Chapter 3: A dungeon has a goal
The dungeon Core woke up from its first mana fatigue induced sleep, only to be met with a weird sight of slime cannibalism. Its second friend, the pink tinted {Infant Half Sage Slime} was gnawing at one of the green bloblets of {Small Slime}, which had by now visibly shrunk in size. Bizarrely enough, the green slime didn't seem to care about getting its body eaten by its friend. The {Small Slime } was too busy eating away at the nearby soil and rocks to regain its lost mass, only for it to be prayed upon by the other slime. This situation made the Core remember one of the [SYSTEM]'s warnings: that the small slime will starve itself in 4 days.
How many days had it been since it feel asleep? A quick look at its [STATUS] revealed a mana supply of [17/100], which coupled with its regeneration of 1/day meant it had been out for 17 days. More than 4 times the duration the [SYSTEM] specified would cause the {Infant Half Sage Slime} to perish. So how was it alive?
Could it be that its peer sacrificed itself, to feed his friend from his own body? The ultimate sacrifice in all slime kind? Or was it just an instinct of self preservation, that lead them both to a binging spree– one eating dirt, the other praying on slime flesh?
Either way, the Core felt responsible for its two friends' plight. The fault lay in its inability to support the mana concentration, and for that, it had to achieve a higher level. With a quick glance on the [QUEST] text box, it was reminded of its initial goal: opening a Gate to the Great Outside.
[QUESTS]
ONGOING QUESTS: { OPEN THE DUNGEON GATE }
{ OPEN THE DUNGEON GATE } - QUEST DETAILS:
QUEST DIFFICULTY: BASIC
PROGRESS: 2/ 4
TASKS:
ESTABLISH CORE-CHAMBER LINK [COMPLETE]
SPAWN MONSTER ( 2 / 1 )[COMPLETE])
LAY TRAP ( 0 / 1 )[INCOMPLETE]
ESTABLISH PATH TO SURFACE ( 34 / 430 PACES )[INCOMPLETE])
QUEST TIME LIMIT: N/A
QUEST REWARD: LEVEL UP!
Laying a trap was easy. Just like with the {Small Slime}, it just had to will a random trap into existence.
[USED <TRAP CREATION(BASIC)>. IN ABSENCE OF TARGET, A RANDOM TRAP WAS SPAWNED]
[SPAWNED {SMALL SPIKE LV. 1}]
With that out of the way, the only objective that remained was establishing a path towards the surface. Luckily, the {Small Slime lvl 1} had already managed to carve a short path in its dirt feeding frenzy. It would reach the surface soon, if it kept going by itself, but the Core decided to speed up the process, using the <Earth Manipulation(Basic)> skill. It imbued its mana into the ground, slowly carving a diagonal path, towards the surface. It made sure the incline wasn't too steep, lest it feel uncomfortable for the future delvers. The excess material from the excavation was repurposed to feed the slimes. It turned out that both of them could eat dirt and rocks, but it wasn't enough to satiate the {Infant Half Sage Slime}'s appetite, so it kept a cannibalistic diet.
[WARNING! MANA RESERVES DEPLETED. ALL ABILITIES ARE TEMPORARILY UNUSABLE]
Oh, this warning again? Strangely enough, it didn't make cause the Core to fall asleep this time, but it prevented It form using other skills. What a curious thing! The dungeon had gotten too excited in swiftly crafting a pathway that it didn't pay attention to the mana expenditure. It was a shame, for it had to level up as soon as possible, not only for the sake of the slimes, but also to greet its adventurer guests. Certainly, eating a couple of sapients would satiate both gelatinous monsters. Alas, what could it do? The dungeon had to wait for its mana to recharge, before using the < Earth Manipulation(Basic) > ability again. So it waited. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours, but the Core was ever so patient. Its perception on time was different from that of humans. After all, dungeon Cores were technically immortal. It used the free time to observe the slime behavior in detail, how they ate the layers of dirt and rock, by simply dissolving everything they came into contact with, assimilating the mana inside. For every object that existed held a certain amount of mana.
[MANA: 1/100]
The Core flashed gleefully as it saw the numbers change ever-so-slightly in the status popup. If it were a dog, it would've wagged its tail happily. But in lack of such appendices, it could only express its newfound joy by continuing working.
[WARNING! MANA RESERVES DEPLETED. ALL ABILITIES ARE TEMPORARILY UNUSABLE]
It only managed to dig for a bit before the message rang out. Once more, it had to play the waiting game.
[MANA: 1/10]
[WARNING! MANA RESERVES DEPLETED. ALL ABILITIES ARE TEMPORARILY UNUSABLE]
[MANA: 1/10]
[WARNING! MANA RESERVES DEPLETED. ALL ABILITIES ARE TEMPORARILY UNUSABLE]
….
[MANA: 1/10]
[WARNING! MANA RESERVES DEPLETED. ALL ABILITIES ARE TEMPORARILY UNUSABLE]
The same cycle of little-digging, plenty-waiting ensued over and over again, but the Core didn't feel distraught. Rather, it was ecstatic, as sensed itself going closer to the surface. It was filled with eagerness and yearning. What amazing fate did the outside world have in store for it? Would it be able to fulfill its destiny of becoming the best dungeon?
The dungeon was abruptly shook from its trailing thoughts. Literally.
Rocks shattered and dirt crumbled as waves reverberated in the earth. The lands quaked dangerously, as deafening thuds echoed in the undergrounds. Incredible enough, the source of the trembling came not from below, like in the case of an earthquake, but rather from the surface. But the dungeon couldn't be bothered to care about such details. Right now, it's Core was in danger, as the roof of its single 'Chamber' showed signs of collapse. With its mana reserves depleted, the Core could do very little. Cracks spread out like spiderwebs along the ceiling and into the walls as the dungeon started to panic. What should it do? It stared at the growing cracks and a thought came into its mind.
'Please, my friends, I need your help!'
The {Infant Half Sage Slime} understood the command, flinging itself towards the ceiling. It splashed on the quaking surface, diffusing its body into many sticky blobs. Then, it squeezed itself through the growing gaps, holding on like liquid glue.
Meanwhile, the {Small Slime} interpreted the cry for help as a command to get closer to its friend, stopping just a hairbreadth away from the Core.
The ground kept shaking for what felt like minutes – some of the longest minutes in the dungeon's live so far. Its mana resources quickly ran out but it didn't yield.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED THE DUNGEON-TYPE HIDDEN ABILITY <MONSTER STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENT(BASIC)> ]
[WARNING ! MANA RESERVES DEPLETED. ALL ABILITIES ARE TEMPORARILY UNUSABLE]
No! It couldn't stop now! It had to get more mana, from somewhere, or else it was doomed! In its desperation it didn't even realize that the size of its Core was already shrinking.
[WARNING! EXPERIENCING MANA UNDERCHARGE! DEPLETING MANA FROM CORE'S STRUCTURE. LEVELING DOWN]
[ERROR! TARGET'S LEVEL CANNOT DROP ANYMORE! RESOLVING CONFLICT…]
[CONFLICT SOLVED. TEMPORARELY ASSIGNING LEVEL TO LEVEL 0. DEPLETING HEALTH. REDUCING ALL MAXIMUM STATS AND REGENERATION RATES]
Ominous red messages popped up in the void of the room, but the dungeon didn't care. It held out heroically, enforcing its walls and ceiling with mana even as bits of rock and debris collapsed dangerously close to the exposed Core. The earth kept quaking, but the dungeon couldn't hold on anymore. Was this the end?
Wrapped in a warm, oozy embrace, the Core's consciousness slowly drifted out of existence.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
CuriousWriter1576
CuriousWriter1576 Might make some minor edits later to make the system interface look prettier. Thanks for reading
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