That wasn’t even accounting for the mouth, which Keaton got a look at when one yawned. Two sharp incisors dwarfed pebble-like teeth that had been worn smooth.
They were by far the strangest creatures Keaton had ever seen, but apparently, they worked for him now.
“Wake them up,” he told the crystal, hoping Anima would understand.
One of the drones hissed, a long, forked tongue snaking out from behind its teeth. It roused the others with a violent shake, claws seeming to deliberately pierce flesh. There was screeching and chittering before all four drones clawed their way through solid rock, digging straight up through the earth.
Distantly, he heard something erupting near his feet. Keaton forcibly pulled his consciousness back, mind reeling as he was separated from his link to the crystal. He reached for his dagger, preparing for the worst, but saw those strange shovel-claws burst through the floor, digging in to provide leverage for the drone. Three others followed swiftly behind, and the first — slightly larger than the rest, and with shinier horns that he now noticed were encrusted with black crystals — approached, bowing before him.
“Uh, that’s… not necessary,” he said, looking down at the drone.
Two deep-set, inky black eyes peered up at him, unblinking. He wasn’t even sure the creature had eyelids, a fact Keaton found more unsettling than any other feature.
It chittered in response, those long teeth gnashing downward. He couldn’t understand the creature and didn’t know if he was meant to, but it gestured to the other drones and looked up at him expectantly.
“You’re… waiting for my orders?” It nodded. “Got it. Okay, I order you to…”
Shit. What was on that list again? Building sounded most useful, but Keaton had no idea what to build for a functional dungeon. Same problem with crafting.
“You know what you’re supposed to be doing, right? Probably better than me.”
Excited chittering answered him, those black eyes flashing with a spark of red. That didn’t seem like the safest thing, but he shouldn’t judge these creatures based on one meeting. For all he knew that expression was completely normal.
“Do that, then. Whatever you think will be most useful for the dungeon right now. Maybe find things we can use, too. I’ll… check in with you in a bit.”
The lead drone saluted, then elbowed the one behind it, who also followed suit. Eventually he was being saluted by all four drones, and Keaton awkwardly mirrored the gesture.
All this formality. I’m not some king or even a general. I’m just—
A dungeon lord. Maybe that was a type of nobility to creatures like these. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but so long as they did their jobs, he wouldn’t ask questions.
All four of them dropped down to four legs and scampered away, skittering across the floor in a way that reminded Keaton of some kind of insect. He shuddered visibly, but returned to the crystal, letting his consciousness pull back into it so he could communicate with its Anima once more.
He was able to watch the drones progress through the map. They showed as little red dots, and wherever they went, that gray haze slowly retreated. Occasionally, he received messages that made their progress even more clear.
A new chamber has been excavated.
A chamber has been expanded.
A new tunnel has been created.
Apparently what he’d needed to do was instruct them to excavate first. It was fortunate they knew what they were doing, though Keaton still wondered why anything needed to be excavated in the first place. When he wasn’t focused on the crystal, he was able to see the two tunnels that connected to this chamber. They were clear and open without needing to be carved by the drones.
It was something he’d have to research more, but for now Keaton watched his dungeon grow right before his eyes, the strides his drones were making indicated by his link with the crystal’s Anima.
Dungeon Size: 12/100
Dungeon Size: 27/100
Dungeon Size: 33/100
Progress. To what end, he wasn’t yet sure, but it made him feel like he was actually accomplishing something. For a time, Keaton just watched the drones work from the Crystal Chamber, then decided staring at a representation of the work being done was a little boring. Probably not comparable to the real thing, either.
Tying his dagger up in the hem of his shirt (he really needed to find some equipment… this was ridiculous), Keaton made his way down the hall, immediately noticing the difference from what he’d been able to see. It was well lit, for one thing, with sconces lining the walls at equal intervals. The natural stone was replaced with something that looked like it had been crafted in a stonemason’s workshop, and he lifted a hand to touch the smooth surface, his mouth hanging open.
“How in the hell…?”
There was no way those drones had made this. They didn’t have tools, or the materials required for refining stone, let alone making sconces and lighting them so they burned steadily. It was strange enough that Keaton just kept staring at one section of the wall, testing it with his hand to see if it might pass through.
He was gifted bruised fingers for his trouble, his hand connecting with solid stone each time.
This is insane… What else have you lot been up to?
Excitement thrummed through his veins. He’d been intrigued by the prospect of building his own dungeon, but just assumed it would look like a cave until he was able to process better materials. That was the way it worked out in the world, right? Thousands of years ago, his ancestors lived in caves like these so they could be close to the sources of Anima that pulsed through the earth. Gradually they’d expanded above ground, finding ways to channel Anima upward, but their first settlements had been little more than above-ground caves. Over time they’d expanded, learned new things, and now massive cities of the sturdiest stone and metal towered above the earth, asserting dominance over the land.
Maybe he could do the same thing. It was a lofty goal, as he was just one man, but the crystal had mentioned minions and lieutenants…
Moving on from the wall, Keaton ducked his head into one of the rooms and found it in a similar state. The walls were clad in smooth stonework, sconces spaced evenly to fill the room with warm, flickering light. There was nothing in it presently, except one sparkling gem in the far corner, its surface shimmering a blue-gray color.
He approached it warily, reaching out for it with his gauntlet. Probably not the wisest idea, but he couldn’t control the compulsion. If it was harmful to him, hopefully the gauntlet would protect him from being immediately killed.
The item didn’t kill him, though. He plucked it from the ground and held it in his palm, only for words to appear before his eyes, scrawled out in the same text Anima used to communicate the features of his dungeon.
Source of Anima: Stone – This fragment of Anima represents the structural components and necessary building blocks of a specific form of matter. Those with advanced abilities in Anima manipulation may crush the crystal to draw the Anima into their body and learn the knowledge it contains.
Keaton didn’t hesitate. He crushed the little crystal easily, the glass-like surface shattering with ease. The moment he did, a glowing light rose from it, transferring into him and filling his head with a sudden warmth, then a shock of pain. A splitting headache carved a space for itself behind his eyes, pounding so violently he felt a wave of nausea roil through him.