As Elias was watching the crickets and Termites collectively, he was thinking about what he was gonna do with all of this Mana he has stored up. Is he supposed to use it on them? If so, how? He doesn't actually have a manual to be a Dungeon so he's literally supposed to just feel around like a blind person in a cramped room. Despite this, as he focused on the termites and he noticed that something popped up when he got close to the small mound in the wall. It must be where they come from, like a type of Monster Spawner or something.

  [Incubate Termite Boss Unit?]

  [Mana Cost: 25]

  [Y/N]

  Elias was a bit hesitant, he didn't know what a boss entailed, well he kinda did; a strong version of the Termites he already has. Does he need that? However, he then looked at the termites as they found the ants and he started thinking about it. They did so much for him already, they deserved a Boss, even if they didn't really need it. He focused on the Y, which he assumed was Yes, and then the prompt disappeared. He felt some draining before he saw something, it looked like a clock, was it a timer?

  The timer was going by quite fast, so Elias assumes it would be a couple of minutes before the Boss came out. In the mean time, Elias started looking at the crickets, and the little small cocoon thing at the side of the house near the door. That must be their spawner, like the little termite mound is the termite spawner. The crickets were basically just chilling, just hopping around but they were aimless, nothing too bad. But, if the termites had a boss, Elias wanted to give the crickets a boss!

  Elias looked at the Cricket Spawner before the same prompt as before popped up, only with a Cricket Boss and 30 Mana this time. Elias hovered over the Y and another timer, this one slower, appeared. Elias was very excited to see his new Bosses, he hopes they won't be too overdone with how scary they might be. Elias then looked over the termites once more as he waited for the Termite Boss to be ready.

  The couple of minutes passed like a breeze, which tends to happen when you're a magic crystal looking at termites have war with ants. The timer clicked and a massive [Boss Ready!] signal appeared over the clock. Oh, he has a manually make it hatch? Okay. When Elias clicked the clock, it disappeared and Elias focused on the termite mound as he waited for something to happen.

  Something did, indeed, happen, and Elias watched as a termite crawled through the mound...and watched the body proceed to get longer, and longer, and longer. Holy shit. That looks like a Termite Queen, and she's like the size of a small dog, which is very terrifying now that Elias is thinking about it. The termites swarmed beneath her, supporting her long body despite the fact that she likely didn't need it because she had been moving just fine.

  Elias watched as the queen settled in to the wall mound and Elias felt very proud of her, she's so cool! Elias then felt a buzz on his core and realized he could...feel her. Huh, maybe that's what happens with Bosses, they're more connected than the regular little dudes. Elias immediately felt awkward as that connection felt very pressing; like she was looking directly at him.

  "Hi...ma'am..." Elias awkwardly said and the pressing lessened before it started probing, like a dog sniffing someone new. He definitely saw her antennae moving, but she wasn't close to his Core, well not too close? Elias and the mound wasn't exactly far away from each other. Elias then perked up as he noticed something; the ants were fleeing.

  It must have been the new Boss that got them so afraid, well, he means she is terrifying after all. He really didn't want to just call her "the termite queen" this entire time, so it felt appropriate to give her a name. Termites eat wood, right? He can absolutely tell that part. To start a fire, you need a kindling, which is called...tinder. Tinder. Yeah, that sounds like a good name. You like Tinder, ma'am?

  Tinder didn't respond but her antennae dipped slightly, as if she was listening or something. "Welcome, Tinder." He said warmly and her head raised a bit before she started dragging herself along. However, for a first order of business, Elias kinda wanted to move the spawner. Don't get him wrong, the spawner was in a great place, but they're too close to the Crickets, also the door. What if someone steps on them.

  Elias focused on the empty room in the six rooms he can see as of currently. Front door room was a no. The kitchen was a maybe, because the termites seemed to like it. The window room, right of the front door, was a maybe. The dining room was a now. The fireplace room was a no. But the room right of the dining room is an empty room. Hm...Tinder, what do you think?

  Elias' bond with Tinder wasn't so much so that Elias could talk with her, but he could feel feelings she pulsed through the connection. Elias felt indifference and sighed internally. Okay, Tinder, wanna move the spawner? Go to the sixth room, aka empty room. This could be like your boss room or something, if that's even a thing. Elias then felt a draining feeling before the termite mound near the door...disappeared. Like it literally vanished.

  Elias then looked at the empty room and the mound spawned in there, half-engrained into the wall. It even popped out some new termites that went over to the long conga line that is Tinder and the other Termites going to the new spawner. The termite then immediately started biting into the wall and Elias sighed. At least they were safer in there. Wait, what about the ants? Elias hovered over to where the ants were and the hole was blocked off, somehow? Was the hole connected to the mound? That's odd.

  Elias then got some Mana and darted over to the termites, whomst were fighting some ants that got in through an identical hole. Huh... Elias isn't going to question that but it does seem weird... Then again he is a magical crystal so he isn't going to really question it all that much. However, Elias was focused on Tinder as of currently, as she's the one in the hole right now.

  Elias would have assumed that Tinder would act like a Termite Queen and sit there and be royal and pop special termites out. Not tear apart ants like they were celery. She thundered through the small tunnel like she was there to exterminate everything she didn't like. Ants charged at her and she used her mandibles to tear them apart and in half. It was kind of terrifying, to be completely honest.

  A plus to this was that no more termites were dying, and Elias was getting a whole heck a lot of mana from her killing off stuff. Did he get more Mana from Bosses killing stuff? That was cool! Ignoring how feral his termite boss was being, Elias focused on the termite mound itself. Despite being more open, the termite seemed happier with the space and were crawling around the wall and floors near the mound itself.

  "Yeah, Tinder, I'm just gonna leave you to do your thing." Elias said and she moved her antennae up and down in acknowledgement before killing another ant beneath her large mass. Elias then started watching the mound before he just let his consciousness drift as he seemed to forget something. New boss, check. Termites in the new mound, check. Uh.... OH THE CRICKET BOSS!

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  Elias darted over to the cricket spawner, very dejectedly holding it's been done Boss monster. Elias heard the dejected clicks of the crickets from the spawner. Sorry, sorry! He just forgot! Elias then clicked on the spawner and it finally created the boss. Elias saw that the Boss wasn't too big, more like somewhere near Tinder's size. Elias would have assumed that the Boss would be bigger but then again, Termite Queens are known for being huge, so Elias should have known.

  The new cricket boss hopped around before immediately hopping on a nearby spider, crushing it and giving Elias some Mana. Good Boss! Elias then watched the new boss hop all over a nearby cricket and snorted, especially when the cricket let out distressed clicks. You're fine, you big baby! The cricket collapsed under the boss' playful hopping and the boss sat next to it as the cricket buzzed unhappily. The boss seems lively already, and the crickets seem happier now.

  Elias says as he watches three crickets hop all over the new Cricket Boss, whomst seemed unbothered. Well, a name wouldn't hurt, now would it? Elias thought about it for a moment before settling on "Hopps". It was a cliche name for a cricket but Hopps made it clear he liked doing just that. "Hopps, you like the name, buddy?" Elias asked and the boss hopped, accidentally knocking off the crickets hopping on him. Oops-

  As Elias was basically watching the Bosses do their jobs, he looks into the fuzziness that was the other side of the house. "Tinder? Can you see anything?" When he asked, he remembered the termite boss was slaughtering ants, as he got annoyance at the question back. Well, sorry, miss drama queen. Elias tried to look further into the fuzziness and something popped up, startling him. He's got to get used to that.

  [Expansion Threshold Reached]

  [Mana Capacity: 50]

  [Options: Inside or Outside]

  [In/Out]

  Elias looked at the prompt and he couldn't help but he surprised. He can see further? Why didn't this show up earlier!? Well, he supposed he didn't look at the fuzzy spots much until now. While the idea of the outside was kinda interesting, Elias has been really wanting to see the rest of the house already. So, the idea of what he was going to pick wasn't much of a tough decision at all.

  When he selected inside, it was like finally putting on glasses after not wearing them for a while. He could see! There were three final rooms, all like squares like the others. The room in front of the dining room was the back door, and Elias was ecstatic that there was an outside that he could possibly explore. To the right of the back door room was another living room area, though this one has a table too. To the left of the back door room was the stairs!

  However, underneath the stairs is what got Elias' attention; Possums! Wait no, that's not right. Opossums! They were lazing about underneath the stairs, living their best life. Elias cooed as one of them lifted its head and looked in the general direction of where Elias was. Aww, hey little guy! Elias watched it yawn and lick its lips. Yup, this is his favorite animals now.

  Elias then felt sudden outrage from his connection with Hopps and Tinder and quickly backtracked. "In general! I swear! You're my favorite bosses!" Elias quickly shouted out and the two bosses quelled their anger, making Elias sulk. Jesus Christ- or, is there even a God in this world? He wonders if there are even people in this world. As Elias was contemplating, an older and meaner Opossum came from down the stairs.

  Huh? Oh, hey big dude? The Opossum paused and lifted its head and snorted before heading to the little pile of Opossums under the stairs. The first thing Elias noticed was that there were less Opossums than Termites, even more so than the crickets. Huh, it must be because they're big and it must take Mana to do so. Yes, that is what Elias is going to go with because he cannot think of anything else.

  Elias then turned his attention back to Tinder and nearly sweatdropped as he watched her lunge at an ant that barely even crossed the threshold that is the tiny hole in the wall. "Okay, supreme commander of a hole in the wall, it's okay, you can chill out." Elias sighed, watching as Tinder's antennae flicked as he noticed her and then proceeded to ignore him.

  Elias sent a warm feeling to her through the connection they had and she finally paused and sent a nice feeling back. Ah, so the feeling isn't even from her being upset, she's just naturally murderous. That's a fun thing to figure out. Elias was then suddenly jolted as he felt a sudden spike of mana going through his house. He immediately furthered his consciousness to try and pinpoint it, only for it to be somewhere near the stairs.

  Near the back door, one of the smaller Opossums had a cat in its jaws, biting at it's neck viscously as the cat clawed at its face as it yowled in pain. Woah! He thought Opossums played dead! What was this!? Then, Elias noticed something. The cat had far too many eyes. Not just the two on its body, but on its sides, it's back, and even it's hind legs. Nothing can sneak up in this guy, can it? Well, he guesses the Opossum did because any sensible cat would have moved when an Opossum runs at it.

  The cat managed to get out of the Opossum's grasp but not for long, it slammed into the cat with a viciousness only seen in other fiercer creatures, not one that is known for playing dead. It's claws ripped into the cat's body, he thinks one even stabbed into one of the many eyes. Eugh. The cat screeched and slashed back, but the Opossum's body was far too large and relentless for the feline to do anything to it.

  The cat, realizing that it was losing, tried to flee as it slashed at one of the Opossum's eyes. That's when another one appeared and grabbed the cat by its neck before biting down and slamming it into the ground. Elias took care to notice that it was the big and mean one from earlier. The cat went still and it's many eyes went woozy and dull. It must have died. That was very dramatic, he kinda hopes it doesn't happen again, but then he got the mana.

  Woah! That's like...three spiders at once! The cat's body disappeared into the ground and the Opossums seemed very happy with themselves. Elias watched as the meaner looking Opossum started licking the smaller one, effectively grooming it. The smaller one leaned into the larger one affectionately and Elias watched as it fell asleep. Aww, cute little guys.

  Elias' thoughts then were shot back to a violent streak of mana running into his reserves. Okay, Tinder, we get it, there's literally no more ants anymore, you can chill out. An aggressive feeling shot through the connection and Elias would have leaned back if he could have. Okay, okay, you got that, have your little war, he doesn't really mind but like chill out, you're scaring your own workers.

  The aggression paused before it quelled into a small amount of sorrow. Aww, it's okay, Tinder, just chill out a bit, okay? He's pretty sure some of them like having a job instead of just mindlessly chewing on wood or just wandering. Elias watched as Tinder left the tunnel and settled inside of the mound, where her little workers crawled onto her happily. Then, Elias thought about something and looked at his core.

  [Dungeon Mana Amount: 52]

  [Dungeon Monsters: Termites, Crickets, and Opossums]

  [Termite Count: 32,462]

  [Termite Boss: Tinder]

  [Cricket Count: 15]

  [Cricket Boss: Hopps]

  [Dungeon Core Size: 3 Inches]

  He grew a bit! Awesome! He came from the size of a Lego brick to a large paperclip. It isn't that much of a size different but it's something. Hey, it also counts the bosses as well now! But, now Elias was looking at the spot he was in and he remembered he was literally near a hole in the wall. It was nothing fancy, just a hole in the wall. He wasn't even defended anymore since the Termites moved.

  Yeah, this might be a problem; what is the ants break in! Also, he has no proof anything, or any person, lives in this world, but like his door wouldn't exist if there wasn't. Or maybe there are giant animal people in this world and they use similar doors as to the ones on Earth? Whatever the case, Elias would very much like to move his Core so he didn't get crushed.

  He pushed his awareness to the stairs, looking at the very adorable Opossums that were sleeping. "Uh, hey little guys?" Elias spoke before the larger Opossum raised its head up, tilting it. "Can you help me move my core? Just like, over there with you guys?" The Opossum froze, and the action reminded Elias of when he first commanded a termite before.

  The Opossum then stood up and started walking over to where the crevice where Elias was, and Elias was suddenly very aware of how small he was compared to the large Opossum. "Uh- please be gentle with my Core! I don't know how fragile I am but I don't wanna find out??" The Opossum nosed around the hole in the wall before managing to somehow sniff out Elias' core. What did his core smell like? It used its snout and gently plucked Elias from the ground.

  "Ohhhh, my God." Elias struggled to keep his voice down, the very weird feeling of being in the Opossum's mouth getting to him. Was this what it was like being breathed on??? Elias wanted to apologize to every animal he got so close to when trying to pet them. However, before he realized it, they were there, under the stairs. Oh yeah, it wasn't really that far, huh? The Opossum stepped over the smaller and younger ones, who made chirping sounds curiously as they tried to get a look at Elias.

  Fortunately for Elias' sanity and comfort, the larger Opossum moved him away from the other Opossums and used its head to move them away before easily digging a small hole in the floor and putting Elias in there. It was very dusty and some kind of cramped but it was kinda nice being surrounded by beings that could protect them. Elias felt that they were being sniffed literally through the floorboards but they didn't mind, it was kinda nice, you know?

  Elias felt the Opossums curl around the hole, the big one especially curling close to the hole with its tail curling around it. Elias doesn't think he felt even this safe even in his past life. He really likes how warm it feels, he doesn't know if he can even sleep like this but he feels really drowsy. He's just gonna stay here, yeah, and hope that everything stays alright.