The Body's Dungeon

Marstin Hardgrove, a young orphan-thief, is beaten and left to die in an abandoned mine — forced to eat dirt and rocks before he collapses. Among those rocks was a tiny dungeon crystal, now thrown into the microscopic world of cells, bacteria, and pathogens. Fascinated by how the body's systems work together, the crystal decides it wants the body for itself. To survive Marstin's immune system and hostile pathogens, it must create immune-cell defenders, lay traps, and turn the body into a dungeon — all while the boy above ground struggles to forge a new life.

After a hard-fought battle in the heart, Progen has defeated the agents of the entity that wants to destroy his host — but the enemy has retreated into the brain, safely behind the blood-brain barrier. A grievous wound to the body now threatens everything Progen has built. Meanwhile, Marstin — now an adventurer — faces a disturbing discovery in the north that brings old prejudices against thieves back to haunt him. Hidden enemies prey from the shadows, and both Progen and Marstin must stop these parasites before they lose the lives they've been striving toward.

Progen defeated the Parasyte engineered by the malevolent Blood Curse, but the brain remains locked away behind a barrier that stymies his plans for complete control. He must make use of new immune cells and systems to improve his host's body — and his own survivability. Meanwhile, Marstin is thrust into a world of political intrigue, secret organizations, and high society after the dastardly Ghevin Drestice's use of a mind-control crystal catalyzes interest from the highest authority in Istut. Both will face challenges that should end with their deaths — only through unwitting cooperation will they survive.