[17] Along Came a Spider

Waddles quacked a few times as Delta spoke aloud. He was a rather chill bird once he was left alone to swim and not, say, being summoned into a pit of mud by an annoyed wizard. Delta guessed that was only fair.

"So, I dunno what I should do next. I mean, I definitely need to aim for the Second Floor." Delta mused, and Waddles seemed to agree.

François cleared his throat.

"Second Floor would be good. More space to build and make more protection." He nodded. Delta agreed, trying not to blush as she forgot she had a perfectly good talking partner standing right there. Delta stood, blowing out a sigh at her 16 Mana. She could do a few things like place the traps or a tower and a trap...

Walking around her Dungeon, she saw the entrance hadn't budged from the spot it had been in before. But she saw the ground go down... and the door went down.

Did the second half go up, or did the first half go down? Her Menu said she definitely moved the first part down...

Delta just let that go and chalked it up to funky Dungeon space again. Hob and Gob came running into the entrance, and Delta was a little sad they didn't stop to see her signs.

It became clear why when a spider about the size of a donkey came rushing in after them.

"Holy fu-" Delta cut herself off as the Goblins began to grow again, power returning to them. Hob waved his sword. Dropping his bucket of goods. Delta was barely aware of her Mana hitting 29 due to the approaching nightmare on eight legs.

The spider made Delta's spiders look like puppies. With their drooling large fangs and black void-filled eyes, Delta didn't even know why she noticed her Mana grow-

Wait. Delta eyed the bucket and its fading goods. There was something in her Dungeon! Why was her...

Delta could still open a Menu.

"Oh my Gosh..." Delta whispered as Hob took a swipe with his sword again. Gob took out an eye with one of his stones.

"HP bar?" Delta waved her hands as her mind went blank. Her friends were about to be eaten by a big and evil spider! It didn't even have a white line around its butt, which made Delta's spiders cooler!

Nothing happened, so Delta gave up on forcing video game mechanics to appear for now and tried to think of what she could do. She couldn't do much besides give Hob and Gob stone weapons, and she wasn't sure how much Mana she would need to upgrade them both and give them proper weapons.

"Run! Just run towards the camp!" Delta ordered, and the Gobs hesitated, then took off, the spider hissing like a coarse brush hitting a brick wall.

Delta moved with them and almost froze as the spider tumbled, all 8 legs, over the tripwire, becoming covered in the silver web as it crashed into the far wall. She couldn't believe that worked.

"What happened?!" Delta shouted, and Hob just yelled back as he turned the corner.

"Waiting for us!" He panted. Well, that wasn't good.

Delta opened her Menu and map and saw that if the spider didn't spontaneously combust, drop dead, piss off Waddles and drown or have some new world allergic reaction to mud, then her first option would be...

She mashed the confirm button on her purchase.

The spider ignored the grotto and moved fast down the wall, the hairs on its body refusing to stick to the silver web for long. Her Gobs crossed the Mud Room faster than they had done in any of their previous attempts. They slowed at the sight before them. Delta nearly did, too.

There was a splat and a sound like a demon being born. Delta urged her Goblins onwards and stared at her purchase. The spider managed to pull itself up and over the far side after a minute.

It froze, and Delta just nodded.

"Run away..." She whispered, trying to mentally will the thing to get the hint, and the spider hesitated, then launched forward. Delta watched as her newly evolved Mushy swung its large fists down and utterly crushed the front half of the spider's body.

The Myconid was the second evolutionary path of the Mushroom Spitter. It lost its acid, its ability to strike from the shadows, and a lot of reaction time if caught unaware.

In return, it grew short, solid legs and rather beefy arms. They were effective beyond Delta's expectations. Standing around 6 feet tall, the large mushroom had a round, soft-looking belly and no longer had a mouth.

Instead, the beady eyes became soft and curious as it lifted its hand and tried to shake the green goo off that was quickly melting away.

Oh, it also seemed that in return for its physical power, the Mushy lost its hatred for everything and became somewhat fascinated by it instead, evidenced by the way it was poking Gob curiously. Delta was trying to take this all in. Her mind supplied little things to keep her mind from screaming. Perhaps the fact she had just been invaded and the thing did not want to talk?

Maybe because it had shown how powerless Delta could feel until they hit her Mud Room? Or maybe it was. Despite all of Delta's big talk, violence still was the end result.

Maybe it was because she hadn't seen anything bigger than a bird die before her eyes? She had refused to look at the farmer's death... but she made this choice, and now she had to deal with it. All of this sounded very logical and understandable, and it was all very neat.

Delta hiccuped as her Dungeon ate the kill.

"Monsters are not mans." Francois said as he exited the Grove, shooing at the Guardian Boar, who was trying to nibble at his robes.

"Monsters contain hatred. It becomes a will to live with Gobs. With spiders, it becomes hunger. Hatred makes monsters different from animals. Animals fight or run. Monsters can do those too, but they also think and remember. Monsters can eat Mana as well. Master is powerful and draws them... as well as boneheads." François snapped and smacked both Hob and Gob with his staff.

Delta just looked at the spot where the spider was.

"Do all monsters hate?" Delta had to ask as her newly named Mr. Mushy picked Francois up and put him on his cap hat. François' face soured.

"Not all. The more monsters evolve or grow, the less hate holds sway. I not know if monsters can free themselves or just live with it. When monsters grow big enough, then hating is a choice." François swatted at Mr. Mushy's attempts to pet him. It looked odd as the mushroom couldn't see where the Goblin was exactly.

"What about my Dungeon Monsters?" Delta needed to know, and Francois just grinned.

"When I was born, I feel need to protect, not hate." He said casually and steered Mr. Mushy onwards to the Grove.

Delta felt relief at that and then, unsure if she truly wanted to know, asked Francois one more question.

"Can you befriend monsters?" She wanted to know. Her question was delightfully cliche, and Delta felt no shame in it.

François just shrugged.

"If Master wants it, she will find a way. I am confident in your power." He complimented. Delta felt a little touched by the comment and moved to keep up.

Compared to all her terrible mushroom experiences so far, Mr. Mushy was just adorable. If all her mushrooms could just be as cute as the Myconid, then Delta would be a lot happier. Looking at him, she watched as the boar squealed and fled from the stomping of the cheerful mushroom man.

He looked like a fun guy. Delta snorted and giggled, which made Hob and Gob look confused. François was too busy trying to avoid the mushrooms that hit him in the face as his impromptu steed ran out of control.

Delta turned and looked towards her entrance.

This wouldn't be the last time she would have to kill. Delta just had to accept that life wasn't going to bend and let her avoid the messy parts of being in a Dungeon. Hatred would drive monsters to seek her out if Francois was right.

Delta just nodded with determination. As long as she got no enjoyment for it and didn't lure them in, then Delta wouldn't cry for the monsters that died.

Delta looked at the tunnel where the last spider faded, tiny green splotches of blood. She clasped her hands together, a little prayer in her head.

Maybe now... the spider didn't feel the hatred, and that was one tiny comfort Delta could take in from this.

---

Black Forest Spider absorbed: Cost for Deadly Mushroom reduced by 5 DP.

Common Silverspinner Spider upgrades cost reduced by 2 DP

Mild Poison added to research 12 DP

---

Delta nodded.

"Thank you for your donations." She nodded and moved with purpose. First up was the Tripwire Trao.

With 29 Mana and 58 DP, she could begin making progress in her Hill Room. She owed it to the spider to make the most of the points.

Delta paused as her spiders were making angry noises as they collected their torn webs and discarded them.

"Oh... sorry." Delta chuckled nervously. She directed them to throw it into the tunnel entrance and leave it for the next person to enter to pick it up.

"Don't worry, I'll get this Dungeon in tip-top shape and make sure you guys get improved as well! After all..." Delta said as she moved through a web, she spent a point adding a few wooden supports to the center of the room to give the spiders more places to attach webbing. It gave her berry bush a nice special feeling, too.

"We Dungeon folk have to stick together!" She offered, and a spider shuddered and played dead.

Delta crossed her arms.

"I think I am hilarious." She muttered.

----

"So, this is why outgoing magic mail is banned for the next few days to weeks, huh?" Quiss called to the town square. Well, it was more of an oblong rectangle that had an errant triangular tumor hanging off it.

"But I need to respond to my girlfriend!" A whiny man complained. Quiss wasn't going to say it, but he didn't need to. Ruli was here.

"Your girlfriend that lives Teranda? Yeah, come on, Colled, no one buys it." Ruli said, her eyes closed as she tried to snooze on the chair. She was the only other person on the little podium who had once been summoned to debate one of the greater demons into selling his legal right to take the souls of their cattle.

In return, he got a lot of cheese. Quiss could appreciate the craftsmanship of the little desk before him and the way everyone seemed unable to ignore him as long as he looked ready to rant.

"Anyway, we decided that keeping a Dungeon a secret from some of the town people was wrong, and we didn't want to clean the junk out of your houses if you die. So, the Dungeon is there. Don't go into it without permission or letting everyone know so we can all take bets. As the king's law states, you must either be over the age of 16, have a demon bound inside your soul, wield a sword that no one else can use, be mute and heralded as the hero of this timeline, have a magical birthmark tied to some prophecy or have parental permission to enter the Dungeon." Quiss reminded. Quite a few of the teenagers and younger kids grumbled at this.

The two blonde kids who were mute and had been hailed as heroes in some fashion in the crowd shrugged. Quiss knew one wanted to be a vet, and the other was too lazy to go anywhere. Smart boys, in his opinion.

"What's the Dungeon like?" One excited girl asked, and her little pigtails bounced as she jumped on the spot.

"Nice. Has a few spiders and Goblins, so don't go wandering in." Ruli answered for him. Quiss knew the kids loved announcements like these.

It got them out of school.

The only teacher in town, who managed 6 different classes of students in a single day stood to the side, smiling politely.

Mr. Jones was a nice man, and if Quiss ever felt the need to die slowly and painfully by having spawn, he wouldn't mind Mr. Jones teaching them. He baked cookies, listened to students, and never had a student fail since he took over in the last few years. It was the only hope this community had of reaching a standard education.

Quiss also knew the man was hearty. He confiscated a black wand from a student yesterday. In a town like this, magical weapons were a dime a dozen, and outside of this town, they would all sell for a small kingdom's annual income.

Thankfully, Mr. Jones dispatched the skeleton army the brat raised before history class was over and had a stern talk with the mother of the student, the Black Bog Witch, who was now the town's glass and Metal crafts shop owner.

The woman could make cauldrons like no one's business. How she managed to make them of clay, she kept to herself.

Mr. Jones was alright in Quiss' book. The fact he was a Knowledge Demon from the 142nd Layer of the Abyss didn't make the clean shirt and nice tie any less attractive. Many women and men had often fought with their spouses about who got to go to the parent-teaching meeting to stare at his straight teeth and lovely hair.

Quiss cleared his throat as the silence stretched on.

"So, please don't die, or I will have to do paperwork." He ended the meeting with a little gavel bang that ended the podium's magic and walked away.

"I liked it!" Ruli said as she caught up. Holding up one hand, she read off an imaginary headline.

"Don't die, idiots, local Peacekeeper cautions," she announced. Quiss hid a small smile as they both entered the local pub.

Nibs nodded and poured them the usual.

It was good to relax, and Quiss knew he'd better enjoy it. Delta would be cooking something up that appeared innocent but in reality, would make Quiss feel old soon enough.

At least his Melody Mead tasted good. He burped, and a little birdsong came out. He snorted as some heavy berserker metal flowed from Ruli's mouth.

---

In the night that followed, neither Quiss nor Delta could predict the danger that would come.

This was not just the hungry spiders that moved closer but also one of the most dangerous types of creatures in the Kingdom.

Teenagers.

---

[Insert Dungeon Map Here]

----

*Original Author's Note*

I like to say that, in this update, if I state something and people find it odd or disagree. That's fine. But I like to reserve the right to say, "Just wait and see." I'm finding that an OC fic on SB attracts a lot of questions, and due to me replying a lot, I can end up saying more than I like or give ways for people to dislike something due to it being said by me and not the characters. It can lead to arguing where I don't want to reveal my plotlines or ideas and people on the other side feeling like I'm refusing to answer.

So, let's all just chill, and if I say something or hint at something, maybe just take it at face value. I'm being super serious when I say there aren't a lot of people who can prove me wrong about how this World works. Sounds arrogant, I know, but I am writing this lore as I go, and until I state something, it's up in the air.

I draw a lot of influence from Terry Pratchett, and sometimes this World might just not make sense, and that is okay! It is okay for things to be magical and weird and silly. It's also okay for them to be serious, dark, and expressive. I can be wrong. I can mix up facts that I stated, I can misremember things, and I will keep spelling things wrong. But I'm having fun, and if being right is so important that you will argue until you're blue over something that is about a girl who became a Dungeon and adopted a duck, then I feel like maybe I shouldn't respond so much or people shouldn't post with such seriousness.

Just my two cents.