Just as I promised Dungeon Master 03, one thing I did almost immediately after making my visit to Dungeon Master 06 was to gather all Dungeon Masters for a discussion.
Speaking of Dungeon Master 06, with his enthusiastic behavior displayed, it was very obvious that he was doing very well, with the subcategory he took over, “Forest Creatures”.
On top of having acquired many spawns of the forest creatures category, he'd already obtained a Guardian, a creature called Verdant Grove. While it lacked physical combat capability, it could be considered a vegan version of the Necrotic Overlord, my Dungeon guardian. In other words, a spawn that was natively bearing a title.
In the wake of a loud, curse-heavy exchange, followed by a tense and awkward, also curse-heavy negotiation that ended up in a consensus, Dungeon Master 03's request was granted. But under the lone condition that the others would also be given the same privilege which is to deal with a "batch" of invaders and harvest G.P for themselves under the same benefits of the "sacred ratio."
As per the consensus, each Dungeon Master would have the opportunity for a shot, and together we would all see how each Dungeon Master and their domain would fare. After all, one was never too sure about the level of the next invader, so in case it was something that the said-Dungeon Master's domain couldn't handle, the control would be returned to the strongest one, namely the Undead Domain, so that “it” could deal with the said-invasion. With that established, all that was left for us to do was wait for the next batch of invaders, which we knew would be arriving soon.
Ironically, the one to establish his domain first wasn't Dungeon Master 03, even though he was the one who had made the suggestion. Instead, it was Dungeon Master 06 who got the first shot. Dungeon Master 03 wasn't quite ready yet, as he had not acquired a Domain Guardian, while Dungeon Master 06 was already prepared with his spawns and Domain Guardian, ready to "tear things up."So we waited, and by "we," I meant Dungeon Master 06 and myself, as the others were all focused on their respective domains, eagerly awaiting the chance to handle the next batch of invaders. The anticipation was palpable as we waited, and eventually, something happened. Yes, something—not an invasion, but something. I wouldn't call it an invasion, for the simple reason that calling it that will be a stretch because for one, we didn't even receive the usual notification. Instead, what appeared on our interfaces was just a dot, one that, had it not been for Dungeon Master 06 and I being so bored waiting for invaders that we began skimming through our joint interface, we might have completely missed it for only god knows how long.
The dot was unlike anything I had seen before. Normally, there were two dots that appeared on the map: blue representing my spawns and red representing invaders. Just these two, and nothing else. But at that moment, a white dot was there in the middle of Dungeon Master 06 Domain. It wasn't like the usual dot. If it was any other color other than white, it was a subtle shade of grey, and it was moving within my domain, or more precisely, within Dungeon Master 06's domain.
Confusion ensued as Dungeon Master 06 and I tried to figure out what this apparent, non-invader visitor was. It took us clicking on that singular white dot to unveil the mystery.
"Whut?!"
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Naked mole-rat
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"Naked mole-rat, huh? Funny name. And an even funnier appearance, that’s for sure.
As Dungeon Master 06 and I clicked on the white dot, the interface revealed a strange creature. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to tell whether it was a monster from this world or just a regular animal. Something about it felt too ordinary but paradoxically also felt too alien.
One can imagine how fast I sent an invitation to the other Dungeon Masters to check out our bizarre discovery. Their reactions? Pretty much the same as ours. I’d never had animals in my domain before, so it was a shock when, out of nowhere, one just… appeared."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The way the interface displayed the "Naked mole-rat" itself was very different from how it does with my spawns and the invaders. There was this simple option of "harvest," which, in spite of how low-value it was, we were tempted to try to click, for science's sake. After all, there was no doubt that that creature was still alive, and there was already the option to harvest.
Naturally, with all the questions we still had pending, we didn't click on that thing. Instead, we chose to click on "ignore." While none of us were sure what it actually did, we unequivocally had the feeling that this was an option of the same kind as that of the "aggroing" that could be put on invaders. But this time, perhaps, it would allow the animal to be ignored, or that's what we assumed. And fairly enough, we were right. Well, perhaps not "right" as in absolutely correct, but there was nothing that came around to disprove what we believed could be the truth.
***
The Dungeon Masters and I watched with interest as the white dot representing our "Naked mole-rat" casually roamed Dungeon Master 06's domain, passing by his spawns without being torn apart like any invader would be in my domain. It seemed almost comical. As interesting as it was to see our guest hop or crawl around, soon came the time when we, as Dungeon Masters collectively, began to ask ourselves questions of how and why? Those were reasonable questions to ask oneself. We had never seen such a creature enter our domains before; we've only ever had invaders, humans, so why now?
Two main theories circulated among us. The first was that it was a new addition, much like the "Mechanical Construct" section of the interface, which had continuously expanded over time with various options from different sections and a few original mechanical designs. We accepted the fact that the system, the entire interface, was updating, even though the "how exactly" part of it was still a mystery to us. We felt that this could be the answer as to why there was a "Naked mole-rat" in Dungeon Master 06's domain.
The second theory revolved around Dungeon Master 06 himself, or more precisely, his domain. Even though we didn't have much ground to stand on for this theory, his domain was centered around forest creatures, boasting spawns and a proper guardian of that category. As a Guardian-owning Dungeon Master, I knew that the Guardian provided a boost in both offense and defense to my spawns, but that was just what it looked like in the interface.
In the real, tangible world, the boon granted by a Guardian’s existence took shape as a biome specifically tailored to it, to the Guardian itself. Any spawn belonging to the same category as the Guardian would benefit from the biome’s enhancements.
In Dungeon Master 06’s case, his domain revolved around forest creatures, so we speculated, no, we were certain, that his domain boasted a lush environment, a biome suited for spawning or, at the very least, attracting creatures like the Naked Mole-rat. This theory, combined with our initial one, made perfect sense to us.
However, just as we were considering other possibilities, before we could settle on another equally satisfying theory, one of us spotted something on the interface.
"A second Naked Mole-rat!?"
***
Not long after the second Naked mole rat dropped off, a third one promptly followed, and another appeared the moment we looked away. At exactly five Naked mole rats, we collectively agreed to do some experimention.
The first thing we did was flag half of them with the "ignore" option, leaving the other half as they were. With that done, we observed the difference regarding how they were perceived by the spawns and the domain itself. The result: nothing much changed. Both the marked ones and those that weren't were ignored. Having established this, I proceeded to the main part of the experiment, manifesting my domain, the undead domain, as the main domain, taking over the place that was occupied by Dungeon Master 06's domain. The Naked mole rats were transported to my domain, and the moment they arrived, I was confronted with an outcome completely different from the one in Dungeon Master 06's domain.
The moment they were transported to my domain, half of the Naked mole rats, the ones I hadn't flagged to be ignored, were instantly attacked by the spawns in the vicinity without me doing anything. They weren't even flagged as invaders, yet the spawns instantly aggroed them. Needless to say, they simply stood no chance. From that alone, we were able to figure out the difference in behavior between Undead and Forest Creatures. The mole rats I had flagged as "ignored" were, on the other hand, just like in Dungeon Master 06's domain, ignored by my spawns. However, while they were ignored, we all soon noticed that they died too. The Naked mole rats flagged as "ignored" all died.
This discovery left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, it added a layer of understanding to the dynamics of our domains, but on the other, it highlighted the limitations and peculiarities of each of our respective domains.
The longer I lingered on what I just witnessed, the more I felt a tinge of regret for causing the demise of the Naked Mole rats. We should've tried what we did with the other dungeon Masters first, instead of starting with mine. My domain was dominated by undead beings, so, while I had no means of knowing, I should have foreseen it.
"Shame," I muttered to myself.
"Truly a shame," echoed the sentiments of the other dungeon Masters.
"I want to try sending these creatures into each of your domains to figure out something. Do you guys think another batch of them will pop up if I give control to Dungeon Master 06?" I asked.
"That's possible," came one response.
"We don't know for sure," chimed another.
"We don't know for sure, but you're giving me control regardless. I've yet to get the batch of invaders promised to me," a voice chimed in, obviously that of Dungeon Master 06, who was set on harvesting those G.P himself.
"You've changed, Dungeon Master 06. You've let greed change you," remarked one of us.
"Aye," Dungeon Master 06 unapologetically admitted, for he was right, he was the one whose control of the domain should be returned to. So we did, not knowing that it would change almost everything.
