The silence beneath the earth wasn't dead. It was listening.
Kaelen's awareness pulsed through the dungeon walls like veins awakening to blood for the first time in centuries. The stone, the roots, the broken bricks—all became extensions of his will. He could feel the exact temperature of the cavern, the pressure shifts in the air as dust settled, and the ancient scars left by battles long buried.
And at the heart of it all, he pulsed with growing power.
The mana in the air tasted sharper now. His regeneration rate had climbed steadily since the emergency quest. It wasn't much—less than a droplet per second—but to a dungeon core, every trickle was a step closer to dominion.
He turned his focus to his three summoned minions, each as humble as they were vital:
The Skeleton stood like a half-collapsed statue, clutching a rusted sword with both hands. Its bones creaked when it moved, but it remained loyal, reactive to his mental nudges.
The Goblin crouched beside a crumbled column, obsessively sharpening a chunk of metal against the stone wall. Its tongue lolled from its mouth in focus, and its stubby green ears twitched at every sound.
The Slime... that was the wild card. It quivered gently in a shallow pit, absorbing moisture from the dungeon's humid air. Kaelen could feel a strange hum in its core—like dormant code in a machine, waiting for the right line of command.
He centered his thoughts on it.
Let's see what you're capable of.
The Slime twitched as his will enveloped it. It understood only in impulses, not language. Hunger. Movement. Obedience.
Kaelen gave it a new one: Conflict.
He sent the command mentally. The Slime stirred and launched itself across the chamber at the Goblin.
There was a squeal of surprise as the Slime's gelatinous body slammed into the Goblin's chest. The goblin staggered backward, slashing wildly with its crude blade, cutting deep into the slime's center.
Kaelen watched carefully—not for the damage, but the response.
Instead of collapsing, the Slime pulsed... then split.
A second Slime budded from its body, smaller but fully functional. The goblin's eyes widened. It shrieked again and leapt backward as both Slimes slithered toward it, moving in eerie unison.
Kaelen's senses sparked.
[Trait Unlocked: Proto-Split][Evolution Milestone Reached: 100%]
The air in the room thickened with potential. The original Slime rippled like oil in boiling water.
A new interface unfolded before Kaelen's mental vision.
[Evolution Available – Slime]Choose Evolution Path:
Acid Slime – Corrosive Tank
Split Slime – Replication & Swarm
Camouflaged Slime – Stealth Predator
He considered each. Acid would make for frontline assaults. Camouflage would be excellent for scouting. But Split—that was scale. Multiplication. Asymmetric warfare.
He didn't need power. He needed unpredictability.
[Evolve: Split Slime]
The chamber pulsed with raw magic. The original Slime twisted violently, glowing with blue-white mana. The Goblin skittered away, shrieking in confused awe.
With a final jolt, the Slime burst into four identical copies. Each one was smaller than the original, but they moved together, coordinated like fingers on a hand. Kaelen felt something new: a shared awareness between them. Primitive, yes—but functional.
They no longer waited for commands.
They anticipated them.
Kaelen's satisfaction surged. This was evolution.
He turned his thoughts outward. The dungeon needed more than monsters. It needed terrain.
The system responded to his will with a flash of new options:
[Trap Menu Unlocked]
Pitfall Collapse (10 MP)
Rusted Spikes (15 MP)
Toxic Spores Vent (25 MP)
Decoy Pathway (5 MP)
He selected Pitfall Collapse and placed it just before the Core Room's final approach—a choke point disguised with dust-covered bricks and false flagstones.
The floor trembled as the trap deployed, stone subtly shifting into a fragile plate ready to give way.
If they get this far, they'll fall. If they climb out, they'll face the Slimes. If they survive that...
He shifted his focus to the Skeleton and Goblin. The latter was still wary of the Slimes, but seemed more aggressive now. Fear had taught it something.
He gave the Goblin a new command—patrol the perimeter—and left the Skeleton stationed silently beside the false pedestal at the center of the chamber.
Still... something gnawed at the edge of his awareness.
And then, like a whisper carried by tremors...
[System Alert – Surface Activity Detected]
Unregistered mana signature detected
Estimated Arrival to Dungeon Perimeter: 2 Days
Adventuring Party – Composition Unknown
Kaelen stilled.
Two days.
Somewhere above, a scouting party had begun moving across the ruined forest trail that overlooked this forgotten crypt. Perhaps it was nothing—just curious wanderers.
But he knew better.
Curiosity was the first spark of conquest.
He turned his awareness back inward. His dungeon had defenses now. Minions. Evolution. A growing web of mana.
But it was not yet ready.
Two days. That's all he had.
Two days to prepare for war.
And when they came, they wouldn't find a helpless ruin.
They would find a dungeon born from vengeance and intellect. A living tomb governed by a genius they once cast aside.
Kaelen would survive.
And they would feed his evolution.