Chapter 3

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Uncharted Island, Unknown Ocean, Unknown Time

Morning of Day 6, Week 6 PC

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Mana’s effect on living organisms is fascinating. Once a monster gains its core, its bodily functions are almost entirely supported by the mana it intakes, with only a tiny amount of actual food required.

It’s been more than three weeks since I had made Bastian, and he had only deigned to eat from his feeding pool five times, and even then, only a single fish. I suspect most of his biology is made of mana at this point with how much mass he has compared to the tiny crab of before.

Speaking of tiny crabs, I’m inundated! I was right that mana would influence their breeding cycle. What would typically be a four-month brooding turned into four days. The female buried itself on the shore in the secret cavern I’d made for just this purpose. With the influence of my mana, she soon laid them in a large breeding pond. Good thing too. She laid thousands of the things! Each tiny little larvae was the size of plankton. Thankfully I had a connection to each one and mana-infused about three-quarters of them to grow faster, half of those to go even more quickly, and about fifty to speed-run their life-cycle.

With those fifty, I could experiment.

Of course, I gave all of them cores because it made everything so much easier. From the fifty, I made ten Crab Knights, about half the size of Bastian (The size of a wolf). Thirty, I made a similar size but gave boxing-glove-like claws and thicker forwards-facing armor. This made them slower but more able to take a hit and dish it back. These I named Crab Brawlers.

The final ten were slightly smaller, about the size of a Rottweiler. These I gave thinner armor and long, sharp claws. I tried to up the twitch-nerve response time, and it seems to have worked. They undoubtedly move faster than their larger brethren. These will be the Assassin Crabs.

Unlike my boss monster, The Brawlers and Knights all have brightly colored shells. Each has a unique pattern of swirls, ridges, and valleys, with colors ranging from yellow through orange to red.

Why did I make them so visible? Well, that’s because the Knights and Brawlers will be my front-line fighters. The Assassins, however…

Much like Bastian, I made them rock-colored to better blend in. They could fold themselves in to give the appearance of a rock, hidden. While the brawlers and knights kept any aspiring Adventurer’s attention, these sneaky crabs would conceal. In that perfect moment when all attention was on the fighters, the assassins would strike from behind, cutting tendons and spearing soft tissue. If there were any in robes, they were priority targets.

I spread them out, each Knight getting a squad of three brawlers. They were to roam the caverns and tunnels of my first level. The Assassins spread out on their own, at least two to each of my four caverns, with the other two in the second and fourth.

The Crabs were good. They would be an adequate first layer of protection against intruders. The high reproductive rate would also aid me in replacing any that died defending me.

With that sorted, I made sure replacements were ready to infuse, then worked on refining my caverns.

Each cavern after the first was filled with a jagged and sharp rock, leading potential invaders on a twisting path with plenty of ambush points. The mana-star in each cavern threw light and shadow in equal measure, the brightness working in my favor to better hide the Assassins.

Between the caverns were long, dark, and narrow passages. These passages rose and fell, twisting around each other, and would do wonderfully to disorient invaders. As it was pitch black, they’d either have to traverse them in darkness or use torches. With the single-file style I’d built them in, it would also allow the Crabs to ambush invaders in a pincer movement.

The cave mouth remained empty.

So, the first level complete, I began to contemplate my second. What creature could I mutate? How would I arrange the defenses? My first level reminded me of the deep caverns in Until Dawn, with markedly more sand. Perhaps, the second would be slightly more civilized? At the exit of the boss room, I molded a double-wide door frame with intricate carvings. If the carvings had a Norse bent, I would blame Assassins Creed Valhalla. Finally, I created a pair of stone doors on stone hinges. The mana-stream that flowed to my gem objected when they closed and blew the doors right back open.

Right. Unobstructed. Got it.

Above the doorframe, I added a grill and guided the stream to flow through it rather than the doors. Thus, I could shut the doors. I added some stylistic carvings of a crab knight on the doors themselves, sharp claws raised to a tear-drop-shaped star above.

The next stage was the Core room, which would become the staircase to the next floor. A spiral staircase came into being, centered on my pedestal. The walls gained a brick-like pattern, despite still being solid walls. I manipulated my pedestal to walk me down the stairs, then hollowed out four exits at the bottom. This next floor would be a maze. Hopefully.

As I hollowed out the maze, I pondered on appropriate monsters. The few lizards and bird species in the rainforest on the island would do better on my third floor. What I need is something… Foul. Something that infests ruins and abandoned places the world over.

Rats.

Unfortunately, It seems this island lacks any rodents of unusual size. All well. I’ll come back to it.

So, with no monsters available, I had to double down on the maze. Well, more like a Labyrinth at this point. Each of the four entrance points led down their paths, more than a few crossed over and under eachother. I remembered the right-hand rule: as long as you follow the right-hand wall, you’ll find the exit. There wasn’t much I could do about it except make sure that if you only followed your right or left hand, you’d end up back at the entrance.

With the confusing maze done, now was the time to set up traps.

I’d neglected to add traps to the first floor, though maybe a few weakened stalactites I could break with a thought would do nicely. A quick shift of attention upward made that vision reality, then back down again.

At select points in the maze, I created pitfalls filled with obsidian spikes. Also, something to remember is that I don’t disintegrate rock or anything like that; I just turn it to sand and direct it out my entrance. Now though, I’ve set up a small side tunnel to funnel my excess sand out into the ocean so I don’t have to shove it through my dungeon.

I digress, back to the traps. A thin sheet of rock, identical to the ‘floor panels’ I carved into the entire floor, was placed over a pit too deep to escape. I wasn’t sure about the thickness, but hopefully, it will break with two or more people standing on it; about 180 pounds. Again, I’m unsure how thick is correct, so I aimed for the thinner side. As I gain experience, I’ll adjust it.

Some spike traps were in the middle of unassuming corridors, others in corners. One was an entire hallway!

My maze is complete, I create an empty boss room. Perhaps some large, minotaur-style rat?

Now I want rats more than ever. Maybe someday.

I took a break from construction to shift my attention to the surface and watch the sunset.

Oh, that looks like one heck of a storm.

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The Next Day

The Merchantman Ship Good Tidings, The Kalenic Sea

Navigator Kailen Gresh

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The day began like any other day at sea. The wind was measured, both strength and direction. The ship’s speed and heading were identified. Course corrections were calculated. The storm last night blew them far off course, and they’d likely need to find a landmark. Couldn’t go wrong with a westward heading, however. Not like you’d end up anywhere other than Theona.

“Captain Hart!” Kailen called as he emerged from below deck. “How fares the crew?”

The man laughed heartily. “Navigator Gresh! The crew fares well; a little rain and swell aren’t enough to dampen their spirits! How fares the cargo.” Hart replied, getting a few chuckles from passing sailors.

“Dry and in good condition.” Kailen confirmed, “Should make for a tidy profit when we make port. Speaking of, I’m afraid that ‘little rain and swell’ last night has blown us well off course; we’ll have to wait for nightfall to make our corrections. In the meantime, westward ho.” The captain nodded.

“Aye. Westward ho.” He agreed. He was about to continue when a shout from the crow’s nest rang out over the ship.

“Land Ho!”

“Land?” Kailen asked, frowning. “We’re still at least three days off the coast of Theona, and there aren’t any islands charted on this course.”

Hart slapped him on the back, pointing one hand off to the spot of green on the horizon. “Well, there’s one now. Add this to your charts, my friend.” He stepped away from his navigator and shouted out to the crew.

“Make for the Island!”

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Oh. That’s a ship.

Thanks for the warning, Gull, you’re a good Birb.

Well, I have less time than I thought. Hopefully, they aren’t here for me. That wouldn’t be good. Please be unprepared sailors.

Le Sigh. My location was going to get out eventually. I’m pretty confident I could hold them off, though. Hey, maybe they won’t even notice I’m here! Look for the bright side of life.

Maybe they have some ship’s rats.

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