The Slime Dungeon: Book 1 (The Slime Dungeon Chronicles) (3 page)

"My what?" Claire pointed over to his body, "Think of it as an invisible bag only you can access. Within your dungeon, you can take anything not attached to another being. For instance, if an idiot adventurer dies inside you, feel free to absorb his belongings and body. His valuables can be given to your monsters as loot and his body can be made into a skeleton or zombie if you desire."

Claire grimaced, "I won't protest too much, but I don't like zombie dungeons. They get really smelly and make the Church priests angry and vengeful."

"What is the Church?"

"Not important right now; any other questions for me?"  Doc nodded, "Yeah, what do you mean give loot to monsters? Also, how do I get monsters?"

"To answer both questions, monsters within a dungeon fall into two types: natural and dungeon born. Natural monsters wander in from the outside and co-exist with the dungeon, like me technically. Dungeon born monsters are not alive; they are merely projections of your mana into a solid form that obey the same rules as regular monsters. When they die, their mana returns to you and they leave behind loot: sometimes a body part of value, or sometimes you can add the loot from your astral bag. The astral bag will summon out an appropriate items once assigned to your monsters.

Doc chuckled, "You know Claire, sometimes you are the smartest in the room, and other times you are like a little child. It’s very cute to watch."

Claire blushed, "Dungeon pixies dream of bonding their entire lives, so we learn as much as we can to make our dungeons happy. A pixie can only have one dungeon, but a dungeon can replace the pixie at any time.” She gave him her cute, pout stare, "You promise never to replace me?"

Doc nodded, "Yes, we'll be friends forever."

She giggled and cried, "Hooray for Doc!" as she flew around the room. As she settled back down, she smiled and asked, "Okay Doc, which race do you want as your first monster?"

Doc snorted, "Isn't it obvious? Let's go with Kobold!"

Chapter 3

Claire smiled at him and nodded in approval, "Great choice! Kobolds are a very easy race to deal with and have lots of possible evolutions."

Doc nodded, "Yup. There is nothing cooler than having dragons in a dungeon."

A silence filled the room.

Claire stared up at him and began to cough awkwardly. Doc regarded her with the crystal equivalent of a raised eyebrow. "Is something the matter?" He asked pointedly.

"... not…"

"What was that?"

"I'm sorry; that won't be possible.” Claire said apologetically.

Doc felt his spirits falter, "Why can't I have dragons? Kobolds have dragon blood and can evolve right? So why can't I have dragons?"  He felt a little childish, but he really wanted some dragons in his dungeon. He had a rather strong impression that if he had dragons, he wouldn’t have to be worried about anyone conquering him.

Claire gave him a pitying look, "Well, it’s not possible because dragons are like dungeon pixies; they are magic beings and very mighty ones at that. Even the weakest true dragons are way stronger than most things in this world, and dungeons cannot create anything stronger than themselves. Only monsters can be made, and until you reach a certain level of strength, you can only make simple ones. It’s possible to evolve them later on, but that's more of an evolution of your mana capacity rather than the monsters themselves. Do you get it?"

Doc nodded remorsefully. He understood the implications of creating things that could kill the creator, namely him, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.

"Fine," he muttered, "Then I choose slimes."

Claire winced visibly at his words, "Are you sure Doc? No dungeon, in my extensive research, has ever chosen slimes because of how awkward they are to have at the beginning."

"It’s an option isn’t it? That means it’s a viable choice for dungeons and a common monster."

Claire nodded haltingly, "Yes, but slimes are never the first race in a dungeon; they are normally an "add on" for variety in the dungeon. Even in the wild, slimes normally never get the chance to become strong because they are so easily killed by magic; however,” Claire reluctantly admitted, “The slimes that do survive are a tough to deal with I admit, especially when they evolve out of their slime form."

Doc perked up at this, "What do you mean by “evolve out?” Can they become other races?"

Claire huffed, seeing that Doc wouldn't be dissuaded, "Well, the most dangerous evolution I know of would be the gelatinous slimes. Those monsters are extremely dangerous because they are impervious to physical weapons and can easily change shape from a puddle to a cube the size of a man in an instant. They have an annoying ability to split every once in a while and create new ones. The worst part is that they are completely immune to physical attacks of any form. Very few of those exist because armies are called to destroy the area when one pops up; they are considered that much of a menace."

"Great, let’s do that!"  Doc said happily.

Claire marched through the air to his body and glared at him, her hands on her hips, "Didn't we agree making others angry was a bad life decision?"

Doc shrugged, "That's a long way off, right? Besides, as long as the dangerous ones are deep in my dungeon, it won't be dangerous to anyone besides the adventurers, right? In fact, I bet those adventurers would see it as a bit of a challenge. Can a dungeon monster leave the dungeon?"

Claire mulled over it for a moment, "The majority of dungeon-born monsters cannot leave their home dungeon. Besides that, everything else you’ve said is true. But I have to ask," she gave him pleading eyes, "Why can't it be animals? Cute, fluffy, adorable animals that I can hug and love and sleep on?"

Doc carefully maintained a neutral façade over his “face,” “Because you would be broken up every time one of them dies?"

Claire paused, and then drooped sadly, "Oh, you're right. Okay then, slimes it is.” She stared up sheepishly, "At least you didn't choose undead."

Doc stared at her, "I didn't see that option."

Claire coughed and turned around, "Right, slimes it is then. Let me just finalize this."

"Hold on, did you hide a choice from me?" Doc asked.

Claire waved her hands and Doc felt his entire being shudder for a moment. "Great! You can create slime minions now."

Doc stared at her for a moment and asked her again, "Did you hide a choice form me?"

"Maybe?"

"Claire!"

She pouted, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Zombies smell bad."

"Your birth place was a zombie dungeon, huh?"

"... Yes."

Doc sighed, "It’s fine, I guess; just don't lie to me again, okay?"

Claire nodded, but Doc sensed a little mischievousness from her. "Whatever you say Doc, you’re the boss.” She turned around and smiled at him, "Now, hurry up and make your first monster!"

"Okay, how do I do that?" He inquired eagerly.

Claire pointed at the ground, "Well, it is very similar to how you made the gold earlier. Focus your mana and imagine a slime."

Doc gave her a droll look, "Really! Then, what does a slime look like?"

Claire paused, then drooped, "Well, I was hoping you would know. I learned a lot, but never with pictures. My mommy’s dungeon didn’t have any either."

Doc mentally patted her head, "Well, what is the description of a slime?"

Claire tilted her head and recited, "A basic slime is a small viscous blob made of a liquid-like material with a core inside it. The core acts like a heart, using mana to keep the slime body intact and in motion. Colors usually depict the type of slime, but most experts agree a newborn slime is clear until it eats its first meal. For a basic slime, color depicts the attribute it has the most affinity to and it reveals its evolution pathway."

Doc nodded, "So a slime is a core surrounded by ‘slime,’ right? I can picture that.” He concentrated on the middle of the room and focused his magic. Like before, he felt his mana draining as his magic gave birth to his first monster. From the center of the room, a small black stone arose and began secreting slime around itself. Quickly, it wobbled up to its fullest slime height and began moving across the floor.

Claire clapped happily and flew down to the slime, poking it with her feet as it moved slowly. "Congratulations, you made a slime!"

Doc smiled happily, "Thanks, but why is it purple?" The slime was clear, but it possessed a purple tint as it oozed around.

"That's because you made it, silly. Your mana is purple, so it is purplish." She answered simply.

"Oh, good to know… Isn't it dangerous for you to be touching it like that? Won't it eat you?"

Claire giggled, "Nope! You and I are bonded so we can't hurt each other, and all your monsters are extensions of you. If fact, I think I found my new bed.” With a yawn, she fell asleep on top of the slime.

Doc chuckled to himself. “I may not need sleep, but I guess she still does.” He thought as he regarded the little pixie with affection. “That slime does look comfortable, so I am a little jealous.” The slime in question ignored everything as it moved across the floor.

“I guess I can't talk to my creatures then.” He sighed, 'Then again, I wonder if I can evolve them to be more intelligent?"  From what Claire had said, no one had ever really used slimes up to their full potential, and Doc was itching for a challenge. First thing he needed to do, though, was to make more slimes.

The initial slime didn't use much of his mana, so he went ahead and made nine more. The ten slimes were oozing across the floor soon after, and Doc chuckled as he watched Claire snoozing in a den of slime.

He decided to note the behavior of the slimes for future reference: Basic slimes were small, maybe a liter in size; they could stick to everything in his room, from the floor to the ceiling. When two slimes bumped into each other, they giggled and bounced apart, then moved in opposite directions. To Doc, it was like watching little balls bouncing off each other. The slimes themselves didn't seem to be growing much at all, but their light purple color seemed to be turning deeper. Doc assumed it was because they were feeding on his essence from the stones around him.

Doc decided he was tired of a single room. While interacting with Claire, he had been silently sensing the world around him, and it turned out he was closer to the outside world than she had thought. Granted, he didn't want to open a tunnel straight to his body, but he did want an opening to feel the outside air, metaphorically speaking, of course.

To his delight, he found that the slimes were absorbing, on their own, mana from the environment on their own, and he could use what they absorbed for himself. He focused on making a small hole to the surface, a mere 1 by 1 square tunnel to connect his body to the outside. With his new mana sources and increased absorption rate, he had no problem focusing his magic into the form he wanted, and shot it toward the surface.

Unfortunately, his focus literally shot the magic up and out, using up all of his mana till he was barely conscious. Even without his mana adding to it, the magical disintegrating blast continued until it burst out into the fresh air and exploded in a loud pop of stone and dirt.

The noise woke Claire up causing her to fall off her slime. In a panic, she started flying around wildly.

"What was that? Was it an explosion? Are we being invaded so soon? What's going on?" She turned to Doc and noted his condition. Eyes narrowed, she flew over to him and gave him a terrifying glare. "What did you do?"

Doc sheepishly said, "Oops."

After Doc’s explanation, Claire left immediately to survey the extent of the damage. She sent him results when she reached the new entrance.

Apparently, the spell had continued after Doc’s loss of control and continued in the original direction. However, instead of breaking down the rock and dirt, it had instead pushed it out of the way, resulting in an explosion that created havoc all around and a crater with a small hole in the middle. The tunnel itself was pretty long, but narrow. Claire was extremely frustrated with Doc, but she grudgingly admitted that he had surely made a showy entrance. Apparently, dungeons that hid themselves were considered suspicious by the adventurers and were more often killed. While Claire didn't see any nearby signs of one of the sentient races, the sound would have carried for a long distance.

"I can't believe you did something so foolish without my help. Don't you realize we're partners in this?" Doc wasn't sure if Claire was more upset with being left out or having their existence revealed so soon.

"Well, what's the next step since we have completed this one?"

‘You mean you finished’ Claire muttered angrily under her breath. Sighing, she took her seat in front of Doc and put her head in her hands.

"Normally, we'd practice your room creation and focus on improving yourself slowly, but now we don't have the luxury of time anymore.” She looked up, "Now, we have to work on defenses and rewards."

Doc sent her a confused feeling, "The tunnel is really small though, isn’t? Are the adventurers so small they can fit inside?"

Claire chuckled and shook her head, "No, not at all. Most adventurers are a few feet bigger than this room. However, it's in poor form to leave the entrance so small after announcing our existence, so we'll have to enlarge it to accommodate them."

"The suspicious presentation thing again?"

She nodded, "Yup, we don't want to look like we're hiding anything. You have to enlarge to entrance, tunnels, and the heart room."

Doc shuddered nervously, "I don't want adventurers in this room though."

Claire nodded sadly, "I agree, but we don't have a choice. You're too weak to have hidden rooms, so we can't hide anything yet. For now, this room serves as the final boss room."

"Can I at least hide my body?"

Claire nodded, "You can for now. The area where a dungeon is born always becomes the dungeon’s heart room and you’ll never leave here by choice. It’s the place where your mana is most concentrated and pure, so eventually you will float in the center of the room without hiding. For now, however, you are small enough to hide in the wall."

Focusing, Doc moved the room’s stone over his crystal body. Now, he was completely hidden from prying eyes.

Claire sighed, "That was my biggest worry, and I can feel better about your safety now. How do you feel?"

"Like I just pushed my body to the limits," he said honestly.

Claire nodded, eyeing the slimes in the room. "At least you made enough slimes before blasting through the stone; they are a big help in recovering mana for you. Go ahead and make ten more just to be safe.”

Making ten more slimes was still easy for him, so Doc went ahead and focused his power. The new slimes quickly got to work and soon Doc felt his mana levels rising steadily.

"This is great; my mana is almost full again," he said happily.

"Be careful, though," Claire cautioned, "Slimes are easy to make and easy to kill with anything magical. When adventurers are in your dungeon, you'll learn that it takes a lot of mana to create new monsters. An adventurer’s innate life will interfere with your abilities and make it difficult to directly attack them with anything. In fact, it is impossible to change your dungeon around while others are in it due to the strain it would place on you. Try it and the process would drain you completely dry and kill you."