Undying Fury (1/2)

I sat in front of my monolith, closing my eyes after I had first taken one last look of my surroundings. Sumiré and Fatná stood by my side, flanking me protectively. Fiona and her two Coyotes sat near the room's entrance, ready to become our first line of defence if needed. I lacked the Mana to summon more monsters and the Aether required to empower most of them. With 52 Aether left I decided to strengthen my first room of mobs, even though the difference would be negligible. I currently had five Dire Cave Fishers in my Entrance Cave, ready to pounce on any foe that got stuck in their silky traps. They were all around Level 6 so, I chose the two strongest amongst them and granted each 25 Aether points. The pair rapidly grew to full adult size, then they evolved into Deep Fishers, both at Level 2. They looked like smaller copies of Fisher, both as large as a medium sized dog.

And that was it.. I was out. The only thing that remained now was to trust in my followers and minions. My consciousness drifted away as swirling masses of Aether began to coalesce over my Altar. I was close to another breakthrough, I could feel it! I just needed time.. If everything just went as planned for once..

* Outside the Great Elgolar Dungeon *

The Ghoul paced impatiently up and down as his hoard of undead howled at the starry sky and slammed their clawed fists on the ground. His Mana had almost reached 50%, soon he would be able to summon another of his "Vermin Clusters". A spell of his own design. His build had taken decades and the absorbtion of the power of a minor Dungeon, in order to perfect. He had managed to subdue the lesser Dungeon and grow through absorbing its Core into his own. By absorbing that Core the Ghoul had developed the power to "reproduce". It could infect other creatures, turning them into mindless undead. However, he also gained the ability to summon swarms of his preferred minions as well as create hybrid undead by procreating with a humanoid species. That is how he had created his undead Vorska. He had slaughtered their King, raped their Queen and now.. He had a small army of Vorska zombies!

His minions weren't very strong and died easily, meaning none of them would grow to be powerful as individual creatures. But they were legion.. paired with the ability to summon more each night, the Ghoul had managed to wreak havoc upon the subterranean kingdom, leaving it as nothing but a forgotten graveyard, buried deep in the earth. Now, with the assimilation of a Superior Dungeon Core, he could grow to be unstoppable. He would be able to create a new, stronger minion which, together with his Vorska hoards, could help him spread his undead disease to all of Acamar.

The time had arrived. He raised his hands and the earth beneath them shook. By expending all the mana he had, 10 more zombies burst forth from the cold sands. His hoard now had more than 30 Vorska Zombies. More than enough to crush a young Dungeon! With a maddening battle cry and the point of a finger, the newborn zombies rushed the entrance of the cave with reckless abandon! The rest of the hoard followed more carefully, lead by the Ghoul leader. The zombies poured into the entrance uncoordinated, bumping into walls and touching every surface, as if they were blind and looking for a way forward. Three of them were suddenly hoisted up, trapped in nets of silk. The rest screeched angrily and flailed about the room even more erratically. The zombies inside the nets quickly had their throats sliced open by fast slashing motions. Whatever creature was responsible could not be seen, even by the Ghoul's superior night vision. Holes? They were hiding in holes and tunnels within the stone walls! Five more zombies from the scouting unit, were now wrapped in the dangling threads of spider silk.

Cave fishers the size of large cats descended from the ceiling, slicing away at their heads and exposed necks with viciously sharp claws, before scurrying back up! Eight of his minions were already destroyed and they hadn't gotten past the first room. This Core was certainly tricky and stronger than the one he had conquered years ago. He grabbed one of his zombies and threw it on some strands of silk. Immediately the arachnids responded, rappelling down to slay the trapped foe! The Ghoul gave the order and five zombies attacked at once! The undead grabbed hold of the three, huge Fishers and tore them limb from limb. An even bigger arachnid pounced on them, probably responding to their attack, but failed to save its smaller brethren. It managed to injure three zombies before ultimately being pinned down by the Ghoul, pierced through its shell by a long black, blade-like bone, protruding from the creature's wrist. "Advance.." the Ghoul muttered with its sickly voice. He could hear the scurrying of insectoid legs on the cave's ceiling but whatever was there did not attack. Some loose strands of silk floated down, coating a few undead. This did not hinder them in any way however. The strands were not attached to any surfaces and the undead simply ignored their existence, following their dark master deeper in the cave.

As the invading force descended deeper into the cavernous interior of the Dungeon, a few well placed "surprises" slowed their pace. First came a small pit, strategically placed at the end of a corner. Three zombies fell in and got impaled on jagged stone, sculpted into spear-like tips. After that, came a corridor trapped with poisoned pricks, that looked suspiciously like snake fangs. The poison didn't have a lethal effect on undead creatures but it hurt all the same, causing their muscles to convulse and occasionally cramp up. When the Ghoul finally stepped foot in what seemed to be the first floor's main cave, he was followed by 22 minions. The room was well lit and had a large pool of clear water in the middle of it. The Ghoul ordered caution from his zombies as they circled the body of water in order to advance. Suddenly two amber tentacles burst out of the water's surface, wrapping themselves around the neck of two undead. They were pulled into the lake's depth, gurgling for air as they sank! The Ghoul noticed then, that the pool of water had many amber colored stones inside it! The stones quickly came to life, popping out of the water with an unspoken tenacity! "Slimes.." whispered the Ghoul with an expression of pity and disbelief. He was quite impressed with the Dungeon Core's beasts and ruthlessness up until now. Why invite these bumbling, pathetic monsters into its domain?

The slimes, despite their resistance to physical damage, could not compete with the zombies' speed. Even though they could tank many hits, they were ultimately cut down as they couldn't land attacks of their own. Occasionally, a much larger Slime would attack from the bottom of the lake, lashing out with tentacles coated in acid. It would either grab onto a zombie and drown it or slam it down with its tentacles until the acid made the undead melt into a puddle of rotting goo. With the distraction of the lesser Slimes, the Ooze managed to slay 7 zombies and 2 more were killed while attacking the Jellies. The Ghoul was furious! It poured its Mana into the earth, summoning more undead but the Dungeon demanded a toll. Summoning magic was always more costly in the presence of an Elder Core! Only four Zombies answered his abyssal calling, joining the rest of his ranks. The undead leader massacred the rest of the Slimes using his wrist blades and the Ooze could not grapple him nor restrict his movements. The Ooze retracted its tentacles and stayed safely hidden at the bottom of the lake. The monstrous Ghoul hissed angrily at the cowardly foe but was not going to waste any more time and effort here. The path ahead had been cleared and he still had 15 zombies. An Elder Core so young would only have three rooms. That meant the Core's room should be up ahead.