The Dungeon Without a System

Chapter 114

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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A dozen Children milled about the ritual circle in the depths of the experimental chambers on the seventh floor. They checked the integrity and quality of the runic carvings, the flow of mana through the room, and a dozen other things that needed to be perfect. Masters of their crafts, with analytical minds nurtured over months; these scientists assisted me in my most ambitious endeavor yet: Imbuing a monster with the ability to evolve into pre-set forms on its own, with no intervention from me.

In the center of the ritual circle was a pedestal, upon which rested a crab. A Brawler, to be precise. Its hulking 'pincers' were scarred and pitted from dozens of fights with other males over mates. This Crab was chosen from among all the hundreds of options because, to be honest, he won a raffle. All the Crabs wanted to be selected for the ritual, but we only needed two: a male and a female. They'd all been assigned a number, and this one had been the lucky Crab. All the other Crabs envied him and the female in another chamber awaiting her turn.

I was curious if what I wanted to achieve here was possible and worried my intent might not come across perfectly in the process, thus the ritual circle. It was needed because it contained instructions. Four circles interrupted the runic script that described the flow of mana. Each held a mana crystal, all imbued with separate portions of the magical programming I'd been working on the whole week since I'd begun looking into the idea.

We'd tested the whole thing on a monster core the day before, and as far as we could tell, it worked, but there was only so much we could do without moving on to testing on a living subject.

Thus, the Brawler who now shifted nervously on the pedestal. I did my best to comfort and reassure him, and he calmed quickly. His absolute belief in 'The Creator' led him to believe my reassurance wholeheartedly. Honestly, what is with the crab line and their ridiculous devotion?!

"We're ready, Creator," a Drake-kin Life Shaman, Gaian, announced. His green scales were covered by his white woolen 'lab coat,' with delicate moon silver-framed glasses perched on his snout. "Everything has been triple-checked."

"All carefully inspected and in their correct positions," Gaian answered promptly, gesturing to the four mana cores floating above the drawn circles in the ritual. The Evolution Core contained the genetic and magical template for each evolution the crab line could undergo. The Mana Discerner monitored the monster's mana intake and collected a portion of the mana the monster gained to fuel the transformation. The Threshold Limiter prevented any evolution from taking place before reaching the second threshold, the point where the monster had enough mana to fuel the entire transformation itself, or until they activated an Evolution Crystal after reaching the first threshold when they had enough that the addition of a crystal was enough.

The Catalyser was the activator; It could only be triggered by the monster itself, and only when the Mana Discerner had enough mana to fuel the process and the Threshold Limiter confirmed an evolution was possible. Like how the offspring of monsters were also monsters, possessing a mana core, this 'genetic enchantment' would also be passed on. It would need to be the mother, not the father, but that was a different experiment entirely to be performed when this one was successful.

Then, let's begin. Activate the ritual.

"Of course, Creator. Positions, everyone!" Gaian ordered, and the Children quickly moved away from the circle. They moved to slabs that displayed illusionary holograms and plugged into the ritual to monitor it. Gaian pressed a glowing rune next to his monitor, injecting a little mana, and it began.

The ritual was silent. At least, in terms of noise. To my vision, it was a riot of color and lights. In turn, each mana core was drained of its mana and the enchantment within them. In turn, each was impressed upon the Brawler's core, with enough time between each for the enchantment to settle fully. The excess mana that came with them was enough to push the Crab over the first threshold. Only after the ritual concluded and the mana had settled was I able to look deeply at the monster's core.

As far as I could tell, it was a success. Move on to the next stage, Gaian.

Gaian took the Evolution Crystal from the small stand on a desk nearby and placed it on the pedestal with the Brawler. He nodded at the Crab, and the Crab nodded back. After returning to his own monitor, Gaian addressed the monster. "Whenever you're ready."

The Crab took a deep breath, then picked up the crystal between his two bulbous pincers. The crystal didn't activate immediately, which was a relief. That meant the Catalyser was working correctly. After a moment of inspection, the Crab activated the crystal. He was enveloped in a rainbow of scintillating light, as was the crystal. While all the Children had to look away, lest they potentially blind themselves, I watched closely as the Crab morphed... into a baby Scorpan.

When it was all over, the light died down, leaving the bewildered-looking Scorpling perched atop the pedestal. His legs hung off the edges, and he turned his hands over as he examined them.

The room burst into cheers, and I did a mental dance.

It worked! It worked!

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The Port, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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As the one and only Obsidian Scorpan, Paladin of The Creator Skitters-Across-The-Sand had become well used to being thrown wary looks and avoided. She was far more intimidating than other Scorpans, and that was saying something, considering how much the humans were intimidated by ordinary Scorpans. Her chitin, a purple so dark it was almost black, made her a moving void that was easy to see in the light of day. Thus, it was nearly effortless to spot and avoid her.

Today, she was experiencing something entirely different and unexpected. Humans approached her, though it wasn't because of her that they'd broken their previous distance.

"They're so cute! How old are they?" A woman inquired, one of six humans cooing over the two scorplings riding on Skitters' back.

When The Creator had asked if she'd be willing to take in a couple of scorplings, Skitters hadn't hesitated. Her confusion over where they'd come from was swiftly answered and only reinforced her already steely faith in The Creator. He had researched and successfully created a method for His Children to evolve and grow without his intervention. These two scorplings were the first successes.

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Though they'd come to her nameless, that wasn't too much of a problem. She had no doubt they'd do something to be named after soon enough.

She'd just collected the scorplings from the Seventh and had been expecting a leisurely trip through the town to reach her rooms at the Voice's fortified mansion. The first part of the journey had, indeed, been easy. She had passed through the hidden tunnels that promised swift travel most of the way to the surface plenty of times before. There'd been some glances her way from Guilders when she reached the shared portion near the entrance, but most recognized her and were well aware of the consequences of attacking Children.

The few that weren't were quickly educated by their more learned compatriots.

The entrance was, again, easy. Skitters was recognized and acknowledged by the guilders guarding the entrance and then allowed to pass through to the surface. There were some odd looks at the scorplings as she passed the line of curious adventurers. She now realized the female guilder's looks matched the woman cooing over her charges. The men were more inscrutable, but the double-takes and thoughtful looks spoke wonders.

None of them had realized that Children had young of their own to care for. They'd never seen a juvenile, kid, or calf of any Child before. Only fully grown Children had been allowed on the surface previously, and this was their first confrontation with that fact.

While the Guilders had been respectful, the ordinary women of the town were, somehow, lessfearful. She didn't know why, but seeing the scorplings, or 'babies' as they'd called them. It's like all sense left their minds. Instead of being more wary of a 'mother' and her 'young,' they'd collectively concluded that a mother was somehow inherently trustworthy.

For the average monster, that thinking was pure madness. Monsters and the animals they came from were fiercely protective of their young most of the time. To be fair to the humans, though, the Children had done much to prove they weren't monsters.

As for the woman asking questions, it seemed she realized that Skitters couldn't answer them a moment after she'd asked and started apologizing profusely. Skitters waved her off but stopped when she saw an approaching Capriccio. A gentle mental touch from The Creator conveyed that she was here to translate.

It took another hour before Skitters could extricate herself from the conversation, but it was well worth it by the enthusiastic waving of the group of women and her scorplings. If she was honest with herself, Skitters felt better than she had for a while now.

The walk from the town up to the fortified mansion was short, and she was met at the gate by a certain smiling Scaleborn. A glance over her shoulder confirmed what she'd been feeling the past few minutes. Her charges had curled up on each other and fallen asleep on the broad platform her lower half provided. She left a soft grin play over her features, and her heart softened. She'd missed having scorplings to take care of.

Her smile twisted into a grimace as she was reminded of the reason she didn't.

Damn Plays-With-Fire for running off down to the Eleventh to chase a fucking manabeing. She didn't know if he'd played a role during the invasion, but she didn't care. They weren't mates anymore. He could do whatever he pleased.

"You okay there, Skitters?" Kata asked, jolting the Obsidian Scorpan from her thousand-yard stare.

"Fine," she answered. "Would it be possible for me to move to a larger room? As you can see, The Creator has charged me with protecting and raising these scorplings." Kata approached and daw'd over the sleeping scorplings in much the same manner the human women had, though quieter.

"Oh, they're adorable," The Voice of the Creator cooed. "I saw a few back on the ninth but didn't stay long enough to get a closer look at any of them. We don't have many rooms bigger than the one you're already in. Maybe we can knock a wall down and add another room. Do you need anything else?" Skitters shook her head.

"No. I actually know how to raise scorplings this time, so it should go smoothly." Kata blinked at Skitter's admission and looked up at her.

"You're a mother? I didn't know. You've never talked about yourself."

"It is what it is," Skitters answered. "They're all grown and no longer need me. Most live on the Eleventh. I haven't heard anything of them since."

There was a brush on her mind, and she opened it for The Creator to speak.

Did you want to know how they're doing? He offered, which she immediately agreed to. Information flooded her mind, details on her Scorplings and what they'd accomplished since leaving the Ninth. I can relay messages to them if you wish.

Skitters quickly denied even the thought of having The Creator reduced to a messenger.

Woah! Calm down, there. Fine. Write a few letters, and I can have someone deliver them.

The Creator withdrew, and Skitters started walking to her room. She had some letters to write. What was Sprints-Into-Danger even thinking about becoming a Pirate? And shame on Looms-Over-Others for indulging her!

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The Wilderness, Near the Road to the Old Capital, Theona

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Tamesou Akio eagerly drank the soup handed to him, basking in the warmth of the fire. Crickets chirped and chimed in the night, the moons overhead providing enough that it was easy to make out the trees and bushes at the edge of the clearing. The last few days of travel reminded him of the short trips between the dungeon towns they'd done last month, though given they had another month of travel before they reached the east coast, he had a feeling that'd change soon enough.

Akio, Bruce, Sophie, Heliat, and Jinasa traveled with a merchant caravan. Bruce's mentor- Akio had forgotten his name- was busy at the Holy City and couldn't join them. They'd been hired on through the Guild to act as guards. They were only paying enough for silvers, not two platinums and three golds, but the pay didn't particularly matter to them. It was more convenient and for the experience than actual work.

But since they'd taken a job instead of joining the caravan as ordinary travelers, they were expected to do their job. At night, each of the teens was expected to stay up for at least one night watch a night. In the morning, the one with the last watch slept in a caravan for a few extra hours before joining the others in guarding. Akio had the first shift tonight, and Sophie would take over around midnight. By mid-morning, the two adults had split the three teens between them to show them the ropes.

Akio quickly found that guarding caravans was a surprisingly intense job. He'd expected it to be boring, but there were always new things to see and treelines to scan for potential threats. It was a decently sized caravan, with two other parties hired alongside the young heroes and their mentors. The older guilders were full of stories that helped to pass the time and joined in on their training sometimes.

Akio tilted his head back as he drank the last of his soup directly from the bowl, then placed it on the ground before him with a thud and a satisfied expression. "That tastes like Miso! It was delicious!"

"Mee-so? Never heard of it," The cook answered, a greying guilder with a friendly smile. "This here is me own recipe. Made it to help keep a man awake for night watch." The cook took the bowl Akio held out with a chuckle and refilled it for him. "I gotta admit, you're the youngest Golds I've seen for a while. It takes unreal dedication and effort; not many make it before they reach adulthood, and you three are what, seventeen?"

"Sixteen, actually," Sophie answered for him, and Akio was thankful. He was too busy drinking this delicious soup! "All three of us." The cook shook his head.

"Incredibly. Never thought I'd meet actual prodigies." Akio swallowed the instinctual need to clarify their situation with another gulp of soup. Heliat and Jinasa had both asked they not reveal the truth of their nature as heroes to anyone. There were many conflicting opinions on the existence of heroes, and most people just didn't need to know. After all, heroes had to be summoned and weren't summoned lightly. If word of their existence got out, it might start a panic.

Akio burped loudly, then blushed, raising his hand to cover his mouth. Sophie had this disgusted-looking grin. Bruce was openly laughing and complimenting him. The guilders around the fire joined Bruce in laughter. Akio placed down the empty bowl and let himself fall backward, looking up at unfamiliar stars and the twin moons above.

It was incredible. No light pollution meant that Akio could see tens ofthousands of stars with the naked eye rather than hundreds. He made up constellations, drawing figures in the stars for fun. There was a bear, and that was a dragon. And that one looked like a penis!

But the sky was dominated by what the locals called the 'Ring of Heaven.' Supposedly, it was the realm of the gods, but Akio knew what it was—a galaxy. This world, wherever it was, sat above the elliptical plane of their galaxy. He imagined this is what the humans of his world would see when Andromeda got a lot closer to the Milky Way.

But despite the beauty in the sky above him, he only felt sad. He was a long, long way from home.

Sophie poked him. "C'mon, idiot. Don't fall asleep. You've got the first shift on the night watch."

He was far from home, but at least he wasn't alone.

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