Symbiotic: Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Seeing the crafters and families to their homes done, Sara has time today before bedtime to do something she has been eager to do ever since she modified the settings. Run the Crystal Mines Dungeon.

She calls to Fluffy over the bond, telling the Juvenile Magma Greatworm to come to her and they can go play together in the Dungeon for a bit.

The ground trembled as Fluffy arrived in his usual “stealthy” fashion. That of a traveling quake that sent molefolk shrieking and scattering until Sara calmed them with raised hands and a laugh. “It's ok. Fluffy's friendly, I promise!” she reassured, though the sight of the massive beast bursting from the earth hardly looked it.

Fluffy bounded over, molten veins glowing faintly, tail wagging with seismic force. His thoughts tumbled into Sara’s mind in a rush of eager chatter.

Fluffy (telepathically): “Sara! Sara! Today was amazing! I played with the ticklefish, they wiggle so much! I ate Magmites, crunchy and spicy! I played tag with the Ashwing bats.And the Corelings are growing, Sara, growing! Some of them are Minor Volcanic Elementals already, they sparkle like fire!”

Sara chuckled, shaking her head at his boundless enthusiasm. “You’ve had quite the day, Fluffy. Are you ready for some more fun?”

Together, they waved farewell to Thurge and the miners, then stepped through the Dungeon Portal. The air shifted, crystalline walls shimmering as they entered the first floor.

Fluffy’s excitement was palpable, Their tail wagging so hard it echoed like a Titanic stoneshattering drumbeat against the floor. The sound seemed to summon every creature on the floor at once. Crystal Crawlers skittered from the walls, Eyebats swooped down in swarms, and Kobolds poured from hidden tunnels, snarling and brandishing crude weapons.

Sara’s Danger Sense flared, her instincts sharp. At first, she moved protectively, spear and shield ready, wary of the endless wave. But then she saw Fluffy.

The beast was in their element. They slithered across the floor with impossible speed, gulping down entire Crawler swarms by the dozen. They leapt into the air, snapping Eyebats from the sky with gleeful precision. They even dove into the solid rock itself, bursting up beneath ambushing Kobolds, scattering them like leaves in a storm.

All the while, his voice filled Sara’s mind with a constant stream of commentary:

Fluffy (telepathically): “Got one! Oh, two! Did you see that jump, Sara? I am the best jumper! Crunchy crawler snack! Surprise, Kobold! Haha, they never see me coming! Oh, that one squeaked funny when I bit it!”

It was beautiful. It was terrible. It was a massacre. But one carried out with such overeager joy that Sara found herself laughing despite the carnage.

She lowered her guard, letting Fluffy take the lead. The dungeon floor became their hunting playground, every battle a game, every foe a treat. And Sara realized that sometimes, the Valley’s greatest weapon was not her careful planning or her crafted Fungla equipment, but the sheer unstoppable enthusiasm of a creature who loved her, loved the Valley, and loved every chance to prove themselves.

And, long before Fluffy’s overeager battle commentary was done, they stood at the drop to the Second Floor, and Sara scanned the condensed System Notifications before pushing forward.

*DING* [Your party has killed a Crystal Crawler Swarm x20]

*DING* [Your party has killed a Eyebat x20]

*DING* [Your party has killed a Kobold x40]

8000 Experience being divided evenly among your party.

Error: Party size (5502) exceeds limit. Negligible experience gained.

[Current Experience to next level: 1129.11of 2000]

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The descent into the second floor of the Crystal Mines was immediate and suffocating. The wide open main mine shaft was quickly replaced with tunnels narrowed, twisting like veins of stone, their walls shimmering faintly with embedded crystals that pulsed with hostile energy. Sara’s Danger Sense prickled, and she knew this floor would test them in ways the first had not.

The first wave came fast. Wraithlings, their shadowy forms slipping through the walls, shrieking with spectral hunger as they chipped away at one’s Soul. Behind them, Mindspinners scuttled across the ceiling, their psychic threads weaving illusions meant to confuse and ensnare as they entrapped Minds.

Sara raised her hand, Infectious Cloud blooming around her like a living storm. The air thickened, spores latching onto the Wraithlings, unraveling their incorporeal forms with corrosive energy. Fluffy surged forward, their molten body glowing brighter, tail wagging with seismic force as theyslammed into the Mindspinners, scattering them like brittle shells.

Together, they became something terrifying. Fluffy was the anchor. An indestructible, unstoppable force, a shield and battering ram in one. They dove into walls, burst from the floor, and swallowed enemies whole, giggling playful laughter at odds with their path of destruction echoing in Sara’s mind. Sara was the dagger, or to be more accurate, the Spear. Precise, surgical, her ranged strikes and Infectious Cloud controlling the area around them, easily cutting down anything that lingered too long against Fluffy’s raw power. Her spores filled the tunnels, choking illusions, unraveling psychic webs, and turning the battlefield into her domain.

The synergy was seamless. When Wraithlings tried to swarm Fluffy, Sara’s spores weakened them, making them easy prey. When Mindspinners tried to ensnare Sara, Fluffy barreled through the threads, shattering their concentration. It was a dance of destruction, beautiful and terrible, their combined adaptability overwhelming every foe.

The tunnels grew tighter, the air heavier. Sara slowed, her hand brushing the stone wall, feeling the vibrations of large movements ahead. She knew what came next.

The Greatworms.

Her heart tightened as she glanced at Fluffy. He was still young. A Juvenile Magma Greatworm, exuberant and eager, his power immense but not yet tempered. How would they react when faced with the towering bulk of theiradult kin? Would they see them as Family? Rivals? As threats? Or as something more?

She crouched, resting a hand against his molten scales. “Fluffy,” she said softly, her voice steady despite the echoing tunnels. “Ahead are Greatworms. Adults. Stronger, older, wiser. You’ll meet them for the first time here. They may look like you, or at leasts similar to you. But they are not.”

Fluffy’s thoughts tumbled into her mind, bright and eager.

Fluffy (telepathically): “Greatworms? Like me? Bigger? Stronger? Oh Sara, I want to meet them! I want to show them how strong I am! I want them to see I can protect you too!”

Sara smiled faintly, though concern lingered in her eyes as Fluffy’s tail thumped against the stone, molten sparks scattering.

Fluffy (telepathically): “I will be good, Sara. I will be strong. I will be your best boy. But if they try to hurt you… I will show them my teeth.”

Sara exhaled, her hand lingering on his scales. The tunnels ahead rumbled faintly, the telltale sign of massive bodies shifting in the stone. The adults were near.

She straightened, her resolve firm. “Then forward, Fluffy. Together.”

The second floor awaited, its guardians stirring. And Sara knew the next battle would not just test their strength. It would test Fluffy’s heart.

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The twisting claustrophobic tunnels widened into a cavern vast enough to swallow village square. Crystals jutted from the walls like jagged teeth, their glow casting eerie shadows across the stone. And there, coiled in the center, was the Adult Greatworm. Five times Fluffy’s already immense size, and a hundred times angrier, its molten veins pulsing with primal fury. The cavern trembled with its presence, the apex predator of these depths.

Fluffy froze, his tail wagging uncertainly, excitement radiating from him.

Fluffy (telepathically): “Sara! Look! It’s like me! Bigger! Stronger! I want to talk to it! I want to play! Hi Greatworm. I'm Fluffy. I'm a Greatworm too, but I'm... Hey!”

Before Sara could caution them again, Fluffy slithered forward, chirping and rumbling, trying to communicate, trying to befriend. They darted left and right, playful, eager. But the Adult Greatworm’s eyes burned with mindless hostility. It ignored every attempt, every wag of Fluffy’s tail, every hopeful sound. With a roar that shook the cavern, it lunged.

At first, Fluffy dodged, confused. He coiled defensively, his molten body glowing brighter as he tried to understand. Why won’t it play? Why won’t it listen? Fluffy continued to try to talk to it. To try to turn it’s enraged lunges into a game. Tried, so hard, to make the encounter more than it could be.

Then the Greatworm made its fatal mistake.

It lunged not at Fluffy, but at Sara. Its massive body slammed down where she had stood moments earlier, the stone floor cracking beneath the impact. Dust and shards flew, the cavern echoing with violence.

Fluffy’s mind snapped.

Fluffy (telepathically, enraged): “NO! You don’t hurt Sara! You don’t touch her! You! Don’t! Touch. Sara!”

Fluffy became a missile of molten vengeance. Their coils slammed into the Adult Greatworm, slamming its body against the cavern walls. Their jaws tore into its flesh, magma pouring into wounds that pierced nearly through its colossal frame. They dove, struck, and bit again, each attack fueled by blind fury. The cavern shook with the devastation, the apex predator reduced to a broken, near death husk.

Sara reached out telepathically, desperate to calm them down, frightened by this other side of Fluffy breaking free and straining their Bond. Fluffy, I’m safe! I’m here! But her words couldn’t reach him through the storm of rage.

Finally, as the Adult Greatworm lay shattered by Fluffy’s relentless assault, Sara stepped forward. With a steady hand, she drove her spear downward, ending its life. The cavern fell silent.

Fluffy slithered to her side, their coils wrapping around her protectively. For the first time since their Soulbond, Sara felt it. The raw, aching turmoil of a Sad Fluffy. His grief and confusion pressed against her heart, heavy and overwhelming. It nearly broke her.

She rested her hand against their molten scales, her voice soft. “We can leave, Fluffy. We don’t have to finish the dungeon. We’ve proven enough.”

But Fluffy’s thoughts came back, firm and resolute despite the sadness.

Fluffy (telepathically): “No, Sara. Good Magma Greatworms deserve to be here. Bad Greatworms do not. I will show them. I will make this place safe for us. For you. For the valley. I will show them All what happens when they threaten my family!”

Sara closed her eyes, her chest tight. Fluffy was her fire and stone Furball. Was still her best boy. Loyal, fierce, & unstoppable. But now she understood the weight of their wide open heart, the innocence that had been wounded by betrayal.

She tightened her grip on her spear, nodding as she patted his heavy scales. “Then we go on. Together, Fluffy. Always.”

The cavern echoed with silence, the fallen apex lying broken. And in that silence, Sara and Fluffy pressed forward.

*DING* [Your party has killed a Apex Greatworm]

500 Experience being divided evenly among your party.

Error: Party size (5502) exceeds limit. Negligible experience gained.

[Current Experience to next level: 1129.21 of 2000]

<>

The second floor had become a graveyard of titans. One by one, the Adult Greatworms had fallen before Sara and Fluffy’s combined fury.

The first three battles blurred together in a rhythm of destruction. Each time a Greatworm lunged from the walls or floor, Fluffy met them with molten coils and snapping jaws, while Sara’s spores and spear carved through their defenses. Wounds came, a gash across Sara’s arm, a cracked plate along Fluffy’s flank, crushed bruises to them both, but her Repair Self and Repair Other closed them as quickly as they appeared. The bodies of the fallen dissolved into her spores, keeping her strength topped, while Fluffy grew ever more relentless.

Then came the final cavern. Two Greatworms at once, their massive bodies weaving together in a storm of stone and fire. The ground shook, crystals shattered, and the air burned with their fury. But Fluffy was unstoppable now. They slammed one into the wall, bit through the other’s coils, and poured molten fire into both until the cavern echoed with their death cries. Sara struck with precision, her spear ending what Fluffy had already broken.

Silence fell. Dust drifted. The apex predators lay shattered.

Fluffy coiled around Sara, their molten body trembling faintly. Their telepathic voice was softer than usual, uncertain.

Fluffy (telepathically): “Sara… I don’t feel good. Not hungry. What is not hungry called? Full? Fluffy is Full. Too full.”

Sara froze, her heart tightening. She had never heard those words from them before. Fluffy had always been boundless appetite, endless joy, eager to consume and play. But now, after four Greatworms, their voice carried confusion, even discomfort.

She rested her hand against their scales, feeling the heat beneath. “Yes, Fluffy. That’s called full. You’ve eaten too much.”

Fluffy’s tail thumped weakly against the stone, not in joy but in restless unease.

Fluffy (telepathically): “Too full. Don’t like it. Not hungry. Not happy. Bad Greatworms gone. Good Greatworms should stay. But these were bad. They hurt. They tried to hurt you. They don’t belong here.”

Sara’s chest ached at the innocence in their words, the way they tried to make sense of what had happened. She stroked their scales gently, whispering, “We can rest here a bit, Fluffy. Take a well deserved beak. We don’t have to press on.”

But Fluffy’s coils tightened protectively around her, their voice firm despite the sadness.

Fluffy (telepathically): “Yes. Rest. Rest good. I don’t like Full, Sara. How do I make 'Full' stop?”

Sara closed her eyes, her heart breaking at the turmoil she felt through their Soulbond. Fluffy wasn’t just uncomfortable, they were hurting. The confusion of a body, for the first time ever, not being up to a challenge. Fluffy was hurting from the inside, and did not know why.

She tightened her grip on her spear, leaning against their coils. “We rest here, Fluffy. I’ll watch. You rest. Then we go on. Together.”

The cavern was silent, the fallen titans cooling in the dust. And in that silence, Sara rubbed a stone plated belly and wished she knew what to do.

*DING* [Your party has killed a Mindspinner x15]

*DING* [Your party has killed a Wraithling x15]

*DING* [Your party has killed a Apex Greatworm x4]

14000 Experience being divided evenly among your party.

Error: Party size (5502) exceeds limit. Negligible experience gained.

[Current Experience to next level: 1131.65 of 2000]

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