The Slime Dungeon: Book 1 (The Slime Dungeon Chronicles) (4 page)

“Why is it like that? Do the adventurers have some magic limiting ability that interferes with me?” Claire waved her hand back and forth, “It’s actually protection given to all sentient beings who pray to a higher divinity or any creatures under the protection of a deity. They don’t want their followers and chosen creatures to be slaughtered mercilessly unless special conditions are satisfied.”

Doc nodded, "So it makes it fairer to adventurers then? I guess that makes sense. Is that what the church is connected to?”

Claire frowned, “Yes, but let’s worry about that subject later.”

Doc mentally shrugged, “Okay then Claire, whatever you say. Now, what kind of defenses can I make?"

Claire pointed at the slimes, "Anything that uses slimes would be good. Pitfalls, ceiling drops, and puddle ambushes are the best ways to use slimes. The last two are things slimes can do on their own, but you'll have to make the pitfalls in your floor."

Doc regarded her in surprise, "I thought slimes weren’t intelligent enough for complicated things?"

Claire shook her head, "They may lack any intelligence, but this is instinct for them; nothing smart about it. Now, time to get to work!"

Chapter 4

Doc was completely exhausted. Claire had constantly been pushing him to finalize their dungeon. Unlike her normal demeanor, Claire was all business now that the dungeon was exposed for the entire world to see and explore. It was a strange contrast to her previous childlike behavior, but Doc attributed it to the nature of the situation.

She had Doc enlarge spaces along the tunnel to form rooms. She had kept a hawk's eye on his mana levels and concentration; she barked orders when he started to slip and making sure his mana never fell below conscious level. When he got low, she made him switch to creating more slimes, never allowing him to rest for a second. When she required sleep, she gave Doc a task to complete before she woke up and then settled on top of a slime. After the simple rooms were carved out, she had him enlarge the corridors to six feet in height and four feet from wall to wall. Doc kept his complaints down to a minimum because in no way could he avoid responsibility for his actions.

He didn't know if crystals could become sore, but he was fairly sure he felt what that would be like.

"Oh, hush up you!" Claire scolded, "You have enough slimes now to never sleep, what's the problem?"

"I never realized how much I missed sleep until this moment," Doc retorted, "You haven't let me rest in five days!"

Claire snorted, "Oh, please! I know dungeons don’t need rest like other creatures. You're just lazy and young. How would you know what sleep is anyway?"

Doc paused, “I know I had memories of sleep; well, maybe. Being asleep means one does not know what’s going on around them right?"

Claire flew back to her table and lay across it, gazing at him. "Yes, but in a more resting manner than what you have experienced. It’s interesting, though, because most dungeons are newborns and have no knowledge of anything, and yet, you seem familiar with some topics you’ve never learned. I’m interested to see how being with you changes over time since I'm sure you're an old soul."

"Old soul, what's that?" He asked questioningly.

Claire rolled over, "Well, remember how I told you dungeons arise from variant soul gems? Soul gems have been used in the past to hold souls long after the body had turned to dust. Occasionally, a newly formed dungeon heart might accidently pick up a departing soul and trap it within itself. During the process, a lot of experience from the past life may be lost, so no matter what, all dungeons need to be taught things. Now, most souls cannot be trapped this way due to the protection provided by the gods unless they lost it somehow. Evil criminals are the most common case, which supports the natural view that most dungeons are malicious. Good souls are rarer, I think you are one of them."

"So, does that make me unique?"

Claire shook her head, "Nope, you have all the powers and limits of a regular dungeon. The only things special about you would be your understanding of things you can't experience, like sleep. Well, you also get to bypass the multiple stages needed to become sentient, so I guess that’s a bonus."

I also remember ‘her,’ though, Doc thought, if nothing else, I'll always remember her. His mind jerked back to reality as Claire began hitting the stone he was hidden behind.

"No distractions now, hurry up and finish the entrance and the pitfalls."

Sighing, Doc returned to his previous task. Claire wanted a large and showy entrance to welcome visitors, but Doc wanted something simpler for the task. They'd been arguing the last day about it, but they’d set it aside and had settled on the pitfall traps first.

The traps were pretty easy for him to make. He moved a section of his floor to form a hole, and let a few slimes drop in. Then he covered it with a thin stone designed to support the weight of small things like slimes and nothing else. The dungeon was pretty simple, given the time they had: Three large rooms and his room at the end with pitfall traps sprinkled in the tunnels. He had about seventy simple slimes, and they were now everywhere. Almost understanding what he was doing, the slimes had gone into the pits on their own, turned into puddles, or had climbed up to the ceiling and blended in to the stone.

"They have pretty good instincts,” he commented as the last slime rolled into his pit.

Claire shrugged, "I'd say it was more you than them, but whatever you say.” She was back on top of his first slime, which had become her favorite place to lie down. This slime was the darkest purple and never moved far from his room.

"So Claire, what's the story with this slime?"  Doc asked, indicating her moving bed.

Claire smiled, "Oh! This slime? This is you."

Doc was confused, "But I'm me."

Claire giggled, "No, silly, I mean this is your other body.” She flew around the slime and pointed, "This is your dungeon boss."

She held up her hand, "Yes, I know you have no idea what a dungeon boss is, so I'll go ahead and tell you. A dungeon boss is how it sounds; the boss of your dungeon. Normally, it is your first monster or the monster that has survived the longest. It has the strongest connection to you, so after you designate it and infuse it with your power, it will become a body you can possess and fight with."

"So I'm not stuck as a crystal then? I can move around in that slime?" Doc asked excitedly.

Claire gave him thumbs up, "Right! This is also the last step of making a dungeon, besides the entrance. Right now this is simple slime, but if you push your will into it, it will grow to become your boss. In fact, go ahead and give it a go!"

Claire flew up to her chair to watch the action while Doc got to work. He focused on the slime and pushed, but felt nothing happening. "Claire, it's not working," he informed her.

"You aren't creating something silly, so stop using mana. Use your mind instead to possess it."

Feeling embarrassed, Doc tried again, this time pushing himself into the slime. He felt his conscious drawn out of his crystal; pass through his walls down to the slime. Experiencing vertigo, he watched in amazement as the slime rumbled grew quickly. Soon, it was big enough to cover a good bit of the floor and very purple in coloration. Doc felt his awareness switch from the wall to the floor, and realized he could feel things.

Being a slime was a very different experience for him. He couldn't feel his dungeon as well as before, but was more conscious of the surface he was touching. Moving was also a new experience, and he enjoyed rolling his mass across the floor. Claire flew down and plopped onto his head.

"So, what do you think?"

"Blurb, blub, blub," Doc answered. Startled, he found he couldn't talk the same way as he could before.

Claire giggled so hard she fell off his head. "Sorry about that, I forgot to mention you can't speak like you're used to whenever you are in your dungeon’s boss body. I can hear your thoughts though, so go with that."

This is cool Claire. He thought happily, now I can explore my own dungeon.

"Oh no, you don't!” Claire scolded, "Hurry and leave so you can finish the entrance."

Grumbling, Doc left his new body and returned to his crystal. "Fine, but I still think the entrance should be simple."

Claire folded her arms, "A grand entrance will make sure everyone knows we aren't hiding anything."

"It could also be perceived as a trap to lure in fools.” Doc countered, "A simple entrance may look like a trap, but at least it's honest."

Claire sighed and shrugged, "Oh fine, then, but it still has to be obvious that it's a dungeon entrance okay?"

"Okay." Doc moved his awareness to the front of the dungeon and gazed at his entrance. At the moment, it was still the small round hole with a large corridor behind it. Using his magic, Doc removed the stone and enlarged it to a slightly smaller size than the tunnels within. He kept the round shape, and added some rock formations around the entrance for visual effect. A slight tug and he had water droplets falling down the stalagmites onto the floor.

Taking a step back, Doc couldn't help but be proud of himself. His dungeon was actually located below a small hill near a forest and grass plain, and the entrance was perfectly angled to be visible from the forest and most of the plain. The earlier explosion added to the appeal, creating an uneven landscape leading up to his door.

Pleased, he returned to his room and informed Claire. She sighed and relaxed into the large slime, "It’s done then; our first dungeon and my home.” She giggled and rolled around on the slime's head, hugging herself happily.

"Doc, do you think Mommy would be proud of me?"  She asked him tentatively.

Doc smiled at her, "Of course, Claire, you did a good job helping me; even if you pushed me to the brink of annoyance."

Claire giggled some more, "I was channeling ‘my inner Mommy.’ I couldn't do it as well as her, though."

Doc sent a silent prayer toward whatever dungeon had Claire's mom as his or her partner. "Now what, Claire?"

She pointed down, "Now it’s the rest of your life. Expanding, evolving, learning, deepening; everything is left for you to do now. For now, why don't you practice using your boss in battle?"

"Okay, then," Doc said as he slid back into his slime body. Feeling cheeky, he formed tentacles and wrapped them around Claire's body, tickling her. She screamed in giggles and struggled to escape his slimy grip. He chased her the rest of the day as a slime and actually managed to fall asleep with her in his new body.

***

The two of them had two days of practice before Doc sensed something approaching. In happy expectation, the two of them spied out to see who was coming toward them. Doc had made a tiny tunnel for Claire to use to navigate the dungeon without being in the open. She stared out the peephole he made in the entrance as a group approached.

"Those four-legged beasts are called horses," she informed Doc, "They are simple beasts used to carry a rider over vast distances. I think those are human riders on their backs."

Doc had never seen another being beside Claire and slimes, and stared on in eager interest. The humans were dressed in brown material and had coverings on their heads.

"That's called leather armor. It is made from the skins of beasts," Claire told him, "I'd say this is a group of rangers, who specialize in exploration, information, and the forest."

"What kind of weapons do they have?" Doc asked eagerly.

Claire squinted, "I see bows and swords, so I don't think we have to worry about magic yet. Oh! That one is an elf!"

The elf looked a lot like the humans, but he had pointed ears, long white hair, and was taller than the others. He seemed to be leading the human rangers toward them from the forest line.

"Do elves have magic?"

"Yes, but unless they are mages, wizards, or sorcerers I wouldn't worry about it. No, I won't explain the differences now so don’t ask; I can hear them now."

From what Claire could hear, the elf was leading the human rangers to the site of a loud noise days ago. From the sound of it, the humans had just returned from exploring and were tired from their previous trip. Something called a guild had ordered them to investigate before resting.

"That's the Adventurers’ Guild they're talking about.” Claire explained, "It's a group who manages adventurers to do things, like dungeon diving. From the sound of it, there is a human city nearby and an elf village that's closer to us. It seems the two villages have a good relationship."

The group arrived at the dungeon’s entrance shortly after and dismounted from their horses. They approached the entrance cautiously with weapons drawn. Doc was experiencing fear, excitement, and eagerness all at the same time as they approached.

“This wasn't here a few days ago,” the Elf said in a foreign language.

The human who was in the lead eyed the entrance and said, “It is most certainly a new dungeon, and well worth the rush we put in to get here.”

Doc didn't understand them, but Claire translated for him.

The human nodded and turned his attention to his men, “Men, it's our job to evaluate this dungeon for the Adventurers’ Guild to rate. Are you ready for some action?”

The cheers obviously meant the men were excited. Doc cheered too, but only Claire heard him. She giggled.

The elf's head shot around to stare at the peephole. Claire stumbled back in surprise.

“It seems someone is watching us,” He informed the human leader, “And is quite pleased by our presence.”

“Well, that just makes it more interesting.” The leader grinned at the elf, “Come on now, men, and let’s see what perils await.” The elf, the human leader, and eight men entered the dungeon.

"Claire, it doesn't seem like they are scared. Is that good?" Doc asked.

Claire shook her head, "No, unfortunately. It means they aren't taking us seriously and will try to take your crystal."

Doc frowned, "How do we change that?"

Claire smiled evilly, "Oh, all we have to do is scare them. What fun this will be!" Doc noted that dungeon pixies loved a good prank as much as their brethren.

The group entered and walked down the tunnel into the first room. The elf was frowning as they finished inspecting the room and found nothing.

“Must be a newborn to not have any traps,” he said.