Riva the Dungeon Boss

Riva marveled at the magical tree inside her mindscape.

This is the dungeon seed. The runes on its bark are the color of my blood. Their shape is the same as the lines that appeared on the ring when I first wore it.

She approached the tree stoked the trunk's rough surface with her palm.

She felt their connection. They had become two sides of the same coin.

Riva instinctively understood that she was now a part of the dungeon seed and the dungeon seed was a part of her. It was similar to when she split her mind into instinct and control self. They shared the same fate even if they were separated in mind.

She finally understood a bit about what this dungeon seed was.

The name was rather fitting, this fragment from the forest dungeon was the dungeon's offspring. A seed from which a new dungeon would be born.

Once sprouted, it would have its own sub-space which it would use to lure prey and feed on their energy. Yes, a dungeon absorbed the thoughts and feelings of the creatures that went inside.

It could also become self-sufficient by spawning its own monsters. Or by corrupting those in its reach and assimilating them as a kind of livestock.

Also, any dungeon core would manifest a boss. This entity was its agent in the physical world.

"I evolved into a dungeon boss!" Riva came to a realization.

She was the current representative of this unborn dungeon.

"Shouldn't the dungeon be born before it creates its boss? After all, The boss is supposed to be bound to the dungeon's space."

"But there's no dungeon space because it wasn't born yet. Instead, the unborn dungeon bound itself to me and made me its boss."

"Before, when I received the ring the seed was simply using me as a food source in exchange for its magic. That's why I could use the transformation spell. Through it's forest property it also provided me with a bit of life energy, the reason for my lowered daily consumption."

"When I attempted evolution, it utilized the absurd amount of energy, adjusted to me, and made me its host."

[User evolved into Undead Meanace]

[Race evolved into Zombie/Dungeon]

A system window informed her.

"So the system considers my race to be part dungeon!"

"Can you give me the details regarding my race, system?"

Riva facepalmed, when the system didn't react.

"Right I'm in my mindscape. It can't hear my thoughts. I'll need to get out to ask questions."

[Evolution complete]

The system continued and as though on cue, Riva's consciousness was pulled out and she awoke.

Before she could managed to get her bearings, another system message popped up.

[New system version available]

[Commencing installation]

"System?" Riva tried.

She didn't receive a response.

"Well I'm grateful, you're updating. But would it have hurt if you waited a second and told me about the evolution results?" She grumbled.

Riva finally checked her surroundings. She was enveloped by a cocoon made from a sturdy network of dead roots. It took a few cuts with Slashy 1 and she freed herself.

Outside the boss room remained the same as it had been when she fell unconscious. The scorpions were huddled together in its back.

"I wonder how much time passed?" Riva wondered.

She checked herself curiously.

The mage's clothes that she wore as disguise were tattered from her excessive fighting. Beyond that, she looked the part of a normal human being.

Riva concentrated on her palm. Her fingernails grew sharp and her skin turned unhealthy white. The effect spread up to her arm and revealed a line of jagged purple runes. The same ones that decorated the tree in her mindscape.

She used Slashy 1 as a mirror and concluded that her appearance hadn't changed much. Aside from the runes, she looked her usual undead self.

"I can control the transformation myself and no longer need to focus on the ring." She determined and checked her hand where she had worn the wooden ring before.

The ring had vanished. There was no longer any need for it since she was the one to serve as the dungeon seed's new vessel.

"I'd love to ask the scorpion dungeon a few questions about its kind… too bad I can't speak scorpion. The system has conveniently withdrawn for its update."

"I don't know if you understand me, but I wanted to say thanks for having me, and sorry about before, I'll be heading off." Riva waved at the scorpion boss in lack of a better target.

She reapplied her human mage disguise and made her way to the dungeon's entrance.

Most adventurers would have found it difficult to orientate themselves in the dark tunnel network of the dungeon, but the evolved Riva had great energy perception. She could easily feel the mana fluctuation which grew denser towards the boss room. Heading in the opposite direction would inevitably lead her to the exit.

Abiding the contract, she didn't fight any of the scorpions along her path and enjoyed a peaceful stroll.

She encountered a small party of adventurers at one point which she avoided long before they became aware of her presence.

Riva used the time and sorted her thoughts.

I feel full of energy and I'm no longer hungry. I did eat a lot back in the boss room… I should have leftover life points. Dungeon boss grinding was super effective.

Before, it took immense effort to hunt for wildlife in the forest. And even then I gained less than in the 10 minutes it took to grind through the boss room once.

I'm a little regretful that it won't continue to be this easy to gain points. It's a good thing, that my symbiosis with the dungeon will sustain me anyways. It's likely that I no longer need life energy to survive, which would also explain why I'm no longer feeling hungry.

Riva loosened her 'Self Control' a bit to test the waters.

She could use most of her skills even though the system was offline. The ones that didn't work were those that she had to call out to the system for activation.

To be precise, it was only 'Haste that was affected. She had another active skill, 'Predator Aura' which she couldn't get to work even in the system's presence. Apparently, it was restricted to her instinct-driven rampage.

Loosening 'Self Control' made Riva feel a rush of different emotions. She felt ecstatic and curious about the changes and the power that was coursing through her ever since her evolution. There was the lingering anger at the humans who betrayed her, fear towards the powerful beings that resided in this world including those she encountered, resolve to make the best of her circumstances, and finally a lot suppressed annoyance regarding the system.

Before, she had solely focused on a single emotion with the 'Self Control' skill. It had not only pushed down her hunger but also rendered the other emotions insignificant. It wasn't that she didn't feel them, she simply wasn't as aware of them because of her complete focus.

I feel great! Riva concluded to herself. I'm no longer hungry. Big yay! She grinned with relief.

That's one problem down. Next, I'll head for town - finally! I've kept those backstabbing bastards waiting long enough.

I'm pretty confident in my human disguise. Now that I'm the one controlling it, I can confidently say it's even identification skill proof! It'd take someone insanely powerful to see through it.

Hm… I'll have to gauge my strength too. Maybe I can take some mercenary jobs. No need to rely on that stupid, useless system. It never could properly display my stats.

Riva had finished adjusting her plans by the time she exited the dungeon.