# The First Spawns

Fifteen Dungeon Points. It felt like an incredibly low number, especially considering the fact that I had just barely survived an encounter with an overgrown, armored insect that wanted to use my core as a chew toy. But I wasn't complaining. It was better than zero, and it was capital. Like any good logistics or business planner, I knew that initial capital was the hardest to acquire but the most important for exponential growth.

I opened my system interface again, a sleek blue rectangle hovering in the corner of my omnidirectional vision.

**[DUNGEON POINTS (DP): 15]**

I mentally selected the **[MANAGEMENT]** tab, and a series of sub-menus unfolded, presenting me with options for survival.

**[EXCAVATION: 1 DP per 5 cubic feet of basic stone.]** **[SPAWNERS: Create monsters to defend your domain. Cost varies by tier and complexity.]** **[TRAPS: Install automated hazards. Basic Spike Trap (5 DP). Basic Pitfall (3 DP).]** **[UTILITIES: Room enhancements, lighting, ambient mana collectors.]**

I needed defenders. The stalactite trick had worked once, but it cost me all of my limited, naturally regenerating mana. If another centipede crawled down that tunnel right now, I'd have no defense other than harsh language—which, lacking vocal cords, I couldn't even utilize.

I opened the **[SPAWNERS]** tab.

There were only three options available to me at Tier 1, all of them depressingly weak.

* **[Slime Spawner]**: 5 DP. Spawns 1 Basic Slime every 12 hours. Max 5 active slimes. Attributes: High physical resistance, extreme vulnerability to elemental damage. Attack: Acidic touch. * **[Rat Spawner]**: 5 DP. Spawns 1 Cave Rat every 8 hours. Max 10 active rats. Attributes: Fast, fragile. Attack: Bite (low damage, chance of infection). * **[Skeleton Spawner]**: 10 DP. Spawns 1 Basic Skeleton every 24 hours. Max 3 active skeletons. Attributes: Unfeeling, never tires, moderate durability against piercing weapons, vulnerable to crushing. Attack: Rusty Sword (moderate damage).

It wasn't exactly a stellar lineup. Slimes were essentially moving hazard puddles, rats were cannon fodder for anything larger than a cat, and skeletons were incredibly slow to replace. However, the skeleton's lack of biological needs—no sleep, no food, no morale to break—made it the most reliable stationary guard.

Before I made a purchase, a blinking icon caught my attention. It was the **[BIOMASS ASSIMILATED]** notification from the centipede I had killed. I focused on it.

**[Unlocked Biomass: Basic Chitin Plating]** *Description: Dense, naturally forming armor derived from subterranean insects. Can be applied to spawned creatures during the creation process for an additional DP cost.*

My non-existent eyes widened. *I can modify the spawns?*

I returned to the skeleton spawner screen. There was a small, previously unnoticed **[MODIFY]** button next to the purchase option. I mentally pressed it. A wireframe holographic projection of a standard, fragile human skeleton appeared, holding a rusted, chipped iron sword.

A list of available modifications popped up next to it. Currently, it only held one item: **[Basic Chitin Plating (Cost: +2 DP per spawn)]**.

I selected the plating. The wireframe skeleton underwent a rapid transformation. Thick, rusted-iron-colored armor plates, identical to the shell of the centipede I had crushed, materialized over the skeleton's ribcage, shoulders, and forearms. It no longer looked like an undead joke from a low-budget fantasy game; it looked like a heavily armored, genuinely intimidating heavy infantry unit.

The total cost, however, updated at the bottom. **[Chitin-Armored Skeleton Spawner: 15 DP base. 1 spawn every 24 hours. Max 3 active units.]**

If I bought it, I'd have exactly zero points left. I couldn't afford excavation to increase my room size, nor could I afford traps. It was a massive gamble. Put all my capital into a single, high-quality asset, or diversify into cheaper, weaker units?

"Quality over quantity," I muttered mentally. A bunch of rats getting slaughtered wouldn't stop a serious threat. A heavily armored skeleton holding a choke point in my single tunnel entrance? That might actually buy me time.

I confirmed the purchase.

**[15 DP Deducted. Constructing Spawner...]**

The mana in the room swirled violently. A few feet in front of my pedestal, directly between me and the dark tunnel, the raw stone floor began to warp and bubble. It rose upward, twisting and grinding until it formed a rough, irregular pedestal of its own, stained with dark, dried blood. A faint, sickeningly green light pulsed deep within the cracked stone.

A progress bar appeared above it: **[Incubating Unit: 99%... 100%!]**

With a sound like tearing parchment, a skeletal hand burst from the top of the stone pedestal, the bone thick and slightly discolored. A moment later, the creature hauled itself out of the magical womb.

It stood nearly six feet tall. The bones were thick and robust, not the fragile splinters I had imagined. But the most striking feature was the armor. Thick, segmented plates of dark chitin covered its vital areas—a makeshift cuirass protecting the ribcage, heavy pauldrons guarding the shoulders, and bracers shielding the forearms. It gripped a rusted iron short sword in its right hand, the blade notched but perfectly serviceable for hacking.

Two hollow eye sockets turned toward me, glowing with tiny, pinprick points of baleful green light.

I felt a sudden, profound connection click into place in my mind—a literal, telepathic tether linking my awareness to the creature. It wasn't just a guard; it was an extension of my will.

I didn't need to speak. I pushed a mental command down the tether: *[Move to the tunnel entrance. Hold position. Engage any hostile entity that enters.]*

The skeleton didn't hesitate, didn't question, and didn't complain. It simply turned with a heavy clatter of bone and chitin, marching the few paces to the narrow choke point where the dark tunnel widened into my cavern. It slammed the rusted sword against its chitin chest plate once in a bizarre mimicry of a salute, then stood perfectly still, a silent, unbreathing sentinel staring into the obsidian depths.

I felt a wave of relief wash over my core. I was no longer completely defenseless. I had a unit. I had an army of one.

**[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Achievement Unlocked: First Spawn]** **[Reward: +5 DP, +5 Max Mana Capacity]**

My core flared with a brilliant, joyful purple light. Five DP! The system was actually rewarding me for playing the game. And more importantly, my mana capacity had increased to 15, meaning I could pull off larger telekinetic stunts if absolutely necessary.

I immediately opened the **[EXCAVATION]** tab. My cavern was too small. If multiple enemies rushed the tunnel, they would overwhelm the skeleton through sheer weight of numbers and spill into the room, surrounding my core. I needed to control the geometry of the battlefield. That was the essence of strategy.

I visualized the space. The tunnel led straight into my circular room. I needed to create a bottleneck, a kill zone where my single heavily armored unit could fight one enemy at a time, preventing them from utilizing any numerical advantage.

Using my mental cursor, I highlighted the walls immediately flanking the tunnel entrance. I selected a jagged, serrated excavation pattern. I wanted to narrow the opening even further, creating a tight "V" shape leading into the room, forcing anything entering to squeeze through a space barely wide enough for one creature.

**[EXCAVATING... Cost: 3 DP]**

The stone silently dissolved into grey mist, reshaping itself according to my will. It was mesmerizing to watch solid basalt flow like water, solidifying a moment later into the exact, tactical shape I had demanded.

I looked at my handiwork. The entrance was now a perfect defensive choke point. The skeleton stood right at the apex of the "V." Any attacker would have to face it head-on, unable to flank.

Next, I looked at the floor of the choke point. I had 2 DP left. Not enough for a spawner, not enough for a serious trap. But maybe...

I opened the **[TRAPS/HAZARDS]** tab.

There, at the very bottom, was the cheapest option available. **[Minor Caltrops (1 DP per 5 sq ft): Jagged, upward-facing stone spikes integrated into the floor. Slows movement and causes minor damage to unarmored feet.]**

I spent my remaining 2 DP to coat the five feet of tunnel immediately in front of the skeleton with the stone caltrops. The floor rippled, and dozens of sharp, cruel stone spikes emerged, perfectly positioned to tear into the soft underbelly or unprotected feet of whatever charged my guard.

**[DP: 0]**

I was broke again, but my single-room dungeon was no longer a helpless sitting duck. It was a fortress. A very small, very primitive fortress, but a fortress nonetheless.

I settled back into a steady rhythm of absorbing the ambient mana, pulling in the microscopic, silvery threads of energy that floated in the dark air. It was a slow, agonizingly boring process. One point every twenty-four hours.

Time moved differently down here. With no sun, no hunger, and no biological fatigue, I had no reference points. I simply existed in a state of hyper-awareness, my vision constantly scanning the dark tunnel, my mental tether constantly checking the status of my silent, armored sentinel.

Hours passed. Or maybe days. The silence was absolute.

I was beginning to wonder if the centipede had been a fluke, a lost wanderer, and I was doomed to spend the rest of eternity staring at a skeleton in a dark cave.

But then, the tether vibrated.

It wasn't a warning from the system; it was a sudden spike of aggression transmitted down the psychic link from the skeleton. Its green eye-lights flared violently. It tightened its grip on the rusted sword, raising it into a defensive guard.

I projected my awareness down the tunnel, straining to see beyond the edge of my domain.

I heard it before I saw it. It wasn't the clicking of a lone insect. It was a cacophony of scratching, skittering, and hissing. It sounded like a wave of moving armor plates grinding against the stone.

Dozens of red, glowing eyes pierced the darkness, rushing down the tunnel toward my room.

It wasn't a single wanderer. It was a swarm. And they were moving incredibly fast.

*Brace yourself,* I pushed the command down the tether, feeling a cold, non-existent sweat break out across my core. *Hold the line. Do not let them pass.*

The Abyssal Depths were coming to test my fortress. And the real game was about to begin.