The very first thing that Adam created was a dung beetle. It was tiny, and it kept trying to find something to push, but, apart from the fertilizer that Constantine brought in from the market, there really was nothing much for it to move.
Adam watched, transfixed, as the beetles moved their dung piles around and found nooks in which to go and place them in. The Naga dungeon core had twenty bugs, for he had only one hundred mana.
The way a dungeon core got more mana was simple, really. Things, living creatures and not plants, had to die in the dungeon. So, for fifteen years, Adam had had only his starting pool to work with.
But now, Adam was determined. Still, he didn't want his beetles to die so soon. He needed one that could transport a lot more fertilizer around. Constantine's eyes found Adam's line of sight, and the necromancer chuckled.
"Feeling good about your pets?" Adam turned to look at his protector and crossed his hands over his chest.
"They are my mobs, not my pets," Adam received another chuckle.
"Call them what you will, but they are diligent workers, are they not?" Adam nodded. His beetles had made the fertilizer pile much smaller. Granted, the pile had been the content of just one sack.
"They will live inside the fertilizer. Breed in it, eat it," Adam said with a determined expression on his face. "And then they will die, and I will get more mana. For how long do dung beetles live for?"
"Three years," Constantine supplied, and Adam wilted. "But, if you get them a natural predator here, they will die much sooner."
"Maybe I can get some birds in here? Then, they will be able to spread seeds," Constantine saw one flaw in Adam's logic.
"You don't have fruit trees in here. Look, it is better if you tweak with the nature of the beetles themselves. Have them fight against each other. That way, you will get more mana faster," Adam nodded, and he pulled out his menu.
Status of mobs: Peaceful.
Adam changed it to violent and watched as the beetles got out of their holes. Forgetting all about the fertilizer balls. Adam watched, transfixed, as the beetles got on their back legs and began pushing each other. This was the first time the young Naga had ever seen violence.
He wasn't quite sure how, but the beetles didn't pull their punches. Legs were torn off, underbellies were gored. By the end, only one beetle remained. It turned and looked at Adam and then to Constantine. With quick steps, the beetle charged at Constantine. The necromancer bent down and scooped it up.
The beetle struggled, it tried to poke Constantine's hand with its horns, but Constantine just laughed.
"How much mana do you have now?" Adam excitedly checked and was disappointed when he saw:
Mana Pool: 101/101.
"All that carnage and I just got a single mana point?" Adam sighed and changed the status of the mobs to peaceful again. Constantine set the last beetle down, and it scurried off past the carnage and into a nook.
"Well, you are lucky you even got a single point," Constantine placed an arm around Adam's shoulders and sighed. "Your first dungeon battle. And your champion is a beetle."
They shared a laugh and Adam leaned into Constantine.
"Maybe bring me something more useful next time? Like a snake?" Constantine nodded. Yes, snakes, especially poisonous ones, would fit a herbal dungeon much better than beetles.
"Will do. Anyway, I was thinking, are the mandrakes ready?" Adam sighed. Constantine always wanted more mandrakes.
"I am running low. If I give them to you, I won't have any bulbs to replant," Adam told him.
Constantine sighed. Here went his plan to make a fear potion with which he could sprinkle the entrance.
"Surely, you must have something I can use. How about some purple caps?" Adam nodded. He had plenty of those left.
"I will go get them for you. Will you be making a frenzy potion with them again?" Constantine cocked an eyebrow. He had never told Adam what types of potions he made.
"Sure. Do you need some?"
Adam could make the beetles rampage at the drop of a hat, but maybe he wanted just some of them to rampage and the rest to band together?
"I was thinking, maybe you should remove the barrier on the entrance," Adam suggested.
Constantine began shaking his head.
"You need all the protection you can get," the necromancer argued. He still remembered when he had first stumbled on Adam. The Naga had looked terrified and had slithered away from him.
Back then, Constantine had heard rumors of a malevolent Naga having a home in the caves. He had known that the rumor was false when Adam had broken down crying as he neared him. That was the moment when Constantine vowed to protect the dungeon core.
"But, if you get the barrier down, and I make sure that the frenzy potion is transmitted as steam through pipes, the adventurers will turn against each other," Adam said with gleaming eyes.
Constantine sighed. Adam was just a teen, and it showed in his naive way of thinking.
"What happens when I get infected with the potion? Adam, you won't stand even a minute against me. Just get me the purple caps and organize beetle death matches," the necromancer dismissed him.
Adam nodded. If Constantine had taught him how to fight, then things would be different. As things stood now, he was entirely dependent on the necromancer.
Adam went and got five purple caps, which had white dots on them and red ones on their stumps, and got them to Constantine.
But, all the while, his mind couldn't help but go back to the beetle death match. The beetles had given their all, while Adam did nothing but replant and take care of plants all day.
If Constantine was not going to teach him how to fight, then, he would teach himself.
For that, he needed an upgraded mob. His lone beetle survivor would do just fine, the Naga decided.