Here There Be Monsters

Evan descended in silence, feeling the familiar bone-deep shudder as the Core Weave transitioned him from the interface space into the completed floor. There was no fanfare or swirling teleportation effects to mark his arrival—just the subtle shift from the digital workspace into something that felt undeniably real.

The Hollow Vale stretched out before him, unfolding with a quiet sense of permanence that made him pause. Fog gathered low along the ground, curling around his boots as he took his first steps forward. The old stone paths wound through what had once been a village, their edges now softened by creeping ivy and the slow work of time. The air carried the scent of damp leaves and rusted iron, while overhead, a blood-tinged moon hung suspended in a sky that seemed frozen in place.

This was no longer the drafting sphere where he had spent countless hours planning and adjusting. The scaffolds and floating grid-lines that had marked his workspace were gone, replaced by something that had weight and presence. This was his dungeon now—completed, grounded, and somehow alive in its silence.

When he exhaled, even that small motion felt more substantial than it had before. The game had always prided itself on sensory fidelity, but this moment made everything feel real in a way that caught him off guard. A cold breeze brushed against his coat, and he could hear the subtle shift of gravel beneath his boots with each step.

He reached to his side and pulled the bound book from his hip. The Core Weave responded immediately, pages fluttering open with a dry rustle as parchment began to glow with soft light. Tabs emerged from the surface, unfolding with quiet precision as the interface prepared itself for his commands.

The first tab that caught his attention was marked with a crossed sword symbol, and when he focused on it, the section unfurled like a living map. Lines of ink drew themselves into formation across the page, and at the center of the display, a clear heading appeared:

⚔ ENCOUNTERS 

The tab unfurled like a living map, lines of ink drawing themselves into formation. At the center of the display: 

Available Templates (Floor 1) 

Dreadfang Wolves

Bone-Chewer Bats

Widowspine Spiders

Hollow Revenants

Cryptbear

Redfang Alpha (Mini-Boss Designation)

A quiet chime signaled that the system was ready for his input.

One of the pages turned on its own, and Evan watched as a summoning sigil traced itself into the ground before him. Soft light outlined the circle's edge, marking it as a space designed for observation and controlled projection of the various creatures he could populate his dungeon with.

"Alright, let's meet the monsters," he said, his voice carrying a note of genuine curiosity about what the system had prepared for him.

The first projection began to form as a Dreadfang Wolf stepped into view. The sigil glowed more brightly, and a ripple passed through the mist as the creature fully materialized. It moved with deliberate caution, its movements suggesting a predator that favored patience over haste. The wolf's limbs were long and sinewy, with muscle strung tight beneath patchy, mottled fur the color of scorched earth. Standing nearly shoulder-height to a grown man, its hunched frame gave it the appearance of something that preferred to creep rather than run, built for slow and relentless stalking rather than bursts of speed.

Faint bone ridges ran along its spine, creating the unsettling impression that something beneath the surface had tried to break free but never quite managed it. When its mouth parted slightly, Evan could see uneven fangs that had been darkened by decay. The creature's eyes were deep-set and ember red, holding a dull but unreadable stillness that made it difficult to predict what it might do next.

The wolf didn't growl or shift restlessly as Evan might have expected. Instead, it simply stared at him with that patient, calculating gaze, as if it was waiting for something.

System text began to filter into view beside the sigil, providing detailed information about the creature's capabilities and behavior patterns.

Dreadfang Wolf 

Type: Beast 

Intelligence: Pack-level (Semi-Coordinated) 

Traits: Silent Movement, Bloodscent Tracking, Flanking Instincts 

Behavior: Hunts in threes. 

Abilities: 

Bloodthirsty Lunge – The Dreadfang Wolf locks onto wounded prey and launches a sudden, vicious leap. If the target is below 50% health, the attack deals bonus damage and inflicts a stacking Bleed over time effect. Cooldown applies per target. 

"Low health? That's its favorite flavor." 

Howl's That for Backup? – Lets out a sharp rallying cry that summons nearby Dreadfang Wolves to converge on the target. Each one gains a temporary movement speed boost as they close in. 

"You thought one was bad? The rest were waiting for an invitation." 

Teeth of the Many – Each nearby Dreadfang Wolf increases the others' damage output by 5%, stacking up to a maximum of 25%. 

"Every fang that joins the fight sharpens the rest." 

Evan found himself chuckling after reading through the flavor text. "I wonder if players will even get to see this kind of detail," he said, speaking more to himself than to the projected wolf. "I don't remember seeing descriptions like this when I was beta testing, but then again, my dungeon's going to be quite a bit more unique than the standard ones." He paused, considering the implications. "I really hope they do get to see it, though. Players love this kind of hidden feature—the little touches that show someone put real thought into the design."

The wolf lowered its head and sniffed at the ground, then looked directly at him again. Its expression remained neither hostile nor submissive, just patient and watchful, as if it was simply waiting for instructions.

"That's a solid baseline creature," Evan said, nodding approvingly. "I could definitely build some interesting encounters around you and your pack."

He took a moment to study the wolf's build more carefully, noting how its abilities clearly worked best when multiple wolves were present. Each creature was designed to enhance the others, creating a layered challenge that would test a party's coordination as much as their individual reflexes. A single wolf might apply pressure to a group, but several working together could systematically grind down even experienced players.

The thought made him pause, and he made a mental note to be careful about grouping too many of them too close together. If every encounter spiraled into a massacre, players wouldn't survive long enough to uncover the deeper layers of mystery and story he had woven throughout the floor.

With a simple thought, he dismissed the projection. The wolf dissolved into particles of light that drifted away on the breeze.

The next projection took the form of the Bone-Chewer Bats, and Evan immediately noticed the difference in presentation. The sigil shimmered more faintly this time, and instead of a single creature, he heard a soft rustling that seemed to come from multiple directions at once. Then the swarm emerged—dozens of small, pale shapes drifting into view in what appeared to be a chaotic formation but was actually carefully coordinated.

Each individual bat was about the size of a forearm, with patchy white fur and thin, semi-transparent wings that occasionally caught the light in interesting ways. Their eyes appeared clouded, but their movements demonstrated that they could coordinate with remarkable precision. They stayed together as a unified group, their flight patterns creating an intricate dance of shadows and motion.

Evan watched the way they moved, noting the scattered beats of their wings and the brief, high-pitched clicks that served as their communication system. It was clear that they weren't meant to be a major threat individually, but they could easily become a significant annoyance when used alongside more dangerous creatures.

Bone-Chewer Bats 

Type: Swarm (Aerial) 

Intelligence: Rudimentary 

Traits: Visibility Impairment, Merge Form Capability 

Behavior: Dormant in trees or rooftops. Activates on sound triggers. Mini-swarms will merge into a larger swarm if not handled quickly enough. 

Abilities: 

Veil of Wings – While active, the swarm creates a haze of motion and sound disruption that reduces player visibility and muffles nearby audio cues, making communication and trap detection more difficult. 

"It's not that you can't see. It's that nothing stays still long enough." 

Carrion Wake – Whenever a creature dies within range of the swarm, a smaller sub-swarm spawns from the remains and targets the nearest living entity. These offshoots persist for a short time before either rejoining the main swarm or dissipating. 

"Fall behind, and you'll feed the swarm." 

Hollow Sip – When the swarm maintains proximity to a player for more than a few seconds, it begins to siphon small amounts of health at regular intervals. The effect intensifies slightly if the target is slowed, stunned, or otherwise distracted. 

"It's not the bite that hurts—it's how long they stay." 

Evan considered where the bats might be most effective within his dungeon layout. Their speed and coverage made them well-suited for outdoor areas, where they could keep players constantly on their toes and force them to keep moving. In indoor spaces, however, they risked becoming more of a nuisance than a legitimate challenge, potentially frustrating players without adding meaningful difficulty.

With that concern in mind, he made a note to set a soft cap on how many could appear in enclosed spaces, ensuring that encounters remained challenging and not annoying.

He watched the projection cycle through their movement patterns again, keeping his arms loosely folded as he weighed the potential effects. The swarm moved with an almost hypnotic quality, individual bats weaving in and out of formation in a way that would definitely be disorienting for players trying to track specific threats.

"They're going to wear people down more than anything else," he said, thinking aloud. "Not much direct pressure by themselves, but if someone's already dealing with a fight or trying to stay hidden, these little guys will make everything significantly harder."

He glanced over at the village layout, considering the various rooftops and narrow paths that threaded between the abandoned buildings. There were several spots that seemed particularly promising—places where players might naturally hesitate or gather their bearings before proceeding. If timed correctly, the swarm could catch them off-guard without needing to do much damage on its own.

"They don't need to finish anything," he murmured, working through the tactical possibilities. "They just need to make things inconvenient enough to tip the balance of whatever else is happening."

The swarm shimmered once more in the projection space, cycling through a few more movement patterns before Evan dismissed it with a quiet gesture. The bats faded away like smoke, and the system paused expectantly, waiting for his next input as he prepared to examine the remaining creatures available for his dungeon.