AsCaroland I started walking up the hill.I decided toaskher some questions that had been bothering me."Carolwaswonderingwhy you guys hadn''t release anybody else fromcryoyet"Carollooked back and answered "there''sactuallya lotofreasons, one of which is thatwedon''t have a psychologist or asafeplace toholdthem for now.Wealsoonlyhadenough food for a month, and that wasjustwith the three of us.Weonlyhaveone workingrestroomandonlythree beds.The whole place also smells like a cave and needs to have the water damage cleaned up."WhenCarol finished speaking,Imade 7 cleaning drones to begin work on the floor of the medical bay and the crew quarters.Since most of the ship had finally been drained.
Iaskedanother question "Ialso meant toaskyou guys what your classes were.Iknow yours is a healer, but what did Andrew and Steveget."Carolthought for a second and then said."oh, I remember, Steve had alchemist class and Andrew had the Scout class.The alchemistclassfrom what Steve told meletsyouknowmore about the chemicalsyou''re using and their potential properties.It alsoletsyouput magic into the chemicals to enhance orchangetheir properties.
She waited a second before continuing to speak."Andrewsaid his classlethim see farther.Healso has a mini-map that shows areashe''s explored.Healso has a trackingability.And some other stuffhehasn''t finished going over yet.
Onlyhad onemorequestion left "what where yourabilities" Carol looked thoughtful and said "Istillhave sixmoreabilitypoints andIhaven''t really picked out anything else besides.Healing hands and diagnose.
We finally came up to the entrance in the side of the ship.It was one of the maintenance hatches.There was a man in an open shopfront, next to the hatch.Wewalked up to him andasked"hey, is there a place thatwecango and find out informationaboutthedungeonorcanweaskyousomequestions" the man looked quite cheerful tohavesomebody to talk to andanswered"yes Icananswersomequestionsaboutthedungeon.Is this your first timeseeingan irondungeon?"
I looked at Carol and turned back to the man and said "yes, in fact,we''veneverbeen in adungeonbefore or seen one.Wewould lovetoknoweverything about them." Theman was still excited and startedexplaining "irondungeons are called iron dungeons because it''s where we get all of our metal from.Thedungeondoesn''tlikepeople taking metal from the wall.It will send outreallystrong combat golems tostopus.So we have tosendpeopleintodefeatweakergolemsand bring out their corpses for us to melt downintoingots.It''s also one of the few mildly safe places to get experience.There are five types ofgolems,spidergolems,cleanergolems, shockgolems, combatgolems, and remnantgolems.
Spidergolems50XP:look like giantspiders, but they''re made out of metal.There pretty easy to kill, Ifyouknowwhatyou''re doing.
Cleaner golems5XP:are completely harmless,youcan justpickhimup andbringhimhome ifyouwant and they''ll take care of your house foryou.They sell for ahighprice on the market.
Shock golems225XPare humanoid or without heads and have a shield and a baton with lightning magic on it.They have themostarmor, but also themostmetal on them.Their shields and lightning rods are worth quite a lot.
Combat golems unknownXP:arethe onesyoudon''t want to mess with.Ifyouseeone, yougot a runaway.They have somekind oflong-range attack thatnobody''s beenableto stop yet andnobody''s beenabletokillone.
Remnant golems170XP:are golems that are made from the bodies of the dead.We don''t know much about them other than their previous adventures that have died in the dungeon and somehow have been completely converted into metal and brought back to life.They act like feral zombies, though not as hard to kill as shock golems, but wayscarierwhen there up close.
Unlike most other iron dungeons.Ours has never stopped growing.And it stretches kilometers underground.And yet, like other irondungeonswe''ve never managed to find thedungeoncore.
Oh and one last thing.Adventures occasionally find random itemssuch asshoes, clothes, and the occasional short folding knife.
"Okay,thank youfor all the information.Anddoyouknowwhere we could go to register to get into thedungeon?"Theman turned his head slightly and answered with a chuckle in hisvoice."Youdon''t need to register anywhere to enter the dungeon but you do need to sign the sign-in sheet so we can tell who''s in the dungeon.How longthey''ve beenthereand whetherthey''re still alive or not.Ifthey''ve beenintherefor more than a weekthereregistered as dead." Theman frowned at the last part of the sentence.
Isaid, trying to be comforting "sorry to hear about that last part but thanks again for the information will probably come back tomorrow and see ifwecanget into the dungeon"Ithen turnedaroundand tugged on Carol''s arms thatwecouldstart moving.
Aswewalked away, Istarted talking to Carol "itsounds like the ship''s AI has gone insane.Ifit''s been building down for kilometers and somehow making people into mechanical zombies, Itprobablyhas the same ability I have, matter absorption and reconstruction.It''s an ability in the AI class that allows me to absorb matter and reconstruct into whatever I want."
Carolthenspoke with a concerned voice "yeah, but the question is should westopit.I mean the AI, the whole town is built around this ship, anditmaking metal for them.The adventurers go in at their own risk.Should wetakethataway?"Istared back thought about it and then answered,"Iwasn''t thinking aboutstoppingit at all.Itotallyagree with the adventurers taking their own risk and earning experience.I''m thinking about the other life pods that are in the ship.If what the little girl said is true, there''sstillsome life pods in theirs and we need togetthem out.
Carol looks shockedwhenshe said."Icompletely forgot about the life pods.Iknow only a few survived on our ship butyeahwedefinitely need to go in there andgetthose.Iam thinking thatwe''re goingto haveto decide whether tostopthe ship AI orleaveit.Who knows, maybewecanfixitso thatitstops expanding at the very least.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
I suggested."For the meanwhile, we should talk to Andrew and Steve andgettheir opinions,"Carol thenaskedthem where they were in the party chat and started leading me towards the market."
On the way, Igota report back from Scout.
Scout
reporting sighting of wolf analogs.
Average length 180cmand from the height of their shoulder to the ground 80cm.
They went past the town and stopped in the woods in front of the bunker.
Their current pack numbers 42 adults and 23 pups.
From observations, they have some form of long-range stun.
Risk evaluation:highly dangerous.
Iturned to Carol andtoldher about the report and then suggested "we should stay in the town tonight.Iwill make a combat avatar and then, see ifIcan scare off the wolves.If that doesn''t work,I''llprobablyhave tokillthem.
Carol then replied."it would beniceto have a hot meal, and not sleep in a room that smells like a basement cellar.And if the wolves are that big, they might be maneaters.
Whenwereachthe market, Andrew and Steve were waiting for us.Wedecided to go to an Inn and discuss whatwefoundout.Andrew pointed out one that was nearby.Whenwewalked in,wesaw that the first floor had a bar and tablesfor serving food.Wesat down at one of the tables, and a maid walked up totakeorders.Andrew Steve and Carol asked for anything thathasalcohol in it.They then asked if there were any foods The maid would suggest.The maid said."the stew is really good here,"they ordered that.I didn''t order anything becauseyou know, no stomach.
Steve then beganto explainwhat they figured out."Thecurrency here works off of the base ten systems.
10smallcoppers= 1largecopper.
10largecoppers= 1smallsilver.
10smallsilvers= 1largesilver.
10largesilvers= 1smallgold.
10smallgolds= 1largegold.
10largegolds= 1 Orichalcum coin.
Orichalcumisan alloy,madefrom copper andgoldwhile being infused with mana.Only very high ranking alchemists canmake it.Orichalcumisthe only alloy that allows you tomakeenchantment runes.That''s why it''s the most expensive coin.
12smallcoppers cangetyou a meal.The Inn cost 2 small silver''s a night per room.The throwing daggers you gave us had a molecular edge, WHICH YOU FORGOT TO MENTION.Inearly cut my own fingers off beforeIrealizedit.LuckilyIrecognize the case they werein.Anyways, they sold for five large gold that''s $76,000 cash ifIconverted that to standard.Oh, and the reason why hepaidso much forthem, was because molecular weapons are super rare.Most kingdoms willpaya lotmore forthem.But there was nobody around who couldpaythefullprice so I had tosellthemto the shop at a discount.
The coinsalsohave an enchantment onthemthat makesthemglow when you release mana nearby.The kingdom ofVanaheimrmakesall the coins and enchantsthem.Nobody can counterfeitthemwithout being caught.
So ifwe''re goingtomakeany money,weprobably need to come up with a plan.I mean selling artifacts worth more than mostpeoplemake in a year is bound to bring about unsavorypeople.Nobodyknows about us, and Ijustsolda set of knivesnobody''s ever seen before.We''reprobably, going to get robbed tonight and that''s ifwe''relucky.
Ithought about what Steve said he''s probablyright.Wealso don''t know much aboutthisculture. I''ll make another four Scout drones andhavethem armedthistime.I''ll need three combat drones.Two will defend the base, andI''llcontrolone of them.I''llusethat one against the wolves.
Ithentoldthe others."I''mgoingtogobackto the basin work.The infiltrator will stay here with you guys and will obey any orders.He isalsoour radio if youneedanything."afterIfinish talking to them.Isaid goodbye.
WhenIwas back at the base,Iusedone of the spider bots to see.Several spider bots were stillbringing upchopped upparts from the farming equipment.The cleaners werenowworkingdiligentlyon making the place livable.I made another 10 spider bots.Then I chuckled."if the ship ever receives a name.It''s goingto becalled the Spider Queen" especially since I''ve made so many spiders throughout the ship.Half of them arejustsitting in nooks and cranniesjustwaiting to be used.
Istarted summoning up parts for the combat drone.Iwanted to get started on the wolves first.Iwas goingto havethe spider bots assemble the rest whileIwas gone.2 hourslaterand we were done with the first combatdrone.
Combatdronedescription:thedroneis 200cmtall and a shoulder length of 56cm.Theyare heavily armored and mainly resemble humans.Theyhavetwoforwards facing slits where eyes would be on a human.Theyalsohave to back,armsconnected to the shoulder blades.These backarmsare used to either holdshieldsor smallarmsweapons, depending upon the situation.For now, I put ashieldsplit into two parts one on eacharm.Thearmscan connect theshieldin front of the suit.It forms akiteshieldthat will provide heavy armor against most attacks.I also modified the blueprint of thekiteshields.Nowthey hold four 40 mm grenade launchers on thelowerportion of thekiteshield.This alsoleavesthe two normal arms tocarryheavierweapons.
I had a 90 cm long kukri magnetize to my back.And a 50 caliber electromagnetic machine-gun with a drum magazine that holds 500 rounds of caselessammo.Electromagnetic weapons don''t need any accelerants.Nowthey run offofpower crystals instead, This makes caringammoa lot more efficient.Ihadanother three drums magnetize to the back myammobelt.Ialsohadanother electromagnetic pistol strapped to my left thigh and autoloader case forit.The autoloader case wouldloadthe gun wheneveritwas holstered.Itwould also hold about 200 rounds ofammofor.
For some reason,Ihadthe odd sensation thatIwasnot preparedfor this fight.
Ifinally exited the bunker.The scout wasgivingme the real-time video of where the wolves were.Theywereabout a kilometer away.I started walking in that direction.