All the while I glared at them.

Thieves!

Eventually they left, the Knight taking a moment to check my other path that wasn't finished but since there was nothing he walked on.

They did stop and drop a few things for me, but it wasn't anything interesting.

—--

Uge finished digging out another room! Yay!

The Pickaxe didn't reduce the mana cost of building, but it made it much much faster! Which wasn't entirely a good handoff, as I still only had so much mana, but it meant, Uge could mine out an area and take a break while waiting for more of my mana to regenerate!

Getting big! Gonna be a chonky dungeon!

I laughed as I danced alongside Uge, both of us celebrating her completed work.

I wasn't sure what this room would be, but I still wanted to get bigger!

Since I was out of mana there wasn't anything for it, but to just sit back with Uge as we took a nap and waited for something to happen.

Which is why my arms suddenly being stolen from me surprised me!

Uge! Battle stations!

She didn't understand that, because I hadn't done any battle stations but she grabbed her spear and raced to the entrance at my urging, what had entered was more Goblins!

Yay!

They were looking around cautiously, as they crept in until Uge came charging out of a tunnel.

"Ugeh!" She cried as she entered and everyone jumped at her roar then she ran to the Core and to my shock climbed up on top of me.

Uge, your feet are dirty please don't stand on top of me.

But she ignored me as she waved her spear above her and soon the three goblins that entered all started crying out alongside her…

Cool! A few moments later they each came and touched my core, and I winced as I didn't have the mana to experiment with! I was tapped out again!

Uuuu!

I shook off my whining and just accepted all of them with zero mana. And suddenly I had four Goblins!

Ugehsh

Slugsh

Mogsh

Crup.

Each of the new minions were just level 1 goblins, but they were all boys! So now I had three boys and a girl Goblin.

I celebrated with them, as Uge brought food from the farm the celebration turned great as we all danced around my core. My eyeball bobbing along with them as we all celebrated our good fortune.

—--

I did end up figuring out a good choice for the next room. I needed a place for my minions to sleep! The farm was an okay choice, but it wasn't a great one, since they tended to kill the plants by sleeping on them.

So I moved over to the new room, and tried to figure out how to make it a place Goblins would like to sleep.

I had gotten a lot of time Goblin watching, so I was probably an expert! They liked soft stuff!

Yep! I had figured it out.

So… All I had was Horned Rabbit Fur, and Spurrel Spun Cloth.

Considering how it had worked with the Crafting bench, I asked Uge to meet me in this room, and with some mana saved up, I asked her to make herself a bed.

A moment later I got the process and she nodded. With a few selections I chose the Rabbit Fur as it was waaaay cheaper than the spun cloth. The spun cloth was almost as expensive as Iron had been as a material! 15 mana was grand theft!

But the [Goblin Den Bed] was only four if I used Horned Rabbit fur.

I set it down, and Uge cried out in happiness as she rushed over to start work.

The other Goblins came in to check as well, and soon were just as excited as Uge, as she stretched the soft fur over a bit of stone and wood making… Well it kinda looked like a dog bed.

But the Goblins were happy.

She finished and then instantly rolled inside with a happy sigh and started snoring.

The others obviously got jealous and I giggled at their looks, even as they slowly grew more murderous…

Goblins were greedy. That was good to know, but that was unacceptable! I bore down on them with my eye glaring as brightly as I could at the very thought they could hurt Uge. She was my FAVORITE.

They all wilted looking fearful after I pressed down on them and then I nodded.

Then because I did still have some mana, I put in an order for a second bed.

"Guuuuu!" One cheered as I gave it to him and he soon went to work, the other two grumbled, but I sent them to the farm for now.

By the time Uge had woken up scratching at her green bumpy belly with her three clawed hand I had enough mana for the other beds, and all four of my Goblins had nice comfy spots to sleep in.

Yeah. This was gonna be the Goblin's Room.

Instantly I felt it as if deciding it had prompted something.

Just like with the farm.

[Designate Room as Goblin Nest: 10 Mana]

I frowned because I didn't have that much, but I kept it up as I settled in to wait. I was definitely going to do that. The Farm had changed so much I was super curious what this room would do.

In the end, all my Goblins had woken up and had taken to exploring the cave as Uge lounged around while I gathered mana. She had definitely taken the role of the leader and I watched in amusement as she forced the other Goblins to do things for her.

It was mostly just grabbing food from the farm or something, but it was still funny.

Then I gained enough and activated the option.

The room once more seemed to shift, and change, and I took an interest as the walls seemed to gain holes? The stone seemed to shift to a browner color, and instead of being hard cold stone, seemed more like dirt.

Then it was done, and Uge perked up. She seemed to instantly know this was a Nest now, and she rushed over to one of the indents in the wall and started digging, even without mana it gave way like it was made of sand rather than rock, and soon she was digging in a little hidey cave herself.

Then she dragged her bed inside, and I got the understanding that was her home now.

The others soon did the same and all of the Goblins seemed very content with their new little rooms.

—--

Once I had some more mana I went to the [Goblin Crafting Bench] and put in some orders. Everyone needed at least a pointy stick.

Watching the three males all clamber over the bench and work the wood until they had a fine Pointy Stick of their own was fun.

Goblins were very feral, and there was much fighting over whose turn it was even when one of them got their stick they would still stick around to try and get another!

But it was done. Everyone was armed…

I should get them armor too huh?

I looked at the options. Bone armor wasn't much, and I doubt it would do anything against the stupid Knight that kept cutting Uge down, but maybe it would help?

I didn't have the mana though, so I mostly just settled in to watch my Goblins dance in delight at their new weapons.

Goblins I found, celebrated even the most minor of successes. It was… Nice. They weren't very smart, but they still enjoyed their lives. I liked it. Even if they were murderous little shits. They were still cute because they were innocent in their own way.

Also the fact I couldn't smell them probably went a long way to not minding their hygiene.

Did that mean my dungeon was smelly?

No. I took that thought and put it in a box and sealed it up, and then got rid of it. Banished to the Shadow Realm!

Now then. The new room had given me an important new bit of information.

I had made beds and nothing had changed, but it was when I started thinking of the room as a Goblin Nest, that I had gotten the option to change it.

This made me think that I was much more capable of things than I had thought. The Farm had worked the same way. I had dropped the seeds and considered it could be a farm and it had been an option…

So what else could I come up with? Like what other cool rooms did I want? What other things could I do using the same process?

The Goblin Crafting Bench was pretty limited, but could I make it craft something myself? Hmm. If I was a smaller force going against a much stronger one how should I fight this?

For some reason I kept thinking about some guy called Charlie in trees?

It took a second before I remembered, it was vague but there…

Oh yeah. Guerrilla warfare… I looked over at the tiny cubbies in the Goblin Den… Could I make a secret path?

I checked my stats and winced at how little mana I had. But this was an important test.

Uge perked up as I gave the order very specifically, and she climbed up to one of the indents that wouldn't be easily seen from the entrance of the nest.

Hopefully when someone came in they would check the others and realize they were Goblin holes, and ignore them…

For now.

She started digging first through the sandy stone that just gave way, and then with mana.

It worked.

She carved out a much smaller tunnel until I was satisfied and then she started making it larger again.

I needed… A much much larger cave was going to be needed..

This was going to take a lot of mana.

—-

Hah! The humans came back but this time we were ready!

The four Goblins prepared themselves in the Goblin Nest. Each of them resting in their cubbies [Sharp Sticks] ready!

I watched the humans from the shadows… Well I was a glowing eye, so they definitely noticed, but it was the thought that counts!

The Knight was back. This time with a familiar couple of humans.

One was the younger man that had been with him when I woke up.

The other?

THE CHEATER.

I glared as the three checked out the Core room, and then the Farm.

The Cheater continued to prove himself a thief by stealing some carrots to snack on!

My vengeance would be swift and brutal!

But the fact no Goblin was seen meant the Knight continued on towards the other hallway.

"Alright. Careful, don't know if she has any traps yet, but let's go steady. Malcolm, behind me. Isaac the rear."

"Understood Ser Combry."

Ah! I had names! The stupid older Knight was Ser Combry, and the CHEATER was Malcolm.

I had learned more about my enemies! Surely that would guarantee my victory! Knowledge was power! Cartoons taught me that!

Then to my delight then all hunched over and grumbled as they walked slowly through the hallway to the Goblin Nest.

When they entered Ser Combry's light illuminated the room, and I realized it must look odd with all the indents and holes.

Now! I cried out, as Malcolm the cheater entered after Combry.

Uge lunged as did Crup!

Their spears pointed practically glinting at their sharpness as they fell upon the hapless humans!

Mog and Slug both moved as well, coming out from the ground floor holes and stabbing at Combry's feet!

Hahaha! Surprise attack! I would be victori-What?

Uge's spear slammed into Malcolm and splintered against his armor!

Crup's scrapped across the helmet and didn't lock in, and although it certainly caused Malcolm to scream like a little girl, it didn't actually hurt him!

A moment later I stared in horror.

Combry had stepped on Mog's spear and then dropped using his shield to protect his other side he stabbed Mog straight through. Malcolm had eventually gotten a dagger out despite Crup trying to bite the shit out of him and started stabbing the shit out of him, while Isaac stepped in and Uge died from a lunge with his sword…

Slug died not long after.

Their spears didn't work!? What was this cheating bullshit!?

"Lord Alden!" Malcolm seemed to curse as he threw Crup's dead body off him and staggered to his feet, knife out and looking ready to stab someone.

"Easy lad. It's over." Combry called, still keeping an eye on things. "Any injuries?" He demanded in an instructor's voice.

"No."

"No!" Malcolm snapped, but wiped blood off his face and seemed to stagger against the wall for a time to catch his breath.

Isaac reached down and grabbed the boys fallen sword and offered it to him, which was snatched back with a glare.

"That boys is why you always enter a dungeon without assuming anything. I told you one Goblin, we faced four."

"How? Did they breed or something?" Malcolm snapped, but Combry shook his head.

"Not in this time frame. They likely just wandered in. Maybe a Goblin nest is nearby, or maybe just ill luck. Either way. Four Goblins now. That makes the dungeon actually worth coming into." The man said with a smile and while one boy smiled back. The other just glared.

"Alright, give me a minute to check this room boys." Combry called out and did just that, I watched as he bent down and checked the nooks. Noticing the beds inside even pulling one out and searching it, but finding nothing he shoved it back inside.

He checked a few of the other nooks, but thankfully didn't check my extended one.

Perfect.

"Alright boys. Time to go."

And then the three of them headed outside.

I glared at them until they walked out, and even then glared more because when my alert popped up, it wasn't good news.

[Resurrect all Dungeon Monsters? 4 Mana]

I didn't have four mana, I'd been spending it all on expansion.. I glared at the message as I settled in to wait. Stupid humans, that was forty minutes of growth they were cutting out just because they wanted to come in and bully the cute new dungeon on the block!

I'd show them.

I'd show them all!

—--

There was a celebration when the Goblins woke back up.

Slug, Mog, and Crup all danced in delight at the fact they were alive again. Uge joined in mostly just to celebrate.

That's right…

To the Goblins this was a miracle. To come back after death. I cheered and danced alongside them all of us once more happy and content.

Of course as I celebrated I had to take in what I had seen.

The spears had shattered.

Morrel Wood was too soft, and they weren't sharp enough. So how to fix that?

I considered all knowledge, which was a fuzzy mess of trivia and cartoons, but finally I remembered.

If you put a stick into a fire it hardens it. It makes it more brittle too, but I just needed it capable of not shattering on the first strike…

How do I make a fire?

I looked around my dungeon. Dungeon Core. Farm. Nest. No fire.

Does anyone have a fire?

I moved to the dungeon nest, and squinted. I need a fire!

Fire? Fire! Fire. Fyre? Fiore!

WORK! I got angry at the lack of anything and then I remembered the Crafting Bench…

I don't need a fire, I need a-

[Create Camp Fire: 2 Mana]

I grinned as I placed it in the middle of the Goblin Cave. The wood appeared from mana and then I waited…

Huh? Why no fire?

Ah! It was like the Workbench! I needed the Goblins to make it! Things in the dungeon could be summoned, but it had to be made as well!

I called Uge and when I pointed it at her, she nodded and got to work.

A minute later she groaned and fell backwards. Making a fire was hard! I called for everyone! Goblin power!