《Trash Mountain Dungeon》 Ch.01 It had been a long night for Albrecht Von Shultz, and waking up in a grime-covered, trash-covered wasteland was not exactly helping his mental health. To add to the fact, it seemed as though he had been stuffed into a glowing crystal ball with nothing more than a disturbing amount of detachment and little information or even context as to why he was here, in a junkyard of all places. When I had first awoken, I immediately panicked, I couldn¡¯t feel my bed, much less anything else, it was as if I was floating on nothing, not even air, and even if I had fallen off the bed, I would at least feel the cold floor of my room. But when I opened my eyes I found my current predicament was far from what could be expected, here I was in some massive cavern covered in trash, with the system screen you would see in oh so many games and shows.
New Core Beginning Sequence [Translating]... You have been transformed into a [Infant Dungeon Core] Your purpose is to assimilate [aether energy] into usable [mana] Entities will seek you out to consume or enslave, build up your defenses to stay safe. Attract living beings to consume to grow, soul bearing beings do not need to be slain for growth to occur. Choices will come periodically based on actions, both past and present. Special Dungeon Points (DP) will be awarded after special tasks are completed. Many Choices pending decision. This is not your original world.
Ok, what, the fuck, is going on. Disregarding the whole part about mana and dungeon stuff, I¡¯m not on Earth, that doesn¡¯t make any sense though I was just in bed not even, maybe ten minutes ago, how did I end up in a whole other world? Catching myself, even if this wasn¡¯t some unknown world, I need to remain calm and collected, panic will only hurt me in the long run. Looking over the facts in front of me, I was intentionally put here, they want me to perform a task, and they¡¯ve informed me of future dangers, and they¡¯ve given me the option to not kill people. Which is a wild thing to shove in someone¡¯s face after kidnapping them but if even half of the stuff this thing is telling me is true then I am going to be in trouble fast. Um, system? How do I do any of that exactly?
Loading... To build a dungeon the dungeon core will designate an area for building, all non-exotic matter within will be broken down to reduce building costs when applicable. The core may verbally state their desire or mentally command it to happen. Available buildings are presented based on core choices (Theming, monster variety, etc) Special rooms may be purchased or designed with the use of DP.
So, all I do is point and click essentially, a bit simple but that¡¯s fine with me. Looking around, the cavern was pretty massive, not a fantasy dwarf city large cave, but definitely large for a natural formation, maybe natural anyway. The cave itself was remarkably filthy though, the only two ways out were covered by large old piles of trash and scrap materials, perhaps I could build something on the entrance to let me move out? With a small amount of excitement at the prospect of this whole thing being real, I dramatically pointed at one of the piles and (politely) demanded that something be built.
Error Building not possible until several choices are made. Several require other choices to be made before they themselves can be. Necessary choices: Dungeon Theme (0/1) Primary Monster type (0/1) * Requires theme Critter Type (0/3) * Requires Theme Construct Core Room (0/1) *Requires theme
Oh, ok, I guess that makes sense. What are my theme options then?
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Elementalism Form a connection with the Elemental Nexus to gain access to the elemental plains for various purposes. Unlocks: Magical elements for theming Elementals for summon for creation. Dungeon and challenger rewards focused on elementals and related. Grants the core and its creations a resistance to the elements of magic. Mid to high cost of growth and maintenance. Bestiary Attract and create both magical and non-magical creatures to aid in your defense and growth. Unlocks: Nature and animal theming Animals, both existing and designed are available for creation, cost will vary. Will allow creation of beastly monsters at various stages. Dungeon and challenger rewards focused on nature and animals. Grants the core two additional critter slots and allows the usage of critters as non-enhanced combatants. Low to mid cost of growth and maintenance.
Constructs Obtain the knowledge and ability to create artificial constructs for both defense and offence. Unlocks: Construct Workshop theming. Various construct types for creation If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Dungeon and challenger rewards focused on constructs and related. Grants the core the ability to specialize and customize constructs, costs will vary. Mixed cost of growth and maintenance. Umbral Partner with the umbral forces of this world and beyond to create and summon undead creatures, dark aligned monsters, fel sorcerers. Unlocks: Dark foreboding theming. Various undead, fiends, and shadow type monsters for creation or summoning. Dungeon and challenger rewards focused on umbral and related. Grants the dungeon the [Miasma] passive ability, creates a toxic miasma that can be expelled from dungeon entrance, does not affect umbral or celestial creatures. Mixed cost of growth and maintenance.
Celestial Beseech the orderly, if alien, powers above this and many other worlds. Unlocks: Several different sub-types of celestials may be taken as a theme. Celestial type creatures and constructs may be summoned after theme focusing. Dungeon and challenger rewards focused on celestials. Grants the core the [Divinely Marked] title, grants immunity to enslavement or consumption but reduced growth opportunities and progress by 50% Extremely high costs of growth and maintenance. Chaotic Embrace the random and eroding powers of chaos, taking away choice but giving every other opportunity. Unlocks: Amalgam Theming. Amalgam creatures for creation. Dungeon and challenger rewards will have no distinct focus, but all will contain the [chaos] element. Grants 200% growth progress and increases opportunities, but the core will have any choice they decide on be given a random twist. Cost of growth and maintenance varies. WARNING: The [chaos] element can cause [planar erosion] and will attract incursion forces from the [Prime Material] as well as the adjacent realms, choose at your own risk.
That is quite a selection here, and dangerous. Going down the line, elementalism has me using elementals, whatever those are in this world, and is rather high on the costs, bestiary is essentially animals and is relatively low cost, constructs feel familiar somehow, just some weird D¨¦j¨¤ vu, but it seems to be robots and moving armors, I guess. Umbral was the dark and undead choice, zombies and vampires maybe? I assume celestial just means godly which is a terrifying implication since the ¡°alien¡± part implies an almost eldritch theme, and I¡¯m not so sure I want to be running this world¡¯s real-life mountain of madness, cool as the name would be. The final choice is also the most problematic as well, the super bonus to growth would be amazing no doubt about it, but the part about incursions and the random ¡°twists¡± that could be put on most likely life-altering decisions could bite me in the ass later on. That wasn¡¯t even getting into the different bonuses the others give, I mean, how many people are spewing fire and chucking rocks with magic, what are critters in this context, what does customizing a construct even entail, and so many other factors to consider. Uh, system, can you tell me everything I want to know?
No.
Damn. I¡¯ll just have to trust my judgment and hope for some good luck then. Nonetheless, despite how strange and fast this all is I should try to consider each opportunity at the very least, despite the potentially evil connotations behind umbral and the whole undead part, it could turn out to be some widely accepted or understood thing, removing the fear that I would be targeted because of my theme, hopefully anyway. Elementalism seems to focus on magic and magic entities I suppose, generally, elementals in games and stories are just magical expressions of a thing, with fire elementals almost always being shown as some sort of vaguely person-shaped gout of fire, other times they are contained in some form of armor to keep them together. If that applies here, or at least the idea of it, that will make elementals potentially very dangerous to anyone who couldn''t counter the innate nature of an elemental. The bonus resistance is a nice touch as well but I¡¯m not sure how much it would help me grow in the long run. Bestiary focuses on animals and the living world and was the lowest-costing option overall, the biggest question, however, is whether that¡¯s a good thing or not. Am I able to see just how much of this mana I have?
Mana Production Stored (100/100) Production: 1 per hour Construct a dungeon core room to increase capacity. Dungeon Points Stored: 10 Production: 1 every 30 days Complete essential tasks to gain more DP.
Useful, but also not, while I¡¯m sure that 100 mana can be useful if I¡¯m an [infant dungeon core] I doubt it¡¯s that much in the long run, and without any information on the actual costs of anything the extremely costly celestials might be too slow to grow, add to the fact that [Divinely Marked] reduces my growth considerably and I could have a self-killing combo here, benefits be damned. But that doesn¡¯t mean I shouldn¡¯t consider it still, if this system is offering it then at the very least it can be done, if painfully. Looking over the cave, there was also the matter of space, the cave¡¯s actual size could accommodate most animals I know of aside from maybe the bigger ones like a giraffe so unless the monsters I would make from the other options were larger than a giraffe then I should be good there. Am I able to get an idea of just what I would be working with?
Allowed At the first level of each theme the dungeon core will gain access to the basic theme items, buildings, and creatures. Basic example has been permitted, -1 DP
Wait I need to pay for this?
Mephit* A young and weak elemental mephit, can use [Fly] and [Elemental bolt] *Mephits come in a variety of elements Creation cost: 25 mana *Once summoned elementals are self-sustaining. Stone Wolf A well-known danger to cattle and fringe settlements, typically lives in rocky environments and goes down to forests and plains to hunt. No special abilities outside of its normal physical capabilities Creation Cost: 15 mana, 1 pound of food per 24 hours* *Dungeon born creatures require less sustenance but still require a small amount, additionally it does not matter what kind of food as they lack any food preference. Clockworker A simple and easy to maintain construct, capable of performing a variety of tasks aside from those involving magic. Can use [Self-repair] Creation cost: 15-100*, 1 pound of scrap* *Cost varies with customization, additionally, constructs require a steady source of material to maintain themselves, especially for damage repair.
Lesser Undead 1* A variety of weak undead, dangerous in groups or when coordinated properly. Undead can use [Grave Strength] Creation Cost: 2 (with remains) 6 (without remains) *Creating an undead without physical remains will cost 3x more mana, some undead require specific types of remains. Blessed Vessel A tall wooden mannequin that contains the smallest amounts of celestial power. Can use [Lesser Turn Umbral] and [Minor Heal] Creation Cost: 90 mana, 5 mana sustained* *5 mana will be deducted form your hourly production, without the required production the mana will be taken form stores, failing that the doll will enter a dormant state. *Sustained creatures pull from you every 24 hours. Randomized Amalgam An amalgam if chaotic energies and flesh, this creature is the smallest expression of [chaos]. Can use [Choatic Aura] Creation cost: 25-50 mana*, 5 sustained *Final cost will be determined by the "twist" when creating this creature. Will be no more than 50 mana
Grumble, at least it¡¯s good information, could¡¯ve told me it would cost something, but at least I got what I needed to know for now. But with the new info, it would be easier to deduce what I was going to pick, not that I had decided but the fact that I know more about how each theme would more or less work does help immensely. Elementals are self-sustaining so they would be a one-and-done thing, beasts would need a steady source of food, constructs need whatever they were made of, the undead had the caveat of needing existing material, a vessel was super expensive both toward my stored mana and my production, and the amalgam was only slightly better as far as cost was concerned. Of course, I could see the obvious benefits of each too, elementals seemed more economical and potentially very useful as ranged fighters, wolves are always dangerous in packs and if they can leave the dungeon then they could hunt for their food, the clockworker seemed to be a versatile choice with scrap being relatively available from what I can see around the room. The undead had no sustaining draw so it was possible to make a small horde of them with this ¡°[Grave Strength]¡± ability of theirs. The last two would also need some thought, being able to heal, even if only itself, would be a massive boon to its survivability, and while targeting Umbral was potentially useless depending on how common Umbral creatures are, it would be useful at some point, I guess. On the other hand, the amalgam had a [Chaotic Aura] which could mean several things, my two thoughts are either it¡¯s some kind of damage aura or the more ridiculous idea that it increases the ¡°chaos¡± in a given area which might be good, maybe? Regardless, my time on this world would be determined by this first choice. Ch.02 I settled on choosing [Constructs] All the options were certainly appealing, but constructs seemed to almost call to me, like a choice that felt right somehow.
Acknowledged, would you like to learn more about [Constructs]?
I would very much like to know everything you can tell me.
Constructs Artificial entities originate from a variety of sources. Available types: Magic Constructs, focuses on the formation of magically formed entities and items. Biological Constructs, focuses on growing and evolving biologically operated constructs. Mechanical Constructs, focuses on building and adjusting machine constructs.
So, golems, weird flesh things, and robots then, am I supposed to choose one or do I just get assigned one?
The dungeon core will decide on a beginning low-level monster type to obtain, this monster type may be constructed from any of the three previously stated types, however, costs will vary. Additionally, each tier of growth will grant the opportunity to begin specializing in each type, however, base-level access to each will be retained regardless of specialization.
Interesting, given the chance I don¡¯t know what I would choose without checking each of them out, but I¡¯m sure I have plenty of time, maybe. Regardless, it¡¯s a choice for later and my current security comes first and foremost right now. I am ready to choose my monster type then.
Monster types available to Constructs. Beginner Constructs 1
... Anything else?
Negative, the first level of the constructs theme does not offer multiple types of monsters as constructs exist in too wide of a range to be categorized individually. Beginner Constructs 1 gives access to simpler constructs of all three types. Starting with the next tier of core growth, the dungeon will be granted more specific options to choose from, for now only general options fitting within the chosen theme will be given.
I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s just to give me a taste of each type, fair enough I suppose. I¡¯ll have to give each a decent try at the very least, and even if I don¡¯t like how one works, I always have two others to work with. Now, the next thing on its list was critters I believe.
Critters Despite being non-combatants, critters serve two primary purposes, ecosystem development, and ambiance. Critters cost no mana to make and maintain, and lack a population limit but are normally incapable of combat and serve a singular purpose in the dungeon typically.
Interesting, the ambiance part is easy enough to understand, but the ecosystem sent me for a loop, I could understand why you would need one for the more living monsters, and the dead I guess, but for two of the three options I don¡¯t need to feed them. Show it to me anyway, seeing it will clear some things up.
Rust Rats Small, quick, and very smart, rust rats are a common sight in areas with high amounts of metal. Used often by prospectors to find metal veins with great precision. Edible to challengers. Small Stonelings Insignificant constructs made from ambient mana from greater constructs. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Can be consumed to repair other magical constructs. Small Lichenthrope A unique species of lichen that is capable of producing mobile offspring that will eventually settle down and begin producing more lichentropes. Both the stationary and mobile states can be consumed by dungeon dwellers and challengers. Small
Copper Roach Small insectoid mechanical construct that will scurry around and consume stray materials. Produces a minuscule amount of metal at no cost. Scales with dungeon size and the number of critter nodes. "Edible" to mechanical constructs. Miniscule Stone Hounds A vaguely canine-shaped magical construct produced by geomancers to scavenge the last morsels of metal and gems from mines and caves. Not designed for combat and due to a built-in quirk, they will act similar to non-magical hounds when not being ordered. Will periodically seek out metals and gemstones to collect, however, they lack the precise ability to find said materials, only having a general sense of where they are. Medium. Milk Bug A medium to large-sized stationary insect that will feed on ambient mana, they produce a large amount of "milk" a highly nutritious fluid that can be consumed by most living beings. Produces insectoid "milk" for consumption. The milk bug itself is also edible. Medium to large.
More options to choose from, I have a feeling that this will become a theme from now on. But looking at each I could more or less understand what it meant beforehand, rats scurrying around or massive bugs hanging from the ceiling would make a sort of ambiance. The rats were good for the precise location of metals, stonelings would be good for fixing my monsters, and the lichen could be eaten by my living creations and weird little balls of moss walking around. The copper roach could, given time, produce a large amount of metal if that ever becomes a problem, stone hounds could dig out stuff, and the milk bug, much like the lichen, could produce a source of food for any living things I make, gross as insect ¡°milk¡± sounded. Based on the purpose of each critter, the ecosystem it mentioned was actually just that, an ecosystem of resources meant to benefit the dungeon itself. Hypothetically, this meant that if I chose the right ones I could produce resources in-house essentially, covering the daily strain of any future creations. It doesn¡¯t hurt that it will also give the place a nice touch of activity if things get too quiet. But choosing any of them would be valid of course, being able to find resources while also feeding a living construct seemed good, or I could try and focus on the non-living ones, focusing purely on resources to cover the daily materials costs that they had in those examples. Though before anything it would be better to get a better idea of what I would be using this stuff for.
The purpose of a dungeon is to convert aether energy into mana, and the purpose of monsters and traps is to protect the dungeon, to enable that, a small portion of a core''s true mana production is diverted to the creation and maintenance of defenses, the purpose of using different materials to support created monsters is to alleviate the strain of constant repairing of monsters. Additionally, in some cases, the required material is used to generate loot.
So, it''s just a cost-saving measure then, the more I build up an ecosystem that produces stuff, the more traps and monsters I can make, the more secure I am, neat. Also, wouldn¡¯t loot be counter-productive, since if I want to be safe and sound dumping magic into the water wouldn¡¯t it be better to not be found and never attacked?
Loot/Treasure The purpose of loot is to attract entities to the dungeon so that if they are defeated, the dungeon will gain growth and DP. Most non-soul-bearing creatures will need to be slain to obtain growth while soul-bearing challengers need only enter and interact with the dungeon to generate growth. Killing a soul-bearing creature will generate the most amount of growth possible. Allowing a soul-bearing creature to leave will grant additional growth. Loot is also another way in which aether energy may be converted into mana. Finally, over millennia different groups and individuals have used dungeons as a way to train individuals to a certain level, making use of the power they gain from slaying monsters or beating traps to create highly skilled soldiers and specialists. Loot is generated from any dungeon monster or through different tests, at times a challenge can itself be the treasure. Critters do not produce loot but because they do not dissipate upon death like regular monsters the corpse itself is treated as the treasure.
The point of it is growth then, at the very least I don¡¯t have to become some murder rock. But I could work with this, I generally don¡¯t enjoy killing animals and things but if it leads to my safety and empowerment then I could live with that. So system, anything else I need to do to get the ball rolling?
Required choices to unlock buildings: Dungeon Theme (1/1) Primary Monster type (1/1) * Requires theme Critter Type (0/3) * Requires Theme Construct Core Room (0/1) *Requires theme
Seeing the critters actually brought me back to the original point of all these questions, which actually gives more questions like why it was telling me all of this despite saying it wouldn¡¯t.
The dungeon core is privy to a great deal of information but can only access the majority of it by growing.
That felt almost sarcastic if I¡¯m honest, but anyway, the critter choices were, if nothing else, a good choice to make since they each brought their own benefits. Looking over them I would still say that none of them were the wrong choice, the only problem being that using either of the living options would at the very least give me a greater reason to make the organic constructs. That made four of the six more broadly beneficial than the more focused lichen or bugs, with their only other benefit being that people might want them or the equally disturbing thought that I could make bug ¡°cheese¡± which while interesting from a cooking perspective was very much unpleasant to think about. But looking back around, I suppose the same problem as before applies, where exactly would the critters go, while none of them seemed particularly like they were going to make or break my new life it would be good to get into a habit of considering even the smaller decisions. Though that does bring me back to the ultimate point of this not-quite dilemma, what do I choose? Ch.03 I decided to choose rust rats, copper roaches, and stonelings, the best of three worlds. While I¡¯m not sure just how beneficial critters will truly be in the long run it was good to have them anyway, they provided a nice bonus for being around and it would make the place livelier. All I need to do now is to create a core room then I''ll be done with this first part, so, how about we get things moving?
Acknowledged, A baseline core room shall be generated to fit the generalized nature of your dungeon based on the core''s theme, [Constructs] Please designate an area to establish the dungeon.
Makes sense I guess, and looking around, there wasn¡¯t much to sway me to put it anywhere specifically, everywhere was either covered in the trash or covered in rocks. Pointing to the floor beneath me, I might as well just choose a spot and move on from there, and with a small ping the immediate area around where I pointed began to change. Debris faded away, and stone began to warp into a large basin with four columns framing it, creating four archway openings to access the basin. The area just outside of the archways began to absorb the trash and filth, revealing a smooth but unpolished stone, forming another set of walls to encase the inner structure. And finally, with the crack of stone, three statues formed a triangle facing away from the center structure, each of what I presume to be an example of my monsters. One was a hulking creature with a series of magic-looking writing carved around different parts of the body, the second one was a many-armed thing, undoubtedly the biological constructs, and finally the third one, a tall automaton sporting many gears and bolt-like bumps along its body.
Structure Complete, All requirements fulfilled for core completion, The core may now begin construction of the dungeon proper as they please. Awarding completion DP, +10 DP
Once the screen closed out I could feel a tug at my side, a bright glow began to shine from the basin¡¯s center, and with a snap a small sphere of some kind of gem appeared, and despite having never seen it before now, I knew that this was mine, my dungeon core. A surge of emotions began to fill me, happiness, excitement, fear, anticipation, and so many more, I don¡¯t know why I was brought here, but I would become this world¡¯s best damn dungeon there is, one step at a time. Still high off of my excitement, I began to imagine just what could be, the monsters I could make, the traps that could be designed, oh the possibilities were end-
Notice Mana flow is disrupted, please unseal the dungeon entrance to allow proper mana flow.
Ah, well, I suppose I was getting ahead of myself then, how exactly do I unseal the dungeon?
To unseal the dungeon, please create an opening that reaches the outside world, the core may build rooms to the outside, or the core may use DP to create a simple tunnel to the outside world. Pointing to the closest point.
I don¡¯t think I want to spend DP just yet, so I decided that I would build my way to the outside, just about to get started before a valid point floated through my mind, yes I could reach the outside, but what would happen when I did? Some defenders would be in order if I wanted to go out there, while I¡¯m at it I might as well learn how rooms work exactly.
Dungeon Monsters The core is capable of creating special nodes called "monster nodes" which will create up to a set number of monsters of the chosen type. The monsters are bound to the dungeon and cannot leave barring monsters with the "roamer" ability. Any slain or captured monsters will be replaced and the previous monster will either be disconnected or broken down into "loot". Creating a monster node will create a sustained drain on the core''s production, however, singular monsters may be created at a lower cost but will not be replaced automatically and will not benefit from any node bonuses. Node-created monsters do not use pre-existing materials for self-maintenance, instead a portion of mana will be designated to them.
So I¡¯m not making monsters so much as I am making something that makes the monsters for me?
Indeed. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Nodes allow for the automation of various functions and when altered enough the created monsters can perform various tasks for you automatically, gathering exotic resources that are otherwise difficult or impossible for the core to interact with directly. Additionally, nodes are far more mana-efficient when compared to direct creation, one node''s upkeep cost can be as much as the costs of creating and sustaining a monster created directly. Monster choice will grow as the core develops.
So direct creation is better for things that are about the same cost as their node version¡¯s cost then?
If that is the interpretation of the core then yes.
Umm, ok, anyway, what about rooms then?
Dungeon Rooms Dungeons can improve their mana production, storage, defense, and appeal, through the use of rooms. Rooms may grant a benefit to defending monsters, enable the use of various traps, and aid in generating appeal through the repeated visitation of challengers. Rooms do not need to be sustained but require a large amount of mana to be created. Rooms must be navigable by challengers to be considered valid. Invalid rooms will be denied. The core is limited to a certain amount of rooms per floor, starting at five rooms the core will be able to create an additional 5 rooms per floor gained. Rooms will initially be empty but can be altered with a function. Rooms have a size limit based on the contents of the room, a large function room will be made larger, and a small function room will be smaller. Room choices will open up as the core develops. Rooms may be combined to form bigger spaces, any structures placed within these expanded rooms may unlock more complex structures.
Neat, and while the limit to the number of rooms I can have is, annoying, I can work with it, hopefully. Turning to the nearest point it mentioned, I began to carve room after room, creating four decently-sized rooms going from the core room to the surface with the fifth room stemming off from the room in front of the core, not taking as much mana as I thought it would have, each of the rooms only cost about 10 mana but I assume the actual heavy costs from making the rooms actually do something. Speaking of the rooms, each of them was perfectly identical, each a perfect square with more smooth unpolished stone walls, floors, and ceiling. But it was the farthest room that caught my attention, just outside of the room was a white winter mountainside, with a large forest just below and beyond the entrance. I couldn¡¯t see much in the distance and while the dungeon wouldn¡¯t let me leave I could still see that it was a bright and beautiful landscape just outside, I continued to admire this new world I was now a part of before I got a new message.
Attention Core has breached the surface and will now produce mana at the standard rate, +9 mana production. Total production: 10 per hour, 2400, storage 60/100.
Well, that wasn¡¯t too bad I-
Warning Regional mana density and leyline flow have been altered to conform to the newborn dungeon, this has led to the creation of several "mana-crazed" entities that are now heading for the dungeon core. Prepare Defenses Immediately Invaders will arrive in approximately: 10 hours
System, what monsters are available to me?
Gathering choices... Displaying choices available to [Beginner Constructs 1]
Clockworker A simple and easy-to-maintain construct, capable of performing a variety of tasks aside from those involving magic. Can use [Self-repair] Comprised of many materials and parts. Creation cost: 15 mana, 1 pound of scrap per 24 hours Node cost: 45 mana, 4 mana taken from production Creates: 4 clockworkers Inferior Golems Most magic constructs are just some type of golem, this one is no different. Formed from ambient magic and cast-off materials this construct can accomplish few tasks but can do those that it can quickly. The type of golem is standardized to the dungeon type. Current type: Rough Copper Creation Cost: 5 mana, 1 rock per 24 hours. Node Cost: 30 mana, 5 mana taken from production, Creates: 10 Inferior Golems Skeletal Mover A low-level arachnid monster that uses webbing to manipulate skeletons or similarly structured items. The mover can imitate the lower levels of swordsmanship and archery. When not provided an existing frame to attach to, the mover will spawn with a simple rock puppet suit. Can use [Skeletal Puppetry] Creation Cost: 10 mana without puppet, 5 mana with puppet, 1 pound or gallon of food per 24 hours. Node Cost: 55 mana, 6 mana taken from production, Creates: 3 Skeletal Movers
One choice from each type then, hmm, all of them were pricey but useful, nonetheless. The clockworker could do a bunch of things on top of combat even if it wasn¡¯t the best at it, and it could fix itself as well making it a far better option in the long run, helped that I already had to consider it from before. The golems were interesting in that there would be more of them, and they would be made from metal, and while rough copper doesn¡¯t fill me with the most confidence, some metal might be better than no metal. And the final choice, the skeletal mover, was rather creepy to me, I wasn¡¯t afraid of spiders too much but a giant one that controls a puppet and can use a sword and bow was pretty creepy to me, but for those very reasons it could be better than the others, the problem was that it was more expensive overall, and the only source of food I had so far was the rats I hadn¡¯t made any of yet. I had time to consider them, but a choice would need to come, fast. Ch.04 After about three hours of internal arguments, I had settled on choosing the clockworkers. It''s not that the other two weren¡¯t interesting or useful and in the future, I may even test them out but for now, we would go with the clockworkers. Creating a node for them was fairly easy, similar to the rooms all I had to do was point and command, with a white cube appearing at the top of the room, supposedly invisible to anyone but the dungeon. From that node, four small robots came made from an assortment of different parts and pieces, each reaching about four feet with one hand being like those claw machine arms and the other having a short blade attached to it. Their bodies were blocky, with grinding gears and what I assume is the source of energy within it churning away, occasionally spewing steam out of two exhausts at the side, strangely right where the butt would be.
Attention Room Feature- Simple Assembly line, has been unlocked.
Simple Assembly Line A room feature that utilizes clockworkers to produce mana by converting raw aether energy into a small variety of objects and rarely skill crystals with a less than one percent chance of a class crystal appearing. Produced parts may be used by mechanical constructs and traps, additionally, they may also be taken as loot by challengers. Capable of assimilating pre-existing materials, however, these will not grant mana. Mana Production: +3 per hour Mana Storage: + 10 Objects Produced: Assorted simple parts: 90% Mechanical Skill Crystal: 9.4% Mechanical Class Crystal: 0.6% Creation cost: 60 mana
Certainly more useful I¡¯d say, more production and mana were always going to be good, and the parts could be useful in case I need to make more mechanical monsters. But what¡¯s catching me is the crystal part, what exactly are they for?
Classes and Skills Classes and skills allow individuals to exceed their standard biological and magical limits, granting a variety of bonuses based on how they develop their class. Classes are regularly acquired through dungeons and are seen as the most reliable choice, and many dungeons are the only reason why certain classes exist to begin with. Communities often form around dungeons to make use of this fact and regularly use dungeon-created items for trade and internal use. Dungeon-provided classes and skills are based on the theme of the dungeon. This dungeon''s produced classes and skills are based on constructs with applicable magic and knowledge.
So, more stuff to attract people to me then, I think I''m getting the idea more, it¡¯s in my best interest to not just have a slew of defenders but also a lure to gather people around my dungeon who want me to thrive while also feeding me growth, interesting. Looking at the time of arrival I still had just under seven hours before I was attacked, and looking back to the room option, I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt to give it a try, it wasn¡¯t strictly a defensive one but it was something I guess, all I needed to do was wait for¡­ three hours before I had the mana to make it. And wait I did, watching my storage go up by six points every hour, which on all honestly was probably not the best thing to do, I probably could give one of the other monster options a try or make another node for more clock workers but the prospect of making this building was too enticing at the moment. After about three hours I finally had enough to make the room, only, I didn¡¯t put it right at the entrance, but instead in the room just after it, where after confirming its placement it began to build itself up, from the floor metal began to form as though it was being 3d printed straight into the room, quickly creating two assembly line machines, with the conveyer belt looping onto the other, a series of hammer looking devices hanging over the belt at various points. Once it was done though it didn¡¯t do anything, at least until another pop-up showed.
Attention Structure [Simple Assembly Line] is now complete. Assign existing mechanical constructs to begin production or create new ones for the room. If a node of an appropriate monster is placed, then the structure will work as if there is the necessary number and type of monster inside. Existing nodes can be moved.
With only four hours left, I don¡¯t think I have the time to save up for another clockworker node, so I¡¯ll just move the existing one back. Once that happened I noticed an immediate change in the room, it was silent and empty after being completed, but once the node was placed and the clockworkers waddled on over the room began to get active, and the hiss of magical machinery began to push out hot metal ingots out of one line with the hammer devices being operated by the constructs, each of them hammering it into different shapes. At the first hammer station, it was flattened, into a large circle, at the next station the metal was cut into the shape of a large cogwheel, at the third one it was refined by the hammers, somehow, and at the final station it was dunked into a large vat I didn¡¯t notice earlier of what I assume is oil. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. As they worked I could both feel and see the difference it was making already, my production had jumped back up to 9 mana per hour and my storage had gone up to 110 from 100, assuming any other rooms I built had similar improvements then I could see how I would get bigger and maintain more monsters. Speaking of monsters, I think it would be good to get the critters ready, I have them so I might as well use them. Spawning a small horde of each one, they each began to go their separate ways, the rats were starting to make small burrows using the slowly growing piles of parts that were being unceremoniously dumped around the room, teams of the creatures were even working together to pile up mounds and adjusting them so that they could fit through them. The other two were somewhat put out though, the roaches had found nowhere to go really, all they did was try and fit through the cracks in the walls and flooring to get to the trash just outside while the stonelings just kind of hung out, some of the bigger stonelings were even piling up the smaller ones into strange and funny shapes. But as the clock ticked by, I grew more anxious over the battle to come, worrying over what might happen and if I made the right choices, and as that went on the clock struck zero, well, the timer did.
Warning A large number of [mana-crazed] entities have arrived at your location.
Once the warning came and went, I could hear a rumble coming through the entrance, and through the snow and trees I could see hordes of different animals, most were running about frothing at the mouth, some were dropping off thankfully but the majority remained, trying to climb up to the entrance. As soon as the first bird shot inside though I could feel parts of myself tense up, and found that I couldn¡¯t make anything or affect the dungeon while they were attacking.
The presence of challengers and invaders disrupts the core''s ability to manipulate the dungeon, only control over existing structures, traps, and monsters is maintained.
Swell, I moved back to the clockworkers, having them get themselves ready for the first fight of their existence. When the first animal flew into the room the clockworkers sprung into action, the closest to the door reaching out and crushing the crazed creature and another stomping down on a growing horde of squirrels and rabbits. Thankfully the animals were more concerned with attacking my monsters than they were going through but that didn¡¯t stop my worry, what worried me wasn¡¯t the animals themselves but rather the state they were in as they filed into the dungeon. The smaller critters were all relatively in one piece, most just exhausted from whatever mad dash they made here, but some of the bigger animals had obviously encountered people of some sort. In one case a deer rushed in with a side covered in arrows before getting its head stabbed, and in some other cases, I could see the remnants of actual traps still attached to some wolves before a mixture of their existing wounds and the beatings from my monsters put them down. I don¡¯t know how close they are there were very likely people within ten or so hours of me, and I don¡¯t know how to feel about that. Refocusing on the battle at hand though, it was going very well I would say, my monsters were obviously getting damaged but the horde of animals was beginning to wane faster than they could damage them, helped on by the fact that most of them were exhausted and half dead by the time they got here, and after some more time the fight came to a close, the final attacker being struck by one of the workers.
Congratulations The core has survived its first invasion, +10 DP Converting invaders into growth.
Before my next thoughts fully formed the piles of bodies began to crumble to dust before the dust itself was absorbed into the walls and floors, filling something deep in my chest that I hadn¡¯t noticed before, like a hunger I didn''t know was there.
Growth Level 20%
I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s fast or not, only a couple hours here and I was already a fifth of the way to the next level, not sure if that¡¯s good or bad, but I¡¯ll take it as it is. After some time though I was able to get things back in shape, with everything nice and clean, but it was the next choice given by the system that had me thinking about what to do next.
Notice The core may construct a proper dungeon entrance to regulate those who do and do not enter the dungeon, only one entrance may be constructed at this time, and the dungeon shall choose from a selection of different types of entrances based on theme. This choice will influence the general design of the dungeon. Can cause slight alterations to monsters. Any loot will likewise be altered to be more hostile in design.
Hostile Architecture Places a focus on unnatural angles and designs that focus on disturbing and disrupting all but those that inhabit the dungeon. Use architecture to punish challengers and invaders. Cooperative Architecture Places a focus on creating appealing and aesthetic designs that do not impede challengers. Attract challengers using appealing architecture. Neutral Architecture Places a focus on efficient designs that do not impede challengers nor appeal to them in any significant way. Use efficient architecture to design structures.
That is a good point I suppose, but not necessarily the whole architecture choice it gave me rather the core point behind it was how would I want to deal with people. Even if those poor animals legged it across an entire mountain range, it was highly likely that there were people somewhere out there, and if I wanted to achieve my new goal I would need to decide how to, deal, with them. Hostile architecture from what I remember and what is explained is just structural design meant to be unappealing to people and was used for a variety of places and things back home like the debated topic of anti-homelessness features or structures that are meant to impart some less than positive impressions and feelings about the thing a person was looking at. If I went down this path, I would probably not be very well-liked as a dungeon, the aggressive design might turn people away from exploring me and helping me grow. But it might also be the safer option, turtle up and kill any who get to me without mercy or consideration, a brutal and dangerous line of thought but it was my life versus theirs unfortunately. On the other hand, though, cooperative architecture could lead to even more people coming to me, after all, people tend to choose better-looking things even if it''s not any less dangerous than any other option. Going down this route could grow my dungeon significantly faster than if I just turtled up but I could also be exposing myself to people who don¡¯t care about adventures or magically appearing swords and stuff, and instead are only here to take my core. I suppose that if I went down this route I could go with the system¡¯s suggestion of building up a rapport with the people who find me, feed them to feed me, and all that, they get loot and magic stuff, and I get bigger and stronger every time someone comes in. Finally, there is the neutral option, I¡¯ve taken this option to be exactly that, the neutral option, the option that would make very little impact on my actual ability to lure or dissuade people from coming in, and while an efficient look was perhaps its own kind of aesthetic, most people would probably align better with the cooperative choice. Looking over my mana right now, I was sitting at a total of 39 mana out of 110, it would take another day for me to refill to the max so no new monsters or rooms for now, my clockworkers could handle things for a while now, so all I could do right now is decide on where to steer my ship for the future. Do I choose hostility, cooperation, or do I just go with straight efficiency? Edward 1: The bastard of the Nightingales Edward knew that his life until now was far from terrible, hard, and difficult, but he understood from the beginning that things wouldn''t be easy. You see, Edward was the illegitimate child of Duke Nightingale, a small but well-known family under the Chosen Empire, famed for their history of land development and logistical systems that were often used to fuel the fires of the empire''s growing borders as well as enable the political machinations of the noble houses, for a price of course. For Edward though, most of this didn''t matter, bastards weren''t allowed to inherit from their parents no matter the age or sex, and more often than not they were sent to the military or given a bare-bones education a bag of gold and directions to the nearest city, but for a small group of nobles their illegitimate children weren''t given a few essentials and thrown to the side, instead they would be put to work. Of course, they still couldn''t inherit but these few families found that bastards were excellent for dangerous or experimental moves, perhaps a risky land grab, a plot to gain more influence over a city or maybe even the military, or in Edward''s case, a dungeon suppressor. Dungeon suppression was a simple but incredibly dangerous job that required people to risk life and limb exploring undiscovered dungeons and reporting their finds back to the empire, generally, the noble that owns the land, and when a new dungeon appeared in one of the least likely of places at the northernmost point of the Nightingale territory, Edward knew that he would have to risk everything again. Edward strode through the halls of his father''s mansion, having been summoned by him for what was undoubtedly another mission, it had to be since he was able to glimpse the imperial augurs before they disappeared into the night, as he opened the door to the solar, he was met by his father and half-brother, the current heir of the family. "Son, no doubt you''ve seen the augurs already, so let''s get down to business, you are to be sent to our northern territory near the Ushenk Mountains, from there you will do your duty and wait for your brother to arrive with our men, and I don''t have to remind you of the importance of this." Uther Nightingale was never expressively cruel or caring towards Edward, he never stuck him nor did he ridicule him or incite hate from his half-siblings, but he never showed much outward care, not that Edward desired it, while Uther acknowledged that Ed was his son he made it abundantly clear that their relationship was transactional, in exchange for a decent upbringing and the investment of money and resources to train his magical talents, Edward was to work for the family for 30 years or after producing enough value for the family that Uther agreed to release him from his debt. But his comment about how important this particular mission would be was not lost on Edward, dungeons were a precious resource for not just the empire but for every nation of every land, it was then safe to say that whoever controlled the dungeons commanded a massive amount of power. If House Nightingale acquired a dungeon, then other houses would be tripping over themselves just to gain an audience with Uther or his children. "Understood, but may I ask how long it will be before Arthur can reach me, the dungeon would be the least of our problems with the Ushenk ogre clans ranging nearby." Arthur is the older half-brother of Ed, tall, handsome, and full of youthful confidence, there was little doubt that he was the perfect heir to the family. And despite the many attempts by Arthur''s mother to poison her son against Edward, the two were able to form something of a brotherly bond, and while they disagreed on plenty of things, both would agree that they care for one another. "Father and I have already begun assembling a force of laborers and craftsmen that will begin construction on an outpost, from there we will begin planning out the construction of a fortress town. Once the outpost is established, you and I will begin negotiating with the ogres, they have been upholding their side of the treaty so there shouldn''t be too much trouble." That was a rather optimistic view of things, the Ushenk clans were on the better side of things as ogres go, but just because you only cannibalize other ogres isn''t as much of a comfort as they think it is. That being said, however, the Ushenk clans signed an agreement to not raid and eat the Nightingale''s people or livestock and in return, the ogres could join the empire''s war efforts, which might sound like it heavily favors the family but ogres typically worship Kruul, the god of orderly war who is worshiped through honorable combat between two formal enemies, and with the reports of there being Kruul clerics and perhaps even a paladin among the ogres the deal seems more equal. Regardless, the ogres were a lesser problem than the dungeon, if Ed wasn''t careful with it then not only could he lose his life, but the dungeon might go into a frenzy from his attempted suppression. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "I''ve already prepared the funds for the journey, buy as you need and keep the rest, and additionally I am giving you permission to use the, exotic, magic you learned at the academy. All I ask is that you keep it contained to the mountain, we don''t need a Holy March on our hands." Father and son frown, with Arthur simply giving a disapproving grunt as an answer, the exotic magic Uther is referring to is Edward''s innate magical alignment, that of infernal magic. Infernal magic from an academic standpoint was simply just another form of magic with more dangerous aspects than others, but to those without magic and those ignorant to the workings of magic, infernal magic became the ''evil'' magic, having been the magic used for many planar incursions by archdemons and their followers. When Ed first learned of his magical alignment, he thought that it would get him cast out of the academy and thrown in jail, thankfully his professor was able to help him out of the panic, showing him how to use his talents safely. Despite this help, however, the looming threat of someone calling a Holy March on him was ever-present during those years, with such a thing having happened just a decade prior when a student hid a relatively harmless fear mimic in a teacher''s wardrobe. Last that was heard from him he had been executed by the Seven Gods Church for heresy and terrorism. Ed would use the next few days to prepare for the journey, going into town to buy various travel necessities and such, until finally, the day had come to set out for the dungeon. "[Conjure Lesser Flying Mount]" A mid-tier conjuration spell, finding, pulling, and controlling a helbeast from the infernal realm, glowing blue runes formed a large circle from which a familiar beast comes, a Coalwing. It wasn''t a very powerful creature, coalwings aren''t used much by demons or devils outside of a quick and dirty ride, but in the Prime Material, they were a staple for infernal conjurers, unfortunately though, my thoughts on it were cut short by the drawing of swords, seems that few can appreciate helbeasts. "It''s alright, it''s under my control and besides, coalwings aren''t that aggressive, for infernals that is." Arthur just gave me a face that just screams ''really''. "I don''t doubt your ability to control the beast son, but its presence is a risk regardless of its danger, you better make it there quickly. Your brother will be joining you in three months, after which you will proceed with the plan." Nodding, my brother and I grasped each other by the forearms. "Maybe with you gone the family might start acting right." "Hah, fat chance that is, soon as I''m gone, they''ll start harping you about banishing me." And with that, I mounted my steed, ascending high above the trees and close to the clouds, and pointed towards my destination. The journey itself wasn''t all that eventful, eight days of travel and rest got dull exceptionally quickly, and with little else to do, I just practiced magic, a hobby of mine as well as a necessity. All magic is founded on the concept that power comes with a price, so says the great gods of magic, and to get something you must give something, normally it''s just mana but some magic such as infernal, have additional prices or conditions. Those with a talent for the infernal must take care to not become infernal, this is because using the magic of fiends slowly transforms the user bit by bit over decades, actually it''s been known to happen over a couple of years for those that used it excessively, but once the transformation is done the person will be anchored to the infernal plane and be dragged from the Prime Material into Perdition. Despite this however infernal magic is also powerful, almost to an excess in fact, the coalwing I summoned was only a lesser helbeast, not even a proper demon, and far from a devil, but already it was capable of killing scores of soldiers, albeit those without the proper equipment and training. Even with such a powerful tool, however, I''m still unsure if I could solo a dungeon, even with the aid of a pull party of helbeasts as dungeons were notorious for producing creatures capable of far more than their more natural counterparts were. Seeing the mountains just in the distance, I began to slowly descend to the ground, making sure not to draw any more attention to myself than necessary and switched from my coalwing to a more suitable mount for the environment, a Bile Bear, an ursine creature formed from the Rotting Ring, a region of the infernal plane. It was far from an attractive beast, but it was powerful and despite the boils and sacks of acidic bile covering its body, it was exceptionally durable. Crawling up the mountain toward the dungeon entrance, the location supplied by the augurs, I came across a strange scene, a line of metal dogs things were dragging scattered animal carcasses toward the entrance, the entrance itself was a simple doorway constructed from a mixture of bronze and iron, with strange devices that reminded me of the gnomish inventions my father once bought as a gift for some capital noble, but it was too far up, how could anything get int there? But as soon as I tried to get a better look they spotted me, at first getting into a defensive stance in front of the entrance before slowly backing up onto a strange metal platform, I thought perhaps it was similar to Mage''s Paradise, a dungeon that utilized magic heavily, but instead the ground began to lift towards the entrance, taking the monster dogs up and into the dungeon before the strange metal plate descended back onto the ground. I decided to retreat and get ready to explore it tomorrow, it would be foolish to try and explore it after eight days of almost straight travel, and I would need to be alert for any strange and unknown traps it may contain. ch.05 A week had passed since the attack, and much had changed, not everything of course, the dungeon was still largely the same, but it was furnished now. After I chose the neutral architecture option, I was given a bunch of different decorations, some were admittedly useless, but they were cheap and the sleek grey stone walls were getting boring to look at every day. However, some of the decorations did have a functional use, for example, the many different types of pottery I could make can be used to store ¡®exotic¡¯ materials along with loot to lure in people or even food to attract animals. But that wasn¡¯t the only thing that changed, before the attack it seemed as though many animals had already died from their sprint here which attracted many scavengers. At first, it was the usual suspects, birds, and bugs, but after a while, the larger creatures came in for an easy snack. Unfortunately, though, the madness that afflicted those animals had somehow tainted their bodies, and the many wolves that were feasting on easy meals also went mad and made the mad dash for my dungeon. They were killed, obviously, but after what was probably the eighth pack, I had unlocked two new monsters, the first one was just a regular wolf, and the other was also a wolf, but instead, it was mechanical. The mechano-canine was a dog-like mechanical construct designed to scavenge materials from junkyards, and for my purposes, the only monster I had so far that could leave my dungeon. For most of the week, I was having a team of mechanical puppers on something of a devious routine, scavengers would find a convenient meal, only to be surprised by a team of metal hounds. It might not have been the most humane method of growing, and every day I saw fewer animals take the bait, but the boost it gave me to my growth was well worth it. At 45% growth, I was almost halfway to the next level, and reaping the rewards, whatever they were, and absorbing enough bodies of something apparently gave me the ability to make it myself. As for the rest of the dungeon, the only notable addition is that of the entrance room, a room that is meant to receive challengers and allow both them and me time to prepare. The room itself isn¡¯t that special honestly, just a sizeable stone box room with a mechanical door and lift on the outside which was pretty sick to get but mostly it just goes up and down. Moving to the present, I had something of a problem on my hands, just earlier my dogs encountered someone, a young man riding atop an incredibly diseased-looking bear, it was probably magic but anything with that many painful sacks growing from it could only be in incredible pain. And once he got closer to the lift, I actually got my answer.
Warning! Infernal energies detected!
Infernal, like demons and stuff?
Demonic entities are classified as infernal, however, infernal is a blanket term that applies to all beings, objects, and energies from the Infernal Plane. Three primary classes of infernals exist, helbeasts, demons, and devils. Statistically, infernals are the cause of the majority of planar incursions.
Neat. I guess my next question is if I could make my own infernals, I can evidently earn more monsters if I absorb enough of them, having such powerful creatures would be useful.
Negative Infernal entities have proven to be unreliable guardians and have regularly attempted to manipulate their dungeon core when such an option existed before. That option was replaced [...] years ago during the [...] even, in exchange the Umbral Realm was granted its spot instead.
You good system, you kinda blanked on some of that.
Negative the core lacks proper clearance to know that information. Increase core level to gain more clearance.
Ok, I suppose I¡¯ll just have to wait until that day comes then, despite that though I was still curious about the person and his mount. Just how did they find me, and what would they do now that they had? As said previously I had no desire to become a murder cave, but that wouldn¡¯t stop me from defending myself from taking down anyone that tried to pull a fast one on me. So, my best course of action right now, at least in the short to mid-term, would be to begin shoring up my defenses and developing my production capabilities. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Looking over my current assets, I had a full tank of mana, 29 dp to spend, and four different rooms to build into with 9 mana production to work with. If I wanted to go nuts and fill out every room, I had with something and make something to operate it I would need to focus on increasing my overall production. On the other hand, while eight mechanical monsters gave me some breathing room regarding my defensive development, with my discovery it was likely that more organized groups of intelligent people would start to seek me out. With that in mind, I would need to carefully balance my resource production with my resource spending. Pulling up my list of monsters, I had access to four so far, magic, mechanical, and biological constructs, as well as the wolves I picked up during all of this. While I did feel inclined to focus more on mechanical constructs it would be good to give the other two a try, I did take stonelings, and worse comes to worse the bio-ones could eat some rats. Of course, I don¡¯t have the mana production to support creating both nodes, but I hope that like the clockworkers, making each of them will unlock a room that¡¯ll give me enough mana to construct the other while still having some extra. Starting at the first room, not the entrance, I placed the node for the skeletal mover monsters, and from the node came three spider creatures. They were large, very large, and had soft pale flesh, initially, they were confused as to the lack of puppets but after a short trip from the workers to drop off some of the parts the rats hadn¡¯t claimed, the movers were scuttling around the piles of parts, assembling and webbing together different limbs and pieces to form something that looked somewhat humanoid. And as each of them finished they scuttled up the walls, attaching their front set of legs to their creations with a set of nearly invisible webs. Shakily standing on clumsy legs a trio of metal puppets made from the random parts produced by the assembly line, the movers were ready, and just in time too, I¡¯ve unlocked a room because of them.
Puppet Hatchery A room feature that enables skeletal movers and similar arachnid monsters to convert raw aether into arachnid-derived items with a small chance of arachnid-based skill and class crystals forming. Produced items may be used in alchemical processes and will also be counted as loot if taken by challengers. Using pre-existing biomatter will not produce mana but will allow for more items. Mana Production: +5 per hour Mana Storage: + 5 Objects Produced: Silk: 40% chance Venom Casket: 30% Assorted Bodily Parts: 10% Fertile Spider Eggs: 10% Mechanical Skill Crystal: 9.4% Mechanical Class Crystal: 0.6% Creation cost: 50 mana
Just enough, guess I¡¯m lucky. Unlike the metal and stone assembly line, the hatchery began to form itself from large thick swathes of webbing and some kind of organic paste, I couldn¡¯t tell if it had a smell or not but the vapor coming from it was probably not all that great. As it finished construction I could feel the increase already, although I wondered why it gave more mana than the assembly line, was there that much of a difference?
The difference in mana production correlates to the fact that organic matter more easily produces mana but has a limited ability to store it, this difference may seem minor for the moment but as the core develops and its needs change the difference will become more apparent.
So, if living things make more mana but can¡¯t really keep it all that well does that mean I should balance them out? Would it be better to just go all in on organics in that case?
Negative The core is free to undertake any path of development it has unlocked, the focus on high-production organic structures and creatures is one such path but do not mistake it for the only one, all paths are valid for the core.
That¡¯s good and looking over my production and stored mana I could also create the golems and get their room. Setting them down just after the assembly line, the group of golems began to form tendrils of energy collecting and forming into coppery human shapes without any features or fingers. Their bodies were metal, but it seemed as though the rough part was quite inaccurate, I could see ugly and awkward lumps where impurities and weak spots were located, add to that they were short, about half the size of the clockworkers which I¡¯d put around two or so feet. I¡¯m not sure how they would have fared against the attack but there were a lot of them so who knows what could have happened. Once their room was unlocked, I looked it over, I didn¡¯t have the mana to make it yet but in a couple of days, I probably could.
Formation Room A room that converts and forms raw aether into magically charged crystals, has a small chance to produce ability and class crystals. Produced crystals will contain magic appropriate to the floor the room is in, the deeper it is the more charged they are. Produced crystals will be of a rarity relative to the floor the room is in, the deeper it is the rarer the crystals are. More crystals can be produced but at the expenditure of mana content within each. Mana Production: +4 per hour Mana Storage: + 15 Objects Produced: Assorted Common Magic Minerals: 50% Assorted Uncommon Magic Crystals: 40% Select Rare Magic Crystals: 5% Chaos Crystals: 4% Ability Crystal: 0.5% Class Crystal: 0.5% Creation cost: 60 mana
It would take a while, about 17 or so hours with my 3 per hour, but I could easily get the 60 required for its construction. All that remained for now was to wait until more things came to me there wasn¡¯t much I could do for now, at least until I had more mana anyway. I wonder how the rats are doing. ch.06 It was the next day by the time I had enough mana to make the formation room, the stone walls becoming rougher and less uniform, taking an appearance closer to that of a more naturally occurring cave than a room in a dungeon. As it finished forming, the golems scattered amongst the rubble, crawling over stones and the beginnings of crystal formations, nothing too exciting though, whatever leftover knowledge I retained from school about minerals told me that they were mostly just quartz, agates, and what I think is fluorite, I never paid to much attention to geology in sophomore year. With that room operable my mana production was bumped up to 7 per hour, with 130 mana storage, quite the improvement I say. But since I have some more mana production and storage, I should look towards using it now, I still have two more rooms to fill and another monster spawn to use, the wolves might not be the most thematic for my dungeon but perhaps they could be useful. Worst-case scenario I either don¡¯t make anything or just copy an existing room and monster node. Before I could get into my thoughts though, I could feel a shift in the dungeon, standing at the entrance I could see that guy from before, the one who had that demon bear with him. Only, this time he was surrounded by a group of more demon creatures, several small hellish-looking dogs led by a larger more wolf-like hound. Without much of a word, he sent his creatures up the cliff, having figured out how to use the lift, and sent his creatures on the attack. They first stepped into the entrance proper, the lift docking into the room, the door shutting tight behind them. They were momentarily confused but after a second, they pushed forward into the hatchery, seeing the three metal puppets swaying towards them with blunt and razor arms. My movers were able to surprise them initially with a speed that something made of clunky metal probably shouldn¡¯t have, managing to group up on the closest of the hounds, beating and stabbing it with clumsy yet deadly precision. This benefit didn¡¯t last long though, the leader hound commanded the remaining four to jump back before my puppets could move onto them. After they began to encircle the trio, nipping and biting at them to make them move back, thankfully since the puppets were just that, the tactic didn¡¯t work as well. And it wasn¡¯t until a second dog was killed did, they abandoned the defensive stance and went on full attack, the remaining three hounds and leader dog piled onto one puppet that had its back turned toward them and began dragging it away from the other two. The result of this was rather funny though, the skeletal mover was pulling on the puppet¡¯s strings with the help of the other two, drawing attention to themselves while their puppets fell to the floor. Unfortunately for my innocent, yet creepy, spiders the leader hound took the chance to jump an impressive height and drag the three down, using their teamwork to snatch them. Sadly, the other hounds began to bite and rip apart my spiders, my poor poor spiders. But as much as I mourned my brave soldiers, I did get to see what happens when they die, once the hounds were done with their attacks what remained of them began to glow and fade away, leaving behind three items. Two of the three was a rather nice-looking spool of spider silk, the third item though, was a set of gloves with a spool of thread on one, inspecting it revealed something rather interesting, in the fact that it¡¯s incredibly fantasy.
Spider Silk Razor Wire (Low Quality) A dungeon-made set of razor-wire gloves, usable by control mages and skilled individuals. Attributes: Mana Wire, the wire is infused with magic, it can be controlled by someone skilled in mana manipulation. Razor Wire, the wire is sharp.
Magic razor wire that can move around with more magic, I don¡¯t play bingo but if I did, I¡¯m sure I would be able to mark off the ¡®unusual magic weapon¡¯ box if it was there. But returning to the battle, the hounds ignored the loot drops and began to move a room forward, inching their way into the assembly room where they were assaulted by my clockworkers. Whether they had anticipated being attacked immediately or not, they were able to get back before the first clockworker got them. Unlike last time they had no hesitation in attacking, dragging one of them away and tearing its arms and legs off, but while they were busy tearing it apart my other three were able to drag two of the remaining smaller ones off, one worker quickly crunching the skull of the one it got. In contrast, the other two tore theirs in half, discarding the body to the wayside. Stopping themselves, the remaining two made a break for the next room, both jumping over the workers but only the leader hound succeeded, the one that failed met a similarly grim fate to the rest of them. I¡¯m not sure what its plan was, to be honest, since the moment it landed in the formation room it got swarmed by 10 different grasping metal hands, and it gave them a good fight too since it was able to chomp four of them before the remaining six managed to take it down. But with the last of the attack dogs taken care of, I could feel the dungeon return to normal as well as cleaning up the mess they left behind, I even gained another 10% in my growth. As the last of the blood was absorbed by the ground, I could see the spawn nodes begin to resummon their monsters, creating a rather sullen-looking trio of spiders, a somehow confused quartet of clockworkers, and replacing the missing four golems, all none the wiser to having been killed. Are these monsters the same as the ones before, the spiders aren¡¯t exactly sending me feelings of happiness at having been taken down at once.
Correct, however, the resummoned monsters retain only the moments before their death, this can be altered by purchasing a special trait for the floor the monster resides on through the use of DP.
DP, aside from that first accidental purchase I hadn¡¯t interacted with it all that much, perhaps after this situation I could start messing around with it. As things returned to relative normality, I could feel the dungeon go back into combat mode and saw a fresh trio of hounds at the entrance. But unlike before these showed no interest in fighting, simply grabbing the dropped loot and running back to the entrance and somehow getting the doors and lift to go down, taking their prize with them. I couldn¡¯t see much of where they went after they got into the trees below the entrance, but I assumed that the guy was there. My main concern is the performance of my defenses, yes, they did stop them but at a hefty price, two-thirds of my forces were killed, and if it wasn¡¯t for my golems swarming the last one, I''m not sure what would have happened. But what I know is that it needed to change, and fast, if the summoner was still around then it was very likely that I would face similar attacks shortly. So far all three of my existing rooms and their occupants were a mixed bag as far as combat performance was concerned, which realistically wasn¡¯t that unexpected, the clockworkers were stated to be laborers and busybodies, while the golems were more of an accident in covered in metal. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The skeletal movers were the only ones who seemed to have the expressed intent of being designed to kill seeing as they use puppets to fight with, this big problem is that they are held back by their low status, and the quality of the parts they are using. One solution could be to fill the next two rooms with some of my existing monsters and structures, the big problem is that people would only need to go through one of them since the other is a splinter room with little to attract them. Perhaps there is a solution in this DP shop?
Dungeon Store Point - Current balance: 29 This store exists to enable dungeons to utilize DP.
Monsters* Purchase Random Low-tier monster: 10 DP Purchase Random Mid-tier monster: 30 DP Purchase Random High-tier Monster: 100 DP Purchase Existing Monster Variant: 120 DP Purchase Random Special Monster: 200 DP Purchase Random Critter: 5 Dp *Monsters will typically trend towards the core''s theme; however, it is still random. [Multiple options locked due to core level.]
Traps* Purchase random trap: 5 DP Purchase trap improvement: 25 DP *Trap level and effectiveness are scaled according to the floor it is on. [Multiple options locked due to core level.]
Room Features* Advanced Assembly Line: An all-around improvement to the simple assembly line, it allows for the creation of more advanced components. Expensive to construct. Price: 50 DP Puppet Evolutionary Pit: Allows arachnid-type monsters to undergo specialized evolutions, the number of evolutions is limited based on the floor number. Evolutions require DP. Price: 50 DP Purification Room: An improvement over the formation room, it allows denser mana crystals and can generate wild crystal golems. Wild golems are uncontrollable but can be consumed by dungeon golems to temporarily improve stats. Price: 50 DP Room Gating: Allows the construction of durable doors between different rooms, these doors can be controlled by the core at will provided a challenger is not present in the room. Unlocks further door-based upgrades once purchased. Price 10 DP *Available purchase options are dependent on unlocked room features.
Special Upgrades* Room Upgrades: Combat Assembly Line: This allows the core to modify an assembly line to produce combat parts and weapons and reduces mana production. Price: 25 DP Bio-Puppets: This allows puppet hatcheries to produce organic puppets of a chosen specialty. Bio-puppets require sustenance. Price: 60 Golem Core Amalgamation: This allows any golems assigned to a formation room to randomly amalgamate another golem, granting increased stats and granting the resulting golem the abilities of both. This may result in the creation of chaos-aligned golems. Price: 100 DP Monster Upgrades: Clockworker: Hardened Materials: Improves the base materials of all clockworkers. Price: 25 DP Simple Electronics System: grants clockworkers improved work efficiency at the cost of requiring a source of electricity. Price: 35 DP [Multiple options locked due to core level] Skeletal Mover: Steel String: Improves web durability. Price: 15 DP Chitinous Spray: Grants the ability to produce a chitin-derived spray that can trap enemies. Price: 30 DP [Multiple options locked due to core level] Inferior Golems: Lesser Durability: Grants greater physical resistance. Price: 10 DP Group Cohesion: Allows for group thinking. Price: 50 DP [Multiple options locked due to core level] *Special Upgrades are unlocked when monsters, rooms, and traps are unlocked. *Upgrades are priced according to their impact and potential benefits.
Well, that was a lot to read, and rather irritating as well. Pretty much most of the stuff in the store is just out of my price or so far beyond it that I don¡¯t know how long it would take to get the points for them, and most of them are cool-looking too. And while some of them are concerning like the oddly gatcha options for traps and monsters, most of the other upgrades and unlocks could be lifesavers and the rest would be convenient to have. Calming myself down, if they¡¯re priced the way that they are then it should be possible to earn more DP than just what my production gives me. What other methods of acquiring Dp do I have available?
There are many methods of acquiring DP, one such method is the achievement of various special goals or necessary milestones of growth. Additionally, the deal of soul-bearing creatures awards 10 DP each time. Other methods are available at later core levels.
Well, that was helpful and uninformative to boot. Assumably, it means growth milestones like when I broke to the surface and finalized my core, which means I need to start grinding away at those requirements for the next core level. The problem I¡¯m seeing though is that I might get swept up in trying to get DP and levels that I might not properly build my dungeon. For the short term, I could probably work on getting core levels and filling out space since I did still have two extra rooms, but as time goes on, I¡¯m going to have to think in terms of the long game. Pulling up the requirements, it''s probably better to know what I''m getting into before I commit.
Core Requirements Build and fill five rooms (3/5) Create two monster nodes (3/2) Complete Establish a simple ecosystem with critters (Incomplete) Survive your first attack, Complete
Hmm, I honestly thought I would be harder, but then again, I am a baby core so I guess simple is what I should expect for a couple of levels. Filling out the rooms is going to be annoying since I¡¯ll have to juggle my production and stored amount, but it should be easy. What gets me though is the critter ecosystem, I already know that they could be useful. Still, I don¡¯t need to be an ecologist to tell you that I have no idea what a balanced ecosystem looks like with three creatures, two of which aren¡¯t even actual animals. Short of making the rats prey on themselves I have no idea what to do here, although I could buy a new critter to see if I can luck my way into something I could use. What the hell, let''s spin the wheel!
Acknowledged -5 DP, processing...
Congratulations, You have been granted the critter, [Black Ouraborian Worm]!
Ok, what the hell. Ch.07 I stared at the critter, and I think it started at me, which is odd considering it doesn¡¯t have eyes, but I doubt it would need them given what it was.
Black Ouraborian Worm An infamous worm-type creature that borders the line between monster and critter. They are infamous for consuming minerals, mundane and exotic, to produce an energy-dense substance highly valued in alchemy, engineering, and agriculture. Ouraborian worms are docile creatures, however unlucky individuals have been accidentally consumed by them. The black variety is one of the smaller species but makes up for it with a more durable exoskeleton. Very large.
Room Unlocked!
Its body was large and indeed covered in a thick-looking shell, it wasn¡¯t very long but it still took up most of the side room I spawned it in. You could almost call it cool if it wasn¡¯t for the singular part that nearly gave me a ghost heart attack: when I saw its face all I saw was a massive open maw lined with needlepoint teeth going inwards. And unlike past creatures, I could actually feel this one thinking, but its appearance and the lighting made Wormy the very hungry caterpillar into Wormy eater of souls. Also, as a side note why did summoning a critter unlock a room, the others didn¡¯t when I made them. But after a moment to calm my non-existent heart, I went back to the multiple matters at hand. Wormy¡¯s purpose, and that of the other worms, was to help me create a stable ecosystem which is possible now I suppose. The worms and their eggs were edible, and rats are omnivores as well as have a nose for metals and such, so it should be possible to arrange them and the other two critter groups to set up a cycle. Ok cool, I have a plan now, but the other question is about the two rooms, the side one was currently inhabited by my now strangely happy worm while the one connecting to the core room was still empty. Hm, I unlocked another room when I summoned Wormy, and I could still unlock either the robot dog room or the regular wolf rooms so I could argue with myself over one of them. I¡¯ll just look over the worm room before deciding.
Worm Hole A room that allows worm-type creatures to safely leave and return to the dungeon, producing mana based on the assigned creature. Available Worm-types: [Black Ouraborian Worm] +5 mana production, +10 mana storage, produces an energy-dense material. Creation Cost: 60 mana.
Not bad, not that bad at all, and the statement that the output changes means that if I get any other worm monsters or critters then I could have different outputs, maybe even more mana. I¡¯m at full tank at the moment so it should be fine, it provides no extensive defensive bonus but it¡¯s just a side room, so I don¡¯t have much hope of it doing much anyway, plus Wormy is looking rather uncomfortable and that¡¯s starting to make me sad. As soon as the room started building, I could see the room become more like a factory space, with tiled floors, handrails, and even placed with different markings, some for pickup and others for drop off. While Wormy didn¡¯t seem all that happy about being right in the middle of it all, it did seem happy with the results, happily plunging into a giant borehole that opened in the middle of the room and starting to dig/eat its way down, some rats hopping on its back as it went down. I couldn¡¯t go down the hole nor could I see much inside once the worm got far enough down but after a while, it came back up, pushing out a giant ball of stuff. According to the system and what I read just before, it should be the resource-dense material it produces, but it just kinda looks like a giant ball of worm poop. So, do I do anything with it, I don¡¯t have any plants or anything that could use it as far as I¡¯m aware? It does mention that it can be used in machines, maybe the assembly line could use it. Having the clockworkers move into their room I had them shovel a small amount into the burner, the machine that spat out the raw materials they formed into parts. It took a moment, but the assembler began to bulge out from some pressure that was forming, steaming and glowing with heat until it all stopped for a moment, what happened next nearly gave me another heart attack. The material dispenser shotgunned out way more metal the usual, striking one of the workers and pinning them on the wall. That wasn¡¯t even the worst part though, so far, I could somewhat tell that I was being fed mana by the rooms, but what was usually a relatively pleasant stream of power momentarily turned into a goddamn waterfall of mana, turning the full belly feeling of full mana storage into the desire for death I was experiencing. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
WARNING! Core has dangerously exceeded the mana limit, purging excess mana.
Thankfully the pain stopped, and the system did something with all the excess power. Christ that hurt, lightheaded, and still feeling the phantom pain from just the memory, I could barely think before going back to my knees with how weak I felt after that. After a few hours, I was able to get up, still feeling the effects of my little experiment, what the hell caused that, obviously it was the worm poop but just how does that end up in this situation?
The high amount of energy packed within the material by the [black ouraborian worm] combined with the assembly line''s ability to convert some matter into mana created a situation where more mana than could be handled was produced.
Well, that was neat and interesting for the future, but I¡¯ll have to save it for when I can handle it all. As for the remainder of the worm poop, I just had my guys shove it out of the dungeon, saving a tiny bit to mess around with, you never know when it could be useful. But, in a somewhat roundabout way, this all brings me back to the situation of making my last room, I could use the mech dogs and unlock their room, or I could use the wolves and unlock their rooms. The mech dogs would probably create another machine-type room, having a lower ability to produce mana but able to store more in exchange. Or I could try the wolves and likely get some kind of wolf den which might produce more mana but store less since the monster would be more organically focused, I think, the vision of a wolf den is mostly stone, so we¡¯ll see if I choose it. Actually, I had learned that without making a node I don¡¯t unlock a room so I could just make one of each and compare them. In the final room before the core, I spawned one of each, a wolf and a mecha hound. The wolf was honestly normal all things considered, and aside from the pure white fur the most notable thing about it was the large size, with the one I made being about four or five feet tall, it did look very cute though but that might just be the fact that it wouldn¡¯t bit my head off, if I had a head that is. Despite the smaller size, the mecha dog was still more visually interesting, a bronze metallic body with rough metal plating protecting the internal mechanisms, it was similar to a great Dane but smaller. The benefits of the mecha hounds were already there, not only could they leave the dungeon for extended periods, but they could also perform pack tactics, add the fact that their bodies don¡¯t need food and can be easily fixed makes them a good choice, and to boot they also fit with my dungeon theme. The wolves on the other hand do have some merit, their size for one would be enough for some situations, and much like the mecha hounds they could also use pack tactics, the biggest draws I could think of honestly is that organic monster rooms produce more mana and that I might be able to incorporate them into my theming at some point.
Offer: In exchange for all current DP, the core may merge the blueprints of the [Wolf] and [Mecha-Hound] blueprints to create an improved creature. The outcome is semi-random and thus the result is unknown.
I can combine monsters, could I always do this?
Negative, this is a one-time allowance until the core reaches the proper level.
Back to my level then, suppose I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised that the important stuff is behind the level requirement. This latest option brought more considerations though, not only would I lose all my DP and two of my available monsters, but I could end up stuck with a creature that was not worth the sacrifice. If I chose either the wolves or hounds, I would still be able to use the other in the future but if I went forward with the offer, then I would lose both in exchange for something unknown. Another thing to consider is the fact that I have to guess if either of the three would provide any defensive benefits, my current selection of buildings was useful but lacked any real defense to them. The hatchery was mostly just there, the assembly line was just a workstation for the clockworkers, the formation room would probably only show its worth once people found me, and the worm hole produced stuff I couldn¡¯t use. All of them were useful don¡¯t get me wrong, but mainly for their mana production and storage. The theoretical wolf or hound den might give that protection instead, the only problem is that wolves aren¡¯t exactly ¡®defender¡¯ animals, yeah, they can fight and defend their hunting grounds, but I¡¯ve seen enough nature documentaries to know that this defense isn¡¯t the kind I need. Just what should I do? Ch.08
You have lost access to both the [mecha-hound] and [wolf] monsters, in exchange you have received the [Black Iron Canid].
Black Iron Canid (Stripped) The black iron canid was first seen following the fall of the first era, inspired by the once-great and now long-dead machines, this machine is designed with the quintessential aspects that all canids share and holds great speed, power, endurance, and a modicum of grace. The canid is a lonesome creature and will gain benefits from being alone. This creature provides little but the strength of metal and the cunning of a living mind. Creation Cost: 100 mana, 2 pounds of organics daily, 2 pounds of metal daily. Node Cost: 120 mana, 10 mana taken from production. Creates one creature. This creature is derived from the First Era [REDACTED] and thus will be limited until created on floor 50.
Nothing? I guess it stays silent sometimes, I might as well get things on with then. In the final room, I summoned my newest minion and as the heavy price left my stores, I saw something that made it almost all worth it from the spectacle alone. All black, it looked more like a skeleton than anything, the metal bones formed an almost graceful image, and the long skeletal tail was moving less like a tail and more like a weapon poised to strike. It was both futuristic and magical simultaneously, having none of the simple steam-based machinery of the clockworkers or any visible organic parts like the movers. Pushing the room unlock to the side for now, I couldn¡¯t help but ask why it felt so incomplete.
Due to the core level, a majority of the relevant information has been removed. The monster [Black Iron Canid] has been stripped of nonessential mechanisms and armor due to the low-level floor it has been created in, additionally, it has been further reduced due to its design and functions being from the First Era. No other information will be shared regarding the origin of the design or why it has been limited.
Hm, there was something more here, I could feel it, but without a higher core level, I couldn¡¯t uncover whatever I had just discovered. Nonetheless, if I wanted answers and the best path was to gain levels, and so to get my first level up I looked at the newly unlocked room, nearly choking on my ghostly tongue when I saw it.
Canid Den (Stripped) The den of an old killer, torn from a time long lost and set to a new goal, this den provides both a place of respite for the machine beast and its killing grounds. This structure provides an overall bonus to a canid''s abilities. This structure provides no increase to mana production or storage as it refocuses all of its produced mana to reduce the upkeep of the canid. No produced objects. Creation Cost: 120 mana
God damn that¡¯s expensive and with no mana production or storage either. But I don¡¯t have much choice now, while I could stick with my existing rooms and get their benefits, I already took the offer and already made a canid, best if I stick with it for now. After shaving off a tiny portion of some of the worm stuff, I managed to get the mana for the room. As it formed within the room, it formed sleek black onyx surfaces that gave the appearance of either stone or perhaps even metal. Molding into a circular shape, as though the room was one giant geode, with a cave being formed by the entrance to the core room. Once it was all done my canid took up a place inside the den that was just out of sight because of the shadows, a series of small tubes hooked up to it from the floor that pumped a clear fluid into the skeletal body.
Congratulations. The core has fulfilled the requirements to advance to level 2! +1 floor limit The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Added gross mana production to base production. +30 mana per hour +100 mana storage (240 storage) +1 level 1 perk choice +1 focusing choice. +1 level 2 monster choice* +10 DP for leveling up. *Requires choosing a perk and focus choice before being available.
Wait, if I level up despite not having reached 100% growth then what¡¯s the purpose of it?
level-up and growth are linked but separate things, level-ups improve the overall functions and abilities of the dungeon and grant a variety of choices to them. On the other hand, growth influences DP gain rate and [redacted]
So even at level 2 I still don¡¯t have much access, just what is going on here, is there some kind of big picture out there? Regardless though I had a level-up to focus on and some choices to agonize over. Taking in the level-up screen I certainly felt more powerful, will all level-ups be this good, cause if I¡¯m getting my gross production back every level then I might have to be more careful what I build. Stopping myself from getting too giddy, I refocused on the other rewards, more storage was going to be useful but I¡¯m not quite sure what perks or a ¡®focusing choice¡¯ were, perhaps a certain system could do its thing? The information came up as always, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel like the usual jingle was somehow, annoyed.
Perks A reward to recently leveled-up dungeons that provides a benefit for one or more aspects. Perks have levels of effect that are granted based on the level of the previous highest floor. Focusing Provides a dungeon the chance to focus on a particular area of its theme, and also allows for generalization as an option.
Rather simple I guess, a bonus for leveling up and a way to focus on a particular thing, neat.
Level 1 perks: Structural Efficiency 1: Grants mechanical structures and monsters improved efficiency and reduces upkeep. +1 mana production for all mechanical structures and -1 mana upkeep from mechanical monsters. Node upkeep is reduced by 1. Offspring 1: Allows biological constructs to produce a limited number of inferior versions of themselves. Creates the chance of ''tameable'' creatures. Allows biological constructs to produce a single offspring, but does not apply to special monsters. Artificial Elementalism 1: Some magical constructs have the chance to develop an affinity for a basic magical element. basic elements: fire, water, air, earth. Does not influence cost. Grants a minor ability to use that affinity.
Interestingly, the perks were rather simple but that was to be expected, but still, they were more than worth considering for their long-term impact. Structural efficiency promised a small amount of mana production and a single point of upkeep that would be returned to me. This would give me two additional mana from the assembly line and den while also giving back two more mana from the clockworker and canid nodes. Short term this might not be much but long term, factoring in the level-up bonus, I could have potentially dozens or even hundreds of more mana production, once I got to those points. The offspring perk though, was nothing to scoff at though. The addition of more monsters for almost no price was big since it would be a boost to my number of defenders and producers. Right now that would mean that I would have three skeletal movers and three lesser versions defending the first room, giving them more aid during attacks. Artificial elementalism was the only problematic one though and not entirely its fault. I haven¡¯t used them for much of anything, and my current dungeon layout was either biological or mechanical, leaving little room for magical constructs to showcase their worth outside of being able to catch the final hellhound. The idea of any magical construct randomly gaining an affinity for a magical element was interesting but perhaps not the best since the ability it gains might not be worth it if it only happens randomly. To add to my growing frustration though is the fact that I have no idea if I¡¯ll get the same perk options later down the line when I might be in a better place to use each of them. Perhaps looking over my focus options will help?
Focusing: Mechanical Focus: Machine options will be more present, allowing for rarer options to appear. Allows for part tinkering. Biological Focus: Biological options will be more present, allowing for rarer options to appear. Allows for selective ''breeding''. Magical Focus: Magical options will be more present, allowing for rarer options to appear. Allows material mixing.
Hmm, it does help narrow things down a bit, if I focus on a particular aspect of the [construct] theme then I would probably choose the perk that matches the theme. It would mean I could focus on getting more and rarer mechanical options that are more mana-efficient, allowing me to grow faster and fill in my ranks more. Or I could focus on the other two, getting more biological choices that give more bang for my buck or getting rarer golems that could use magic to some degree. This does bring up an existing problem though, while I could create more monsters and rooms, without dedicated static defenses it would be difficult to repel attacks from the outside, the canid was the closest thing I had to a dedicated fighter right now. If I go with any of these it would be my next goal to get some defensive monsters and rooms going. My current train of thought is that I would choose what focus I would go with and simply choose the appropriate perk to match, and then I would agonize over my monster choice once I had the next floor of my dungeon more planned out, it seems like the number of rooms I can make doubles every level giving me 10 rooms available to build or combine. So, would I choose a machine, biological, or magical focus? Ch.09 It was only a day later that I could choose a focusing option to go with, and while that might seem like a lot longer than it needed to be, it gave me enough time to think it through. While I had no reason to at the moment, I could very well replace rooms and monsters whenever I needed to, but the choice of what to focus on was not such a choice, so, I decided to go with mechanical focusing. Upon choosing it I could feel a tangible difference in the air, almost like the dungeon was priming itself for something, but whatever it was soon passed as the feeling subsided.
Notice! New Monster choice available. The core has been moved down a floor.
Now that was what I was talking about though, and zooming to where my core gave way to a set of stairs decorated with a vague factory appearance with brass-colored railings and warning signs. Moving down, my core room had also undergone some changes, possibly from the focusing, gone were the plain stone statues and arches were instead replaced with a larger single statue of grinding gears flanked by two other smaller statues that represented the bio and magic constructs. This new level wasn¡¯t much to look at right now but I was excited at what it could be, with a total of ten available room spaces that I could build, I could easily start ramping up my dungeon, is it supposed to be like this?
As a dungeon grows it produces more and better-quality mana, drawing those that would benefit from being exposed to it. This is an unintentional benefit and danger as challengers grow as the dungeon grows, creating those that may be specialized and strong enough to enslave or aid those that would enslave the core while also aiding the dungeon''s growth. However, do note that dungeons are timeless beings that are intended to operate at a different scale from mortals.
Well, that¡¯s a concerning fact, I guess now more than ever I should try and plan out how to defend myself, which I¡¯ll have to consider when I get to that monster choice. As for my floor plant though, I think I¡¯ll give it some twists and turns, you know, throw them off a bit. After a good hour of building and planning things out I had a decent setup, just enough turns to make them second-guess while not wasting the dead-end room¡¯s potential defensive benefit, and if not for defense, then perhaps they could be production buildings. Surveying my work, I could already see my critters beginning to move in, the pitter-patter of their feet being some of the only sounds in the stone halls. One thing I did question though was how larger rooms function since I made the final room by combining two of my room slots. The larger room itself was double the size of the other ones, closer to a gym than the smaller ones, it had more space, higher ceilings, and a broader floor.
When combining room slots to form bigger rooms, the production of that building increases according to the number of slots used to make the room, additionally, each room slot used allows for up to one additional monster node not exceeding the floor number. The price of the building will also be increased accordingly but nodes will remain the same.
Interestingly, with the right room and monsters, I could build a hard wall of resistance using this method, the costs would no doubt be high, but this could be a game changer, one of many recently. That combined with the worm power I¡¯ve got running, I should be able to cancel out the upfront cost of any larger buildings I make, the only concern would be the production cut each of these would take. But before I could get too far into my thoughts, I could feel the lift coming up, and what I found was odd. On the lift was the demon summoner from before, but rather than being accompanied by another team of hounds he instead had a basket of¡­ metal sheets. He placed them just by the entrance of the hatchery before quickly leaving again, saying something just out of what was apparently the dungeon¡¯s hearing range. Having one of the puppets poke it around, the basket didn¡¯t seem dangerous, heavy by the look of things, but seemingly nothing dangerous about it. Before I used the system to identify it, though I could see and almost feel that the samples inside weren¡¯t ordinary at all, some of the sheets were covered in a layer of frost, and others attracting dust from the floor. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Analysis: Standard Materials: 3 sheets of mid-grade steel (absorbed) 3 sheets of mid-grade copper (absorbed) 1 flask of mercury (impure), unlocks mercury options. Exotic Materials: 1 sheet of low-grade heatsteel, unlocks heatsteel options. 1 sheet of low-grade coldsteel, unlocks coldsteel options.
Interesting, was this a gift or a bribe, he left with no words nor note of any sort so there was no way to gauge his purpose for leaving these here. If it was indeed a bribe then just what was I being bribed about, the fact that he let his dogs loose on me or to not kill him if he entered the dungeon? On the other hand, if it was indeed a gift then I suppose it¡¯s a start. Reviewing the items themselves, the standard materials weren¡¯t that amazing, and despite unlocking more options thanks to the mercury, they proved rather pointless for the moment since they were mostly decorative, with a ton of [locked] filling the rest of the page. But the interesting bit wasn¡¯t the normal stuff but instead the exotic ones, heatsteel was a rust-colored metal that was described as being a magical metal mined out from volcanic regions or super deep mines, capable of emitting extreme heat at the proper purity and quality. Coldsteel was the opposite however, it was a pale blue sort of color, taken from glaciers and high mountain peaks, it was similar to heatsteel but instead of heat, it emitted a cold aura. Unfortunately, the options unlocked by both of them were out of reach for now, the modified buildings and monsters were far too expensive to build, and while a canid that could emit stone-melting heat constantly, it was impossible to both pay and justify one at the moment. Despite this though it wasn¡¯t all out of reach, expensive yes, but not impossible. Three options which are just one with three versions, were jointly called the ¡®mining room¡¯ a special room that encouraged people to enter the dungeon and mine for various metals and occasionally gems. The first version was just a standard option, normal metals for a normal room, granting a small amount of mana and growth with each piece of metal or mineral they mine out, also providing a small discount to the metal upkeep of any metal-based monsters. The other two versions were for the two exotic metals though, the heatsteel metal focused on recreating a volcanic mine environment along with generating materials found mainly in said regions while the coldsteel did a similar thing but for mountain tops and boreal environments.
Heatsteel Mine (FL2) Using the properties of heatsteel, this room recreates volcanic mines to produce items commonly found in said areas. Produces volcanic and standard materials for challengers. Provides a bonus to fire and earth-aligned monsters. Mana Production: +10 per hour Mana Storage: +20 Objects Produced: Assorted common metals and minerals: 50% Assorted volcanic materials: 40% Mining class and ability crystals: 9% Raw heatsteel: 1% Creation cost: 200 mana
Coldsteel mine (FL2) Using the properties of coldsteel, this room recreates glacial mines to produce items commonly found in said areas. Produces glacial and standard materials for challengers. Provides a bonus to water and ice-aligned monsters. Mana Production: +10 per hour Mana Storage: +20 Objects Produced: Assorted common metals and minerals: 50% Assorted glacial materials: 35% Mining class and ability crystals: 9% Assorted Fossils: 5% Raw coldsteel: 1% Creation cost: 200 mana
The magic metal variants were pricey at my current level, and I had no dedicated monster to put in them, but the benefits outweighed the downsides at this level and worse comes to worse I could just stuff some golems in them. I made the first two rooms on the 2nd floor into both versions, the first room was refilled with dirt and stone before turning into blackened stone or hard orange clay with a visible heat distortion in the room now. The second room became full of ice and gravel, the walls growing pale from the growing frost, and what moisture there was in the room began to snow down, covering the rocky gravel floor in soft snow. And while yeah the two mines were hardly defensive structures, I was confident that the environmental factors would turn away anyone that survived my canid or any of the monsters before it. Of course, this was all thanks to my worm I was able to afford all of this and with 20 more production and 40 more storage, I was ready to start filling out my 2nd floor and start building the, soon to be, best dungeon in the world! Ch.10 Filling out the new floor wasn¡¯t as easy as I thought, unfortunately, not that I didn¡¯t have the means of course but rather I didn¡¯t know what to put in them. The main problem is that I want to keep to the idea of using the main rooms that led to the core as defensive structures and the offshoots as supports but I had no access to real defensive structures outside of the canid den. Without more creatures to absorb and make into blueprints, I would likely have to rely on the store for my monsters and by extension, rooms. Currently, I don¡¯t have much in the way of DP with a measly 12 at the moment, affording me only a low-tier monster at the moment. Before buying the random monster though, I considered the long-term impact such a system would have on my plans. I could just stick with it and save up DP every month until I could afford new monsters, but that didn¡¯t seem very reliable, consistent yes, but people tend to move around a lot in months and the locals might not tolerate me for that long. On one hand, I could get comfortable with the long view of things and just double down on what monsters I have while slowly accumulating new monsters and rooms over months and years. On the other hand, I could use a more short-term mindset to drag and claw my way to becoming dangerous enough to prevent most attackers. What this short-term mindset would actually look like I¡¯m not entirely sure, I still had my mecha-hounds from when I first made them, and I could tell that they were still gathering in the mountains, but I couldn¡¯t tell exactly where they were nor what was happening to them, but I could vaguely sense that they were alive, relatively alive anyway. After sending them the command to return I could feel them slowly make their way back and by a rough estimate it would be about a week before they returned, plenty of time to incorporate this new monster. After purchasing the suspiciously gatcha-like option I was given my newest, monsters?
Two options were generated for [Random Low-tier monster].
Different, would every random pull from the store give me multiple choices?
All random monster and trap options will produce several options equal to your level until the core reaches level 5 at which point it will be five forever.
So as I level up my level influences my options, I suppose I already knew that, but to see it alter the shop is a pleasant surprise, and with my mechanical focus rolling more choices could net me better machines. All I would have to do is find a way to get a steady stream of DP. But back to the matter at hand, my two options for the dungeon.
Kobolds (Copper Claws) Kobolds are the smallest and weakest of the creations of the true dragons, but they are used as highly adaptable busybodies, smart enough to make tools and traps as well as use some rudimentary forms of dragon magic. Kobolds form tightly bonded communities that focus on the group rather than the individual. Copper claw kobolds are descended from the many kobolds used as slave labor in gnomish factories. Skilled in crafting traps and community planning. Capable of using low-level magic. Gives access to draconian options in the future. Despises gnomes. Creation Cost: 45 mana Stolen novel; please report. 1 pound of food per 24 hours. Node Cost: 100 mana 5 mana taken from production. Creates: 5 Copper Claw Kobolds Ratkin (Rustfur) Ratkin is both an old and new threat to the world, existing during the First Era and after it. Ratkin are excellent crafters and weaponsmiths, focusing on producing more dangerous and nonsensical weapons each time. Ratkin utilizes a special variety of innate magics. However, ratkin naturally form competitive societies and often fight each other when not fighting an outsider. Rust Fur ratkin are accustomed to working with metal and the thrown-out machines of dwarven cities. Skilled in crafting weapons and low-level enchantment. Capable of using Rust, Plague, and Insect magics. Dislikes dwarves. Creation Cost: 40 mana 2 pounds of food per 24 hours. Node Cost: 100 mana 6 mana taken from production. Creates 6 Rustfur Ratkin
Interesting, rat and lizard people that specialize in working with metal. Even without the presence of the two mines or the assembly room, I could do plenty with them. At the core of both of them, there was an intelligent community-oriented monster that relied on their creations to let them defend themselves with the big difference being that the kobolds relied on pre-made traps while ratkin used weapons they made. I could only choose one of them and with the next roll coming in at least another five months, whatever I chose would become the mainstay of my dungeon for a while. Looking over my current setup, I could use the mainline series of rooms for whichever I ended up choosing while the side rooms would be used by them for materials and such, perhaps I could use an assembly line to churn out parts for either of them to tinker with. If I went with the kobolds, they could stuff traps all around the main rooms and work together to take down any invaders, while on the other hand, the ratkin could start using different parts and pieces to make whatever weapons they used mainly. The biggest downsides of each were problematic though, kobolds were small and weak-bodied while ratkin suffered from infighting, and both problems would be difficult to manage with the available tools before me. Hmm, it''s not that the choice is especially difficult, I¡¯m going to choose one of them but the main point I guess is that if I use kobolds I¡¯d start experimenting with traps and such while ratkin makes me want to double down on having mostly just monsters, an accidental choice, but one I could stick with if only for now. While I already know what focusing on monsters looks like, what do traps do in this setting? Going through my trap catalog gave me my answers and some irritation, traps were just that, traps, with limited influence from your theme, right now I only had access to three base traps, a pitfall, a spike pit trap, and an odd one called ¡®environmental hazard¡¯ which was just a bunch of spikes that were dotted around the walls. None of them were that expensive and none had any maintenance costs, the only downside is that there could only be one per room which thankfully your monsters couldn¡¯t trigger. Eh, why the hell not, aside from the worm room I put traps in all of the first-floor rooms, and a pit trap in the center point of the room, obviously it was easy to spot but the flow of battle could make people forget it was there. As for the rest of them, I put a wall hazard in the assembly room and made a spike trap also in the center of the formation room, with the canid having another wall hazard it could use to keep people from turtling up in a corner. They cost pretty much nothing at this point but I hope that even if they don¡¯t get people or things, knowing they are there will be enough to give my monsters an environmental edge over any attacks. For floor 2, I wouldn¡¯t put in any traps just yet, the mines were designed to attract people, and putting traps in them could give me a negative reputation but once I made up my mind about which monster to choose I could go wild with the second floor. Moving on, I set up two more rooms on the second level, along the main line, and in one of the offshoots I made two assembly lines, both with a clockworker node to operate them, bringing it down then up to 48 mana per hour with a storage capacity of 300. Additionally, I started spreading out my main three critters, with the rats scurrying out of the room and into the assembly rooms, already working together on building more metal nests with the odd copper roach getting caught by the furry little menaces. But with that, I would be able to support at least one or two nodes for either monster as well as give them some materials to tinker with when I chose which one to go with. Of course that still brings up the choice of which one I choose, the trap-making lizards or the weapon-crafting rats? Edward 2: The strange new dungeon. Not for the first time, and likely far from the last, Edward awoke with a sense of impending doom. This was not because he had failed to suppress the dungeon before it could display its abnormal growth rate, instead, it was his genius yet foolish attempt at placating the dungeon that haunted him. Dungeon suppression was more than just suppressing the dungeon¡¯s growth and expansion, it was more like gardening in the fact that what few suppressors survived the first few years were typically assigned to a dungeon to also help it grow and aid in removing obstacles to its prosperity. This alone wouldn¡¯t make his offering to the dungeon all that unusual, but after leaving the dungeon space Edward broke out into a haunted sweat. Dungeons were remarkably intelligent, especially the older ones that developed personalities, but by that point, they were already millennia old and were well understood. This made the heavy weight of the dungeon¡¯s attention nearly give him a heart attack, for a dungeon to have already developed a mind of its own without the exposure to countless masses of new and veteran adventurers alike was staggering. Such a dungeon would surely become a modern-day tomb of the gods, for all the good or ill such a thing would bring. This discovery was something that took immediate priority over the material gains of the dungeon, something that both his father and brother would need to be appraised of before their plan went any further. [Summon Gehennan Owl] A rather expensive helbeast to summon, but the costs would be outweighed by the benefit it provided. Giving it his message, Edward commanded it to first seek out his brother, and once he was done with it to find his father. His father and he were far from loving toward each other, but even the stoic Uther Nightingale would understand the problem such a young intelligent dungeon would present. Not all was bad though, whether it understood the purpose of his offering or not, the dungeon was clearly pleased with it, and a happy dungeon was a dungeon that didn¡¯t unleash horrible monsters. But with as much as he could be doing regarding the dungeon, he simply couldn¡¯t, any more influence he exerted on the dungeon increased the chance of the dungeon developing the less desirable traits of most mortals, namely lying. Turning his attention towards matters he could help with though, he had to start drawing up plans on how to deal with the ogres. They weren¡¯t a problem so far and perhaps only their more magical members felt something was amiss, but with the dungeon¡¯s sudden growth, it wasn¡¯t long before they came knocking. The ogres themselves were actually quite nice, for ogres that is, and what that meant was crass, blunt, and uncomfortably friendly if they thought you were worth their time. Altogether, they were far more tolerable than the central empire¡¯s royal shit sniffers or the imperial revenue legion, but few held the taxmen in high standing and the centrals were one inquisitor away from getting the noose, perhaps Ed could help them with that? Back to the subject, ogres were large-bodied creatures, with thick hide and fearsome strength, they were infamous for their love of war and food these ogres in particular were one of the only clans that were willing to temper their natural bloodlust by worshipping Kraal, followed closely by Gluut, the remarkably famous goddess of food and parties. The issue of the clans, however, was that despite their worship of Kraal and despite the long-standing treaty they upheld with the Nightingales, they were still ogres, and ogre youths were still known to occasionally raid the lower lands when they thought they could get away with it. These raids were usually stopped though, either by the older ogres that understood the repercussions of breaking the treaty or by the somewhat famous Boulder knights, who weren''t actual knights but a collection of experienced monster hunters working under the family, it made little distinction to the common folk. There were many angles Ed could use to deal with the ogres, the official method of dealing with them would be to enforce some of the small print of the treaty that gave the family the right to take land in exchange for resources, but the simplest would be to appeal to their culture and challenge their current leader to a duel and succeed with the nasty side effect of making him their leader. Of course, he had briefly considered killing them all, but with confirmed clerics and one unconfirmed paladin, such a task would be nigh impossible without his brother''s forces so he would have to use the other two options. Making his way toward their usual ranging spots, Ed quickly caught wind of them, not by ear of course, but by smell. Despite their nebulous grasp on honor and skill as cooks, the Ushenk ogres were still just as unhygienic as any other ogre clan, which wasn''t much of a problem to them, strong bodies and thick skulls, unfortunately, make them resistant to disease and the smell is a perfume to them, a smell somewhere between rotten garlic and fish. Soon though, he laid eyes on an encirclement of ogres, cheering on some spectacle their large bodies hid, and with the help of a tree I could see why, either because they were raiders or these idiots got it in their head to enter their territory, a very much new and young, party of adventurers were being poked and thrown around by smaller ogre adolescents. In the party of five was a tall and broad-shouldered youth wielding a sword and shield, no doubt the leader given his constant barking towards the others, followed by a young woman using some kind of attack magic, with three other hooded members unskillfully waving spears around. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "We need to keep together Lily, they want us to split up, Edmund try using that potion we found!" Hmm, very new then, they can''t be more than rank two or three at best. But to his credit, the leader was right that they were splitting them up, ogres preferred one-on-one fights, and given their level of experience that was a death sentence. The problem was that despite their thick skulls they were still smart enough to infer danger, and when Edmund pulled out a sickly green potion, the adults quickly moved to eliminate him, throwing a large harpoon spear through his chest right as he was about to use the strange potion which let out a thick and dangerous cloud that started to kill everything around it, including what was left of Edmund. Sniff sniff Blegh, cloudkill, a nasty potion inspired by an equally nasty spell that was often banned by most places, including the Nightingale fiefdom. I wasn''t much of a stickler for the rules unless I needed to be, but cloudkill was pretty high on the list of things I would go out of my way to prevent, and thankfully my conjuration was good enough that I could began to siphon the initial cloud into the hells, probably fucking up some demon''s day and getting the ogres attention away from the adventurers. "Huh, wazz that?" "It''s magic, rock brains, but who''s using it?" "Maybe it''s one of the chickens!? Quickly, ring their magical necks and get a stew ready!" I would never accuse them of being intelligent, but it¡¯s best if I announce myself before they suspect one of the adventurers of it. ¡°Clansmen of the Ushenk, followers of Kraal, in the name of Uther Nightingale and the treaty signed by our ancestors, I command you to cease your hostility!¡± I think I did rather well for someone who got middle marks in his public speaking classes. ¡°It¡¯s a humie wizord! Get him before he uses more magics!¡± Well, shit, they¡¯re Raiders, well I still think I did well so my point stands. All I needed to do now was beat them around and drag them back to the clan village. My summons would be too slow to form, and much too problematic, best to stick to other conjugation. [Soulfire]! And from my mana to my fingertips tips a gout of ethereal fire shot from my hand to the nearest ogre, an unarmored bowman. ¡°AAAAAAAHHH, I¡¯M ON FIRE, IT HURTS!!!¡± Rolling in the mud, he tried his best to smother the fire, and unfortunately, soulfire isn¡¯t actually fire, it¡¯s a fire curse that forces mana to burn under the skin, the visuals of flames are just for show. But with that the others began to scramble about; the remaining adults leaped for their weapons and broke into runs toward me. Getting my weapons ready, I followed up with my signature combo, yelling for the kids as I did so. ¡°You better get your asses ready kids, [Barrier], [Curse of touch], [Vulnerability]!¡± A hexagonal barrier of magic sprang up as the oversized arrow of one of the remaining bowmen impacted, smashing flat against the academy¡¯s best barrier. Following this is placed my two curses on them, one of them eliminating the sense of touch and the other weakening their bodies, making them ripe for punishment. Side-stepping one of their fighters, I leaped onto their back, using his reduced senses to reach up and thrust my sword into the now weakened hide, cleaving the brain stem. [Curse of Vitality], a bit of insurance. And not too soon, while I was busy with the fighter the party leader grabbed my leg, throwing me into a tree. What should have been a broken spine was instead a rapidly healing bruise, my vitality curse siphoning the life essence from the fighter into me. Charging the leader, I ducked between his legs, which was smart since he hit himself in the groin, but stupid because I got a whiff of several years of all kinds of hell. Using another curse, I was fond of ai gave him the smell of his own medicine. [Impose sense] sniff, sniff ¡°Ah, Daisies.¡± ¡­The kids, who had taken down their ogre, simply stared with utter confusion and disgust, and I was tempted to join them if the phantom smell wasn¡¯t making me gag. It¡¯s good I could blackmail them, no one will ever know this happened. But with him distracted I scrambled to cut his legs, removing his ability to walk with a loud snap sound coming from the now useless tendons. ¡°Neat trick humie, but we gonna eat you slowly for that, now remove whatever magics are binding my legs so I can kill you slowly.¡± He didn¡¯t notice, good, but with his followers dead the leader was in no position to fight or argue. But as I thrust for his head, he used his waning strength to grab my arm, twisting it like those dwarven pretzels as my sword cut through his eye and into his brain. And as we both fell to the ground the three remaining adventurers rushed to catch me, the leader¡¯s leg having been snapped in half, and the girl, Lily I think, was barely standing, to say nothing of the hooded third member who was missing half of his side. ¡°You saved us we- ¡° ¡± I saved you from a mistake, but you need to settle down your party is nearly dead!¡± I could see he was in shock as he barely registered my words, looking around confused and lost, he fell to the forest floor, not dead but almost. As the last of the ogre¡¯s vitality healed my wounds, I was able to get them back to my camp, healed but still hurting from the damage. Unfortunately, infernal magic doesn''t give much benefit to healing but thankfully money does, and after a full meal of healing potions and hardtack they were stable, in pain but no longer hurt. While they slept through their treatment though I considered just what to do with them, after going through their packs I found that they were here on a quest from the local guild to hunt some mountain seed root, a rare but useful alchemic ingredient found in most mountains and that they evidently hadn''t expected the ogres. On the one hand, they weren''t entirely to blame, their goal wasn''t the ogres themselves despite their carelessness in encroaching on their territory, on the other hand though, I just scored myself some underlings, as a representative of the owner of the land I could conscript criminals into service, and the use of cloudkill made them fall squarely into that bracket. But how to use them best, I couldn''t have them with me when I went to the ogres, and it would be a waste to throw them into the dungeon only to be a short snack... Hmm, I wonder if the dungeon would like an ogre breakfast. Ch.11 Another week passed after I chose the ratkin, and I can confidently say that it was somehow the best and worst decision I had made so far, and that wasn''t even considering the oddness that was coming in from the outside either. When I selected the ratkin I had some expectation of difficulty, their page outright told me that I would have problems, but it truly didn''t show me just how weird, and a bit funny, it would end up being. After creating the nodes for all three of the mainline rooms, adding two to the final double room, I was made busy by overlooking the room unlocks which was important mind you seeing as they would be part of my proper defenses only for one of the ratkin, a smaller one that was playing with some of the regular rats, that there were problems afoot. Also, it seems they can''t see nor hear me, but can vaguely understand that I''m within the area and understand the intent behind my words if not the words themselves, though they do seem to hear me at the least. To start with, for some reason the demon guy was, helping me, I think? It wasn''t obvious what his intentions were to be honest since he and some newer human lackeys of his were shoving as many of the large bodies onto the lift as they could, the metal groaning and scraping painfully loud as it climbed up and into my dungeon, the bodies quickly being absorbed into me. After two more trips though they stopped coming back, either finishing their job or simply stopping for the night, either way, I''m happy cause all those corpses unlocked a new monster for me, the [ogre bull]. From their description, the ogre bull is a domesticated species of bovine that is regularly used by ogres as an easy food source in rocky or mountainous terrain due to their borderline ability to consume rocks and other minerals with minimal need to eat actual plants. Their big benefit was that I could likely use the creatures as a food source for my rats despite the bulls being monsters themselves. I put the new addition to the back of my mind though, useful as they could be I was focused on my previous matters. Returning my attention to the rats and briefly regretting my decision to pick them before me was a tangled mess of fur and teeth, ratkin bodies were strewn about, not dead, but severely bruised and out of breath, it was only until they realized that I had come back did they try to make themselves look normal, trying to casually walk around and kick at invisible rocks and discussing random topics, something about the weather before the other one asked what weather was, cheeky kids. From what I could best understand, the different nodes tried to determine who would be the leader of the ratkin and who would have the honor to speak with me, rapidly devolving into a brawl between the different groups. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt, and the dungeon healed their injuries, but I did try my best to give them a proper reprimand for their actions, what if we were attacked while they were quarreling? Sigh With the rats back in line, I refocused on my attention to the room unlocks, there were multiple which was a first.
Ratkin Hamlet A small collection of homes formed and welded together with scrap metal, with a basic fence to slow down challengers. The hamlet will produce a small number of items and materials produced by the ratkin daily, this will provide mana with each successful thing produced. It provides a small overall benefit to the ratkin of the node that is attached to this room. Mana Production: 25 per hour Mana Storage: +30 Objects produced: Assorted ratkin objects: 80% Ratkin weaponry: 15% Ratkin Magical items or tomes: 5% Creation Cost: 140 mana
It was pricey to be certain, but I still had more than enough to make it, especially with the wormhole still producing its gross but useful fuel. I made two of the hamlets, making them the two rooms along the mainline after the mines, and as they finished forming, I saw that they held six yurt-like metal homes with a central firepit and the aforementioned scrap metal fence that enclosed the entrance to the room. The inside of the homes was rather barren I''d say, only having an uncomfortable blanket on the ground and a square bin in the corner, probably for storage. But despite my opinions of them, the ratkin seemed to like them, eagerly claiming their own home and personalizing them which I imagine didn''t last too long seeing as they only have two things to worry about, now all I had to do was look over the other unlock and go from there.
Rusted Checkpoint The checkpoint is a defensive structure that grants the assigned monsters the proper tools and equipment to take up the position of defender. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The gear will be made with the highest level of non-exotic materials available while still being on a level with the floor the structure is on. This structure contains a limited form of machine defenses, and this way can function automatically albeit at a reduced ability. The checkpoint is also a living space and will produce a small number of objects and mana. Provides a small bonus to assigned monsters. Mana Production: 5 per hour Mana Storage: +20 Objects Produced: Assorted ratkin melee weapons: 70% Ratkin machine weaponry: 20% Ratkin magical weaponry: 9% Assorted ratkin-based skill and class crystals: 1% Creation Cost: 200 mana
Despite the cost and limited production, it was obvious what the benefit was, and it was something I knew I needed, stable defensive rooms that could stop attacks in their tracks assuming they got this far. Add to the fact that the room had two nodes, and thus 12 ratkin, but when I built the room the existing ratkin were covered in a bright glow around their bodies, and once it was gone, they were left in simple metal and cloth armor. It wasn¡¯t anything special, limited as my knowledge of medieval armor is, but it was simple enough that I could intuit from the design that it was made with simple function in mind. The armor was a chest piece with shoulder and thigh guards, with loose but non-obstructing sleeves covering the arms and the rest of the legs. It was there to protect the vitals and the areas nearest to the torso, the metal was unadorned while the cloth around the arms had a simple image of a circle within a gear, likely a reference to my focus. The weapons, on the other hand, were far more intricate than the clothing, of the 12 six had a simple round shield with metal bands and single-edged short swords with a gear replacing the pommel and parts of the guard. This was the same for the other weapons, the four spearmen had a strange mechanism at the joining point of the blade and shaft while the two bowmen had gears attached to the point where the string connects to the bow itself. But moving past those questions the room itself was quiet the sight itself, and since the room was so large, the scrap metal wall that reached high into the room with two small, unprotected platforms, likely for the archers. Once they got over their new equipment, they were even more excited by their home/workspace, and moving into it properly it made sense as to why. While definitely an improvement in some ways, the checkpoint was a full building that encased the hallway to my core with one large room that was separated by moveable barriers, with the right side being dedicated toward day-to-day living activities such as sleeping, eating, and a small section with some entertainment that reminded me of bowling. To the left side, there was a mixed workspace/practice area set up, with one-half of it being a training area with simple stone dummies and targets while the other side had a simple workspace with equally simple tools to match. Seeing it all come together, I still had one more room to fill in, a side room that extended from the first hamlet. Hmm, what to do...? Hey system, can I add a room to another one if they''ve already been placed, I was thinking that I could perhaps add the empty room to another to expand it, maybe one of the mines or the assembly room?
Such an action is possible, but the core will be required to pay double the cost of making the room and the structure within.
Cool, but before you do that what would happen if I were to add it to the checkpoint or maybe the mines and assembly line?
Would you like to pay 2 Dp to see this information?
Hmm, eehhh, sure.
-2 DP Total: 0
And for a couple of minutes, it sat there thinking, either creating or searching for the answer before it finally popped back up with my answer.
If the structure [Ratkin Checkpoint] adds one more room, it will evolve into [Ratkin Barracks]. If the structure [Coldsteel/Heatsteel Mines] adds one more room they may evolve into either [Inferior Cold/Heat Rift] 3%, or, [Large Cold/Heatsteel Mines] 97%. If the structure [Simple Assembly line] adds one more room they will evolve into [Advanced Assembly Line].
Not going to give me more than that?
Insufficient Dp to request that information.
But I paid two this time, shouldn''t I get a bit more than just some names?
Due to various innate advantages held by the core it has been considered unfair to other dungeons to provide more information than what has been provided, future questions concerning fairness will be ignored unless reasonable.
Well, shit man, if I had known that I probably wouldn''t have spent it then. ... Be that way then, huh, but if the system won''t tell me then I''ll just have to guess for myself. Starting with the easiest, the advanced assembly line is likely just a ''better'' version of the simple one, I assume more production and storage while also making more advanced items. Likewise, the large mines were also, maybe, obviously just more, you know? The real question though was what exactly the rift and barracks would be like, the barracks I could infer being a more developed defensive structure with little amounts of production, perhaps with more equipment to choose from, and worse comes to worse I suppose I could try adding those ogre bulls I got earlier. But the rift could mean anything in this very magical world, it could be a magical portal to the land of chainsaw-murdering butterflies or perhaps a mystical mine that makes super rare and edgy-sounding materials. Of the options available the rift constituted a wildcard option that could give an incredible boon or just end up being an interesting but niche use structure. For now, I could only choose one option but that doesn''t make this a forever choice like with the canid, I could still make double or even triple room for the next floor if need be. Which brings the question, what do I feel like choosing? Ch.12
Acknowledged, merging [empty room] with [ratling checkpoint] to form, [ratling barracks]
And with another brilliant glow, the room changed once more, the room expanding and diversifying in appearance. Where before it was plain barren stone it was now a seemingly living cave system, nothing fancy of course, the cave felt more natural in its design with a few notable differences and problems. The point of interest was a large stone building that encased the exit door like the checkpoint before, but unlike before this was a proper structure that was separated into three main parts, two side buildings which could only be accessed from the central building they connected to. As far as I could tell the design was meant to funnel things into a main courtyard where the rats would rain down with arrows or any other weapon while the ground-level defenders distract. I¡¯m not familiar with warfare or tactics but this setup should be more than enough considering the numbers I had on hand, seeing as the room addition also gave me another node to put ratkin in. Now with 18 ratkin, I had a fully functional and well-armed line of defense, offering a different challenge than that of the canid or the other support rooms. But with that last room dealt with and a gentle sprinkling of traps here and there I was almost ready to begin to tackle the third-floor requirements, aside from a small issue that''s arisen, while the nodes help subsidize the need to eat for the ratkin, their rather loud stomachs makes it clear to me that even if they weren''t hungry, they certainly would be better off with a decent meal. Initially, my thought was that I could perhaps try using the critter rats as a food source but that quickly turned out to be a bad idea, and it wasn''t because the ratkin had any qualms about eating them, it was that even with the paper mache ecosystem I had set up I had nowhere near enough rat to feed more than one or two, the ratkin are voracious little things not to mention the fights I had to break-up between them. My next idea turned out to be more fruitful however, when I unlocked the [ogre bulls] I figured that I could use them as cattle for the ratkin, after all, with the presence of the barracks I could give myself more leeway with how I set up the rooms before it. The problem was that I had no more rooms to build, and the existing rooms were already being used. Hmm... I mean, I guess I don''t need a second [assembly room] seeing as the barracks already came with gear and the first was still more than enough for the needs of the existing three ratkin rooms anyway so I guess I''ll reuse it for this. Having the system clear out the room, I merged it with the hamlet just before the barracks to keep it centralized for the other two rooms and added the [ogre bulls] to the room.
Ogre Bulls Large bovines domesticated by mountain ogres for a variety of purposes, ogre bulls are capable of filling many niches required by a community. From beasts of burden to a stable food source, these large-bodied creatures are famous for their usefulness to ogres around the world. Due to their long history of being bred to be more docile and unintelligent, ogre bulls lack the necessary intelligence to properly react to threats to the dungeon, however, if they are sufficiently aggravated, they will attack. Ogre bulls are pseudo-magical creatures and are capable of sustaining themselves off of inorganic materials, primarily raw mineral deposits. Ogre bulls can be consumed by any entity that can process meat, but taste is not guaranteed. Ogre bull females can be milked for their mineral-intense milk. This monster does not drop any items, instead, the corpse will remain as the prize. Due to being saturated in both raw [aether energy] and refined [mana] the materials from this creature contain innate magic. As dungeon monsters, these creatures are rendered infertile. Creations Cost: 100 mana 20 lbs. of inorganic material per 24 hours Node Cost: 240 mana 4 mana taken from production Creates: 4 individual ogre bulls, 2 male and 2 female.
Now isn''t that something, cost aside, it was certainly a useful monster despite its less-than-stellar ability to act as a defender. As it finished, the bulls were all massive beasts, not room fitting thankfully, but they were easily double the size of regular meat and dairy cows, to be honest, it was actually a godsend that there were only four of them, any more and even the ratkin wouldn''t have a whole lot of space left. Of the group, the males and females had visible differences between the two, the males were bigger and fatter, likely to improve both the yield and quality of the meat and materials, while the females were smaller but not by much, stockier and more dangerous looking, they had two sets of horns on their head with one going forward and another going upwards, both had a dangerously sharp-looking point on them. What surprised me, I really should be used to this by now, was that they unlocked two rooms without having a double room. Thankfully the system had a quick explanation as to why. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Some rooms have the necessary level of cohesion between them to unlock a new room that combines the two rooms in some fashion. This allows some monster and room combinations to grant more rooms to the core, however, this process does not happen consistently as many monsters fall within three possible areas, they lack compatibility, the core lacks the core level to create such a combination, or the rooms and monsters are too similar to be combined.
But if I could have been doing this then why hadn''t I been informed of this beforehand, this seems like incredibly useful information.
The core lacked the requirements to ask for this information before reaching level 2.
Ok, I feel like I should have seen that coming honestly, but what''s done is done now and we can move on now. Looking over the two new rooms though, I was more inclined to pick out the combination option rather than just the ranch, the [Ratkin Ranch] is a small community room that focuses on using most of the available space as grazing land, and by graze, I mean the solid stone floor was turned chunky and gravely which would serve as the ''grass'' for the cows. Thankfully the ranch also came with a nice boost to my production with a smaller amount of storage added on, with the ratkin already taking to their duties as the ranchers, with some hilarity ensuing already. But with that dealt with it meant that I was totally out of rooms and now I could...
Warning, A large invasion force was detected near the dungeon entrance.
What? Zooming back up and over I would have to spit out my drink had I both had one and was drinking from it, assembled just outside of my dungeon was a swarm of small green and brown creatures wielding clubs and worn swords. They were small things, reaching no more than my waist at best, but with the actual hundreds that were assembled before me, it was unbelievable that I hadn''t been told about them before. Actually, that''s right, system, why the shit didn''t you tell me an army of gremlins was squatting on my front door? This feels like the sort of thing I could use some forewarning on.
Notice The system will only provide such a warning if it is deemed appropriate to do so. Despite the whining of the core, this attack is just another invasion. Entering low advisory mode for the duration of the attack.
OK... I''m not sure how to react now, so I''m just going to put a pin on this and focus on my impending attack. You wouldn''t mind telling me what they are... please? .... Nothing I guess, perhaps I should ease off the questions and complaints. Focusing on the army, the squat creatures weren''t making their move yet, mostly they seemed to be setting up some kind of camp just outside of the dungeon, which was proving a challenge given the entrance''s position. It wouldn''t be for another couple of hours in fact before the first sign of action would come, a smaller group of them, 5 and some weird porcupine thing, climbed up the slope into my dungeon, and like with previous attacks, my monsters began to work. Crush, rip, and tear was the evening''s music of choice as the invaders sent wave after wave of poorly equipped and remarkably stupid attackers, each group growing progressively larger and larger with no indication that the main horde was in any way affected by the loss of dozens of their own. At first, I thought this would be easy, have my guys and gals crush some skulls and we could all eat unseasoned steak later, but no, as the minutes turned to hours and hours led to the end of the day, it was abundantly clear that this was no mere attack, it was a siege. And despite the day having come to a close and the next one beginning, the attacks were continuing to grow, and my first floor was almost totally overrun. The only remaining rooms were the wormhole which they were avoiding for some reason, and the final room with my canid, whom they were not attacking, yet. And as I expected, they attacked the canid. When the first creature stepped into the room, the always stoic and dutiful canid burst towards them with the same grace and authority it always held, crushing the skull of the first one in a green gory mess, using its skeletal tail to cut across another as it twisted and jumped back, ready to strike once more. More came into the room and easily had it outnumbered, their numbers would have likely been even greater had the canid not been so good at fighting, and as each creature got its turn to fight it was just as quickly shredded into several pieces, the canid intelligently using it to create a makeshift block on the door. But despite its bloody glory, the canid was quickly losing steam, the magic that allowed it to move and fight as it did was waning, giving the creatures more opportunities to strike out successfully. But even with its failing body and numerous injuries, my good machine boy was giving it the good fight, and with a final monstrous howl, it crashed into a much larger creature that had managed to weasel its disgusting body into my home. Latching onto its neck my canid held it in a death grip as the creature cried and moaned, trying its damnedest to rip it off, but only succeeding in ripping its own throat out. They both fell to the ground, my good boy disappearing into golden rays while the fucking septic tank goblin bled out to death on the floor, irritating me with its death cry. He wasn''t a dog of flesh and bone, but he was mine, and this whole place is mine, and for that, I will kill them ALL. Ch.13 Presumably, the big fucker that my canid killed before dying was their leader seeing as the remaining invaders began to infight like cannibalistic chickens, first arguing in some hoarse throaty language before quickly devolving into slaughtering each other, the only thing that would have made it better is if my monsters were the one killing them. But as most good things do, their wanton violence ended as quickly as it had started, another large, if noticeably smaller than the previous one, creature managed to suppress the others, taking a crown-like head ornament from the now-dead leader and taking command, pointing a gnarled finger down the stairs to the second level. With the skittering and scampering of their hands and feet, they made their way down, recoiling from the intense heat of the first mine, which was a weakness of theirs going by the almost immediate deaths of some of the weaker members, their bodies already shriveled became more so before catching fire. Honestly, I would be more surprised about the mine being able to kill anything. Still, I was enjoying seeing these things falling over each other to get out of the intense heat, handling the cold far better than the heat they made their way through the room without a second thought, leaving a sizeable force to attack the remaining assembly room. In contrast, the rest of the attack force continued forward. Stepping into the first of the ratkin rooms, my rats had already begun to show their worth as the first wave of attackers were met with a volley of scrap balls, painfully cutting their faces and spreading sharp debris all over the floor. Those that followed were then forced to move slower to avoid cutting themselves, but only for a short moment as the new leader quickly lost patience with them and had a new wave push them forward, cutting up and piercing their exposed feet. Crying in pain and fury they began charging, meeting a line of simple spears made from brass tubing and jagged scrap. The first ratkin room did not last long, unfortunately, their available space and smaller numbers prevented them from making a huge impact despite an amazing beginning. But when they reached the second room things were very different, the room was much bigger, and the buildings were sturdy and close enough to give the option of "urban" combat, at least as urban as a couple of wood and stone huts surrounding a large barn could be. Similar to the previous room, the ratkin of this one had prepared some makeshift weapons, but rather than the scrap metal makeshifts they had before, the ones here had made some simple weapons and armor using the doors and stone bricks of their homes, fashioning crude but usable tools. But that wasn''t even the best part, at some point after I had gone to the first floor the ranchers had managed to line up their ogre bulls. As soon as the attackers squeezed through the doorframe, the ratkin painfully smacked their butts, sending four angry and massive bovines through the ranks of the enemy, the pain of their grubby claws only spurring them to greater levels of anger, causing more to be trampled or gored. That by itself seemed to stop their momentum, the creatures too concerned with the massive bulls trampling them that they overlooked the hate-filled screeches of the ratkin throwing rocks with slings, they weren''t very good with them, but if the target was big enough, I doubt accuracy is all that important. Sadly, the bulls went down with a fight, not before fulfilling their duty though as the horde was finally beginning to thin, not by much mind you as a quick look showed that there was still a large force outside of my dungeon, but since the number of invaders was going down instead of up, it meant I had my window to claim victory. Overwhelmed was, unfortunately, the fate of the ranchers, their final gift being the reduction of the horde. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Crossing into the barracks, they learned their lesson about being careful, separating a smaller force to investigate while the main group stayed in the ranch, soaking themselves and gobbling the more mana-heavy moisture from the walls, disgusting creatures. Feeling my anger and disgust though, the ratkin grappled the scouting party inside of the courtyard, out of sight of the leader who was straining its pudgy eyes to see anything it could. Quickly, the ratkin brutally beat and stabbed the scouting party, using their relatively superior strength to wretch the heads off and throw them toward the entry doorway, both a warning of what was to come and a challenge for those that remained. The leader was sadly smart enough not to fall for the trick, its minions were not. Scrambling into the barracks, they swarmed the entrance of the barracks proper, only to be met with one of my actually good, if coincidental, plans. Breaking open its head with a sickening crack, the creatures had found my chokepoint, where if they didn''t want to break their heads open like an egg, they were forced to deal with the shield-bearing ratkin who were protected by a trifecta of things. With the walls of the barracks covering their sides and the pit trap between them, it forced the invaders to funnel into the shield rats who would either stab them from behind their shields or push them into the pit, they also had the aid of their ranged and spear-wielding brothers and sisters, the spears were able to reach the horde over the pit, while the archers were able to take their clumsy potshots at the horde. This, admittedly rather poorly coordinated, method seemed to be the trick with these things, the inciting challenge put forth by the rats combined with their dwindling reinforcements and present forces was forcing them to throw themselves against the walls in poorly thought-out desperation. Trying their best to find or make some kind of opening, the attackers were essentially Kipling themselves on the ratkin. What happened next, however, was a lesson in catharsis. As his forces died on my soldiers, the leader turned tail and ran for the exit, wailing its arms about, crying out for something in its irritating language. I was elated that their only voice of reason was gone, but that soon turned to anger, if it was gone, I wouldn¡¯t get the pleasure of it dying. But that feeling only lasted for a moment as it turned the corner into the cold mine, it felt a long and sharp piece of metal cut into its body, cutting open its stomach and letting its disgusting organs dirty my floors. Looking up it was afraid and had a hatred in its eyes, eyes that were quickly crushed by the powerful claw of one of the clock workers from the assembly room. With the abandonment and death of their leader, the remaining creatures left the attack and fled back up onto the floor, doing their best to find places to hide in my first few rooms. This, of course, created two issues, with them still in my dungeon I was unable to rebuild and repair my forces, but with no one else taking the leadership position it seemed unlikely that they¡¯d continue the attack. I tried to get my rats to go up a level, but it seemed as though different floors can¡¯t cross like that, only within a floor can monsters move. What I needed then was a way to goad them into an attack so I could reset the dungeon and see if I could make any quick changes before a new wave could come in. But as I came up with ideas and threw some away, I could, well I wouldn¡¯t call it smell, but I could ¡®sense¡¯ a strange rotten egg smell from outside. And on the platform entrance, beaten and battered, was the demon guy and one of his goons. The creatures'' makeshift camp was still facing them with maws twisted into snarls and malformed limbs stretched out, ready to strike. Just what was happening, and how the hell did it happen so quickly? Edward 3: Greeble Days Fucking greebles, that was all Ed had been able to think for the past week. Greebles are small natural monsters known for their love of mana and incredible ability to squirm their way in just about any place they want to be, they''re a nuisance most of the time but they also went by another name, dungeon mites. The reason is two-fold, much like mites they tend to infest anyplace that catches their fancy, and they suck resources from it ravenously, harming a dungeon and the people that depend on them. That is why when the ogre clansmen told him of a greeble stampede making its way through the other side of the mountain he knew that he wouldn''t be able to get a good night''s rest for a while. Thankfully he had conveniently acquired two new subordinates to help him. The team''s former leader was a boy named Felix, an adventurer and former squire, while the girl was an academy graduate who joined the guild for money. Together with two other friends, an aspiring woodsman and a novice alchemist who both died during the attack, they set out on their path to glory and riches, hoping they could make it with their collective skills and knowledge. Though that didn''t work out as well as they had hoped, they lacked the funds to buy their membership with the guild, meaning that they needed to come up with enough coin to get their career started, which is where their intrusion into Nightingale lands begins. What they had done was they had posed as mercenaries in Tulpestadt, the smallest of the three cities under the families'' control, and stole a contract for ogre marrow which is a rather niche but useful alchemical ingredient part of the stipulations the ogres had was that the Nightingales would prevent the acquisition and sale of their marrow within the territory, making what they did a crime on multiple levels. When I asked them just what the hell they were thinking, the two of them were less than enthused to answer. But my irritation towards failed poachers had to be put aside, the Greebles were still a problem and still heading for the dungeon. After some hiking the three of us managed to find the main horde, a host of roughly a couple thousand I''d say, at most four or five individuals, with a confirmed sighting of the king and prince. Normally fighting anything number of things at these numbers would be suicidal, but greebles are one of the weakest creatures there is so with the right preparation it would be no problem. Situated in a small mountain valley, the Greeble host was establishing their ramshackle homes from mud and sticks, already showing signs of building spawning pits and storage spaces. Smart or not the dungeon would have little chance against these numbers, we had to do something about it. "Woah, woah, wait, have you seen their numbers, are you insane!?" The downside of having subordinates, thankfully it was just Felix who was complaining. "Insane or not we don''t have a choice, I was assigned to clear out this area and last I check neither of you are in any place to argue, or did you forget just what will happen if you are caught by this land''s soldiers?" "But, but." "But nothing Felix, you will follow my lead until I''ve decided you''ve paid for your crimes, now, what we need to do is figure out a plan to deal with these pests." From there Liy and I began to swap ideas, and the boy kept silent throughout all of it. Greebles are weak to heat, and easily begin infighting if their leader is killed, if we could take out the king and prince fast enough, Lily and I would be able to use what fire magic we had between the two of us to destroy the rest of the horde, to draw them out we had decided that Felix himself would be the bait, distracting them with a challenge to draw out the leaders, greebles couldn''t resist challengers. But for today we rested and prepared, Lily and I swapped notes on past lectures and even a story or two about shared professors before we all turned in for the night, although I was rather curious about Felix''s apparent change in attitude, he went from whiny and reluctant, to evasive and strangely paranoid, not that I would blame him though, I wouldn''t want to be bait for a horde of thousands either. The next day we began to set our plan into motion, and just in time as well, the prince was already gathering his war party for some excursion, gathering a couple hundred warrior caste members to make their way toward their target. Hiding on a hill a way outside of the main camp, we watched and waited as Felix slowly walked up to the camp, which is when the plan began to fall apart. Rather than distracting them with a challenge like we had agreed he would, we instead saw him point in our direction. Fuck, that little traitor sold us out! "What is he doing, why is he pointing at us, Edward?!" "Your little shit of a friend there just sold us out, now get ready to run." She looked on with disbelief, as far as I knew they had known each other for quite a long time, having grown up in the same village, so her shock at her friend''s betrayal was understandable. Sprinting toward us with the war party, Felix approached our position is a confident smirk. "That''s them over there, now keep up your side of the-" This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The prince jumped onto his back and stabbed his head and neck several times, brutally killing him despite whatever deal they had worked out. After Felix died, they turned their attention back to us, steadily advancing toward our position. Pinching her out of her shock, I pulled us further up the hill, giving us a better position to fight back. Discarding my promise to avoid using my main magics, I began to rain hell onto them. [Hellfire]! Sticking out my hand, a gout of red and green fire sprang from my hand, covering the front row in an infernal fire. Rocks and other crude projectiles came at us from those that stayed further back, giving me a few cuts and bruises. While incredibly useful [curse of vitality] only really worked against targets that had much in the way of vitality, something small creatures such as Greebles lacked. Joining the effort, Lily began using her magic. "[Protection from arrows], [force bolt], [wave of irritation]." Beginner spells, but they would be plenty so long as she could keep them up. As we threw spell after spell at them, I could tell that something else was amiss and received clarity when I was able to stop and see the prince splitting off with a different group of fighters in the direction of the dungeon, the king in the meantime was the one directing the others to attack us. Their numbers were limited yes, but neither of us had the stamina nor magic to deal with thousands of them, so while Lily was desperately throwing her six years of academy training into the encroaching monsters, I used one of my most powerful spells. "[Pandemonium Breach]!" At the middle point between us and the king opened up a sickly yellow eye, it looked around with a quick and cruel look as it searched for some unseen target before it came to a stop, and it opened its eye to reveal a large gaping mouth. From it came out packs of hellhounds, swarms of infernal bats, and a menagerie of indescribable beasts, leading them was my familiar Hestra, a mid-rank demon, "My oh my Ed, you hardly ever summon me anymore, I was beginning to think you didn''t like me anymore." As a succubus, every part of her form was molded to attract the gazes and desires of men and women alike and was the result of a much younger and more stupid and naive Edward being egged on by his peers to summon the infamous sex demons for a dorm party. Safe to say everyone involved spent months trying to cover things up while both the many men and women in the party researched how to undo having had sex with a demon. Not his proudest moment, but the hush money more than made up for the near execution by the local church. "Hmm, I''m excited to be in the mortal realm again, and to see you, but did you need me to deal with these rats, you could deal with them perfectly by yourself and I am far above stepping on rats." "I can explain later, for now, I need you to lead your forces against the greebles while I battle the king." "I expect something after this for all the trouble, and maybe the girl there could join us perhaps." Lily quickly went from stark white to a deep crimson, unsure if she should be screaming heresy or her undying love for Hestra. "Stop teasing my subordinate, you have a battle to help with." Hestra gave a little huff, something that could make others swoon for her but after years of dealing with her, it was nothing he hadn''t already gotten used to. As the infernal horde finished pouring from the rift the two sides began to fight each other once again, hellhounds gobbling up greebles, the various avians pecking and burrowing into eye sockets and bellies, the few low-ranking demons under her control throwing bolts of flame at the slingers in the back. Deciding to at least have a small amount of fun, Hestra jumped over the main battle line and quickly summoned her weapon, a great sword forged from infernal iron, cutting a dozen in half in one direction, and skewering another dozen in another direction. While they were busy with the main bulk, I hopped and evaded my way to the king, using my infernals as a distraction for those who stayed behind with him. Greeble kings were slightly different than their lesser subjects, they were larger, faster, and smarter, being capable of some instinctive magic which when combined with the other factors made them very dangerous, almost more than ogres. But the problem was that if they were alone, and greebles are never alone, from the camp came more defenders ready to fight me. I ripped one off my back as I quickly avoided the king''s hammer, throwing the one in my hand into the crowds as I used my weapon to cleave another. Reaching for the king, I placed the [curse of immolation] on his forehead before getting hit square in the chest by his hammer, getting thrown a small distance before one of the hounds dragged me back to Hestra. Shakily getting to my feet, I was still trying to recover my breath as I activated the command phrase for my curse. "Burn!" The king''s head exploded into a gory mess as more fire was thrown out from what used to be his head, causing the other Greebles to begin to panic and bump into one another. This bumbling rapidly turned into a violent brawl as both helbeasts and greebles fought anything they could get their hands on before moving to the next if they were still alive. But even with the king dead the problem was still there, the greebles would inevitably make a new king if we couldn''t keep the chaos going, and that strike had knocked the wind out of my sails, Lily was no better either having been forced to use a discarded club to defend herself as they got too close for her to properly cast magic. I recalled Hestra to me and regained my breath, ready to face the rest of the horde. But before I could make a glorious final stand against one of the world''s most annoying monsters, I became distracted by the thundering of hooves, and entering the valley from all sides came a calvary charge from Nightingale soldiers. "Chin up little brother, there is little glory in dying to these vermin." Arthur always was a smug idiot if he found me in embarrassing situations. "Arthur, I need to you deal with the main horde, a splinter group with the prince broke off and is heading for the dungeon, if not already there, I don''t know if it can handle it just yet so I''m going to head over now." "Wait Ed, you''re still-!" As I ignored him, I began channeling another of my more potent spells. [Infernal Transformation] Not letting the spell finish, I grabbed Lily and shot into the sky, bat-like wings beating as hard as they could before we roughly landed on the metal contraption just outside of the dungeon, ready to face off against the war party. Arthur 1: The Journey First journal entry of Arthur Nightingale: I, Arthur Nightingale have decided to keep a personal journal with me at most times to help occupy my mind during the coming journey when I am not attending to my duties as the leader. So far, our preparations have been on schedule, and within a fortnight we will be ready to set out on our journey. So far, the only major concern was keeping the true goal of the expedition a secret, with only the caravan leader and one of the more loyal Nightingale knights knowing our true purpose. Aside from that, however, there is little to report on, after Eddy left on one of his infernal creatures for his assignment little else occurred that is worth mentioning.
Second Journal entry: The expedition set out a week ago and I can already feel the monotony of this journey take its toll on my mind. Just last night we found that someone had been ransacking our long-term foodstuffs and ale supply, no doubt having decided that a midnight feast of dried venison and watered-down ale was worth the whippings they would be getting from the caravan master. Other than that, there is, again, not much to report, the sky is blue, the trees are green, and I''m fairly certain the men are just as bored as I am. Perhaps we will get lucky and find some action along the way.
Third Journal entry: Perhaps I spoke too soon about wanting action, as we were passing a major trade outpost, we were assailed by some local frogin, a remarkably uncreatively named race of frog creatures that live and build villages around rivers and lakes. Normally they were kept under control by the local predators, but it seems that they had grown confident enough to assault the trade station, it didn''t go well for them. The fight itself did not last very long but it wasn''t the fight itself that was problematic, it was the situation we were in afterward that made things irritating. Frogin are notorious for their poison and the abandoned frogin children they leave around, you see, frogin use poisonous river weeds they cultivate to coat their weapons, they''re not dangerous just very annoying, while on the other hand frogin also use their offspring as weapons. You see, frogin infants are protected by a hard and heavy shell that keeps them safe until they mature, combined with frogins generally not being very smart or compassionate and you have the odd sight of frog creatures the size of small to medium dogs waving clubs around with their rocky children tied to the end. Safe to say we had little idea what to do with them afterwards.
Fourth Journal entry: Another two weeks had passed, and we were almost a third of the way to the mountain and I may have made our journey all the more irritating. As the group leader, it fell to me to decide the fate of the frogin children, and both due to my good sense and overall discomfort with the situation I decided that we would keep the frogin, if for nothing else than as emergency rations. It was decided that one of our trained mages would take over their care and raising, herself being a talented water mage my father hired around the same time Ed graduated. The rest of the expedition seemed confused with my decision, but they understood that my word was final, so they returned to their usual dailies. PS. We found the jerky thief and I had the caravan master punish him appropriately.
Fifth Journal entry: I swear someone is messing with me, I am finding shiny rocks and headless birds piled around my tent, and no one seems to know what''s going on.
Sixth entry: Another week, and more rocks and birds, I''m tempted to have one of our mages use scrying to find who has been leaving the rabble around my tent.
Seventh entry: I have found the culprit, or as I should say, culprits. Our water mage thought it funny to teach the frogin that I saved them from their wicked and cruel parents, also, they can now understand common, great. The frogin we kept seemed to think that I was their savior and lord, which as individual statements were true, I guess, but adoration was hardly my desire, plus I had already been imagining ways of cooking them if it came down to it. The mage, a rather attractive woman by the name of Helvina, is a water specialist who graduated alongside my brother Ed, having been recommended by him to our father for her exceptional talent in long-term terrain alterations and agriculture. From what I had seen and learned when I spoke with her, she was a good if blunt soul, having none of the fake adoration or pretending to follow my words while secretly thinking of how to get what they wanted. All she wanted was something fast and fun. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I admit, she has caught my eye, and from what the men gossip about, I caught hers as well. Perhaps there is something there, aside from the one-off interest in one another?
Arthur lay on his back, naked as the day he was born, with his companion fast asleep beside him after their, passionate, business. Their rendezvous was not done with the usual flair and posturing that he had unfortunately grown accustomed to at the many balls and galas he was required to attend, but instead was a rushed and rough affair, more like two animals than the noble lord and enlightened scholar they were. That being said, of course, they both had an amazing time, something he was hoping could last, if only until the two of them worked out just what they were now. And it started with a question. "I''ll be honest my lord, I had only considered my intentions as far as this, we could go back to our regular duties and be as strangers, but I enjoyed last night, both before and during our, nightly activities, so if nothing else, I''d like to give what we have a try." She may have felt it, but I had used an artifact my father gave to me, it was capable of detecting lies and removing outside compulsions from my mind, both magical and mundane, and found that she was speaking the truth, she truly did feel like giving whatever we had at the moment a try. The idea was tempting, oh so very tempting, more nights like this and someone who could hold a decent conversation and whom I had a growing appreciation of was almost perfect. But it was doubtful we could stay together, while my father was lenient on me choosing a suitor when it came down to it, if he told me to marry someone then I would have little choice in the matter, and damned were any choices I made before then. She sighs. "I''m not expecting this story of ours to last forever, but for this journey, I wouldn''t mind sharing it with you." Perhaps I would regret taking that offer, perhaps I would rage against the moment we would split in the future, but for now I choose to simply lay down alongside her and enjoy the warmth of someone else.
Eighth entry: I have been negligent in adding to my journal, but the expedition has been on edge since we reached the mountain base, despite few knowing the full story, we could all feel the ambient mana in the air, filling our lungs like a breath of the freshest air that clears the mind and sharpens the senses. Helvina confronted me about our true goal, as far as she and most others knew our goal was to establish a mountain fort, as a security measure to keep the ogres and potential threats in line. While telling her was a small break in secrecy, she and the other mages we brought with us were quickly beginning to deduce what was going on, dungeons tended to announce their presence in a way only the magically trained knew how to pick up on. While I wouldn''t say we fought over our mission, we did argue, Helvina comes from a family of dungeon delvers, people who specialize in dungeon exploration and item recovery and are almost always at odds end with the nobility who often hoard dungeons, only letting their people make use of them so they can profit. Of course, when I pointed out that not only was this different, but if it was like those situations wouldn''t that make her on the side she opposes, father did plan for the mages to study and learn about the dungeon after all. Saying that was the wrong choice obviously, she didn''t talk to me for two days, simply plopping down in my cot when the day was over and falling asleep, grumbling about the nobility or something. But as we grew closer to the dungeon with each day, I was able to convince her of my father''s plan, yes, we would be using it to profit but ultimately it would have been for our land''s benefit, more jobs, more money, more taxes, which meant that our family could begin investing into projects that my grandfather had envisioned so long ago. True it wouldn''t be without pain and problems, you never planted crops thinking they would do all the work themselves, sometimes we would need to prune the hedges or rip out weeds that were growing in our garden, so it was with this understanding that Helvina and I started talking again.
Ninth Entry: I write this as we climb the mountain steps, the mana-infused cold bit into our skin, as we- (The page is smeared as the writer quickly abandons his writing in favor of the problems that lie ahead.)
"Milord, there is an emergency, we have located lord Edward along with two others and they require dire aid, a massive horde of monsters is attacking him!" What! "Knight Janus, I command you to protect the caravan, everyone else force march on the double, towards my brother!" The infantry began a steady but quickening pace towards Ed, what mounted troops I had were following me as I broke through a line of trees to see a dip in the mountain, a sizable grass valley containing who cares how many creatures alongside my brother and two others, some mage and my brother''s troublesome familiar. My soldiers pounded into the hordes of, whatever they were, cutting down both the beasts and infernals with little care about who they were killing, normally being able to identify allied summons was an important part of pre-battle plans, but it was easier for him to have his soldier think they were facing demon worshipping monsters, rather than a stupid decision by his brother. I galloped beside Ed trying to assess if he was ok. "Arthur, I need to you deal with the main horde, a splinter group with the prince broke off and is heading for the dungeon, if not already there, I don''t know if it can handle it just yet so I''m going to head over now." "Wait Ed, you''re still-!" But before I could finish, he blasted into the sky on a pair of bat-like wings, picking up the mage that accompanied him and flying towards the dungeon, I guess. "Well, if I had known that the older sibling was going to be here, I would have been more prepared." Gods damn it, now I had to deal with her. SCREEEEEEEECH And also, a horde of strange rat creatures, thanks, Ed. Ch.14 The duo faced off against the outside forces, having the lift go up halfway before using some spell to jam it in place, giving them the high ground to rain more magic on the make-shift homes. I''m still not entirely sure how to feel about him, to be honest, he was here for me, and whatever value I presented I held no doubts about, the problem was whether or not he was here to work with me, or here to use me, a difference I would need to figure out eventually. But securing the dungeon came first. His attack on the main camp managed to rally those who remained on the first floor to help their fellows on the outside, leaving the second floor to be handled by my rats. A smaller detachment of ratkin left the barracks comprising six of each weapon type, two swords and boards, two archers, and two spearmen, making a brutal beeline toward every invader they could sniff out. Each time they found a creature they met it with a savage kind of fierceness, sometimes forgetting to use their weapons entirely in favor of ripping them apart with their hands, a habit I would need to deal with if they wanted to be capable of dealing with superior skills or physique. But having them dead was the only real goal right now so we could iron out discipline later on. Soon they had the entire second floor done along with the remaining first-floor squatters making their way to the veritable meat grinder that was going on outside, fire, ice, and the occasional fiendish-looking creature were being thrown like a flood at the now-dying tribe with to mercy. Thankfully, with everything gone or torn to ribbons, I was able to regenerate the first-floor monsters, the golems, spiders, and workers reforming in their respective rooms with the worms and rats peeking out of their hidey holes. Multiple messages began to assault my vision, largely to do with the attack and some unlock or other, but it wasn''t a good idea to start remodeling with a war going on outside and let me tell you, it was most certainly becoming one. Despite dying by the dozen, the creatures were still numbering in the hundreds, only being held back from climbing up the cliff face by the other person creating a wall of bramble. I knew I needed to do something, anything, not necessarily just to help them, but also to make sure I had a hand in controlling the outcome of this battle. I didn''t want to use them considering I couldn''t make any more of them, but I sent them out, my remaining mecha-hounds. I had them moved near the core for safekeeping and as a final line of protection but right now I need my pack to help control the battle. But how exactly would a pack of five robot dogs help me out, that would be in taking the opportunity when it was ready. Don''t get me wrong, I don''t particularly enjoy sort of backstabbing people just because they might be a problem for me now or later, but with my freedom and life on the line I could take few chances. If the opportunity shows itself, I would use my remaining hounds to either help the duo or if need be, kill them while they were distracted, I could deal with whatever remnants remained of the creatures eventually, but I doubt I would have such a golden opportunity to deal with such a powerful unknown. Watching the carnage continue to unfold, it quickly became clear that the duo would win, if barely, the woman was near catatonic, and the demon dude was huffing and puffing like he was some big bad wolf, but their foes were even worse off with the creatures panicking more than fighting now, running around, spreading fires and mayhem as they are continually pelted with magic or taken out by the demon animals he had summoned. Hmm...hmmmmm... Oh, what the hell let''s give that thing we call faith a try, and with a long and deep howl, my hounds began to show these people what a real killing machine looked like. Crushing a few on their way down, they began to carry out my orders, focusing on taking out any of the creatures that were starting to come together again and start causing more chaos and mayhem. I wasn''t really into that sort of thing, but seeing them cause destruction and death was oddly enjoyable, like a part of me I didn''t know I had was appeased with each throat they tore out and each chest they caved in. As they got to work, I refocused on my two helpers, I was still willing to kill them, if need be, but for now, they were too useful, the only problem was that they were dying. The guy was mostly fine, mostly sporting livable wounds with any serious injuries likely being internal, the woman, on the other hand, was going to die. Her arm was broken and she had a major stab going up into the ribs, potentially puncturing a few organs that weren''t bruised as it was, the guy had given up his assault seeing my robots take the field but seemed to be panicking about his companion, fiddling with random vials he had packed into his clothes but didn''t find anything useful given his distress, perhaps I could lend a hand? Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Recalling one of the hounds, I had it jump back up to the still-stuck platform and approach them slowly, the man drawing a sword while trying to staunch his friend''s bleeding. Without any hands, it was difficult to show that I was willing to help but he seemed to at the very least realize that I wanted them to go into the dungeon, he took a second before undoing whatever spell was cast on the lift, and it docked them into the first room. Quickly I had a clockworker take her to the assembly room along with the guy being pushed along by the hound. Setting her down on the floor I let the other workers keep the guy away as another worker heated its large blade for a hand to a bright red-hot temp. Having the worker slowly and carefully cauterize the stab was almost nerve-racking, one wrong move and I had an angry demon mage and a wasted opportunity. Thankfully things went fine for the most part, she screamed through it and the guy was able to jump over the workers to try and comfort her, but overall things went well. As I began to clean up things and have them all resume their jobs, the demon guy began to tear up and thank me, not full-on crying, but I could hear in his voice the shakiness that came with almost losing someone. I admit the gratitude was just as satisfying as when I was watching my hounds slaughter the creatures, strange really, that compassion and slaughter could make me feel like this, and so soon after each other. But they were still in danger, the guy was still hurting from something internal, and the girl was far from being out of the woods with her injuries, to that end I had them moved further in, past the canid that had the guy speechless and past the mines that almost made him pass out right then and there, assuming that wasn''t the internal bleeding of course. Setting them down in the ranch I had my rats begin constructing what medical items I could remember, splints, gurneys, as well as something that would have to be a stand-in for proper bandages, a kind of fibrous bandage one of the rats made with some wall moss, at first sterilization was a problem I considered but I had the strange clarity on the fact that the only bacteria in the dungeon were those that I allowed. Thankfully the guy was able to calm down enough to find two vials of some healing potion, likely too distressed beforehand to find it, and had my rats feed one to each of them, their outside wounds got better with most becoming no more than little scars, with the girl having a large scar going through the skin over her ribs. For now, they would be fine, both falling into a deep slumber while their bodies fixed themselves, to that end I had my ranchers slaughter one of the bulls to make it into something for them to eat, with one of the rats being oddly infatuated with the idea of cooking, odd but eh, rats be as rats are. As I looked them over, I felt a new pressure in my skull, something else was nearing my dungeon, a great many things given the repeated waves of pressure. Going back up I saw what was giving me a new headache, and what I found was an honest to God damn army fighting what was left of the creatures. Infantry killed scores as archers and two magic users threw spells and arrows from the back, dealing with those remaining. Finishing them off and getting to work dealing with the fires, a young man who looked suspiciously like the demon summoner alongside... a demoness? I couldn''t tell what she was, to be honest, infernal no doubt, but her body was shifting and changing the longer I looked at it like it was trying to decide what to be before changing to something else. Regardless, those around her seemed fine with her so I would keep an eye on her, the man beside her seemed to be looking for something, and after consulting with one of the mages who pointed into my dungeon, I assumed someone. Using my hounds, I was able to similarly use robo-dog charades to convince them to enter the dungeon, if with an uncomfortable number of soldiers and the two mages. To keep some of the dungeon a secret I had my two patients moved on the makeshift gurneys up to the stairs, two spearmen and an archer guarding the four ranchers bringing them out to my guests. They seemed tense but with their leader rushing to what I now knew to be his brother, they seemed less on edge, still ready to strike but, less so. As they began to take the two of them out, I was finally bombarded with more messages and rewards. And once they had left, I was bombarded with messages once again.
Invasion Concluded, resuming regular advice levels. Multiple decisions pending.
About fucking time you came back, dick. Ch.15 After they left the soldiers still outside began to set up their camp, albeit far more organized and less precariously placed. Already they were setting up camp basics all around with a few having to be further down the mountain due to the terrain. But for now, I could rest for a bit, use the time to remodel and adjust things, like all the damned messages that kept popping into my eyes, I swear, if I had actual eyes, I''d be blind right now. But I digress and open the first of the messages.
Large Invasion repelled. +10 DP
Nice.
New Monster Blueprint Unlocked: Greeble
Greeble Small unruly creatures, greebles are a known pest worldwide and tend to infest areas with higher levels of mana. When a group is formed two of the strongest Greebles will undergo a metamorphosis after defeating and consuming their rivals into the primary leader known as the ''king'', and a secondary leader known as a ''prince''. Both become physically larger and more intelligent but lack any major behavior changes. Greebles are a known pest for dungeons of all sizes and ages. Greebles are magical pseudo-intelligent creatures and can form self-sustaining communities. ''Edible'' Useful as fodder. Individuals do not retain any impressions from slain predecessors. Creation Cost: 100 mana 10 lbs. of organic material per 24 hours. Node Cost: 200 mana 10 mana taken from production Creates: 20 Individuals, 1 king, 1 prince, 18 standard greebles.
So that''s what they were, kind of a shit name if I''m honest, but it''s not like I''m expecting myself to use them. They certainly proved dangerous during that attack, but I''m fairly certain the only reason they were as much of a threat was because of their numbers, which were in the hundreds more than a mere 20, it was a lot for a single node and that making combined rooms would allow for possibly hundreds, but I kind of don''t like these things. There was also a non-zero chance that I just wanted to make more rat people, not only did they keep up despite being hours old, but they also amused me greatly, especially that one rat that was using a regular rat as a hat while he cooked, maybe not the most sanitary practice but that''s hardly a concern here. Overall, I''d say that perhaps I would use them in the future for one thing or another, but until that day I was going to wait until I could unlock the monster merging ability. Moving on, I had also gained another growth level from all of that, and now having reached level 3, I gained around 6 DP per month, almost a full monster each month. But instead of going straight for monsters, I felt like I should spruce the place up a bit, and by that, I mean to unlock proper doorways so that it becomes harder for attacks to know what the next room held or if they were on the right path. So, after spending the DP I had just gained, many bronze and iron doors shimmered into existence in every room''s entrance and exit, a small fun thing I noticed was that I could control them. From there I moved on to the other messages.
Notice The core has gained one(1) unique monster point. This point will allow the core to purchase a respawnable monster with a unique feature that falls under one of three categories. 1. ''Roaming Elites'', a monster that has been improved dramatically in its combat capabilities, roams multiple floors searching for invaders. Cannot be directly controlled. 2. ''Loot Goblins'', a monster tasked with drawing in invaders deeper into the dungeon or traps, has a small collection of the rarest items the dungeon is capable of producing. Invaders may use the dropped items. 3. ''Merchants'', a monster designed to interact with invaders to facilitate trade, the merchant''s stock can be altered to be harmful but appear useful, or altered to provide real benefits. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Unique monsters are affected by dungeon theme and subtheme.
Well, that''s interesting, and rather game-like as well. The idea seems to introduce an adjustable element to the dungeon, a tool for me to fight or reward invaders with. The elite was obvious in how it could be used, it would roam around and kill things, simple as. But the other two were a bit trickier, the loot goblin was a honey trap essentially, meant to distract greedy adventurers off the main path and into monsters or traps, while this ''merchant'' was meant to ''help'' people that entered either giving them poisoned drinks or just selling them actual stuff. It''s not an easy choice I''d say, but also not the most pressing. The elite could provide the level of security I needed at the upper floor or to reinforce the second one, the goblin could steer people away, and the merchant could, over time, be able to trade for more exotic materials or perhaps more monster blueprints if we''re lucky. The biggest downside is that I couldn''t control where the elite went, making it difficult to include them in any consistent planning, the goblin could give them a power boost that could steamroll my defenses, and the merchant was a monster offering strange drinks in a place designed to kill or severely maim them, I highly doubt people would take it without some assurances that the merchant was genuine. What that meant was the elite was the only net positive choice, but the other two were gambles, options that if they worked would provide far more than their costs, the idea of a goblin leading some idiots into the startlingly deep wormhole was both hilarious and devious, or if the merchant traded ''healing'' potions for parts of a dragon or something to that effect. But, this wasn''t the only choice I would need to consider, I still had one more message aside from the slew of side messages about the rats killing those greebles.
Notice The core has acquired an exotic metal [deep steel], presently this cannot be used in the creation of a new monster or critter, it may however be used to create a mechanical upgrade available on all current and future monsters or rooms. The upgrade will need to be rebought for each floor. Only one upgrade can be chosen at this time. Loading options...
It''s a shame there was no monster, but I already had my choice of unique ones and the Greeble blueprint so it wasn''t all that bad. Besides, a relatively free upgrade was always welcomed in my dungeon. Before I viewed the upgrades though, I looked over what they gave me for the ''deep steel'', a magical kind of steel that appeared gold.
Deep Steel Chassis Improve the chassis of the chosen floor''s mechanical monsters and critters, giving them incredibly durable bodies and minor resistance to earth and fire magic. Does not affect monsters and critters already made from a superior material. Unlocks the [Repair Port] room addition. Increases upkeep of nodes by 1 Costs: 250 mana per floor chosen. Deep Steel Reinforcement Improve the output and material quality of all mechanical production rooms, and all combat rooms will have the appropriate areas converted to deep steel. The material output of mechanical production rooms will not change but will be converted into a higher-quality version. Unlocks the [Automaton Storage Space] room addition. Increases production rooms mana by +5 Costs: 500 mana per floor chosen.
Deep Steel Armaments When applicable, item-producing mechanical rooms produce deep steel versions. This event is random but is guaranteed to occur at least five times per 24 hours on the chosen floor. For mechanically aligned structures such as the [Ratkin] based rooms, any object produced by a ratkin is included within this upgrade. Unlocks the [Deep Steel Forge] room. +3 mana upkeep for each floor chosen. Costs: 300 mana per floor chosen. Mechanical Enhancement Choose a mechanical blueprint to enhance, this will improve the blueprint overall and grant the special passive ability [Deep-Attuned] granting low-level feromancy. Mechanical monsters are granted innate feromancy. Mechanical rooms will be granted low-level metal sprites to improve overall function. Mechanical traps will utilize feromancy to improve ability when appropriate. Unlocks the [Ferrofluid lake] trap room. +5 upkeep to the improved blueprint. Costs: N/A
Dang those were pricey, but also really good, I think I''ll focus on these before I decide on the unique monsters. Going into analytical mode, the chassis option provided a bonus to my machine monsters as well as the [repair port] that can fix machine monsters mid-fight, it appears that room additions are more or less just improvements to the room itself without being a proper upgrade. Reinforcement was for the most part, arguably the least so far, yes it improved material production, but it lacked the ''oomph'' that the others had, the thing that kept it in my eye though was that I would technically apply to the worm hole, making the already monstrous amount of mana I gained from burning the worm poop even more monstrous. It''s room addition, the [automaton storage space], an addition that allowed production rooms to store their goods rather than just pile them up until the same production machines recycled them. Deep steel armaments were both the same yet opposite of the reinforcements option, both improved produced items, but rather than providing an overall improvement, they created a few singularly high-quality goods. Still, unlike the other option, the armaments option unlocked a room for me to mess around with, a forge of all things. The final option though, was very interesting, a full upgrade to a monster, room, or trap, with each being improved both non-magically and magically. One of my monsters, likely the rats, would be stronger and have magic right from the get-go, rooms would have little magical helpers to make them deadlier or produce more, while traps would be even more dangerous, something that would complement the [ferrofluid lake] trap I would unlock with it. Considering these options, it was probably better that I hold off on the unique ones; each would benefit greatly from any of these upgrades, in their way. As I thought about them, I sat at the edge of my entry room, watching the going ons of the small army that had the planet itself on my doorstep, considering how any of these choices would help me both protect myself and make it clear that I didn''t want trouble, at least not without compensation. Taking the more aggressive options could make things tense between me and the outside, not that they weren''t already, but taking too many ''cooperative'' choices could put me in a situation where I couldn''t deal with actual threats that came my way, or if they suddenly decided I wasn''t worth the trouble. Hmm... what to do? Not a chapter but you should look at this anyway. Alright folks, I need some help, I have the choice for the next chapter but it needs clarification due to the broadness of the option, that means I can either make a giant ass list of things we have unlocked so far, or we could do a somewhat scuffed method of choosing room, monster, or trap, then I would unlock comments and people would choose their preferred choice from the winning option. I have no preference for either, but I feel like a giant list would be mostly pointless since I know for a fact that most of the options on it would be ignored entirely, but I am willing to make it if y''all want it. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. alternatively, I could just choose what to enhance, but that would make any broad-spanning options only half yours I''m going to use this chapter for the choosing so comment your thoughts on how I should do it, I plan on editing this one once I''ve reached a decision. Also, this may or may not happen again depending on any wording mistakes I make with the choices, so consider this the precedent for any future times this might happen again. Also not a chapter, but it is important Ok, after reviewing the last post¡¯s suggestions, I have decided to go with the scuffed list, how it will go is that I will put up a poll on this chapter with three options, room, monster, and trap, y¡¯all will make your decision and then comment what room/monster/trap you want, I¡¯ll scrape the comments for the most repeated one and then use that. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.It¡¯s hopefully not something we¡¯ll do all the time for broad choices, but if need be I¡¯ll use this method. in addition to your commented choice try giving your thoughts this whole method. Ch.16 I decided to choose the mechanical enhancement, which I would use on the spiders that guard my front door, what had resulted from it though, was both great and bad. The spiders themselves had gained the power to control metal albeit not well, and they used that power to control their puppets, this gave them better control over them and allowed the spiders to use the full weight of their puppets without risking their strings. Additionally, a pleasant surprise was that I had gained not one but two new blueprints from it all, the first was the previously mentioned [Ferrofluid lake], a trap that used the funny metal fluid that responds to magnetic fields, and an evolved spider monster call the [Rust Trapper] a large but delicate monster that used metal string it produced to form various traps or better enable existing ones. The great from this was self-evident then, an upgrade to my front line and two new blueprints to include in my plans, but this also came with problems from outside the dungeon. The army that had set shop some distance outside my dungeon was making quick progress on establishing a solid camp for themselves, felling trees and clearing rocks for their operation. Furthermore, they had also begun to send teams to the first floor, for what purpose I couldn''t tell, they spoke little and did little, but thankfully my first floor proved more dangerous than they could handle seeing as most left all black and blue, with the deepest any of them getting to being the golem room before turning tail when a shifty fellow nearly got his arm ripped off. Despite the intrusions though, I was benefiting from their efforts, I was gaining mana and even a couple of DP, at an unusually high rate compared to the last few weeks. This, of course, led to the current problem I''m facing, how do I address the situation, with only a few mech-hounds left and two solid lines for defense, the best I could do was turtle down and weather anything they threw at me, this brought me to the choice of what unique monster to use, the elite, despite being uncontrollable, could provide a non-static variable in my defense despite the lack of control I would have over it. The loot goblin would lure people into dangerous situations, possibly even distract them from the true threat within the rooms, but if it was killed then the invaders could gain a significant power boost. Finally, the merchant, this option presents an opportunity for diplomacy as well as trade, of course, I could always use its poisoned selection to kill any representative they bring, maybe their leader if I''m lucky, or I could use their helpful selection to form a real partnership with these people. Another thing to consider is my near completion of the requirements for level three of my core, another level would mean another floor of protection and production, I learned of this just yesterday while looking over the daily goings on of the dungeon and the army outside.
Level 3 Core Requirements Build 10 Rooms (10/10) Place a structure in every current room (1/1) Acquire and spend two unique points/exotic materials (1/2) * Create a mixed monster room (1/1) Kill or aid a sentient being (349/1) *Other unique points/items/materials exist but will only be displayed when discovered.
Most of the requirements were very easy, but the three things that drew my attention the most were that more ''points'' I guess I could call them existed out there in the world, points or materials that I could use to my benefit, with the problem being that I had no easy way of getting them to me or me to them. The other issue was that I had killed a sentient being, which given the numbers pointed toward the Greebles being the sentients, was a dubious statement I''d say, but the fact of the matter is that the system considers them smart enough to be classified as sentient. Now I wasn''t about to sympathize with the little buggers, they attacked my home and I had them killed for it, with some help, but it will make things significantly more complex and, uncomfortable if I have to actively be killing people to get further. But it said to kill or aid, so it''s thankfully not a one-or-the-other situation if the system asks me for higher numbers next time, I could choose how to deal with people next time. Thinking back to the first level up and the rewards, the resource increases along with the wormhole room acting as a supplemental source made affording almost everything I would need a breeze to buy, the biggest limiting factor being that I had only so many rooms to work with and limited slots within those rooms. Additionally, I was able to unlock my ratkin with the level-up, a crucial monster in my defenses, and likely in the far future, it was entirely possible I could get something just as good if not better, costs notwithstanding. Who knows what I could unlock next, not even factoring in how my unique monster could further enable more experimentation with rooms and monsters, even if I couldn''t control it the elite could prove vital, and the loot goblin could give my forces the leeway to dominate every intrusion, or maybe even the merchant could help me get some good shit from the outside. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Cooling myself, I still needed to get to that point, first and foremost I would need to address the unique monster option, how exactly do I create one, is it like normal?
Partially, a unique monster requires a unique point to be made, however, no other resources or requirements exist as the unique monster will be produced by the system.
So you''ll make an actual monster then, willing to share that list?
For the price of 1 DP
Rather greedy for a probably divine intelligence, sigh, just take my money.
Horned Rat "Roaming Elite" A shard of an idea, this mystical ratkin blurs the lines between science, engineering, and plague as it wanders the halls of the dungeon, ever vigilant for foes. Cannot Be directly controlled. Can be directly communicated with. Unlocks the [Biomech Critters] pack, unlocking multiple mixed biological and mechanical critters. Uses mechanical weaponry and plague sorcery. Ratkin upgrades apply to this monster. Sp88D Bot "Loot Goblin" A small automaton that carries a pack full of rare treasures, it can reach impressive speeds and only gets faster the deeper into the dungeon it gets. Has an assortment of agility and evasion-focused abilities. Unlocks the [Tinfoil Critters] pack, granting multiple mechanical critters. The items carried will change based on what the rarest non-crystal item is. Mechanical monster upgrades apply to this monster. Super Mart "Merchant" A small mercantile alcove that can provide either banes or boons. Their inventory is adjustable as well as the prices. Capable of communication with any intelligent creature. They are capable of buying things from invaders, at a mostly fair price. The merchant itself will be a doppelganger. Their items cannot be stolen unless affected by unique abilities. Immune to most forms of damage but is incapable of fighting back. The ''shop'' can be placed in any connecting area of the dungeon, the area will be expanded accordingly to accommodate them. Receives no upgrades.
I''m not entirely convinced the point was well spent, but it is starting to turn the gears in my head. Despite the odd familiarity of the [Horned Rat], it was a strong choice that also gave me more critters to work with on top of being really strong sounding. The [sp88d bot] was iffy in my opinion but I was open to the idea, as my dungeon got deeper and more dangerous the use of a monster luring greedy people further in was appealing, if rather bloody, the biggest downside seemed to be that it might attract the wrong crowd to me. Finally, the [Super Mart] was more interesting than I thought, it didn''t need a room to be made and it was a combo, both a storefront and the merchant to tend to it, and depending on how it would present itself the banes could be useful, for me that is not for them, also assuming we could even convince idiots to buy probably dangerous stuff. My thinking was interrupted though, I could hear loud marching outside the dungeon, and a look showed me that something important was going on outside, the soldiers I had been checking on the past few days were in full uniform and armor, leather freshly treated and those with metal armor had it polished to a near-shine. Once they finished assembling a small group walked forward, the soldiers lined up in formation to their left and right, it was the demon guy and his brother, along with some other wizard-looking people, ahead of them a mousey-looking fellow with a scroll began speaking. "A message to the unnamed dungeon from his grace, heir to the great Nightingale family, Arthur Nightingale." He pauses for a moment, then continues. "We the men and women of the Nightingales have been tasked by the lord of these lands to secure the new dungeon, however, as you have exhibited, and we have discovered, you have reached full personhood, and thus we are willing to parlay with you in light of your aid of Edward Night, we ask that you provide a conduit through which we may commune, the lord Arthur and his chosen entourage will enter your demesne and speak with your representative. The lord and his chosen shall enter your domain tomorrow morning after they have broken their fast." Closing his scroll, he began to, silently, pant at his long-winded message. The camp then slowly returned to their usual state of daily tasks and duties, the so-named lord Arthur and Edward the demon guy quietly conversed where they were before returning to wherever they were usually. This changed things and made them significantly more complex. I''m not sure how they figured out that I was smarter than your average magic crystal ball, but now that they did it would lead to the bane of my and many others'' lives, politics. So now I have to consider that on top of all my other concerns, for both the unique and all my future choices. Well, I know my options and I have the variables laid out, just what will I choose to do? Arthur 2: Discussions and Deals For the first time in a long time, Arthur felt out of place in a discussion he should be the leader of. Normally the day-to-day matters and even some of the more intensive duties of the nobility were nothing new to him, his father had him sit at court each time since he was nine, occasionally being asked to provide his perspective, and his mother tutored him in how to handle political intrigue when she wasn''t fighting with his father that was. But those were the problems of people, no matter the race or religion, they were problems he could meet face to face with arms, or discuss with sharp words and wits, magic was neither of those. That wasn''t to say that his knowledge of it was lacking but he lacked the talent of his half-brother Ed, who was arguing with Helvina and the other magical members of their expedition. "Forgive me ser Edward, but this is a total anomaly, ever since the Collapse no dungeon has been seen with this level of intelligence since the God Tomb fell. For all we know it could already be producing unthinkably powerful weapons and monsters!" The God Tomb was one of the few dungeons that survived The Collapse, a spiraling death trap no one had ever seen the bottom of, believed to have been a dungeon that formed around what was once the graveyard of countless gods from a time so far gone that even the immortals of the world struggled to remember. That was of course if you believed the half-baked stories and legends that persist today, but what was known was that the Tomb was an ancient dungeon, and age to a dungeon meant power, a power that let it survive the collapse before dying, the reason is still unknown. Barqelen, a hedge wizard his father hired for cheap, wasn''t wrong to say that the dungeon was abnormal, but the comparison was rather disproportionate, at least he got Ed''s title right this time. "Don''t blow this out of proportion Barqelen, the dungeon is smart, very smart, and while one day it could be just as dangerous as the Tomb is, ALLEGED, to have been. What we are working with is still a young dungeon, one that hasn''t even formed a third level, and it has a long road ahead of it if it wants to challenge the other more established dungeons." A fair point from Ed, but Barqelen''s was also there, the dungeon only had two floors, dangerous, yes, but only two, if the current group couldn''t deal with it then Arthur''s father was more than capable of arranging for people who could, hopefully, it doesn''t come to that. "Good ladies and gentlemen of this gathering, I ask that you calm your words, we can''t afford any dissent among our ranks, and we can''t face the dungeon with a divided front. Now, mage Barqelen''s belief in the strangeness of our situation is not without merit, and my brother Edward has a point, but my friends, what do you propose we do about it?" His brother and Helvina gave him looks of approval, and the assembled group was silent for a time, considering their lord''s words. Randal Mulz, an academy mage charged with creating the beginnings of the fort, was the first to answer. "My lord, while I do not doubt the potential danger of the dungeon, why not simply collar it?" "Because Mage Mulz, while intelligent dungeons can still be collared, they require a far more powerful collar than what we presently have, and only by requisitioning one form the church could we hope to acquire one." That put a frown on most of the faces gathered, the church always exacted a heavy price when it came to their ''divine collars'' that were produced by the Kannorite sect, followers of Kannor, the god of control. Furthermore, the Church was known for its immense dislike of dungeons, often preaching that their power to create life is an affront to the gods with it not being uncommon for zealots to actively pursue the deaths of existing dungeons. To ask for their aid in this matter would only bring trouble to the Nightingale lands, trouble that neither Arthur nor his father were willing to allow in. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "The Church isn''t an option, but we do need a solution still." From here the gathering went back and forth on many ideas, but it was from an unlikely source that we found one we could mostly agree on. It came from Lily, Ed''s companion, who seemed to have an increasingly odd relationship with Arthur''s brother, not his business but if it needed addressing then he''d ask later. "It might be presumptuous of me to say this, but why not deal with the dungeon?" Most of us were skeptical, especially those who were of the mind that despite said intelligence and awareness, it was still a creature to be beaten into submission. But after some discussion, we came around to the idea, enough of us anyhow. So, in the following days, we prepared arguments, gifts, and threats for the dungeon, until days later we stood in formation before the dungeon and proclaimed our intentions to negotiate with it, giving it until the next day to prepare a representative. What we did not expect was for the dungeon to release a tidal wave of potent mana out of its entrance, proclaiming to everyone that it had gained another floor, becoming that much more dangerous. But our plan remained the same, we would just need to present a more powerful front when the time came. When the time did come, the negotiation team entered through the strange device that lifted them up and into the entrance, being met by a glass door with an unusual symbol on the front. Entering we were met by one of those large rat creatures in an odd brightly colored outfit with a small piece of wood stating that its name was... Ratnold, strange name. The room itself was brightly lit with strangely textured bronze flooring and simple stone walls with pipes going in and out of them, the counter itself was like a toll house between the entrance and what looked to be a merchant''s shop. "Greetings dear customers, to the Super Mart, I take it you are the ones who wish to talk with our master?" Its voice was light and raspy, but not overly so, and from what Ed was whispering about, the creature before us was an unusual one for a dungeon this young. "Indeed... Ratnold, I, heir apparent to the Nightingale house have come to discuss both present and future business ventures between us. We of the household are willing to negotiate for the safe use of your master''s domain." The creature moved its head around, twitching and listening for an unheard sound. "My master is willing to discuss this, but he would know the nature of your use, and how you might pay for it." Figures the abnormal continues to be just that, even if it isn''t on par with veteran merchants or lords it will still take some work to get an agreeable deal now that we know it can understand deals and implications. "We intend to work alongside the dungeon to better this land, using the unique materials and power that can be gained within to improve and secure our lands. As for payment, we are prepared to give tribute in the form of livestock and a constant source of growth for your domain." Again, the creature listened. "My master would ask that you explain just how you would be acquiring and using these, materials, and why he should believe you won''t attempt to harm him." "I hope that we might come to an agreement that your good master would allow us to explore and collect throughout the dungeon, so that our miners may collect the ore from those spaces below, or that our craftsmen could work with the fascinating objects your domain has produced." Arthur could feel the mana in the air shift and fold, setting them on edge but nothing came of it. "The master is amenable to this; however, he requires time to review this deal and to discuss it with his... advisors." Shit, if someone was already influencing the dungeon then they needed to sweeten the deal and find a way to turn out this advisor. "For your master''s benefit, we are willing to gift him with some creatures to his pleasure." Arthur had two of the guards go back and return with a cage full of ravenous monsters, hobgoblins, the only thing more of a pest than greebles, they had captured them as a last resort food supply, they are unfortunately edible. But as they came into the room, lifting the cage into the dungeon, we were directed by the negotiator to open the cage in front of the door to the next room. With a hiss the doors opened to show the metal hounds from the skirmish barring their fangs at the hobgoblins, together they pounced on them and began savaging their throats, dragging them further into the dungeon, dead or alive. "The master is pleased with this gift and will take it into consideration, please, peruse my stock while our master deliberates." Our? But from the corners of the room and in the pipes overhead I could see, rats, lots of rats, staring at them with eyes nearly glowing in the torchlight. Hopefully, things turn out well, he always disliked rats. Ch.17
Congratulations. The core has fulfilled the requirements to advance to level 3! +1 floor limit Added gross mana production to base production. +80 mana per hour +200 mana storage +1 level 2 perk choice +1 focusing choice. +1 level 3 monster choice* +10 DP for leveling up. *Requires choosing a perk and focus choice before being available.
This was the reward for finishing the level 3 requirements, the same as the level 2 rewards but I didn''t expect that they would be all that different anyway. Like before, my core moved down, becoming its own floor with 15 rooms available for use, which did give me the idea that maybe I could make one or two mega rooms, but that was for later. The monster, focus, DP, and perks were also incredible, but it very much felt the same as the last level, just adjusted to the next level. But I would put those to the side, for now, the meeting was too soon for me to cobble together a floor and choose from my focusing, perk, and monster choices before they got here, so, for now, I would push them for after the talks. When they finally came over, the annoying task of talking through my new merchant began, and by the point they started to explain what they wanted from me I began to get the gist of their actual purpose. While I did not doubt that they would use me to improve themselves, I doubt that''s the main purpose, after all, my monsters drop loot, and the mines contain special metals, to say nothing of whatever items the rats drop or what I may make in the future. No, they were here for profit and power, two goals that aren''t as innately bad as people would assume but presented a slippery slope if things soured between us. If I allow them to use the dungeon as a source of income it would make them dependent on me as well as aid in my development, but it could also lead them to the desire to control me completely regardless of the deal we may or may not make. On the flip side, it could also result in them forcing me to let them in through violence. I wasn''t ok with killing someone still but if it came to that I wouldn''t hesitate, I hope. But after some back and forth between our two groups, we had a small recess, during which I came up with an offer of my own. I was still on the fence if I wanted to deal with them, but I did have an idea, why not maximize profit? Essentially, their goal was to regularly harvest the various stuff I made, intentionally or not, and use them for their gain, something I couldn''t entirely blame them for since that was more or less exactly what I wanted from them. And after the short break I called for, we began to talk. They wanted to collect the resources I made, and more specifically they wanted to collect the metal produced by my assembly lines and from the two mines on the second floor. Additionally, they wanted to make use of the various monsters that I had created to train their talented recruits and made it a condition that I prevent them from being killed, within reason of course. Finally, they were open to discussing how they might help me in creating more powerful resources, likely less because they cared about my development as a powerful dungeon and more so that they were concerned about whether I would continue to add valuable resources for them to collect. There were of course other stipulations on their end, but they were largely too small to warrant major consideration, at least not with how things stand right now. But once they were done with their spiel, I presented my offer, my merchant explaining in my stead. First, the Nightingale family and all associates were to respect the sovereignty of the dungeon and its domain, to clarify that while I am allowing them inside, the dungeon is a kingdom of my own. Second, I would allow them access to any individual floor they paid an appropriate tithe for as well as all resources therein, and that any monster within said floors was theirs to battle, however, the dungeon is not responsible for the deaths of any person that engaged with said monsters. Third, the dungeon is willing to consult the Nightingale lord, heir, and the individual known as Edward on matters of development and trade but will only do so at the dungeon''s discretion. Fourth, the dungeon was willing to provide unique treasures provided the Nightingale house was capable of giving magical metals and materials to match. Fifth, the Nightingale family is obligated to provide security against outside threats. Sixth and finally, the dungeon would maintain a good standing relationship with the Nightingale family which includes no impeding, harassing, or otherwise attacking them. My aim with the deal was at best to try and sway things more towards me, give them an extreme offer so that a "revised" offer that still favored me would be agreed to. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The idea was that after the deal... "We accept this offer good dungeon." Wait what? "If it is no bother, we would take first leave so that we may continue with the establishment of our camp and prepare so that we can properly honor the deal." And with that, he and his procession left, some of them looking like he had sold them all out while the others had a more contemplative look, something wasn''t quite right. As they stepped off the lift platform, I could make out the faint mention of "The Guild" before they left my hearing range, it''s possible they already had a way of sidestepping the deal. But despite still being surprised by their sudden acceptance, I was glad that it was over with and on mostly good terms, all I needed to do was prepare for them to start sending people in. Speaking of preparations though, I had a floor, and a gaggle of choices to pick through. First was that they had given me a new monster to work with, they didn''t seem that great since my hounds could tear through them so easily, but that could be more because my dogs are just that cool.
Hobgoblin One of the last remaining goblinoid species after The Collapse, hobgoblins are not as intelligent or magically gifted as their smaller kin, but instead make up for it with numbers and highly adaptable bodies. Hobgoblins lack the social structures of gremlins and the intelligence of goblins but are willing to cooperate if the situation falls out of their favor. Hobgoblins are however capable of becoming [Greathobs] under extreme stress. Hobgoblins are incapable of magic and lack impressive strength, but any created nodes allow for the creation of different environmentally influenced subspecies. Compatible with blood magic as material. When exposed to great physical and magical stress hobgoblins can develop into [Greathobs] Creation Costs: 75 mana 3 lbs. of organic material per 24 hours Node Cost: 125 mana 4 mana are taken from production. Creates: 4 hobgoblins, 2 male, 2 female.
Hmm, not a stellar gift I''d say, but free is free I guess, unless this was some kind of attempt at weakening me, is a new monster and a bit of growth supposed to be a threat? Anyway though, I pushed it to the side to look at my other stuff; to choose my level 3 monster I would need my focus and perk.
Level 2 Perks: Structural Efficiency 2: Grants mechanical structures and monsters improved efficiency and reduced upkeep. +2 mana production for all mechanical structures and -2 mana upkeep from mechanical monsters. Node upkeep is reduced by 2. Mechanical Trap Enhancement 1: Grants mechanical traps improved functionality and reduced cost by 1. *Masterwork Creation 1: At the beginning of each week improve one monster on each floor, the improved monster will gain the (+) modifier and will have all of their abilities and attributes improved. Collectively these monsters will produce 1 Dp per week. *Mechanical Focusing has influenced this selection.
Good, very good, but still, something to think about. Structural efficiency 2 is very much an all-around benefit like the first one with little downsides, the other two are interesting if nothing else. The trap enhancement would give me more incentive to use and plan around traps in the dungeon while also making them easier to make, on the other side, masterwork creation meant I could create beefed-up monsters to supplement the existing forces, and it would give me points each week, something I could use and would need in the future. Another thing to consider now is how this would affect the deal, something I would need to start considering from here on, but the first two options wouldn''t have much impact, yes, they would give me more mana or better traps but ultimately things wouldn''t get shaken up too much. That would be much the same if I took Masterwork as well, but the new addition could cause problems if they encounter an enhanced canid, or maybe just a strangely powerful clockworker, either way, it was something to think about. As for my focus options, they were different this time around.
Focusing 2: Mechanical Focus 2: More machine options will appear, allowing rarer options to appear. Grants one level 2 mechanical monster. Mechanical Monster Focus 1: More machine monster options will appear more greatly when appropriate. Allows for a one-time conversion of a non-mechanical blueprint into a mechanical one. Biological Focus 1: Biological options will appear more often, allowing rarer options to appear. Allows selective breeding between compatible biological constructs.
Similar to before but also very different, mechanical 2 gives me better machine stuff and a free monster, giving me a net of two monsters with the level-up. Additionally, mech monster increases how often I can get a mechanical monster, with the small problem that I usually only get mechanical monsters from either the shop or as a system reward, with a couple of outliers. Finally, there''s biological which would increase the number of biological options I would get, if that''s what I wanted, the given options would likely still be useful and they would still be constructs, but so far, I was rather invested in the idea of metal machines and robots. Two choices to make, two things that could change my future. what to do? Ch.17 Poll extention From here on out, if I have multiple polls that are technically being done at the same time then I will make an extension chapter, it will serve as an extension of the previous chapter so that a second choice can be made alongside the first. Also, I might use these extension chapters to answer questions if you have them so don''t be shy. If you don''t like this method then also don''t be shy, feedback is always good so that I can refine this process. You can also ask about zero to hero but know that some things won''t get answered. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Ch.18 I decided to go with [masterwork creation] and [mechanical monster focus], because of the synergy between them. While Masterwork did only work on a single monster, it will easily show its work once I have some more powerful monsters and more floors, with the addition of now being able to transform any of my non-mechanical blueprints into a machine version, if only once. But with those out of the way, I could start considering my monster options, and from there start building up my third level.
AST4R10N The AST4R10N is a semi-intelligent demi-humanoid automaton. It has a high physical ability but lacks magical capabilities. It uses a machine great axe for a weapon. Only one may exist. Has a minor resistance to all magic but celestial. They are made of diluted deep steel. Creation Cost: 800 mana 10 lbs. of metal per 24 hours. Node Cost: 800 mana 5 mana taken from production Produces: 1 individual Fabrication Drone (A.F.D) A small but complex drone capable of producing various weapons and armor if provided as an example to study. The AFD is incapable of imbuing magic into their creations. It can use any given material but defaults to steel. Little combat ability. Creation Cost: 100 mana 5 lbs. of metal per 24 hours. Node Cost: 600 mana 5 mana taken from production Produces: 5 individuals Magnetic Deterrent Drone (M.D.D) A drone that uses magnetism to combat threats, uses heavy metal plates to protect itself while using pointed metal poles as a weapon. The MDD itself is fragile and slow. The strength of magnetism increases with the number of MDDs. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. It can manipulate non-magnetic metal if owned by the dungeon. Creation Cost: 550 mana 10 lbs. of metal per 24 hours. Node Cost: 800 mana 1 mana taken from production Produces: 1 individual
Fuckin hell that''s amazing, two rare options, the only question I had was why only one of the Ast4r10n could exist at any point, was there a limited supply of them?
Partially, special monsters/traps/rooms/items are marked in orange to emphasize the special and rare nature of the option. The [AST4R10N] monster was originally made in the [First Era] as a [Redacted] but has been influenced by the core''s memory of the monster entity "Bull of Minos". Due to being from the [First Era], this monster will be at reduced strength until core level 55.
So, you can just pull memories then, I feel like I should be outraged but I''m not sure if that''s even a blip on the fantasy radar at this point. Ignoring that bit, the Ast4r10n is a singularly powerful monster that, unlike the canid, cannot be replicated more than once, meaning that once it''s here, it''s here to stay. The biggest downside I''d say is that since I can only make one, this would make its placement extremely important, so I don''t waste it. On the other hand, the MDD and AFDs were more standard in the way that I could make as many as I wanted, provided I had the space, so I could use them as I saw fit without worrying about if I wasted my one chance for each. The MDD was a weak-bodied but powerful attack robot that used metal implements to deal with foes, something that did give me a fair few ideas on mixing different rooms, for example, just how dangerous would it be if I mixed the MDD with an assembly room? On the other hand, the AFD held a similar opportunity, since it creates weapons and armor it could be a killer combo if I combined it with an assembly room and a ratkin node. In the long term, it might be better to choose one of those two since I would gain more and more rooms with each level up and while it would take a while I could easily make small armies of them, not that would be the best option though. But there were two facts about the AST4R10N that made it viable, its immense power, and the ever-used rule of cool, who wouldn''t want a giant bull robot under their command? Maybe a float around would help me think. Looking out to the camp of my new partners, I shouldn''t forget that I now have obligations to the deal and that I would also need to provide some sort of value to these people aside from being a giant generator. As it stood, the first floor was all they were allowed to enter at this point, containing mostly just the metal products of the assembly room and anything they could get from the monsters. It wasn''t much to talk about, likely their offer of payment wouldn''t be much of anything since there wasn''t much to gather up there. But the second level gave far more and would thusly cost more. Two mines, an assembly room, magic cows, and the opportunity to fight against my ratkin were immensely more valuable than the simple first floor making it an attractive buy for them. The problem is that I would need to assemble my third floor before the deal let them step even a foot down there, and while I could throw something together, it wouldn''t have all of my current assets accounted for if I made it right now, I still had to choose between those three and come up with a plan for the design. I did have an off-the-top idea for each, but it was figuring out which one I liked more that only added to my irritation. The AST4R10N was a single powerful monster, my thought for it was perhaps making one giant room, or at least making a larger room, that it would act as the "boss" of, aided by other monsters as support in different ways. The AFD would work in tandem with both clockworkers and ratkin to form a well-armed army. Likewise, the MDD would work alongside the clockworkers and their assembly lines to give them as much metal as they needed to fight. It was also true that I could go with other ideas but for now, this was my thought process. Standing at the threshold of my growing world, I watched the goings on of the people, running drills and putting the finishing touches on their camp. Then it hit me, a sort of weight in my skull was lessened, not gone by any means, but as I began to truly internalize the deal I had made, it came to me that I wouldn''t have to worry as much. The deal was by no means unbreakable of course, any number of things could happen that lead to it being broken and ignored, but right now in this moment, I felt almost safe. So, I sat down and watched the people go, mentally going back to the issue of my monster choice with all my previous considerations and ideas, using the calm that took me to make my decision. Uther 1: The Lord of The Nightingales Uther knew his life until now was far from terrible, a blessedly competent heir, a few daughters to marry away, and two spares in case Arthur should ever die or prove himself inadequate. However, he knew it would still have its many troubles, chief among them was his second son, Edward. Edward''s mother was an old adventurer guard turned lover of his during his youthful days of hunting bandits and playing hero to the small folk, she was, is, still very much the love of his life, despite the controversy that came with it. Edward''s mother was Alcina Du Franc, a mixed-blood human hailing from the southern reaches of the empire, a place dominated by conquered demi-humans and the mortal descendants of demons and devils. But despite the rumors and discourse it started, they stayed together, from blood and fire to sheets and roses, they would not break. But in the end, they did break, not from a loss of love nor a bitter end, but under the weight of responsibility. Uther''s life until that point was one of freedom and joy, of traveling roads with the loot of local thieves or wandering lovestruck behind his beloved. But when his father died that ended, and before he could come to terms with the loss, he found himself betrothed to the daughter of a major trade partner and military ally of the Nightingales, the family that his now lady wife Gerviche came from and dumped with the expectation to produce an heir. At first, Uther did try to see if things would work out between himself and his new wife, truly he did, he bought her favorite perfumes and lavish silks imported from dungeons deep in the heart of the empire, and things did seem to improve for a while until Arthur was born at least. When Arthur was born Gerviche went from a prim and proper lady wife to an eerily accurate vision of a banshee, screaming at the servants over the slightest infraction or perceived provocation, many a family did he compensate for her wrath. At first, he thought it was simply a lack of attention or even some kind of hysteria but no matter the gifts or excitement he brought into their home, nothing was good enough, so Edward was born. It was 25 years ago by his count, passing through the cobbled streets of Lensburg, one of his more developed villages, that Alcina and himself reignited their old flame, a poor choice considering his so-called wife, but that point lost little love. It was then that things started to slip into place in his mind, both as a lord and as a man, he was happy not with the prim and proper ladies and lords, but with the people, with the wilds. Adventuring taught him to dislike silk and appreciate the simple gruel his people would often get by with when they couldn''t buy or grow more food, and he learned that life and love of elaborate and extravagant gifts and foods were meaningless to him. He wanted the food of people who appreciated every bite, not just because some inner court expert made it, he wanted to roam the wilds with his soldiers, meet his people, and command them with shared respect, and he wanted to give meaning to love. But things weren''t that simple of course, life never is, and he remained married to his wife and even sired a few more children, some he was sure weren''t actually his but both of them were beyond reconciling, and they both knew it. What did come from this realization was a renewed sense of purpose, his people would have more than gruel, and no monsters to fear at night, and so after he dug up some of his father''s early plans for the people. Many of the plans were unfeasible but others had some use, standardized units, essential education, and a way of controlling the merchants were some of the ideas he was able to implement, he would have used more but the strange language his father wrote in was always impossible for him to decipher, even with the assistance of foreign peoples and scholars. This leads to the current day as he enters the family manor after a week''s journey, greeted by his wait staff and the few children he knew to be his. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "Welcome back, lord father." It was Odessa that greeted him, his oldest daughter and unofficial lady of the manor, her mother long since abandoning her duties to the place in favor of being a social butterfly, currying favor with friends over tea and discussing gossip. "The manor is yours again Father, also, Harland and I have news to discuss with you in your solar once you are ready." She was shaping up to be a fine woman, it was a shame that she was already set to marry a year from now, his two older sons and her would have made a powerful team. Handing off his traveling equipment and then changing into his daily clothes, he returned to his solar where he resumed the never-ending paperwork of his domain, a light snack of dried fruit to keep his spirits out of the infernal realm. Odessa was the first one to speak. "While you were sending Arthur away Harland and I were able to finish your orders when you left, we prepared two hosts of varying peoples for relocation. They are primarily tradespeople who would be needed to establish new villages and outposts, also, we have prepared a small contingent of soldiers to accompany them, a sum of 80 militia." "Very good my daughter, if your brothers are on schedule then we''ll be ready to send these people out in four months." Harland, his steward, spoke up as soon as Uther had finished. "About that milord, we received a letter from Edward soon after you left, it remains unopened, but I assume it to be of great importance given it was carried by one of your son''s... creatures." Harland''s discomfort with Ed''s summons was an understandable issue, but Harland was also smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Taking the letter and combing through it, Uther felt his blood begin to rush, an intelligent dungeon, at only level 2! Hmmm, likely his son was already moving to work around that fact, but it was still troubling news. Intelligent dungeons couldn''t be collared like normal ones and there was no way he was bending over to those pompous, self-righteous, arrogant-! Breathe in, and out. The church was not an option and would remain that way for the foreseeable future. Knowing his boy, he was likely to try to communicate with the dungeon, assuming it learned that particular skill, meaning that he''d have to be ready for the fallout of Edward''s actions, good or bad. Hmmm. "Odessa, prepare another 200 men as well as send guild master Ghuul an invitation for a meeting, I need his adventurers just in case. Harland, I want you to begin sending letters to the towns and villages to prepare for monster attacks and have our scouts keep an eye on anything coming from the north, at the first sight of monster hordes I want my people evacuated to the nearest town or fort." They seemed momentarily shocked by my orders but quickly composed themselves and got to action when I dismissed them. While Edward was a skilled fighter and mage, negotiation was not a skill they taught at the academy, nor one you cultivated as a dungeon suppressor, Uther would prepare for any potential dungeon break. Looking at a wide map of his lands, he had few developed settlements or outposts that far north, the only ones currently at risk were the small farming communities nestled there, too small to be noted on the map but existing, nonetheless. If the dungeon broke and let out its monstrous creations, he would need to make sure they would be able to get away, the problem was that these communities were strictly not his responsibility, they were unsanctioned by any land grants and did not pay taxes, as far as the law was concerned, he had more reason to hang them than save them. But that old adventurer in him told him otherwise, they lived on his land so he had a duty to them, he''d have a few scouts start rounding them up and sending them south so they could integrate with the existing villages. A few days later he held a meeting with his long-time friend, the guild master of the region''s Adventurer''s guild, Guild master Ramoul Ghuul. "So, lord Uther, seems you have a dungeon problem." Ramoul was also one of the most annoying people he knew. The things he did for duty. Ch.19
Choice acknowledged. Unlocking AST4R10N''s room. A saying, if you would. "What makes something a monster, their form or their actions, to know the answer is to behold a beast and see a man and observe a man and know the monster inside."
So, we''re doing poetry now then? ... I guess that''s it then, might as well look at this new room.
The Cr3t0n Labyrinthian Mk.1 A winding maze of metal and smoke, this structure is more machine than building, capable of changing its layout without the input of the dungeon even mid-intrusion. Useful for any that can navigate its uncertain pathways and hell for those that can''t. Some say that a treasure unlike any other appears deep within. Produces nothing +75 mana storage +3 trap limit for this room alone. Requires a minimum of 20 combined rooms to use effectively. If constructed with fewer than 20 rooms then the structure will operate at reduced ability. Non-mechanical monsters and intruders will suffer the [Lost] effect while present in this room. Only one can exist. Creation Cost: 1000 mana
Well, shit, that''s pretty good, still not sure if it''s better than the other two but there''s no going back now. But with that last choice out of the way, all I needed to do now was start setting up my third level and then I could start discussing the price with those outside. Working on the third-level layout, I came to a somewhat similar design to that of the second floor. After they descend the stairs, they''ll have two doors, one straight and the other to their right, the correct choice would be to take the right but thanks to the doors they won''t be able to tell. The forward path just leads to two rooms with nothing going on, just a dead-end, while the right path leads to several more rooms that may or may not be the correct one. The first room splits two rooms, the left one a dead end, the forward one is the correct one, while the next room only has one pathway to a large room I built using five room slots, I had a big idea for it, well, a couple of ideas anyway. But first came the other rooms, in the first two rooms that splintered off of the stairway was a [rust trapper] node followed by another wormhole, now occupied by a very happy worm and rat colony. From there, we go to the next two rooms, the first correct room and its splinter. In the correct room, there was another assembly room, occupied by more refined-looking clockworkers producing more impressive-looking parts, the splinter room was occupied by a canid with a wall spike trap to keep people bunch up together. Going down I had the next two rooms, the one immediately after the assembly room was a heat mine while the one right after it was a stand-alone ogre bull room, a new structure called a [Ogre Bull Cave] an open space room with large den areas for the creatures to rest. Skipping over the big room I made, the remaining three rooms were all that was left, the two dead-end rooms I made into more resource rooms, the bottom room being a formation room while the one next to the correct path I put a node of hobgoblins in. The hobgoblins weren''t especially high on my list of potential defenders but I was more curious than anything to see what their deal was, and the results were... meh? The hobgobs themselves weren''t the ugliest things in the world but they certainly lacked a kind of appeal that I usually see in my other creations, they were pretty tall at around 5''''6 or so, gangly, and had no body hair whatsoever, but what they did have was a rusty kind of skin that looked like it was made from actual rusting metal. A quick look at the system told me that this was actually a result of their adaptive trait giving them a metallic skin layer that would help in defending against blows, even their claws were pointed with rusty nails. As for their unlocked structure, it wasn''t too much better though, a [hobgoblin cave] that boosted their adaptive ability slightly, but mana was mana I say and I know now that as it currently stands these creatures don''t have much of a purpose in my dungeon. In the last room just before the core was a final canid, looking a bit bulkier than usual. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. But the final piece to this floor was my big room, made with five rooms, it was a massive expanse that would not have been possible with how little ceiling support it has. In that room, I made another ratkin room, but unlike the three times rooms I made on floor two, this one was five times. It was massive compared to the others and it felt like it was far more than just five rooms in one, I''d almost say it was a small mountain from bottom to top, or at least a really big hill. Summoning five ratkin nodes and constructing a five times ratkin room, I was excited to see what I had unlocked.
Small Ratkin Fort A small hill fort manned by ratkin, it comes with all the essentials of a fort, however, it does not come equipped with any mounted weaponry such as ballista or catapults. The fort itself will come with floor-appropriate gear and essential supplies. A small number of plains resources will grow in the fields surrounding the fort. The door to the next attached room is located in the fort commander''s throne room. A random ratkin will be selected for the position of fort commander. Provides a minor status buff to ratkin and machine monsters. A skill crystal of ratkin origin will be granted to any that defeats the lord commander. Creation Cost: 500 mana
Yup, it was official, I was going to have to play around with this whole combining rooms thing. I expected something big but a whole ass fort, that was not on the checklist today. The fort itself was big, a hexagonal shape with six towers and a two-door gate set up, the outer door was made from thick iron banded wood while the inner one was thinner looking, tough enough to take a few blows but more of an annoyance than a true roadblock. From the gate, there was a small but clean and empty courtyard with another thick door to the fort interior, arrow holes lined the walls facing into the courtyard. Inside the fortress itself was rather simple, from the entrance was a throne room with a final set of doors leading to the canid den just before the core. To the right and left of the throne room were four different paths, two of them were stairways to the walls while the other two entered into two separate rooms. On the left were the barracks for the soldiers while on the right was an armory/supplies stockpile with various ambiguously shaped foods packed into boxes and barrels with wrapped tools and armors lining the wall. But for how cool it was it wouldn''t be complete without the people, and so out of light were formed 25 ratkin, tall and muscled, wearing more unified and well-made armor. One of them, a female ratkin, then began to glow a green color, growing a head taller and stronger, sporting a helmet with simple ornamentation of cogs and gears, she wielded a longsword with three short javelins tied to her back. Truly she fit the title, although wouldn''t it be lady commander, or would the title still be lord commander? Either way, it didn''t matter too much, and once the light show was over the commander began to bark orders to her new subordinates, the other 24 moving this and that way, each taking a role in the fort with some becoming regular guards while other took on the logistical posts such as a hunched over ratkin becoming something akin to a quartermaster while another began to organize a small group of others to start carrying equipment around, as per the commander''s orders. As the organized chaos continued a thought came to mind, well two actually but the second was unrelated to the first, I still had that mechanical conversion so I could still turn something into a machine if I wanted, perhaps it would make the ratkin or one of my other monsters better? Selecting the conversion I looked over the processes.
Conversion Converting a non-mechanical blueprint is an irreversible process, to do so would be to lose the benefits of the original blueprint in favor of a mechanical version. All existing monsters of the original blueprint will remain but will be impossible to recreate. Intelligent monsters will lose their intelligence. Magical blueprints will be replaced with a mechanism to emulate the original effect. Associated rooms will be replaced with mechanical versions.
Frowning That raised a few problems, mainly that part of the big draw of the ratkin was that they were intelligent, at least relatively. Sure it would be simple to use it on another creature or trap but was I willing to risk trading out one of my monsters or traps for something that may or may not be worth the loss? Sure I could live without hobgoblins or Greebles and perhaps a few others, but it felt like it would be a waste of a rare opportunity just to satisfy my curiosity, would the loss be worth it? Ch.20 After some time, I decided it would be better to keep the one-time conversion in my back pocket; there might be better options later. But with that decision, I had deals to make and obstacles to overcome, first would be the negotiation of my first and second floors. Quickly, I had one of my dogs walk down to the camp with a simple message scratched into a metal plate, two guards readied their weapons against the mechanical hound, having heard it as the lift came down. The three had a silent stand-off before another came from the inner camp and took the plate after I had the hound drop it, returning to the lift and sitting down. Some time passed before the same entourage from before came forward with several wizardy-looking people joining them. The lead person, Arthur if I remember correctly, spoke first. "Greetings creature, I take it your master asks for a summons?" I guess it would make sense not to understand the chicken scratches of my ratkin, still, he seemed to get the basic idea. I had the hound give a nod before motioning them to get onto the lift, ascending once they were all securely on. They rose up and into the entrance room, the large doors once again closing behind them as they began to follow the hound back to the merchant''s shop. "Welcome once again dear customers, my master would like to offer his thanks for accepting his invitation, and that he is ready to make good on the deal you agreed to." Eh, more or less, might have to work on his wording skills but again they seemed to get a basic understanding of what I was telling them. "We appreciate your master''s faith and honor and are more than willing to discuss what may be done to begin good relations." He motioned two men to set out a collapsible table, taking out and setting down a stack of paper and a quill. As per the deal, they would have to buy the rights to enter each floor, paying whatever we agreed on for each. The big question right now was just what kind of price I could reasonably put, while the first floor held little resource value it was still useful for the metal and the fights with my monsters, add the fact that technically I could produce infinite metal so long as they collected it before it was recycled by the system meant that even the relatively scarce floor one already held immense value. Of course, they wouldn''t pay the theoretically high price for it but still, it was a point to consider all the same. Hmmm, I''ll ask for something absurd to gauge their reactions and see just how outrageous I can get before they refuse. "My master would ask for the heart of a dragon, the soul of a demon, and the mind of the unknowable as the price for the first floor." Arthur had no immediate reaction before small tells of his mood leaked through his serious demeanor, his eyes were dilating, his hands shook slightly, and his overall expression was slightly off from before, maybe I asked for too much? He composed himself and with a cough. "Ahem, while I am sure of the value and greatness of this floor, perhaps it would be better if we could discuss other items for trade, I''m afraid those three are in... short supply at the moment." Definitely too much, and probably too outrageous to be honest, I didn''t get much in the way of information. "That is acceptable to him, my master would instead ask for five individuals of three different monsters you can provide as well as several sheets of magical metals and other materials." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Arthur''s eyes narrowed, it seemed this one was more in reach, which meant that he was going to try and lower it. "We are more than willing to pay your master his price, however, such an endeavor would be costly in our current situation, perhaps your master would be willing to part with an agreeable sum of resources to aid us in gathering these monsters for him?" Oh, that''s clever, he was tying his desires to my price. Not a bad tactic but it also came with two problems, he could only ask for what he knew I had, and what I actually gave him. With the deal being based on trust, as much as we could call it trust, he could only ask me for stuff he knew for certain I had, which was mainly metal from the assembly rooms, and the fuel they didn''t need to know was just compact worm poop. "Of course, my master would help you, and he would be more than willing to hand over a good amount of metal and fuel produced from this very floor. Along with that, he encourages you to peruse my stock while my brethren bring forth your resources." He and several others in the group looked disgruntled with my decision but Arthur seemed to take it in stride, if painfully so. But while I had the different floor monsters begin hashing together different items from their rooms, and the people from the group began to look around the small shop, inspecting and looking over the strange devices, some even bought stuff with small silver or gold coins. Note to self, figure out how much these were worth, and as a side note figure out the image on each coin''s face, the gold had the face of a bird creature while the silver ones had the image of a... fish? Odd but it probably has some meaning behind it if it was put on a coin, if nothing else whoever minted the coins like seafood. After a short amount of time, my monsters started to haul their loads to the lift room, a neat pile of metal parts and sheets from the clockworkers, bundles of metallic thread from the rust trappers, some large crystals mined out by the golems, and finally a small but still massive sphere of worm poop. The people seemed to be somewhat stunned by the display, possibly from the smell now that I think about it, but also likely not used to monsters not only not attacking them but also bringing them their stuff, but they quickly got over it and began to cautiously inspect the goods. They all seemed at least interested in each thing but the two things they focused mainly on were the neat piles of metal, and the poop orb, hmmm, poorb, worm poorb. "It is certainly... generous of your master to provide such... great gifts on us, we will take our leave and begin scouting for suitable monsters. I will be having some of my men come in to collect the aid." I guess it does have a smell, should have figured I suppose but it never really struck me as important, oh well. Gathering themselves they left the shop and went down the lift, taking the goods they bought from the shop with them back to the camp. But with that done I could start looking at my next floor, and while I wouldn''t want to level up immediately, it would be best if I started to work on the requirements.
Level 4 Requirements Build and fill 15 rooms (15/15) Create a large room using several smaller rooms (Complete) Have 10 different monster blueprints (9/10) Utilize 5 different traps (5/5) Endure 15 invasions or challenges (3/15)
It wasn''t the most difficult of lists, I was guaranteed to get that last monster blueprint even if the outsiders took a while, I did have enough DP for a random monster roll. But the real bottleneck would be the bottom requirement, so far, I''ve only been attacked three times, the first was the horde of crazed animals and the other two were Edward''s first attack, and then the Greeble invasion. Unfortunately, it also seemed as though simply entering the dungeon didn''t qualify as a challenge, they would need to actively engage with it for it to count. The upside of that was I would eventually get it once they fulfilled their end and brought the monsters, the downside was that I could have already potentially finished that requirement if I had been more aggressive until now, perhaps they would have tried attacking me more often if I was more aggressive towards people, or perhaps if I had made a different set of choices in the past. Oh well, I made the choices I did and not the ones I didn''t, so I''ll just live with what I have and what I''ve done. That being said There was some small stuff I''d like to look over while they got to it, the barracks ratkin were making a fuss about food or something, thankfully it wasn''t the lack but rather some weirdo that was doing strange stuff to it, better look into it for any problems. Remi Le Rat: Preparation Remi has been an outcast all his life and granted that wasn''t very long as far as he was led to believe, it was the idea more than anything. Remi was hardly any different than his comrades, aside from the captain of the barrack, he was the same as any of them, with the sole difference being his incredible talent for food. While his fellows were content with simple moss and the flesh of the vermin, Remi aspired to make something more, something grand. This wasn''t to say that he didn''t appreciate what his maker had done and given for them all, he had created them from nothing and elevated them above the lesser vermin they feasted on, but Remi knew in his heart that the master would want them to better themselves, just as they would train in the yard for the next attack, so would he train the food of his people. And it was so that Remi lay on his cot, contemplating the available foods before him, before him was a bundle of wet greenish-brown moss, the cleaned meat of the vermin, a large cup of cave water, and the most valuable of his possessions, an untouched haunch of ogre bull meat. It wasn''t easy to acquire, the bull ranchers had rapidly become infamous for extorting others for even the toughest of pieces, it was only because of the recent attack on their home that he could secretly take away his piece. As for the rest, they were simple enough to find, moss grew everywhere, water was abundant if you knew where to look, and the vermin meat was a stable of their meals, typically boiled in the small pots they had or burnt over the fire. It might take his entire life, but he would find what he was looking for, that thing you do to make good food. He shivered a bit, the barracks were rather cold at this time, and while their hides would keep them from injury or pain, few were comfortable staying in the cold for long, so Remi gathered his goods and made his way to the bonfire, a communal event ordered each time it got cold. "Eeh, it''s the odd one, what did he call himself Roomi, what you gonna do now with that trash?" Sigh, his comrades weren''t the most supportive of his efforts, and it would likely have turned to violence had it not been for his position as a shield-bearer. But that hardly stopped them from taunting and irritating him, finding his efforts confusing and even insulting. It wasn''t an unreasonable belief of course, if the master wanted us to have better food, then he would have given it to us already, so Remi''s efforts were far from appreciated. Still, he knew in his heart that things could change and that their maker would approve if he could make something worthy of him. But as he was lost in thought he must have gotten too close to the flame as his bull haunch had caught flame and his cup had begun to boil, silently he chastised himself over his negligence, who knows how long it would be before he could get another piece this good? The cup was too hot to touch, Remi having just learned that metal got hot and stayed hot longer, making the metal cup impossible to retrieve, but the meat, on the other hand, was different. When he took it away from the heat a wonderful smell came from it, the surface was burnt too much to be making this good smell, so he took his knife and cut away some of the blackened flesh, still eating it despite the bad taste, and finding that the deeply red meat had become a very attractive pink color with some grey around the outside. Normally the ratkin wouldn''t eat raw flesh, even if they could, but something about this new pinkish meat made Remi salivate just from the smell alone, so he gently cut some off a slice and took a single small bite. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. From that bite came a...a... something, Remi didn''t know the word, but it was a good one, it was soft but firm, gushing a strangely good-tasting mix of blood and juice, it was wonderful. But it was also missing something, and he couldn''t tell what, the taste of the meat was good, but it was like it could be better. Looking through his pile of foods, he tried a bit more of the pink meat with a bit of each of everything, the moss and meat were, bad frankly, too different in feeling and taste for it to be good, next was the water, and to be honest, it was almost exactly as he expected, meat water, although it did leave a strange taste that felt oddly in place, maybe he''d look into it later. As for the last item he had no desire to dirty his precious possession with the flesh of the lesser vermin, so he came to think on what to do, and he would continue to think all the while he nudged and inched his now boiled away cup back towards him. It was a bit annoying that he would have to go get some more water from the spring but... what''s that stuff, it was a small pile of white stuff at the bottom of the cup, how did that get in there, what was it? Cautiously he pinched a small amount of it out and licked it, at first, he didn''t know what to make of the taste, it was its own taste, and it made him thirsty, but after seconds for the taste to ingrain itself in his mind he nearly jumped in joy, this was what he needed for his pink meat! Quickly he held the meat close to the flame to get it warm once again and sprinkled some of the white stuff on the exposed side, letting it turn a greyish brown color before cutting a piece and eating it. The bites before were amazing, but this new one was incomparable, the white stuff had somehow made the meat so much better, and the blood and juice tasted as if the maker had directly blessed it, he felt like he could see colors when he closed his eyes and could feel the blood in his body quicken with his excitement. He had done it; he had found what he was looking for and now he could help the others eat good food as well! But he stopped himself short, this was just meat, fire, and the white powder stuff, what other foods could he improve with this process, what other good tastes could he bring to Clan Barracks? He didn''t know what to do next, what to try, but what he did know was that he had to tell the others, the captain for sure had to know first, with her help, he would be able to get the others to help him when they weren''t training and preparing for the next attack on their master''s home. Oh, he couldn''t wait to see what they would say! Careful not to drop his precious food, he excitedly ran to the captain, heart full of excitement for what future foods there were yet for Remi to discover. "Oh, captain my captain, I must tell you something!" And so, Remi began his culinary journey, all from a little accident by the fire. Arthur 3: A knife and a betrayal All was not well at the camp, and no soldiers or support could tell. To them, they were making excellent progress in clearing the way for the future foundations of what was likely to be their future homes and places of business, something that filled many of the camp followers ecstatic for the future. But things were not going well behind the closed and magically silenced flaps of the command tent. After Arthur took the dungeon offer it caused a rift in the leadership to form, the more battle-minded among them conceded that they wouldn''t control the dungeon like most were, and the control collar they had wouldn''t work even if they had tried, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t use their forces to, well, force the dungeon to do what they wanted. While true, such a thing was currently possible, it was also incredibly dangerous as it could cause a dungeon break, forcing the dungeon to cast off whatever intelligence and awareness it held to defend itself from any threat, including half the territory before a proper force could be brought to bear. But even so, they were determined that they could do it even at great cost. This pro-attack group was headed by a veteran his father had appointed as the future castellan of the also future fort, sent along with Arthur to help deal with dangerous elements as well as get a lay of the land. Opposite of them was a group mainly comprised of academics and craftspeople, the mages who had begun to defer to Helvina and Edward, as well as the assigned quartermaster of the caravan and the fort, sent along to aid in establishing infrastructure and supply lines when they got settled in. This group was less unified in exactly what they wanted but agreed that they should maintain a more cooperative stance towards the dungeon if only to build enough so they could defend themselves. Additionally, the "pro-defense" group also maintained the prior belief that the dungeon presented an incredible opportunity to study and profit if they could maneuver the deal properly. Because of this divide, the camp''s future and safety were becoming an increasingly sensitive topic among his officers and staff, if the pro-attack group couldn''t be pulled back into the fold it could cause both the deal to be broken and a potential dungeon break if they go forward with their plan to overwhelm the dungeon. On the flip side if the defense/peace group couldn''t be kept under his control they could jeopardize the integrity of the camp and Arthur''s ability to keep everyone under his control. Thankfully their arguing did have a break, the day the dungeon had developed a third floor and sent down a metal beast, handing off a metal plate with a message written in the old imperial language, something rarely used ever since the death of the founding emperor. The meeting with the dungeon was far from what he had expected, but a step forward towards cooperation. The dungeon''s initial price was ridiculous, and the dungeon likely already knew that, but Arthur could see a test when it was presented, it was trying to learn about him and see what he was willing to do for just a simple floor. Speaking of the price though, dragon hearts were far from difficult to acquire these days, provided the dungeon couldn''t tell the difference between a half-breed wyrm or wyvern and that of a true dragon. When he later consulted Ed about the ''soul of a demon'' out of curiosity, he learned that by nature demons can''t have souls even if they were at some point human or adjacent. And as for the mind of the unknowable, no one understood what the dungeon meant by that, but few gave it much thought since ultimately the price was set to a much more reasonable level. The price of a couple of three different monsters was not as outrageous as it seemed, somewhat time-consuming but not difficult. The only problem was that this somehow seemed to inflame the attack group even more, they spoke fewer and came to the daily meetings even less. It seemed as if the first deal created a rift that separated them from the others, while the following through of the deal and the given price was the final straw. All of this came to a head when the unthinkable happened. They had all assembled as usual to discuss how they would proceed with the establishment of the fort''s foundations, with only the main leaders of the pro-attack and a few of the pro-peace groups present that morning. What would then happen would engrave itself into Arthur''s memory for days, and likely many more after that, Arselan, the leader of the pro-attackers, drew his knife along with the others of his group, lunging for Arthur before he could properly understand what was going on. Three blades sunk into his flesh, none would prove fatal, but the adrenaline cared little for where, only that it did: and before they could continue the job the heads of all three burst and then sucked into a nauseating hole in the air, the smell of brimstone and rotten flesh filled the tent, Edward''s hand ablaze with his infernal magic. "[Curse of the Gate]!" Their bodies fell limp on the ground, the hellish portals still hovering in the air as everyone processed just what had happened. Ed was the first to recover followed by Arthur and Helvina, Ed commanded the others in the tent to look after Arthur and his wounds while Ed secured the camp of any more traitors. Enveloping him in the soothing light of healing magic, the knives were pushed out and fell to the ground, a black tar covered their edges, poison, but Arthur''s increasingly heavy eyes and body understood little of what was going on, deciding to fall over and pass out.
Arthur wouldn''t wake up for another two days at which point he was greeted by his brother laying five heads on the central table, each head having been part of the pro-attack group, each a visage of pain before their fate. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "What happened Ed." He was silent for a moment before speaking. "After dealing with Arselan and his officers I along with a few loyals rounded up the others and made them confess their plans. After significant...persuasion, we were able to learn their plan. The former castellan had planned on taking us by surprise, taking you and me down by surprise while the others that sided with him took out every leader or officer in the camp that opposed his plan." He cleared his throat. "His men managed to only kill a few people before my familiar and I managed to stop them, unfortunately, we are down three mages." "But why- how-, those were our men, Nightingale men, they swore to serve our family!" Ed pulled out a strip of cloth with a simple embroidered image of a many-faced pillar, the symbol of the many gods'' church. "Arselan was one of ours true, but it seems that the church was able to infiltrate our forces, likely before you left, the only question is if they were sent here, or if they''re just fanatics that joined coincidentally. But no matter which scenario it was, they brought a sacred collar with them." Arthur looked away in confusion and anger, the church was capable of much more than the small folk knew, espionage and infiltration were the least heinous of their practices. It was entirely possible that the augers their father met with could have let it slip to the church that a new dungeon was forming, likely wanting to use the expedition to collar the dungeon if not outright destroy it before the Nightingales could make use of it. This meant that now more than ever they needed to push forward with their plans as well as weed out any remaining traitors and solidify their relationship with the dungeon. While it would be bad humor, the collar was a powerful piece of magic with the imprint of a divine presence, Kannor the Controller, and it would make a mighty gift, maybe even good enough to take the place of the monsters it wanted. Resolving his plan, Arthur shakily rose from the bed and made his way out of the tent. The noisy camp quickly silenced as their leader stood tall on a makeshift stage that had been assembled and spoke to them. "As every one of you is aware, I and several others within the camp were attacked by traitors and scoundrels who were intent on enslaving the dungeon like a rabid dog, not only stealing a precious and valuable resource but also an ally, for the dungeon and I have been in talks over a mutual deal that would enrich all our lives." The people of the camp were following each word, some showing their anger while others silently cursed the traitors, Arthur knew that the church would have likely shared the resources of the dungeon, if only at an exurbanite price. "But thanks to the help of my brother and companions we were able to defeat these traitors, and once we did it became more imperative that we begin focusing progress on the building of our fort, for in the coming days we will have to meet more dangerous and deadly foes to defend this greatest of opportunities. So effective immediately, I am ordering an accelerated shift schedule from everyone in the camp." Arthur quickly left the stage to his quartermaster to begin shouting out orders, hurriedly entering the command tent and taking a seat. Healing magic was amazing for keeping people alive or dealing with nasty wounds until they could be properly dealt with, but a known side effect was that it ate away at a person''s stamina for several days, making it so that Arthur had less strength for the next few days until his body returned to normal. His other remaining advisors filled the tent and began pouring over maps and reports about the area, throwing around dozens of ideas to hundreds of problems with some headway being made on each. The three main problems they needed to address were the camp''s integrity, the supply chain for the fort, and the dungeon. Arthur had little experience with finding and dealing with spies, but thankfully he knew someone who could fulfill that role. "Oh, my dear boy, I would be more than happy to follow your command." Edward, or rather Edward''s familiar was what he needed, a succubus, a master at manipulating mortals to their ends, and while he dreaded using her talents, he felt he had little choice if the church had decided to infiltrate the expedition. But he wouldn''t be sending her out alone, one of his father''s agents who was skilled in this kind of work was assigned to keep an eye on Arthur and Ed and would make an excellent counterintelligence force for him, as well as keeping an eye on the demon. With that being done though, he had two more problems, the plan was that since the fort would be situated in the mountains the camp would make a small quarry where they would cut and carve the stone, they would use to make the fort as well as outlying structures, but among those that were killed by the traitors was the master mason himself. They could still cut out stone, but the mason''s underlings did not have the masterful experience or earth magic necessary to match the previous timetable. Likely that wouldn''t be a fixable issue until he could get word back to his father, and longer still as he would need to wait for a new mason if a new one can be found. Sigh, the men would just have to start anyway. As for the dungeon, he would need to talk with it, doubtlessly it saw something happen in the camp. They didn''t have the time anymore to send out expeditions for whatever the dungeon desired, he would simply have to trade using what he had already, and what he had were two collars. The first collar they had brought with them was a simple one used on non-intelligent dungeons, well-crafted and worth a fortune but hardly anything groundbreaking. The second on the other hand, was special, made of rare metals and powerful crystals, it was crafted with all the excessive self-worth that the church had along with the power of a god. Thankfully it wasn''t an actual piece of kannor since it would have likely burned everything around it to cinders but instead, it held the impression left behind by a divine presence, like a shadow''s shadow, something that would normally mean nothing but meant everything since it came from the divine. He didn''t know if it would be a good idea to give a dungeon an item tied to a deity, but frankly, he didn''t care if Kannor or the church got angry, he''d kill anyone they sent after him now. Ch.21 I watched as Arthur walked into my dungeon with labored breathing, quickly taking a seat in a small sitting area in the merchant''s shop. In his arms were two circular objects, one of them looked strange to my eyes, like an optical illusion that didn''t sit in my vision correctly. The other felt wrong though, I could feel a whisper I couldn''t make out but could hear in the back of my head, it gave me the feeling that it wanted me to submit, to give up control.
WARNING! [Enslavement Collars] Detected!
What! Quickly I rallied my monsters, the floor one monsters positioned themselves outside the merchant''s entrance. "I do not mean harm good dungeon, simply to talk." He held up his hands as the collars fell to the ground with a clang. I moved in my merchant. "And what is it that you want to talk about, bringing not one but two items that insult our lord?" "I understand that it would seem bad of me to bring such an item, but as you no doubt know, traitors appeared within my camp." It was true that I had seen something, I couldn''t tell exactly what, but I could still see fighting and hear shouting through the night. If he was betrayed but won, then he was likely here so I wouldn''t take advantage of the situation. "And to that end, I ask that your master take these items as an alternative payment for the deal, with the loss of life and available skill my people will be unable to fulfill the requested payment for many months, it is in my belief that the power and materials of these two collars would be sufficient payment. I looked them over, the first one I could tolerate, but the second was pushing too many buttons too hard. "The master would like to inspect them before deciding." Ratnold then took the collars as if they were the diseased rats instead of himself, tossing them into the arms of the clockworker who took them to the second floor, the system absorbed it soon after.
Notice 1x Psionic-Derived Enslavement Collar absorbed Reward: Mother Brain blueprint.
I would make a joke here, but the situation seemed far too serious, even if he couldn''t see or hear me.
Notice 1x Divine Imprint Enslavement Collar absorbed Reward: Divine Ash
What in the gouda god fuck is that! Why the hell did I get... whatever those two things are from just two items, is there something about them I''m not seeing!?
[Enslavement Collars] utilize the controlling properties of an entity or entities to create an object capable of controlling anything it is placed upon; in this case, the collar is designed for dungeons. The reason for acquiring the [Mother Brain] blueprint was due to the intense usage of [Mother Brain] material. As for the [divine ash], the collar was crafted around a divine aura, likely made around an artifact or physical remains.
Ok, so it''s only a bloody choker and some god dust, I swear if I had a body my blood pressure would be shooting to the moon. Sigh, while I do wish I had the three monsters I did get something good, so for now I would allow it, and maybe Arthur could use a good-natured reminder of why I wouldn''t mind a gift or two now and then. "My master has accepted these items as payment and wishes to grant you something in turn." Yo system, is it possible to use DP to make something for a non-dungeon person?
Indeed, simply envision what you desire to create, and the appropriate amount of DP will be allocated.
In front of Arthur, I imagined a machine, one that could produce water abundantly. I reasoned that since I couldn''t find a proper source of water anywhere these guys were thirsty, and while they would need to use magic to fuel the device it would be a godsend for them in their situation. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. But as most of my remaining DP drained away a large basketball-sized orb shimmered into existence, a hand-shaped button with a hatch on the other side. "The master says that the orb can quench your thirst and fill your fields if powered with magic." Still not exactly what I told it, but close enough, like always. To his credit, he did seem grateful and happy to accept it, it just kind of seemed like he expected something cooler, understandable, I guess. But once he felt a bit better, he grabbed his prize and shambled out and down the lift, being taken away by his brother and a guard. Now that they were gone, I could inspect my new goods properly, first the mother brain.
Mother Brain A celestial entity derived from the [Mind Flayer] sub-type; the Mother Brain is a floor-consuming entity that creates subordinate creatures to follow its bidding. It will follow the dungeon so long as its needs are met. Capable of flesh-crafting celestial horrors. Subsumes entire floors to create a single living entity that spans the entire floor. Hyper-intelligent. Can be converted into a machine. Creation Costs: 2500 mana 50 lbs. of organic material An entire floor will be consumed. Node Cost: 5500 mana 20 mana taken from production Produces: 1 Mother Brain, countless minor sub-entities.
Jesus, and here he thought the bull was expensive. 25 hundred just to make it and 55 hundred to make a node, even if he let himself overflow on mana he couldn''t make that much mana, much less handle the node cost. It wouldn''t be for a long, long time before he would be able to make even a single one so unfortunately, while it is a high-value payment, it''s also completely useless right now and likely far into the future. Sigh, despite that though it was still a monster and it still counted toward his next level goal. That being said he would have to continue to rely on the ratkin and other monsters he presently had. Now it was time to take a look at the divine ash stuff.
Attention A divine material has been acquired, the material will be consumed, and two appropriate options will be generated.
Oh, that''s rather simple then, well hit me with what ya got system, I''m ready.
Kannorite Slave Pens Kannor is the god of control, a domain that extends into the wretched practice of slavery. This building is as much a temple to Kannor as it is an expression of his power. Building this will summon low-ranking celestial [Servants of Kannor] to operate the building. Constructing this will appease Kannor, the god of control Constructing this will anger Leighlash, goddess of freedom. Will attract Kannorite followers. Not choosing this will anger Kannor Not choosing this will appease leighlash Attracts a certain [Tortured Trickster] if not chosen 1x Free construction charge. Pandora, daughter of bronze The metal child of Earth divinity, P4nd0ra is a divine machine built to express the greatness of the [REDACTED]. Capable of growing and fiercely independent, this machine sees the dungeon as its parent and will give anything to protect it. Has [Machine Rebirth] Will reinforce the [Machine] sub-theme Only one can exist. Cannot be tied to a node or single room. Will open a channel to [REDACTED] Attracts a certain [Clef-footed Smith] 1x Free creation charge.
I didn''t know what to make of these options, both on paper would be incredible, divine you could say, but they also came with a lot of potential problems. The pens, on top of being reprehensive, would anger an actual god if I took them, and while I would also garner the favor of said god''s opposite I don''t want to test how far either are willing to go. Adding to the facts, if I don''t choose it I''ll still anger a god. As for Pandora, I felt like it was the better option of the two but it was likewise impossible to tell until I chose the thing. Essentially it would be an intelligent machine monster, likely a powerful one given the rarity, what''s stopping me from just choosing her was the fact that it would ''open a channel'' to something, while also attracting a [Clef-Footed Smith] whoever that is. It kind of feels like no matter what I choose I''ll end up dealing with a god or two getting miffed over my choice, could I just, not choose any of them?
Yes, however, the usage of the [divine ash] is required, if not through the given options then the [divine ash] can be consumed to create a special celestial-type object or consumed to acquire 1000 DP.
I guess I could understand the item part, but why so much DP?
The [divine ash] is blessed by the power of a god, despite being only an impression, it is separate in most terms from other materials.
So it''s just really powerful I guess, which to be fair was assumable given the options it''s given. But this does give me four options then, either I can take the pens or Pandora, signaling myself to the divinity of this world. Or I could forgo using it like that and simply create a special item or get a whole lot of DP. Both would be good options if, for different reasons, the DP would enable me to start upgrading and buying all the stuff I needed to improve my dungeon while also picking up a few monsters along the way. On the other hand, I could make a special item that I could bargain with in the near to far future. Regardless of what I chose, it would need to be done carefully, if I''m not fully committed to my choice then I could die, or worse. Ch.22
Acknowledged. Unlocking Pandora''s room. A saying if you would. "Freewill is both a curse and a blessing, to own your mistakes and achievements give each person the weight of the world behind each action, but with that weight, they may one day become diamonds."
I''m actually starting to like the idea of these little sayings, even if they feel somewhat bigger than they need to be for the situation. That being said I would like to see Pandora''s room; the description did say that they couldn''t be tied to one room specifically so that she has one interests me.
Birth-Forge A recreation of a faded memory, this place was where her divine father first cast the first daughter of bronze, and along with her a jar meant for an impossible task. This structure is designed to comfort Pandora, a place of rest and work where she may make her tools and weapons with the special bronze that crops up from the ground. Given the significance of the room and its origins, it will act as a temple to a certain [Clef-Footed Smith]. Produces: Quasi-celestial Bronze* +100 mana storage +1 monster node Requires a minimum of 5 combined rooms. The magical heat of the forge makes it difficult to approach. Only one may exist 1x free creation charge. *Exhibits properties similar to divine material but lacks the genuine mark of divinity that elevates it above mortal metals.
Like the labyrinth, this room seems incredible, with the only issue being that it counts as a temple. What I was wondering was just who this smith was, the system wasn¡¯t calling them a god but you don¡¯t build temples to just anybody or thing, they had to be something more. But that¡¯s also part of another tidbit I needed clarification on by the system, what exactly is this rarity ranking, I¡¯ve been getting a lot of sparkly options that make me think they¡¯re ultra rare of-a-kind- which some are- items that should be reserved for more spectacular or specific events.
The [Clef-footed Smith] asks that they remain anonymous for the moment, for now, all they have stated is that you continue to be as you are. They also recommend that you do not worry about their followers, as none are within this world.
Ok, none of that was ok to me, but I doubt I get much say in¡­ whatever this is. But with that being said, it was decent that I didn¡¯t trade one set of notions for another if they were telling the truth anyway. With nothing else to do, I might as well look through these other messages, can¡¯t be that much worse I guess.
Attention The Divine entity ¡°Kannor¡± Is greatly displeased with your actions and has complained to his followers. The Divine entity ¡°Leighlash¡± Is pleased with your actions and has offered her help against her nemesis.
Fuck shit in a barrel, what the bologna hell did I do! It clearly stated that nothing would happen with the other two, what the hell was that shit System!
Note The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The wills and moods of divinity are outside of the system''s directives or control.
Sigh Is there truly nothing you can do, or is it one of those things you¡¯ll stay silent on until I meet some arbitrary goal? ¡­ Yeah, I thought so. If I can¡¯t rely on the system to give me accurate reports on these gods then I¡¯ll just have to guess for myself, years of reading mythology books and fiction have prepared me for this. Their messages were clear, but on a deeper level what did they mean? Kannor told their followers about me, not where I was nor that they should attack me, but just that I slighted them. This gave me some leeway to hope that nothing would come of it, but with religion or cults, it¡¯s never just over: likely I would have to deal with Kannor¡¯s assmunchers eventually, sanctioned or not. On the other hand, this Leighlash seemed to like me, and failing that she at least appreciated me not choosing her enemy and was offering help, in whatever form that took. With the smith a non-entity in this matter, it meant that I had one god probably gunning for me and his foe willing to help me, which means fuck everyone I¡¯m going to make a kill pit, at least for a couple levels if I can help it. It wouldn¡¯t be a real kill pit, and I wasn¡¯t about to start skirting or breaking the deal, it¡¯s just that I¡¯ll have to get them to accept that I¡¯m going to turn up the heat on some levels for my safety. That being said, what should I do about it, I still had to fulfill the invasion requirements to get to the next level and it was unlikely that it would be done for some time. I would need to entice Arthur and his people in more often, and thanks to the deal we signed it wouldn¡¯t be too hard; a sign of what happens when you cooperate. So quickly I sent my mecha to hound out to call him, hopefully, he isn¡¯t too injured.
He wasn¡¯t too injured, but given that these talks had lasted two weeks it was hard to tell if that mattered or not. When I first asked for him I got a stern ¡°he¡¯s busy¡± from his¡­ secretary, I think they were? Essentially the camp was in a rush to start and work on their more permanent buildings, bypassing the pre-foundation and area control plans they had before and going straight to cutting stone and chopping wood to start making a thick wall around a now flattened and enlarged ground. I was able to meet with Arthur occasionally but I was unable to start a proper dialogue with him, and frankly, it was getting me pissed. But I was not without patience, and eventually, I was able to get and keep his attention with some implied help. Essentially, I said that if they were in such a hurry then they could have some of my monsters give them a hand, and he, I¡¯d even help supply nails and hinges if they were willing to repay me at a later date. This got their attention thankfully, and while it would still be nowhere near fast enough for my liking, they did begin sending in ¡°attack¡± parties to start semi-unknowingly finish my level requirements. The first attack was at night, a small group of lightly armed militia came up the lift and entered, shaking in their boots. They actually got decently far into the first level but that was mostly because the rust trappers, clock workers, and golems were outside helping them set up their fort, I was able to let the first-floor monsters out thanks to a handy upgrade from the store. But their adventure ended fast once they got to the canid, its intimidating appearance and terrifying speed made them flee, and my first actual attack by my allies was over; it wasn¡¯t that great but it counts so what do I care? But that brings me to my current situation, which in fairness isn¡¯t a situation, more of a new normal. Once that first attack group came back unharmed (if in need of new trousers) loaded with the environmental loot they scavenged, more people began to rotate in and out, some trying their luck with the canid with only a small handful being able to scratch it. This led to a startling revelation, I was generating far more mana now that people were coming in and cleaning out the place, the assembly lines were usually choked full of unused metal but now they were almost squeaky clean. Apparently, the dungeon worked better when the flow of mana was unclogged by its byproducts. Looking outside, they were making excellent progress on their fortress, with my monsters¡¯ help of course. I could see the clock workers cutting and transporting perfect stone blocks two and from an emergency quarry just down the mountain, I saw the metal webbing of the rust trappers being weaved into rope for various tools and mechanisms, and I could even see my golems helping some concerned looking lumberjacks bring down some trees. If I wasn¡¯t a dungeon this scene would probably be great, and even as a dungeon core I would say so, but I should be careful not to call them friends just because they agreed to not try and kill me. Reviewing my forces, the second and third floors were still unavailable to the outside and would likely stay that way for a while, but since I was nearing the completion of my final level requirement I should consider how I should handle my fourth floor. Like other level-ups before, I would get a focus option, a level 3 perk, a level 4 monster, and some DP. In the, pretty recent, past the focus options would be more centered around mechanical options so I¡¯d likely have to choose something machine-related again. My perk and monster options would likewise be machine-based but I could just as likely get another ratkin-like option, they were proving to be my mainstay right now so another like them would be amazing. Another thing to consider is my two legendary monsters and associated rooms, the Astarion and Pandora. Asterion was a mechanical Minotaur, large and dangerous, it was the very idea of a boss monster, while Pandora felt more along the lines of an intelligent crafter/fighter. The only thing is that if I did want to use Astarion then floor four would be the first place where I could, with 20 room spaces available, I could make the labyrinth at no cost. The problem was that it would occupy the entire room, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to make more of either, and on top of that it would be at reduced ability much like the canid was. On top of that, Pandora was also a situation of its own, it had no downside to being made on a lower floor but both the opportunity cost and the fact that it took up five whole rooms meant that it would be a considerable portion of any floor I made for some time. Once I get the last few attacks logged, likely sometime tomorrow, I''ll have 20 rooms to work with, plenty of space to make the birth forge, and still have 15 room slots to spare, the consideration was whether I felt I was ready to start using rare monsters. Maybe I should consider asking some of my monsters for help, not that I could actually talk with them, but it never hurt to seek alternative perspectives. I wonder how Wormy is doing these days? Ch.23 Three days had passed, and I was now ready to reach level 4, it seemed camp life hadn''t been the greatest so far for my human, and some elf, allies. During the three days, I stood and watched as the camp underwent a rapid change from tents to wood and stone huts. Of course, they weren''t great huts, but those huts went a long way for their safety and comfort on the mountain, that alone wouldn''t have caused the agonizing lack of people over the last few days and was instead from a very unlikely source, the trash. From the bits and pieces, I was able to figure out that the mountain was once a dumping ground for a settlement of dwarves that used to inhabit the mountain before the ogres pushed them out a few generations ago. It seems as though those dwarves weren''t the cleanest of people, but I didn''t want to assume just because I read a lot of fantasy back home. I learned this after a little mishap that was somewhere between an accident and a blessing, kinda. Yesterday, a group of small frog things with bulbous stone shells crawled into the front room, oohing and awing with each step. What had happened was that these critters, not the dungeon kind, had managed to sneak away from their handler and found their way into my dungeon, somehow managing to make their way to the spider room, and subsequently getting stuck in some of the webbing. I was actually going to kill them at first but one of the wizard ladies that accompanied Arthur whenever he came rushed in and blasted my poor spiders with some water cannon, begging forgiveness before unsticking the frog things and leaving. To be honest I was just confused but also thankful because she did attack my spiders, she fulfilled the final ''attack'' that I needed to progress to core level 4, thankfully Arthur sent a messenger to clear up the situation over his friend''s pets and a few other bits I was able to communicate through my merchant. But back to the level up.
Congratulations! The core has fulfilled the requirements to advance to level 4! +1 floor limit Added gross mana production to base production. +300 mana storage +1 level 3 perk choice +1 focusing choice. +1 level 4 monster choice +10 DP for leveling up.
As always it was great to have these rewards, but let''s get to the real meat of things, what ya got for me?
Level 3 perks: Structural Efficiency 2: Grants mechanical structures and monsters improved efficiency and reduced upkeep. +2 mana production for all mechanical structures and -2 mana upkeep from mechanical monsters. Node upkeep is reduced by 2. Metal Garden 1: Allows unique machine plant life to grow within the dungeon, these plants do not provide a direct benefit but possess special properties that may attract entities to the dungeon. Semi-edible. Tier 1 plants, for example, Grease Grass, Detonation Dandelion, and Thermoregulatory Grapevine. Mechanical Monster Enhancement 1: Improves machine-type monsters overall and reduces their upkeep by 3. Upkeep can never fall under 1.
Eh, not the most interesting options, but they were all useful. Structural Efficiency was still an overall good choice, its benefits were broad and logical, and the mech monster enhancement was essentially just structural efficiency but only monsters. But the metal garden was the most interesting of the bunch, not amazingly mind you, but still. With how much I was talking and making deals with the people outside, making them more invested in me was a solid choice now, all I needed to do was figure out how I could sell these ''plants'' to Arthur. Assumably they''re if plants were machines, meaning metal and some kind of product or byproduct; what I''m thinking is that if the grease grass produces grease or can itself be made into grease somehow, then I could sell that alone. Since after all, grease can be used on far too many things to recount here, and I doubt these guys have a House Depot they can drop in and pick up some lube. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I wasn''t sure what the others were capable of despite having rather fun names, but the grass alone could improve my bargaining power. They knew I controlled the dungeon and that I could make the dungeon grow in any number of ways, if they saw that I was willing and capable of creating things that would at least look as though it were for their benefit then I would gain not only goodwill but both the trust that I could be a critical ally of theirs and that by helping preserve my independence they would reap rewards. Still, I had to weigh that versus the more internally beneficial perks, structural efficiency and monster enhancement would lower my costs across the board and give me more leeway for costly monsters and rooms in the future. Although that does give me a few thoughts, the two common options provided a tangible but perhaps metal garden could be used in other ways. My thought was that if there was a way to turn these ''plants'' into usable things then there was the possibility that my ratkin would be able to use them just as any outsider would. After all, while grease can be used for various maintenance tasks, it is also a weapon in the right situation. If I''m right then the metal garden wasn''t just a lure, but instead a full-on benefit to me and my monsters, all I needed to do was figure out how to get them to start. But let''s not get ahead of ourselves yet, we still have a few more things to look through before we finalize things.
Focusing 3: Mechanical Focus 2: More machine options will appear, allowing rarer options to appear. Grants one level 2 mechanical monster. Mechanical Structure Focus 1: Adjust machine structures to be more efficient, increasing their production by 1, increasing room bonus by 1%, and reducing upkeep by 1. Material Quality Focus 1: Slightly improves all non-exotic materials produced by dungeon structures.
Again, not the most glamorous pickings, but they were still beneficial so whatever. Mechanical Focus 2 was another returning option from my level 3 level up and was offering the same thing, more machines, and a free monster; it didn''t strictly improve anything, but it was an investment in the future with a side of candy to sweeten the deal. But the other two were new, the mechanical structure was offering better room structures, and based on the trend of these things, any subsequent versions I picked would offer increasingly higher numbers. on the other hand, though, material quality also brought value similar to the metal garden, a tangible thing that people would want and need. Actually, that could turn out pretty well if it works that way, first I would pick the garden and then choose material quality which would improve the resulting ''plants'' by however much slightly is to the system. Floating through the different rooms and floors, I could definitely make use of any of the offered choices, the only question was how I wanted to proceed. Sitting on one of the training dummies they set in the barracks courtyard, I watched as the strange ratkin that reinvented cooking fiddled with pieces of metal and cloth, which I found out was a cooking utensil, not a great one but it was a step forward. If this one found the passion to teach himself the foundations of cooking, then it wouldn''t be that big of a stretch for another to learn some kind of alchemy. After all, cooking uses chemistry heavily, and chemistry was founded by alchemists back on Earth, all I needed to do was find a ratkin who could crack whatever code there was, and failing that I could have the cook try. Hmmm Now that I think of it, the vision of ratkin throwing around grease barrels or adventurers bartering for said barrels might be a ways off. As it stood, I had no way of knowing if I could create anything out of the machine plants let alone make use of them, add the fact that none of my monsters really have the tools or space to learn this sort of thing, and my dream for the metal garden seemed less likely. What I would need is a consistent source of glassware and information, both I could get from Arthur, but he was dealing with his situation right now so it''s unlikely he could help, at least not without a price. System, could I create glassware and the like if I wanted to, I don''t have much but I have some DP to spare.
Positive, however, directly creating an object uses DP and thus it is advised to only do so if the core is confident it will see a return on the expenditure.
A fair point I guess, I can''t remember how many beakers and vials I broke in chem 101, not that I ended up going with the degree in nuclear chem, but I''m rambling. The system''s point about cost return was a valid one and if I wanted to help a ratkin learn science or alchemy then I should do it more cost-effectively, likely once Arthur is done setting himself out on my porch. I think I could help accelerate his plans, but I''d like to get these choices out of the way before I invest myself in them and whatever the requirements for level 5 are. So, what to choose? Ch.23 Poll extension. I''ve been thinking of restarting the Zero to Hero story but I''m not really sure, I know what I did wrong with it and why I stopped updating it but I''m not sure if it would be a good idea. Regardless, you can voice your thoughts in the comments and ask anything you want, I''ll answer most questions. Also, I''ve had thoughts about how I could increase reader interaction, but I''d like to voice them out beforehand. My thought was that I could make a discord so that I could improve and deepen my ability to collect feedback and input on the story as a whole and as they pertain to specific chapters. Just a thought but one I''m considering, nothing solid or started yet but I''d like to hear all of your thoughts on it. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Ch.24 Gone were the days of bare stone or simple moss, now was the time of coppery green grass, cast iron trees, and silvery flowers that held buds of what looked like oil, it was like a strange, yet beautiful dream had come to life. On the first floor, my canid was having a blast rolling in the needle-like grass, on the floor below, a group of ratkin was huddled around a small pile of roots, whispering and poking them, and on the third floor, my fortress was in full activity gathering bundles of various plants that had popped up. And while my monsters seemed to agree with me, those on the outside were less enthused with my recent addition. "Fuck, the damned things changed again, oi Gregor, take a look at them would ya! The lords want us to give it all a look around, maybe we can find something for a nice payday!." The camp sent a rather crass soldier to investigate the increase in mana they had felt, a swordsman named Stephenson, and some of his underlings. Currently, the rut of the group who I suppose is Gregor, was combing through a laid-out selection of my new plants, with different specimens being looked over, turned around, poked and prodded, smelled, thumbed, and much more. I wasn''t actually certain what some of these did, the system decided that it wasn''t important enough or that not knowing was some hidden price I had to pay, so these guys experimenting for me was at least useful. And useful it was, for after accidentally stabbing himself on one of the metal thorns, a tar substance could be seen leaking from the entry point. Gregor began to seize around on the floor, I guess I make poison now, yoohoo? "Shit it got him, lads, get Gregor out of here, I''ll see if I can work something out here." Oh, well, I sort of expected him to continue being an ass, maybe... "Now that they''re gone, it''s just you an me you beast, time to do holy work!" Aaaand nevermind, sigh, look if Arthur or Edward raise shit over this guy being dead then I''ll deal with it then, right now I''m starting to feel the irritation of second-hand stupidity. Very well, my clockworkers should be able to cut him a few feet down, preferably six in the ground, I''ve got better things to worry about. First of all, I needed to look over my level 4 monster options then start working on my fourth level and anything I needed for my fifth. I was thinking maybe I could- Pain shot through my skull, a dull pain, like being cut by a dull knife. Looking back, the idiot had an eerie glow around him, my canid missing its head on the floor, what the hell happened? "Yeah, you like that beastie. That there is the power of a real god, not some two-shit hole in the ground that shits out more freaks and toys. You''ll be perfect for my first mission." And with that, he descended to the next level, positively radiating a cruel sort of joy at his work, showing off his missing teeth and probably putrid breath, thankfully my guys couldn''t smell, most anyway. But as I nursed the growing pain, I was at least able to catch that bit about ''real gods'', was this because Kantor or whatever the fuck his name was pissed I didn''t choose slavery! Despite lacking an actual body I kneeled in the rancher''s room, watching as they assembled along with the bulls they had managed to tame. While I wasn''t watching him, I could feel him walking through the heat and cold mines, striking out at the wandering rats and bugs, I could feel his glee growing by the second along with the pain. Whatever he had done was making him grow more powerful every second he was here, and all I could muster the brain power to think was that he needed to die now, damned the consequences. He wandered into the ranch, lazily swinging and swaying around, the glow having grown to rays of light blowing from his head, like some mock saint image but in person. "Oh, some rats, seems the beastie know its own kind, I hear ya kind is good with your hands and the like, maybe I''ll use more of you to make a coppa or thwo on the market." He charged wildly at my ranchers, glowing brightly as he cut a cow in half, the exposed innards seared from whatever power he was waving around like some crazed crusader. Another bull managed to get him with his horns but after it gored him, I could see the blood and viscera disappear as the hole in his stomach healed.
WARNING Divine power detected, take necessary actions to ensure survival!
You don''t fucking say?! I get that I pissed the god off but that was basically yesterday, why and how the hell was he able to get people here so fast? Unless they were already here, Arthur did give me a divine collar he got from his betrayers, I should have considered that they could have already been among the crowd, dammit! If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The pain was a bit more tolerable for now, growing less as he took more damage from other bulls and the rock slings of the rancher ratkin, but it soon proved insufficient as the intruder cut them down with his chipped sword. He seemed in pain for a split second before adopting his smile once again, pushing himself up as he made his way across the room and towards the barracks, the first time anything had gotten this far by itself. "Well well well, a rat''s hole for a rat family, but what do you know of good sense beastie, for my lordth I will kill you all!" He ran like a child with scissors, but he struck the wooden shields like lightning, nicking the throat of one ratkin and caving in the chest of another with a devastating punch. Luckily he was tackled into the side pit trap by a ratkin who bit into his neck, but the brave warrior died of a crushed windpipe before they hit the muddy ground. "Ya fucken shites, once I''ve got the core I''m gonna kill you over and over, then I''m gonna sell-" He was thankfully shut up by the archers filling his stomach and legs with arrows, and to top it off I could see that cooking rat carrying a pot of bubbling, was that lard? "Fuuuuuck, it burns!" I guess it was lard, but with the constant damage from my rats I could see the toll taking place on his body, it was still regenerating, but now I could see scars forming instead of normal skin, and that almost drunken smile was quickly replaced with an agonizing cry. It looked like I had finally won over this douchebag, but in another burst of light my rats were shot backward, the guy scrambled out of the pit and stole one of the ratkin spears, and broke through the barracks to the next floor. Officially I was nervous, if this guy was pulling random powers out of some magical hat, then what would it take to finally put him down? Regardless, there was no next floor to count on, I hadn''t made it yet and his being so close was throttling my power. "Fuckin, huff, finally, I''ve found your shitty home beastie." He staggered forward, his radiance getting to blinding heights. Quickly the ratkin within the fort took action, launching arrows and rocks as he shambled forward, halfway between running and shuffling forwards, almost manic in how he was switching from shit-eating grin to harrowed pain. It seems though, that fate continues to bless this fool as he managed to break open a wide enough hole in an arrow window to climb through, worming his way into my greatest defense so far. As he stood up I saw that he heard the drawing of arrows as the courtyard was full of my rats, each pointing the business side of a sword or spear at his head or heart. He seemed like he wanted to give up but his face split into a grin once again. "More blood, more slaves for my mast-" "Shut up for all that is sacred to the maker, I am already tired of your disrespectful prattling in my home, human!" Shit, I didn''t know she sounded cool, why didn''t anyone tell me? Oh right, nevermind. But what was she thinking exactly, the guy could rip out heavy stones, why didn''t she just skewer the bastard? "I am the commander of this fort, and a member of this great home, I will not see you desecrate it with your worthless faith and vile promises, fight me and be made into a sacrifice for MY master!" The fort formed a small arena, the shield bearers kept watch on him as he walked forward and took his position. "Alright, it seems like the dungeon needs more lessons, like how women-" My commander blitzed forward with several great strides and was upon him, cutting off his hand with an arc of her sword followed by a roundhouse kick to his chest. He was flung into the crowd as they pushed him back forward, one of them getting a lucky bash with the pommel of his sword before the commander was upon him like a wrathful hurricane, but her advantage ended as he started to push back her back with wild but dangerous strikes, destroying the stonework whenever it hit the ground, the commander started playing a more evasive game rather than her intense attacks. "I can smell the core form here, my master whispers to me about how good it''ll feel when I break your ''maker''s'' spirit, maybe I''ll let the dogs take a turn or two." From her mind I could feel hatred seething from her, she wanted nothing more than to hurt and kill this man, this vile insect who was mocking real warriors with his false strength. She began to trade blows with him again, cutting more of his arm off while it reformed his hand as her eye was crushed by a claw-like swipe, his heart being run through as she lost her left arm. She fell to a knee a ways away from him and his body began to heal once again, standing up and opening his mouth he started to gloat, actually gloat, as my precious commander bled out. Fear filled my soul, but anger burned it away, anger that reached the commander as she lunged at him, cutting his disgusting head from his worthless body, his face contorted somewhere between glee and confusion. It seems that his head is the one thing he couldn''t fix.
Congratulations You have killed a paladin of Kannor. You may choose to bless the slayer with a recycled portion of the paladin''s power or consume it for a level 1 perk.
I swiped it away and floated over to my commander, tears I didn''t know I could shed dropped, and it began to rain in the dungeon. She lay there, a satisfied look on her face, her body was broken and beaten, but she had done it. She could feel my confusion and anger that she didn''t use her forces but all she felt was satisfied that she had done it without more loss of her fellow monsters. But she lay there satisfied with her duty, and closed her eyes, waiting to die. That is what probably would have happened if I wasn''t the fucking dungeon core, and since he was the only one in the dungeon that means everything gets fixed, including you my dear girl. She snapped her eyes open as her body was fixed by my power and the rain let go, she felt fear for the first time in her life as her connection to me told her of the pain should be feeling with that little hero stunt back there. Oh, once I''ve got things secured, I''m going to introduce a nice little concept called the pacer exercise and hard labor, maybe then you''ll consider using the literal (really small) army you have as commander. But I am not without mercy, you did kill him with little waste of life and for that, you shall have a name, Bellona the commander.
A certain [War Flower] is appreciative of your actions.
Gods dammit! Edward 4: A crisis of faith. Edward knew that today was going to be bad when he got reports from some of the worst of their host that one of the former Castellan''s men, who they thought was innocent of the betrayal, entered the dungeon after some fool got themselves hurt. He knew that things would be even worse when the magically gifted in the camp began to feel something close to mana sickness from the turbulence coming from the dungeon, whatever the captain had done or was doing was pissing the dungeon off supremely. Initially, they were ready and set to start calming down the dungeon, maybe make a couple of easy but useful promises to it and punish the offender later, but before the diplomacy team could enter the strange merchant''s shop, the dungeon ceased its anger, returning to relative normality. Quickly we asked the representative what was going on and if we could render aid. "I am... unable to inform you of exactly what happened, however, I have been given instructions to tell you that there are now more traitors amongst your host, traitors that seek to harm you and enslave us, and I will tell you now, it is not directed by those of this world." Hmm, Ed had already figured that there might still be a small handful of dissenters from the pro-enslavement group, but not of this world. That had too many implications to consider, infernal influence was a natural assumption for many, not without cause, but with dungeons it could be any number of forces, it could be anything from the elemental lords to the... gods. Edward frowned at that last thought, the many divines of the world were known to meddle and manipulate, and while that came from the stance of someone who is normally rejected by the people who get used, it was, empirically true. This was made especially true by the fact that Arthur had found a kannorite collar among the goods from the traitors, and when it came to godly ploys there was never just one god to worry about, the camp would have to worry about counterplays and traps from Kannor''s competitors. This whole situation was getting extremely out of hand, he was fine with dangerous, intelligent dungeons, but the entry of the kannor cult and possibly the cult of Leighlash was something they couldn''t ignore, and the chief among those was cleaning the rot from their numbers. "We thank you and your master for informing us of this, please accept this token of our gratitude and friendship and if you don''t mind, we believe we require some...camp reorganization." A good enough save by Arthur and as the laborers set down a chest of Rak eggs he and I made our way outside, quickly entering the command tent. "I assume you grasped what the thing was saying, Arthur?" "Mostly, I was wondering if you had the same thoughts." "Aye, we''ll need to start going through our people and cutting out the traitors, but we''ll need to be careful about any more powerful followers." Arthur took out a large map and unfurled it on the table, putting down five figures. The first was a bird, a nightingale bird to be exact. "As is obvious, we are here, near the apex of the Ushenk mountain''s lowest peak." He brought out another two, a small rat-shaped one and a stick. "Our dungeon ally is here, and the remaining ogres are over there." And setting down another two he made a board of our situation. "Over here, we''re going to imagine whatever group is supporting these traitors, and over there just past the mountains outside of our territory is Clan Ushenk, devote followers of Kruul and Bevel." Clan Ushenk was a community of hill dwarves, industrious and thrill-seeking, this clan held a culture that was more focused on the using part of weapons and tools than making them part, but they still revered the god of tradecrafts Bevel, they just worshipped Kruul slightly more. Clan Ushenk was the original owner of this region before it was sold to the Nightingales some time ago, and had a standing agreement that they could ask for favors between the two, what Arthur had proposed is that we could bring in Clan Ushenk''s help to accelerate the already overworked project, as well as potentially aid in the defense until their father could sed more forces, hopefully, traitor free. The biggest concern was that the clan was infamous to those of the surrounding region for their distaste of monsters, often destroying otherwise beneficial monster nests instead of securing them for later use. "It''s not a bad idea, but there are other factors we need to consider before approaching them, if we can''t answer the right questions with good enough answers then we won''t get the support we need." "Well, what do you suggest Ed, the agreement with the dungeon is already in place, effectively dealing with that variable, you and Lily dealt with the ogres, and the threat, both inside and out, is why we need to approach them anyway." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Yes, but perhaps we could find alternative help?" His face scrunched up, and then Arthur understood. "No, absolutely not! I used your familiar''s talents to root out traitors, which she will now continue, but I am not making any pacts, you of all people should see the danger of such a thing." It was not an unreasonable concern, but it was a point Ed had to at least attempt. "Look, I''m not saying it wouldn''t be dangerous, but we''re dealing with divine soldiers, we need something that could tip the scales, and infernal magic could be that." Infernal magic was not strictly equal or a fold to celestial magic, but its ability to usurp and ''taint'' the magic of celestials made it invaluable when fighting against it. His own familiar Hestra was more than capable of rooting out and killing any normal servant of the gods, perhaps even strong enough to kill a few priests or a cleric before being banished, but nothing more, her strength as a succubus was manipulation and seduction. But what Hestra could do was get them in contact with more powerful demons, or if things got bad enough, a devil. "I''m not saying we do anything drastic just yet, but we must keep our options open if things worsen. The dwarves are a solid start, but Kruulite priests and clerics rarely leave their fortress monasteries for anything less than a full-on war, and while I don''t doubt that the forge or weaver priests of Bevel would be helpful, they would offer no aid in person, only tools." Arthur was momentarily caught by that but continued after a moment. "Perhaps-" "Perhaps I could lend a hand if you two are done going off on tangents?" A woman stood at the tent entrance, with dark skin, wild hair, and a breeze of magic about her that was unmistakably divine. To Arthur, he saw an attractive, if unkempt woman, to Edward, he saw a monster. Call it a bit of infernal insight, but because of his experience and exposure to hell magic Edward had become skilled in seeing through illusions. The woman before them was no doubt powerful, but the unseen beast only Ed could perceive was not a creature normally this willing to talk. "Then tell me archid, what exactly do you bring?" Her head and many eyes looked directly toward him, the rapid movement of her mandibles giving away her surprise. "I am impressed then, diabolist, aside from your ilk few could see through my glamour, but that is not why I have come." "My lady has ordered that I offer you my cloister''s aid in the coming months and perhaps years. The rapid growth of your dungeon has attracted all sorts of gazes, and my lady would prefer that certain claws stay away from the young core." "An interesting offer, with some interesting timing; tell me, what exactly does your lady desire from the Nightingale family and its future fortress, we can only provide so much at the moment. We may have to decline out of consideration for you or any of your sisters and brothers who may come." Arthur spoke knowing full well that they had more than enough resources, but she didn''t know that, and if their terms weren''t agreeable or if accepting their aid would introduce more issues then they had a mostly valid excuse to fall back on. "That won''t be an issue I assure you, but my lady has asked that in exchange for our aid, our Reverend Mother be allowed to move a portion of the cloister here permanently, perhaps they could even construct a new cloister here as well. Furthermore, the Reverend Mother would ask for access to the dungeon so that our people may keep their skills sharp and their faith in the lady deepened." That was not as bad as he had expected, but still heavy. Access to the dungeon was already a mess as it was, introducing newcomers with no real ties to his family made things even worse. At best the men and women would grumble, maybe protest, and at worst they might riot, causing a greater mess for Arthur to deal with. But it wasn''t without its benefits, a cloister, or at least the people, would be extra hands to work, and the utility of a cleric was well known to even the least pious of city administrators; they kept things clean, prevented or dealt with sickness, and in areas that they often ran businesses tied to their god, if it was an option anyway. Excluding the resource and camp issues though, the biggest problem with accepting them into the camp was that it could encourage other sects of the church to join the kannorites. Now most of the sects could be, for lack of a better term, dealt with in some way, Bevel kept things civil and honest, Kruul was only interested in war and would only join if he saw one coming, Gluut and those like her would either come later or not at all, and the more temperate sects could be bargained with, The real question was if, no scratch that, when Kannor''s allied sects joined, with the possible exception of one. Kannor has three children, Tyrannus, the god of tyranny and cruel lordship, Dominatio, the god of domination and supreme authority, and Pulchra Rex, who is the god of good kings and queens, and all three were worshipped in the capital. The question was when the tyrant and dominator would join, according to history they always did when their father was involved, but Pulchra Rex was another story. Pulchra Rex''s cult was often seen as the one group that could keep the other two in check and represented the best of his father from a time when control represented less the taking of power and opportunity from others, but the creation and militainment of self-control to better oneself and help create a more ordered world. But his thoughts were interrupted by his brother. "If it won''t be a problem there is a matter I would like to speak with my brother about. You are more than welcome the partake of what few pleasantries our camp has to offer." "As you wish your lordship, I do find myself famished from the journey." She was led out by a guard, being shown around the less important areas of camp. "Now that she''s gone, I have an idea, a stupid idea that might get us killed, but I think it''ll work." "Arthur, you rarely have ideas I''d consider stupid, now come and tell me what you have, we have plenty to talk about." He took a deep breath and stood over the map. "I think we should invite more sects to the mountain." "Brother of mine, that is actually the worst idea I have ever heard come from your mouth, tell me more." Arthur 4: If a stupid plan works is it stupid? (most likely) "Ok, the plan seems pretty stupid now that I''ve said it aloud, but I stand by the idea, that we should invite more sects." Ed has this stunned face somewhere between, ''What the hell'' and ''Why the hell'', which was fair in all honesty. Inviting more sects to the mountain was begging for a fight to happen, even more so since there was a dungeon at stake. Of course, they would need to run the plan by their father before anything went forward but it was a plan that might just work if there was much of a mountain left afterward. "Look, Arthur, inviting the priests and clerics of Leighlash and perhaps Gruul or Bevel are not out of the question, the Freedom clerics would be invaluable against kannorites, and the quality goods the craft priests would bring would only aid that fact, but others? The only reason why I don''t disagree with Gruul is because they don''t do anything but cook and eat, which is hardly what we need right now." "Ah but that''s the beauty of it brother, people like them are exactly what we need, imagine, a smaller Grand Council held on this very mountain where the many desperate faiths agree to tolerate each other, or failing that are too busy killing each other to bother us or the dungeon!" Ed began pacing, growing frustrated at his brother''s suggestions. "Yeah, I get that, but have you considered the impact that''ll have on the family, and much more, our lands? If a Grand council is held in the outer court, there''ll be riots in the capital, imperial delegates, knightly orders, even the academy and university might get involved." "Yes, but that''s why we keep things smaller, we don''t need the hundreds of sects to come up the mountain, all we need is enough of the local ones to create a stalemate between them, enough faiths to keep the slaver god busy along with other divine interests." "Sigh, fine, fine, but you''re the one who has to explain it to Father, if he allows you to do it then I''ll go along but don''t say I didn''t warn you if things go to shit." "Thank you, brother, and don''t worry we''ve got this." And with that Ed left the tent, going off to check on the magical side of the camp to begin setting up a communication circle. Now alone, Arthur sat in his chair, calming his beating heart, he may have given a confident front to his brother about how things would go, but truly he was also afraid of his plan. Yes, it could work masterfully, but it could also be the true end of their family, despite being so far from the main areas they concerned themselves with. If even one of these groups wins or manages to slip the cracks and aims straight at them or the dungeon then there might be nothing, they can do to stop it. If he wanted this plan to work, he''d need assurances and insurance, a cheat if you would, something that would tip and keep the board tipped in his favor. But Arthur paced, back and forth, rubbing raw the earth and grass, few things unified the sects these days, threats to their power, dungeons, demons... hm, maybe that was it. What Arthur had thought was again likely not the best solution, but it certainly held an appeal that he couldn''t deny, perhaps they could use both his brother''s talents and the intelligent dungeon for this particular issue. The idea was unrefined but held promise, perhaps Arthur could use the pride and tension between the sects as well as the rapid growth of the dungeon to lock the sects into the stalemate he wanted while also allowing the dungeon to reap from the participants, and the reason he said participants? Arthur wanted to start a tourney between the sects and have them go to war on a controllable scale. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He knew that it would be met with skepticism as soon as it was proposed, but he did have some solutions to the glaring issues. The major problem was how he would maintain this contest without causing one or more sects to break off and escalate the situation. His first idea regarding that was the use of his brother''s demons, currently, Ed could only call forth his succubus familiar but for what he needed Arthur would need dozens if not hundreds more intelligent demons like her. Their job would be to stoke the flame as it were and use their talents to influence the sects that were invited to maintain the relative peace between the groups without causing more issues or stoking existing ones. It went without saying what could go wrong, of course, the infernal were always seeking to spite their summoners and contractors, hell, the only reason Hestra wasn''t trying to get Ed killed or under her control was because she openly admitted that she liked him, perhaps not in the way most men, and some women, would prefer a succubus to like them, but still. Hm....! Across the command tent was Helvina teaching her frogin how to move things around, an effort to keep them in the camp so they didn''t almost get themselves killed, again. Arthur made his way over to his... companion, standing at her side as she instructed her slimy workers on the difference between food and not food. "Yes Blue, you hold it like at. No, no, no, you don''t put your mouth on that end Red, and for gosh sakes, stop trying to eat your brother Green!" He was only there for a few seconds, and he was already trying not too laugh. "Seems your students are taking their lessons well." "Oh, hush you, I get that enough from your brother and the others, my familiars are perfectly capable of learning the basics of labor." Oh, that was a development. "Your familiars, I may not have been the greatest student in magic but isn''t choosing your familiar supposed to be a monumental event? I''m not saying you can''t choose them, but... frog creatures?" She put a hand on her well-shaped hip, the other gripping her staff. "It is, but I plan on making using them in my tower. Seakin they may not be, but frogin are highly capable once they settle down in their territory." "They use their children as tools." "It''s a process ok." Hmph, but it does give Arthur some more ideas about how to handle the mess He''s found himself. Demons were dangerous and unpredictable, and elementals and spirits were unreliable, but if they were anything like the ones used by the gnomish artificers or dwarven engineers, then the dungeon''s machines could be used, it would massively alter his plans but still, the idea was forming. "Say Helvina, if a dungeon wanted to attack those outside of it, what would it need to do?" "Odd question, but from what we were taught, dungeon monsters can''t normally leave their dungeon, and before you mention it, yes, the ones that have been helping us so far are an anomaly, but ordinarily monsters only leave during a dungeon break or if they''re dragged out by someone. And as far as can be told that is the same with intelligent dungeons, the one we have is just weird." While the dungeon would likely fight that description, it did make sense, part of the reason dungeon towns existed was because they were safe so long as they didn''t cause a break to occur. But what if a dungeon could fake a dungeon break, what if one of the few people who could freely talk with the dungeon was able to ''predict'' the next dungeon break? It might hurt the profitability of the dungeon sure, but that was a problem already half-solved with their standing deal. The big question was whether or not he could sell the idea of an ''anomalous'' dungeon that broke at the tiniest of infractions, breaks were after all extremely dangerous, but also gave people the chance to fight and kill monsters in large amounts, giving some the chance they need to ascend their magic or might to the next level. He''d need to think it over more, draw up plans, talk with his trusted circle, and more than anything he would need to talk with the dungeon about some of the details. If the dungeon didn''t work, he might be forced to ask Hestra for her kin''s help or even accept the cleric''s offer. Ch.25 Ultimately, I decided to reward the newly christened Bellona with the power we gained from the paladin, her rattish smile beaming before falling as soon as she understood the punishment. I think they called it something else officially in school, but I decided that her punishment for her recklessness would be the bane of all middle schoolers everywhere, the turkey run. It was an exercise that had a person run a mile back and forth for minutes, basically torture for stubborn children, but that alone wouldn''t be enough, not with the natural stamina of the ratkin including the various benefits. No, I had the other rats fit some heavy armor and sandbags they dug out of the armory onto her, making her all but collapse after 30 minutes, driving home the point of not risking everything, herself, her underlings, the dungeon, on the notion that she needed to one v one every upstart that came along. That being said, I wasn''t going only to punish her, she did get a few more rewards from around the dungeon like a special sword the clockworkers were able to cobble together from the cold steel, it wasn''t the greatest, but it was suitable for its purpose. Moving on, my next few tasks are very straightforward: choose a level four monster, build floor four, and ensure everything is in order before pushing on to level 5.
Greater Ratkin The so-named ''greater'' kin of standard ratkin, greater ratkin are superior in all physical and magical ways. Taller, stronger, smarter, and more competitive, these ratkin are a rarity in today''s world outside dungeons. Greater Ratkin will not tolerate other greater ratkin within the same room and will sabotage neighboring ones. Skilled in crafting weapons. Capable of using rust, insect, and plague magic. Hates dwarves, and other greater ratkin. Creation Cost: 90 Mana 2 lbs. of food per 24 hours. Node cost: 250 mana 1 mana taken from production. Creates: 1 individual Iron Scale Kobolds (+) The iron scale kobold is an uncommon variety of kobold known for its unusually tough hides and skill in metalworking. They are stronger than most kobolds but are typically found in fewer numbers. Iron scales (+) are a horizontal improvement of [Greater Kobolds] and will have an adjusted price to match. Skilled in general metalworking. Capable of using low-level magic. Gives access to draconic options in the future. Creation Cost: 150 mana 3 lbs. of food per 24 hours. Node Cost: 500 mana 6 mana taken from production. Creates: 3 individuals Rust Spirit Rust spirits are formed when metal and machine magic begin to permeate an area, aiding those who interact with machinery regularly and playing cruel tricks on everyone else, these creatures are both boon and bane. Spirits are ''free thinkers'' and will do relatively as they please. Also capable of leaving the dungeon for a short period. Can be used to study rust magic. Capable of attracting similar non-dungeon spirits. Gives access to spirit options in the future. Creation Cost: 200 mana No additional costs, elementals are self-sufficient. Node Cost: 400 mana 2 mana taken from production. Creates: 2 individuals
As has been the case for each level-up, a choice, three monsters, an upgrade to my rats, the upgrade to the kobolds I didn''t take, and a spirit. The greater ratkin was an upgrade to my normal ones with the caveat that it would be best if I separated them by a few rooms, worst case entire floors. The kobolds seemed like the ''mechanical'' version of the greater kobolds, trading in their trap usage for general metallurgy and tougher bodies, something that would be highly valuable despite the high price of a single node. But those two, while good, were essentially just upgrades (more or less) to what I have, the spirit though, that could lead somewhere. Part of the description mentions how they can aid others, specifically those who work with machines which were for obvious reasons an incredibly easy requirement to fulfill adding to the ratkin''s existing potential for rust magic. Add to that it could mess with people like faeries from the stories and a couple of well-placed lights and I think we have the start of a really weird storybook. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Still, it might be best if I talk with Arthur about it, the spirits are mentioned to curse people as well and so far, no one in range of my dungeon needs cursing, nonalive anyway. But before I could so much as send a hound out, I could feel Arthur enter the dungeon, a sense I was still getting used to the feeling of. Unaccompanied by his usual groupies, he made a beeline for the merchant, placing down the water core I had given him. "Trader, I need to speak with your master, it is an important matter." His voice was just as confident as always but... there was an underlying anxiety to it like he trying to sound, but something was keeping him from being confident. Something I knew myself from years of a... less comfortable state of mind. "My good lord awaits your words." Weird wording. "As your lord no doubt knows, we both face a growing problem in the kannorite cult, and while I regret that you had to face the traitor from our people, I must inform you that there may be more like it in the future." Hmm "My maker wishes to know if you mean that more paladins will be sent?" "What? I do not doubt you or your master, but if the man you killed truly was a paladin, then little of this mountain would be left, perhaps you mean a cleric or even a priest?" "No, my master is assured that he was a paladin, truly and welly." He looked conflicted like the facts before him didn''t match up correctly. "If I may, how did this paladin act, what miracles did he commit?" Miracles, an odd way of saying magic, but not really when I think about it, mostly that radiance and his power boost, which was as much as I had the merchant say. "Truly then? Hmm, if you''re certain they were a paladin then the transformation was forced, and this ''great light'' you speak of means that he was only just beginning to turn into one." Just starting, what the hell did that mean, was he supposed to be stronger? "My master expresses his confusion." "I understand, to put it simply, paladins are powerful, strong, smart, fast, intelligent, and wise, paladins are the greatest servants of a god, the living extension of divinity itself. But not just anyone can become one, to be a paladin you must be chosen, and then, over years and years, you are slowly and meticulously transformed into a weapon of unparalleled skill and power. If what your master says is true then the process was likely rushed, leading to the disconnect between him and his wretched god." So, these paladins were super soldiers, and the one Bellona killed was just a rushed incomplete puppet. But if more could come then what does that mean for us? "I am afraid there is little either of us could do, Kannor rarely creates paladins due to the pressure exerted by his rivals, especially Leighlash. But what we can do is something I wish to discuss with you, we have many paths that we can take." Well, why not, couldn''t hurt to hear him out, it''ll be a start if nothing else. "I have developed several plans that we could pursue, but all of them require our two parties to work and communicate much more often and openly than we have been so far. Would you be willing to hear me out?" Fire away, bucko. "Excellent, the plan I am most confident in at the moment is also by chance likely the craziest so far, you see, with noted exceptions, the sects hate each other more than anything, they barely tolerate each other at the best of times." Hmm, go on. "However, they do form truces in certain situations, the shared usage of a dungeon is one such situation. Now before you object, I must clarify, I am aiming to pin these sects into a stalemate, their dislike of each other and adherence to unspoken rules would be the primary force that would keep the peace. The downsides of this, are dangerous of course, just because the main kannorite sect is busy dealing with competitors doesn''t mean that they can''t dispatch one of the few paladins they do have to deal with us, an issue that we would rely on you for until I can convince my father to search for a warrior to match them." Well, he was right about the crazy part, just because you invited a lion and bear doesn''t mean that they''ll keep the tiger off your back, and if his plan did backfire then we''d have to deal with potentially more than one paladin. There was also the tidbit where I could collect more power from this conflict but who knows? So true it had its merit, but I''m unsure if I was willing to take that risk, assuming I had a choice anyway. Let''s let him continue before making any conclusions. "My next idea was if we could pose you as being far more dangerous than they are willing to risk, a possibility in any dungeon no matter the age. What would happen is that it would give us enough space to properly prepare and deal with whoever they send, perhaps we could accelerate portions of our deal to empower your master?" Also not bad, but it had the same essential issue, if the sect didn''t take the bluff, then both of us could have a mountain slayer-level fighter breathing down their collective necks. But it would make things simpler, trick then kill, a simple plan that needed a lot to get started. Hm, I have a few ideas as to how I would ''bluff'' the enemy, but I''ll need to sit on it, my one-time legendary monsters, Astarion and Pandora, could be just what I need to make the plan work if I was willing to give up using it at a more pristine floor. Actually, floor five gave 20 rooms, the minimum needed to make the labyrinth with the only other issue being that it wouldn''t be at full strength until MUCH later. Pandora didn''t have that detriment, but I got little of her potential power from her description. Let''s hear what else he''s got to say. "For my final plan, not that I don''t have others, is that I propose that you create ''false'' breaks, I trust you know what those are?" ... "My master knows what that is but would like you to explain so that he knows if YOU know what it is." "..." ... "Very well, in essence, a break is when a dungeon can no longer tolerate intruders, releasing a massive wave to remove threats." "My master was going to say the same thing." He had this strange twitching with his eyebrows. "Regardless, repeated dungeon breaks are a danger to even paladins, the surge of mana can drown out their connection to divinity enough to make them vulnerable and ultimately killable. While few know of your rapid growth if we properly spread the tales of repeated breaks from you then we could establish you as being too dangerous for paladins, hopefully reducing who if anyone comes at us." Not bad, but expensive, and like the other two, if something goes wrong then we''ll have to deal with unimpressed killers. Still, it''s not without merit, a good reputation could do wonders for my safety and, and... Honestly, was any of this planning actually necessary? I''m not saying we don''t make a plan of course, but if these paladins are so dangerous then all we need to do is deal with the next one, kill them without the net of intrigue and plots, a true demonstration of strength against the almighty. It was a terrible idea I know, but I have the keys to that plan, and if I use them fast enough then I could do more than bluff, more than scheme, I could kill those who threatened me and use everyone else to grow my power. It was an almost uncharacteristically bloody idea, probably coming more from the dungeon side of me than the once-human I was, but I care little right now, a dungeon may be simply a generator, a factory, but I could, here and now, hone myself into a weapon, a true killer who knows when to strike without hesitation. It would mean forgoing the more friendly and cooperative approach I had going on, but if I made it out on the top then I might have all the time in the world to build a nice little sandbox for every greedy idiot out there, dungeons were meant to play the long game after all. But would I do that, after all, I had to consider just what I wanted. Ch.26 I thought it over for a bit, and after considering the outcomes and possibilities, I accepted his plan. "Wonderful, we will need to iron out the specifics of the plan, and there is much to prepare before we can begin the plant, but should we succeed then both you and my family will come out better than before." And with that he left, leaving behind the water-generating core I gave him, not sure if he got much use out of it, to be honest. Regardless, I guess if he left it here then he probably didn''t need or want it anymore, so I might as well experiment with it once I was done with everything, for now, I''ll stow it in the cold mine. In all honesty, I didn''t have much I could do for our plan at the moment, Arthur would be the one to invite them and the one who would set them against each other, for my part I would need to just be dangerous and present, something I was more than willing to work on. But speaking of danger, I need to start on my fourth floor and level four monster. My current selection was the greater ratkin, iron scale kobolds, and the rust spirit, all of whom came with caveats that warranted consideration. The greater ratkin would fight and possibly kill one another, making them useful only if I kept control of how many there were and how spaced out, I made them. The kobolds were stronger than their lesser cousins and had a knack for metalworking but including their costs, I would likely always lean on my rats first before them, still, they held potential. last of them was the spirits, who like I said before, could work but I''d need to mix them in with other monsters or traps. But let''s assume that I don''t have my level four monster, let''s assume I''m stuck with what I have and plan accordingly. If I make another fort or whatever comes after it on the size totem, I will likely fill it with more ratkin and maybe a bull node or two, so if I used all 20 rooms for one mega room I''d have about 100 or so ratkin at five a node. Of course, this theoretical mega room would need to fulfill two requirements, first, it would need to be actively strong enough to be cost-effective, and second, it would also need to provide some benefit outside of just being a glorious brick wall. System, show me what an x20 ratkin room would look like, I have the DP.
Calculating... If x20 rooms are used with the [ratkin] structure, then an [Under-Mountain Castle] will be created.
Show me.
Under-Mountain Castle Large, dangerous, and fully capable, this castle is equipped to survive any siege or attack. Built to house up to 100 ratkin soldiers, this building holds a unique trait, while the 100 ratkin soldiers are the assigned monsters of this floor, lesser non-violent ratkin will be generated to act as the ''peasantry'' that comes with a castle, this includes three outlying settlements that provide resources to the castle. Due to the core''s focus, the castle will have mechanical features. The castle produces machine-oriented weaponry and armor. The outlying villages produce assorted foodstuffs and supplies. A random ratkin will be selected to become [Lord Vermin], granting increased power and authority. A random ratkin will be selected to become the [Castle mage] and be granted the beginnings of magic. Provides a minor benefit to ratkin and machine monsters. Spawned lesser ratkin are functionally the same as critters. Costs: 2200 mana, 15 mana taken from production. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
God damn. And I mean it, God damn. If the rough math in my head was right, not only was the room going to be absurdly large, but it would also be home to a full-on castle with people and stuff. But let''s step back a moment to think about it, as much as I REALLY found the idea of a magic castle mouth-watering, it begged the question, would it be the best option against a paladin, or at the very least something just as powerful? Ratkin were not singularly powerful creatures, at least that''s the idea, and while floor four ratkin would only be better I could somehow feel that they were reaching the edge of their ''boostability''
What you are experiencing is called the ''Level Issue''. When a dungeon creature is used on a level above its designated level, it will be improved appropriately, however, this will only extend for up to two floors, anything above two floors and they will cease to be improved. The monster [ratkin] is a level 2 monster and will receive no improvements past floor 4, they may still be utilized by the dungeon if chosen, however.
I can''t remember if I ever asked this but why exactly is that? The whole part about monster levels and all, I get the idea that the higher the level the more powerful it is (more or less) but I don''t think I got a solid answer out of you. Why exactly do some of my monsters get nerfed until I get a floor way down the line?
Monster levels indicate the innate power and potential of a creature but are also a representation of their costs and requirements. Some monsters can only properly exist in mana-rich environments and as such are less likely to function in less rich areas, for example, the [Black Iron Canid] is a level 50 monster, and needs to be dramatically reduced in form and function to allow it to operate without a significant cost.
So, it''s a matter of power then huh, I guess I should have expected this. At the end of the day, science did have certain rules, rules that magic could step around if you had enough of the stuff. Oh well, back to planning on how to not die. Going back a couple of steps, the castle was a hardline defense, solid, tough, and most of all, predictable, on the other hand, a segmented defense over several rooms would offer attrition including spreading out my forces which could prevent these paladins from curb stomping me instead of them. Taking these two ideas in hand, how could I use any of the new monster choices with them? The greater ratkin would be a boon to either if we excused their habit of killing one another, while the other two presented themselves more on the opposite ideas. The kobolds seemed like they would do better in a more static environment where they could work with metal and plan traps, the spirits were wanderers and would likely be better used in a more spread-out system. Additionally, the value each brought was still uncertain, the only one with both a benefit to me and my allies was the kobold who could very likely fulfill some of my other ideas when it came to outsider trade. Hmm, what do you say Wormy, what would you do? The giant all-consuming invertebrate gave a little wiggle. Eat them you say? Wiggle I mean I certainly could try but I don''t think I''ll be nearly as good as you. Abashed wiggle Oh, no need to get all embarrassed, just answer the question, please. He started to wiggle and worm around the room and into his hole, communicating more through physical movement than internal thought. From the gist of what he was saying, and after the bits about eating them or digging holes, he agreed that either option was workable. He said that he didn''t like the ''glowing morsel'' that had shaken the dungeon and slew his friends, but he could tell through mouthfuls of dirt that if others like him were going to come then we would need to find a solution. The one he offered was good if you were a worm that could eat anything, but the essential idea behind it was what one I could use. Essentially, what I extrapolated from Wormy''s idea then I didn''t have to build just inside the dungeon, but also outside of it, and while I couldn''t actually build outside of the entrance, I could have Arthur build something that would deal with or weaken big time invaders. But what could I give him? Anything I could give him would be for the most part mechanical, and I haven''t seen a blacksmith among them much less a mechanical engineer. Actually, no, I don''t need them to bring one, I''ll just make one. Ratkin were natural crafters, and I could certainly push one to study the machines, but I needed something more than that. If I could guide someone to start studying the machines in my dungeon then I could push Arthur to have them build something I could use, perhaps a weapon or a shield of some sort. Yeah, I could see this panning out rather well if I could get someone hooked on my machines, but... hm, now that I think of it, the idea might be too long-term for comfort, anyone could pick up a spanner and do spanner things but not anyone could invent a something that doesn''t exist and be useful for my specific situation. Eh, I''ll store it away, maybe I can work with some of the rats to see how well they take to advanced engineering with no prior knowledge, worse case they don''t do well, and I iron out those details with Arthur. Ch.27 As it turns out, natural talent and a supportive environment do not compensate for years of higher learning. The rats did their best, and most across the floors did learn something, but they struggled with anything beyond the simplest of devices or parts. Sigh They were learning but it was slow, painfully so, and they''ll probably get there eventually but for now project ''ratgineering'' is a bust. Oh, and as a side note I chose the iron scale kobolds. But with that plan out the window, I should have turned my attention to the fourth floor. It had been more than long enough and leaving it empty was making me itchy. For the foundation, I decided to go with one giant room using all 20 of my allotted room spaces, and once I confirmed it a doorway to a truly massive hollow formed. I could still see the walls of the room, but a casual float around showed me that from end to end, it would take about four or five hours if you ran at a decent pace. But size aside, I decided to go with a large ratkin room, but not the whole thing, instead I decided to dedicate 15 slots to the ratkin as the primary defenders with 5 slots going to my new monsters. Instead of a castle what I got was a [Greater Under-Fort], a large construction that housed 75 newly created ratkin, a head taller and visibly more muscled, they looked like the peak of what any ratkin would want to achieve.
Greater Under-Fort A large fortress of ratkin and machine design, capable of housing a sizable force of soldiers, this building contains all the needs of the occupants and some more. The building is constructed in the lost style of under-building where instead of entering and ascending to reach the commander, assailants enter and go down. This fortress is equipped with several anti-siege weapons as well as several autonomous defensive measures. A random ratkin will be assigned the title [Deeps Commander] and will be granted minor improvements. A random ratkin will be assigned the title [Magic Aspirant] and be granted a heightened awareness of magic. Underground flora and fauna will spawn, and fauna will not exceed the [small] size. The fortress will normally be perfectly indistinguishable from a very large hill and will only become apparent if under siege. Produces: 300 mana, various medium-grade ratkin equipment, and insignificant-grade magical items.
As it said, it was almost invisible to the naked eye, you wouldn''t even tell that there was anything to begin with if it wasn''t for the large glowing mushroom forest that sprung up around it. But as they acclimated to their new home and existence, I also placed down the kobolds and their building, the [Ferrous Clan Ground] a second hill closer to the entrance, but unlike the fort, this one was visible. Sturdy and sparse, kobold architecture was more spartan than the ratkin''s, with little ornamentations and few displays in the way of individual comforts, it was obvious that the individual was less considered in the design. As for the kobolds themselves, they were shorter than the ratkin but not by much, with cast iron-like scales, wide thick snouts, and a predatory gaze, they looked nothing like scrawny lizards and instead looked more like bipedal nightmare crocodiles, and they could speak to. A sound was being exchanged between two of the kobolds, somewhere between a gurgle and a growl. Whatever they were discussing, it was indecipherable to any but the creatures. Well, maybe people wouldn''t understand them, but I do, and isn''t that the point? But anyway, their building was also as efficient as it attempted to convey, built in a circular design, it had a central meeting area with a square hole in the middle that attackers would enter first before they could reach the other rooms. In the circling rooms were the communal sleeping spaces that had large pools of water with hot water flowing through, next was a cafeteria of sorts, then a fully built workshop that looped around most of the way before coming to a storage space and what I think was a garden of some sort. It was all rather nice to look at in all honesty, neat, clean, and with little waste, all they would need now is a couple of posters for some reptile band and maybe a carpet or two. Although, looking at how heavy their steps were despite their ease of movement would make floor decorations difficult, would need to find something sturdy enough. Floating above it all, it was complete, my fourth floor was done. Looking at what I had right now, I had a sort of gauntlet setup, from the first floor to the barracks things were relatively simple, just go in and defeat me monsters, but from there, things got more complicated. The barracks were an organized defense, something only large numbers would defeat or something massively more powerful, an obstacle that was achievable if handled correctly. But the lesser fort made things even worse, it was a static, well-built structure with siege tactics in mind, and the only three ways I could imagine people getting through it was if they somehow actually managed to siege the fort, were skilled in stealth and could get over the walls somehow, or they were once again like a paladin. And while that didn''t change much with the greater fort it was more dangerous because of how many more there were. The only thing I needed to figure out was how I would connect the kobolds with the fort, my initial idea was that they could act as a sort of decoy given how obvious their home was, but I''m not sure if that was for the best. What gave me some ideas was that they were displaying that metalworking talent they were promised to have, using their thick arms to hammer tools and weapons. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Perhaps not a decoy, but maybe, hunters? Their home base was obvious but they would probably be tricky to spot, their scales were ''iron-like'' but less like polished sheet metal and more like cast iron which made them blend in with the darkness that the glowing mushrooms didn''t cover. Once I got them some bows they''d probably be the ones people would have to look out for more, and after a couple of hours, they would have them. Introducing the bow concept was easy, just two flexible parts that shoot something else, a concept that took some work to properly adjust to their stronger physique when they kept breaking all of the borrowed bows, turns out that while they''re almost as big as a floor four ratkin, they were significantly stronger. A fact I already knew but failed to properly recognize for this. But as I said, after a while they were able to pull something together, carving a pale woody yet not wood bow using mushroom ''wood''. Using simple ''wooden'' arrow shafts to practice I began on my future killer lizards. Ok, now things were done, which meant that it was time to look toward the future, give me what I need to know!
Level 5 Requirements: Place 20 rooms (20/20) Hibernate for 6 months (0/6)
Excuse me what? You want me to fall asleep for half a year, a half year I could (probably) be doing stuff with?!
The core is developing at an unsustainable rate, and local mana levels have fluctuated beyond acceptable parameters. A forced hibernation to allow for mana levels to stabilize and for local flora and fauna to adjust.
But why half a year, with how things are I could just fall asleep and never wake up!
The consequences of the core''s actions belong to the core, the system will not lend aid in that regard.
Is there any alternative then, surely I could just ease up on things rather than gamble on whether or not I wake up, is this even a normal thing for dungeons?
Request Denied. As stated in prior messages, the core is unique and is thus intrinsically different than other dungeons, your accelerated growth is one such difference. If you desire to progress beyond this point you will be required to hibernate, if you do not then [Planar Incsurions] will begin to form near the dungeon.
I''ve heard that term before, and I get that it''s a bad thing but if it''s just some bagel suckers looking for a fight then I''ll take them on.
Processing... Request Denied. At the current level of mana density, [Knight-Level] entities will invade the mortal realm, which is currently beyond the dungeon''s ability to defeat. Insult: ["Bagel Suckers"] has been added.
How tough exactly, it''s not like I''m without defenses and I have two fortresses to cover for me.
Example Loading...
And then not even a second later I found myself floating above a massive battlefield. The night sky was choked with multi-hued smoke as a large number of hulking warriors and floating mages fought with a large six-armed beast. It was an abomination somewhere between a lion and a fish, its features were chaotic and ugly, but it fought with the strength to tear ten men in half, and the savagery to bite the heads off another two. What was I watching?
Dated: 1296 AC, The Battle of Abhorrence: The historic battle between the 72 Faiths Paladins and [Knight-Level] chaos entity [Grand Amaalgam] which was summoned by a chaos cult.
That''s... a lot to take in right now wasn''t chaos one of the options I had when I first got here, and exactly who would want to summon that thing?
Correct, chaos entities are among the accepted types, however, they are intrinsically unstable and propagate [planar incursions]. Also, the system cannot release information about existing organizations.
Excuse me what! Pushing the whole bit about it being an accepted type, you''re telling me that these people are still around! ... The silent game then, might as well see the rest of this. The battle had been raging while we were talking, the 72 was reduced to 56 as more and more people died, roaring the prayers of their gods as they fell or traded blows with the monster. That was until a certain figure emerged, a tall woman with a sword insignia bearing a golden spear... no not golden, a spear that glowed gold. With a mighty rush, she ran to the beast, rushing in and out with lightning speed as she struck hard and fast before escaping like the wind, her compatriates pelting it with magic, arrows, and the occasional sword or hammer swing. It was amazing, glorious even, but not forever, whether it was because I had a certain view of monsters or because of my actual view on things, I could see them and their plan, cracking. They were dead tired, their armor was likely once beautiful and masterfully crafted, but it was not covered in mud and blood, but whose I doubt they could tell, friend, foe, maybe even their own. As things progressed so did the problems, but thankfully the woman was able to put the beast down, using the constant pelting on its hide as a way to charge up a blinding energy around her spear, thrusting it into the beast''s fish-like head with a boom. Dust filled the area until one of the mages swept it away, the beast was dead. The woman was missing an arm but despite the intense pain hefted her spear up and gave a great cry, signaling that things were over, and with that, everything began to fade away back to my fourth floor. But before everything faded, I could almost see something, her face twisted from pride and relief to pain and shock, a long blade with a unique symbol sticking out of her chest, someone had betrayed her.
End Recording.
Hmm. Thanks for the history lesson, but I think I need to talk with Arthur, this plan of ours might not be so difficult. Arthur 5: Haunting History When the dungeon called to him, he answered, some would criticize his willingness to enter the jaws of a predator, but this predator was his ally, for now. What he had to say though, scared him, the implications were wide and dangerous, but as the dungeon likely understood, useful. The symbol that the dungeon''s representative drew was crude but recognizable, it was an old krullian symbol worn four or five hundred years ago, its major stake in history though was being the recognized symbol of Kruul''s only child, the demigoddess Alsina. While her semi-divine status was a secret back then, she was known as Kruul''s favored champion, being one of the few paladins to be granted some of the greatest blessings the war god could give, which made it somewhat awkward when it later came out that she was, in fact, more than a paladin but also a demigod. The problem with the dungeon giving this symbol and another was the implication, she and her father were considered among the kindest of gods, being among the few who sought a balance with their divine duties, Kruul despised dishonorable actions and people and was known for offering charity to the beaten and downtrodden. Gluut was famed for her frequent blessings on households that had difficulty getting food, there were more of course, but those two are the best examples. The fact of the matter was that people loved her, and she in turn loved them, but some despised her, namely Faas, goddess of envy and spite, who for reasons that went without saying, despised the radiant demigod. But what the second symbol implicated was that it was not Jeormand Kous, the paladin of Faas who part of was the 72, who betrayed her during the climactic battle where she died, but instead, it was Rigel''s paladin, the Golden Avenger as he was known. Rigel was the god of justice and laws, a being who should embody virtue and fairness, but what the dungeon implied was that Florian Voss, Rigel''s paladin among the 72, was the one to betray her. This had massive implications, Arthur could barely think with all the thoughts swarming in his head. "This is a severe accusation, you are my ally, but such a claim cannot go without proof, and furthermore, even if you are right then we will succeed in our plan, but we''ll likely have to watch a war brew on our doorstep." The creature swayed its head back and forth, listening to some sound that wasn''t the pounding of metal or the wind. "My master wishes to offer proof, a replica of the blade that killed the woman." Then a longsword shined in the air, dropping into Arthur''s arms, it wasn''t a real sword, more of just colored stone, but the detail was perfect. "I shall have one of my people look into this, I shall return once I have found answers." The creature gave a small bow before returning to cleaning the glass tables. If this turned out to be true then they had a major first step, if he could pit the Kruul sect against Rigel''s sect it could keep the other''s attention away for more than long enough. The only issue was that Kruul and his sect were prone to violence, which was fair considering he is THE war god, and if it got out of hand then the entire region could suffer a bloody conflict. But let''s not get out of hand, there was still much to do and if the evidence turned out fake or too weak then he would be where he started. Reaching one of the scholars they brought along, he handed over the evidence, nervous for results, but as the minutes turned to hours, Arthur quickly wished he had brought something to keep himself busy. "Hmmm, an interesting piece you''ve brought milord, an almost perfect reconstruction of Florian''s sacred blade, I can''t quite tell the material, but appearance wise it''s almost perfect." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "And you''re certain this is his blade?" "Certainly, I saw the blade myself when I was an apprentice." So, it was Florian, at least, if he was willing to trust the dungeon then it did. Retrieving the item, Arthur made his way back to his tent, thinking hard about what to do. He needed to be sure that this evidence was true without using just the dungeon''s words, but he wouldn''t know where to start, Florian Voss has been dead for over three hundred years, and if he remembered correctly there was no current paladin of Rigel. Even if he could pull them in and get them to make a buffer for him and the dungeon, Kruul maintains several paladins at all times as part of his war god status, but Rigel hasn''t had one in over a century, there simply wasn''t a reason his Head priest announced a couple years ago. Perhaps another sect could be convinced to confirm? But maybe he doesn''t need the Rigel sect, after all, they already hate Faas who does have a paladin at the moment. Maybe he didn''t need the truth to set his plan in motion, just another lie on top of an existing one, and if they were to find out that Rigel was the cause of the betrayal, well, a three-way war never sounded so good. Still, he has plenty to work out and he would need time to work out how to pull everything together. Kannor had surprisingly little business with the other three but who knows, every large organization has a few back-alley deals going on.
A week passed by, and with it came good and bad news. The good news was that his father was willing to let him go forward with his plan, but the downside was that Arthur was in deep shit for letting it happen, though he''s not really sure how he would have prevented this, to be honest. Other good news was that things were progressing, he had sent out several missives to various churches, monasteries, a couple of priories, and several convents, and yesterday he started to get responses. Most were willing, if hesitant, to join but they would take months before they could get there, while a few notable ones such as Kruul''s war clerics, Kannorite Mind healers, baptized craftsmen and women, and Rigellian judges, were all set to join us on the mountain. True they were still finishing the fort but thanks to the effort of the dungeon''s monsters, they were well ahead of schedule and were set to finish the fort proper by the time they all got there. Of course, this wasn''t without problems, namely a certain follower of Leighlash. "My lady and Reverend Mother have a great deal of patience, my lord, but even this is, game, of yours is testing them" Arthur had indeed sent an invitation to her convent, without her input. "I have no idea what you are referring to sister, I''m simply reaching out to my local faiths to come to bless our new fort, what game do you refer to?" "Oh, you know exactly what you are doing young man, and if you think I''m going to let you invite those slavers here then you''re sorely wrong." Hmm, maybe she didn''t know what I was doing, let''s see if we can keep it that way. "I truly have no idea what you are talking about, I am simply inviting some of Great Kannor''s finest healers, guarding a dungeon can be truly dangerous work. Why, we even had a few strangers lose their lives just two days ago." She gave a strange growling noise, almost a chitter in sound. They indeed did have a few strangers attempt to get in the dungeon, some random adventurers that likely felt the mana suffusing the region, but it wasn''t the dungeon that killed them, it was his men. But that wasn''t all, while the strangers were the only ones to get close to the dungeon, several others had been probing the camp, likely searching for ways to the dungeon or to attack the camp, and perhaps even her people were testing them, regardless, his scouts were constantly busy keeping unwanted eyes away. "If you say so my lord, but try not to get in over your head, the slavers might take a liking to it." Sigh He supposed that wasn''t just a threat, kannorites did often practice slavery and so long as they could disguise them well enough, they would even target noble houses. As night came down, he lay in bed with his companion, tired from their... activities. As he heard her soft breathing he wondered and thought, he had an opening with the sects, but he would need something to eventually challenge them. Looking at Helvina''s face, he had a thought, an obvious solution, all he needed to do was exactly why they had come in the first place, they needed to fight and grow using the dungeon. Edward was already powerful, but he was one man, Arthur needed an army, and looking out to his troops, he had some idea of where to start. When the day broke, he would start putting his men to real work, they had a few months to go from standard if loyal soldiers, to true dungeon challengers. Oh, this was going to be fun. Ch.28 Arthur''s idea to train an elite group wasn''t that bad; it was far better than some of the others he''s brought to me, despite having agreed to some. But things were going to be slow, almost painfully so, the soldiers he chose were on the younger side of things and were still green around the gills as it were, but they seemed fiercely loyal to Arthur, if not his family. The problem came from their progress though, despite having a larger group than previous ventures into my lair they lacked critical experience and teamwork skills, often getting into each other''s way during the fights with the floor one monsters, and even then, they only managed to kill a single spider because I had them go easy at first. You''d think they would choose veterans and skilled fighters and magic users but evidently not, the kids were sent as part of some affirmation of their vassal''s loyalty, most were second or third sons and daughters, kids who would never inherit their families'' fortune or status without major tragedy. Still, Arthur thought they held promise so I would withhold my complaints for now, if nothing else they were proving amusing practice for my monsters. "Liam, go right, no, no, your other right!" "I am going right numbnuts!" "Why you-!" Ah, the careless memories of adolescence already coming back to me, how do I make it stop? The group of 10 was engaging my clockworkers, cautiously but eagerly trying their best to get a hit or two in before getting cut or bludgeoned, they had managed to disarm one already, but their inexperience, wasteful movement, and bickering were already breaking them apart, several already sported nasty bruises and cuts. The self-appointed leader of the group was desperately trying to get his ''comrades'' to focus on working together, trying and failing to direct the others into something resembling a formation. "Jerika stop wasting your magic like that, we''re barely inside!" Thankfully though they were able to get through it and destroy the clockworkers, sweating like pigs and cradling wounds that may or may not have come from one another. As much as Arthur and I want them to push forward I was going to call it there for today. What these kids needed was a proper teacher, not just some basic understanding of which side is pointy and how to not cut yourself. Unfortunately, Arthur agreed, but in the most annoying way possible. "Agreed, but I can spare none, nor can Edward, if you think they need help then I trust you with that." Then he walks off, reading some report while shouting at damn near everyone on the way out. He''s been irritable the last week, and not entirely without reason, what with the sects coming in a couple of months. But still, why the hell did he think I could help these brats, I could barely tolerate myself at their age! Sigh Thankfully I have a solution on hand for this, namely the ratkin. While they weren''t masters of battle yet, they were skilled and intuitive enough to teach them how to fight as well as team tactics. As they walked down a level, I had the merchant whip up a quick note for anyone who came snooping, leaving it on the entrance. Soon they arrived at the barracks, cautious and afraid of what horrors I might unleash, instead, they had an upright rat with a nice little chef''s hat serving them various cooked foods while the barracks captain worked out how to start training them. On my recommendation, as much as I could convey, the captain had them start on physical exercise, running laps, lifting weights (supply crates), and doing a simple form of calisthenics. The plan was to train them like a ratkin for however long Arthur was willing to let them stay and progressively have them move down a level until they were competent enough to handle themselves. But with that in hand, I turned to other problems, namely the level 5 requirements. While on the grand scale of things, six months is barely anything worth mentioning. But the next particular six months are doubtlessly going to be the most turbulent, and not only could the lack of supervision get me killed or enslaved, but I''d also be leaving Arthur and Ed out to dry. Although I could set things up a certain way so that my people and Arthur''s could keep me safe during those months, reportedly they weren''t due for about five and a half, give or take, and at worst I would only be asleep for a month and a half once they arrived. If I went with that then I''d need to make for absolute certainty that my dungeon was prepared, and I wasn''t above spending DP on it either. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I had no plans of buying more monsters with the store, but I did have a good chunk of DP I could throw at it from all the people going back and forth. Some I knew for certain I was going to buy regardless, first some magical doors to keep people from rushing past without my say-so, a couple of surprise traps, some cheap decorative stuff, and finally a weak dungeon-wide boost to all monsters. Those upgrades were the essential choices in my mind, but these next few were more debatable, fluid even, and while the ones I had my eye on were far from the only ones, they were the more applicable ones to my current setup.
Core Blast 1 When a [Mechanical Construct] type monster dies, it will create a small explosion around itself. 100 Dp Disorienting Mecha-Flies Machine-type rooms will now host a small hive of mecha-flies which will attempt to disorient intruders. 120 Dp Donation Bin 1 Creates a small box at the entrance where people may deposit goods, sometimes they will be given something back. 50 Dp
Trait Spawner Allows the core to influence monster nodes, giving the core the ability to create otherwise rare monsters of that node. 200 Dp Other-Worldly Restriction 1 Places a minor debuff on all invaders that are drawing power from a [celestial] or [infernal] being. Preventing the use of level 1 spells 200 Dp Vermin Tunnels 1 Creates tunnels only accessible to vermin-type monsters, these tunnels are separate from the tunnels of previous floors. 50 Dp
Again, there were more but these were the only ones within my price range or were impactful enough to consider. Going through them, the core blast was a suicide attack, a final bang as it were, while the flies were a distraction so my other monsters could take care of business, on the other hand, vermin tunnels were mainly just a mobility increase, giving them better maneuverability around their floor. The bin was interesting as it somewhat automated the whole process of giving compensation for stuff people bring me, but I''d have to see it in action to form a bigger opinion. The next two were far more interesting though, trait spawner gave me more control over what kind of monsters the nodes created, meaning I could create more magic or machine-focused ratkin and kobolds, while otherworldly restrictions actively worked against outside forces like gods or demons. The cost though, was a point of consideration, after the first few upgrades I only had enough to buy one or two, sitting at a somewhat uneven 376 after the many ''invasions'' from the camp. He wouldn''t be able to afford both trait spawner and other-worldly restrictions, but he could do one of them and another, perhaps even the four less expensive ones instead. Any chance I could ask what comes with level 5, aside from the usual stuff that is?
Negative.
Worth a try, but we can guess anyway. If I take a bear nap and sleep for six months then I''ll be able to build a fifth floor, get a fifth-level monster, a fifth-level focus and perk, as well as some more DP to work with, not much but any helps. To add to that, I would also have the combined amount of Dp from the six months, I couldn''t count off the number right now, but I knew it would be a lot. That being said, I could also just wait around for the DP to roll in naturally and buy it in a month or two, I''d still need to sleep but I''d be more secure if I had the upgrades when I went, even if it meant more time asleep while the sects were here. Also, nothing was saying I HAD to buy these upgrades, useful to be certain, but my defenses were still good enough that it wouldn''t hurt me anytime soon if I let the Dp roll in and checked the store again later. This still left him with two choices though, either go to sleep and wake up a month or so after they have arrived, maybe don''t even make up at all. Or should he wait it out for a bit, and keep an eye on things before sleeping, the ratkin could handle the trainees well enough if I slept, and I had standing orders to give them decent gear when they were ready. But what should he do, sleep or stay up? Ch.29 I decided that I would sleep, hibernate, whatever it was. If I don''t do it now, I might not get the chance later, so I''ll risk the six months instead, but before that, I would need to get my affairs in order. A surprisingly easy task all things considered if I''m honest, my monsters were understanding, at least they seemed like they did, and while the lack of input miffed him, Arthur was understanding, even if I hadn''t given him all the details. And with a couple of more traps placed on floor 4, I was ready to begin. Soooo, what happens now then?
The core will be put into a state of deep sleep, during which the system shall regulate and harmonize the vast amounts of mana that have seeped into the land. During this, the core will experience no time or sensation.
Well, that''s neat I guess, anything else I should be aware of?
Given the core''s present situation, it has been decided that because of the core''s good behavior concerning its duties and willingness to correct mistakes, the core shall be allowed to advance to level 5 before undertaking deep sleep.
I thought the entire point of my sleeping for the winter was BECAUSE of how fast I''m leveling, and now you''re letting me advance anyway?
The increase in work will not be as substantial as the core imagines and doing it in this fashion will allow the system to regulate the energies of the fifth floor better, reducing the possibility of this situation occurring once again.
So, you''re telling me that I could end up doing this again if I''m not careful?
Indeed, offering level 5 advancement.
Congratulations! The core has fulfilled the requirements to advance to level 5! +1 floor limit Added gross mana production to base production. +500 mana storage +1 level 5 perk choice +1 focusing choice. +1 level 5 monster choice* +10 DP for leveling up. +1 Boss Monster Option *Requires choosing a perk and focus choice before being available.
I expected everything on that list to save the last, are you telling me that this dangerously video game of a world has honest-to-God (gods?) boss monsters?
Indeed. These are unique monsters chosen from an existing blueprint owned by the dungeon and meant to act as a major barrier.
If I could make a genuine boss monster then couldn''t I have eased up on the defenses, not that I regret it, but it would certainly help with planning.
It is not the system''s job to regulate how dungeons construct their dungeons, simply that they do build dungeons.
Hmph, well in that case I''ll just see what I got before going to sleep, I''ll deal with the boss monster last.
Level 5 Perks Every 5 levels a perk may be bought equal to the level. If it only exists at that level or higher, then it will not be upgraded. Metal Garden 5: Creates an internal mechano-biosphere, accompanied by both dangerous and non-dangerous flora and fauna. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Lavished Engineering 5: Creates significantly higher quality machine-type monsters, increasing costs by 200%. Blasphemous Engineering: Enables access to [Sin] type machine options in the future. [Sin] is a unique variant of celestial energy when non-divine entities encroach upon divinity or slight one significantly.
Alright, pulling out the ''the fucks'' and ''holy hells'' might be too soon, but I''m fairly certain something along those lines would be warranted. But instead, I''m going to see what''s next before my internal yelling becomes external.
Focusing 5 Mechanical Focus 5: Greatly increase the frequency and rarity of mechanical options in the future. Biological Focus 5: Greatly increase the frequency and rarity of biological options in the future. Draconic Focus: Improves the chance of draconic options in the future.
Eh alright, pretty good I''d say. I''m questioning the wisdom of [sin] but if I decided to go full ''kill the gods'' I suppose that would be a good(?) place to start. As for the other two though, they have their ups and downs, metal garden 5 increased the ''naturalness'' of my dungeon even if those ''plants'' are just another kind of machine, while lavish increased machine monster quality at a higher price. Long-term, the garden would increase the value proposition per floor so when Arthur and I got around to actually making good on both our ends of the deal, whereas lavish engineering would dramatically increase the price for better monsters. As for [sin] though, a quick snoop around tells me that in an overall way [sin] is the direct violation of divinity, a rather poorly explained thing by the system, with it as far as I understood being somewhere between willful disrespect and any direct attempt at forcing divine energy to do something, and that normally [sin] is automatic in regular people but as a dungeon I am expected to interact with divine power at some point. In the context of [blasphemous engineering] however, [sin] allows me to create ''anti-supernatural'' monsters and stuff, with [sin] derived stuff dismantling and disabling magic that isn''t supposed to be there, i.e. spells, enchantments, magic potions, and the like. The system did warn me though, to use a metaphor I came up with, if the cosmic forces of the universe were part of a neighborhood, celestials, and infernals are feuding neighbors, but they aren''t enemies, not truly, they wouldn''t go into each other''s homes and shoot them point blank, but they would dump their cut grass on each other''s lawns, maybe punch each other. But then comes along [sin], destroying public and private property, killing people in their homes, and generally breaking the law. Where infernals are corruptive, [sin] is destructive, where divine celestials are enriching, [sin] is despoiling, which in practice makes it dangerously powerful and dangerously hated. That is what [sin] is to the system, a malicious force that can dismantle things irreverent to the divine cosmology. So, it was safe to say that I was very hesitant to even consider the option once I got a better picture of it because part of me felt like taking that would be an escalation I couldn''t survive, assuming I even wanted to. But it was still a valid option, just one that would set me against the world, at least most of it if religion is as big here as it was back on Earth during the relatively same period. Hm Let''s put a pin in that for now, some distraction should help. Tell me how a boss monster works.
A ''boss'' monster is created using an existing blueprint owned by the dungeon, they will be improved massively and be given special equipment that coincides with the dungeon''s theme and focus. They will create a unique room that will have special rules that affect both the core and intruders. Would you like to see currently available options?
Sure, worst case I just put off the choice until I decide on my 5th-level monster after the focus and perks. The screen that came up was actually massive despite only having a handful of monsters. It had a version of every monster I currently owned, I could even recreate the greeble king and prince if I wanted to, thought I''d need some serious convincing to go with that. To be honest, I was seeing how this could get out of hand, how did the bigger, older, dungeons handle themselves?
Other dungeons do not require such aid as they operate similarly to machines until they obtain awareness, making their daily processes more instinctual.
Wish I could do that, I think. Still, I''d need to make sure to keep track of future acquisitions to keep myself from forgetting. Looking over the list one more time, each option was valid, but some were clearly better than others, for the most part. My level-one monsters like the clockworkers, spiders, or the golems would simply become bigger, better versions of themselves, the clockworker became a massive immobile mech that handled larger, more complex parts and pieces of metal, while the spiders became a duo of massive, armored spiders, that could masterfully manipulate and control well-crafted and scary suits or armor. That was to say nothing of the other dozen monsters I had available to me, but those were just the start. With the defenses I had up right now could hold off most things, which could give me the leeway I needed to make less, murder-y, floors. Perhaps a floor that excited a sense of awe in people, or that would make people more appreciative of me. But that didn''t apply to the boss, above all else they were meant to be my top killers. Logically it would probably be better to choose one of my innately powerful monsters, perhaps one of the special ones I had tucked away, both Astarion and Pandora were still available, and the brain monster was on the available list, it wouldn''t be full power, but it would be better than if I made it as a regular monster. Of course, I could stick with the ones I''ve come to rely on the most, a ratkin or canid boss would probably be thematically more appropriate even if my kobolds were physically more powerful. Thinking about it though, it''s a choice better left once I got the perk and focus out of the way, and by that point, I might as well just take my level 5 monster while I was at it, it could be the perfect answer to the choice. But that left the question, what perk and focus would I go with this time? Ch.29 Poll extension For the boss monster choosing, it''ll be chosen by people commenting their choice, and then I''ll count them up and that''ll be the option that was chosen. Also, I''ve been thinking of redoing Zero to Hero, under a better name as well as in a more cohesive way that avoids the problem I had writing it. If you don''t know what that problem was, essentially, I made a clause regarding poll ties that ended up fucking the story I had planned out, what I did was I made it so that a wild but possible option was taken instead of the ones originally offered, which led me to write the main character away from the story I had. Still, I''ve learned from those mistakes and know how to fix them, and if people would be worried about my rather sporadic upload schedule being impacted, don''t worry. My plan was to do things where I do a large portion for one story (currently this one) then I would do another large portion for the other (which would be Zero to Hero) but I''d like people''s thoughts on the matter, I''m not entirely committed to remaking it yet, but I want too eventually. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Ch.30 When I chose Metal Garden the first time around, I saw an explosion of diverse plants, simple they were, and technically not plants, but they grew and spread still. This time though, was incomparable, on all levels, with seemingly random and wild growths of trees that blew steam from their branches, and shrubs that grew plastic-like fruit full of some golden fluid. There were plenty more, of course, great vines that filled spaces in each room where there was space, but the change was seen no more than in the big ones. The barracks was mostly just barren rock and the barracks building itself, but now it was covered in numerous plants both great and small, the few trees that could fit created a scene as if you were entering a thick forest of bronze and copper, a thick mist hug to the branches. It was beautiful, a sort of rightness to it that made my brain thin, ''yes''.
The core''s compliments are noted.
Huh- oh right, uh thanks then.
Special System Iteration #3984 acknowledges the gratitude. Displaying level 5 monster choices.
Right, still need to get those squared away, hit me with what ya got.
Copper Champion A humanoid war machine capable of simple tactics and combat adaptability, this machine was first forged as the hard-hitting frontline soldier of a long-ago war. The copper model is designed with cheapness and mass production in mind. Has low-level intelligence. Comes with a small assortment of weapons. Has low-level combat experience from its creation. Node Cost: 1500 mana 20 mana taken from production. Produces: 2 individuals Auto-Botanical Dryad A tree spirit born of machine and root, the alluring ''auto-bot'' dryad is a fierce and zealous defender of her home. Dryads are guardians of the forests and despite the change in type, these will defend the machine forests of the dungeon with fervent devotion. Can control nearby mechanical flora. Counts as both machine and spirit. Possesses the seduction and exsanguination abilities of a dryad. Node cost: 2000 mana 10 mana taken from production Produces: 1 individual
Caustic Rust Plague A non-traditional monster, this ''organism'' expresses itself as metallic growths around its space that produce harmful machine spores. If placed in bigger rooms, it will produce weak combat entities, these cost no additional mana. Creates a central nerve center to organize itself. Can spread ''Caustic rust'', an infection that converts organic material into similar metallic growth. The danger and harmfulness can be controlled by the dungeon. Node Cost: 1500 mana 15 mana taken from production Produces: 1 Seed Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Sulfurous Bomber Drone. An insectoid machine that seeks targets and explodes in a large concussive explosion, leaves behind a small cloud of sulfur. These drones have limited intelligence but work within a collective hive mind, working together to find targets. Produces ''honey'' oil Forms hive material when not in combat. Very fast. Node Cost: 900 mana 10 mana taken from production Produces: 10 individuals
Hmm, interesting. Without a doubt, I could use any one of these, but which one? The champion was a single thing that focused on simple strength and some skill, useful for straight combat. The dryad was more environmental in its danger, but was no less dangerous, especially if it could control the ''forests'' I now contained. Exploding murder bees (hornets?) were also appealing, but like the rust spirit from last time, they seemed like a backup for something already there, perhaps as a distraction or a last resort if needed. But the machine plague was the most interesting, if weird. Conceptually I understood what it was, essentially a sort of machine mold thing that could attack people. In reality, though, I was of two minds, on one hand, it could be like that big-brain monster I got in the way that the monster itself wasn''t the danger but instead the environment it created. On the other hand, it was specifically a plague and could infect people as such, and while I could control that fact, I feel like if I wasn''t careful, it could set a bad precedent for myself and others. If I started using diseases then even if I could keep it under control in my dungeon, there was no telling if it could somehow slip out. As much as I was willing to kill people for my survival now, I didn''t want people to suffer, and the idea of slowly turning your guts into metal sounded horrifically painful. But I did concede a small thought in the back of my head, it could be useful if paired with the right setup or monsters. If I made more fortress-type floors where large groups would spend equally large amounts of time figuring out how to get in, the plague could kill them or at the very least weaken them so the defenders could deal with them. This all relied on the idea that I was willing to use such methods though, the other choices could be just as great. Another thing to consider about each of them is how my current improvements would work with them. The champion and drone were pure machines, meaning that they benefited from all of my machine perks and upgrades which meant that if I made a champion then it could be improved by my perks, making it vastly more powerful. Which I suppose could apply to the plague and dryad, but neither of them fought with their body alone, the dryad seemed more like a caster and the plague was environmental, hmm, I do kinda want to see what that would look like. Hm Maybe I could give the boss list another look, could I perhaps see what these monsters would be if they were the boss?
Request Accepted.
And before me was another list, this time only of the four level-five monsters. The [Copper Champion] became the [Bronze Champion] (not too much surprise), the dryad became a [Machine Mother], the bomber drones became a singular [Stealth Bomber Queen], and the plague changed into the [Pure Steel Rot]. Each of them added to the previously powerful monsters if only stats-wise for some. The boss champion was more or less just a better version, tougher, faster, stronger, still no extra abilities, but it made a good thing better still. Choosing it would present a good clean fight for people, few gimmicks, no additional worries, just you and the champion, seeing who would leave the room alive. In contrast, the [Machine Mother] was nothing but gimmicks, commanding machines the same way a dryad commands vegetation, the mother fought with entire factories, crafting both crude and elegant machines with her magic. Her ''shtick'' was that she would be an indirect boss, with most of the difficulty coming from misdirection, traps, and the assortment of machine creatures she spawns, a small spider-like machine that came in a variety of appearances and purposes. Moving to the drone, the [Stealth Bomber Queen] was a rather self-explained, stealth bomber. The queen''s deal was that it would fight from stealth, utilizing a great big hive that could hide it easily, using its twisting pathways and the waves of the queen''s offspring to get and keep lost any invaders. As for the last of the four, there was little actually different, sort of. The original plague was a sort of build-up of semi-machine growths that filled up an area that used smaller machines to fight on its behalf, infecting people with its plague, the rot was not so gentle. The [Pure Steel Rot] was less a disease and more of a cancer, feeding on organic material and creating what could best be called ''metal zombies'', the result of infection by the rot. Unlike its more passive self, the rot focused on seeking targets, creating small armies of ''pure-forms'' that were created entirely of ''rot-steel'' which would both kill and infect large groups of organic beings, in this case, people. The scary part of it was that if it was allowed to collect enough material, it could even form intelligent minions. This last option started to blur the lines of machine and flesh, but it was definitely a machine at its core. Each of these was undeniably powerful, immensely so, but there were other monsters to consider. The best example I could think of was the canid, or rather, the [Dire Canid], a massive savage-looking hound that had all manner of tools at its disposal. From shredding claws, ferocious bite, and even a steam breath, it was set to be the big bad wolf of the dungeon, and I doubt a brick house would stop this wolf. But again, all monsters were on the table and none, even the golems, could be thrown out entirely without good reason, All I needed to do was figure out which one to pick. If I chose an existing monster I had, let''s say the ratkin, then how would the level 5 monster fit in, would they play second to the boss, or would I keep them in my pocket for later floors? What do you say, my advisor? Wiggle wiggle Chittering Excellent points, but no, almost, none of the options can eat them whole, but good suggestion. And you my newest confidants, the bunch of rust rats that ride Wormy everywhere, I shall consider your advice about more ''yellow circles'' closely. A quick look around the second floor showed that the chef somehow reinvented cheese, and subsequently got every rat, big or small, hooked on it, I''ll congratulate him but more to the point, how? Disregarding dungeon shenanigans, I''d eventually have to pick a monster for both things, so which would I go with? Ch.30 extension poll, boss poll For the boss, I''m going to go with a giant poll that everyone will vote on. All monsters will be listed so take a look and decide which one you''ll go with. Communication with others is encouraged because, after this, all gloves are off, so give it a good think and talk with your fellow readers. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The poll will remain open until Friday. Also, I''ve decided to start on the still-unnamed Zero to Hero remake around December or January. Also, also, I have a side-side story I''ll also release soon, it''ll receive some attention but only after this story and when the Zero reboot begins, think of it as supplemental stuff until the next dungeon chapter is out. It''s mostly one of the many stories I''ve made but never got around to fully finishing. Ch.31 After choosing my level 5 monster and boss, I immediately started making my fifth level, forming a giant cavern using all 25 room slots with core level 5. Once that was done, rather than make another, larger fort, I focused on creating the perfect environment for my dryads, which unlike the ones in fantasy (or is it reality now?) are not creatures of nature, but of machine. The first thing I did was use some mana to rapidly spread and grow the various machine plants that would be both their home and defense, growing thick bronze brambles amid stalwart steel trees, dotting ''fruiting'' plants here and there, but rather than berries and such, they contained orbs of mercury, boiling water, and smog. Strangely it was rather beautiful, but in a ''real-life painting'' kind of way. And that beauty only increased when I made my dryads. I made 20 of them, leaving the remaining 5 nodes to make 15 kobolds. The kobolds came out as usual, if slightly larger and with spikier tails, but the dryads were something else. Bronze skin, good proportions, and a mischievous face, each was very beautiful, like it was from a painting, the only thing was that I couldn''t quite see where the whole ''super-naturally pretty'' part came in. Sure, I''d say they were attractive, if oddly familiar, but I doubt people would lose their senses if they knew they were fighting them. Regardless, I also put down their structure, the [Workshop Grotto], a place that would boost their control over machine plants as well as let them create more machine animals to wander the areas just outside of the grotto. As for the kobolds, I placed them in their structure, a hollowed-out hill covered in oil-leaking trees. While the dryads were to be the main defenders of floor 5, the kobolds would play support, going between the dryads¡¯ immediate protection and their muscle. An interesting demonstration of this was once both groups finally settled in, they began to work both against and with each other. What was happening was that as the dryad¡¯s animals began to proliferate across the forest, the kobolds began to hunt them. Of course, they weren¡¯t eating their catches, but what they were doing was stripping them for parts, literally. Using a few boars they caught, they began to fashion simple armor for themselves using the metal hides and tools using the ¡®bones¡¯. The dryads met this by producing more animals, bronze pigs, iron birds, and so many more, how they were making them, was rather interesting. Unlike when I made something, the dryads weren¡¯t just magically spawning them in, instead, they were assembling them from the plants themselves. Using a rusty red color magic to bend, hammer, and weld the various machine creatures into shape, doing so with great skill so that each creature that came out was the same as the one before it. Thankfully the girls didn¡¯t seem all too bothered by the kobolds hunting their creations, more so annoyed that they need to replace them. And after a few well-placed traps, the floor was done, and now it was time to work on my boss. Unlike proper floors, the boss occupies their own ¡®mini-floor¡¯, an area similar to the merchant in that it occupies a space between rooms and floors. Upon assigning the dryad to the position, I noticed that the room made for her was almost as big as the forest just before her, the main difference was that it was far less tame and much darker. Where the dryad¡¯s forest was rather beautiful and full of life (as much as machines could express anyway), the [machine mother] room felt darker, more dangerous, like the free wilds of before were replaced by something hateful. The trees belched hot smog, creating a toxic environment, ground plants were covered in rusty thorns and acidic buildup, and even the few machine beasts my boss monster created lacked the more natural untamed appearance of those in the grotto. Instead, these beasts were large, leaking no doubt foul-smelling fluids from the odd dent or scratch on their hides. This land was a machine, one that detested any not of the dungeon, but what of the [machine mother] herself? Before the door to my core was a great tree, or was it a smokestack? It reached far above the rest of the forest, growing across the smog-hidden ceiling like snakes slithering across the stone. The tree parted at the base, the roar of a great fire and the mechanical churning of some engine was audible from it, the glow illuminating a lone feminine figure. Standing before the entrance to the tree was a tall woman, easily seven or eight feet tall, her skin and features were of a confidant and powerful individual, but at the edges, a person would be able to tell. Her face was hauntingly beautiful, but the edges, the parts you wouldn''t see automatically, gave way to the facade, this captivating appearance of hers was a trap, something to lower the guard of those that met her. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "I suppose you like this form of mine, father?" Ok, let''s stop that right fuck now missy, also, you can hear me? "Hm, I know not the source of your confusion Father, but I shall nevertheless work to clear it." Hmm, I guess not, she must still be only capable of feeling the broad feelings I have for them rather than my exact words, inconvenient but still workable. Don''t call me father, alright, makes me feel weird, and not in a good way. "If you desire it sir, but tell me, what is my first task?" I sent the general idea of her keeping this floor on lockdown until I said so, the only ones who were allowed in were those directly from the dungeon along with Edward and Arthur, provided they weren''t here with hostile intentions. "I understand, sir." From there she retreated into her great tree, a writhing mass of barbed wire formed a thick wall only a fool could and would traverse. After a few moments, the forest''s slow machine churning began to pick up and started to blaze with heat as more smog was sent into the sky, red and orange streams of light seemed to flow through the ground into the plants as their branches swayed in some unseen wind. Looking around, the terrain looked kind of dry in all honestly, maybe a bit of water would help? Quickly a moat began to form around the tree on all sides, and the thick black ferrofluid trap began to take the place of the ground. It was calm and stagnant, but just under the surface was a world of horrific fish things, they weren''t machines, but unlike any creature I''d ever seen. Wanting to test it, I had one of the machine animals move to the water''s edge, the fluid metal crawling across the metallic hide of the creature, forming spiky formations. As it walked closer, one of the creatures leaped out of the fluid and began to drag the squealing creature down, deep into the unseen depths. After a few moments, there was hardly a sign of a struggle, a few pathetic bubbles coming to the surface before nothing. Holy fucking shit this is cool, but also, really dangerous to be around, and from the connection I could feel with them, the creatures were under my control too.
Both the [Polluted Forest Coppboar] and the [Ferrofluid lamprey] are emanations of the boss entity [Machine Mother] neither are proper monsters.
Wait, polluted, I''ll have you know that I prefer to keep my home nice and clean.
Note, that such a claim is false for two reasons. Reason A, the outside environment the dungeon would otherwise be occupying is heavily polluted, influencing the present and future floors built in this pollution. Reason B, the dungeon is regularly filled with both discarded parts from production structures and monsters.
Don''t have to say it like that you know, not my fault some idiots don''t care about their environment. Oh well, comfort was never the point of the boss or the floor so people will just have to deal with it. But with her out of the way, I only had to do some last-minute reviews and preparations. The first thing I did was send out a message to Arthur and Edward telling them of my plan, with some details missing, and that I would be unavailable for 6 months. Next, I finalized all of my traps to make sure I at least had some in every room, I might not be building them up too much, but they were useful in the past. After that though, I dedicated the best use of my remaining time was to panic and worry, obsessing over any small thing I could find. I could feel a weight in my chest, and ghost or not, I knew what it was, anxiety. What if something happened, what is someone dangerous came at me, what if I failed to guide my dungeon, my creations?!
Note, that an anxiety-fueled spiral is ill-advised, would the core like to engage sleep?
Yes, I think it would be better if I got it out of the way, if I don''t, I might start obsessing over the surprisingly complex rat politics to keep myself distracted. Quickly I pressed the ''yes'', and the anxiety I felt building in my chest faded, as everything went dark, and my eyes closed. Arthur 6: The First Month. When the dungeon gave news of its ''nap'', Arthur was confused, worried to be certain, but confused for the most part. Sure, dungeons have been seen to take periods of ''low activity'' from time to time, but even then, they tend to last for years to decades, so when the message said that it''d be back in a few months, he became confused. Of course, when the dungeon explained later that whatever was going on was required, he acknowledged, he had no real choice in the matter. So, when the increasingly oppressive waves of mana being spewed out of the dungeon began to calm down for the first time, he felt relieved. The seemingly ever-increasing levels of mana were beginning to be a major concern for his camp, scouts were reporting more crazed wildlife, and the magic users amongst their number were fearing that mutants may even begin to form soon, and once those pop up then they''ll never stop. With this calming of the mana, that was unlikely to happen now, if it had continued any further, they might have had a real problem on their hands. But thankfully that meant that so long as his scouts dealt with mad animals, the work on the fortress could continue with impunity, and thankfully the strange automatons were still helping them quarry and cut stone when someone wasn''t in the dungeon. Speaking of which, the dungeon had permitted them to continue training and harvesting in the dungeon so long as they were among the trusted and loyal few, namely himself, his brother Ed, the future champions who had recently left the dungeon, and a few others from around the camp. Speaking of the kids, or as he should say, the honorable third, fourth, a few fifths, and second sons and daughters of the Outer Court nobility, they seemed to be taking their lessons better than expected, especially the few that were more outspoken about their distaste for being trained by dungeon monsters of all things. It seemed though that something beat the disgust out of them, they were still far from ready, they had just started essentially, but they had taken a good first step, while exposing themselves to that much mana is dangerous, it is also valuable beyond words. To make a champion, a person typically reaches their limits and then bathes in mana, allowing the mystical energy to transform their bodies so that they may achieve greater feats later. The approach of the kids was different, exposing themselves to pure dungeon mana while so young and developing meant that they would have an intuitive understanding of magic and how to more intelligently use mana to improve their bodies. It was a type of training that was famous with the Inner Court ever since the empire absorbed the former Kingdom of Loong, a nation far to the southeast. To see the dungeon having recreated that training was amusing to Arthur, these kids'' inheriting siblings wouldn''t have the capital or influence to try such a training method, but here they were just being handed it to them. Still, it would be a long while before they became useful against the ones they were meant to fight, and as such Arthur needed to accelerate the building without making any mistakes. The first thing he needed to do was finish the fortress proper, an easy task with all the stone and metal they''ve accumulated thanks to the dungeon, as well as begin the creation of the districts. The purpose of the districts was simple, sizeable extensions of the main fort that would provide a service, similar to a city district but smaller, and more contained. The only issue was the placement of it all, the primary fortress was being built into the mountain itself for both time and resource-saving reasons, but due to the somewhat awkward design of the mountain, it would be difficult, maybe even impossible to connect them directly. "Perhaps milord, we could do a staggered method?" The suggestion came from a stone mage, a rather unassuming man with a lame leg. And his idea wasn''t without merit, rather than bundling everything together, they could instead create several outposts that double as a service provider in some capacity. Hmmm, yes, he thinks he''ll go with that. "Good idea, eh, sir." It would be embarrassing to not know his subordinate''s names but now that he thought of it, he couldn''t actually recall having a stone mage that looked like this one. "Wait who are-" But there was no one, just a gentle breeze, with the odd smell of metal and smoke, almost like a forge he''d say. Arthur put it out of his mind, maybe a trick of sleeplessness, regardless though, it wasn¡¯t a bad idea. A staggered setup would give the primary fortress time to prepare and provide a funneled bottleneck his men could control. The biggest issue is that given the terrain there wouldn¡¯t be very many people in the smaller settlements, maybe 100 or so at the maximum. This size limitation would be a long-term issue to deal with and that wasn¡¯t considering the necessary space for storage. Most likely he¡¯d need to establish a regular supply system to keep everyone fed without tapping their long-term resources, assuming nothing went wrong. Looking over the mountain, the dungeon was situated near the apex of the smallest peak, impossible to scale from the sides, and difficult for large groups to ascend as the caravan experienced before. Below that was a slope that led to the forest his camp was currently, neighbored by the ogres, and below that was a series of rocky paths and flatter regions that did hold some potential for encampments or gates. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Another consideration is that he¡¯ll have to host several sects in and around the mountain, and as useful as it would be to bundle them up and throw them into some smelly valley nearby, he doubted they would go for that. Hmmm. Some of them could tolerate each other if the situation was right, perhaps he could group some of them up? Most expressed in some form or another that they expected him to provide for them some land they could use, an idea most others would be insulted by, and he was too, but with the situation as it was, Arthur would need to swallow his pride and move on. His idea centered on granting land that would place them against other sects, essentially, he¡¯d use their greed against them. How would this work though, well, the answer lies in the ground itself. Despite being rich in mana, the soil is incredibly tough and infertile, what few hamlets and villages there are around here are reliant on hunting and herding to survive. But those alone wouldn¡¯t be enough, not if the dozen or so sects wanted permanent presences on Nightingale land. What would be enough though, was how Arthur planned to help them, see, Arthur was raised a skeptic of the sects and the multitudes of smaller cults, not because he doubted the gods of the realm, but because he was taught to distrust the organizations that sprung up around them. What Arthur would do is offer help in the form of food and possibly even tools, but using the goodwill generated from that he would push them against their ¡®neighbors¡¯ while remaining in the clear as far as others knew. Of course, he¡¯d be careful about it, it wouldn¡¯t do to let it out what he was planning, it also didn¡¯t help that he planned on continuing to use Hestra¡¯s skill in manipulation, if only to a small degree. Ed probably wouldn¡¯t like it, he always hated using people and so did Arthur, but unlike his brother, Arthur knew that when the day came for his inheritance and his father¡¯s intelligence network, he¡¯d have to order things far worse than just a little trickery. And so, two weeks after the dungeon fell silent, he sat across his brother¡¯s familiar for another time. ¡°My, my, I¡¯m starting to think you might just like me.¡± ¡± That¡¯s enough creature, I have need of your services, and as your master¡¯s kin and lord, you will do as I say.¡± ¡± Well it¡¯s about time I¡¯d say that little elf tart seemed like she could warm your bed, but I guess-¡± Arthur quickly drew his blade at her throat, a face of anger written on his face. ¡± Be quiet demon, I have no time for your games.¡± She pouted. ¡± Oh, very well, I¡¯ll be a very good girl then.¡± If the creature wasn¡¯t his brother¡¯s familiar then he¡¯d swear against her, unfortunately, that was not the world he lived in. ¡°I need you to begin creating some form of liquid or gas that could spread your presence around.¡± ¡± Oh? And tell me why I should, my little Eddy gives me the blood and hearts of monsters and men, and while he never enjoyed my presence at night, he certainly let me enjoy others while he was with some hussy or other he knew.¡± Arthur very much doubted that she meant he was with women for that reason, more likely than not they were academy friends or other adventurers he knew, Ed wasn¡¯t that sort of man, which did make his rather odd relationship with the mage, Lily he thinks the name was, so odd. ¡°Perhaps you do get plenty from my brother, but in the coming days he will be busier with the dungeon, and just how much blood, how many hearts, and what lovers could you find in a dungeon of metal beasts and rat men?¡± ¡± Well¡­¡± ¡± Well, nothing, I am not asking you to break your oath to my brother, I just need you to prepare some materials for me so that I can make life easier for me and my brother, Ed doesn¡¯t even need to know.¡± ¡± Hmm, I¡¯m impressed lordling, truly, but I would be breaking certain terms of our pact by doing what you ask of me, and unlike the rabble of the lower class, I abide by my deals, even if others do not.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t, simply push your magic into some items or tools while you defend me.¡± ¡± Defend, from what?¡± It was then that one of the worker machines that was lent to Arthur began to enter the tent, a rotating stone cutter was raised at the two. ¡± What is this Arthur, what did you do to it?¡± ¡± Just something I learned; I was never good at magic, but I was good with my hands.¡± The machine lunged at Arthur, only to be blasted with infernal magic as it was mid-air. Hestra¡¯s arm was reached out, the putrid scent of infernal magic still wafting from her hand. But the machine wasn¡¯t done, its arm was in pieces, but it could still move on, and move forward with its other arm, extending a claw-like grip toward Arthur¡¯s neck as the demons used a sludge-like water to crush more of its body. This continued until eventually there was little left of the thing, only magically infused pieces of metal. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so hard now wasn¡¯t it.¡± Arthur began to pick up the pieces himself, storing them in a special chest he reserved for special items. ¡± You are playing a dangerous game mortal, one that has felled men and women far greater than you!¡± ¡± I know, I just don¡¯t care, all that matters to me is my family, you may go now.¡± ¡± Hmph, I guess you have my magic then, I suppose I¡¯ll just take my leave then, Eddy would at least entertain me.¡± She began to walk out, only for Arthur to grab her arm. ¡± Also, never speak of my family so casually demon, or I¡¯m going to have to do more than a simple trick if I want you to go raving mad.¡± ¡± Hmph¡­¡± She left the tent, irritated, but that matters little to Arthur. ¡± Yes, this shall do nicely, soon I¡¯ll have them eat out of my hand in one, and their trust as they rip each other apart in the other¡± And so, he began to plan farther into the night, unaware or uncaring of the little blue box at the corner of his vision.
Infernal Attribute Unlock: 20%
Edward 5: The Second and Third Month Two months had passed since their dungeon associate had fallen silent, and two months had passed since the construction of their future home consumed their lives. Of course, it was doubtful that either of them would be given regency of this land. Arthur was fated to rule the main territory and Edward couldn''t inherit land, perhaps some money and items of personal value, but land such as this was off the table. But he didn''t let it get to him, he knew his lot in life and was content with it. Speaking of being content, Ed faced a rather ever-infuriating task of group morality. Ever since they began to push the men and few women to the bone on progress things had started to become dicey, the laborers were complaining, soldiers were growing discontent, and the mages of their group were beginning to suffer from mana overburn, using too much mana in too short of a time consistently. Then there were the incidents, of people getting violent with one another, the women no longer feeling safe, food and equipment going missing, and the mixed blessing and curse of the monsters that were unfortunately spreading fear. For the most part, they were simple problems to address, each issue had known solutions and while Ed usually worked alone, he had commanded small groups before, so he was familiar with how to act. The problem came in the form of the aforementioned incidents, for all the gold they were being paid, none of the men had anywhere to spend it, no brothels to indulge in, no inns to rattle with drunken revelry, and no organized games to bet and lose on. All that was out here was the dungeon, the ogres, and themselves, in fact, he had heard of attempts on the women mages, a stupid idea given any half-decent hedge wizard could put down enough wards on themselves to kill multiple men. No What Edward needed to do was find an outlet for his brother''s men, and in the absence of the usuals he''d have to invent some, or perhaps steal them, all he needed was a mage or two. Perhaps Lily would be- no, not Lily, things were far too awkward still. Hmm "Are you alright ser Edward?" It was a young man, some kind of fire mage Ed guessed. He had a youthful attractive face, with olive skin and blue eyes, uncommon traits in this region, but by the feel of him, he was some kind of fire mage, but oddly, sunny? "Hmm, you''ll do I guess, come with me fire mage, I require your talents." He gave an amused face but fell behind him all the same, Ed didn''t know where he was from, but he''d have to talk to his father about hiring professionals instead of graduation-high mages. "Our task is to provide some kind of healthy distraction for the men, they''ve already started but if we let them stay idle more problems will start, now, I was thinking that we could implement a more mundane version of the ''academy sausage'' course." He looked like a cat that ate some prized canary, but whatever his thoughts he kept it to himself. "A good decision ser, but perhaps we could use something from my home, a sort of contest of might?" "Eh, you suggest we hold an arena somewhere?" "Hmm, not quite, more of a competition, a chance for each of them to show off their strength and perhaps earn something on the side." "Oh, hmm, it''s not a bad idea, any equipment and trail we could whip up with magic and the acclaim among their peers could be an incentive to join, we simply don''t have the coin to pay them more than we are already." "Perhaps you could use something else then, if not gold then why not power, the dungeon is over there, and did you not already agree to feed it the sweat of the soul?" True, the dungeon did say to keep people coming regularly, even if they wouldn''t be able to bargain for the later floors for a while, and... hold one a minute, no one is supposed to know about the deal? "What is your name mage!" But turning to his side, all there was remaining was a puff of smoke and the whiff of magic. The magic was divine, no, not divine, but similar, where the holy power of gods felt like a crisp cold yet hot breeze on the face, this felt more akin to the elemental nobles. A quick spell turned up nothing, whatever he-it, was, it wasn''t human, and it didn''t leave using magic. Something did stick out though, the not-quite-magic, felt familiar, nostalgic even he''d say, a scent or feeling he''d never experienced but felt normal despite that, probably the work of some fae. Great, now he''d have to overwork the others into putting up more wards. But at least the idea had merit, the men needed something to occupy their time outside of standing guard or sweating in the burning sun cutting stones all day. His idea of using the dungeon as a prize was also rather genius, if complicated, at present the ''Second Company'' as they were calling themselves, were stuck constantly redoing the first floor each day, absorbing mana and learning what they could from fighting machines and the black hound. Giving them a chance at going in would take away from the kid''s progress, but they could also probably use a break or two. Perhaps he could convince his brother to go ahead with it. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "No, their training is far too important to deal with some bad behavior, find something else to occupy their time." The he went back to his usual paperwork, Arthur was becoming unusually like their father, a terrifying prospect. Still, if he couldn''t use the dungeon then perhaps something he could make? Edward wasn''t the best at it, but he was sure one of the mages could cough up a sharpness or polish enchantment. "No," said the earth mage, smoothing out a dozen large blocks of stone. "No" shouted the air mage, gathering and coalescing dust into bricks. "Nada," wrote the alchemist "Sure" came from a friend. As their resident frog whisperer was chasing a frogin of all things running around with her wide hat. "No" "You sure Ed?" "Absolutely" Helvina gave a non-committal shrug back, they had gotten friendly since he met her, bonding over yelling a his brother for being stupid sometimes. Ah, good days. Still, he needed to find someone soon. Tap, tap "Wha-?" It was Lily, his not-quite companion, maybe lover, and technically still underling, yeah things were that awkward between them. "I heard from Gerret you were looking for an enchanter, surprising that you didn''t bring one." "Well, ah, yes, father was to send a proper enchanter once we were ready for them." "If you say so, but if you need help, I did graduate with the seal of Enhancement." Damn, that was pretty good, that seal meant she was qualified as a journeyman enchanter. "I mean, you could if you wanted to, but uh, no pressure if you don''t." "mhm, stand aside good ser then, let your enchanting lady do the work for you then." "Har Har, but I don''t need you just yet, I plan to give out minor enchanted items to the men for a distraction I''m coming up with, but that won''t be until I''ve made something resembling a competition." "Well, when you need me, you know where to look, but I have the feeling that this whole thing might not work out all that well." "What, na, it''ll be fine." And he truly believed that it was just going to be a bit of fun for the men and maybe, just maybe, things would turn out just right.
One month later. "-AND IF I EVER HEAR YOU DOING THAT AGAIN, I''LL THROW YOU OFF THE BLOODY MOUNTAIN MYSELF!" Ok, things did in fact not turn out right, rather the opposite. "But milord we-" "YOU SHUT UP UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN TALK." Arthur was not taking it too well. But after a moment, and a bit more yelling, he calmed down a bit and turned towards Edward. "Deep breath, now brother mine, would you like to explain what exactly happened, and how this MESS, began." "Well-" It all started the day after he got the idea and spoke with Lily, first, he got the news out about a competition to earn some enchanted gear as well as some entertainment. Next, he used some help from the local earth spirits after he bribed them with some metal to create a small arena. The idea from there was that the laborers, soldiers, and even the side workers would get the opportunity to let off some steam. What he hadn¡¯t anticipated was that his not really innocent but definitely simple scheme would become a bloodbath. No one was hurt (too bad) and they¡¯d all be back to work in a day or two, but the fact that nearly half of the camp showed up and proceeded to beat the shit out of one another created a bit of a situation. Suffice it to say his efforts to calm things down were unheard, and his later efforts to beat everyone into submission only seemed to feed the chaos. Surprisingly though, people actually had fun, despite the yelling, and the latrine and trash duties being choked full for the foreseeable future, people enjoyed themselves. Of course, his brother and most of his council were far from impressed, despite the lessening of the tension and improvement in those who were lucky enough to escape getting hurt. ¡°So, you mean to tell me that your idea of fun is to prop up a dirt circle and have almost everyone wail on each other like this is some gladiatorial arena!?¡± ¡± To be fair it wasn¡¯t supposed to go that way.¡± ¡± Hmph, I somehow doubt whatever you had in mind would have worked, now half the camp is stuck in their tents, nursing wounds that were probably inflicted by you at some point.¡± ¡± Ah, well, at least everyone had fun, eventually.¡± ¡± As much as that boggles my mind, yes, camp dissent has somehow disappeared overnight, I¡¯d say it was a miracle if it weren¡¯t for our coming opponents.¡± Arthur pinched his nose for a bit, then opened his eyes to his brother. ¡± Despite the ridiculous method, you did help things calm down, and for that I¡¯m grateful, but from now on your job will be to aid the mages in their studies, I¡¯ll have Helvina take over the camp¡¯s state of mind.¡± ¡± And I imagine you two will take care of each other¡¯s states then¡± ¡°Out brother.¡± He did it less these years, but it was always fun to needle his brother now and then. Although, Helvina did bring some ideas, as things were going the two would be together for a few more years, and as unlikely as it was, the possibility of a child created foreboding clouds. If his brother kept his course, they¡¯d eventually encounter problems with their father, and if Arthur was like their father in terms of lost loves, there might be a second Nightingale bastard by the time that particular conversation came up. Regardless, the love life of his brother is not his to dictate, even if he might jest about it from time to time. Right now, he has to speak with the mages, something about magic rats. However, just as he was headed toward the mage''s corner, his brother ran up behind him. "Change of plans, the first are already here." Frowning, that should have been possible, any decent-size caravan would take a while to get here, even with the aid of magic. "Who?" "Reick''s people." It just had to be those assholes. "Well, shit." Lily 1: The Fifth Month Lily never considered herself to be all that religious, sure she was faithful to the gods of her ancestors, they were the only reason the empire hadn¡¯t burned her people¡¯s forests down to ash. But all this talk of sects, gods, and dungeons made her feel severely out of her depth so, when the word got out that a group bearing the Reick standard, she began to panic, just not for entirely fatal reasons. Reick the Opulent, also called Reick the Arrogant, was everyone¡¯s God. Being the god of decoration and ceremony, he is often regarded as the god of fools and manipulators, never aloud, of course, few would risk divine wrath. The exact reasons for such a view were varied of course, and rarely did groups share their reasons one way or another. Still, overall, the sentiment was that Reick was a god that people were naturally attracted to because of his grandness, and the fact that ceremonies of all kinds exist in all people, many considered it a shame when he went silent. Strangely, the Lord of Golden Halls hadn¡¯t been heard from in over a thousand years, and his followers had dwindled to a pittance from what they once were. So, for such a group to appear so soon meant that they either anticipated being invited or were just as desperate. Having almost free access to a new dungeon would give them more than enough gold to rebuild their temples and societies. A cursory [detect magic] showed that they didn¡¯t have anyone especially powerful amongst them, at least no one without an enchanted item of some sort. Although given her ability to ¡®feel¡¯ enchantments, she doubted her previous thought, hiding enchantments tends to give off a feeling of ¡®shiftiness¡¯ or create areas of ¡®unassuming¡¯ magic. She¡¯d still need to be careful of course, the power of holy men and women was always difficult to sense, and the only reason she could feel the group heading towards them was because of her time spent with her father, a priest of Kurnos. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to put off helping you for now, for now, stay focused on the, uh, rat problem, Arthur put you on.¡± Ser Edward began walking back to his lord brother¡¯s tent, ever since the assault by the Greebles and her injury, things had been strange. She knew why he cried; infernal magic tended to heighten emotions (along with a few other things) so any feelings of worry became much more prominent. Still, it didn¡¯t stop things from getting weird, but they were working on it, so she had no complaints. But as the guard and laborers worked to get things presentable, she and her fellow mages went back to the interesting issue they had. Essentially, the dungeon¡¯s smaller beasts were beginning to leak out of the dungeon, not normally an issue of course, but once a stream of rats began to take over the local ecosystem, things got messy. Chicken coops were found empty, large rust-colored rats sat in their place, trying to look as chicken-y as a feather-covered rat could. Horses were getting set free by unknown forces, but always found with three or four rats jumping on the head or back, somehow egging them towards large holes they had dug. Worst of all, the quartermaster had even started complaining that small but essential things began going missing, arrowheads, the odd tool, and even a full helmet were reported missing. The problem was that no one could figure out how and why they were doing this, a simple series of spells uncovered that it was indeed the dungeon rats, but no one could see or catch them in the act. They couldn¡¯t even go to the dungeon intelligence for help either if Ser Edward was telling the truth. So currently, the supposedly powerful and well-funded circle of mages were stuck trying to summon cats, at least trying to anyway. It was an odd quirk of magic, but summoning cats was almost as hard as herding them, the willful little beasts were determined to not answer the summon. The few they managed to get were because they used the [force summon] ritual instead of [conjure beast] and even then, they had to bribe the blasted things. Sigh ¡°Mulz, we¡¯ll need to begin the ritual again, our current number of cats is far too low to deal with the growing population we¡¯ll need-¡± ¡± I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to put that aside mage Lily, orders from the lord.¡± A messenger held out a small missive, the writings inside giving all of the mages not currently tasked with making the fort to assist Lord Arthur in receiving the group. Oh, thank Kurnos ¡±It appears we have been asked to help the lord, but first, Mulz and Wexworth, your job is to continue finishing the fort, everyone else is to stand with the lord.¡± Everyone gave appreciative looks, it was humorous the first time around, but forcing the little hellions to them was getting tiresome. And so, everyone not working began to make way. They took up positions behind Ser Edward, who himself was behind his lord brother. The newcomers had just managed to climb the final stretch, a not-inconsiderable number of them were short of breath. Lord Arthur began once they were closer. ¡± Welcome honored faithful to Reick, it seems you have arrived sooner than was expected, come, you may rest this way.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Arthur directed the winded group to a clearing he had the workers make, it wasn¡¯t too close to the camp, nor too far from the descent, but it was in the perfect spot for observation and if necessary, retaliation. As the group huffed up one last hill, they set themselves down, chugging their skins of water like dying men. ¡°We -huff- appreciate the hospitality, good lord, -huff- if it isn¡¯t too much trouble, could we bother you for some bread and salt?¡± Their faith must truly be in dire straits if they need to ask their host for something, this did give Arthur the advantage though, small as it would seem, to beg the host so openly and immediately made open their lack of resources and dependency on Arthur. ¡°I shall allow it, but while I have it sent for, do tell me your names.¡± Irritation flashed across the still-winded man¡¯s face, to be spoken so casually and without any of the respect of his office must have been infuriating. ¡± I-I am head priest Linde, and I lead the priesthood of our diamond lord Reick at the summons of the lord Nightingale.¡± The now-named head priest hardly looked the part, his robes were far from opulent, to say nothing of his followers and subordinate. Their attire was far too simple and modest to be acceptable by their standards, and for the leader to have mostly decent robes put the final nail in the coffin, they were broke as hell. But her thoughts were interrupted by the approach of the runner, carrying a few of the cook¡¯s older loaves and one of the emptier bags of salt. It would have been grounds for blood at this point but with one side being near destitute by most standards, especially their own, all they could do was swallow their pride and feast on stale bread. Arthur was playing a dangerous game, but anything shy of direct interference by their absent god would be meaningless, Arthur held all the power in this exchange. "I do hope our cook''s bread is up to your standard head priest, but perhaps it would be best if you saved some room for the feast later, after all, we do have to welcome your holy host." The man was halfway through a loaf when he processed Arthur''s words. "Of course, good lord, we would be honored and will be ready for your... graciousness." The priest kicked his subordinates, drawing their attention back to the noble they were now indebted to. "Very well then, I shall leave you here to prepare your camp, we may speak business tomorrow." And with that, the Nightingales began to file back to their own camp, however, Arthur pulled her group aside. "Helvina, Lily, I need you and everyone not building the fort to start preparing as many magical defenses as you can, I want no one going in or out without me knowing." The two women looked at each other; they could do it sure, wouldn''t be too difficult especially together. The main issue was one they had been dealing with ever since they settled, the dungeon mana had been coating the land thickly and it''s been supercharging the already-in-place wards despite the rapid lowering and stabilization in recent weeks. Putting more could cause spell reactions to occur, and no one was willing to risk accidentally teleporting everyone and the mountain into the plain of fire or brine. That being said, it wouldn''t be a bad idea to have extra protection, and it wasn''t like there weren''t ways around that particular issue. "It''ll take some time, but we should be able to get it done." "Excellent, I''m counting on you two to safeguard us." He walked away, likely back to dealing with their headache of a situation, leaving Lily and Helvina alone, bringing to mind that the two hadn''t spent all that much time alone. "So, um, what first?" "Beats me, but if nothing else we can start with the basics." "Right." The two made their way behind the still-being-built wall and began their magic. "It''s great that there''s so much mana in the air, makes this part easy, now, together." They raised their hands and staves up. An almost invisible barrier formed around the main camp, [lesser ward] The air began to swirl around each member of the camp, fires from the brazier took a deeper orange, the waters stilled but let not a single pest drink nor lay in them, and finally, the dirt solidified under each person''s step, [elemental protection] Boundary lines formed in the earth, separating the camp and the world beyond, [worldly separation]. With that, the two had done in a few minutes what would normally take entire groups of mages days to cast, such was the potency of a dungeon. They could have gone further in all honesty, Helvina knew several water protection spells and was more than capable of binding an elemental or two to the camp, and worse came to worse, Lily knew enough wood magic to call forth brambles and vine walls. But to go further would be to risk everything, the protections so far would be more than enough for the majority of issues sans perhaps paladins, but only an archmage or a highly specialized barrier mage could hope to keep a divinely chosen out and they had neither on hand. "Should we stop there?" "With spells, but the fort could use some more material defenders to bolster its ranks." Not a bad idea, but it would be expensive. "Costs?" "Not that much, well, not in the long term at least." She pulled out a crystalline orb, kinda looked like it came from the dungeon. "I went with some of the men into the dungeon before and managed to snag this beauty, it''s rather flawed and it does need recharging now and then, but it works." "And it is what exactly?" Helvina smirked. "A golem core, of course, I haven''t had too much time, but the dungeon utilizes constructs as well as ratmen, so I figured I would take some inspiration and make my construct." "Hm, neat, but unlike the dungeon we don''t have the exact luxury of just making a body out of nothing, where do you plan to get the body for it?" "That''s where things get a bit dicey, there''s something I need to make it work, something I failed to ask Arthur for." She looked to the dungeon. What could she... ah shit, Lily knew what she wanted. "Fuckin, OK, I''ll help, but neither of us can say a word." "Had no plans on it, c''mon, I''ll get my stuff, we go in tonight." This was probably a terrible idea, but terrible ideas are how Lily got into this situation in the first place, and one way or the other, terrible ideas were probably how she would get out. Let''s go challenge a dungeon. The Night Before It Begins It was the night before six months had passed, and standing tall and firm was the newly christened mountain fortress, Fort Ravenpeek, the actual name of the particular mountain they were settled on. Much as it was designed to be, the fortress was tall, focusing on using the steep cliffs and unsure footing to expose attackers to arrow and spell barrages. The only visible way of getting in was through a main pathway from the forest base that was susceptible to traps and punishment. It was far from a work of art, and far from the greatest fortress there was, but it was more than deadly enough to give pause to most and could one day be rich enough not to have to be. But what of the people? In his new chambers laid the new Lord-Commander of the fort, Arthur Nightingale, alongside his close companion, Helvina. He knew not what tomorrow would bring, for his scouts and far-ahead messengers had brought word that many more hosts would arrive by tomorrow. These groups bore many symbols, many animals and tools, men or women being flayed on a pyre, or were mountains getting struck by divine wrath, the individual groups may have been smaller than he predicted, but the number of them made him stagger when he learned of them. He worried that he would be unable to manage them like he had the reickens, they were easy, poor, and without power, they became simple vermin to the young lord, they were reliant on them and them alone, but who knows, one right or wrong choice could tip the balance. Arthur knew not how things would go, but he knew that he would face it with his brother and his lover, or else die trying. But as he finally gave into sleep, Helvina thought she saw a flicker of something in his eyes, a sliver of deep red instead of his normal blue, but she waved it off, surely it was just her sleep-addled mind playing tricks on her, and so she slept, hoping that none would find out about what she and Lily had done just a few days before. What of the brother though, what of the hell conjurer Edward? Unlike his brother, he was not afforded such a grand room, there was no time and no reason to make him one, for as much as the brothers cared for one another, both knew that once their situation was dealt with their father would have another task waiting for him. As he lay in the barracks though, he couldn''t help but wonder, how much of this would have happened if he had been different, if the dungeon had chosen differently. If the dungeon chose violence that first encounter, would he even still be here, if he had chosen subjugation despite seeing the intelligence, would the dungeon have even considered an offer of alliance and trade? He did not know, but he did worry. Undoubtedly his brother would give them some modicum of access to the dungeon once it woke, and when that time came, would things turn out well or worse? He didn''t know how the dungeon would react, hopefully not with rusty daggers at their throats one night but who knew, the mind of a dungeon is an alien thing, and the mind of men and women blinded by faith can be just as unknowable. He knew not what would happen, but he had magic and allies beside him, and that would have to be enough, for he could call upon nothing else now. But what Edward didn''t know as he dozed away in his cot, was the slight shift of his talent, it was a small thing, but it was there, and within his very soul, the brand of infernal magic had gained a competitor, a sliver of power that took the shape of stars. What this meant would be up to him and his friends to decide, when the time was right of course. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. For the others of the camp though, they dreamt of all the things that people often dream of home, family, riches, and more, one could say that they were innocent of the struggles that would soon befall their lord. Some dreamt of loyalty and how their lord would provide for them, others thought of power and how they might rip it from the dungeon, while others, dreamt of faith. As for those faithful to Reick though, it was far from a good night. They had been denied all that they had desired, the dungeon was unavailable to them, the resources of the land were already claimed and monopolized, and despite not having a single idea of the religious war that may be fast approaching, the servants of the Nightingales were already hardening their hearts to the near debased preaching of the priests. Perhaps the desperate cries of that waning faith would prove useful in keeping the men and women loyal to their lord, perhaps it would drive them further into the arms of others, who is to say. All that was certain for the people was that interesting times would be coming. What of the dungeon, for despite being asleep the dungeon did not dream, it did not rest, it closed its eyes and opened them back up, its lands stable, and its core ready to grow once more. But as people often do, they overlook the small and weak things in favor of the big and strong ones, not seeing a little lone rat making its way out of the foreigner''s camp, a little trinket in its little mouth with big implications. But who could blame the poor dear, while rust rats were normally attracted to iron and copper deposits, those of the dungeon had more refined tastes, and as such sought the best metals. It had wandered into the strange giant''s den and saw them crowded around tall square things, shouting and scheming, but that was ok to the unnamed rat, it had found its prize and let''s be honest, magic or not, it was a rat, and knew little of words or language. Sniffing around, it went through stores of strange foods and pointed things to find the irresistible smell it caught the trail of, and it found it, under guard by metal-covered giants and strange paper it found a stone box bound by rope. To one of the giants, it must have been a sight to behold, but the rat walked right by, finding a crack in the back, nothing a giant would notice nor be concerned over, but the rat was better than a giant and could fit through. And so, it went off back to its nest, tucking the glowing thing under the rest of the shiny things it had found and promptly falling asleep, a hard night at work for a rat. Ch.32 I opened my eyes months later, at least, it was supposed to be months later, to me it felt like mere seconds had passed. It felt strange, to be honest, and not in a magic weirdness way that I was getting used to, no, it was the knowledge that in what felt like an instant half a year had passed instead, and both surprisingly and thankfully, I was completely fine. It was after the moment had passed that reality sank back in, and I found myself in my core room, albeit changed. The floors and walls were still stone but were now polished, shiny, and smooth, the four statues were replaced by a large one that snaked across the room, its form that of the [machine mother], her arms spread out as metal vines wrapped around my core crystal. It was a piece of art, beautiful and well-made, the only thing to note aside from its greatness was the undulating movement of some of the more brambly vines hidden at the bottom, some kind of trap perhaps? But I put my thoughts to the side, a message was ready for me.
Notice Deep Sleep completed, resuming regular functions.
Real quick, any idea on what''s with the statue, it''s not bad or anything, just curious about how it got there.
Part of the deep sleep was the restructuring of the core room to increase mana circulation, the statue was designed to aid in that task alongside some defenses.
I thought I wasn''t allowed to put traps or stuff in the core room, it never had any node or trap slots available.
The mobile vine units are not traps, they are instead circulation regulators, managing mana flow within the dungeon.
Hmm, neat. Did I get anything new while I was sleeping, anything special or such, maybe a special point or two?
Because the dungeon has been stabilized the previously mentioned feature of [tinkering] has been permitted.
Oh, so that''s why I could never figure out why it said that, but I was never able to use it, why exactly wasn''t I allowed to use it then, it seems like it could have been useful in the past.
[Tinkering] allows for the creation of one-time customizable constructs, allowing the dungeon to create personalized monsters. It was disabled due to mana arrhythmia. Loading explanations...
Tinkering Utilize mana to create varying constructs for different purposes. The dungeon may also create unique parts from scratch or use existing parts from mechanical blueprints. Requires manual mana control. Created monsters and traps do not count against room totals and don''t reappear after defeat. System assistance may be taken at increased or additional costs. Creations may be turned into blueprints for extra costs that increase with each additional purchase.
That... would actually have been pretty good at pretty much any point since I got here, why couldn''t I use it again? A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Due to the dungeon''s irregular and explosive growth pattern, mana was beginning to accumulate dangerously, it was unnoticeable as it was being suppressed, however, for the dungeon to continue developing manual system intervention was required. This was the purpose of the deep sleep, if such a pattern continues then it will be likely that more and longer sleep periods will arise. It relates to [tinkering] in that such irregular mana fluctuations made it near-impossible to perform [tinkering].
Well shit, I guess that''s on me then. So hey, if I did keep things going as they were, I might have to nap it off, but wouldn''t that mean that I also lose access to this [tinkering] stuff for good? It truly does seem useful to me but I''ve been doing more or less ok without it aside from a few close calls.
Functionally, yes, however, future improvements and functions rely on stable, predictable mana flow. The dungeon is free to act as it pleases, but do be warned that actions have consequences.
Hmm, for now, I''ll be careful but it is something to mull over. Right now I need to take stock of things, I was alive and I''m fairly certain I wasn''t enslaved, so I''d say things were at least ok for now. And a quick look around did confirm things, as well as bring others up. Overall the dungeon was fine, better of course, but largely the same, the biggest things to consider being that my water core was missing and that the forts were altered. The core wasn''t something irreplaceable, but it was more of what it meant rather than anything, so for it to go missing could spell trouble later. As for my forts it seems that the residents took it upon themselves to redecorate, or rather, improve would be an appropriate description. Before the stonework was largely just that, stones that made a building, but over my sleep it seems as though the rats of all floors have started to add onto it. I''m not sure what came first or last but it seems that the first fort took it upon itself to add sheets of metal around the base of the fort, perhaps to reinforce it, maybe to keep climbers off. Either way, that wasn''t the only addition, the rats had also begun using more technological weapons. Before it was their mechanical weapons but now it was more steampunk in form and function. The sword and shield wielders now used a wicked scimitar that was coated in some toxic byproduct they harvested from the various machines, spears were replaced by other spears that could quickly and forcefully extend themself to a target. But the most curious change was the archers, rather than some improvement or perhaps a crossbow, they went directly for rifles. Unlike gunpowder weapons though, these were powered by steam, using pistons to rocket a spherical bullet out. While a demonstration told me that they weren''t as deadly as Earth guns, they could and likely would hurt someone if used correctly. How exactly did you guys figure out this, you''re all smart but I doubt weapon schematics are just lying around. The leader of the archers was the one to answer. "Oh great master, we were gifted these incredible tools by our kin deeper into your domain, if they displease you we shall be rid of them immediately." No, no, they''re fine, I just needed to know where you got them. And in retrospect, it did make sense for the deeper levels to have supplied them, I don''t really see any workshops here capable of making such an oddly advanced weapon. Heading down a level I was met with similar sights as before, additions to the fortress and steam guns, the riflerats there gave a similar story. Once I got to the fourth floor though, I found my answer, one of the ratkin decided to self-teach herself weapon engineering to incredible results. According to her, a bit after I fell asleep she had a massive epiphany about how to work with machines. According to her and the others around her, she started small, with toys and knickknacks but rapidly moved onto more practical applications in weapons, armor, and tools. The armor wasn''t all that impressive, but they were pretty good for first tries, instead, it was in weapons that she shined. The earliest weapons made about a month or two, after I fell asleep, were simple ones, better swords and tools and the like, but her desire to make something bigger and better led her to create the ''steam rifles'', an idea she came up with in a dream one night. And while I was fully willing to explore the massive implications of this, I sadly have other more pressing concerns. One such concern is the developments on the outside, when I slept the mountain was full of woods and stone formations but now it was almost a shanty town of tents, ramshackle houses, and the much closer buildings behind a large wall. Some of them bore flags and standards, I didn''t know any of them, but something told me they weren''t good news. The entrance was still exposed but now it would be nearly impossible to get in without getting through the veritable castle in the way. I couldn''t get too close to it but I was willing to bet that Arthur was somewhere inside. Better get in contact again, we have a lot to talk about. Looking through the eyes of my hounds, I pushed them to a sturdy door guarded by two soldiers. Strange, they weren''t the usual duo, and they weren''t wearing the usual outfit of Arthur''s people, has something changed? As we descended the door the unknown guards were already there, leveling their spears at my hounds. "Monsters, back to your pit before we make nails of you!" Rude, but if they were new then I could let it slip. Slowly I had my hound throw over the message plate to them. "Wha- Markus, get the Lord-commander, now!" A moment later the doors creaked open, footsteps announced the arrival of a group, revealing... Ch.33 Arthur stepped through the doors, accompanied by his brother and two others I didn¡¯t recognize. ¡± Welcome back my friend, I hope your rest was fruitful.¡± I guess, I had the hound nod anyway. ¡°That is good, now, I believe you wish to discuss the events of the last few days?¡± Yup, but not out here. I had my hound lead them to the merchant, his uniform pristine and bright. ¡± My master welcomes you, lord Arthur.¡± ¡± And I him, representative, and while I would like to discuss each other¡¯s state, I believe we both wish to get to the chase?¡± ¡± Indeed, my master wishes to know the state of the enemy, have they arrived, and if so, what steps have been taken against them?¡± He seemed to have a contemplative look on his face, neither positive nor negative in his thoughts. ¡°The situation has turned out more complicated than I anticipated. Two days ago, the bulk of them arrived and have been constructing encampments around the area, close to the fort and your dungeon, but relatively far from each other.¡± He took out several pieces of paper from his cloak, each bearing a different symbol. ¡± Additionally, I have also received multiple requests for access to your domain, each coming with promises of payment and services, most gave some statement of non-hostility. Currently, my brother and I are skeptical of their intentions, however, I would note that several are if not trustworthy, predictable.¡± ¡± The master would like to ask why, are they all not our enemies?¡± ¡± Well, yes and no, while I would never fully trust them, some sects such as that of Kruul and Bevel are known for their disgust of enslaving dungeons but are not above destroying them, if nothing else, groups such as they are at worse benign if we avoid provoking them.¡± Hmm, this does change things, maybe, if they are as he says they are then it could work in our favor, we¡¯ll just need to avoid pissing them off. If I remember correctly, Kruul was a war god, something something, honor and all that, while Bevel was a god of crafts. Both were supposedly willing to leave me be so long as I didn¡¯t mess with them, and neither was especially invested in collaring me. If these things were true, then it meant our plan had some ''wiggle room''. Instead of using or causing issues between them, we could prioritize propping up these workable sects. "My master would like to take some time to consider the situation, but he also asks if you could perhaps look into a missing item of ours, the gift you were given was taken during the master''s sleep." "The orb? Hmm, I have a few ideas as to where it could be, let your master know that when I get the chance, I will search for it." Arthur left, leaving me alone as I floated back down to the core, retreating to the fortress below with his brother. ... I just had a thought, several actually, am I in over my head? Like, it''s kind of just starting to hit me just what I''m doing, angering gods and trying to trick their followers to hurt or even kill one another. The human part of me was beginning to question WHY I was doing all this. I''m a powerful thing that can create any number of powerful objects, one or two right moves and I could have pushed this problem elsewhere. I''m not even sure that''s still an issue I could think on though, they''re already there, and unless I could shit out some stupidly long-named weapon or further divine intervention, I''d be stuck juggling these religious idiots forever. Just one good distraction to make them beat it to whatever hill they came from.
A trio of travelers are listening.
Huh, the hell is a ''trio of travelers''? I couldn''t sense anyone in my dungeon, and I certainly didn''t feel any magical ones either.
The [Mercurial Traveler], [Tortured Trickster], and [The Moon-lit Falcon] The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Wish to know if they can be of service?
I''m still not entirely certain about who or what these things are, the smith seemed fine and the ''war flower'' seemed to like how I named Bellona, but just what are they? Besides, what help could three unknowns offer me exactly, life advice?
The Traveler finds a wanderer, A Trickster finds a lie, and the Falcon seeks a wounded soul. They offer a [path], a [trick], and a [balm]. One to walk, one to deceive, and another to heal.
What exactly does that mean, why won''t you just say what you want, what you are?! How could you handle us, when you can barely handle yourself, much less these parasites? The words felt like a hammer to my heart and mind, I could feel my mind stretch and pull in the face of... something. The stones and metal began to glow with head, the stray critters melted on the spot, and I could see the metal plants catch fire outside. I looked up and saw my core cracking and breaking all over.
WARNING! Core Structure heavily damaged, engaging emergency reconstruction.
It felt like a bucket of ice was poured straight into my heart, the melting metal cooling to form harsh ugly patterns. W-what was that, what the fuck just happened?!
The trio of travelers apologizes. They state that despite the core''s preparation, they are incapable of defending themselves. They thus offer the opportunity to escape this situation, provided the dungeon can give them something.
What? They''re just, offering some get-out-of-jail card after nearly killing me, that''s not even mentioning whether or not I care if they want something now!
The trio repeated their apologies. They wish to offer the [Redacted] a chance to realize their full potential as a dungeon core. The interference by [Redacted] is [Redacted]. They are willing to offer their names should the core accept the offer.
This is almost like being at work again, constantly blacked-out sheets of maybes and mights about this or that. Sigh, I''m not ungrateful that you apparently want me to succeed and are willing to help, but why exactly should I believe a word any of you are saying? I can still barely believe myself each morning that I''m in a different world or that I can make magic monsters and stuff. I get that you might not be able to give me a real solid answer, but some truth, some evidence to tell me what''s true and what''s not.
The trio offers a saying in response, In the absence of truth, belief. With the lack of evidence, faith. Near the precipice of conflict, trust. The trio asks for belief in their [path], faith in their [trick], and trust in their [balm].
I-I don''t know if I can do that, almost every choice until now has been one of pros and cons, of logic and reason, something I''ve relied on since I was a kid. What you''re asking of me is to just, give in, give up the facts and plans and my trust in you. I barely understand what the others are much less the three of you. Give me a reason to trust.
There is no reason in faith, young core, only that you believe.
That, wasn''t the system, is it one of you, all three? .... Nothing? ... Gone I guess, back to wherever these things keep coming from. Sigh, what the hell is even going on anymore, I''m tempted to say that I''m just going insane, but I doubt the damage would appear just because I went crazy. I could try; to trust that is, it certainly wouldn''t be the first time but one of the few so intimately tied to my survival while having no idea what the outcome could be. I suppose I could give it a try, it would mean abandoning months of preparation and investment, so much would become invalid even if the benefit of most would still be available. It would mean I was free, for the most part, to return to a simpler state where all I have to worry about is stepping on Arthur''s toes about something or other. With the departure of the sects, I could invest in my place more, spruce it up a bit, and make it nice. But that did beg the question, what did they want?
The trio wishes for the dungeon to reassimilate the [Pandora] monster back into [divine ash] and take it as a sacrifice. The [Clef-Footed Smith] dislikes the price but understands the necessity of the action.
Like so very many times before me, I had a choice before me, I could try trusting them and see where it goes, at least the smith wouldn''t get angry. Or I could not, Arthur and I could continue as we were and plan for the chaotic war, we were set on creating. Arthur 7: Bloody Days, Bloody Nights. Arthur wiped his knife clean, its well-made edge covered in the blood of a holy man. Some would consider what he did sin, and they were likely right, but the young lord found himself increasingly less caring about those people¡¯s opinions. Now that their enemy had arrived both the dungeon and he could begin their plan. Their overall goal was to create enough chaos amongst those gathered that they could push them out of the mountain, having them battle it out until they lost interest or the dungeon or his people grew powerful enough to pressure them into leaving. And despite a slight pause in communications with the dungeon they had begun the bloody work of pointing the sect¡¯s fingers at each other. The first step was to get their eyes off the dungeon and to each other, something that happened organically at some point before they fully arrived seeing as someone had stolen a holy artifact of some sort. This meant that the second step of creating accusations would begin almost immediately. The first ones they targeted were the holy men and women, priests, and the few trainee clerics they could target, but rather than just kill them outright, they would leave a few alive to spread the word. Of course, they didn¡¯t do it as men of the Nightingale; no, they did this work as fellow men and women of the cloth and under the illusion of Hestra the demon. Which brought him back to the present, clothed in the garb of a follower of Spindel, covered in the blood of a Ryland cleric, his face not of the young lord but of some no-name camp laborer. His closest soldiers were likewise disguised, having dealt with several others who accompanied the cleric. Something Arthur would note as interesting was that the dungeon was actually going beyond the original requirements on their end, including their job of increasing in depth and power, it had also begun supplying his people with supplies more directly, ¡®rewarding¡¯ his people heavily more than they actually earned each time they entered the dungeon. This made the training and regular delves by the champions all the more important, seeing as they were both the future protectors and present gatherers of the dungeon. ¡± ¡¯Revic¡¯, we¡¯ve finished.¡± The captain of this group, a good soldier, if questionable man. ¡±Good, let¡¯s return to the high priest, for the lady.¡± ¡±For the lady.¡± Thankfully it was a monumental task to attract a god¡¯s eye or ear. Under disguise they began to sneak back to the main camp, leaving tracks and hiding their daggers under a tree hollow. As they approached the tent city they signaled the demonic creature to finish her part, the group swiftly disappearing as they were made invisible. Silently they doubled back, heading for the castle''s hidden entrance only a few knew of, a door spelled to only respond to Arthur or his brother. Making their way into their war room, they dispelled the magic on them and laid out their prizes. Several Reyland insignias, a few knickknacks, and more importantly, the cleric¡¯s holy book. Similar to a grimoire, the holy books of paladins and clerics were capable of casting magic, but rather than raging balls of fire or sheets of ice, it allowed them to heal the sick and wounded, or smite undead and night creatures with holy light. ¡°Captain, bring the casing.¡± He brought out to Arthur a large stretch of adorned leather, one of the many fruits from the dungeon, and began to wrap the book in it, the symbol of Reick branded onto the front. Reick wasn¡¯t a particularly powerful sect, as everyone knew well, but they were a convenient target. As they lost their power and status, it wasn¡¯t uncommon for them to steal and plunder gold, and valuable goods if they thought they could get away with it, and while it had been nearly a decade since the belief came about, it was no less common. Of course, if they were going to blame the bedazzled fools then why bother with the Spindel disguise? If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The idea was that they would implicate multiple sects, creating a conspiracy among several. If they succeeded then they could stir up enough trouble to push them out of the region, maybe even feed his ally a few of them. Regardless, he had to get to that point to consider such a thing. Quickly, a new face came into the room, not another of his more trusted soldiers, but they would suit their purpose all the same. ¡°Reporting lord.¡± He was on the younger side, loyal and capable, but neither was particularly pertinent to the task at hand. Arthur and the captain looked over the lad, determining if he was a good fit. ¡°Have I done anything milord?.¡± Huh? Oh right. ¡±You¡¯ll do nicely soldier, I have an important task for you at the moment, but first I need you to look that way.¡± ¡±Al-alright lord?¡± He did as such, looking closely into a corner of the room, strange he thought, it almost looked like someone was there- [charm]
Sam realized he was walking through a camp, but, that didn¡¯t make any sense, the fort was already complete and his place was on the ramparts, what was he doing in a camp? He began to walk, his body walking on its own. He began to panic, what was happening, why couldn¡¯t he stop himself, and why couldn¡¯t he yell?! But those thoughts left once he came upon a large tent, a holy symbol proudly on top. What was he doing in here, with the holy men? He began to panic more, as a lowly guard he had little interaction with the newcomers, but he knew the stories and rumors, of abductions and muggings. But something was off, the people here weren¡¯t approaching him, and they even seemed to recognize him. Passing two pristine guards on the way in, both giving a curt but respectful nod, he came upon a well-dressed man pouring over a large map. The man opened his mouth to speak. ?!?? What? Was he speaking a different language? !???!. No, not some forge in tongue, he could see the other man¡¯s mouth moving in common, something was very wrong with Sam. But replacing his rising panic was a blossom of pain, and looking down he saw why, an arrow shaft had gone through his side. Falling over, his body once again acted without him, throwing a bundle of some sort to the man. Sam could hear cries of surprise and outrage, of swords, daggers, and staves being drawn as the sounds of fighting became clear to his muddling ears. He felt worse than helpless, unable to get up, and unable to cry for help, he lay there, feeling his lifeblood flow from his side onto the ground around him. As his vision began to dim, and what of his body he could feel grew cold, a beautiful woman appeared before him. Please, I don¡¯t want to die, I just wanted to earn some money! ¡±Oh sweet fool, it¡¯s so much worse than that.¡± Her enticing smile expanded into a maw of teeth and pain, and as a battle raged around them, Sam had come face to face with a demon. P-please don¡¯t kill me!
From a difficult-to-spot portion of the top ramparts, Arthur and the captain watched through a spyglass as the fighting spilled out of the Reick camp into those around. Neither man felt good about what they had done, but for the sake of their people, their land, and some petty vengeance, they knew they must do this. Flapping could be heard, and in a burst of smoke, Hestra appeared, covered in blood and moving suggestively, evidently she had partaken in the bloodshed. ¡±Humph, had your fill then beast, scare some poor sod before you devoured him!¡± ¡±Just so my dear captain, that little boy you sent was rather delicious.¡± Both men went for their weapons, but Arthur knew it would have been folly, a beast such as she had gorged on flesh and spirit down there, and thus her damnable power would be at its peak for several days. Arthur knew that his brother commanded her and was likely aware of her actions, but something about her screamed at Arthur that she was doing something more. ¡°You''re done demon, return to my brother so he can throw you off some pit in the hells.¡± ¡±Hmmm, very well, but do visit me in those pits sometime, I think you would fit in just right, and I could always use a new bed warmer.¡± She faded back into smoke and ash, traveling unseen down to Arthur¡¯s brother. ¡±Uh, sir?¡± ¡±Yes?¡± ¡±We¡¯re not going to be going up, once it¡¯s over, are we.¡± Sigh ¡°No captain, I don¡¯t think we will.¡± And the two men stood there, listening to the cries and screams of fighting and blood. It wouldn¡¯t be a major blow to the bigger threats, but it was a major first step to their end goal. In the future, better plans and better tools would need to be used, people bribed, magic cast, and all sorts of maneuvers would need to be made. But for now, he and his loyal captain stood and listened. Ch.34 The fighting was still going on days later, and even if it had died down for the most part, I could still peak at snippets of brawls or the occasional stabbing from the entrance, but overall things had calmed down. A success I¡¯d say. But our work wasn¡¯t done, and Arthur was already cooking up some plans. From what he had shared, it was still in the works, but he¡¯d need some monsters from me that could leave the dungeon. The answer though, wasn¡¯t any of the existing ones from the first or even second floor, but instead from one I hadn¡¯t thought much about since getting it. I decided to use the hobgoblins. They¡¯re far from my best monsters, but their unique ability gave them a dangerous edge if used properly. What we had so far was that we would start drawing both their attention and each other away from the mountain. How this would happen is by using an apparently ¡®overlooked¡¯ hobgoblin nest that formed from the mana I¡®m putting out. But these wouldn¡¯t be any regular hobgoblins though, no, these would be dangerous ones I cultivated on the fifth floor. I achieved this by creating a few of them without a node, a more expensive and less beneficial way of making monsters, but it worked for what I needed. And as they shambled out of the dungeon I could feel them march down and out of my ¡®vision¡¯. From there I could still ¡®feel¡¯ them but only faintly, the plan was to seed them a ways from the mountain and grow them enough to start putting pressure on those of the mountain. The hope is to draw out the weaker members in the camps, letting my monsters drain their strength until the strong stood alone, unable to ask for help but came with the problem of their stronger members dealing with them before the monsters could grow big and strong enough. My idea was that we could go even a step further, something from Earth, a game or something I couldn¡¯t remember, had a goblin-like character assassinating people left and right, I couldn¡¯t remember the name but that was the idea I had. Additionally, I could do something similar to the young champions plan, the kids made amazing progress during the six months but they mainly only trained on my weakest and smallest level since getting booted out. If I were to train my own group of monsters that could leave the dungeon, I could do all sorts of things, not least of which would be assassination or theft. And speaking of things, I found them, things that is to say. To be precise, it was one of my critter rats that found a shiny in some rubble, its limited intelligence said that it had found it in some rubble near the castle, surrounded by other knickknacks and garbage, and after having chef give it a treat, looked it over. It was a small, intricate thing, with lots of filigree and gilding, it was shaped like a key with a star pattern at the end. The reason I¡¯d say it¡¯s ¡®key-shaped¡¯ rather than just a key was cause it was far too small to be a key, and was equally too flat to be one either. Nothing about it seemed all that great, it was an attractive piece but that was about it, I couldn¡¯t feel or see anything. Perhaps a magic key? Something that needs some convoluted ritual? Let¡¯s try using the system.
[The Old Key] The Old key that opens the Old Lock.
Well, that was helpful. Sigh, still, I guess that does answer the question, more or less, guess I¡¯ll have Bellona hold onto it for now. Hm, what to do now? It¡¯s not that I have nothing to do, per se, it¡¯s just that at the immediate moment, I¡¯m essentially waiting for things to click into place. Well, not entirely untrue, I can start working on [tinkering], it¡¯s not something I¡¯ve looked into yet. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Wandering down to the fifth floor I had my kobolds assemble some metal and parts from around the room. [Tinker]!
Note: Verbal requests are unnecessary.
Yeah, but it¡¯s more entertaining this way.
Form Type(s): Mound Primary Structure: N/P Secondary Structure: N/A
Material(s): Bronze, Steel, Iron, Copper, Gold Energy Provider: N/P Energy Storage: N/P Non-Essentials: Assorted Parts
Device(s): N/P Primary Movement: N/P Primary Manipulator: N/P Expected Result: Wandering Rubbish.
That is¡­ certainly something, mind telling me what all of this is?
Acknowledged Form Type: The overall shape description of which the creation is formed. Example: Humanoid, quadrupedal, Avian. Material: The ingredients that compose the creation, the best for a particular purpose will be used. Examples: gold for wiring, steel for chassis, and copper for thermal applications. Devices: The list of already assembled devices being utilized. Example: Excavation limb, Bladed Limb. Primary Structure: The main structuring of the creation. Example: Primarily humanoid, primarily quadrupedal. Secondary Structure: The secondary structuring of the creation. Example: Uses elements of the humanoid form. Energy: The method by which the whole creation generates/stores power to function. Example: Steam Power, Electricity Non-Essentials: Additions that are not necessary to the creation''s function. Primary Movement: The method by which it moves: Example: Legs, tentacles, treads. Primary Manipulator: The method by which it interacts. Example: arms, tentacles.
That¡¯s quite a bit, but it was what I asked for. From all of this, I¡¯m assembling the machine¡¯s parts and then putting them together, and whatever comes out is based on what I put in. Neat, but first I wanna see it in action. Pressing ¡®yes¡¯ on it, I saw many parts and sheets of different metals fly around in a mini tornado, eventually forming a round ball. It was a mashing of different pieces and parts, none of which seemed to be used properly, but it worked all the same. From there it just kinda, rolled around, occasionally bumping into a tree or rock. Not the smartest of things, but I could hardly blame it, maybe it¡¯ll clean up some of the rat piles, they are getting out of hand. But, it did mark an exciting turn, while I could make monsters, I was limited to what I had available, and while I could buy more from the shop, I didn¡¯t want to. With the ability to purposely make machines though, it gave me an incredible amount of freedom to work with. My only fear was that now I had such an incredible tool, my weird dungeon brain might go crazy if everything I was making wasn¡¯t some hyper-optimized killing machine that occasionally serves coffee. Messing around with it some more did however clear up some fears about it. As the system said, they don¡¯t count the same as regular monsters and despite being of magical origin, acted similar to how something of its composition would work. Essentially, while some monsters like the clockworkers lacked any sort of ¡®brain¡¯ part, they could still move and do things as if they did. But that was not so for the tinker monsters, they could only do what the physical mechanics they were built with were capable of doing. For example, the rubbish walker I made was a rolling ball type thing, but it couldn¡¯t do much else besides roll around randomly, it wasn¡¯t patrolling, nor was it cleaning, it was just rolling around aimlessly. In contrast, a more complex one I designed called the ¡®simple stomper¡¯, a torso with legs that I attached something the system calls a ¡®stomper command¡¯, a small foot-shaped plate that slides into the torso. With this module, the walker could, if it encounters something, stomp it. What this meant was that I could work around the limitations on what they could do but it would be a resource drain since the module used a few pieces of deep steel my rats swiped from the guards. It would mean that I needed a source of special materials, which I strictly already had in the form of Arthur, but the situation as it was, it would be difficult for him to devote time to such a thing. For now, I¡¯ll side-line tinkering, but I would still keep a few designs in mind, I did still have some deep steel left over, enough for two or three modules. Perhaps I¡¯ll mull over what I¡¯ll make as I work on the hobgoblins? Ch.35 My testing and ideas led me to create the little guy in front of me, a small spider-like machine that could jump at people. It wasn¡¯t the most intimidating unless you feared giant metal spiders, but it did have the parts to be dangerous. I had to wiggle the pieces a bit, but I was able to squeeze out three modules for it, first was a seeking command, it would seek out anything I hadn¡¯t blacklisted, then it would attach, using its long legs with cable winches to lock around the target, then squeeze, which would hopefully end well, for me that is, not whoever was getting squeezed. But otherwise, it was chilling with the Machine Mother on the boss floor, just kinda, sitting there, at least she seems to like it, given the small nest she¡¯s making for it. Speaking of her, I¡¯ve been having some concerns lately about her, well, not HER specifically, but rather the way that the rooms are changing the deeper we go. The first couple of floors are either bare stone or fit the machine-esque style I chose, and while elements could be seen in floor four, it was floor five and the boss room that it showed. The machines and environments are becoming increasingly not just dangerous, but toxic. Rather than clean machine aesthetics and efficiency, they were becoming dangerously caustic and dangerous to be around, even the auto-generated critters seemed to be unusually dangerous, toads were carrying pockets of some vile sludge that melted through metal and stone, deer creatures that blew razor thin clouds of ash and soot from their antlers and much more. I wasn¡¯t concerned about its impact on me or my overall power, but eventually, people would want to get down here and want to explore, if only for valuables. Although it could just be par for the course for dungeons to force people inside of them to adapt, I-we couldn¡¯t hold their hands by giving the ideal conditions all the time, at some point I would need them to adapt, especially if they want me to make more floors. Speaking of them I have a meeting in a bit. Traveling to the merchant proved I was just in time, Arthur had just arrived as well. ¡°The master welcomes you, lord Nightingale.¡± ¡±And I accept the welcomes and offer my thanks, but I believe we have more pressing concerns than decorum.¡± The merchant looked annoyed but continued. ¡°So you say, my master wishes to know what steps have been taken regarding the plan?¡± ¡±The initial fighting has subsided, for the most part, but while the metal is hot we should strike.¡± ¡±Aside from the monsters we have dispatched?¡± ¡±Partially, I have found that we are lacking in good manpower, we have been¡­ losing people.¡± ¡±Have they found us out?¡± ¡±Potentially, but not for this, it is because of, other, reasons.¡± ¡±The master asks if he can assist in that?¡± ¡±Unfortunately not, it is a necessary problem, for now. But still, the loss of men will make our future endeavors harder and our position less secure. What I have devised though, is to use the criminals and lowlifes of the three towns my family governs, they are among the more peaceful in the outer court but even they have plentiful inmates who seek freedom.¡± ¡±My master is confused, do we not need faithful men and women? Would these, criminals, not give away our secrets?¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡±Oh don¡¯t worry, I doubt they¡¯ll live long enough to ever be that much of a threat, or that knowledgeable of our plans, all they need to do is go where I tell them and try not to die too fast.¡± That was¡­ unusually cruel and callous of him, was something off with Arthur? Admittedly we didn¡¯t know each other too well, but still, what I did know told me that this behavior was strange. ¡±My master expresses some doubt for this plan, he is uncertain if this path is, right.¡± ¡±Oh don¡¯t worry about that, my people may not have access to as great of magics, but our inmates are always given compliance seals, so we don¡¯t need to worry about them.¡± That wasn¡¯t what I meant, nor does it ease my concerns, but if we go down this path then I¡¯ll voice my concerns then. For now, let¡¯s hear him out. ¡°For now though, I would ask that you allow me to use some of your creations to continue the plan, Perhaps some of those rat creatures or the hobgoblins you created earlier?¡± That was more reasonable, and yeah, I¡¯d do it, but no ratkin. ¡±The master accepts, however, to maintain the secrecy, he shall grant you hobgoblins instead, those that have been conditioned on the lower floors, additionally, the master will grant you a weapon to help you.¡± In Arthur¡¯s hands was a knife, a weapon that could drop if someone defeated the machine mother. It was a bit of an ¡®in the moment¡¯ thing, but I felt it might help, besides, I¡¯d like to think of it as advertising for the future. The knife itself wasn¡¯t that amazing though, just a sharp piece of metal that applied the [rust fever] condition, something that should only affect metal creatures and structures, shouldn¡¯t be too bad. Additionally, I also pulled up a small team of the fifth-floor hobgoblins, but unlike the brownish-green skinned ones they were before, they were now much more vile looking. Rusty, oxidized skin that was covered in what could have been anything from hardened blood, rust, or acid, they looked less like forest dwellers and more like old batteries that grew arms and legs with cruel smiles and long ears. Their equipment was also no less strange and unsightly, crooked and hooked things, they wielded spears and tools that looked more like man catchers than actual weapons, but they also had little in the way of armor, just rough spun pants and tunics with hoods, concealing their viscous faces. ¡°My thanks, friend, I shall use both your creatures and this weapon well.¡± He turned to leave but turned back with a look of remembrance. ¡±Actually, I do have one more matter to discuss with you, in regards to the orb you gave me.¡± He pulled it out of some back pocket. ¡±My, companions, seemed to have taken it while you were away, I am unsure of what they have done to it but they seemed to be planning to use it in some magic spell of sorts.¡± He held it out to the merchant. Hmm, looking it over it¡¯s not visibly any different, but the connection I used to have with it was severed, it could still function as intended but it was no longer a part of me, it was its own thing now. ¡°I see then, if that is so then, how might I repay you, and reprimand my people, seeing as you are the offended party.¡± Hmm, I wasn¡¯t that torn up about it, annoyed sure, but not overly, I could live without it. But from what I could tell, both now and in the past, simply waving it off wouldn¡¯t work, their laws or culture demanded some kind of punishment and repayment. ¡±My master wishes to speak with the offenders before making a judgment.¡± ¡±So you shall, unfortunately, though I will not be present, with the addition of your forces I¡¯ll need to begin assembling my men to begin our plan again. In my stead will be Edward, he¡¯s no steward but he knows what to do and the applicable laws.¡± ¡±The master wishes you luck then.¡± ¡±You as well my friend, til next time.¡± Then he left, for real this time, my team of five following him closely. An hour or so later, a group of four came in, three of which I knew already. It was Arthur and Edward¡¯s girlfriends, I think, as well as Edward and someone I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Dungeon master, I introduce to you the current castellan of the castle, ser Baldr Rickson, he shall be the witness for these proceedings.¡± Oh? Sure I asked for a word but I didn¡¯t mean like a trial. ¡±My master has some confusion, he did not request such a meeting, only that he might speak with the two.¡± ¡±No worries, this is just so that everyone is on the same page, and if you do decide on a judgment then we are here to officiate it.¡± ¡±If so then, My master asks what you intended for the sphere, and what you did to alter its connection to him.¡± They looked worried but hopeful. ¡±Well¡­.¡± The Hobgob Squad Awareness had come to them like a knife. One moment, they knew nothing, then the next, they did. The change from non-existence to existence would have been disorienting, maybe even debilitating to most, but these were monsters, and they were beyond such things. That being said, of course, hobgoblins were notoriously callous creatures, and their resiliency and adaptability were well known. The fact that they had endured and grown up in an industrial kill garden meant nothing, only that they were better killers. Their lives on the fifth floor were full of metal beasts and large-scale things hunting and hurting them, forcing them to grow and adapt to their unique troubles. There were twenty of them originally, now they were only five, a testament to the danger there, and the strength they had earned. This brings attention to the five following Arthur, the human outsider their master and creator entrusted them to. Currently, they were assembled in a strange dark room with other humans. The hobgoblins knew they were allies but were no less ready to disable and strike. They would tolerate working with outsiders, but that didn¡¯t mean they had to enjoy it anymore. ¡°My lord, I am not questioning your wisdom, but-¡± ¡±Then be silent soldier, these creatures are a gift from our ally, do not question them.¡± ¡±O-of course milord, apologies.¡± He turned to them. ¡±Do not mind them, they are frightful of what they do not understand.¡± The lead hobgoblin spoke. ¡±Our only concern is the will of our maker, we shall obey so long as he commands us to.¡± It was deep and raspy, almost like sandpaper to the ear. These monsters were beyond offense, not that they had the social understanding to take it anyway. Time in the machine jungles stepped them of any desire to socialize, and how to. ¡±Good, our current priority target is currently too well guarded at the moment, we plan to draw away her guards by attacking their incoming pilgrims and supply wagons. From what we know, the Budland head priestess has no additional forces outside of her guardians and paladin Shiem, who will be our next target afterward.¡± ¡±How will we get the guards to leave though, milord?¡± ¡±Not your concern soldier, no questions for now, am I clear.¡± ¡±Yes, Lord!¡± ¡±Good, now, begin equipping yourself, we leave immediately.¡±
The hobgoblins found themselves overlooking the plains below their birthplace, as far as they knew, as little as it was, this was the farthest any of the dungeon-born had ever gone. Their human companions had changed out of the house garb of Nightingale and looked like common bandits, a slight, almost unnoticeable blurring was around their exposed parts, keeping them from being seen properly. ¡°Hobgoblin, my men and I will approach the front, you and the others will approach from the sides and back.¡± ¡±Hmph.¡± The humans began to approach the wagon, shouting demands and threats. The lead hobgoblin jerked their head, motioning the other four to move. Sneaking around the group in the middle of talking, the five monsters positioned within the long grass and waited for the signal. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡±-And I can be a reasonable man, just drop everything and leave, a good deal as can be.¡± ¡±You fucking thieves, this is for the head priestess herself, how dare you offend her holiness! Who sent you, Barneball, Strivand?!¡± ¡±Fuck ¡®em, she¡¯s not here and I¡¯m no one¡¯s man, I do this for me.¡± ¡±If you think I¡¯ll- Wait, Malthus STOP!¡± A younger human rushed out of the group, screaming bloody rage toward the lord in disguise. ¡±Least someone has some steel in their spine, men, get¡¯em!¡± Their human allies engaged with the others, the lord in disguise cutting off the arm of the youth before kicking him to the side. Not to be outdone, the hobgoblins jumped out, preventing their escape. ¡°Monster-!¡± The lead hob struck the screaming human with his spear, striking just below the man¡¯s unprotected neck. Pivoting in a circle, the unnamed creature jumped onto the back of another human fighting its brethren and began using its claws and teeth. Once the man had stilled, the hob collected its spear, and an almost cruel smile adorned its face. And the battle, if one bothered calling it that, continued. Untested and green men and women were all they fought, and quickly the hobs grew bored of killing witless caravaners. Once all was done though, the human lord began to talk. ¡°Gather yourselves, we leave immediately.¡± He turned to them. ¡±And as for you five, I want you to cover the food and goods in this, and wait here.¡± He held out a large pouch, inside was a dark powder that made the creature recoil from the smell. ¡±The stench will clear once it has been applied.¡± Without another word, he and his other humans left back up the mountain. The hobgoblins did as they were told, but were unsure of what to do afterward. Their master had ordered them to obey the human, but just standing around wouldn¡¯t help the maker. What were they doing here still then? But after several hours of lazily standing around, they got that answer. ¡±I see the wagons, and, wait- Monsters!¡± Humans loved screaming, didn¡¯t they? The self-appointed leader jerked his head again, getting the others ready to fight. But something was different about these, for starters, there were only three of them. A short ugly thing with a small body and fat head was leading two tall armored people. As they broke into a sprint towards the trio, the leader felt his head fall over, only to see his body standing there alongside four other headless bodies. The hobgoblin felt confused, what had happened, why was his head so far to the ground, and why couldn¡¯t he keep his eyes open? But as he was fading away, he could hear bits of talking. ¡°Sickly creatures, better clean the mountain of their taint.¡± ¡±Shall I have them burned then ser?¡± ¡±Neigh, it¡¯ll be faster if I do it, [Ashen Flame!]¡± The distant sound of¡­ something filled his ears, but not before catching one more thing. ¡±Was that really necessary, they are common beasts, and the dungeon is already guarded from the fool¡¯s attack half a year ago?¡± ¡±Perhaps, but he was empowered by our lord himself, do not question his purpose. Now, have the followers collect what¡¯s left and bring it to camp, ration are dwindling.¡± ¡±And what of the owners of these wagons?¡± ¡±They¡¯ll know better than to confront us.¡± ¡°So you say, Paladin-Commander.¡±
Higher up on a ridge, Arthur looked over the scene with his men, using a far-sight scroll to look at the situation fold out. ¡±Crap.¡± After killing the rest, they ascended the mountain again, waiting for the Budland people to take the bait. What they hadn¡¯t anticipated was that the kannorites would sniff things out before the head priestess did. Sigh They could work with this, the goods were still marked as Budland¡¯s, and hobgoblins weren¡¯t known to be the smartest, so their coating the food and potions with such a specific toxin wasn¡¯t likely. The stone-blood toxin was a very dangerous powder that when ingested could solidify the blood and other fluids within a person. It was difficult to make and very expensive, but worth it as magic has a difficult time tracing it. Best case they scan, find nothing, and die, but was unlikely seeing as paladins were immune to most poisons, toxins, and like things. ¡°Um, lord?¡± ¡±I thought I told you no questions soldier.¡± ¡±Not that, um, what about the monsters?¡± ¡±And what of them? They have served their dungeon and us as well, do not mourn them, we can always ask for more if the need arises.¡± ¡±Oh-ok milord.¡± Hmph, maybe he¡¯ll need to review his men again. For now, it''s time to head back, doubtless, Arthur is needed back at the castle again. But once his message reaches the city governors he¡¯ll have all the men and women he¡¯d need, and then he could get things going. They began to stride back, none noticing Arthur¡¯s eyes darken, and turn ever so slightly purple.
Infernal Attribute: Unlock: 25%
Ch.36 Hm? Strange, I¡¯ve lost connection with my hobgoblins, but I must¡¯ve gotten into trouble then. They weren''t around super long, but I was rather attached to them, and if nothing else they were a pain to make, despite being able to control pretty much everything I had to let nature take its course with their adaptation ability. Still, the proceedings that just unfolded were my present priority. Also, something to note was that I was having a damned time ¡®feeling¡¯ Helvina, it felt like two people in one but was unusually wispy in the ¡®feeling¡¯ like it wasn¡¯t all there yet. After the duo told me what happened, I was of two minds. They intended to use the water-generating sphere to create a water-based golem, something that if they could use it properly would become an invaluable asset to the fortress, and I agreed. The issue was that it would be allowing someone other than me such a tool, after all, it was designed to feed on the ambient mana I produced, becoming more dangerous the longer and deeper it was in the dungeon. On the other hand, it could be a major tool in the future, with incredible flexibility and battle utility. If I let them have it, after a few words, it could make both mine and Arthur''s job easier seeing as he had a labor shortage, and with this, that problem could be eased some. But counter to that is if it somehow turned against us or me, seeing as there''s no way to tell how difficult such a thing was. "The master has some concerns over the... loyalty of such a thing." The elfish girl, Lily, spoke up. "Loyalty? Great dungeon, golems are always loyal to their creator?" Hmm, not the right wording merchant. "The master wishes to reiterate; can it be used by others?" ¡± O-oh, well, no, the control sigils are tied to Lily and myself, only by killing us will it work.¡± Good, good, but also incredibly stupid. Tying such a dangerous thing to themselves was a dangerous gamble, if they¡¯re killed or worse then someone out there would have full control of an extremely dangerous golem. Perhaps I should keep an eye on them somehow? ¡± You needn¡¯t worry good dungeon; we are more than capable of handling ourselves.¡± Well, I wasn¡¯t worried about some common thug taking you down, it was the powerhouses and sneaky ones I was concerned with. But to keep things calm between our groups, I would keep my concerns to myself. ¡°The master has decided on a suitable punishment.¡± The two women looked at one another, Helvina looking a bit under the weather. ¡± Master wishes for compensation, magical things, and beasts are his desire.¡± Edward stepped forward. ¡± I¡¯m sure that my brother will accommodate your requests, however, as he will not be back for some time, I ask that you have patience dungeon, for now, I¡¯ll leave this with you.¡± He took out a short sword from his cloak and gave it to the merchant. It was deep steel, and a pretty good blade at that. ¡± The master is thankful, and awaits future shipments, but is concerned that you will be without a weapon.¡± ¡± My thanks for his concern, but unnecessary, I have another weapon I use. Now, if that is all we shall take our leave.¡± The three began to leave, and Helvina looked even more ill. ¡± One additional thing, the master has a question for the bedmate of lord Arthur.¡± Ok, wow, I was definitely going to have to teach him appropriate language. ¡± O-oh, um apologies master.¡± Sigh, just give them the question. ¡± W-well, ahem, the master would ask if you were sick at the moment, as he can sense there is much going on with your body.¡± ¡± Well, I have been sick for the past few days, but it''s nothing time and care won¡¯t handle, you needn¡¯t worry over me good dungeon.¡± Hmm ¡± The master reiterates that something is off with you, he senses two people in you, but he is unsure of what that means as one is, immaterial, I¡¯m sorry but I cannot speak the concepts that my master is telling me.¡± It wasn¡¯t that complex, I think, I was mostly concerned that in a world of magic, something like a soul parasite was a thing. I mean what would cause a woman to have two souls¡­. Realization dawned on my crystal-dense brain. Well, shit. And shit indeed, given the increasingly pale face on her face, seems she came to the same conclusion as I. ¡± I-I-I, I think I need to speak with our lord then.¡± Her voice was shaky, I take it that this wasn¡¯t meant to happen, at least not under these set of conditions. A sentiment that was shared by the other two, Lilly looked somewhere between scandalous and worried while Edward had this conflicted look of anger, disappointment, and just a hint of excitement. ¡°We need to leave now apologies great dungeon, but we must go, now.¡± I had my merchant wave them away, seems that things are going to get more complex, shit. I guess I''ll have to get a gift or something for the shower, assuming they did that sort of thing in this world. But I couldn¡¯t really do anything about that, with my only team of hobgobs gone with Arthur, and based on the lack of feedback from their connection, they were likely dead. For now, I¡¯ll try to make more, spawning another 30 on floor five, and giving them the simple order of getting stronger. I hoped that these would be able to withstand whatever problem Arthur and the others encountered out there, but that would mean I¡¯d have to start investing Dp into this group. It wouldn¡¯t be hard of course, I had plenty of Dp from the hibernation, so price wasn¡¯t a concern, only that by investing in them so heavily I¡¯d be slowing my progress towards the level six requirements.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! And speaking of them I looked them over.
Level 6 Requirements Place 25 rooms (25/25) Enable the internal creation of a tier-one exotic material (0/1) Create a tier-two tinker monster (0/1) Acquire 15 different monsters (14/15) Purchase and use ''Lesser Land Subsummation'' (0/1) (Optional)
What caught my eye the most, among the other eye-catching things, was the fact that it wanted me to make my own exotic stuff. Did this mean that I could automate tinker construction because that kicks open a damned cargo freighter of options and invention, I could go full mad scientist without worrying about losing too many resources. Another question was what exactly land subsummation was because I know the dictionary meaning of what that means, but I was rather lost on what it meant in this context. Also, what did optional mean for it?
Land subsummation allows for the dungeon to exert influence outside of the dungeon, not being entirely under its control but also allowing it to alter aspects to its desire. Some level requirements will have optional objectives that will reward the dungeon if they are fulfilled.
Is there any overt benefit?
In the long run, it can cause special flora and fauna to be produced, alternatively, if the effect causes living things to wilt and die it can attract the elemental forces appropriate to the dungeon''s theme.
So, nothing immediately then.
No.
Well, that sucks, and for the price of 750 it wasn''t a cheap thing either, if I buy it then I''ll need to plan according since I''m also considering other purchases which will likely take priority over an optional buy. Sigh Might as well move on then, what can you tell me about creating exotic materials then?
Exotic Material Creation: Exotic materials are material items formed from precise mana-heavy conditions that allow various materials to reform into more different ones with additional properties. This process is typically done in areas close to older dungeons or less traversed areas, however, the entire process can be accomplished by compressing mana into an object.
So, all I need to do is pack some mana into a pile of dirt and hope it works then?
Negative, the process is too precise for the core''s level factoring in the core''s intelligence, the dungeon will need to use a theme-interactive tool called a ''Tier 1 Exotic Catalyst''. This machine may be integrated with existing room spaces to generate various exotic materials daily. The machine may be purchased from the store.
First of all, rude, second, that didn''t sound bad at all. Getting exotic stuff on the daily would give me both the short and long-term ability to create tinkers, or even save up for some big killer robot. Pulling the store up, I found it, and by God was it expensive, 1000 whole ass DP, slightly under my total amount of 1200 after the six months and change. I''d still have enough for some minor things afterwards but most likely I wouldn''t be able to afford the hobgoblin upgrades for a long while. Besides, what is a tier-one material anyway?
Tier One Examples: Catalytic Copper, Zenith Zinc, Blastite, Imbued stone, Imbued lumber, Imbued water, Assorted imbued flora.
Interesting, I haven''t seen any of these, that I knew of, but if each of these could be used to make tinker stuff then it would be well worth it, and if nothing else I can sell it off to Arthur. Another thing actually, when I got deepsteel for the first time I got an upgrade option, is that the same for these?
Partially, if the dungeon receives any of these materials in sufficient amounts it will be granted a one-time upgrade. This rule applies to any exotic materials produced by the dungeon.
Interesting, very interesting, but also problematic. The catalyst could boost my overall performance massively and increase my odds of survival, but not only would it dampen my hobgoblin plans and any store-related ones, but it might paint a bigger target on my crystal back. Although it might not be a bad target, after all, the catalyst only works while I''m free, or so they''ll be told. Hmm Before I go forward with it, I''ll look over the upgrades and store stuff for the hobgoblins next.
Accelerated Evolution-750 DP Trades the hobgoblin''s unique adaptation ability for the chance to create new hobgoblin species when enduring unsuitable conditions.
Terraforming Spore Production-1500 Dp Removes their adaptation ability and replaces it with terraforming spores capable of transforming unsuitable environments into prime hobgoblin ones.
Non-Magical Adaptation-250 Dp Allows better adaptation to non-magical phenomena.
Magical Adaptation-300 DP Allows better adaptation to magical phenomena.
The Hobgoblin King- 500 Dp Allows for the creation of a special hobgoblin king.
They are what they eat- 500 Dp. Allows hobgoblins to consume biomass for the chance to absorb a unique physical trait originating from the consumed organism.
And from there the list just went on and on, some looked cosmetic more than anything, while others were definitely broken, for hobgobs that is. But what most of these were doing was better enabling the hobgoblin''s unique ability and diversifying how it functioned. Even besides the magic and non-magic ones, there were several dozen that allowed me to outright improve their adaptation and another hundred assorted options that added one or two pieces to their existing kit. One thing that got me was how expensive they were, like seriously, I thought these were only tier-two monsters?! Still, upgrades aside it did highlight the usefulness of the shop. It was an expensive tool but a tool it was, and with a steady stream of Dp, it would be wasteful to not at least consider using it every now and then. Actually, yeah, if Arthur was too slow with what I asked for I could easily just buy a gatcha roll on the monster option, I only needed one and it wasn''t that expensive in the scheme of things. But looking back, even with my steady income, 1000 Dp was a lot to spend, and if I focused on level six then it would be a long while before I gathered enough for my super hob squad, which if I went with that route meant I would not only upgrade the hobs with what I decided on but that I''d also embrace the shop more often. This wasn''t to say that I couldn''t use the shop more often later on, but I doubt I''ll keep it in mind once I''m busy getting more hobs prepared. Sigh I guess that puts a choice before me, I could pursue the next level and get a return on investment through the floor and options I would get, or I could upgrade my hobs and use the shop more often. Koboldo and Dryliet. Act 1, Scene 1. A Confrontation in the Machine Forest Two groups, both alike in duty, In fair floor five, where we lay our scene, From a few weeks'' grudge break to new mutiny, Where machine beast blood makes dryad hands unclean. From forth the nodes of these two foes, A pair of dungeon-crossed lovers try to take their life, Whose stupidity piteous overthrows, Doth with their ridiculousness bury their sibling''s strife, The remarkable passage of their unexpected love, and the ending of their sibling''s rage, Which, but their sibling''s punishment, could remove, Is now a chapter''s length, The which if you mind the strange language, Shall entertain for the evening.
We find a lone kobold wandering the machine forests, taking in the mechanical beauty of his home. That is until another kobold, one of his brothers fell down a hill, sliding on his back until he was at the feet of his sibling, lying in a small mound of stone and metal. " Hey, Ron." " Hey, Billy." " That hurt." Helping his brother up, he noticed that his body had unusual cuts and breaks in the scales, which could only be made by one creature on the floor. " I take it you''ve been near the grove then huh? You know they don''t welcome us anymore." " Of course, brother, but how could I say no when a perfectly polished and tempered boar was there, just waiting to be turned into a weapon, maybe some armor even." " And I take it the dryads weren''t too welcoming." " Bah, those soft-skinned tinkerers wouldn''t have appreciated my art anyway, too busy singing to fragile machines and metal beasts to understand true artisanry." " Hmph, I don''t normally get involved with them, but I do agree they are pretty-" SNAP " And do tell my lizards, we are pretty what exactly?" Lazily hanging off a tree was one of the many dryads, a beautiful being wearing old engineer''s attire. If she were among men, and some women, she would likely be their new goddess, of course, they were made to serve their lord maker, so they knew this fact not. " As I was saying, you dryads are pretty bad a seeing the pure beauty of our craft." If it wasn''t obvious, soon after their creation, both groups formed a rivalry, stemming mainly from the kobolds hunting the machine beast pets of the dryads for materials and the dryads sometimes seducing the guards and stealing all of the kobolds'' moss wine. There were other, minor, issue to be certain, but these were among the most repeated.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Hah, as if, your senseless hammering could in any way make up for the murder of our creations, in fact, Curie, let''s teach these boys a lesson." A second dryad emerged from a nearby tree, wielding a wicked shock spear. " This is for my birds." The scaled brothers looked at one another, and eagerly drew their weapons, Ron pulling out his hammer while Bill unfolded a... bronze chair? " Sigh, Bill, sweet brother, armpit smell of a sibling, WHERE is your spear?!" " Well aha, um, funny that Ron, I- have absolutely no idea." Ron took a deep breath in, and another out, of all his siblings Billy was possibly the only one who could just, lose, one of the best weapons their forge had ever made. " Let''s just, get through this." " You boys ready or what, we have the demonstration in two hours, it''ll take at least one and a half to get there." " Yeah, yeah, yeah you rusty tree trunk, look Bill, just step back, I''ll handle this." " But-but!" Despite his whining, Ron pushed him to the side, adopting the simple stance he had learned and practiced over his entire life. Much like her weapon of choice, the first dryad whipped forward, striking where his head was, only to meet his back. Grabbing the chain before she could pull back, Ron tugged hard enough to launch her forward, using the top of his hammer to strike her stomach, sending her back only to recover with a summersault. Not letting her recover Ron jumped forward with a vicious arc of his hammer, striking the ground and causing a spiderweb of cracks and rents along the surface. Not to be outdone, the dryad took the hand of her sister and spun around, rocketing her towards Ron with her crackling spear raised. As she sailed through the air her sister was not idle, summoning a storm of razor wire bramble to cut the crocodile-like being. Ron rolled to the side, using his recovery momentum to hammer his foe upward into the bramble. Predictably she was unharmed by it, but she would remain dazed long enough. As for the bramble, Ron spun so his back took the brunt of it, sparking against his iron-like hide. With a scream, the whip dryad began her assault anew, using Ron''s attempt at mitigating the bramble to tear away his weapon. Quickly he noticed this and grabbed the whip as it struck his side, feeling the pain of broken and lacerated scales and skin. Twisting uncomfortably, Ron wrapped the extended length around his arm, gritting his teeth at the barbs along the chain whip. Pulling back, he launched her towards him again, but this time she was prepared. Little known fact, not that anyone other than the kobolds would know, but dryads were really, really strong. Flipping around mid-air, she flew over him, twisting so that she was facing upwards, and wrapped her arms around his neck, spinning forward to brutally slam Ron into the ground. ¡° Huff-huff, that, took longer than I thought, huff, get up Aurum, we still need to get to-¡± CLANG Stars filled her vision as she fell to the ground, falling unconscious on top of her equally unconscious foe. ¡° YES! The chair wins AGAIN! Did you see that Ron- oh, you¡¯re still knocked out, damn.¡± ¡± Well, might as well see if these girls have any good loot.¡± Is what Bill would have done, if a visceral strike to his head hadn¡¯t knocked him out, courtesy of the now-recovered Aurum. ¡± Maker damn it, now I have to drag all three back, well, at least that other one is kinda cute.¡± This is again what she would have done, had two more people, previously hidden, not bashed her head in, a strike that would vaporize a human¡¯s soft skull, but for a dryad was only enough to give a headache in an hour or two. ¡± Sigh, I always think that my siblings have finally finished impressing me with how dumb they can be, and yet, here we are.¡± ¡± My sisters are hardly any different, in all honestly, they¡¯re fantastically focused and willing when it comes to tinkering and the like, but maker forbid they actually do things on time in any other situation.¡± ¡± Hear hear.¡± ¡± So, Forge master, what would you like to do about this bunch, I¡¯m partial to having the four of them hung over that endless pit of yours.¡± ¡± Well Grove Keeper, I was thinking we could invite the four of them to the planned party.¡± ¡± You''re rewarding them with a party?¡± ¡± Their task will be to ensure Koboldo and Dryliet don¡¯t cause even more issues.¡± ¡± Damn that¡¯s cruel, I love it. But we both know that they¡¯re going to cause something, those two are too stuck in their little world to NOT, make a scene.¡± ¡± Yeah, but the mental turmoil for these idiots will be worth it.¡± ¡± Nice. Well, since we¡¯re going to a party soon, I¡¯ll need to get these girls ready, you wouldn¡¯t mind getting some ambergrits ready, would you?¡± ¡± For you, always.¡± And with that, the large black and red kobold, the Forge Master of the kobolds, dragged his brothers away, planning their torturous punishment. Likewise, the tall and radiant dryad Grove Keeper departed as well, ready to reprimand her sister on several things, like why they didn''t win. Ch.37 After some deliberation, I decided to focus on my floor growth, which meant I now had a rather large [exotic catalyst]. It was a large metal sphere about the size of one of those giant inflatable balls you can climb into on the beach, so boulder-sized I suppose.
The [exotic catalyst] requires a precise floor to be affixed. Note: The catalyst''s efficiency is affected by floor level, the higher the floor, the better it will work.
Neat, and fair, more power, more work and all. If that''s the case, no better place than the boss room.
Boss Rooms are ineligible for placement.
...Which is what I would have done if I hadn''t thought of the fifth floor instead. Selecting the grotto, the large sphere began to unfold, sending thick pipes into the ground and cables to slither into the base of the trees, sparking occasionally with energy. As it stopped, I thought it had finished, but it proved me wrong. I could see water accumulating around the cabled trees, quickly creating a small lake. I even had to lower the ground just to keep it from flooding the area.
[Exotic Catalyst] Conditions (Primed) Materials (Ready) Hydrogen-bonding (Ready) All Systems are ready. Activate (Y/N)?
No time like the present, activate the catalyst. More panels unfolded on the sides, revealing two large hoppers that began to push out bricks of mixed metal, a waste byproduct according to the catalyst. But it didn''t stop there, simultaneously the ground pipes started flowing molten liquid through them into the machine as the cables began to release an almost invisible stream of gas. At one of the corners, a tray unfolded into a 3D printer setup, the casting arm slowly going back and forth as it started to print the metal onto the tray.
Printing Catalytic Copper... 0.1% complete.
That¡¯ll take a while then, still, it was progress gained, and now I had one less task to deal with. Moving on, a tier-two tinker. First, what is tier-two and why do I most likely not have it?
Tier-Two Exotic Materials Unlike the uncommon but natural tier-one materials, tier-two is almost entirely artificial, necessitating the service of a skilled alchemist or blacksmith. Examples: Alchemical Blood Iron Savage Bronze Imbued Minerals Treated Imbued Lumber Alternatively, the [Tier-Two Exotic Catalyst] can be purchased for 2000 DP.
Yeesh that was expensive, maybe in the future but definitely not for a while. Most likely I¡¯ll have to work something out with Arthur, hmm, although it might be better to start asking Edward for the time being, Arthur had a lot on his plate, even assuming he doesn¡¯t know about Junior by now. Is there any way one of my monsters could make one of these? I doubt I¡¯ll be making magic wood anytime soon, but the metals and minerals are a maybe.
Negative, creating tier two materials requires a level of mana control not possible in creatures that do not benefit from the system.
But why?Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Only [soul-bearing] entities benefit from the system in the manner necessary to create exotic materials, [dungeon-born] are not [soul-bearing].
Well, that¡­ sucks I guess, I mean it does make sense I suppose, it was something I distantly remember being told in the past, I think. Actually, now that I think about it, it¡¯s been getting pretty hard to think about my days before becoming a dungeon, I wonder what that¡¯s about? It might just be me but have I been, forgetting, what it was like to be human, the physical memories that is?
The system is unaware of any outside tampering with the dungeon¡¯s previous existence, it has no observable effect on the dungeon, and the system assures the dungeon that everything is fine.
Well, if you say so then. But if I can¡¯t make them in-house, I¡¯ll just have to trade for it. Moving on, again. The final requirement would be the fifteenth monster, and that would be the easiest problem to solve. I had plenty of avenues to get another monster, from the shop to Arthur, it was something that could be solved right now. In-fact, before we even contact Arthur let''s take a look at our shop options.
Random Low-Tier Monster- 15 DP Monster level 1-10 Random Special Monster- 200 DP Monster level 1-100
Random Medium-Tier Monster- 30 DP Monster Level 20-50 Random Environmental Critter- 5 DP Aesthetic Purpose
Random High-Tier Monster- 150 DP Monster Level All levels 51 and above. Random Functional Critter- 5 DP Functional Purpose
Random Existing Monster Variant- 120 DP Level Dependent on Monster. Random Miscellaneous plant life- 5 DP Large packets of assorted plants.
Ok, I definitely don''t remember them being that expensive, what happened, dungeon inflation?
In a manner of speech, yes.
Well shi-
The reason for the price adjustment is due to several factors, the majority of which are unavailable to the dungeon at this moment. What is available is that with the increased level of the dungeon, the state of [planar malleability] has decreased, necessitating more DP to perform the standard level of various tasks.
Wait are you saying that this actually is dungeon inflation, and is only going to get worse as I get bigger?
Contributing factors are currently unavailable, ask again at a higher dungeon level.
Ok, be that way. Sigh If that''s the case then, it might be better to get shop stuff now rather than later. Currently, I only have 200 after buying the catalyst which meant I could buy any one option, some of them several times. My problem was if that would be worth it though, if I cheap out now I could lose a good deal on something else, but if I take that deal then I could be getting ahead of myself and not getting what I actually need right now. What this meant was that I was now having a magical dungeon headache as I pretended to pet Wormy, my hand would just pass through him, but he seemed to enjoy it. If I choose to buy a monster then I would be buying it at what will be the cheapest price from now until infinity, and on the other hand, if I save my cash and have Arthur give me something then I''ll probably, maybe, potentially, be better prepared to afford things in the future. Another thing to think about is that pretty much all of the options are also out of my scope to use properly, if I buy something too high level then I won''t be able to use it properly, but something too low level would be a waste in the long term since it would stop being upgraded past whatever its max is. On top of that, I still had to keep myself open and ready to move, metaphorically, based on the movements of the sects, meaning I should also leave some DP for more defensive upgrades or more traps. What do you think Wormington, what wisdom does the worm of the hole have for me? ... Assertive wiggle No, I- wait, that''s not half bad. Confused wiggle No, that''s quite alright Wormington, you have fun eating and pooping, and whatever else a giant worm does in its free time. I descended to the fifth floor to see how well the plan would work. He didn''t have a face, but if he did, Wormington Wormsworth would look very confused right now, all he did was wiggle, where had his master''s great idea come from?
Perhaps I could kill several dozen birds with on crystal rather than bang my head against a wall. My issue is that I¡¯m stuck between choosing now or later, paralyzed by the thought that I could be wasting my money. But a (relatively) simple solution came from Wormy, these fanatics were fucking loaded, it was a goldmine of shit to take. And I so happen to have the perfect helpers to do that for me, my smallest soldiers, my squeakiest boys and girls, my whispered warriors. I was speaking of course about my cute lil rats. So go my lovelies, and steal everything not bolted down, and then the bolts! The Great Rat Theft We set our eyes on a place known only to the small, furry creatures of the dungeon, the ones who clean up the mess left by intruders and graciously liberate them of their valuables. Of course, this refers to the rats, rust-red fur, cute little eyes, and the best kleptomaniacs on the mountain. For this reason, their maker chose them for a specialized mission requiring great skill and precision. Steal everything you find. Glorious words that unfortunately didn¡¯t translate perfectly, but that was alright, for the rats took it to mean that their maker wished them to be themselves, just a bit more intensely. So, here they were in their burrow, planning their great heist. ¡°Squeak¡± A worm rider states, his plan is flawless. ¡±Squueeack?¡± Says a part collector, uncertain of the worm rider¡¯s plans. ¡±Sque-¡± But before their dialogue could continue, a newcomer barged in, barely fitting into the space with their massive form. ¡± Chitter.¡± Says the newcomer. Oh, the assembly thought, a rat from the lower levels, big and fat from the power and feasts that were in abundance down there. It was a rare occasion for someone from below the second floor to come up this high, they always complained of the ¡®not-air¡¯ being too thin. ¡°Squeak?¡± For what purpose does one of the deep-level rats come before the Assembly, they are in the middle of carrying out the maker¡¯s wishes and are soon to take their leave. ¡°Hiss, chitter!¡± Scandalous, but perhaps true. Indeed, the upper levels were many, but they lacked the power and ability to steal things worthwhile, the newcomer¡¯s accusation was thus simple, but scandalous, the assembly of rats was insufficient to serve their master, such that this deep-level rat wished to challenge their leader for control of the Assembly. Many of those gathered whispered amongst each other, that such a thing had never happened before, and even more, how would it happen? The assembly was formed by the first rats ever made, forming an assembly to reap the bounty of the outside world and order themselves. It was far from perfect though, often Assembly members would fight each other over minor issues, only for the lack of leadership to allow the issue to spiral out of control, resulting in messes like the¡­ incident. Because of this, those gathered were uncertain as to how to respond to the large rat¡¯s challenge, would they elect a champion, or all fight them? ¡±Squeak!¡± It seems the choice was made for them then, a rat from the third floor had answered the challenge. The two stood across from one another, each sizing the other up, a task that wasn¡¯t terribly difficult for the newcomer seeing as they were still a good whisker¡¯s length taller. ¡°Squeak?¡± ¡±Hiss.¡± It was agreed, that their fight would be the mission their master gave them, whoever gets the most and best stuff would become the first-ever leader of the Rat Assembly.
Third-Floor Rat, or Three as its brain simplified, had gathered the best thieves of the Assembly. Rats who were skilled in infiltration, distraction, and theft, each had cut their teeth on the valuables of the intruders, and each had proven their worth in the past. Its plan was simple, they had been ordered to take everything but for both the competition and their master it was better for them to focus on the true valuables.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. They began by sneaking through the friendly human¡¯s den, the humans inside knew to not touch them, at first it was an order from their lord but quickly they learned why. Despite being rats themselves they never ate the fortress¡¯ food nor spread disease, instead, they were often seen digging out regular rats and disposing of them, often taking them into the dungeon. For this reason, Three and his team maneuvered through without incident, making their way across the gap between the fortress and the road leading below. Once they all got across, the plan had begun. Quickly they made their way to their target, ignoring the other human dens in favor of their target, a group with the image of a chain on their flag. Making their way around, through, under, and over the sentries, they found themselves in the room of what was surely an important human, he was covered in expensive clothing made from the best silks and embroidered with silver and gold, not that the rats knew this, all they saw was a pile of shiny equipment. Equipment they knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to get away with while the human was here, asleep or not. Getting to work, Three had their distractor begin to jostle the man awake, rapidly opening and closing a lampshade using a strange button on the side, flashing the sleeping man for a minute straight before he roused from his slumber. ¡°By the gods, the hell do you want?!¡± ¡±I-I don¡¯t know what you mean lord-commander?¡± The guard didn¡¯t know why his superior was angry, only that it would be very, very bad for him. ¡± That flashing, someone¡¯s doing it, and I certainly don¡¯t see anyone but you, now answer.¡± ¡± We-well I-I¡­¡± Three snickered, as easy as fly pie. Still, the human was still too close, and thankfully the distractor was up to the task, they quickly scuttled stealthily to another and began to flash the duo again. ¡± Hmph, seems you are innocent of this, find the one who is doing that and bring them to me, and I¡¯ll hold you accountable.¡± The guard let out a pathetic noise, halfway between an actual word and a cry. He left his lord and began to head to the flashing lamp, leaving the paladin commander alone. ¡°Grumble, I¡¯ll have to have Chancey recast the barrier, if some simpleton or child decided this is some game then I¡¯ll show them the mercy of the lord of chains.¡± With that he went back inside, his sleep-addled mind not noticing the retreating tails and hairs of the rats. This human would be an issue and a big one at that. Their maker hadn''t said it explicitly, but they very much understood that they needed to be quiet with this mission, something that wouldn''t be possible if this man stayed in the tent. The damned part of it though, was that aside from the valuable shinies themselves there was little they could use to deal with him. Sniffing around, he couldn''t help but notice a strange pungent odor coming from a nearby box, a terrible smell for a human, but delectably attractive for a rat, perhaps there was cheese in this box! Three quickly knew he must see in this box, surely food was just as good as shinies, right? But as he and his comrades started to work the lock and surrounding wood he found himself being thrown out, and standing by the human''s smelly box was the deep-level rat surrounded by others from his level. "Hiss!" Beat it, in what could be called rat language. Three and his team ran, rats they both were but the difference in strength was simply too large for him to risk his or his crew''s life, they had pups to return to. That being said, they still needed to find something. Since their primary target was taken, they had little choice but to choose from the others, perhaps the shiny bird people would be worthwhile- BANG The rats were blasted far by a massive shockwave that came from their original target. Panicking, he and the others ran for cover, desperate to hide from the humans that had begun to swarm the blast site. Jumping into a shaken thatch hut their luck went from bad to worse. Six humans in all-black clothing wielding knives stood there, a human wearing similar clothes to the ones they saw walking around was being hurt, strange Three thought, he believed humans would like each other like he did his siblings. "...Familiars?" The small lady-looking human spoke softly, almost silently. But as she started to understand what was before her the tallest of the group lunged for them. "Stop you idiot...!" But Three wouldn''t waste time figuring out what that was or who they were. Running around and through the legs of rushing humans, he found himself in the center area of the human den. Seeing and smelling no one inside he and the others jumped down. Taking a moment to catch their breath and calm their nerves, they heard the humans begin to talk. "-Avenge the lord-commander! We will not let this sin abide, so take up your spears, swords, and staves, we march on them now, for the lord-commander!" Another lady human was yelling, what, the rats had little idea, but what interested them was what their noses had sniffed out. Ignoring the cries and yelling behind them, the tiny thieves couldn''t believe their eyes. Before them was a pile of shinies, sharp ones, dull ones, ones made of paper, and others made of crystals. All manner of treasure laid there, all for someone like them to take! So, while a great and terrible battle took place outside, all the rats could think of was how long it would take to get this back to the den! Ch.38 + Edward 6 There I was, admiring the view, looking out on foreign stars, taking in the majesty of the cosmos. I had some free time after sending out the rats and was eagerly awaiting their return, looking up to the sky as I waited. It hit me months ago, but just sitting there, watching unknown constellations and stars, seeing a sky untouched by pollution or filled with planes and satellites parading as distant stars. I sat and wondered if Earth was somewhere out there, perhaps one of those distant lights was home. And then the bottom of the mountain exploded. It came in a great plume of fire and smoke, briefly illuminating the mountainside. What followed it were the roars of men and women with the clash of metal soon after. I couldn¡¯t see most of what was going on, but what little I could see was frantic, messy, and brutal. The relatively quiet tent city had exploded into action. Scores of people were shifting and moving, not all fighting but many scurrying around like ants. What I could see, was that people were hunkering down, those not directly in the fight were trying to keep themselves out by staying put and keeping others out, while a few others were taking advantage of the commotion to make trouble, given the newer fights that were springing up here and there. It was Edward that broke my attention, he and one of the regular guards rushed in, all but jumping from the lift to get here sooner. ¡± Dungeon, huff, doubtless you¡¯ve seen things outside.¡± ¡± Indeed, the master has noticed the¡­ events outside, what might be the reason?¡± ¡± We are uncertain, but Arthur believes some of them may attempt to barge in while things are chaotic. He asks that you be on high alert, we will also be unable to grant you additional help aside from the additional guards we have assigned, the fort¡¯s new arms master, ser Balkan, is among those present when the agreement was made. He has a good head and steady hand.¡± ¡± It was to my maker¡¯s understanding that there was another in the post?¡± ¡± Ah well¡­ after the loss of the previous one, we had considered another, but he proved, problematic.¡± Hmm, very well then. But before the pleasantries went further another blast echoed through the hall. Looking outside, some idiot managed to hit the mountainside again. BANG. Hey idiots, kill each other without blasting my mountain! Jeeze it was almost like they were trying to hit- BLAST. Oh crap, I think they were! ¡± The master believes someone is attacking us.¡± Edward gave the merchant a ¡°no shit¡± look. ¡° Indeed dungeon, I must return to my brother to handle this mess out, ser Balkan will maintain a watch with his men, but they cannot offer aid if someone were to enter the dungeon but they have been ordered to keep anyone out.¡± With that he did a fast walk back out, using magic to block the debris from another explosion. ¡° The master would like to offer some water.¡± ¡± Wouldn¡¯t mind it for the boys, no rust in it?¡± ¡± Eh¡± ¡± Fair enough.¡± What a weird duo these two make. I guess I''ll start getting things into shape then, perhaps I''ll try to get in touch with my hobgoblins.
The brief meeting with the dungeon went oddly well, not that it should have been surprising, in all honesty. Still, that wouldn''t be the hard part, that would be figuring out exactly who was blasting the fortress, like some academy newman hopped up on fire salts. Walking through the corridors Ed came to a meeting room near the rear of the fort with a decent view of the dungeon''s entrance. In it were the key notables of the castle, sans the Arms Master. Sitting was the newly chosen slash-elected castellan, ser Uriecht Strig, of the striggan people, a large bulky man who was originally a captain among Arthur''s forces, he was offered the position on account of the good word of his subordinates and fellow captains as well as already having been a potential candidate for a similar position in one of the Nightingale cities, Maystrum. Next to him was the Quartermaster, Donald, appointed to the position out of the need for someone to fill the spot, he was good if a somewhat poor choice, originally a skilled blacksmith, but he was unfortunately the only pleasant choice they had, didn''t help that despite boasting a strong body from his intense work, he was as meek as a mouse and had a terrible slouch. The third spot was meant for the Sorcerous advisor, a court wizard or manor mage as they are sometimes called, and was originally given to Helvina, a controversial choice but few argued against it. However, given light of her new condition she had been unanimously ordered to remain in her quarters until the mess outside was dealt with, and in her stead was Lily, a trained mage, if of a different specialty than Helvina. Together they made the critical fortress staff, with Ed taking the place of commander for the moment. "I want solutions and ideas people; time is short, and lives are at stake." Uriecht went first. "Our scouts have confirmed that most of the damage is coming from a near battalion of kannorites." "Hmm, have they delivered any demands, threats, or possible motives?" "None so far, but I believe we are not their main target as a reported paladin was seen marching across the battlefield, leaving behind most of her forces to deal with other groups." The presence of a paladin was always on Ed''s mind, but confirmation solidified the threat. "But why engage us, she gains nothing by harming us." "I um uncertain my lord, only that they are." "I''m not a lord, that is reserved for my brother, regardless, what of you Donald, Lily?" "Perhaps they are attacking both of us? Making use of the chaos to hurt us?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Hmm, not a terrible idea, the chaos could give them the benefit of the doubt in a pinch, but a proper commander, especially a paladin, would never make such a move, not without other factors coming together. " Lily?" "...I can only speak as a simple mage, but if they''re trying to keep us in here then wouldn''t that mean they are trying to get something done? Even if it''s non-magical, ser Uriecht did mention a score of soldiers heading out from the main group." " Arms Master, any thoughts?" The room shook. " Best we can tell, they are heading in the direction of the Kruul camp or perhaps the Leighlash camp, we aren''t certain right now." Kruul and Kannor have never had a good relationship, at least according to scripture and story. One desired clean-cut carnage between equals while the other was infamous for encouraging shady plots and the worst of people. His brother''s plan was interesting in that he could see it working if things went correctly but with all the chaos that''s happened Edward would have preferred it if they only had to deal with a single malignant sect, rather than most of the Outer Church. The only real benefit Ed saw was that they didn''t have to deal with the proper Kannorite church, these hedge priests and swill water clerics could barely hold a candle to the real thing at the empire''s core. Even the paladin commanders in the Outer territories were but laymen and women to those with access to the oldest of dungeons and most sacred of relics. And this wasn''t even mentioning the shit show that was the hatred between the goddess of freedom and the god of control and their chosen peoples. " Is there any way we could get men into the fray, try and beat them into order?" " Unlikely L-ser, the magic they''re throwing at us is keeping us away for the moment, it is thanks to the lady Helvina and Mage Lilian that the stonework is only somewhat loosened." " Any input on said magic, Lily?" " Huh, oh, yes, they''re using simple fire magic, real explosion magic would erode the wards and enchantments we cast." " And what of the counter defenses you installed?" " The conditions haven''t been met for them to activate. We need to actually fight back for them to work." Damn it. Another band resonated through the room. " We can''t just let them attack us freely, is there any way we can deal with their mages?" " I could try casting some counterspells, but I''m not great at them, not yet anyway." " Arms Master?" " While I'' have already reprimanded him, one of our soldiers threw a stone at them, it didn''t hurt anyone, but it hit them without interference." " Good then, I want you to assemble the best archers we have and have them assemble along the walls, but do not let them be seen, have them hide just under the ramparts." " Anything else ser?" " No, now go." He left walking but by the loud footsteps, he started running as soon as he left the room. " Donald, I want you to prepare the castle for a protracted battle, have our food and water guarded closely, and let no one in until I say so, you may take five men with you along with those already assigned." " Y-yes ser." He left a lot less politely. " Lily, I want you to-" " Join the men on the ramparts? I can easily help them if nothing but to heal them." "-Join lady Helvina in her room" " What no! I may not be entirely cut for this position you unceremoniously dumped on me, but I''m not some invalid!" " No, you are not, but in light of Helvina''s... condition, and the fact that my brother still hasn''t come back, and perhaps won''t, I need you to watch over her until things become safe again." " But I- you..." " Look, you are a brilliant mage, and my... friend, but our feelings on the matter no longer matter, she might be carrying the next heir if things go wrong and if my brother doesn''t return and she dies, then this skirmish will fall into an all-out war between my family and the sects." "...sigh, fine." " Thank you." " Once this is over, I''m leaving, crime or not." " I... understand." She walked out, disappointed, and perhaps a bit sad, but they could ill afford emotions at a time like this. Ed made his way to the dungeon once again.
I had finished rousing my forces to level 5 on the alert meter when Edward walked back into my home. "Dungeon, I would ask for aid once again." "The master will hear." "I am in the process of getting ready to deal with the situation, but it is not that I need help with. I need to know if you can find my brother for me, he is somewhere in all of that, mess." Huh, well I have negative reasons to not help him, might as well. And after buying a cheap upgrade for the hobgobs, I could finally see through them, it was wild and weird, but I could see. Why hadn''t I gotten this before? In addition to seeing through their eyes, I could also command them. "Yesss masster!" He had a hissy voice, but nothing unworkable, this one wasn''t born in my dungeon but despite that, I could still feel a connection all the same. Quickly he crawled out of the hobgoblin nest I had established, an already large (by human standards) cavern filled with ramshackle huts and fire pits. It was difficult to see once you left the things, but this guy knew how to get back. Running back up the mountain and around awkward groups uncertain if they should be fighting or not, we found ourselves looking up at the main battle, a clash of chaos and brutality. It was nothing like a movie and nothing like a book, waves of poorly fed, overworked, and dangerously faithful servants with swords and spears were pushing against similar waves of enemies. Commanders shouted and screamed orders, occasionally beating their subordinates. I''d make a joke about how the dead shit themselves, but I still couldn''t smell despite taking partial control over this body, but was for certain was that I doubted half of the men laying in the mud would be killed by blade or magic, most likely they''ll suffocate in the dirt, trampled by either comrades or enemies. Ignoring the worst of it, I did find Arthur and a pickle was one word for what I found him in. Of his group of... one, two... a couple of people, only he and three others remained, with a few unknown people dressed in all black among the dead. The three were tired and hurt but otherwise fine, while Arthur himself seemed to be the worst off with a knife sticking out of his side and arm, rendered useless by the damage. Against him was a group of five well-armed people, dressed in grey and black with what I assume was the leader wearing a fist-shaped necklace. "A shame your little ploy didn''t work as well as you thought lord Nightingale, a shame it''s come to this, our master did enjoy your attempts." Wheeze "And a shame I didn''t get to feed his poppy-addled corpse to the dungeon, at least that way someone would benefit from being around him." "Oh yes, there is also the matter of the dungeon to discuss as well, your little game with it will have to end I''m afraid, but don''t worry, soon we''ll give it some nice jewelry to make up for you." "It''ll kill you." "It will try." The leader began to stalk closer to Arthur, dagger in hand and murder in their eyes, I think. I needed to act fast, real fast, if he dies then there''s no telling what will happen.
Notice Individual: Arthur Nightingale has been detected with increasingly dangerous levels of demonic corruption. Current Amount: 35%
The percentage was only climbing from there, not quickly, but steadily. Given the pace they were at and with a new round of pre-death banter, I had a minute or two to think. What exactly does corruption do and why shouldn''t I just ignore you and jump straight in?
Expediting Explanation... Corruption makes mortals more demonic, eventually leading to blood sacrifice and demonic incursion. At present it should be no more than heightened aggression and thoughts of violence.
Is it guaranteed to happen, when did he even start getting corrupted?
Expediting... It is not guaranteed, it is however more likely the higher corruption grows.
So, I can either save him and he might start going all blood cultist and ripping hearts out for some reason, or let him die. ... Of course, nothing. Moving my guy closer I put him in the perfect position I could get without being seen, his stench and other indicators were muted thanks to the smell of the field. I could jump out and save him, probably lose my guy, or let it happen, and let him die on the chance of him going crazy later on. The lady was in position, Arthur was ready to run, and I could jump out fast enough to intercept, all I needed to do was choose. Ch.39 + Charles Charles Trimenous was the fourth son of a knightly house serving the Bordars, a barony under the Nightingales. His family had all they needed and slightly more, enough to keep them fed and clothed, enough to get the first son and daughter a proper education and resources, enough to seem good enough to their peers, but not enough for their other children. With ten children they struggled to provide the same luxuries for the other eight that they offered the oldest son Damon, who would one day inherit the house, and the eldest daughter, Gwendolyn, who would likely marry into another family, likely another knight house or if the gods willed it, one of the dozen barons that dotted the Nightingale lands. With this in mind, the issue of who to send was not which of the two eldest to send, but who among the spares was capable but disposable. The first picks were their second oldest son and daughter, capable but indisposed, too busy with their money-making ventures or attending to their assigned ladies to be disrupted. So, it fell the second picks, Charles and his younger brother, the fifth son, Glausmen, an odd name from the strange people called "The Strig", probably degenerates, Charles thought. Their initial belief was that their time would be under the Paramount Lord Uther Nightingale, only to be corrected that his son and heir Arthur would be leading the charge. A small difference, but perhaps a better one they reasoned, after all, they swore allegiance to Uther, but it would be Arthur who would reign for Damon and Gwen''s lives. After meeting with the main host, they traveled to the increasingly bitter north, crossed small towns and hamlets, and dealt with the odd monster or two until they reached the mountain. At first, a small part of his mind thought that the lords would provide decent transport, perhaps even magical if they were lucky, but no such luck came to be. Using refreshing magic and their overloaded supplies, they would travel a distance that would normally take half a year in, well, half of the time. It was during this journey that both he and his brother learned why some people would turn traitor against their lord, if it wasn''t the food or endless shouting by the sergeants, it would have been the mind-numbing amount of marching. But, once they got to the mountain things looked up, and then down again. Their first real battle (he did not count those disgusting fish things) was against Greebles of all things, but seeing as they had cracked demon worship it was only right that they kill them all. It was only afterward that he and several others were told exactly why they were there, rather than some distant castle for the young lord or one of his siblings, they were to construct a proper fortress to utilize a newborn dungeon that the young lord''s bastard brother had found. He was skeptical of course, bastards weren''t the most trustworthy of sort and his father spent a considerable sum disposing of them when he found them, but Lords Uther and Arthur vouched for the cretin often so they had little choice but to follow their lord''s command. Thankfully the bastard did tell the truth, likely only to buy time until he pulled something, but for now he was acceptable. From there it felt as though time flew, and a new routine was set, wake up, do chores, make a mistake, get yelled at, eat, practice, patrol, eat again, get yelled at some more, sleep, and then repeat. A seemingly endless affair that he was growing tired of each day, only made worse by his brother''s utter adoration for such a lifestyle and refusal to strive for more than being some commander of peasants. So when a traitor popped out of gods know where, Charles nearly considered joining them, until he later heard that the dungeon had consumed him anyway. It was only when one of the lord''s advisors approached him with something appropriate to his station that things began to look up, the chance to become a champion. Such a thing was the dream of almost all boys and certainly many men, the chance to rip great and terrible power from the dirty holes in the ground that spewed out all matter of unworthy creatures. But something Charles had forgotten about the tales of champions long since passed was that they didn''t start as champions, they started as students. And students they were, having been placed under the command of a rat, of all things when he tried to show it that he was it''s better, it hit him! Taking that offense to his direct ''superior'', some half-wit, about what the beast had done hadn''t solved anything, the man merely nodded and remarked that it must have gone easy with him! It was from that dreadful day that he became determined if his shit of a commander couldn''t see nor was willing to correct the beast''s behavior then he would!Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Only to get beaten, again. And again. And again. Until months had passed, and Charles stopped complaining, or rather, he stopped thinking much of anything. It isn''t clear to him, or to those around him when it happened, but something in him broke, something that was holding him back. He became quiet, reserved, but not shy as he was willing to show the normal workers and guardsmen, but some part of his felt as if it had been cut away with a knife. In the scarce moments he had to himself he would also question it, only to remember the pain of such... unpleasant thoughts, so he stopped questioning, and worked. This wasn''t something Charles alone felt either, all of those who had made it were experiencing something similar, their worries, hates, fears, and all baser disgusts just, transformed into something else. Fear of the beasts and such things became a kind of kinship, they felt closer to the powerful monsters they had trained with than their normal human and elf comrades. Ignorance became knowledge, of both the body and how petty their previous issues and thoughts were. Hate, while still very much there, had become both a fuel and a fire in their bodies. They didn''t know it but they had become attached to the dungeon and the simple power it offered, this, Charles mused, was likely why so many adventurers were desperate to find and stay inside dungeons, it was a clean knife that cut away at unnecessary thoughts and feelings, leaving behind only the best and most resilient parts of them. And it would be in the dungeon''s protection that they would use those skills, for the dungeon and lord Arthur. Following his commander''s orders, he took up his bow and drew, aiming straight for an enemy magic user. "Loose!"
The blade sunk into the hobgoblin''s back, cutting the spine and into the abdominal organs, the pain was brief but fierce, and seconds later he died. In the brief moments before though, I could see Arthur scramble into the fighting, hanging his head low to avoid being recognized, likely he was using it to lose his attackers. I soon lost sight of what happened afterward, they were outside my vision and mixed in with the chaos below. I can only hope that he made it from there. It was doubtful I could sneak anything into the scramble, nothing worth it anyway, so instead I focused on helping Edward defend the fortress. The obvious issue was that I couldn''t really help, without potentially exposing the deal and rallying the sects against us. Although, they likely think Arthur and Ed have been plundering my halls since they got here, technically true, and one that will let me play out a small fantasy I had back on Earth. Arms dealing, kinda, it''ll make more sense once I''ve been able to air it out with... Baldwin? "...." "The master would like to speak with you." "...." "My master is growing somewhat annoyed, it would be best to speak with him, as requested." "...." Ok, I guess that''s not the way to go, at least not like this. "Oh no, look out soldier a monster comes this way." The room was shaken by another hit. A gang of clockworkers were slowly making their way over, somehow comical in their movements, clearly not trying to be a threat despite their cold exterior. "...Alright that''ll work." He cleared his throat. "Ahem, it seems as though we''ll need to deal with some escaping monsters, men, attack!" None of them looked particularly enthused, not when they spent the last few months working and getting used to similar ones in back-breaking labor. Still, these weren''t the ones they actually had worked with, those were still safely in the fort storeroom, so they were able to destroy them swiftly. Thanks to my dungeon powers, I was able to influence the drops, giving multiple sets of swords and tools from each of the four workers, it was rather expensive, mana-wise, to make such a change, but it should be worth it. "The blades are decent, nothing too fancy or unexpected." "They feel oddly balanced, almost too balanced even." "That''s enough, Roland, take them to the quartermaster and inform him they were ''taken'' from the dungeon, after that, grab some rations for each of us and head back." "Yes, sir." The two of them stood there rather awkwardly, the guard not strictly allowed to talk but also not allowed to leave my guy unattended. It took a little over an hour before we got his guy back. "I''d say good work but clearly you weren''t listening soldier, I said-" "Our men have started firing back ser, the ser castellan has ordered the men to shoot arrows a the ones blasting the mountain and fort!" "He what! Ben, you''re in command until I get back, do not leave under any circumstances, am I understood!" "Yes, ser!" He quickly ran into the fortress, somewhere between anxious and angry. If Edward was getting them into the fight, then that might have opened them up to more dangerous things if the guy''s expression was anything to go by. A fear I was unfortunately correct on, it was still distant, but I could feel the grasping aura of a paladin. It seems like the next phase of the fight is starting. Ch.40 What was now clearly a paladin ripped through the fortress doors like twine rather than reinforced wood. Like a terrible war machine, she shot into the gatehouse, caving in one man''s chest and nearly cutting the next one''s head off with a backward strike of her blade. Around her was an almost tangible aura of fear and power, it barely affected me, but I could clearly see its effect on the men below. Roaring in a challenge, the Nightingales stormed forward, spears, swords, and the odd mace moved as one against her, they failed of course, but it seemed the lady paladin''s goal wasn''t the men, only something inside the fort. I tried to keep up with her, but it was almost impossible given the difference between her and the rat I was seeing through, still, I could roughly tell the trajectory based on the mental map I had, and to put it simply, it was fucked. Quickly I transferred to another rat closer to the lord''s chamber where Helvina was pacing back and forth, muttering some magical curse or another. Huff "Vermin? I''m fairly sure I have a spell for that somewhere... Wait, you''re one of the dungeon''s, what are you doing here?" I had the large rat pull at her robes toward the door, it wasn''t safe here now, and despite things being what they were I wouldn''t risk the child of a friend and ally. "Hey, hold on what exactly is your deal, we''re safe-." CRASH Fuck, she got through the last doors. "...Oh, very well then, I''ll need a moment to gather some essentials." Come the hell on lady, I''m only trying to save your damn life! The faithful rat pulled harder, some of its smaller kin squeezed into the room and began helping it. They couldn''t move her alone, but it conveyed the message. She gave a huff and started following the swarm out and through the winding passageways, each built to impede a person''s sword arm. As we drew closer to the dungeon, the sound of breaking stones and creaking wood, and as Helvina was getting the heavy door leading to the lift I saw the lady paladin round the corner, eyes full of murder and blade wreathed in a sick green. She had the kind of face most would call beautiful, were it not for the brand across her face. "Stay still bitch and submit!" Outside of this already weird situation, that sounded weird, but I say no to all of that. As critters, the rats couldn''t meaningfully hurt most things, but nothing said they couldn''t be a distraction, and when she took a step forward, I swarmed her with all the vermin I could muster around her. They nibbled, scratched, and squeaked, climbing all over her body and face trying every and all tricks they knew to keep her away. She had trouble with numbers, or at the very least she had difficulty with such small ones, but even if each swing killed one or two rats more took its place. After a panicked few seconds, Helvina got the door open by getting the guards to help. She swiftly ran onto the lift with the guards and entered my dungeon. Releasing control of the rats, I saw the paladin burst through the doors, throwing the few remaining rats far. With a snarl, she began to climb up the cliff face and all but ripped her way in. She curbed stomped the spiders and was looming over the retreating Helvina and guard in the clockworker room, she straightened herself out, still with murder in her eyes. "If you would kindly surrender now, we have oh so much to talk about, lady-" "Fuck you, [Penumbral water blade]!" From Helvina''s staff, a torrent of pitch-black water cut the enemy, breeching the paladin''s armor and aura but doing nothing otherwise. Despite not injuring her you could see the rage building on her face, whether about being interrupted or her armor getting damaged I couldn''t tell, could be either. Still, either way, she was massively pissed off. She lunged forward only to be met by the workers, giving the Nightingales a chance to run further in, making it to the fourth floor in record time with some speed spell and me showing them the way. The paladin wasn''t just sitting around though, no, she was raising absolute hell on the second floor after ripping apart the first. In her destruction of my work, I could see the line that separated a hack job like that first guy and this lady, the dude was wild and random, drunk on power that wasn''t his given by a patron who couldn''t care less about him, unlike this finely honed weapon of a servant. She melded savagery and skill, quick, deadly, and more than anything, under control. She would enter a room, rush the weakest link in the given situation, and slowly or quickly disassemble my monsters or traps. Already she was upping her pace seeing she was at the barracks.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She stepped through the door after bashing the face of the last rancher in with the pommel of her sword. The rats had already assembled to meet her challenge. I-I know they don''t care about their survival, even relish the fact that they''ll likely die for me at some point. But damn it, they were mine, my monsters, my people, mine! The commander stood at the front, leveling her sword toward the intruder. "You are as foolish as you are hideous invader, know this, we shall not fail, for our lord has never failed, AND WE ARE WITH OUR LORD, CAN YOU SAY THE SAME WENCH!" They screamed as they ran forward, the paladin barreling into their ranks. They tore at her with blades, spears, and claws, ripping hair and bruising skin, she fought back by bisecting the one in front of her, backhanding another''s head off, and caving in another''s chest with a forward kick. It was unfair, cruel, and downright sadistic of her to kill my precious minions with such ease. I could feel my growing anger fighting with the empty hole that was likely my ''dungeon instinct'', I was switching from wrath to apathy which was only escalating my rage. She tore through more until she held the final by his throat, it was the cook, a goofy rat in a goofy chef''s outfit. He made a weak squeak, and looked at me, not just in my direction, but truly at me. He spoke, barely audible, and with great pain. "How wonderous a life it has been." She crushed him, her controlled facade showing the slightest of cracks. Apathy gave way to rage, and from rage came hatred. It felt thick and caustic in my non-existent gut, an almost addicting sensation that made me want to rip her apart like she did my ratkin and a million other horrific things that sang sanguine satisfaction. My wrath only grew as she massacred her way across the third and fourth floors, she didn''t kill everyone, Bellona and several others were alive from the third, and the mage rat was only the only one left of the fifth, still in an intense battle with the paladin who seemed to know exactly how to screw over magic users. Thankfully the others had escaped to the boss room, the bad news, they were in the boss room. The machine mother wouldn''t hurt them but there was no stopping the environment. She swung her sword towards his neck, her face showing more emotion each time she got deeper. "[Sprint]!" Thankfully the mage was a slippery one. He maneuvered himself away from the strike, countering with a barrage of stone bricks blasting her holy aura like bullets from a gun. With a flick, he shouted two spells as the last few bricks flew. "[Monolithic chains], [stone to steel]!" A large pillar rose behind her, catching her legs and wrists which she immediately started tearing out, only to be slowed down by the stone manacles transforming into metal. "[Headhunter earth shot]." A serrated metal spear formed from the stonework; it started spinning before shooting toward her head. This was it; she would die! "[Reverse magic!]" Instead of destroying her head, the projectile immediately shot back into the mage''s head, killing him. I know I don''t have a body, but I could feel something in my chest burn. Looking at her, she was clearly winded by that final fight, the small injuries she had accumulated were taking their toll on her stamina. Thankfully she had more than a few cuts and bruises, the best example was the gash along her side, made by the lord-commander before being impaled. I still had more rats in the fourth-floor dungeon and only a few kobolds were able to get to the battle on time so they were still available, but no, I would do something very different. As the lady paladin collected herself, possibly letting her bullshit god magic heal her, I opened the door, beckoning her to continue forward, perhaps even finish this whole thing. I had one of the dryads meet her at the stairs, arms raised to show she didn''t want to fight. "The maker has expressed his displeasure with your actions but is willing to show you the way if you leave peacefully." The paladin looked suspicious, but after looking at some bone on a chain she nodded, following my dryad from behind. I could tell she was interested in the surroundings, if only in a materialistic way, but that wouldn''t matter, soon she would leave. "Your maker will be rewarded for its submission; it will not die today or any day, once we have him, acquainted, with our relics." "So, you say." My dryad was unbelievably angry, I could feel it from our connection but also see it in the machine plants leaning away from the steaming spirit. Reaching the stairs to the boss'' room, she motioned for the paladin to go in. "You shall find what you seek down there, and through those doors." "I am curious at what point your maker learned their lesson, hmm, no matter, I''ll take the lady Nightingale and return for your maker, beast." She began to walk down the steps, the door wide open. "Hmph, I do not see her creature, I know you speak the truth, so I order you to reveal them." Didn''t know she could tell detect truths, thankfully it was an unintentional technical truth. Spring the trap Dryliet. My dryad''s beautiful face split into a nightmare of gears and mechanical teeth, sending out a flood of boiling oil and sharp gears. Her sisters revealed themselves by forming a massive thick wave of mech vines that threw her clean into the next room. From there the vines formed a wall that combined with the room door, made it extremely difficult and even dangerous to break through. "Damned cowards, I''ll make you the lord''s playthings for this!" "Aren''t you just a big ball of issues and shittery?" Further in the room was her, the [Machine Mother], and she was as pissed as I was. "I do not have time for games creature, give me what I want or else!" "First, you will shut up." The random fires providing light were snuffed out, being replaced by the light from the toxic-spewing smokestacks surrounding the room. "Second, you will repent." Blobs of grease and oil seeped from the ground, forming pointed spears with jagged metal. Man-shaped constructs split from the trees, and finally a big serpent uncoiled from the top of the tree where it met the ceiling. "Third, you will die." Boss time asshole. Ch.41 "It seems Father has gifted me my first test, how, fortuitous." Bloodlust practically radiated from the two women, the holy paladin leveled her blade at the Machine Mother, and likewise did my creation raise her weapon, a Warhammer. "We shall see, beast." The two lunged at one another, the blade meeting the hammer''s shaft mid-swing before pivoting into a slam of her pummel against the machine woman. Recovering, MM, her new nickname if we lived through this, swung her hammer from below, striking the paladin''s side, and knocking the air from her lungs. She followed up with another hammer strike against the increasingly damaged armor, not doing as much damage to the woman herself, but pressuring her armor, nonetheless. MM had the momentary advantage and likely would have ended the fight, had it not been for a shield that absorbed the heavy swing. Kicking MM away, the invader was once more on the assault, becoming a skillful flurry of long cuts and deep stabs all along MM''s body. MM moved her hammer to guard her from a downward swing only for the blade to cut through the solid steel of the shaft. Thankfully she was alright but was now without a weapon. The fight was barely a minute, but it was already reaching the end... Huff "Seems you''ve lost your only chance creature; it''s a shame your piteous maker chose the wrong tool to guard it." I could feel rage bubble like oil under her skin, but also a hint of smugness. "Truly it''s a shame your master chose the wrong slave to get killed in the dark." "Shut your pathetic tongue beast, face it or not, but your maker is ours now!" ... If MM hadn''t been wasting her time that is, the wonderful thing about the boss room is if you gave it enough time it could kill damn near anything. Positions are ready, material primed, and all the little beasties available are ready honey, knock ''em dead! "I was made to be smooth, and great, and I believe I am, but right now I forgo such elegance for your death. And now that my father is ready, I believe it is time to rip your face off." The paladin instantly went on the defensive as what seemed like an entire forest of metal bramble ripped out of the ground and slithered across her limbs. She tore them off, at the cost of her left hand, and lunged again for MM, who was standing still as thinner vines covered her wounded body like snakes. AAWOOOO! Clockwork wolves intercepted and literally dogpiled her as they gave everything to rip and scratch at the incredible armor. The paladin threw them off with a blast of light, gripping one''s jaw and pulling it in half using her leg as leverage, she picked up her fallen sword and hacked the rest into pieces with wild swings. She growled as more machine animals made their way towards her, adjusting her stance to compensate for the lost hand. It seems her self-control was waning. She met them halfway as she stabbed into the gear brain of a bear only for several vaguely animal-shaped machines to puncture the leg armor and begin gnawing on her exposed legs. She stomped them with her good foot as she used her upper body to defend against more bramble and large animals. It was small, almost unnoticeable before, but very obvious now, she was losing, and she knew it. Luckily, she seemed to break under the realization while still being swarmed, losing her sword to a flock of hawks and eagles as they dived and clawed for it. "No, no, no, I can''t fail, I won''t! Face me beast and fight like a true warrior, I demand it!" She started wildly punching and tearing with her good arm and leg, showing an amazing level of skill despite the painful loss of limbs. "My lord my god, please, help your faithful servant!" Worry filled me as she began to float in the air, an invisible wave of force destroying the majority of creatures and plants sent against her. But instead of some awesome powerup or healing, she began to cry, falling from the air onto her back. She got back up and started scrambling around for something, muttering desperately for him to forgive her. She was fully absorbed in scrounging the floor for something like a madwoman possessed, which she might have been. She hadn''t even noticed MM standing behind her with a pair of metal fist weapons. Of course, the desperate paladin did notice after a moment of frantic searching.
Celestial threat retreated.
She stood up with little of her previous grace, no longer certain of anything given her body language, the shivering didn''t help either. "I-I am the lady paladin of K-Kan-" I''m sure she had lots of titles of great importance, but in the face of my Machine Mother''s fists, they were but hollow words. I could feel her fueling every blow with her fury as the once beautiful woman''s head was turned into a sticky red paste, were I still human I have no doubt I would be throwing up by now if the toxic fumes hadn''t made me beforehand. All I needed to do now was wait for my loot and the rest of the dungeon to fix itself. ... .... .....? The hell, where''s my special loot, I got some last time!?
The previous enhanced warrior was still connected to Kannor, this particular one has been cut from their source of power.
Fucking hell, the god of control freaks stole my paladin loot.
Note: The paladin''s weapon is a separate relic and may be considered ''loot'' by the dungeon.
I had to push down my excitement to get something, but mild bursts of kleptomania were for later, right now I needed to keep my head in the game, the fighting wasn''t yet done.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The humans walked back up the dungeon at a sedate pace while the soldiers dragged the corpse behind them. Without her divine connection, her body was just another corpse to fuel my growth, and not even her armor was worth it since her aura was mostly the reason why it was so tough. I hoped that once they got out, they could shock the rest of them into submission but failing that they were prepared to claim I was about to start a dungeon break. Reaching the surface, they seemed relieved to be outside, all of them looking green around the gills after being in the deeper levels. Must have been the air or something. After reaching the lift they were met by a large group of Nightingale men, seems they were actually concerned about a dungeon break. Leading them was some man I hadn''t met yet but obviously was someone important, and as the group descended the lift the man in question met them as they got off. He spoke quietly and carefully to Helvina, I couldn''t hear everything they said but what I could was worrying. According to him, and the lack of sound, the fighting had largely ended once the kannorites invaded the fortress, but whether they were shocked or had finished whatever grudge they had, none could tell, the issue was the survivors. From there it was harder to understand what they were saying but I got the idea, that despite their strength being weakened, so was the fortress'', and with that understanding being shared by us and them it would make negotiation difficult seeing as we may face a united front of those that didn''t want to kill each other. Briefly, I considered finding Arthur to try and sow some more chaos but that seemed foolish, while I could no longer detect any more paladins on the remains of the camp, I was willing to bet they had something just as nasty, and it was honestly doubtful the trick would work again so soon. After some time, the group returned to the inner halls of the fortress, taking the corpse and the increasingly sickly guards and lady. "We appreciate the help, but for now ser Edward would ask that you refrain from acting anytime soon, those that remain, and many within our number, are suspicious that you are near rampage." They were outside so I couldn''t use my merchant, but a newly made rat got the job done. Seeing the act seemed to relieve him, and quickly ordered his men to help the other in. I guess my part was done here then, feels odd to essentially end my part in all this when I could see the immediate troubles the brother would have, assuming Arthur was alive. Still, I had some work to get to and it wouldn''t be out of the question to tinker with some robots while the people get things wrapped up. Thankfully MM had the sense to turn out the paladin''s body for any goods before they left, the unfortunate part was that there weren''t many things that popped out to me. The bits of armor we recovered were mainly just good steel, nothing I couldn''t have made myself, while the rest were tools and items that were more religious in purpose. Perhaps they could be worth something to someone, but in a purely dungeon sense, they held little value to me, perhaps a smidgen of mana could be made from them, the real prize, however, was indeed her blade. A straight sword with an immaculate guard and a razor edge, it both looked and felt like a work of art.
Moonlight Silver Stright Sword (Blessed) A straight sword made of moonlight silver, an exceptionally rare artificial metal crafted only by holy men and women who take up forge craft. The metal has superior cleansing abilities and synergizes well with celestial power. This particular blade has been given a minor blessing.
Its aura gave off the feeling of absolute control and dominance, making me almost regret being incorporeal just so I could hold that blade. But thankfully or not, I wasn''t, and even if I was, I had no intentions of becoming some mountain-dwelling caveman obsessed with the weapon. It was a damned amazing thing, several test swings showed it easily cut through the metal trees, and only had minor trouble with the vines, although that might have been MM''s strength more than anything. The system offered me three choices for it, apparently in its given state, I couldn''t use any more of its power without committing myself to Kannor.
Absorb The Blade: The system will facilitate the absorption of the item, granting one free of the dungeon''s choice, a level five monster, five additional bonus rooms, three medium-level traps, or 500 DP. Will anger [Kannor]
Subvert The Blade: Allow the dungeon''s unique mana to subsume the blade, replacing the celestial energies within for the dungeon''s. This will grant it different abilities and allow the dungeon to form a contract with one consenting individual. This individual will share a connection to the dungeon not unlike that of a paladin. Will irritate [Kannor] Will entertain Rex Will promise to not retaliate.
Return The Blade: Return the holy blade to [Kannor] who will be forced to uphold [REDACTED] and not interfere with the dungeon and immediate associates. Will placate [Kannor] Will promise reparations in the near future. [Kruul] will appreciate this action.
I get most of that, but why does it say that he will do it, the statement implies he hasn''t already but will if I take that option, and why only the bottom two choices? In one he''s still annoyed with me and in the other I guess we just absolve ourselves of the situation.
As a celestial, [Kannor] is bound by the [REDACTED] to respect their defeat and will be unable to retaliate within a set period of one thousand years, provided the opponent responds appropriately. Absorbing the blade would constitute an insult and would allow [Kannor] to pursue the dungeon once again. The other two options will restrict [Kannor] as it is your right to keep the blade for yourself or to express the desire for peace by returning a rightfully earned trophy.
So, either he respects what I''ve done and buggers off, or we keep swiping at each other until one of us budges then, possibly for an entire millennium?
Indeed.
I guess that''s good, peace would give me the breathing room to get back to grinding out levels and tinker monsters and help Arthur and Edward solidify their hold on the mountain. The promise of payment for returning the blade wasn''t half bad either, the only issue was that I had no idea what kind of goods he would fork out, I doubt anything old and mysterious though. The only thing that bugs me is that a small part of my brain is telling me to keep the heat up, so far, my mana production efficiency has been stellar, and while possibly nerve-wracking, the stuff they send with their people isn''t half bad. I know it would be selfish to continue the fighting, even if there is a pause for each side to pull back and plan, but the potential benefits were a constant in my thoughts. With just this blade, special as it was, I could gain an extra monster, more rooms for one of the levels, traps, or even just some cash. Who knows what else I could get in the future? This brings up the other big problem with keeping things heated, I didn''t know if the enemy had anything, and with Arthur''s unusually violent behavior as of late, the next attack may not be winnable. So, the question is before me that would determine my near and far future, what do I do with the sword? Ch.42 It faded from view without spectacle or fanfare, a loser quietly dragging himself away. "Hurry lady Helvina, we must make for the surface!" Not a moment''s notice and the humans were off, rushing past destruction and bodies to leave, ignoring the likely expensive loot left behind in the wake of the paladin''s attack. As they ascended their skin grew increasingly pale with each room they passed through, becoming almost blue by the time they were on the lift, meeting them was Edward and company. They spoke quietly and secretly amongst each other as they inspected Helvina. After a moment he used some odd spell that projected a message to me. "My family''s thanks dungeon but we have little time, we shall meet again once things have calmed." And with that, they carried the still-ailing lady into the fortress, the guards that accompanied her were left behind. Should I do something? Because it was really awkward just hearing a group of grown men moan on your front lawn, which also so happens to be your body, kinda. ... I''m just going to ignore them and assume Ed has a plan. Moving back in, I could see the new monsters settling in, and while I knew these new ones would retain a vestige of those that came before and would likely be better at their jobs because of it, losing almost all of my monsters still felt bad. Sigh With the blade returned, I''ll be safe from the more divine matters, at least from Kannor and his ilk. What this meant was that I could start refocusing myself on expansion and upgrades, I didn''t get any special currency or materials, but I did still get a heap of Dp to spend and plenty to spend on. First things first, the basics were due, and by that I mean door upgrades, controllable lighting, and temperature (but not dangerously so). I made plenty of other, smaller purchases, but they amounted to no more than a couple hundred, leaving me at a whopping 1500 DP from both assorted sources and the paladin. The current dilemma and it was a good one to have, was that I still had plenty of cash on hand and not a whole lot to use it on. Sure, I could buy some higher-end monsters, traps, and upgrades, but rising prices and the deal, blurred things on what I could and should buy. I could afford kickass monsters, ignoring any level requirements, and start collecting the good stuff now rather than later. One thing to consider is that I also still needed to complete the next set of level-up requirements to gain my sixth level and all the perks that come with it. I had the tier-one producer pumping out stuff as I spoke as well as the rooms ready, all I needed was the tinker construct and another monster. The catalyst would take a few hours so that left me with some time to figure out what I was going to do.
After a couple of hours spent familiarizing myself with the new guys, I got a little ''ding'' notification, that the materials were done.
1lbs of Catalytic Copper Exotic Metal High-level Conductivity Rust Resistant Alchemically Compatible
It certainly brought ideas to mind, most of which were weapons or monster-based of course but also quite a few that were more societally focused. This also brought up the bonus brought by producing the copper, a one-time benefit of making an exotic thing.
Low-tech Chemistry ModificationsThis story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Allows for simple, low-level, modifications to existing blueprints, granting differing benefits and abilities. Increases cost and upkeep of modified blueprints. Altered blueprints will not be retained and must be manually remade if lost or forgotten.
No options this time? I thought you always gave some sort of choice when it came to new and interesting stuff.
Tier one exotic materials lack the magical potential and usage of higher tier materials to given varied options, previous situations involved metals of higher tier than catalytic copper.
Well, that sucks. I was hoping to agonize over another thing to pass the time. Sigh The lack of other options notwithstanding, it wasn''t that bad, if a little misleading. Some testing proved I could indeed alter existing things to have a more chemically themed look, and it did give some things different functionality too if I designed it properly. For example, my assembly line could instead of parts, start producing simple soaps, acids, and treatments of the wood and stone variety. This meant that I effectively had become more of a magic factory than I was before, since even clean water, which I could tell it to make, was already an incredibly useful thing. For my monsters the allowed changes were less visible though, for the most part, their additions or replacements focused less on making chemicals and more on using them. I was able to slap a tank on a clockworker''s back so it could shoot acid, only for it to use it as a high-power pressure washer to clean the soot and grime in the room. Altering the ratkin hardly had an effect either, giving them a general feeling of discomfort and a slightly better circulatory system with a device that would filter and regulate blood content. A useful addition in the right situation, but the discomfort and added short and long-term costs wouldn''t be worth it. Overall, eh, and while it could be useful if I developed the perk some more, I don''t know if the added burden of cost and perk investment would be totally worth it in the end. All the same though, it did give some interesting trade options once we get around to doing that. Speaking of building, with the copper done I could make my tinker monster for the level requirement. All it needed was a tier-two module made from a tier-two exotic metal, or several tier-one modules worked together. Tier-one mods aside, tier-twos were capable of two actions, allowing more complicated actions as well as more complicated directions to be given. If the first tier could make a construct move forward, a tier two could make it turn when told to, allowing nuanced movements, or let a construct fight better. The issue was that they didn''t work cohesively with tier-one modules well enough to become fighters, almost like both parts were speaking different dialects to each other that neither could fully understand. The best solution I could find from my limited testing was that I''d simply have to wait for the material to make more tier-twos. Wait, that made me remember a little side project of mine, the hobgoblin colony I started. The point of it was to harass the camps but with most of them gone already their mission was moot, anyone left wasn''t a threat or was never an enemy to begin with. This meant I had a ton of aimless hands outside the dungeon and a battlefield with plenty of lost treasures to be picked. Hey, I''m willing to question the ethics of murder but taking from dead idiots who likely wanted to murder and or enslave me needs to be considered, they lost, and I won. My connection to the colony was weak and thin, but still there, and calling them back pulled every hobgoblin from their communal homes to begin the march back up the mountain, with clear instructions to pick the dead and carry them home, with the only rule being to not touch the very few Nightingales that ended up outside the fort. As they marched the dirty naked horde slowly became a dirty armed horde, until they reached the mountain flats the camp once resided on where I could see them both from a distance and through their own eyes. Assembled across from them was a decent but small force of humans, most ragged and dirty but armed, leading them was a large man in what I assume are holy robes. He yelled at the remaining holy men and their soldiers to group up, his voice growing more excited as the different groups assembled into a tense formation. Even with my hobgoblins getting some gear it was doubtful they would beat them, were it not for a certain magical friend of mine. "Stand down cleric. By the power of Lord Nightingale and his family, I order every one of you to surrender, for the crimes of illegal assault on a lord, a lord''s property, and an ally of the Empire!" The now-titled cleric lost his excitement for a moment, shocked realization entering his face as he looked between my monsters and the well-armed and furiously motivated Nightingale men. Much to my shock he simply looked more pleased at the prospect of fighting two forces at once, looking rapturous at the prospect. He even started to say something, were he not interrupted by a deep hissing voice. "Shut it human, die or surrender, our father would so appreciate the meal." Not sure I appreciate the wording, but I like his spirit. "As do I great dungeon." What the hell!? Edward 7: As the ashes and bones settle. If he were a more powerful man, in body or magic, he would have likely had the intense battle he was rearing for, unfortunately for him though, he was no paladin. As the large man neared the group a dozen hobgoblins with mismatched armor and shields moved to intercept, blocking the downward strike as the remainder swarmed his recovering form. They tore his weapon away and used themselves to weigh him down at each limb, keeping him trapped for the time being. Edward gave his men a side glance, motioning them to surround the impromptu formation, spears, and swords ready. "With that out of the way, I believe it would be in your interest to surrender." "Fuck you lording cunt! You''ll feed us to the monsters!" Ed huffed, amused at the insult more than anything. "Perhaps some of you, but I would much rather we avoid that fate for you. Instead, I want what leadership that remains amongst you to come forward, unarmed." Their men looked uncertain, scared, and no doubt angry, but after a tense moment a man, a dwarf, and a human woman came forward. "I am Lenor, priestess of our Lady of Pure Venom." "And I am Dun Gault Stone, cleric of the Anvil Temple." The priestess was no one important, either the only one left or a way to save someone of actual importance, on the other hand, the cleric was worth something. Even regular clerics had quite a bit more sway than your run-of-the-mill priest, add the fact that he''s a Dun, a title somewhat similar to that of a knight, which made him all the more valuable. "I have heard of your temple Dun Stone, might I ask what brought you to my family''s mountain." He had a rather unamused look on his face. "I don''t need to tell you for you to know. We were ready to put aside our issue with some of those that came, at least until some fucker mucked it all up, and now we''re being pressed between a bastard and his monster pets." "They are far from being pets, but that is irrelevant. I am willing to offer you an end to these unpleasantries with both food and equipment to return to your temple in Dwarf land." He brought his hand to his chin, Dun Gault was considering the offer, good, but the priestess was furious going by her scowl. "I cannot believe- " "Shut it, priest. I will need to speak with my subordinates and let it be known that I cannot speak for everyone in my company." "Nor are you expected to, have all the time you need Dun Gault." "My thanks, if you wouldn''t mind letting us through then, we would like to convene-" "No." His men were ready to pounce, and from the way, the creatures were gripping their stolen weapons so were they. Panic colored Gault''s face before being flushed away by anger. Thankfully he had the sense to let it go, or at least push it to the side, and remained calm. "For your own good, I must insist on watching you until you decide, or is there to be a problem, Dun?" Gault gave out a sigh. "Very well, what does your aid entitle exactly?"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Good choice, I shall provide a select number of soldiers to escort you to the border with food and water, after which it will be up to you where to go." "And what price are we to pay for such... help?" "Nothing unreasonable, we would, of course, ask for you to surrender your weapons and armor, you will be well protected by those I send with you. Do not worry, I shall not send you back with nothing, I have a gift for your high cleric and clergy." The man next to Ed pulled something metal out of a bag, handing it to Ed, who gave it to the cleric. "...I recognize this piece, his holiness forged this for the Lady paladin of Cartheg, how did you get this?!" "It was no trouble to get." His face gave nothing away, idly inspecting the ruined helm, before tucking it under his arm. "If that is the case then I seem to have no choice but to accept your offer, my life and those of my subordinates are in your hands." "And you, priestess?" "I accept these terms, but not by choice." "Excellent, it will be but a moment but my men must bring your supplies, for now, you will stay in a staging ground near the fortress. But before that, I must ask that you put down your arms." They hesitated, but a stern look from their leader got them to comply, and one by one they dropped or laid down their weapons and armor. Luckily most were wearing decently thick clothing underneath so they weren''t that bothered by the mountain chill. The only one to not drop their weapon was Gault himself, instead walking up to Edward and holding it out. Looking at it, it was a beautiful weapon, but not for the ornamentation, nor the likely expensive metals and leather used to craft it. Instead, Ed could almost feel the care and attention it was been bathed in, he could feel the magic within the weapon grasping for Gault like a drowned man desperate for water. It wasn''t something outrageously valuable or powerful, but it was old and well-loved. "This is my family hammer, treat it with care, human." "And so I shall, but if everyone wouldn''t mind following the captain, he will show you all the way." The two groups walked together towards the fortress, his men keeping a close eye on them. Sticking back, Ed turned back towards the hobgoblins who were already poking through the left-behind items. "I don''t know if your master can hear me but we will need to discuss what to do with them." He gestured to the remaining people who didn''t belong to their the priestess'' or Gault''s groups. They were significantly fewer without them, enough for Ed and the monsters anyway. "M-Milord, we were only following orders, they would have killed our families if we didn''t follow them, you must understand!" Possibly true, maybe even likely for some of the more ruthless sects, but also just as unlikely. Kannor and two of his godly sons were known for such methods but they were something of an outlier in that regard, most recruited through fervor and incentives. In his mind, these men were more likely here on the promise of riches or aid of some sort. "Perhaps, and I must admit the only ones to have offended my family were the late paladins of Kannor, but you and all the others with you still partook in the violence." "But I-we did nothing wrong, please you must show mercy!" "Mercy was already shown, and I still need to work out my frustrations, my brother is lost somewhere in the mountain, and his lover is with child. What I have shown the dwarf and the priestess is about the limits of my mercy!" "W-what, but, but, uh... if you don''t let us go, we''ll tell people?" He said it without certainty or meaning, a desperate play using the information Ed didn''t censor in his vent. Unfortunately for the man, angering a man who holds your life in his palm was the last mistake he would ever make. "[Accelerated Magic] [Mortis Flora]!" The eight men were mumbling pleas and offers, only to start choking on something. Their skin grew pale and green, with roots and stems sprouting from their knees and eyes, a single thick stalk emerging from the tops of their skulls. Each stalk formed a bulbous end that sprouted into a sickly yellow-green flower, pretty as it was disgusting. Normally the curse would take months, even years, to properly kill someone, but Edward wasn''t just learning how to run things from Arthur in their spare time, he was also trading spells with Helvina and Lily. Edward did not look satisfied though, he thought such a death would soothe his irritation and stress, but he felt nothing from it, a consequence of his measures to prevent himself from falling to his corruptive magic. His thoughts were interrupted by a rough cough next to him. A short hobgoblin, sprouting leaves and bark over its skin motioned towards the Kruul cleric. "We still need to decide what to do with him." "Hmm, I shall leave his fate in your master''s... hands? I leave him with the dungeon to decide along with these idiots." "Nothing else?" "Tell your master to not wait for me today, he will be busy handling all that you bring to him I imagine." Ed looked out from the mountain, looking over the cold snow-covered grasslands below. "More terrible things must be done before the day is done." Ch.43 My platoon of hobgoblins dragged bags and bags of assorted weapons and armor, taking the time to strip every little piece or part they could find. Included among them were the bodies of the men Edward killed and the unconscious cleric who killed the one I saw before. The corpses I absorbed, gained a new monster called the [Death Flower Growth] a weak but tricky plant. But more than that I gained a prisoner in the form of the cleric dude my hobs captured. So far, he was unconscious from the hobgoblins choking him a bit too much on the way but otherwise fine, but what I would do with him was still up in the air. My first thought was to pick his brain about the world and whatever tidbits I could get from him, maybe promise his freedom somewhere in there, and eventually figure out how he heard me. Cough, cough "The real question isn''t how I can hear you, but for how long, good dungeon." Oh shit, you''re awake, Glub kick him to see if I''m imagining things. "Ng, I''m not sure that''s how that works, but for an entertaining fight I will answer your one question, I am Harklan, the junior- sorry, Head Cleric of Kruul, of this region." Nice to meet you then Harkland, now answer the question. "Two warriors meeting in battle can always understand one another, if not through words, then actions, but as a follower of my lord Kruul, I can ignore such frivolous things such as language." I''m not speaking though. "It matters little." Sigh, fine, what did you mean by how long we can talk? "...? Oh you said something, seems it''s already happening. Only through combat can I speak with you, and seeing as you have caught me, I shall soon no longer be able to speak with you." Wait that doesn''t make any sense still, but never mind that, I have a million questions, and can''t I have Gloob here kick you around some? It took him a few minutes before perking up, only just hearing my words. "I''m afraid that''s not how it works, and as much as I would enjoy experiencing your wonderful dungeon, I have a house to put in order. So, I would ask that you release me so I may travel home." Hmmm, I''m not unwilling, but I''m not entirely sure I want to. I have little use for a hostage and even if I demanded all the exotic metals and jewels, I could handle I doubt the heat from it would help me in any case. What can you give me that might convince me to release you? "...." Hey, it''s rude to ignore someone when they''re talking. ... ..... "By your silence, I guess our time is up then, it was an interesting, talk." Dang it Sigh At least I got something of an answer despite its strangeness. Still, there was more than one way to talk to him, and I have plenty of questions and perhaps even offers. After a quick minute, my speaker arrived, proudly wearing an employee of the month sticker in a breast pocket. "And you are...?" "I am the great shopkeeper" He gave an elegant bow, or at least the attempt at one. "Uh huh, Cammy would love you." "What was that?"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Nothing, nothing, just thinking of old friends, now what does the dungeon wish to speak of?" "The master wishes to know what might be given for your release." "A ransom is it, well, you''re out of luck as far as that is concerned. My people have little use for large amounts of gold and silver." "The master is skeptical; the items you brought were of high quality." And they were, nothing magical sadly, but according to my inspection, the armor and weapon were made of high-grade steel and leather. "Is it so unusual for a warrior to carry the tools and garments of their trade? Besides, my people''s wealth isn''t in gold and jewels." Not an unreasonable point, he was a clergyman for a warrior god, and if he is telling the truth then it was likely a point of their belief that made them not seek riches, that or they spend most of it on something or other once they got it. But that didn''t mean they couldn''t possibly have something I''d want, special material items, knowledge, and worst-case I could ask for people to regularly go into the dungeon, but for battle nuts that''s probably more of a gift than a punishment. All that being said, I did have the option to just, let him go. If he was a follower of that hotdog water of a god Kannor then mercy was out of the question, but Kruul I''ve never had any real interaction. Arguably we should be buddies at this point but that alone wasn''t enough to ease things.
Entity [Kruul] wishes for their servant to be returned, however, as the dungeon is the highest authority of the winning side that defeated the servant in question, it is up to them to decide their fate. Entity [Kruul] will respect honorable decisions.
Well, what a swell guy, I think, not sure if letting your guy''s fate be determined by something that gets better the more I kill, but if he''s cool with it then cool. What exactly would I get from the guy anyway, he''s apparently on the higher end of his group so he''s gotta be powerful, right?
Indeed, the death of the captured individual would grant [Ashes of the Faithful]. This may be redeemed for 100 DP or a level 1 perk.
Hmm, not much if I''m honest, a paladin would have given much more than this, if the jerk hadn''t stolen it from me. But I guess I shouldn''t toss it out, it was still a benefit to me, regardless of its level. "The master wishes to know what else you can offer, perhaps weapons or armor?" He looked down for a moment, his face moving in different directions as if organizing a thought, but he looked back up with a smile. "Perhaps, but you would need to kill their owners first, an opportunity they would thank you for, of course, if that is what you desire, I could easily send a group of my brothers and sisters." "The master declines the offer." "Your loss." "Is there truly nothing your people could offer, not only would it secure your own release, but also put you in good favor with our master if the tribute is found sufficient." Close enough, if promising a bit more than I actually meant. "Hmmm, I''m certain the now former head cleric had one thing or another stashed away, but only the head cleric could access it, which I am now." Which also meant letting him go, bringing me back to what I have to consider. The dungeon could always use more defenses and upgrades, and growth was always a good thing, but letting him go would begin, (tentatively) good relations with a sect as well as any goodies they could send my way for their lost leader. This would be on top of Kunntor''s reparations as well as the goods and payment from Ed and Arthur, wherever that guy went. Hmm, it might be a bit strange, but I do have a somewhat interesting idea floating around. Any goods they gave me would be good and all but perhaps I could collect on something else they had in abundance, experience. "The maker wishes to send a sortie of comrades to temporarily join your people to, learn, your ways." Surprise colored his face. "I-Wha, I mean, it is unheard of, a monster learning such warfare hasn''t been heard of, there is no precedent!" "What is the battlefield but a place of the unexpected?" "I-" He sighed and sat down. "Regardless of whether it could happen, such a thing would need to be put to a vote. Most if not all of our number would need to agree to it to prevent issues." "If you are the leader why not just order it then?" "Ignoring that they likely don''t even know I''m their head cleric now. Many come to our doorstep to learn how to kill monsters or those who would act like monsters. For us to accept a monster into our ranks could splinter the temple!" "Then would it not be best to hide that fact, perhaps reveal it to your people once they have been accepted as one of your, brothers?" "That''s a horrible idea for several reasons... but not impossible, yes, it could work if we- I convince the others that he''s some manner of gnome or halfling, but he would need to be covered in armor head to toe constantly, and knowing monsters, also likely their posture and stench." Rude but fair, I doubt ratkin and hobgobs smelled all that great. "The master accepts that plan, if he decides to release you that is." "If he decides indeed." Free him and get some stuff as well as a small group of monsters to train sent with him or kill him and get a small improvement to the dungeon, and if nothing else I could hold onto him, maybe put him in the fort''s dungeon, Ed''s fort that is. Arthur 8: A little look into Hell. "N-No, I didn''t, I-I couldn''t have!" Across from Arthur was a savaged corpse, man or woman none could tell. Missing their legs, one arm, and entrails largely missing, it looked as though a wild animal had its fill of the body. Arthur had blood all over his hands and face. "Oh, but you did, little lord, or is the evidence of your crime insufficient?" Next to him was Arthur''s bitch of a servant, Hestra. "YOu did tHis to ME!" His voice was ragged and hoarse. "I''m hurt my lord, I thought you enjoyed my help these past few months." "I- AAAgh!" He clutched his head in pain and confusion, feeling as though two knives were pushing out of his skull. He could feel his skull molding and changing, the sensation of bone pulling around his brain painful beyond anything he could think of, which given the pain wouldn''t have been much anyway. "I''ll-I''ll kill you, you damned demon!" "I very much doubt that my lord which makes it such a shame I won''t be able to see it play out fully, I do enjoy seeing the rebirth. Oh well, guess I''ll see you in Hell." The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She snapped open an umbral portal and went through, leaving the struggling man behind. He curled into himself, grabbing fistfuls of snow and cold dirt to somehow lessen the pain, but it did not. Steam poured off of his body as the change began. His skin grew pale, bordering grey, his blood boiled under his skin, and throughout all of it, the only pain that stood out was the one on his head. How long would this last, minutes, hours, days even? The thought agonized him almost as much as the pain did, but by some miracle, the pain ended after a sickening sound came from just above him. He lay there for a time, the actual amount was lost to him, recovering from the torturous change. He sweated a sea despite the cold, and his voice was not but a whisper after what felt like hours of yelling. "What the fuck...?" He looked over his arms, the outer areas were darker while the spots facing his body were a much lighter but still ashy grey. What the hell had that creature done to him, he thought, what had he become? Putting his hands to his head he froze, from the top area of his forehead he could feel two thick protrusions curving out of his head. Quickly he took out his knife and looked at himself. Just as he had felt, there upon his head were two curved black horns, radiating an almost pleasant heat. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The sound was no longer that of a man, but a monster from the world below. But none would hear this unearthly cry, for none would see the Lord Arthur Nightingale for quite some time.
Infernal Corruption: 50%
Ch.44 Ed''s men took him into the fortress interior with a message explaining the situation as best as the merchant could articulate. In the end, we agreed that I would let him go and that once he returned home, hobgoblin in tow, he would send what goods he could and fighters in the future. Thankfully Ed wasn''t too annoyed with the sudden guest, but did rely through his men that he wouldn''t mind something to make it worth the trouble, fair enough.
Entity: [Kruul] is thankful for the mercy; however, he requests that a [Blood Debt] be established.
Nice that he''s appreciating it, and it shows (some) good character, but what''s this about a blood debt exactly, do I owe him something?
For sparing the life of his servant after true combat, the servant in question owes the dungeon their life, or something equivalent. Due to prior agreements of [Kruul], he is required to pay it back on his behalf as he is now the servant''s immediate superior.
Neato. Tell him thanks and that it was an odd pleasure to have his guy here, circumstances being what they are of course. Now tell me what he''s offering, Kannor was a spiteful little shit, and it cost me good loot.
Entity: [Kruul] accepts the statement but advises to not judge Entity: [Kannor] too harshly as [Kannor] is affected by [REDACTED].
Ok, that''s giving me implications, ones I''m not sure I can even consider given how I just, blank, each time I think about it, so I won''t. Back to the point, what does he have for me, one of two, maybe three things?
Negative, [Kruul] is offering two boons upon the dungeon. [A Game of Shapes] - Structure and [Tempering] - Perk
Hmm, they''re high-grade stuff, but what do they do exactly?
A Game of Shapes There were once two brothers in a field of shapes, one built a sword, and the other built castles. "With this blade, I will cut until none exists that can be cut." "With my castles, I shall endure Eternity and Infinity." And so they came to blows, their war with one another, fighting, arguing, and testing one another''s path. Stand a give tribute to the brothers, and reenact their war of swords or castles.
Tempering "While you shall never know the sensation, the rush, of war and open conflict, your monstrous creations will. So, I shall grant them the boon I often give to my faithful, but much like my faith you would do well to not mistake power and the chance at it." The more a monster fights, the better it becomes.
These two felt... different from Astarion and Pandora. The bull and the machine woman felt familiar in my head, firm, almost like they belonged there, pieces to a puzzle I didn''t know I had, I guess. But the [Game] and [Tempering] were not so, in fact, they felt foreign, even alien in my head. It felt like a truth I wasn''t meant to know but not because it was inconceivable, instead it felt like it wasn''t for me, a story told to the wrong person. And yet, no matter how much I mulled over it in my crystalline head I couldn''t quite get used to it being there. What is it?
The dungeon has been given knowledge unsuited to it; however, the System is currently unable to resolve the issue.
I''d complain about it being painful, but that wouldn''t be accurate, why exactly can''t you do something about it? Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
The Dungeon Level is too low.
God that gets more annoying the more I see it, sigh, I guess I''m just going to have to wait then. That being said, will using it at least get rid of this... sensation, it feels like there''s a boulder in my brain, but it doesn''t hurt somehow.
Affirmative.
Small mercies, well that''s what I''m doing next level then, I just need to get there. Kind of speaking of which, I needed to make sure things were kept in order outside, Edward is probably scrambling to do a million different things at once and I doubt Arthur disappearing into the woods helps that much. I''m sure the fortress is sending people out right now, but I think it would be best to help things along, so for now I''d dedicate my time to micromanaging my outside monsters as best I can to get things shipshape. Mainly I''m just waiting for enough tier-one material to make something nice, something I could keep around for emergencies. Next on the docket, is my hobgobs. They weren''t an issue per se, more that I didn''t have anything for them to do. I could shove them into one of the rooms to start cultivating more adapted hobgoblins, but I didn''t have much of a need for any at the moment and there was a lot to do outside. Not only did the battle leave many bodies, but there were still plenty of treasures to loot. I doubt most of them would be worth much to me but it would be to my minions and worst case I sold them back to Ed. Speaking of which, I still needed to talk with him about the future, from the whereabouts of Arthur, to how we would proceed, if we can proceed at all.
The wait wasn''t very long thankfully, Edward and Arthur''s girlfriend entered soon after the message was sent. Together the two of them bowed but differently, Helvina did a fancy curtsy while raising her clothes slightly while Ed gave a small bow but without much bending. "Greetings dungeon speaker, we have come to speak with your master as he requested." The two of them seemed, solemn, the cause of which wasn''t that difficult to figure out. "The master welcomes both of you, but for the talks themselves it is asked that you enter my store so we might have more privacy." "Indeed, lead the way." Making it to said store I had them led to a small meeting room I paid a couple of points for. From a small, attached hole a small spherical robot came out with two glasses of wine. They cost me a point a glass, but it felt appropriate to bring stuff like that to things like this, they always did it at the company dinners. The two of them shared a glance. "My thanks dungeon, but if possible, Lady helvina should have some water or perhaps bool." Didn''t know what bool was, but the water I could do, actually, I''d one-up him and give him something better. Giving Ed the extra wine glass, I paid another point to get her a nice tall glass of orange juice. Ed sipped his drink first, not saying or doing anything for several minutes in awkward silence. After some time of nothing, both began to appreciate their drinks in earnest. "A rare treat to taste an imperial vintage, never thought a bastard-" Helvina hit him in the shin before he could finish the sentence, guess she was the serious one for the moment. "What my brother-in-law means to say is that we are grateful for the sincere treat during these harsh times." I was starting to like her, we hadn''t much time to talk in the past. "He accepts your thanks and wishes to begin, first, he would like to ask if the dungeon requires any aid in rebuilding." "Hn, certainly, but I don''t think it would be a good idea." "May I ask why, surely it is not because it would be monsters that help?" "That''s a part of it sure, but most of the men to make it this far have gotten used to monster help around, no, the real issue is that my men are still recovering from the battle, the stress is making them flighty and stressed." That''s no good. "Is there nothing we could do to speed up their recovery?" "Unlikely, my people just need time to unwind, but it would be easier for you to help collect stone or wood for the repairs." "Done, two teams of hobgoblins will be prepared for logging and the quarry." "The next topic?" "The master would like to know the whereabouts of your brother, Arthur." Both flinched, neither looked comfortable with what needed to be said. "We... don''t exactly know where my brother is, we haven''t been able to locate him." Helvina chimed in. "Scrying magic and several similar spells and small rituals have failed, at least in part. We are certain he is alive but for unknown reasons, we cannot find his true location, as of yesterday we have been searching for him subtly by having scouts search for survivors who might turn bandit out there." "Would you be open to monster assistance?" Both shook their heads. "No, for the same reasons as before, the men just aren''t ready to handle monsters being amongst them like that yet but thank you." "Who leads the fortress right now then." "Currently I lead it, not only am I part of the Nightingale family, but I was also chosen by my brother to take over the fortress should it be necessary." "What then might be done to help find him?" "Nothing at current, but there is a matter we would like to discuss with your master, regarding Arthur." Oh? Ed gave the stage to Helvina. "Before all of this, I learned I was with child, something I assume you know, and the child is Arthur''s." So, this finally came up, I wasn''t sure if I would be involved in this, but I don''t have much choice right now. "For the child''s safety, Edward and I agreed to say that the child I Ed''s. But only if we cannot find Arthur in time and come up with a solution then." My non-existent eyebrows would have shot up if I had any, cause that''s a wild thing to do. So much could go wrong, not to mention the moral implications of lying to everyone and perhaps even the kid, ignoring the fact that this would be an out-of-wedlock child, a bastard. Given what I''ve been told over my time here bastards aren''t the most liked people despite not being able to control the circumstances of their birth. "The master is... cautious, but willing to hear more." I might as well listen to the rest before I freak out more. "We would like the dungeon to help raise them." WHAT THE FUCK! Helvina 1 She had to give the dungeon credit where it was due, it and its speaker were handling the request much better than either of them had expected. Rather than respond in anger or disbelief, it simply asked for clarification. And to their own credit, Edward and she were willing to give it, despite the oddity of their request. "We understand how it sounds, and to clarify, we aren''t asking your master to help raise the child, rather we are asking if you would help with a somewhat... difficult issue we''ve discovered." The creature raised an eyebrow, assuming that was an eyebrow. "While I was stuck in the inner portions of your dungeon, my... child and I were exposed to too much magic." There was a shift in the mana, becoming more turbulent for a moment. "The master wishes to know if there is something he may do to help!" "It''s not that simple, I''m afraid, nor as dangerous as your master may be thinking. While straining, this is a relatively common thing when exposed to intense magic." "Then what is it you are asking of the master?" "Ideally, we are asking if Helvina may venture into the dungeon without difficulty; it will be necessary for the child. And just in case you are wondering, when a child develops under these conditions, it enhances the child, letting them be stronger and magically gifted." She joined in. "It is like the young men Arthur had trained here, but starts from birth." "The master is unsure, he has had, less than positive encounters with those drunk on mana." Hmm? OH! "If you speak of those twisted by mana, do not worry, while uncomfortably similar to that, it is entirely safe. Any danger usually comes from finding areas with enough magic to support this process, generally the interior of dungeons less merciful than yours." The process of bathing a developing child in such high amounts of magic was never a comfortable one, but such children also had the most magic, the most strength. They either lived much longer than their peers would or died historically before lifespan became an issue. Not that she''d let any child of hers be that foolish, but still. "Further explanation is requested." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "As you ask." Edward gestured to her. "Ahem, the process is, quite simply, called mana birth, an expecting mother will bathe their child in raw magic, the more the better. It''s an old tradition from before the Collapse that remains to the present, the benefits are numerous." "And you would do this willingly?" "Well, uh, not quite..." The air took a razor quality to it, and the scraping of the metal golems could be heard coming up the hallway. "But please don''t misunderstand!" The scraping paused. "While the intrigue of noble houses is... not always clean, once the process is started it must be followed through, by waiting as long as we had in the deeper levels, I no longer have a choice in the matter." "The master is confused." "If the process is not followed through, the child may... may perish before they are born." A heavy silence fell on them, Edward even made a distant face, like he''d seen the very horror she was trying to explain. She wasn''t sure how to feel, in all honesty, when she learned of her condition, more thoughts than she could count went through her head. Good, bad, happy, sad, worried, and calm, all these and more flowed through her when she learned, and one of the last things among them was a mana birth. Oh sure, she knew that she would do it if she ever decided to have children, and she didn''t mind it in the slightest that it was accidental, nor that it was with a lord. What upset her was that it was all forced to happen before she made the choice herself, something he cursed (but not an actual one) the paladin for. Helvina didn''t blame the dungeon either, it helped her survive, and letting her child reach an apex few would was hardly a price. It''s just that the suddenness of it was the irritating point. "He asks what you need of him." "My thanks, as said before, I need only stay in your great dungeon for several hours each day, the deeper the better." ... "You shall be allowed this; however, the final level is forbidden as it would be harmful to you no matter how much power there is, and that you be accompanied by another outsider." That presented some issues, but not any big ones, the process didn''t last until birth, only until she had enough to trigger the change, which was very obvious to a mage like herself. And from what little she could see of the final level, she agreed with their restriction, a whiff of that foul air was all she needed to know it would kill her long before the mana did. She also didn''t mind the part about having a guard either, just that they would need to be rotated often to avoid mana sickness, something that she was able to avoid thanks to her child. "I agree to these terms dungeon." "Excellent, is that all you wanted to bring up, or is that it?" "No, good dungeon, that is all we needed to discuss right now." They got up and were through the doorway when the creature called for them again. "The master has said that he shall begin sending out monsters to begin finding your lost brother, so inform your men of them." "I will do what I can, speaker, oh, and before we go, Helvina will be in later on for the first day, if possible, I would ask that she be given an appropriate area to rest herself." "The master will see to it." They turned to leave, traveling through the halls and down the lift, Edward sighed heavily as they made it to the small stone platform that extended from the keep. "At least it wasn''t anything more important." She gave him a pointed look. "Ok, important, but still, it could have been something more dangerous that I''d have to deal with." "Uh huh, and what do you mean deal with?" He looked even more stressed at that. Ch.45 I was conflicted on what to think from... all that. On one hand, allies had just asked me to help them with their child, and from what I had been told it wasn''t something I would be against. On the other hand, the whole thing stinks for some reason, I couldn''t put my finger on it, but something felt off about the whole thing. Any insight, System?
The human and half-elf were correct, the act of exposing a developing fetus to large amounts of magic will indeed enhance the child, however, such a process has the effect of aligning it with the mana type it was exposed to.
Is that a bad thing?
Negative, the only result is that the offspring will have a strong magical attachment to earth magic, ferromancy specifically.
So, nothing too impactful then, good, good, I''ve never had to deal with kids all that much back on Earth, and even when I did it was my kid cousins who were generally already self-sufficient by the time I''d properly met them. I suppose it would be best to get things ready before she gets back. Coasting through the floors, I had the dryads set up a simple shack a short distance from the main grotto, it was somewhat ramshackle, but it would serve its purpose when the time came. Next, made standing orders with the kobolds to provide our future guests with food and drink, both of which were edible to humans (and adjacent) but were according to the system rather high in fiber for most non-herbivores. With that sorted out, I could return to other projects. Now that my talk with them was over with, I could focus on my two main projects, my dungeon level, and Arthur. The level requirements were easy, thankfully, if expensive to get done with, using my remaining exotics alongside a chunk of mana.
Congratulations! The core has fulfilled the requirements to advance to level g! +1 floor limit Added gross mana production to base production. +1000 mana storage +1 level 6 perk choice +1 focusing choice. +1 level 6 monster choice* +15 DP for leveling up. *Requires choosing a perk and focus choice before being available.
Behind the TM''s great tree a stairway formed, leading to my new floor 6. With 30 rooms available, I had an enormous amount of space to work with, a trend that would only grow as I grew. First though, I want to know my other picks before I go crazy, again, with designing something. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Level 6 Perks Intelligent Design: Sapient machines will receive a minute increase to overall abilities, non-sapient machines will now have the ability to better recognize patterns and coordination. Minor Elemental Contract: Allow minor elementals to form in applicable areas. Can only form on level 6 and below. Functional Ambience: Creates and utilizes ambient dungeon additions to decrease overall upkeep by a small amount.
So, in summary, smart machines get smarter, I get some extra monsters from here one, and my kind of steampunk, kind of smogpunk, works a bit better overall. Useful, on the whole, but not the most impactful at this point. Intelligent design''s main draw was that my dumb creations could think better, something I didn''t care about in those specific monsters, while it only lightly touched up on my smart ones. Opposing it was that I could have free monsters in the form of minor elementals that would pop up here and there each room, equal to the ones I had a whole room dedicated to. Like I said, useful but not impactful, at least not now. Moving onto the focus choice.
Focusing 6 Mechanical Focus 6: All future choices will be mechanical in nature or association, unlocks the ability to convert one blueprint into a mechanical alternative for 10 DP per level of the blueprint. Reward Focus 1: Allows the dungeon to grant rewards on certain actions. Synergizes with [Puzzle Rooms 1]. Outrider Focus 1: Allows future options to have the chance of having the [Outrider] trait. This trait allows the monster to leave the dungeon under orders.
Seems mechanical focus had changed from just increasing the chance of machine choices, to making it certain I would get them. That was good, really good, but the real draw was the conversion ability I would get, the only downside was that I''d have to pay for it. Doing some quick math, assuming I got any mechanical monsters and trap in the future, a certainty thanks to my deals with Arthur and co. I would be paying hundreds to convert the different things they brought to me. I shook my head; I can spiral once I''ve thought out the other two. Checking the store, I did indeed find a puzzle room package, a simple pack that contained several pre-designed puzzles that I could install in a room to make it into a puzzle one. They ranged in difficulty and scale, but the theme of all of them was that they were all solvable, and they were all unpassable. The idea was that the room, once entered, would lock itself and prevent any escape that wasn''t to leave the dungeon, and that those stuck inside would be forced to complete some trial or puzzle to leave, or else face a punishment. The combination of puzzle and reward, though, was to entice people into these puzzles so that they would get their rewards, increasing mana generation and increasing dungeon growth. With this, I could make points in the dungeon that no matter what, couldn''t be smashed through all willy-nilly. The fact that I could choose how to reward them if I wanted to was essentially a bonus in this situation. Moving on, there was the outrider. To be honest, I wasn''t super certain I''d pick this, but given the utility and the fact that I could actually exert my presence outside of the dungeon more often, it definitely would have its moments. The big issue was that I had no real intention of letting any more monsters out of my dungeon any time soon, some ideas did come up, like if I got more dryad-esque monsters that could alter the environment, but otherwise I''d just stick to my hobgoblins for now. Overall, I had my choices, always getting mechanical choices, and the ability to make things mechanical. A more streamlined method of gifting to people, and the chance of getting monsters that can leave and do stuff outside. What this meant in practice though would be more security, more trade incentives, and a greater outside presence. What to do? Ch.45 poll extention The poll extension for Ch 45. Also, as I said in Helvina 1, after today chapters will take a bit to release due to work, I apologize for the delays. It shouldn''t last more than a month, but I wouldn''t cross that out as a possibility, also, I have more random stories I''ve written over the years (none completed obviously) and if people want to read some of them, I can upload them quickly in a separate ''story'' submission. It''s mostly just random bits and stories, although one of them I''ve been eyeing on whether or not I''ll fully commit to. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.