《A Demon's Core: Extras》 Williams Report 1 & 2 Dungeon Investigation Report 1 Date: 15/03/2058 Report submitted by: William Blake The first scout¡¯s report was correct. The dungeon has not only laid its territory across some of the steps, but has created a switchback pathway leading up. The path crosses over the stairs at irregular intervals. All further attempts to reach this dungeon will have to be led by a mage. I do not believe such a design could be accomplished by an unclaimed dungeon. I suspect this dungeon already has a controller and they did this as an obstacle to delay intruders. We failed to reach the fifth floor of the building where the dungeon core was reported to have been seen. After passing the landing between the fourth and fifth floors, we were attacked by a powerful invisible force. I noticed a buildup of mana just a moment before the attack and shielded myself on reflex, but failed to protect the rest of my team. We were not prepared to deal with this unseen enemy, so I called for a retreat. Some of my men were hurt, but there were no critical injuries. I remained on guard for a followup attack, but there was no further reaction from the dungeon. The source of the attack remains unknown. It could be that there was some kind of automated defense in place, programmed only to attack those who get within a certain range, though that is nothing more than a guess. I have never heard of anything that can perform such a function while remaining invisible, but if the dungeon controller is a demon, as the creatures it has summoned are reported to be, they may have a much better understanding of magic and might be able to create such a thing. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Despite our retreat being impaired, both by injury and the pathway on the stairs, we were not pursued in any way. We did not see any sign of the small demonic creatures reported by the group who discovered the dungeon. I suspect it was because they were showing mercy and allowing us to escape. This situation does warrant further investigation, but we should proceed with caution. We should assume this is a controlled dungeon and act accordingly. We can¡¯t rule out the possibility that the controller is a demon, but they aren¡¯t like our enemies; they may be hostile, but they¡¯re not merciless. Personal note: Whoever came up with the idea for that path in the stairwell is a maniacal bastard and I would really like to meet them.
Dungeon Investigation Report 2 Date: 10/04/2058 Report submitted by: William Blake The package was successfully delivered without complication. The dungeon¡¯s switchback pathway in the stairs has reached further down since the last time I was there. It is possible that it will continue to do so. I stood just within the dungeon''s territory, on the lowest step, so the dungeon controller would know I was there and to await their response, to be sure the package would be noticed. It took around five minutes and the response was unusual. The dungeon was somehow able to drain some of my mana, even though I was stationary within its boundary. As far as I am aware, there are no records of any dungeon, controlled or not, being able to do something like that. Yet another enigma from this peculiar dungeon and its mysterious controller. Still no sighting of any of the dungeon¡¯s creatures. Form of Thought I have been wondering about this body I have for quite some time. It is in the form of Violet from before her resurrection. This was the form I took when I first created it and it has not changed at all since then. Even when I had to reform it, I just went ahead and made it the same way without giving it much thought, it still even has the same clothes that it did when it was first created; a pink shirt that is a little too big with a unicorn on it and lime-green pants. Violet did not care much for colour coordination back then, though to be fair, she did not have a wide selection of clothes to choose from at the time. I wonder though, with this body being just a projection of my consciousness beyond my core, I should be able to change how it looks, right? Not that it actually matters, since no one can actually see me anyway, but I am curious. What should I change it to though? Perhaps the first thing I should try is updating my form to reflect Violet¡¯s current appearance. I try to visualise how she looks now, including the clothes she was wearing when I last saw her; a better fitting shirt that was almost the same colour as her skin, just a little darker, and some tight-fitting shorts that were light pink with strawberries on them. The change is not immediate and it takes a lot more focus than I expected, but eventually, I am able to achieve the desired effect. Looking into a mirror would be pointless since I do not cast a reflection, but looking down, I can see the purple skin on my hands and the clothes matching Violet¡¯s. I look over my shoulder to see the long, purple tail trailing behind me. It seems to float a little in the air, as though not affected by gravity as much as the rest of my body. Since the physical sensations I can experience are extremely limited, I actually forget it is even there most of the time. I wonder how Violet is able to keep hers from dragging on the ground as I am sure it is affected by gravity. Does it weigh her down? Is it tiring holding it up off the floor all the time? Is it something she had to get used to or did it just come naturally? She has been practising moving it around with intention ever since her fight with Coal. I wonder if it is flexible enough to be prehensile. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Thinking back to my own form, I try changing it again to emulate some of the other imps. Starting with Rose, the initial change in height is noticeable, but after that there is not much difference as I change into others as there is only a few centimetres in height variation between them and their skin tones only differ slightly in shade. Coal is a bit different though as he is a little taller than the others and has unique colouring. I then wonder if I could take on the form on a hellhound. Maybe it is because I have been in the shape of an imp for so long or just that I have been around imps longer, or maybe it is just because they are much larger, but it takes a lot more effort and concentration to adopt the form of a hellhound. I still succeed though, and now I have a perspective much higher than even Violet¡¯s form. I try running around the room, but adapting from bipedal to quadrupedal movement is quite awkward at first. After some practice, I eventually get the hang of it. It has never occurred to me before, but do I even need to have a form at all? Can I just exist in a formless state? I close my eyes and try to imagine myself as an invisible floating cloud. To my surprise, it actually works. Even more surprising is that in this state, I have full vision in all directions simultaneously, not unlike back when I was limited to only my core. That could be advantageous. However, I quickly find that there is a drawback to this state; it is difficult to move without limbs. I can drift around, but it is slow and inefficient. I prefer the greater freedom of movement that comes from having an actual body. As interesting as it is to try new things, I think I prefer my first form. But now that I know that superficial aspects are pretty easy to change, could I make changes based purely on my imagination, rather than copying something specific? What if I could be an imp with bright pink skin, to match my core? Even as I picture it, the colour on my hands changes to a vibrant shade of pink, similar to the colour of the mana crystals that I create. As I try changing to other colours, cycling through every different colour I can imagine, I lament the fact that no one else can see me. I am sure my imps would be delighted at such a dazzling display. In the end, I decide to stick with my original colouring, even though it is simple and does not stand out at all compared to my imps. Maybe that is exactly the reason why I feel that it is the best. The only thing I will change is the clothes; from the rather unfortunate outfit that Violet was wearing when I first took this form, to plain black t-shirt and pants. I do not need anything special or extravagant; it is not like I am trying to impress anyone. But it is nice to know that I can change things with little more than a thought whenever I want some variety. Williams Report 3 Dungeon Investigation Report 3 Date: 13/04/2058 Report submitted by: William Blake We have successfully made contact with the dungeon controller, who has identified themself as ¡®Magentam¡¯. I was joined in this investigation by Cassandra Thorne from the D.I.D, in case we needed an interpreter, and the group who originally discovered the dungeon; Jonathan Crawford, Mark Hensel, Seth Brikshaw and Jenna Hensel. We brought them along because they had previously entered the dungeon and were able to leave safely without conflict, so it was hoped that seeing familiar faces might make the dungeon controller more amenable to communication. That idea backfired as the dungeon controller blames those four for the multiple attacks they have suffered from other humans, through which they claimed to have suffered casualties. They have also speculated that D.M.O personnel may have been sharing information about the dungeon without authorisation to people who do not have proper clearance. The matter has been reported to the D.M.O Branch Director, Colonel Adrian Taylor. We didn¡¯t see the dungeon controller directly as they chose to communicate only through telepathy. The voice sounded synthetic, perhaps as a result of the method of communication, and I could not even determine whether the voice was that of a male or female or whether they are human or demon. They do seem fluent in English though. We were able to confirm the presence of the dungeon¡¯s creatures this time; two distinctly different types. The first are the small demons reported by Jonathan and his party, they are mostly as originally described, except for their skin colours. The first report stated that they all had red skin, but of the three that we saw, they were each different colours. The first had red skin and was identified as ¡®Rose¡¯, the second had dark grey skin that faded to black in the extremities, identified as ¡®Coal¡¯ and the third had purple skin and was identified as ¡®Violet¡¯. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Violet was noticeably larger than the other two. There is a possibility that she is the guardian, but that can¡¯t be considered more than speculation at this point. Coal had longer horns and a stockier build. Other notable features that all three shared were their teeth and claws. They are likely capable of taking a bite out of a person with ease, if they felt so inclined, and since their mouths stretch across the entire width of their face, it would be a very large bite. Their claws are sharp and strong enough to dig furrows into the surface of a wooden table, with even larger claws on their feet. We were right about them speaking Balkret and none of them seemed to speak English so it is possible they received their names from the dungeon controller. Though I can¡¯t rule out the possibility that one of them actually was the dungeon controller and they utilised the telepathy to deceive us into thinking otherwise. The other creature type we saw was a large furred quadruped. We saw three of them as well. Black fur with large spikes growing from their backs. They had constantly burning flames in place of eyes; these creatures likely have some magical properties. I estimate they would each stand over a metre in height at the shoulder, though one of them was significantly larger than the other two. They didn¡¯t take much action other than occasionally growling so I can¡¯t report much on their general behaviour, but from what I saw of them, they do appear well trained. I recommend extreme caution when dealing with them. Our meeting concluded with the dungeon controller confirming that they are willing to negotiate, but they want us to deal with whoever is attacking them first. On our way back, the purple demon was following us, though at a considerable distance. It was Seth Brickshaw who noticed her tailing us. Twice he spotted her when I likely never would have known if he had not alerted us. Addition notes: We encountered a highly aggressive mutant on our way back to the checkpoint. It was a large bull, 2.5 - 3 metres tall, and it attacked on sight without provocation. It could become a danger if not dealt with. I recommend extermination, though it will require some heavy munitions. Cassandra and I fired upon it with our side arms and while that did bother it enough that it left us alone, it didn¡¯t seem to cause it any real harm. I think we should try to recruit Johnathan and his party to permanent positions if they are willing. Jonathan carries a large shield that should be heavy, yet he wields it effortlessly and at no point during the mission did he show any indications of fatigue or exhaustion. Seth has sharp senses and is highly observant of his surroundings, and though he seems timid, he showed no hesitation when firing upon the bull mutant with his bow. Jenna is a mage, but she is still a minor so we will have to wait before trying to recruit her. Mark wasn¡¯t in any way remarkable, but they seem to be a pretty tight group, despite his and Jenna¡¯s frequent bickering, so I doubt they would leave him behind. Telepathy It is difficult explaining the complexities of energy conversion to someone who lacks even a rudimentary knowledge of physics, particularly when I am in no way an expert on the topic myself, but it is even more complicated when also trying to figure out how to apply that knowledge to magic. However, Rose is an attentive listener with a keen mind and a thirst for greater knowledge and understanding. She has also proven to be good at filling in the blanks in converting that knowledge to practical application in the times when I am unsure how to proceed. I cannot help but wonder what she might have been able to accomplish had she received a proper education. But then there are times when she asks me about topics that I do not even know where to begin explaining them, because I have no understanding of them myself. ¡°Can you tell me how telepathy works?¡± This is one of those times. Why do you ask? ¡°I thought it might be useful one day if I could communicate with other imps the way you do. But so far, I haven¡¯t been able to figure it out,¡± she explains. When I do it, all it requires is reaching out to my target with mana and I am able to send my thoughts to them through that connection. ¡°That¡¯s what I assumed and I¡¯ve been trying that, but all I¡¯ve managed to accomplish is transferring mana to the one I¡¯m trying to communicate with. I¡¯ve mostly been trying with Violet so far, since we¡¯re both guardians now and you can reach both of us when we¡¯re outside and it¡¯s even a two-way connection when you do, so I thought there might be a better chance of success with her, but it hasn¡¯t worked so far,¡± she laments. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Unfortunately, I have little advice to offer. I have never given much thought to how it works, it just does. I do not understand the mechanics behind it. ¡°So you don¡¯t have any ideas?¡± She inquires? You could try asking Igneous. His primary means of communication seems to be some form of telepathy. Perhaps he could offer some insight. She pauses for a few seconds, then shakes her head. ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t think of that. Thank you, I¡¯ll go talk to him right away,¡± she exclaims and heads off in search of the gargoyle. I leave her to it and turn my attention to other things for a while. When she later returns to her room, I go in to check on her. Were you able to figure anything out? Rose lets out an exasperated sigh. ¡°No. Maybe he¡¯s not good at explaining things, or perhaps his particular method of telepathy is unique to his species. Whatever the reason, I found his attempted explanation to be completely incomprehensible.¡± I see. That is unfortunate. ¡°I think I might need to just set this aside for now. I don¡¯t plan to give up on it, but I¡¯m not seeing a path forward at this point in time,¡± she decides. D.I.D report & Why Are They Called Dungeons? Report: Dungeon investigation Date: Date: 13/04/2058 Reporting Agent: Cassandra Thorne We were right to get involved in this case. The dungeon did contain a new type of demon that we haven¡¯t seen before and other creatures that appear similar to the domesticated creatures the vak sometimes keep that they call ¡®vahxa¡¯. The new demons seem like they could be intelligent, but also appeared to be a little childish in their behaviour. One of them was focused and attentive and claimed to be the dungeon controller¡¯s representative, but the other two we saw hardly even seemed to be paying attention to what was going on at all. The interaction was too limited to properly gauge their mental capabilities though. We couldn¡¯t confirm if the dungeon actually summoned the demons or if they were brought here by other means. We need to test if these are a variety of demons that can be normally summoned with a dungeon core. The dungeon controller apparently used telepathy to communicate with William which is also unheard of. There are far too many unknown factors about this dungeon. We cannot leave this situation solely in the hands of the Dungeon Management Office. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
After leaving the Dungeon, the six humans reached the military checkpoint where William said they would spend the night. He also spent some time complaining about how the higher-ups hadn¡¯t simply authorized the use of a car, but many of them believed this mission was pointless and they didn¡¯t want to expend more resources than necessary on it. The building used for the checkpoint used to be some kind of store, but there were no traces left of whatever it used to stock as it had all been removed long ago so the place could be repurposed. Even though it was an official military outpost, there were usually only two people stationed there as they didn¡¯t have much to do besides observing the area and making a report if they saw anything unusual. That night, as they sat around eating their meal of simple MREs, Jenna decided to ask a question she had been thinking about for a while. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been wondering, why are they called dungeons?¡± ¡°A fair question, I wondered the same myself once,¡± William replied. ¡°And?¡± Jenna prompted him to continue. ¡°Well, I asked around and the story I heard is that the term came from video games; RPGs in particular. Some of those games featured special zones, called dungeons, that contained dangerous monsters, valuable loot and a powerful boss, sometimes more than one. Apparently, what to call them was a heavily debated topic at the time when they first appeared, but people eventually noticed the similarities and decided to call them dungeons,¡± William explained. ¡°Wait, so they were named after something from video games? Isn¡¯t that kind of¡­stupid?¡± Jenna asked incredulously. ¡°Hey, video games are awesome. You¡¯re just jealous because you don¡¯t have any,¡± Mark interjected. ¡°Maybe it is a little bit silly, but what would you have called them?¡± William countered. Ajustment Period When the grey skinned imp first arrived, he had been confused. He had no idea how he came to be in this new place. Teleportation was nothing out of the ordinary for him, but this was different. It wasn¡¯t his own power that transported him here and he didn¡¯t even know where ¡®here¡¯ was or how it was possible. But he wasn¡¯t alone. He was surrounded by other imps, except these ones all looked strange. They were smaller than him and had red skin. He¡¯d never seen imps like that before, all those from his pack, and other packs they occasionally interacted with, looked just like him. While some had lighter or darker skin tones, they all had the same general colouring. He didn¡¯t understand why these ones looked the way they did. There was one that was different though. Her skin was purple, a colour that was a rare sight where he had come from, and she was much bigger than the others, even bigger than he was, this was the first time he¡¯d ever seen an imp so large. But if she was the biggest, then she was also the strongest, which meant she was the leader here. If he could beat her in combat, he would be the new leader; then he would get the most food and the best stuff. Yet despite his determination, he suffered the most humiliating defeat he¡¯d ever experienced. Even though he knew the odds were against him from the beginning, he hadn¡¯t expected her to be able to completely overwhelm him without ever using her own teleportation even once. But after the fight, he witnessed something unbelievable. One of the smaller imps placed her hands on the large one and all the wounds he had managed to inflict during their fight began to heal before his eyes. He didn¡¯t understand at all how such a thing could be possible, but he hoped she could also do the same for him. His arm had been injured during the fight and while he hadn¡¯t let that stop him, now that the fight was over and the battle thrill had faded, he was starting to feel just how intense the pain was. He held out his injured arm, the smaller imp placed her hands upon it and the pain began to fade. She couldn¡¯t take all the pain away, but it was reduced to an ache that was unpleasant, but tolerable. There were many things he didn¡¯t understand about this pack, apart from just their language, though he realised they were trying to teach him. But they also had a specific word they used to refer to him. ¡®Coal¡¯ they called him, but he didn¡¯t know what it meant. He wasn¡¯t the only one though, they all had a different specific word that they answered to. The one who had bested him in battle was called ¡®Violet¡¯ and the one who healed him was ¡®Rose¡¯. But that was only the beginning of their strangeness. They had tamed the ruthless monsters that his old pack called the ¡®flamebringers¡¯, something he never would have believed possible if he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes. There was also a mysterious voice that spoke to him sometimes, though he couldn¡¯t find its source or understand its words. It was baffling at first that none of the other imps ever teleported for any reason, they just walked everywhere for everything. But soon he realised, it wasn¡¯t that they chose not to teleport, but rather that they couldn¡¯t. Not a single one of them was able to do something that was as natural to him as breathing. He couldn¡¯t decide if that made his loss against Violet more humiliating or less. But if they couldn¡¯t teleport, then none of them, besides Violet, would have any chance of beating him in a fight, which means they couldn¡¯t stop him from taking whatever he wanted from them. He may not be the leader, but he could still claim a high position within this pack by proving his dominance. Yet whenever he tried, either Violet or Rose would always stop him. He didn¡¯t want to listen to Rose, even if she had a strange healing power, she was weaker than him, so she shouldn¡¯t have any authority. But the strangest thing about this pack was that even though Violet was the strongest, she still deferred to Rose as if she were the leader. He couldn¡¯t comprehend it at all. A few days after he¡¯d arrived, he saw one of the other imps plating with something unusual. It was a small, strangely shaped rock that easily glided across the ground when pushed. What stood out to him was its colour. It was blue, another colour he rarely saw in his old home, especially so bright and vibrant as that rock. He wanted it and was going to take it. ¡°Mine,¡± he said as he snatched it from the smaller imp. The other imp complained and while Coal couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying, he could guess that it was demands for the item to be returned. The smaller male tried to take it back, but Coal was bigger, stronger and could teleport. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Coal teleported behind the other imp and shoved him hard enough to push him to the ground. The imp glared up at him and growled, but instead of trying to challenge Coal again, he got up and ran out of the room. While Coal was satisfied with his prize, admiring its vibrant hue, the other imps soon returned, with Rose and Violet in tow. Coal frowned, having a good idea of what was about to happen. Rose approached him and held out a hand. ¡°Give,¡± She demanded. ¡°No, mine,¡± Coal refused. ¡°Give,¡± Rose repeated. Coal narrowed his eyes. There was no reason for him to listen to her and no reason for her to be in charge, even if the others obeyed her. He glanced at Violet who was looking down at him with a frown. He didn¡¯t understand why Violet wasn¡¯t the leader, but he saw it as an opportunity. He couldn¡¯t beat Violet in a fight, but he was confident he could beat Rose. Once he had proven his dominance over her, everyone who looked to her as the leader would have to acknowledge him as the leader instead. Rather than hand over his blue rock, he shoved Rose away. She stumbled backwards, but as he stepped forwards to press his advantage, he was tackled by Violet and crashed onto the floor with the larger imp coming down on top of him. He looked up at her and saw fury in her eyes. That wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go, he was supposed to be fighting Rose. He didn¡¯t want to fight Violet right now, especially since he knew he wasn¡¯t going to win. He teleported a short distance away and tried to surrender, but she charged at him again, slashing with her claws. He dropped the blue rock, no longer caring about it when faced with his current situation. He needed both hands to defend himself, but seeing her rage, he feared she would not stop even if he gave up after she had already rejected his surrender already, so he prioritised teleporting to keep out of her reach. Despite doing his best to stay away from her, she kept chasing and her speed was incredible. She was unrelenting and every time he let her get too close, it meant more pain and more blood. But he soon realised it wasn¡¯t just Violet he was dealing with. There were other imps in the room besides the one he took the blue rock from and they had seen the commotion from the start. Even though they had not intervened before, they were no longer acting passive. They didn¡¯t chase him as fervently as Violet, but they would still lash out at him if they saw an opportunity. This wasn¡¯t how a leadership challenge was supposed to go, it¡¯s supposed to be one on one. For a brief moment, he considered himself lucky that the flamebringers were not also present. Eventually, Rose called the others off and they stopped chasing him, though with one look at Violet, he could tell she was still seething. He had inflicted a few minor injuries on Violet as he defended himself, but they were quickly healed by Rose. He cautiously approached, hoping to also be healed, but Rose just glared at him briefly and walked away. It made him wonder if her mysterious healing power was the reason why she was the leader and why the others worked together to defend her. Would she deny healing when it was needed to anyone who disobeyed her? Whatever the reason, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be wise to challenge her like that again. He skulked away by himself to find an unoccupied room where he curled up in a corner to sulk. He stayed there for the rest of the day and even after it got dark, he remained where he was throughout the night, even falling asleep at some point, still sitting alone in the corner. Once it was light again, he decided to seek out Rose. She was wary as he approached, but no one moved to stop him. He knelt before her and bowed his head to show his submission. She placed a hand on his head and he felt the lingering pain fade as the wounds from the day before were healed. After that, everyone acted like it didn¡¯t even matter. The imp he tried to take the blue rock from even offered it to him freely, but after the trouble of the day before, he no longer desired it. It was yet another thing he didn¡¯t understand. In his old pack, if someone challenged the leader and lost, they should expect to be mocked and ridiculed by others and to be treated poorly by the leader for a while. But that wasn¡¯t happening here, it was like after he had submitted to Rose, nobody cared about what he¡¯d done anymore. Later, he went out hunting with some other imps, including Violet. He was the first to catch anything, as he saw something flying overhead. He teleported up into the air to grab it and though he missed on his first attempt, he teleported again as he began to fall and successfully caught it the second time. He teleported back to the ground when he started falling again. From that height, he might have been able to land safely if he¡¯d just let himself fall, but he wasn¡¯t completely certain of it and didn¡¯t want to take the risk. The creature he caught screeched and struggled frantically in his grip so he quickly pierced it with his claws to put an end to it. It was small enough that he could easily hold it with one hand so it would not be especially filling, but it was a start. He tensed as he saw Violet approaching, expecting that she would demand he hand over what he had caught as it was always expected that those higher in the pack hierarchy should eat first. But that didn¡¯t happen. Instead she patted him on the shoulder and though he couldn¡¯t understand the words she said, the tone sounded encouraging. Then she walked away, leaving him confused. As the group continued, he observed how they divided things. Prey hunted collaboratively was shared evenly among the group, but smaller things that were easily caught by an individual were left in the hands of that individual, though sometimes they still decided to share it anyway. And through it all, Violet never used her strength to claim a larger portion than anyone else. This dynamic was completely different from how his old pack did things and he didn¡¯t understand, but he was starting to. Williams Report 4 & 5 Dungeon Investigation Report 4 Date: 17/04/2058 Report submitted by: William Blake I was sent to the dungeon to talk to its controller, Magentam, about the creature that was spotted flying over the city earlier in the day and find out what I can about it. Magentam confirmed that they sent the creature and offered their gratitude for calling off the attack against it. I asked to see the creature and despite some hesitation, they agreed. The simplest description for the creature would be to call it a humanoid, anthropomorphic bat. It was hunched over and walking on all fours when it entered the room, even its forelimbs were definitely arms with hands. The creature stood up straighter as I approached until its eyes were level with mine, though that didn¡¯t appear to be its full height. When asked to see its wings, the creature agreed. Its wingspan was massive. I estimate roughly five metres There was a slight mishap caused by Private Arens taking a picture of the creature using the flash without warning. The creature was startled and beat its wings to get away from us, but it did not react with intentional violence. Cassandra was knocked over when hit by its wing, but didn¡¯t suffer any injuries. After apologising and explaining the camera to the creature, it agreed to allow us to take more pictures. I asked Magentam if we could take pictures of any of their other creatures but the request was immediately rejected, stating that they don¡¯t trust us. The way that the creature responded to requests without hesitation made me suspect it is not only intelligent but also capable of understanding human speech. It could be possible that Magentam relayed the request to the creature, but I would have expected a delay if that were the case. It would be best not to underestimate this creature if it¡¯s encountered in the future. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Going forwards, Magentam has agreed to keep their creatures on their side of the river, so we should not have to worry about a repeat of today¡¯s incident. Additional note: I request that Private Arens receive a formal reprimand for his reckless actions that put our team in danger.
Dungeon Investigation Report 5 Date: 24/04/2058 Report submitted by: William Blake After receiving a letter from the dungeon controller stating they had been attacked again, I was sent to go meet with them again. This time accompanied again by Cassandra Thorne and three escorts. I had the escorts remain in the lobby while we went up to speak with Magentam. The first thing I noticed was that the switchback pathway in the stairs had continued to extend further down since the last time we were there. I asked how far they planned to go with that and they stated they intended to go ¡®all the way¡¯ down, presumably to the ground floor. When asked about the ¡®insignia¡¯ mentioned in the letter, Magentam stated there was supposed to be a shoulder pad from one of the attackers along with the letter and that one of the guards at the checkpoint was observed collecting both items when they were delivered. I questioned the guards on the way back, but apparently there had been a shift change between when the letter was initially received and today. I recommend an investigation be made into who was on guard that day to determine what happened to the missing item. They had other examples though and brought out another shoulder pad bearing the logo of the Honey Badgers mercenary group. They reported a total of six individuals involved in the attack but that the dungeon only suffered two casualties from the incident. The description of the kind of gear the attackers brought, which Magentam has claimed and intends to keep, leads me to suspect that they may have been relatively inexperienced. But even so, for Magentam to have defeated them with so few losses, I believe we need to reevaluate our estimations of the dungeon¡¯s strength. What we can confirm though is that the attacks against the dungeon are escalating. Magentam gave us a fresh mana stone as an incentive to speed up the investigation into who is sending these attackers, but they are losing both patience and trust. Additional note: Magentam claimed to not be a demon, though we were unable to confirm the validity of that claim as they still refused to show themself directly. As an aside, Magentam confirmed that communicating through telepathy does consume mana.