The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Vitmori POV

"So, are you sure we're going the right way?" I ask, glancing over at Jack, who was perched on my shoulder. I had been jogging for some time, making my way deeper into the woods and going quite a ways away from the Haven. It was time for the birds and squirrels to settle their differences and stop fighting a pointless battle. More to the point, it was time for Jack to beg for this squirrel boss' forgiveness, since Jack was the one in the wrong here, and we were the ones who initiated this whole conflict.

Jack, for his part, was rather sullen as he bobbed his head. "Yes, Boss, we're nearly there. The squirrels should also be home by now since they usually only hunt from morning until afternoon."

While I did feel a little bad for Jack, his current mood came from the dressing down I gave him after I realized he provoked a fight and did nothing to correct it, causing needless deaths. It might seem strange to hold value to the life of a mere squirrel, but I can't help but see them as people, or at least potential people. It's clear to me that not all animals have the possibility of becoming as intelligent as Basti and the others, not without a lot of effort and influence on my part, at least. But the possibility is there for quite a few of them.

I don't intend on becoming any kind of steadfast defender of all life; people die, some people need to die, and ultimately, people and animals dying is just a way of the world. What I won't stand for is needless death. Killing for the sake of killing is wasteful and pointless, especially in the apocalypse when almost every life is needed for the sake of the future. I may no longer be in the midst of an apocalypse, but I do feel that the values I developed still hold true in a world filled with different kinds of monsters and beasts than the ones I knew.

My musings are interrupted when I start feeling a rather large number of eyes focusing on me; whereas moments before I could feel the eyes of random creatures on me as I passed, now it feels like many eyes with a semblance of intelligence were intentionally focusing on me as I made way deeper through the woods. I slowed to a stop once I sensed that I'd been fully surrounded, and I could tell that Jack was feeling rather uncomfortable with how outnumbered we are at this point. I couldn't blame him. He was the only one actually at risk here, considering my physical body was back up my mountain. Especially considering just how many of the squirrels around us actually have a mana heart, proving themselves to be proper mana beasts.

Under the watchful gaze of the squirrels, I pour out a pile of stones from my inventory and go about shaping a round table with a chair for myself. Upon taking a seat at the bench, I shape a stone perch out from the tabletop for Jack to rest on before creating a much smaller bench and smaller table atop the table so that Jack and whoever the Boss squirrel is would sit across from each other. Finally, I pull out the bottle of wine from my inventory and gently set the heavy bottle down on the table before looking along the trees. "Squirrels, I have come to parley. I would like to speak to whoever is in charge here." I called out. I feel just a little silly talking to squirrels like this, but then again, these squirrels have the possibility to be people just like the rest of my mana beasts and it would be better to talk to them directly as people instead of being condescending and talking to them as if they were animals.

The squirrels began chattering amongst themselves after I spoke, and I briefly wondered if they were able to even understand me. I've gotten so used to talking to animals that I didn't really have a reason to think they wouldn't, but then again I've been connected to all the animals I've spoken to up until now.

After a couple of minutes, the biggest squirrel I've ever seen had hopped down from a tree and scampered over to the table. The phrase, a unit of squirrel, came to mind as it climbed up one of the table legs and scrambled a bit to get on the tabletop. The squirrel in question was easily just over a foot and a half long, even without considering their particularly bushy tail. Once they were atop the table, they scampered over to sit in front of me before sitting on their hind legs and staring intently at me; after a few more quiet minutes they reached behind them and pulled two squirrel kits from their bushy tail and placed them on my arm before scurrying off to the other end of the table. It was at that moment I could sense all the squirrels' gazes becoming dramatically more intense as they seemed to scrutinize my every move.

"Oh... Uh..." I wasn't sure what to do, glancing over at Jack who looked among the squirrels in the trees before looking at me, regarding me with a simple sense of curiosity, but not saying a word. It was at that point that the squirrel kits began mewling and whimpering, and the gazes of the adult squirrels only intensified. Taking a moment to collect myself, I do my best to comfort the squirrel kits, gingerly plucking them up and holding them to my chest. It was only then that I realized that I'm lacking both the warmth of a living thing and a heartbeat to soothe them as the squirrels kits mewled and shifted against me, still sounding rather distressed and upset. I looked over to Jack, meeting his gaze as I suddenly had an idea and flashed a small smile. "Jack, get over here." I ordered as I tore off a piece of my poncho, carefully maneuvering the squirrel kits before swaddling the two of them in their own piece of fabric, being mindful of their tails as the kits continue to squirm, but not as much.

"What is it, Boss?" Jack asked as he flitted over, landing before me as he tilted his head curiously.

After another moment of thought, I decided to pull my poncho off outright, folding it as best as I could in one hand before gently laying the squirrel kits in the center of the pile of fabric. I then look back to Jack and gesture over to the bundle. "I need you to sit on these squirrels and share your warmth with them."

Jack squawked with surprise, glancing between me and the still-mewling squirrel kits in the bundle of cloth. "W-what?! B-boss, please, no, you can't make me do this. I've never brooded anything before, I've never even had eggs with anyone." He explained in a desperate whisper, sounding rather frantic.

I simply shook my head at him. "Well, you're brooding these squirrels. After all, you're the one who instigated all this. We gotta earn their trust if we want the fighting to stop." I explained in an equally hushed whisper. "Besides, you're good with kids, I'm sure you'll be a natural." I mentioned, flashing a bit of a smile at that.

Jack whistled miserably, glancing over at the large squirrel who brought the kits over, who stared at both of us with the most intensity out of all the gathered squirrels. With an unconscious flap of a wing, he meandered over to the bundle of cloth with the swaddled squirrel kits, shooting me another glance before carefully stepping between the kits as he started doing his best to settle in. It takes more than a couple of minutes, but before long, he's settled down with the kits on either side of him, his wings outstretched around the two as the squirrel kits eventually quiet and relax.

"See, you're doing great." I muse with a bit of a smile, earning an indignant look from Jack as he sighed. Though once the kits settled down, I could feel the intense gazes of the squirrels around us start to relax, as they now just watched with intent curiosity.

The unit of a squirrel approached Jack, slowly scampering over before using their hands to dig through the cloth and peer under Jack to personally check on the squirrel kits. After a few moments, I sensed it was satisfied with what it saw before making its way back across the table, looking out at the trees and other squirrels. It chattered out something, and a few moments later, another squirrel came scampering over, climbing up the table leg and scrambling up onto the stone table. This squirrel was somewhat smaller than the first, but that wasn't saying much. It shared a look with the first squirrel before looking over at me, and I could immediately recognize that it had a semblance of intelligence; clearly smarter than the rest of its kind, that's for sure.

"Ah, you must be the boss here. It's a pleasure to meet you." I say as politely as I can manage, gesturing to the little bench in front of the small table in the middle of the bigger table I was sitting at.

The boss squirrel looked at me, sniffing the air curiously before looking over at the bench, table, and then back at me as they started scampering closer and peering over the edge of the table. I could feel its eyes trailing over me and observing how I sat before making their way over to the small table. At first, it climbs onto the little stone bench, standing on it, before scooting around and actually sitting on it like a person. It looked at me again, then looking over at Jack when I sensed a spark of anger within it as they recognized Jack.

I spoke up before it could act, procuring another stone from my inventory, shaping it into a stone shot glass and setting it before the boss squirrel on the small table. The clacking of stone on stone distracted them momentarily as they looked between me and the stone cup. "It has come to my attention that my subordinate has crossed you, drawing your ire and bringing conflict between our two groups. On behalf of Jack, I offer my apologies and present you with what I hope will be a suitable peace offering." I say as I take up the bottle of wine, swirling its contents around audibly.

To say that the boss squirrel seemed intrigued was an understatement, I wasn't sure if it recognized what kind of bottle this is, or if they could smell the wine despite the bottle having never been opened. Regardless, when I pulled the cork into my inventory, I watched the boss squirrel's nose twitch with excitement as they sniffed at the air. I go about carefully pouring a small splash of wine into the stone shot glass before pulling the bottle away and corking it again, the boss squirrel lifting the stone cup with both hands and drinking down the red wine with clear eagerness as their fluffy tail twitched and flicked with obvious delight.

Even the unit squirrel was intrigued, sniffing at the cup, but not daring to cross its boss as it stayed where it was behind the boss squirrel and waited patiently.

As the boss squirrel finished what it had in its cup, it pointed to the bottle with one hand before holding the cup back up with both hands, demanding a refill.

I smile a bit but shake my head as I set the bottle of wine down. "Sorry, but not yet, I need you to be sober for what comes next." At that, the boss squirrel seemed annoyed but understanding as it settled down on its bench again before bringing the stone cup back to its mouth to drink the last few drops they had. "I want to have a proper discussion with you, if that's alright. Will you allow me to grant you some of my mana in order to raise your awareness of what's going on?"

The squirrel boss looked rather thoughtful, tapping their stone cup against the table before giving a rather distinct nod. With that, I slowly reach out and gently tap the top of their head. Being very careful, I go about swirling a small dose of my mana through them. It takes a few minutes, but before long, I've managed to enhance them to the point of sapience and self awareness that most of my mana beasts have already reached. Pulling away, I could already see the change in the squirrel boss' expression as they looked around before looking over at me once more. "Well, ain't that a neat little trick." She said in a feminine voice, the squirrel boss turning out to be a girl boss of all things. "Alright, so your bird killed some of my squirrels, and my squirrels killed some of your birds... Now you want peace? Why?" She asked, shifting in her seat as she sat a little straighter. "You are strong enough to make me better, and you are strong enough to kill us all. Why go out of your way for peace?"

I smile a bit, not necessarily a happy smile, but I'm just pleased to have a proper dialogue now. "Because we were in the wrong, you didn't start this fight, and you shouldn't have to be the one to try and end it." I then shrug a bit and uncork the wine again, refilling her cup before setting the bottle down, leaving it open this time. "I also find pointless killing to be wasteful. There's no good reason for this fight to continue, as it started because a fool got carried away. Now blood has been traded, and I'd rather no more be spilled because of a grudge."

The squirrel boss nodded intently, sniffing at the wine some more and taking another sip, pacing herself this time as she looked back up to me while setting the cup down. "That sounds like a good enough reason for me. What with winter coming, I'll need every paw and claw that I can get."

"That's another thing, after peace, I'd like to achieve cooperation." I mention with a more genuine smile now. "I'd like for you to work for me, protect this forest and its occupants, and I'll give you even more power. Through this power, you won't need to eat as much and even develop to become more powerful versions of yourselves."

The squirrel boss looked even more intrigued by that idea than when she saw the bottle of wine, looking over to the unit squirrel and chattering at them. The big squirrel chattering back to her before making their way over to Jack. The poor bird in question had remained indignantly silent this entire time in order to not wake the squirrel kits. Peeking under Jack's wings, they chatter back to the squirrel boss, who nodded intently and looked over at Jack and held up her cup. "Help us finish this bottle tonight, and I'll think about your offer in the morning." She mused with a toothy smile and a flick of her tail.

At that, Jack immediately perked up and let out a low whistle. "Mind if I bring a few friends?" He asked almost mischievously.

The squirrel boss chuckled softly and nodded. "Sure, let us celebrate our new peace." She enthused as she stood, holding up the stone cup with both hands above her head, causing all the surrounding squirrels to chatter and cheer with delight.