Chapter Eighty-Four Lessons on Dungeon Exploration (Patreon)

Meifa watched the princess knight run out her rear door, heading deeper into the dungeon, and sighed. A shame really, the girl was perfect. Strong, utterly adorable and that armor just suited her so perfectly. She usually didn’t think much of clothing, as a dragon she didn’t need it, but as a demon she understood its uses. To her that armor was perfect, the only kind of clothing worth using. Combining form in a sexy fashion with practical protection. As a result, she really liked the girl’s taste, but she couldn’t help wanting to see her out of the armor.

Her tail throbbed at the thought and idly she rubbed her belly. Next time, she promised herself. Next time she was going to get that cutie to spread her legs. Meifa smiled to herself at the thought. Any dragon wanted a strong mate and that girl was perfect. Worthy to be a mother to her children. With that thought in mind, she slipped into her private area. Settled herself down and spread her own legs. Time to get the workout she was denied. Maybe next time they met she would actually get a workout and maybe just maybe a kid.

Phillip turned the corner. Meifa was right, the mountain path was not a good one for her. Not right now, given that she was still getting used to her shrunken form. As a result she had gone into the caverns, there were still occasionally points where she had to deal with harpies, but they were notably few and far between. That meant spiders and their traps. The traps were the most annoying. She made note of the webs, their presence was going to be very good for the town. Assuming adventurers could get past Meifa.

While Phillip had avoided fighting her, which went to demonstrate that this dungeon allowed more than just combat to get past bosses, she did take a moment to look at the demon in question. Meifa was a strong boss, intimidating too. Even if she was low leveled. Most adventurers around level 30 would have trouble with her and that is the range she would recommend for the third floor. A party this deep would need to be around level 30 at the very minimum, which also gave her an idea of the dungeon’s level curve.

On the note about spider webs, however, that meant demonic silk. Demon Silk was a very valuable trade good, used in high quality clothing and enchanted goods. A regular source of it was worth more than a hundred times its weight in gold. The trade benefits for the town would be enormous, but it also meant that new interest groups would be interested in control of the town. Phillip realized she would have to be careful about that. Thankfully the silk wasn’t that easy to obtain. Between the monsters, traps and the silk itself any gathering mission would be difficult. The silk was supposedly able to trap dragons and she did know that anyone who got caught in it was not escaping easily. Fire was a good way to deal with it, but you would lose any silk you planned to harvest that way.

Looking around, she noted that this was yet another dim passage. Several webs strewn where the lighting was particularly poor. If you weren’t looking for them, those webs could have spelled the end of many a run. Phillip took a second look, noting several hidden nooks. Possible ambushers lying in wait. Perfect places for it. With that in mind, she prepared to channel fire into her blade. It would help her dismantle the webs in her path.

As it would turn out, getting through the area proved easy. Not one demon showed up and she was able to proceed. A couple turns later and she came upon the boss room. Unlike the last floor she didn’t have any puzzles to solve in order to proceed. Instead it was a simple matter to enter the room.

Phillip looked around after entering. Immediately upon entering, she noted that it was a series of platforms, with narrow walkways laid around. Areas of the room were shadowed and webs were everywhere. Above were several platforms as well. It wasn’t long before she spotted her opponents. A spider demon and a harpy. Both of them were level 35, which meant they would be a tough fight for most adventurers. Especially considering that the usual encounter on this floor was with level 20 monsters. Still a boss fight was supposed to be a challenge. A double boss was an interesting one.

Stepping onto a platform, she readied her magic. She wasn’t too worried about the spider, it was the harpy that would be the real challenge. An assessment that she didn’t really get to test. Her first spell was a lightning infused shockwave, which rippled out in an unstable mess. Frying everything in its path.

It was a terrible execution, but it got the job done. One crispy chicken fell from the sky and was caught by one of the spider’s webs. She let out a groan, still alive even if she wasn’t looking that great. In the same moment, the spider tried to jump her from behind. Phillip noticed it and tried to swing her blade at it. Only to mess up her footwork. Regardless her sword did connect, just not quite as gently as she planned. The demon sailed into a wall, with a crunch. Slumping to the ground with a groan. A quick check showed both were quite heavily wounded, but alive. Oops, that wasn’t quite what she wanted to do. Not by a long shot.

The plan had been to play with them not beat them up. With a sigh, she moved to the nearest and gave her a field treatment. At least she could do something to keep them stable. The whole goal was to not kill and she had nearly failed that task. Maybe magic wasn’t that good of an idea? At least not until she fixed her mana path problem. That messy shockwave spell was a prime example of how that was messing her up.

With the bosses fixed up, she proceeded to the fourth floor. Like with the last floor she soon found herself in a rest area. A wide central room and several side rooms with curtains instead of doors. There wasn’t much privacy offered here, but the amenities were certainly better than what was provided by earlier floors. The lighting and general atmosphere, combined with the murals, were rather lustful. Everywhere she looked were lewd murals, all of them featuring either girl-on-girl action or focusing on just a single girl. There was quite a bit of variety, but every girl was cute and sexy. Phillip turned red as she noticed just how detailed these murals were.

Turning for the exit she rushed out of the room. Slipping out the rest area, she paused to center herself again. Trying to ignore how all those images made her feel. Even if she knew part of it was the dungeon’s pheromones, they were growing thicker and more potent. After a moment she looked around, noticing how much warmer this floor was. Looking around, she noticed the entire area was lush with plant life. Between the warm humid air and the vibrant plants growing all around her, she had no trouble identifying the floor as a jungle floor.

Phillip noted that down, all the trees and bushes would provide ample room for demons to hide. Worse, some of the plants might also prove to be threats. This floor would certainly be  a test for an adventurer’s awareness, but so had the last. It was a different variation on a theme. Looking around, she didn’t see much indication for a trail. Any hint of which way to go. It seemed finding the way was going to be part of the challenge as well. With that in mind, she picked a path. Any path was as good as any other and she figured she would have to hunt for clues.

Nelli slipped into the nursery. It still felt a little chilly as she entered the room. The room hadn’t had time to fully warm up. She glanced at the pods. Nelli had the time to check on all of them but first she was going to check 15. Fifteen was undergoing an operation right now. She had been for the last couple of days.

Crossing the room, she looked into the pod to see 15 resting peacefully as a tentacle was plugged into the back of her brain pulsing. As it pulsed a small bulge moved up and out of her head. Disappearing into the pod. Master said that it was removing unneeded tissue and by now she knew how to check. With a thought she did that, to see how things were progressing. Quickly noting that all the dead tissue was gone. The tendrils inside were now slicing away healthy tissue and grafting new tissue to the freshly opened connections. As Nelli understood it, this was the most effective way to modify her brain and adjust her growth patterns. The new tissue once grafted was programmed to grow in a specific pattern and could then be ‘uploaded’ with a new growth pattern. Allowing the Master to more effectively control her growth. This also had the added benefit of making her a more behaved girl right from the start. 15 would never do what the other babies might. She would be a well behaved and compliant little baby right from the start, happy to do her duty.

Nelli thought it was very kind of the master to do this to little fifteen. He had seen something in her that made her special and more worthy of attention than all the worthless babies in this room. Now she had her whole future assured.

With that in mind, she did a quick check of the pod. Making sure it was well stocked. Noting that milk was low, she refilled its milk supply and then topped it off on mana. Before doing a health check. She quickly found her to be healthy and adjusting well to the increased feeding schedule. Now that her brain was being worked on she was going to need more food. Growing new brain tissue took a lot of extra energy.

Nelli gave her a second check finding nothing to worry about. She passed every check, so that meant 15 was doing as planned. Nothing would need to be adjusted and she had a few more hours on this phase of her brain treatment. Nelli watched as the tentacle pulsed again. Taking more unneeded tissue out of her little head. Nothing she needed to be worried about.

Assured that 15 was doing well with her operation, she moved on. It was time to give the other babies an overdue check. She needed to make sure they were doing okay. With that in mind, she headed straight for pod number seven.

She recalled that the other day, her pod had failed and she got chilled. Thanks to the chill little seven had got sick and her pod had also been out of milk at the time. Nelli had gotten her some food by taking it from three who had plenty to spare. Seven was likely to need it anyway since she was sick. Of course, maybe Master would want to chill her some more and let her get worse. She was just a baby after all.

Approaching the pod, she looked in. Noting that she was having a fevered fit. Nothing to worry about. Seven seemed to have them often. Her skin was looking a little paler today as well. Nelli didn’t bother to check her health, but instead checked on the pod. Milk levels were low, almost depleted again, but it seemed she hadn’t missed any feedings. The pod was however out of mana again. The poor girl must have gotten chilled again. She sighed and checked it and found the pod had been out of mana for a few hours. They must have forgotten to charge it again. No matter, it wasn’t like the Master would be upset and as 53 showed, chilling a sick child was a perfectly valid treatment.

So she wasn’t too worried about seven, she still seemed to be alive and seven was just a baby anyway. Not even special like fifteen was. Nelli really enjoyed working with 15. Sighing, she proceeded to recharge the pod. Making sure she would not be chilled when she left. She did note that her milk was low, but she had just given what she had to 15. As usual, there weren’t many scraps available to the babies.

The door clicked and she looked over to see Reki stepping into the room. The other girl smiled, “Hey sis! I’m bringing today’s leftovers. Wasn’t much left after the kids were done.”

That wasn’t a problem, “How much?”

“Enough for one or two babies to get their allotment.”

“Oh, perfect then. Why don’t you refill Seven’s pod? I have to check on the others.”

“Will do.”

Nelli smiled, happy for the timing. It saved her from the effort of another redistribution. Glad for that, she moved to check on the other sick baby. Number 22, who seemed to be doing well enough. Fevered, but awake. A quick check of the pod, showed that unlike seven there was still a bit of mana in her pod. Not much, the pod was starting to run out. A little longer and 22 would have gotten another chill. Her milk however had run out and she had missed a couple of feedings. She informed Reki to fill this pod as well and then moved on to check on three.

Nelli had taken food away from three the other day. She wanted to see how the little one was doing with less food. Glancing into the pod, she noted that she had lost a little fat. Other than that she seemed alright. After a quick check, she checked the pod. Finding it low on mana and almost out of milk. She recharged it and then glanced at Reki. “Any more milk today?”

Reki shook her head, “Nope! All out.”

Nelli turned to three, “Well sorry, looks like you get to starve again. Have fun.”

With that she moved on to check the other pods.

53 shivered a little, as Master checked her over. It was cold in here. Very cold. Yet it just didn’t feel worth complaining over. Honestly, she felt kind of sleepy, but she could not sleep.

Suddenly she found herself coughing. The fit tore through her and her chest ignited again. A spike of pain rippled through her small body as black blood escaped her throat in globs. Seeing that left her a little worried. Idly she recalled some of things she had heard. Master wanted her illness to progress. Was willing to let her die even and she knew she was close. Yet Master said something about that being in doubt.

Her head started to throb again in that moment. It had been happening more frequently, lately. Something Master said about the black cells attacking her brain. She didn’t care. She did, yesterday, but now it just didn’t seem to matter that her brain hurts. It was getting harder to care about the state of her body. Only thing she was worried about now was the blood she just coughed up.

Again Masters words from earlier entered her mind and she felt a bit of hope surge. There was a chance that she was not going to die. Even if she wasn’t quite certain about what was going to happen.

Nearby she heard the master speak to her, “How’s your chest feel?”

“Hurts a little, but fine.”

“Can you breathe alright?”

She nodded, “I can.”

In fact 53 wasn’t sure why. Then Master commented, “Fascinating. That confirms my thoughts, your lungs are completely nonfunctional, yet you are still getting air.” he turned to regard something muttering out loud. “Yes, yes, this new organ here must be responsible. It’s connected to your old airways and does seem to be receiving oxygen.”

He frowned, “But it’s not connected to your heart, how is it... Ah! I see, here, it’s connected to the new heart, I see. Fascinating. Very efficient.”

Suddenly she felt a weird spike of pain in her chest. Then her chest fell still. Other than that she felt fine. She wasn’t entirely sure what was happening until, Master spoke, “hmm, it seems to have stopped your old heart. How do you feel?”

“A little weird.”

He nodded and turned back to his tools. It felt like what she would expect from him. As another fit rippled through her. It would be her last. As following that her chest suddenly felt really weird, she lacked words to describe it. An urge to scream hit her, but no words escaped her. Then the throbbing in her head intensified and suddenly her chest didn’t seem important. The pain became distant and she could think again. Barely... her brain was feeling... sluggish. It took her a moment to know why, she was being turned off. Her brain didn’t need to be on for the next part. Where that knowledge came from she didn’t know, but she didn’t have time to think about it. The world turned black.

It came back into focus sometime later. Master was commenting on something. As she tried to digest the new information in her head. Her bioforming was nearly complete. Her young age had proved very helpful in that, but she wasn’t developed enough to fulfill her role. Her mind tried to search what that was, but she couldn’t parse it. She was not ready. It would be revealed to her, when she was ready. The next phase would require her to mature.

Moving away from that she checked over her body. Finding that she was feeling better. Her chest felt a little tender and she had little bumps now, she was starting to grow breasts and she had aches. Her growth was being sped up a bit to help her mature, but it would still take awhile. Feeling her chest, she found it felt softer. It took her a moment to realize that was due to her ribs being removed. Her new organs were stronger and better protected. They didn’t need them and the ribs were in the way, blocking proper access between a new organ in her chest and her as yet undeveloped breasts. They had been replaced with a new frame, one that didn’t block that access. She could feel that frame too.  It was there to help provide support later.

She tried to access the information on the rest of her body, but not all of it made sense to her. Something about digestive system improvements, repurposing of her reproductive functions and enhanced resilience to the cold. Other things too. That thought about the cold reminded her about the pod she was in. She was still in freezing temps, but she didn’t feel cold anymore. 53 smiled, finally. It seemed she wasn’t going to die! Even better, no more being cold!

Phillip hiked away from the tower. It was the third one she had found. Each one was home to a number of harpies and she found a switch in each tower. Activating these switches seemed to do nothing. What they were for, she wasn’t entirely sure, but it seemed likely they were part of this floor’s puzzle.

Rounding a tree she noticed signs of demons in the area. She took a breath and then drew her sword preparing for battle.