TtOW! - Chapter 9: Terminate the Spider Dungeon?

[The spell Rock Throw is now level 6!]

[The skill Earth Magic is now level 3!]

[You have learned the spell Earth Wall!]

NSLICE-00P continued to practice the new magic school she had unlocked.  She was somewhat unimpressed with Rock Throw spell, which could not compare at all with her conventional weaponry, but an elemental spell had provided an entirely different magic circle for her to study.  Likewise, she knew from Arcane Magic she could unlock new spells as she leveled the skill, so she diligently practiced it until she did.

Earth Wall was more impressive, allowing her to reshape the battlefield at will, albeit temporarily.  More importantly, it was a capability that could not be replicated by her current components, and so an addition to her available options.  She was currently running simulations on how she might integrate it into her combat protocols.

It was around this time that she arrived at the next dungeon.  This time it a large, decaying tree, with a large hole she couldn’t see into.

“Ugh, finally.  Now, remember: terminate the master, but no destroying-demolishing this dungeon, yes yes?”

“Affirmative.  Activating dungeon termination protocol.  Adjusting search-and-destroy protocol.”

Rattingtale just heaved a sigh.  Well, hopefully he could hold back the man-thing this time.

***

Lilussees shook herself awake, stirring on her bed of silk threads.  She lazily stretched the joints on all eight of her legs, shaking her abdomen as she awoke.

Then the Queen of the Spiders pulled on the thread leading into her room.

One of her brood crawled in, carrying some poor woodland creature wrapped in web.  Lilussees clattered her mandibles and dug in.

Oh, how she loved breakfast in bed.

Just then the royal records appeared before her, informing her of two new intruders.

“Hmmmm?  A human?  That’s new.  And…a rat monster?  Together?  That’s kind of weird, huh?”

She thought for about five seconds before turning back to her breakfast.

“Oh well!  They’re like, not even level 10, or something, so like, shouldn’t be a problem.”

With that, Lilussees dismissed the record and continued her breakfast.  Maybe she could go for seconds today?

***

NSLICE-00P and Rattingtale found themselves inside a decaying tree.  All around them were walls of black and rotting wood, again illuminated by glowing mushrooms.

Oh, and there were spider webs all over the place.  In fact, a little spider was crawling across one of them even now.

Rattingtale immediately shut the hatch.

“Spider-things!  Quick, kill-slay them with fire, now now!”

“Negative.  Analysis: use of fire weaponry in a wooden structure carries a high risk of self-termination.”

“We’re in a dungeon!  The wood isn’t actually-really wood!  Do it now, yes yes!”

NSLICE-00P stuck her arm out to the side, firing a tiny jet of flame from her flamethrower onto the nearest wall.  As the rat predicted, the walls did not catch fire.  In fact, she could even detect the mana slowly purifying the excessive smoke from the air as well.

In other words, there was no reason she couldn’t kill things with fire

“Acknowledgement: Risk of self-termination determined as acceptably low.  Engaging purification protocol.”

She held up both her hands and an inferno engulfed everything in front of her.

***

Lilussees finished slurping up her breakfast.  She then spun around, adjusting her bed of silk threads to her liking.  She lay down in the bed once she did.

What better way to start the day than a post-breakfast nap?

***

[You have slain Spiderling (level 1)!]

[You have gained 1 Personal XP and 1 Dungeon XP!]

[You have slain Spiderling (level 1)!]

[You have gained 1 Personal XP and 1 Dungeon XP!]

[You have slain Spiderling (level 1)!]

[You have gained 1 Personal XP and 1 Dungeon XP!]

Spiders ran every which way as a wave of fire rolled over the dungeon.  A red light shone through the blaze as a dark silhouette formed.  NSLICE-00P walked through the dungeon, swinging her arms back and forth to bathe the entire area in flames.  As her flamethrowers ran out of fuel, she passed her mana through them, speeding up the automatic resupply to keep up the blaze.

And then…

Something in her circuits connected.

If she had gained a skill by channeling mana through her laser projectors…

Then what would happen if she did the same with her other weapons?

She started to feed mana directly into the flames, trying to infuse the burning fuel with the energy.  She tried to mold the mana similar to the elemental conversion in the Earth Magic spells in order to match the flames all around it.

And then…

[You have learned the spell, Fire Blast!]

[You have learned the skill, Fire Magic!]

[You have learned the spell, Fire Bolt!]

[The skill Fire Magic is now level 3!  The spell Fire Blast is now level 2!]

Success.  She now formed a magic circle in front of her, adding a third jet of flame into the deluge…

***

Lilussees groaned and turned over in her bed.  She felt as if her room was a bit too hot.

So she turned over to the other side, searching for a cool part in the room…

***

NSLICE-00P came to a large central chamber, a cylindrical shape raising high into the sky.  She detected the mana signature indicating the dungeon core at the top of the structure.  There were no stairs or footholds, rather she saw a door across from her, and other doors connecting balconies all across the chamber.  It seemed as if she was supposed to go through the rooms in order to climb to the top.

NSLICE-00P did not do this.

Rather, she activated her repulsors, flying into the air.

Spiderwebs crisscrossed the chamber, blocking her path.  Spiders crawled along the webs and the walls.

NSLICE-00P formed several magic circles above her head.

Jets of flame blew ahead of her, setting the webs and the spiders on fire.

[You have slain Giant Spider (level 3)!]

[Gained 4 Personal XP and 4 Dungeon XP!]

[You have slain Giant Jumping Spider (level 5)!]

[Gained 5 Personal XP and 5 Dungeon XP!]

[The spell Fire Blast is now level 3!]

[The spell Fire Blast is now level 4!]

[The skill Fire Magic is now level 4!]

[Level up! Your Personal Level is now 7!]

[Level up!  Your Dungeon Level is now 7!]

***

Lilussees twisted this way and that but she couldn’t fall asleep.  Her room was just too hot for some reason.  She scratched her back and shook herself awake, clattering her mandibles together.

Well, if she couldn’t sleep, she might as well check on those intruders.  A nice snack might help…

She froze.

The intruders were…

Right outside the window to her room?

Just then a blast of flame tore through the webs guarding the entrance to her room.  The human intruder stepped into the room, encased in armor and surrounded by glowing magic circles.

Lilussees stared at her for a second.

“Um, like, don’t kill me, please?”

***

[The rival dungeon master Lilussees has offered to surrender.  Accept?]

NSLICE-00P saw no reason to refuse.  She let her magic circles fade.

“Affirmative.”

“Huh?  What are you doing, boss-lady?  Kill-slay the spider-thing, yes yes!”

[Surrender accepted!  Lilussees has become your subordinate!  Subordinate dungeon core acquired!]

[You have conquered the Spider Tree dungeon!]

[You have accomplished the feat: Dungeon Conqueror (Spider Tree)! (Conquered the Spider Tree Dungeon)]

[Dungeon Conqueror (Spider Tree): Unlocked by conquering the Spider Tree Dungeon.  Grants +1 perk points, grants +1 level in the Poison Resistance skill]

[Would you like to absorb the Spider Tree dungeon core, or manage it as a sub-core?]

Lilussees tilted her head, raising one of her front legs to her mandibles.

“Huh?  Wait, you’re like, a dungeon master, or something?  That’s like, totally weird.  The records said you were like, a human, or something.”

Rattingtale popped his head out of the hatch as he noticed a suspicious lack of flames.

“Huh?  Wait, boss-lady!  Why aren’t you slay-killing the spider-thing!  D-Don’t tell me you…”

“Explanation: Friendly Lilussees offered to surrender, and is now designated as a subordinate unit.”

Rattingtale grabbed the fur on his head and pulled.

“No!  You foolish man-thing!  You were supposed to kill-slay her!”

“Observation: If this unit is not supposed to terminate this dungeon, then accepting a surrender is more efficient, correct?”

Lilussees turned her eyes to the rat sticking out of NSLICE-00P’s shoulder.

“Oh hey, it’s like, a snack or something.  Hey, boss, are you like, going to eat that, or can I?”

Rattingtale squeaked.

“See see!  That spider-thing is evil-monstrous, yes yes!  Kill-slay it with fire, yes yes!”

“Negative, and negative.  Friendlies Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third and Lilussees are both subordinates, and no longer subject to termination.”

Lilussees chittered her mandibles together.

“Y-Your name is Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third?  Haha, that’s like…”

“S-Shut up!  ‘Tis a noble and venerable name, suitable only for the Great-High King of all the land like me, yes yes!”

“Hahaha sure, sure.  Should I like, call you Your Majesty or something?  S-Sure looks like it, haha.”

Rattingtale placed his paws on his mouth and screamed into them.

Great.

Just great.

Now he had an annoying rival to deal with.

One who could hypothetically eat him.

This plan just got a lot more complicated.

Author’s Note:

New subordinate get!

Anyways!

Can Rattingtale adjust his plan to this new situation?  Will Lilussees get her snack after all?  Is NSLICE-00P making a good choice taking in all these dungeon masters?  Tune in next time, to find out!