The gorilla-sized, green, ape-like creature swung through the thick canopy of the underground forest.

Long, muscular arms propelled it from branch to branch at high speeds, though it was becoming more difficult, the bloody wounds covering its body sending jolts of pain with each swing. However, despite its worsening condition, the creature knew it couldn’t risk slowing down. Not while that… thing was still out there.

Its bloodshot eyes constantly scanned their surroundings as they moved through the treetops, watching for the telltale signs of reflected light that would signal his pursuer’s presence. It had already gotten most of his troop. Those too slow or too stupid to recognize the danger. But not them.

They weren’t like the others. They were smarter. Stronger. It was why they were troop leader to begin with!

Were…

Now, it was the last. A dark fire burned in the ape-like creature’s chest. Decades of work, building and growing the troop, gone in an instant. It would remember this. It would raise up a new troop. And when they were least expecting it, it wou—.

A sudden glimmer of light broke the creature out of its daydreams, and it sneered. With the grace of a master gymnast, the ape creature halted its next swing and changed directions, just as a large, metallic object shot through the air where it would have been, had it not seen the object coming.

The ape creature hooted in an almost laughing manner and beat its chest as it soared through the air toward its next perch.

However, its eyes went wide the next instant as the object hit a nearby tree and fell to the ground, revealing itself to be nothing more than a large, shiny rock. The ape creature twisted in the air, and its heart dropped to see a large, oval object covered in mud floating along its arch.

As if waiting for it to notice, the object suddenly split into four parts, each section shooting away from the other. A breath later, the ape creature slammed into an expansive metal net stretching between the four sections of the previous object.

The ape creature’s smooth arc turned into a tumbling fall, and both ape and net crashed through the thick branches of the canopy and hurtled toward the ground below. Moments before what would have been a sudden and painful landing, however, the four objects connected to the corners of the net pulled up and slowly brought the ape creature to a stop until both net and creature were suspended several feet over the ground.

The ape creature raged, of course, but neither teeth sharper than any spear or claws lined with Spirit Energy proved a match for the strange, stretchy net. The sound of a light thump sounded in between the hoots and rage-filled screams of the trapped ape creature, and it let out another mad cry, though this time in pain. It reached down and pulled out the large syringe that had slammed into its thigh.

The ape creature threw the object away, paying it little mind. It was simply one more thing to add to the bonfire of its fury. Yet, as they struggled, the ape creature felt a strange fatigue slowly overtake them. Within a few heartbeats, the creature’s manic thrashing slowed, and in a few more, the creature found it barely had the strength to cling to the net, let alone pull at it.

The last thing the ape creature saw was half a dozen figures slowly emerging from behind the nearby trees before the darkness overtook them.

—————————————————————

Antchaser grinned from ear to ear as he made his way around the tree. His good mood wasn’t just thanks to their successful hunt, but also because of the look of sheer annoyance playing across Boarslayer’s face.

“See, I told you it would work. And you thought it was a dumb idea,” the smaller goblin mocked. He waved his hand in the air, and the [Skyfisher] — as Alpha called the construct — floated closer.

Boarslayer folded her arms and humphed. “It was a stupid plan! The only reason it worked was because the Mossback got cocky. These creatures are smarter than your average spirit beast. Such a simple trap would have failed miserably if my team hadn’t already been picking off their troop members, allowing your little toys to get closer.”

“Ah! But they did get cocky, and they did fall for it. You let the troop leader escape the first time, and I’m the one who captured it in the end. I win this bet,” Antchaser countered.

Boarslayer didn’t bother to respond, only giving a tsk and turning toward the trapped Mossback. The large goblin started shouting orders as the others prepped the transport crate. The [Skyfisher] didn’t have the power to fly the creature all the way back to the village.

Antchaser sighed and shook his head.

Light laughter from behind caused the goblin to turn around.

“Under different circumstances, I would say flowers are the best way to tell a woman you’re sorry, but something tells me she’d throw you off the village wall if you tried.” A tall human woman in a snow-white coat grinned down at Antchaser.

Antchaser’s eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “What do I have to apologize for? That she-devil is just mad I beat her for once.” The goblin’s hand flexed on the hilt of his dagger as the woman drew closer. The presence of the dozen-or-so silver wasps flying around the area — along with the collar around the woman’s neck — eased a lot of Antchaser’s anxiety around the human ‘doctor,’ but she was still an Adventurer, and old habits died hard.

With a sigh, the older woman’s shoulders slumped, and she shook her head. “Men…”

‘Dr. Maria’ rolled her shoulders and smiled. “Oh well. You two have been working hard this past week. This is the last one, yes?”

Antchaser’s eyes narrowed further, but he turned away. “Yes. This is the last one, according to Mr. Alpha. Are you certain that the sedative will work? I don’t want this thing waking up in the middle of the village before we can move it to the site.”

Dr. Maria nodded. “Yes. The specimen is only early [Golden Spirit]. The sedative I provided you is strong enough to knock even a [Shackle Breaking] Cultivator out for a few hours, let alone our friend here. That said, even if it woke up, I doubt your fears will come to pass.” She turned and stared at the group of goblins as they loaded the Mossback into the transport crate.

Well, ‘crate’ might not have been the right word for it. The two-meter-tall, meter-wide glass tube strapped to the back of the large ant was filled about halfway up with a thick, clear liquid. It definitely wasn’t something you’d see on any merchant’s cart. The clear liquid filling the tube had been pre-measured based on the Mossback’s suspected mass, though more was pumped in through tubes connecting the transport crate to the ant’s abdomen, topping it off. When the crate was filled to the brim, the Mossback floating gently in the middle, the metal lid slid shut and sealed with a hiss.

Dozens of thin metal wires extended from the top and bottom of the crate and bore themselves into the creature’s flesh.

Antchaser shivered at the sight and turned away. He was never getting used to that.

Dr. Maria, in contrast, stared at the crate, unblinking. “Fascinating, Isn’t it? The gel isolates the subject from all forms of kinetic and thermal energy, while the ‘glass’ is, in fact, a type of carbon polymer capable of reforming and repairing itself in mere moments. The subjects themselves are kept alive by oxygenating their blood directly while keeping them in a type of suspended animation by reducing biological functions to near nothing. You could throw that ‘transport crate’ into the heart of an active volcano, and the subject would be perfectly unharmed. All of this done without using the tiniest bit of Spirit Energy.”

She turned back to Antchaser. Her grin stretched from ear to ear, and the look in her eyes made the goblin shiver once more.

“It makes me wonder what else this Dungeon Core you stumbled upon is capable of. And wonder who exactly created him.” As the doctor continued, her voice was filled with a trembling excitement that — not for the first time — made Antchaser wonder if she was right in the head.

Antchaser didn’t bother to respond to the doctor’s statements themselves. Even after having only worked with the woman for a little more than a week, he’d learned not to go down that rabbit hole. Instead, he asked his own question:

“So, do you think he can actually do it?”

Dr. Maria blinked, the fever in her eyes vanishing, as she straightened and looked toward the cavern ceiling, crossing her arms and placing a hand to her chin. “Strange that you, Mr. Speaker-of-the-Core —,” Antchaser blushed slightly at the unofficial title some goblins had taken to using “—would doubt our mysterious patron at this point in the game. But to answer your question, I don’t see why not. It’s not like there are any rules against it. Not that I’m aware of, that is. At the very least, the fact that the Dungeon Core can conceive of such an option suggests that its original creator never considered the possibility in the first place and thus didn’t put the proper protections in place to prevent it. Assuming it’s something they would have wanted to prevent at all.”

Antchaser turned and met the doctor’s eyes, a brow raised. “But doesn’t it seem… strange to you? That a Dungeon Core would be… creating its own Dungeon?”

Dr. Maria shrugged. “Ah! But it’s not a ‘Dungeon’ though. Remember? Just ‘the ruins of one.’ Or at least that’s the story we must weave. A subtle distinction, but an important one.”

“That’s true…” Antchaser grumbled to himself, turning away. Dungeon Ruins were valuable, true, but not to the level of an active Dungeon. It was just the right bait to tempt the Adventurers into taking their side, but not enough that the Adventurers might decide things were better off being the only hand in the honeypot.

Dr. Maria laughed. “Think of it this way. If this works, the Adventurers get their little Dungeon, while your village gets to keep control of the main one. At least until the Guild figures things out. By then, the Guild will already have a vested interest in keeping Icefinger out of your home, and your people will have accrued enough personal power and influence not to be pushed around. A good leader knows when not to mire themselves in the minor details. They can be important, but not if they distract you from the big picture.”

“I…” Antchaser sighed and nodded, “Ya… you’re right. The big picture.”

Dr. Maria grinned and patted the small goblin on the back.

“There you go. Now… we don’t have much time left before the Adventurers arrive. Let us talk about how one kills a Drake.”