Days pass, I think. I don't have a clock, so my only way of knowing time is passing is my mana regenerating. The haze that blocks my dungeon entrance doesn't let in light, so, for now, that’s been my only way to tell. I had thought that since no light was filtering into the cave, it must face north or south, but... This is a different world. There's no way to tell if it follows the same rules or if it has the same patterns as Earth. Heck, it might not even have a sun. What if this world orbits a black hole or if I'm on a moon orbiting a gas giant like Jupiter? That would be so cool!

  A small rush of mana hits me, interrupting my little game of guess what’s outside. "What’s going on? Did a leaf blow in or something?" I look around my dungeon and find my little rock golem with one arm missing. "What happened? Who did this to you?" My vision darts around the dungeon as I try to find the ones responsible for hurting my special little guy. "Get out here, you cowards!" I yell as I spot its missing arm on the other side of the room. "Who would do something like this?"

  A small blue screen pops up with the answer.

  Mouse corpse has been acquired.

  New resource spawner has been added.

  "Oh, yeah. I forgot my dirt golem uses its arms as a projectile weapon." I pull my focus in on my minion. "Way to go, little guy. You've got yourself a mouse! I’m proud of you." I say before clearing my throat and dropping my voice a few more octaves. “I mean. Well done, child of the dungeon, you have pleased your master this day.” The little golem raises its remaining arm, then waddles away. "Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" The golem turns back, pointing the armless side of its body at me. I watch as a new arm forces its way out of the dirt man's shoulder. "So you have to regrow them. That could be a problem." I count the seconds as I watch my little golem's arm grow back. "167 seconds. So, given that I started counting after it had already started, it's probably closer to 180." I pull myself back to dungeon view and let my minion get back to work. "A three-minute reload will be a problem in actual combat. I'm going to need a lot more of these little guys."

  I put that issue to the side for now. I’ve unlocked a new resource spawner, and it feels like I’ve got a bit of extra mana. "It seems I unlock new abilities every time I absorb something new. Is there a limit on that? What if I killed a person? Would I get people spawners? Are there even people here?" A shiver runs up my nonexistent spine. "Oh God. What if this place is some kind of bug world?" I shudder at the thought of a 6 foot tall bug crawling its way into my dungeon. “Nope, nope. Hate that. Hate that so much. Oh hey, I’ve unlocked a new spawner. Let's focus on that." I pull myself into the back room, and huddle in the corner. "Hey Mr. Blue screen, can you show me the stats on the new spawner?” I say, trying to banish the ever-worsening image of an insect humanoid from my mind.

  The little blue screen pops up with the welcome distraction I had asked for.

  Displaying new acquisitions

  Mouse spawner 5 mana

  Creates common mice. These mice are not under the dungeon's control. Mice are non-combatants and will flee if an outsider enters the dungeon. This spawner's primary function is as a food source for larger creatures. Mice will spawn according to the number of prey animal spawners in a room.

  Limited to 1 spawner per room

  "Great, so I’ve unlocked a food spawner for better minions." I say with a long sigh. "Well, I’m sure that will be helpful at some point." I had hoped that I would get a new minion the next time something like this happened. On the bright side, I have a little more mana now, so that's a win. “Hey, little blue screen. Could you show me how much mana I have?”

  The screen pops to life.

  Unnamed dungeon currently has 11 mana.

  “Alright!” I shout, my vision rocking as I fail to pump a fist I don't have. "I’ve got what I need to make the bat minion. With a bit of luck, my mana problems will be a thing of the past."

  I summon all of my strength and call out in the most epic voice I can muster. “I call upon the powers within me to do my bidding. Hear me, mana, create me a bat minion!”

  A long silence hangs in the air as I wait for anything to happen. "Hello? Mana?" I sigh as I pull myself into the first room. "Damn it, little blue box. I thought we were getting along." The screen with my mana clears.

  Command not found.

  Please use the minion menu to create new dungeon inhabitance.

  “You're taking all the fun out of this." I say, pulling myself back out to dungeon view. "Fine, you spoilsport. Open the minion menu.” The blue screen clears, showing me my extensive list of minions. All two of them. I mentally select the bat option, and with a flash of light, the creature appears. "What a cutie pie!" I move closer to my new bat, cooing as it clicks and squeaks. "I love her! Oh, she needs a name. Let's see. Oh, I know. You shall be Lady Fluffy Butt." My new minion lets out a long squeak, her tiny wings fluttering as she flies to the roof and perches herself upside down.

  "Well, I don't care if you don't like your name; you'll have to live with it." I move myself next to Lady Fluffy Butt, letting out a squeak of my own as I watch her rub her face with her tiny hands. "You're so cute! No, I have to focus. Ok, let's see what this new minion can do!" I clear my throat for dramatic effect before donning my dungeon voice. "Lady Fluffy Butt, hear my words and obey. Go into the world and bring me gifts from the outside."

  My cute minion yawns and wraps its wings around itself. Is she ignoring me? Can she ignore me? “Lady Fluffy Butt? Hey Lady Fluffy Butt! Can you hear me?” I say, focusing a little harder on the fluffy little thing. The bat makes eye contact with me, but she doesn’t seem to understand what I want. I can feel something coming from her. She's confused and scared. Am I scaring it? It feels different now; it's almost like she fears for her life. “No, no, little guy. It's okay. I’m not mad or anything.” I say, trying to reassure it by projecting my feelings. That seems to work. The bond between us calms, and her body visibly relaxes.

  I pull my focus back to dungeon view. "Well, this sucks. I can’t talk to Lady Fluffy Butt. Is she not smart enough to understand speech? No, that doesn't make sense. My golem is a bunch of dirt, and it can follow commands." I let out a sigh as I inspect my dungeon. "How can I tell Lady Fluffy Butt what I need her to do? Oh, I know!"

  I pull my focus back down to the first room of my dungeon and move myself to the entrance. "Okay, no words, just vibes." I focus on the mist blocking the entrance as I drift closer and closer to it. I can feel Lady Fluffy Butt watching me, so when the barrier stops me, I let out a sad squeak. Lady Fluffy Butt seems to understand that, and with a flutter of her wings, she flies out of my dungeon. "Yes! I did it! Maybe. She might have left to find food. God I hope she didn't just leave for a snack."

  The sound of fluttering wings heralds the return of Lady Fluffy Butt a minute later; a small twig clutched in her tiny feet. "Is that for me?" I ask as she lands on the ground in front of me. With a squeak, she drops her offering on the ground, then shuffles back. I bob as the stick disappears into my storage and a small rush of mana hits me.

  “Yes!! I have a resource gatherer!” I shout, the excitement of the situation making me feel giddy. "This is going to make things so much easier." I focus on Lady Fluffy Butt. She's shuffling back and forth as if she's waiting for feedback. I try to project happiness, but I think all she got was excitement from me. She pops and squeaks at me, mirroring my excitement through the bond. "You did so well, Lady Fluffy Butt. Thank you. Thank you so much!" My cute little bat wiggles, shuffling her feet like she's doing a little dance. "Oh my God, that's so cute. You have a happy dance."

  For the next few hours, Lady Fluffy Butt continues bringing me little bits of the outside world. My excitement and mana grow with each stick, leaf, flower and berry she offers. Every time she returns, I pull myself to the entrance and let her know how happy I am through our shared bond.

  "God, she's the best." I say, watching my sweet girl flap away again. "I hope she's not pushing herself too hard, though. It's important to take breaks." I watch as the leaf she brought me dissolves and feel my mana rise. "So I was right." I say, the small offering giving me far less mana than it had previously. "If I absorb the same thing twice, I don’t get anywhere near as much mana. I wonder if that's a feature or a bug?"

  "Meh, who cares? With a constant stream of mana, I can get to work on my masterpiece. Little Blue, enter creative mode!" A ding rings through my head as the creative mode screen appears to my side, but I won't be needing that. I have a plan. I pull pebbles, rocks and red dust out of my inventory and make small mounds of each in front of me. "This is going to be so cool when it's done." I say as I stack 5 rocks in a vertical collum. Each stone attaches to the last, with a bit of my mana holding the stone pillar together. "It's working, it's working!" I repeat the process, creating a second stack. "Perfect. I've got the legs. Next is the torso. I have some big rocks from clearing the second room that'll be perfect for this."

  I rummage through my rock pile until I find three of roughly the same shape. "Yes. These will do nicely." I stack the large stones on top of the legs, each one attaching with a satisfying click. "Now we're getting somewhere. All that's left is the arms." I join a bunch of pebbles together to make a long arm, then use some smaller pebbles to form a hand in the shape of a scoop. “Perfect!” I say, taking a step back from my work. "Now for the hard part."

  The dull red iron sand flows toward my new creation and coats its arm. "Whelp, here goes nothing." With a grunt, I push the mana holding the red dust against the arm into the golem. It glows a vibrant red as it attaches; the metal clinging to the hand and leaving it with a smooth metal coating. My friendly little blue screen pops up, startling me away from my work.

  New skill acquired.

  Fire magic spell - Cold plating.

  Use mana instead of heat to cover an item with metal.

  I dismiss the screen with a huff. "Yes, yes, little blue screen. That’s very interesting. But I’m kind of in the middle of something here." I can feel the mana draining away as I plate the hand. The all too familiar feeling of breathlessness getting worse the more I work.

  I let out a wheeze as I finish my work. "Worth it." I say, my vision getting blurry. "What's happening to me? It feels like I'm going to pass out." I crash into the side of my dungeon and slide down the wall. "I didn’t know I could pass out. I’ve been awake since I got here." My body rocks as I try to get off the ground, the exertion making my eyes blur further. "Yup, definitely going to pass out. Hey, new guy." I say as I struggle to hold my focus on my new minion. “Can you dig me some extra space? I need a couple of corridors and a room.” I mumble out as the darkness consumes me. “Oh, and don’t dig near where my core is.”

  I awake with warning bells going off in my head. There's something in my dungeon. Something that’s not supposed to be here, and whatever it is. It's big. My sight returns as if waking from a deep sleep. "What's happening?" I ask, my voice croaking like an angry frog. I gasp as a short, bearded man with a pickaxe strikes my dirt golem. Its body crumbles as the worn tool splits it down the centre, its one remaining arm clattering to the ground with a dull thump. "No!" I yell, pulling myself to my golem's side. "Why would you do this? The poor thing never hurt anyone."

  The short man spits, his saliva tainted by my special little guy's remains. "There's no core?" He says as he crushes what's left of my golem between his fingers. "It can't be." The short man gets to his feet, a poor excuse for a sack resting on his shoulder. "This is a dungeon, and I'm the first one to find it."

  “Hey! Who the hell are you?” I scream as I watch the mana drain out of my little stone friend.

  The dwarf lets out a loud laugh, his whole body shaking from the force of it. “Well now, you must be a very young dungeon if that’s all you’ve got.” He’s laughing continues, the lone pebble in the wall seeming to catch his eye. “You're joking me.” The man wastes no time walking to where my core is hiding and plucks the pebble out of the wall. “A word of advice. If you’re going to try to hide yourself, try not to make it stick out. This is the only thing that stands out in this place.” He says, a greedy smile growing across his face. “You’re lucky the market for dungeon cores has dried up in the badlands or I’d snatch you up and sell you to the highest bidder." He says, his smile disappearing as he pokes me with a fat finger. "Not that a tiny thing like you would be worth much."

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “I've had enough of you. Get the hell out of my dungeon. You. Whatever you are!” I shout, moving myself up to the roof of my dungeon. "Or I'll. I'll. Do something."

  The dwarf brings his face back down to the core. “Bet I could make a half-decent weapon out of you with a little effort.” He says, ignoring my threats and scratching at his dirty beard.

  I move myself in front of the small man, getting right up in his face. “Hey, I’m talking to you! Get out of my dungeon or I’ll. I’ll spawn something, something bad.”

  The small man scratches his armpit and spits again. "Red cores look good on daggers, but I'd probably make more coin mounting you on a stave." He says, running a finger along my core, his touch making me feel sick. “The dwarf nobles love a good stave, but I’d have to fatten you up first.”

  "Fatten me up? Why are you talking about me like I'm a pig?"

  The tiny man picks up the pebble that once hid me from the world and jams it back into place. "Grow big and strong for me, tiny dungeon." He says, spinning on his heels, and stomping towards my entrance. “Oh, and thanks for the shortcut to the mines!”

  “GET OUT!” I yell, a feeling of rage I hadn’t felt for a long time bubbling up from deep within. "I swear to God, if you ever come back, I'll kill you. Slowly." I say, my focus pulled so tight on him I can see his beard hairs moving as he breathes.

  A few steps from the entrance, the short man turns to face me. “Don’t you worry, I’ll be back for you soon enough my shiny friend.” He says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a scrap of cloth. “This is for the little one, and your trouble. Grow up nice and big now, and if you’re lucky, you might get to live in a fancy castle.”

  The scrap of cloth drifts towards the floor as my intruder disappears into the mist blocking my entrance. “Yeah, you'd better run!" I say, staring into the swirling barrier. "Asshole, who walks into another person's home and ignores them.”

  I sigh, turning back to my empty dungeon. My defenses, if you can call them that, were useless. Worse than that, I lost my little buddy. He was my first, and that asshole annihilated him without a second thought.

  I pace the chamber, a swirl of anger and sadness fighting for attention. "This can't happen again." I mimic the sound of taking long breaths in and out. "Calm down. If you let your emotions get the better of you, you'll start making mistakes." A few more unnecessary breaths quiet my mind. "I need to be logical about this and make a plan. That guy knows where I am and is coming back. I need to be ready for the next time."

  I look around my empty dungeon. My bat and my digger are nowhere to be seen, but somehow I can feel they're alive. "That's good. I'm glad they're safe." I say, moving myself to the shattered remains of my fallen minion. "My poor little dirt golem. He didn’t deserve this." I scoop what's left of him into my inventory. A small part of me hoping if I reuse the same dirt, I'll be able to bring him back. "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let. Um. And let. God damn it, and let. Perpetual light shine upon them."

  A wave of mana interrupts my poor excuse of a funeral procession. "What the hell is this!" I say, as the mana fills me beyond the point of bursting. Instinctively, I send my mana down a new hole in my second room, letting it wash down it like a flood. I feel my domain grow as the mana clings to the walls, the new areas becoming a part of me. "It's not enough." I say, the sickening feeling rising and falling in horrible waves. I push harder, my mana pouring into another room, then a corridor, and finally into a giant cave.

  The sickening feeling fades as my mana fills the cave. "What the hell just happened?" I ask, a heavy pressure still threatening to rip me apart. “Hey blue screen guy, open resources.” I say, every word making me feel worse.

  The little blue screen pops up, its light making me feel worse.

  Mana 55/35

  Dungeon points 110

  Note: you will lose 1 mana a minute until the maximum mana level is reached.

  "No time to waste then. Blue screen, give me the spawner menu." I say every word like a knife to the stomach. I try to focus on the second room, my body feeling like it may explode at any second.

  My little blue friend appears. Its screen remains blank for a moment before a flicker of static races across it.

  Excess mana detected

  Create dirt golem spawner?

  “Yes! God yes.”

  The blue screen clears.

  Please select spawner location.

  “I.. Just put it in the corner of this room.”

  The screen clears, replaced by new text

  Clarification request: define desired corner?

  “Oh for the love of. The right back corner.”

  The pain fades as my mana rushes towards a spot on the ground, giving it a healthy red glow. "Oh thank God. That's way better." I sigh as my movements become easy again, allowing me to pull myself to the glowing pile of dirt. "Is this it? I was expecting something. Hmm. You know, I don't know what I was expecting. It wasn't this, though." The red patch of dirt rumbles as a small mound of dirt rises out of the ground. "Whoa there, I didn't mean you had to change. A glowing patch of dirt is fine." I say, moving away from the ever-growing pile as it crawls up the wall. The mound shakes, its front crumbling as a simple entrance forms big enough for a golem to exit through.

  I sigh as I inspect the massive eyesore my big mouth had created. "Note to self. Stop asking for things I don't want." I grumble as I pull myself into the first room. "Whatever. Hey blue box, open resources."

  Mana 35/35

  Dungeon points 110

  "How am I still at max mana? If Lady Fluffy Butt comes back now." I shudder at the thought of being over my mana cap again. “Yeah. No, thank you. Little blue, let’s spawn some dirt golems.”

  A new blue screen pops up to my right.

  Note: New boon unlocked - golem master.

  Due to the creation of the dirt golem spawner, 2 dirt golems will be spawned instead of 1 on this floor. Do you wish to proceed?

  "A 2 for 1 deal? These spawners are no joke! I should try to always build these first from now on." The little blue screen to my right refreshes, the same text appearing on the screen. "I'm sorry, are you trying to tell me to hurry up? Rude much?" A buzz rings through my head as the blue screen refreshes again. “Alright, alright. Spawn me some dirt golems.” I say, watching the little screens disappear.

  Relief washes over me as I feel my mana drain away and 2 identical golems come waddling... I mean marching out of the spawner's makeshift door. "Oh, that's so much better. It feels like I just took a massive dump." I pull myself closer to my new minions, both identical copies of my special little guy. "So, these little guys come out of the spawner now. That's kind of cool." I focus my vision on the spawner. "I wonder if."

  Before I can finish my thought, another screen pops up.

  Dirt golem spawner level 1

  Capacity: 3/6 Active 2/6

  The next golem will respawn in 2 minutes

  Available upgrades

  Increase the level of dirt golems. Cost: 5 dungeon points.

  Upgrade to rock golems. Cost: 10 dungeon points.

  Upgrade to dirt spitter. Cost: 20 dungeon points.

  All other options locked

  “God damn it! Stupid blue screen jump scares”. I shout, mad at myself for not realizing what was about to happen. I take a second to compose myself again before bringing my attention back to the screen. "So, I can unlock upgrades or evolve these little guys at the spawners. This might be exactly what I need to defend myself against that guy when he comes back." I study the screen, rereading each option twice. "Interesting, these options require dungeon points. I get it now, mana for making things and dungeon points for upgrades." My vision bobs as I nod to myself. "I already know these guys can’t beat anything other than a mouse. Soooo." I giggle as I mentally select the option for dirt spitter, then back away and prepare myself for a blue screen to surprise me.

  The spawner crumbles, sinking back into the dirt and flattening out until it becomes indistinguishable from the surrounding ground. "And I broke it. Good job, me." I let out a pathetic squeak as the ground swings up like a trapdoor and 3 small rock creatures come scuttling out. "Ahh! Golem spiders!"

  My new minions are roughly the same size as the dirt golems but have 3 long thin legs. While that may be an improvement, their cute, round torsos have been replaced with a smooth cylinder of rocks. "No! My cute little boys are cannons with legs! I ruined them."

  I watch as the little guys scuttle around the room and fire little clumps of dirt at each other. "Ok. Objectively, that's kind of cute. I like that my minions can play with each other."

  A blue screen pops up to my right, but I’m ready for it this time. “Ah ha! You won’t get me that easy!” I say, my victory over the jump scare giving me a newfound confidence. That confidence is instantly lost as the screen vanishes and returns in the middle of my field of view. "Damn it, little blue."

  New minion unlocked, Dirt spitter.

  Would you like to view the new minions' stats?

  I sigh. “Yeah, fine. Show me the stats already, you wanna-be prankster.” I say to the screen, which wastes no time refreshing itself and giving me the information.

  Dirt spitter.

  Mana cost: 10 mana.

  Spawner cost: 30 mana.

  A non-living creature, this minion cannot survive outside of a dungeon

  A golem made of rock created by the unnamed dungeon. Its simple design allows the dirt spitter to move quickly, allowing it to attack while on the move. This minion fires small mounds of dirt as its primary form of attack. While not fatal, their attacks can blind enemies and do minor damage.

  "Okay, okay. That's a good start. Let's see if we can’t expand on it a little." I move my focus back to the spawner to see if there is a way to make these things a bit more. Shall we say, deathy? The blue screen appears moments later with a new list of upgrades.

  Dirt spitter upgrades

  Increase the level of dirt spitter. Cost: 20 dungeon points.

  Change path to rock golems. Cost: 5 dungeon points.

  Upgrade dirt spitter ammunition to solid ammunition. Cost: 30 dungeon points.

  Dirt spitter upgraded to rock cannon. Cost: 50 dungeon points.

  “Cannon! Need it, want it, getting it! It's cannon time, baby!” I say, selecting the rock cannon upgrade, and pull back to watch the magic happen. The rock spitters freeze, then collapse into piles of rocks. "Oh, that's not what I was expecting. Are you guys..." I pull back as the hatch on the spawner flies open and sucks the rocks into itself before slamming shut again. “No! My little dirt boys! They were having so much fun.”

  I stare at the spawner for what feels like forever. "Why is nothing happening? There’s no glowing light, no shaking, nothing." I pull myself over to the spawner, a blue screen greeting me when I'm close enough.

  New minion selected: Rock cannon. Spawner upgrade in progress. Please wait.

  "Guess the more advanced stuff has a build time. I hope they don’t take too long; I want to see what these things can do." I pull myself back into dungeon view and am greeted by my newly expanded domain. “Oh cool! I almost forgot about all this. Think I’ll go check out my new territory while I wait.”

  I pull my focus back down to the start of the new corridor and have a bit of a float around. "Oof, this is a bit rough." I say, moving closer to the jagged edges of the walls. "Yeah. I may need to upgrade my digging guy too. Can’t have my dungeon looking this bad." I spend a little mana and smooth the walls, giving them all the same finish as the first two rooms. I know I should save my mana, but come on. "Besides, I have some rock cannons cooking up. I can afford to burn a little mana to make my home nice."

  Once I'm happy with my work, I drift into the room it’s connected to. "And it's exactly the same in here too." I say with a heavy sigh. The room is more of a rough dome than a nice even square. "I know I shouldn’t, but I'm going to."

  A burst of mana fills the room and smoothes it out, making it a perfect square. "Perfect! Now this place is looking." I pause as I catch sight of the jagged edges of another corridor. "For the love of Jim Belushi, how is this worse than the other rooms?" I sigh, knowing I can’t leave this last bit undone. "Fine! I guess I have to do everything around here." I say, spending a bit more mana smoothing it all out. I look towards the ceiling with a huff. “You guys suck. You know that?”

  I float through the second corridor, making sure I hadn’t missed a spot. I follow the path to its end, where it leads to a beautiful natural cave. The wall's surface is covered with strips of brilliant red iron veins that crisscross along every surface. "This is gorgeous." I say, inspecting an enormous pile of rocks in the room's corner blocking some kind of natural entrance. "A cave-in? I wonder if that short guy was trapped in here?"

  My digging golem catches my eye as it takes a big swing at the wall. It's standing at the far end of the room, chipping away at the back wall. "Well, if it isn't our resident Picasso." I say, moving over to the golem's side. “Hey buddy, looks like you're having a bit of a rough time with that stuff.”

  The golem pauses, shifting its body to meet my gaze. It looks down at its claw for a moment before looking back at me. “Yeah, this place might be a bit much for you. Head back to the core room and we’ll see if we can get you an upgrade.” The golem raises its arm and marches towards the centre of my dungeon.

  I chuckle as I watch it lumber away. "You know, I haven’t checked that guy's stats yet, have I? Hey Little Blue, can I get the info on that guy's stats?” I mentally wince. "I need to come up with a better name for the screen. Little Blue just doesn't feel right."

  The blue screen appears with the minion's status a second later.

  Iron hand stone golem

  Mana cost: N/A

  Spawner cost: N/A

  A non-living creature, this minion cannot survive outside of a dungeon

  A golem made of rock created by the unnamed dungeon. Its simple design allows the iron hand stone golem to move quickly. Its iron hand can cut through dirt and soil with ease.

  Note: Due to its creator using its core skills to create this creature, replication cannot be achieved at this time by the WEEB system.

  “Stop calling my creations simple. They're works of art, and you know it!”