CH10

Smoke filled the room of an old research base as an old piece of tech gave up the ghost to push out one final reading. The old printout was taken by the last researcher who knew what the machine did, only to be snatched away by the tamer assigned to the outpost.

"What are the survey teams doing selling land with a dungeon to a farmer? Is this accurate? Changes are happening in the dungeon that isn't natural." Tony Graves said.

He patted his monster keeper, where his team of three waited to kick ass and take names. This promised to be the makings of an adventurer. A wild dungeon sends its monsters to capture local monsters to empower itself. That was a tragedy waiting to happen. With any luck, he could swing this to finish out his government service and return to the tamer circuit. The North Weston Conference was starting in less than a year.

"From these readings, this situation isn't natural. I believe it's the result of a powerful rank 6 monster's skills. The dungeon is reacting to a distant threat." The researcher said.

"And the poor farmer is caught up in this. I'm reading a powerful rank one signature." Tony said.

"Some farmers find a monster that naturally follows them. I expect it's a dog or cat variant, nothing too dangerous. We ignore it so long as its rank 1." The researcher said.

Tony fiddled with his tie, imagining taking the monster from a farmer and adding something powerful to his team. There were stories about that happening, with Tamers getting a hidden gem for their team to help win the finals. He was sure the farmer would be ecstatic about his friend making it to the big leagues.

"I'll take care of it; this is what I'm paid for," Tony said.

…

Day 15 

A pack of birds battles the spiders of the tall webbed spires using chainsaw wings against metal spider limbs and silver webs. When one fell, the mosquitoes fell on the corpses, drilling into them and retrieving glowing red fluids. These same bugs flew into spider webs and were quickly wrapped up before being devoured.

I noticed some strange blue herbs near the spider nests that looked to be either deadly poison or some kind of delicious herb. While I wasn't strong enough to get them yet, with some more time and training, I was sure to pick them. This was only the first floor, and dungeons grew the more they consumed animals, weapons, and items from the outside. Dissolving was only something that happened in dungeons. Take a monster or plant out, and they won't dissolve. 

One of the birds charged across the water with murder in its beady black eyes focused on me. It revved its wing saws and spun in its charge. It was a blur as it started spinning like a top in my direction.

Lingering Will was a strange skill it grew stronger not only with its level but with my willpower. I could feel the strength in my limbs more than what should be possible. More than muscle, there was something in me that was always active.

I squatted lower than the bird and tackled it off its feet. The monster continued to wave its wings in confusion as I brought my shovel to bear and stabbed it in the throat. The bird looked surprised as I put a boot on the end of my shovel and took the monster's head off.

As the monster's body dissolved, I noticed the swords and chainsaws I tossed in the water were missing. The dungeon had taken them while I was focused on the fight. I was ok with that because the bird dropped a skill shard.

Sword Style: Gemini Waltz 

Description: A simplistic sword style based on a constellation from a distant world. Low levels of the style can make opponents second guess where attacks appear. 

While it wasn't great, it was a start. I popped the skill shard on the spot as more spiders attacked the birds. Soon, an entire flock of birds beat back the spider hordes. Gwen tossed a psychic attack, tripping enemies mid-fight causing casualties without getting involved. I picked up a spider leg and began the beginning movements of the Gemini Waltz. It was more like a dance than anything else, and when completing the skill, I felt a slight presence but nothing more.

"I didn't know you liked to dance," Gwen said.

I smiled, enduring the ribbing as I focused on getting a handle on the style. It was technically a passive skill, so I could level it quickly. It's the reason why Fire Manipulation would be more useful to me than Fireball. Controlling an element would always be better for me than any active skill.

Having a style to use instead of flailing wildly was also a good thing. A spider launched itself when it spotted us, and when I struck, it hesitated to move. That single instance was enough to aim the metal spider leg and pierce through a chink in the spider's armor. When the spider dissolved, it left behind a rapier.

Spider Rapier lvl5

Exterminator I: Deal extra damage against insects and arachnid enemies. 

While it wasn't, the steel longsword I tossed in the spider rapier was enchanted. Unfortunately, it looked ready to chip on the spider's armor; among the vast array of towering silver spider nests, birds began squawking. They attacked the nests, but the spiders refused to come down to fight them any longer. When one tried to saw its way through a nest, the webs only clogged their chainsaw wings.

"We need to get out of here. The dungeon will start sending out stronger monsters soon." I slid my new sword back into its sheath, and we retreated. This time, when we turned, spiders dotted the ceiling leading up the stairs. They waited on silver webs for us to make our attempt up. "The monsters are getting smarter, or the dungeon is interfering."

Gwen's eyes glowed, and a powerful wind blew, causing the spiders to shriek, and a few fell on the stairs near us. Before they could scramble back up the walls, I finished them with my sword. The footwork was very important. When I did that right, the spiders couldn't follow me long enough to shoot their webs accurately. We slaughtered more of them, and I snagged another skill shard.

Silver Strings (Uncommon) 

Description: Create metallic wire with mana and manipulate them in different ways. 

It was the first uncommon skill I ever came across. The value could easily be in the 50,000 to 75,000W range. If I could find someone reliable to sell to, that could pay off our debt, and we wouldn't have to bother with this place. Instead, I wanted it for myself. Cordage was an extremely useful tool, and having a practically infinite supply that could be controlled opened so many possibilities.

For the rest of the day, I went about my business checking up on the fence, drying wood I needed to keep, and working on a plan for a log cabin. When I built it, I wanted indoor plumbing. I was beyond tired of digging holes. I had plans to build a small water tower, and Gwen started prancing around the tent.

"We survived," Gwen cheered.

I watched the fawn dance around my room while I thought about all the food I missed. Hot wings were one of the treats I missed the most after giving it some thought. Starting up a real chicken coop, some pepper fields, and a few other herb fields sounded more than worth it.

Adding things like corn, beets, peanuts, and other crops to the dungeon would also be a good idea. Having a dungeon could be like having a second field. The more I fed the dungeon, the more items the dungeon could eventually drop.

Outside my tent, I watched a rooster and six hens that managed to escape the box peck at the ground. It seemed I had the makings of my chicken farm. I left my tent, caught the monsters one after the other, and tossed them in the fenced-in coop. The rooster climbed to the top of the coop and hopped over the fence like nothing happened. Soon, the hens followed it, and they returned to where they started moments before.

I slumped and went to work with my new sword style. Gemini Waltz wasn't what I wanted, but I doubted there were many chainsword styles out in the world. No, my best bet to get one was the dungeon, and that would take time and nurturing. Chainsaw Wings were defeated by a basic tackle, after all. Maybe I should grow some wheat tomatoes and buy some cow-type monsters. I could really use some milk and cheese for chicken spaghetti. I had an opportunity to turn my farm into anything I wanted.

My mental match told me a good milking cow would cost around 3500W. By the time I had the money to start buying cows, I might as well buy out contracts for my fellow farmers in the red. Then, I would have to explain my situation to them. Skill levels couldn't replace farm hands unless I had the right skills. I would need one of the cloning skills, or a summon servant skill. Until I could explore other places that weren't happening. I was lucky enough to have a dungeon at all.

I opened a protein bar and looked South to see a dust cloud coming our way. Someone was on their way here riding a unicorn with a filthy coat. Gwen shot out of the tent and jumped on top of the chicken coop to get a better look.

"You're lucky I built that thing to last," I said.

"What are we going to do? I can feel a pull like gravity? Atom, I think he's my soul mate."