Question #2
Why do monsters invade the dungeons?
Well, there can be many reasons.
Maybe they are curious.
Maybe they are looking for the food.
Or maybe they are territorial or see the dungeon as a hindrance, resulting in the monster trying to destroy the dungeon.
There are many reasons why would the random monsters wander into the dungeon.
However, this time it was just curiosity.
The rabbit monster at first stumbled into the dungeon entrance by just pure chance, but they were also wary of the unknown dungeon that had just appeared in their territory, which had made them alert.
[Current number of intruders – 4]
Thanks to the dungeon master's curiosity, it was somehow able to learn one of the dungeon functions – [Monitoring].
Simply put, the dungeon master can use this function to see what is going on inside the system, in a nutshell – Camera and monitor.
"?"
(Different….) – the dungeon master stared and realized that the beings that had invaded his dungeon.
The creatures looked around and sniffed around while the dungeon master watched their every move with curiosity.
The rabbits wandered around while making their way into the deeper parts of the dungeon…. And before long, they encountered them.
The wooden mannequin.
[Monster VS Monster]
The mannequin spotted the rabbit at the frond and swung around its arm like a club.
But the rabbit monster easily dodged to the side, before then charging forward and then stabbing the wooden creature with the rabbit horn, digging into the wooden puppet's stomach area and knocking down the puppet.
However, the wooden puppet wasn't bothered by the damage and instead started attacking the rabbit that was stuck on its belly, while the rabbit trashed around, trying to remove itself.
But then, the second and third rabbits leaped at the wooden mannequin, turning the battle into a one-sided victory for the rabbits.
"…"
Dungeon saw as one of his creatures was overpowered and destroyed by the rabbits quite easily, but it wasn't the end as several wooden mannequins appeared.
And so, the battle resumed.
The rabbit used their kicks to deal blunt damage, while also repeating the headbutt charge and also using their teeth to bite into the wood.
While on the other hand, the mannequins only did a single move – Swing around their arms like clubs.
The wooden mannequin's attacks were extremely predictable and easy to dodge for the rabbits.
However, sometimes the wall blocked the rabbit's movement, or sometimes other rabbits got in each other way, while also sometimes two mannequins did an accidental pincer attack.
The puppet attacks worked and they were dealing damage…. But not nearly enough at all.
The rabbits' attacks were doing far more damage than the puppets were doing, which was obviously noticed by the dungeon master who was observing the entire fight.
The fight went on and 2 rabbit monsters had died, while another one had its eye bashed in.
But on the other side, the mannequins were getting destroyed.
The damage sustained by the dungeon monster had even caused some of these monsters to die.
However, the rabbit then turned around and ran away.
The rabbit knew that they could win, but they were both injured and exhausted, resulting in their survival instincts kicking and causing them to retreat.
The wooden mannequins obviously couldn't catch up to the rabbits with their wobbly movement, resulting in the extremely easy escape of the rabbits that didn't even needed to run at full speed to get away.
And the dungeon master watched it all…. And though one thing.
(Stupid.)
It was just disappointed at its.
It observed each fight and spotted out differences as well as problems.
The first obvious problem was the puppet's patterns.
Swing.
That is, it.
These puppets weren't living beings.
They didn't have brains or instincts.
They were machines that couldn't develop like the dungeon master who was also a puppet, but had both mind and consciousness.
Not only that, but these puppets attacks were far too weak.
These rabbits were weak, but the puppets were even far weaker and lost when they had number advantage.
(Useless.)
These wooden mannequins were indeed the weakest possible monsters that the dungeon could produce and the dungeon master was fully aware of that.
But after witnessing how "weak" monster beat them like that, it understood that its wooden mannequins are even far weaker than I had originally though.
"…"
(Stronger?)
Dungeon master's thoughts were simple this time.
Can he make these monsters stronger or replace them with something else?
The answer was complicated.
Dungeons can produce various types of monsters as they develop and learn.
Simply put an "Monster research".
This function allows the dungeon to research and other monster variants.
They can also sometimes "influence" or "mix" something in it, depending on multiple circumstances.
Or sometimes they can run a simulation that researches the specific monster type and allows the dungeon to discover a new species of monsters.
For example, an evolved version of a monster.
[Weed Slime -> Green Slime]
Or for example, a branch evolution.
[Goblin -> Hobgoblin /OR/ Goblin Warrior]
Or it may result in the discovery of similar species.
[Rat -> New species discovered: Bunny]
But obviously, it's not all free.
The research needs DP points as a fuel in order to make it work.
There are also some other ways of conducting research or possibly gaining other ways of getting "data" to create the monster, but that will be discussed when the time comes.
But for now, the dungeon master's current situation.
[Do you wish to invest 100 DP points into the {Research - Monster: Wooden Mannequin}? The used DP points will be permanently lost.]
[You have used 100 DP points had been used.]
[Incinerating research process.]
"…"
[Process completed: Effect: No results.]
"…"
(Not enough… Use more?)
(But defenses?)
Another sign of the development of the monster mind.
Hesitation.
It wanted both things.
It wanted to have an ability to create stronger monster, but it also wanted to booster the dungeon defenses.
And this next problem caused the monster to develop even more.
It was trying to think ahead, trying to understand what would happen if it would go either with option A or with option B.
The monster "thought" about what would happened and in the end it went with the research option.
Reason?
Why make something so weak that it cannot do anything on its own?
A very simple answer that anybody can came up on its own, even an child could easily come up with this answer.
But even so, this small "hesitation" and "thinking about the future" had caused a reaction, a reaction that developed the creature's mind even more and not in just one way, but in many different ways at the same time.
Anyway, the research results.
[You are now able to create [Mannequin Human].]
A simple monster, very similar to the wooden mannequin, but their body build was somewhat different, more "human" like.
The dungeon master thought that this brand new monster would work.
It was noticeably stronger and faster.
It even had fingers and could do something "more".
…
But then disappointment came.
It died.
The dungeon master ordered its creation to fight it until death…. It wanted to see how good it was.
But results were disappointing yet again.
It was sloppy.
Its fighting style was pretty much the same as the wooden mannequin.
(It won't do.)
(This creature is disappointing as well.)
Anger and frustration.
Those were the obvious feelings that the creature had felt at the moment.
But the thing that the creature DIDN'T understand was "why"?
(Why is it the same?)
The dungeon master didn't understood what was wrong.
Why was the mannequin human so pathetic like the wooden mannequin?
(WHY?)
(WHY?!)
(It hit harder.)
(It can take more blows.)
(But, isn't it working properly?)
(Why?)
(Research? More?)
(But…. What if next…. Same problem?)
Worrying.
The creature was worried about the current situation.
Another form of the development of the mind.
If the creature were more "mindless", it would definitely think about doing research again and again… But the dungeon master understood that it may not fix the problem.
It was curious and it wanted to know WHY it wouldn't work?
"…"
(Not the same?)
One simple answer came to the dungeon master's head easily.
They are stupid.
They don't have a mind.
Yet again, a simple answer that even a child can come up with.
But now came the second question to follow up with this.
(How change?)
Is there a way to change them?
Dungeon master wanted to know if there is any possible way to change the monsters under its control, in order to make them "useful".
But it was also thinking about the dungeon and how to defend it.
(Can monsters alone be enough? Are there any other ways of defending the dungeon?)
It was thinking, asking questions, wondering, hesitating and most of all, getting curious, which had caused the creature mind to develop even further with each passing moment without the creature realizing it.
It didn't knew that it was improving its mind yet.
…
The first subject that the creature wanted to deal with was obviously the defense.
It couldn't leave the dungeon unprotected, so as much as it annoyed it, it decided to create human mannequins to defend the dungeon while also having these monsters generate miasma for the dungeon.
Next, it created the wooden mannequin and the human mannequin.
Reason?
Experiment.
It wanted to see what they can do.
What it can possibly learn that it doesn't know.
But it didn't learned much.
Simple commands worked, but only when the dungeon master gave a direct order. They couldn't do that order on their own or do the order later or anything complicated.
A disappointing result with no development.
(Damage?)
(Negative. No reaction when wild monsters destroyed it.)
(…)
"!"
The dungeon master realized that the human mannequin had fingers, exactly the same fingers as the first invaders.
It gave the mannequin the sword…. But the problem arrived.
It didn't know how to use it.
It swung it around, while it was doing its normal attack.
Disappointing result yet again, not only that, but the monster needed to receive a direct order from the dungeon master to do it as well, it couldn't do it on its own.
…
(Maybe other way around?)
The dungeon master realized that there was no way these creatures will learn, so instead he went and looked through the information that was provided with when it was born.
It was looking around, something about that can provide the dungeon master with information about its monster or anything that can change them.
"!"
And it found it.
[Monster - Appraisal]
A special function of the dungeon that allows the dungeon master to gather information about their monster.
From their special abilities, to the biological type data.
And there was something.
The monsters that were created neither possessed any form of abilities, but there was something that had caught the dungeon monster's attention.
The something it was searching for and could possibly "evolve" these useless puppets.