I shook my head, getting rid of the thought.
Decisively, I called the two foxes and had them sit down on two of the pedestals. I knelt on a third, closed my eyes, and thought of the fox of my dreams.
A vivid image soon appeared in my mind's eye. It was a fox that had an always shifting shape, one that appeared liquid and solid at the same time. Its rough, two-tailed form was constantly changing as the lava flowed and cooled. Its body would radiate intense heat, with colors ranging from glowing oranges and fiery reds to deep, smoldering blacks. The surface of its body constantly bubbled and churned, reminiscent of the surface of a lava lake. Its eyes were two bright, molten pools of liquid rock, glowing with an inner fire and reflecting the intense heat and energy contained within. It was perfect.
At first, nothing happened, but then I felt a familiar coldness wash over my skin. I lost all my mana and suddenly felt deeply exhausted. Still, I did my best to continue thinking about the fox.
It took just one more minute until my patience and endurance were rewarded - the bright barking of my foxes snapped me out of my thoughts. And indeed, when I opened my eyes, he stood right in front of me, the fox I had just thought of. He seemed more alive than my imagination, his shape a little softer, and his glowing gaze clearer. But it worked. A weight lifted off my chest.
「You have created a Lava Fox!」
Relieved, I sat down next to the fox on the pedestal and welcomed it with an extended petting session, my hands somehow half-sinking into its shape without burning. Only when the fox had fallen asleep after a few long minutes of my undivided attention did I stand up to finish my work for the day. At least I thought so. But there was still a monster to be selected!
『Quest 6: Where the Magic Happens
Task Completed: Combine two foxes with the Vulpine Circle
Reward: Unlocks a New Monster of your Choice』
「Unlock Monster:
Air Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster that can hinder enemies with wind magic. Loves chasing after gusts of wind and enjoys playful games with leaves. The air fox is a highly playful and mischievous monster.
Water Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster with healing abilities. Enjoys swimming in calm ponds and watching small animals. Has a gentle and nurturing character.」
With these two foxes left, it was a little harder to decide. Both of them made sense for the idea I had already brewing in my head, but in the end, water was still a little more important for it. So of course my decision was final:
「Water Fox unlocked!」
Cilia gave me a moment to come to peace with my decision, then she gave me a new task to deal with. This one was a lot harder, it seemed:
『Quest 7: Fresh Air
Task: Connect your dungeon to the outside world via a tunnel.
Reward: Allows the selection of one monster per floor as a collector.
Collectors can leave the dungeon to search for new things you can use. Don't worry, they'll simply reappear after a day or two if something should happen to them!』
"The outside world..."
As I read those words, I immediately thought of my father and my former home. He was still out there, continuing his research. I could only shudder at what that could mean for me. Was he angry with me? Searching for me? Would he even try to steal my core for his research? I didn't dare to think about the consequences that opening my dungeon to the outside world would bring.
Still, Cilia knew what was best for me, or at least I hoped so. And the idea of transforming this barren wasteland into a beautiful, perhaps even flower-rich landscape appealed to me more than just a bit. After all, it was supposed to become my new home!
Hesitantly, I approached the wall opposite the Vulpine Circle. The foxes followed right behind me. Perhaps they hoped something interesting would happen?
It took me only a single thought to catch the fox's attention. A round tunnel appeared in the rock wall, twice as large as I was tall. With a single point of mana, I could apparently dig this tunnel about fifteen meters deep, but I still had to spend another nine points of mana to finally reach the outside. Of course, I had made sure to add a few twists and turns for safety. Somehow, it felt so much better to me if I did that.
Digging took me a few minutes all in all, but soon I could see a flash of light at the end of the tunnel. I had truly reached the outside world!
A cold shiver ran down my spine as I realized what this meant. I suddenly felt vulnerable, infinitely vulnerable. The feeling was so strong that I couldn't help but drop to the ground and stare at the hostile outside world. It was only a matter of time before I would have to face my father and the adventurers he would hire. How would I even fight them with just a few weak foxes?!
But staying hidden was no option either. I didn’t want to be alone forever! A monster couldn’t possibly account for friends and family, not that I ever really had the latter. I wanted to make friends, maybe even enemies, and being stuck in a mountain for the rest of my likely immortal life wasn’t appealing at all. No, this step was right.
Cilia gave me a moment to gather my thoughts, then she congratulated me on my makeshift work.
『Quest 7: Fresh Air
Task Completed: Connect your dungeon to the outside world via a tunnel.
Reward: Allows the selection of one monster per floor as a collector.
Good job! Reward yourself with something nice, okay?~』
"She's right; I should do that."
I knelt beside my oldest monster and immediately chose it as my collector, letting my core do most of the work again.
"Can you bring me some grass?" I asked the fiery elemental fox, gently stroking its head.
The fox responded with a shrill bark before trotting off, its tail wagging like a happy dog’s. I couldn't help but smile at the image.
Within seconds, my loyal monster returned, its mouth full of ashes. It dropped its bounty right in front of my feet: it had burned it all.
“I should have known…”
Of course, I still rewarded the fox for its valuable help with a few scratches behind the ears. About a minute later, a small green panel appeared, showing me what I had received. It was indeed ordinary ash, nothing special about it.
「Ash Unlocked!」
After rewarding it for a few more minutes, I sent the fox back into my dungeon instead, this time without any special requests. It wasn’t as if it could bring me anything other than ash, to begin with. The same obviously went for the lava fox which was watching the whole thing happen with envy in its glowing eyes.
A quick check confirmed that I could indeed change the gatherer position to its mate, the earth fox. So naturally I did just that. It didn't take more than a few moments for the change to happen and the fox made its way outside, its tail happily wagging from one side to the other.
When my monster came back after taking a few steps outside, its mouth was full of greenery. Soon enough, the fox dropped its prey right in front of my feet: it was a handful of short blades of grass.
Naturally, I rewarded the fox for its valuable help with a few scratches behind its ears. About a minute later, a small green board appeared, showing me what I had received. It was indeed ordinary grass. There might be different types of grass, but the dungeon seemed to make no distinction between them. Instead, they were differentiated solely by their length:
「Short grass unlocked! Received 10 Dungeon Points!」
Of course, this meant that I received fewer dungeon points overall, leading to fewer improvements to my living space. Hopefully, the dungeon would at least differentiate between other plants at least. I wouldn't want to live only with apples, even if other fruits were an option – not that I was hungry to begin with.
"Room!"
「Unnamed Room
- Add Fauna
- Add Flora
- Add Traps
- Change Size and Shape
- Change Weather
Mana: 56, DP: 4455」
"Add Flora"
A new board appeared, listing the options I had for the still-unnamed room. Surprisingly, there was more than one option to choose from.
「Flora
- Add Short Grass: 50 Mana
- Unlock Medium Grass: 25 Dungeon Points
- Unlock Tall Grass: 25 Dungeon Points
- Unlock Giant Grass: 250 Dungeon Points
- Unlock Bamboo: 125 Dungeon Points
Mana: 56, DP: 4455」
I shook my head. Now that I had the fox gathering, I didn't need to unlock anything – he would soon find medium and tall grass. And why bamboo was an option, I couldn't even begin to guess. Were they related?
Of all the unlockable options, only Giant Grass seemed really fascinating. In a room where adventurers would feel like ants, it would certainly look perfect! But for now and for my purposes, it was just a waste of valuable dungeon points.
With a satisfied nod, I closed the window and returned to my room, before adding the short grass to it simply by thinking about it. Once again, a cold sensation washed over me, the loss of mana, as I now knew, but it was nowhere near as intense as last time. And before I knew it, a faint blue mist appeared all over the floor, leaving a trail of tiny white tips poking out of the dirt and slowly standing upright. It looked as if snow had fallen - that was until the leaves continued to grow and revealed their green base.
"Green fox tails..." I immediately recognized, "They look like green fox tails!"
The strange grass grew at a visible speed, reaching a hand's breadth in height within a minute and then almost immediately ceasing to shoot up. Sure, there were longer and shorter blades here and there, which gave it a more natural appearance, if this grass could even be called natural at all, but my room now looked like it had a very well-maintained lawn instead of the volcano I had envisioned.
It didn't matter. The fox had already returned, carrying a whole handful of mixed plants in its mouth. As he placed them on the now lush grass in front of me, I could easily distinguish between clover, grass, and a dandelion stem, which I was most excited about.
「Medium grass unlocked! Received 10 Dungeon Points!
Clover unlocked! Received 5 Dungeon Points!
Dandelion unlocked! Received 5 Dungeon Points!」
"Foxes are the best!"
Deerpy Lava Fox [collapse] Sinister Looking AI Lava Fox [collapse] Map as of Chapter 4 [collapse]
I shook my head, getting rid of the thought.
Decisively, I called the two foxes and had them sit down on two of the pedestals. I knelt on a third, closed my eyes, and thought of the fox of my dreams.
A vivid image soon appeared in my mind's eye. It was a fox that had an always shifting shape, one that appeared liquid and solid at the same time. Its rough, two-tailed form was constantly changing as the lava flowed and cooled. Its body would radiate intense heat, with colors ranging from glowing oranges and fiery reds to deep, smoldering blacks. The surface of its body constantly bubbled and churned, reminiscent of the surface of a lava lake. Its eyes were two bright, molten pools of liquid rock, glowing with an inner fire and reflecting the intense heat and energy contained within. It was perfect.
At first, nothing happened, but then I felt a familiar coldness wash over my skin. I lost all my mana and suddenly felt deeply exhausted. Still, I did my best to continue thinking about the fox.
It took just one more minute until my patience and endurance were rewarded - the bright barking of my foxes snapped me out of my thoughts. And indeed, when I opened my eyes, he stood right in front of me, the fox I had just thought of. He seemed more alive than my imagination, his shape a little softer, and his glowing gaze clearer. But it worked. A weight lifted off my chest.
「You have created a Lava Fox!」
Relieved, I sat down next to the fox on the pedestal and welcomed it with an extended petting session, my hands somehow half-sinking into its shape without burning. Only when the fox had fallen asleep after a few long minutes of my undivided attention did I stand up to finish my work for the day. At least I thought so. But there was still a monster to be selected!
『Quest 6: Where the Magic Happens
Task Completed: Combine two foxes with the Vulpine Circle
Reward: Unlocks a New Monster of your Choice』
「Unlock Monster:
Air Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster that can hinder enemies with wind magic. Loves chasing after gusts of wind and enjoys playful games with leaves. The air fox is a highly playful and mischievous monster.
Water Fox (F)
A weak vulpine monster with healing abilities. Enjoys swimming in calm ponds and watching small animals. Has a gentle and nurturing character.」
With these two foxes left, it was a little harder to decide. Both of them made sense for the idea I had already brewing in my head, but in the end, water was still a little more important for it. So of course my decision was final:
「Water Fox unlocked!」
Cilia gave me a moment to come to peace with my decision, then she gave me a new task to deal with. This one was a lot harder, it seemed:
『Quest 7: Fresh Air
Task: Connect your dungeon to the outside world via a tunnel.
Reward: Allows the selection of one monster per floor as a collector.
Collectors can leave the dungeon to search for new things you can use. Don't worry, they'll simply reappear after a day or two if something should happen to them!』
"The outside world..."
As I read those words, I immediately thought of my father and my former home. He was still out there, continuing his research. I could only shudder at what that could mean for me. Was he angry with me? Searching for me? Would he even try to steal my core for his research? I didn't dare to think about the consequences that opening my dungeon to the outside world would bring.
Still, Cilia knew what was best for me, or at least I hoped so. And the idea of transforming this barren wasteland into a beautiful, perhaps even flower-rich landscape appealed to me more than just a bit. After all, it was supposed to become my new home!
Hesitantly, I approached the wall opposite the Vulpine Circle. The foxes followed right behind me. Perhaps they hoped something interesting would happen?
It took me only a single thought to catch the fox's attention. A round tunnel appeared in the rock wall, twice as large as I was tall. With a single point of mana, I could apparently dig this tunnel about fifteen meters deep, but I still had to spend another nine points of mana to finally reach the outside. Of course, I had made sure to add a few twists and turns for safety. Somehow, it felt so much better to me if I did that.
Digging took me a few minutes all in all, but soon I could see a flash of light at the end of the tunnel. I had truly reached the outside world!
A cold shiver ran down my spine as I realized what this meant. I suddenly felt vulnerable, infinitely vulnerable. The feeling was so strong that I couldn't help but drop to the ground and stare at the hostile outside world. It was only a matter of time before I would have to face my father and the adventurers he would hire. How would I even fight them with just a few weak foxes?!
But staying hidden was no option either. I didn’t want to be alone forever! A monster couldn’t possibly account for friends and family, not that I ever really had the latter. I wanted to make friends, maybe even enemies, and being stuck in a mountain for the rest of my likely immortal life wasn’t appealing at all. No, this step was right.
Cilia gave me a moment to gather my thoughts, then she congratulated me on my makeshift work.
『Quest 7: Fresh Air
Task Completed: Connect your dungeon to the outside world via a tunnel.
Reward: Allows the selection of one monster per floor as a collector.
Good job! Reward yourself with something nice, okay?~』
"She's right; I should do that."
I knelt beside my oldest monster and immediately chose it as my collector, letting my core do most of the work again.
"Can you bring me some grass?" I asked the fiery elemental fox, gently stroking its head.
The fox responded with a shrill bark before trotting off, its tail wagging like a happy dog’s. I couldn't help but smile at the image.
Within seconds, my loyal monster returned, its mouth full of ashes. It dropped its bounty right in front of my feet: it had burned it all.
“I should have known…”
Of course, I still rewarded the fox for its valuable help with a few scratches behind the ears. About a minute later, a small green panel appeared, showing me what I had received. It was indeed ordinary ash, nothing special about it.
「Ash Unlocked!」
After rewarding it for a few more minutes, I sent the fox back into my dungeon instead, this time without any special requests. It wasn’t as if it could bring me anything other than ash, to begin with. The same obviously went for the lava fox which was watching the whole thing happen with envy in its glowing eyes.
A quick check confirmed that I could indeed change the gatherer position to its mate, the earth fox. So naturally I did just that. It didn't take more than a few moments for the change to happen and the fox made its way outside, its tail happily wagging from one side to the other.
When my monster came back after taking a few steps outside, its mouth was full of greenery. Soon enough, the fox dropped its prey right in front of my feet: it was a handful of short blades of grass.
Naturally, I rewarded the fox for its valuable help with a few scratches behind its ears. About a minute later, a small green board appeared, showing me what I had received. It was indeed ordinary grass. There might be different types of grass, but the dungeon seemed to make no distinction between them. Instead, they were differentiated solely by their length:
「Short grass unlocked! Received 10 Dungeon Points!」
Of course, this meant that I received fewer dungeon points overall, leading to fewer improvements to my living space. Hopefully, the dungeon would at least differentiate between other plants at least. I wouldn't want to live only with apples, even if other fruits were an option – not that I was hungry to begin with.
"Room!"
「Unnamed Room
- Add Fauna
- Add Flora
- Add Traps
- Change Size and Shape
- Change Weather
Mana: 56, DP: 4455」
"Add Flora"
A new board appeared, listing the options I had for the still-unnamed room. Surprisingly, there was more than one option to choose from.
「Flora
- Add Short Grass: 50 Mana
- Unlock Medium Grass: 25 Dungeon Points
- Unlock Tall Grass: 25 Dungeon Points
- Unlock Giant Grass: 250 Dungeon Points
- Unlock Bamboo: 125 Dungeon Points
Mana: 56, DP: 4455」
I shook my head. Now that I had the fox gathering, I didn't need to unlock anything – he would soon find medium and tall grass. And why bamboo was an option, I couldn't even begin to guess. Were they related?
Of all the unlockable options, only Giant Grass seemed really fascinating. In a room where adventurers would feel like ants, it would certainly look perfect! But for now and for my purposes, it was just a waste of valuable dungeon points.
With a satisfied nod, I closed the window and returned to my room, before adding the short grass to it simply by thinking about it. Once again, a cold sensation washed over me, the loss of mana, as I now knew, but it was nowhere near as intense as last time. And before I knew it, a faint blue mist appeared all over the floor, leaving a trail of tiny white tips poking out of the dirt and slowly standing upright. It looked as if snow had fallen - that was until the leaves continued to grow and revealed their green base.
"Green fox tails..." I immediately recognized, "They look like green fox tails!"
The strange grass grew at a visible speed, reaching a hand's breadth in height within a minute and then almost immediately ceasing to shoot up. Sure, there were longer and shorter blades here and there, which gave it a more natural appearance, if this grass could even be called natural at all, but my room now looked like it had a very well-maintained lawn instead of the volcano I had envisioned.
It didn't matter. The fox had already returned, carrying a whole handful of mixed plants in its mouth. As he placed them on the now lush grass in front of me, I could easily distinguish between clover, grass, and a dandelion stem, which I was most excited about.
「Medium grass unlocked! Received 10 Dungeon Points!
Clover unlocked! Received 5 Dungeon Points!
Dandelion unlocked! Received 5 Dungeon Points!」
"Foxes are the best!"
Deerpy Lava Fox [collapse] Sinister Looking AI Lava Fox [collapse] Map as of Chapter 4 [collapse]
