《Mine from the Abyss》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 A void surrounds me. It¡¯s pretty cool just floating around in nothing. No responsibilities or anyone to care what you do or don''t do. Well¡ª no anyone, when you really think about it. Just endless nothingness and it is all I know for what seems like an eternity. Wait if this is still nothingness, how am I thinking about all these things? Now that I think about it, I really don''t know who or what I am. Suddenly, a voice echoes from the void. "Processing... Please wait." I don''t know why this voice has appeared, but it¡¯s way more interesting than all that nothingness I was experiencing before. "Thank you for waiting. You have been approved for use. System will start in one moment. Please have a great day!" Instantaneously, a world of color crashes over me. My vision blurs and I begin to feel nauseous, however the feeling quickly subsides. I¡¯m not too sure how I could even feel nauseous, I don''t even seem to have a mouth or stomach. But hey, it¡¯s also weird that I can see without having eyes. Existing is already so much more fascinating than not existing. My vision starts to clear up, and I can finally make out the room I appear to be in. From what I can tell the floor is made up of cracked stone, with the breaks filled thoroughly with dirt. The walls are a mixture of packed dirt and wooden beams used as a support, forming arches that bear the weight of the ceiling above me. Laid upon the floor are some heavily damaged rails, presumably for a mining cart, leading up to the center of the room where a very strange orb is floating in the air. This object looks both foreign and familiar to me. The rails seems to lead into a hallway that stretches away from the orb and leads to what might be an exit. I cannot sense what is beyond its opening. All I can feel at that distance is a wall of light, severing all connections. Suddenly that weird voice chimes in again. "Congratulations on becoming a dungeon core. You are now active, please defend yourself immediately." I try to speak back to the voice but no noise escapes me. Probably from me lacking a mouth. From the entrance to the tunnel I hear some rustling. Well at least I can hear something other than the voice, that is refreshing. "Warning! Enemies detected, please defend yourself." the voice repeats itself with a lot more agitation this time. I can feel the intruders the voice spoke of now entering the tunnel.It kind of feels like the hairs sticking up on the back of my neck. Do I have a neck? I ponder it for a moment but I have come to the conclusion that I most likely don¡¯t. I wish I could see what these enemies look like at least. Suddenly my viewpoint shifts down towards the entrance and I see the intruders. The creatures are small, with skin blotted to a sickly green and ears sharpened to knife-like points. Their only clothing consists of sullied loincloths and I''d rather not know what they cover up. The two creatures in front seem to be carrying sticks as weapons and¡ª woah, do they smell terrible. Wait I can smell things? This would be awesome if it didn''t make me want to puke. The shorter one in the back seems to be barking orders in a language I cannot understand. He is more well armed than the others, carrying a small knife and appears to have a satchel flung over his shoulder. Well this is new. I wonder what the hell these things are? Suddenly the voice chimes in again. "Understood, please focus on the target to see its status." I try to focus my mind on the creature in the back, and a window quickly opens into my vision.
Monster Information
Name Unknown Goblins are a cave dwelling species prone to hoarding anything shiny and fits of violence. They tend to live in large groups in order to let other goblins act as meat shields while they loot and kill. They are fast for their size but fairly weak. Outside of a few rare evolutions, the species could be considered stupid. They are easily terrified unless a superior creature is leading them.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Species Inferior Goblin
Age 2 Years old
Sex Male
Health Unknown
Mana Unknown
Equipment
Weapons Weak Rusted Knife A rusted dagger that looks as if it will break at any moment. Useless in battle.
Armor Tattered Loincloth A tattered loincloth that is heavily stained.
Other Items Ripped Satchel (Items inside are currently hidden) A ripped satchel with a single strap.
Please research analysis skills to see more information. If I had to guess why these goblins are here, it would probably be to find a nice new cozy cave to live in. I can sense that they are a danger to me. I cannot let them any further inside. But I have no body, how can I even stop them? "Understood, minion summoning protocol activated, please create a job and an appropriate minion shall be created." the voice says. Since I am unable to speak I focus my mind and direct my thoughts towards the voice. "Why do I need to defend myself? Can we not use diplomacy? Wouldn''t it be easier if I just made the goblins my allies instead? They are probably just looking for a kickass cave to hang out in right?" "System is processing the request, please wait" the voice says in a rather annoyed tone. Well this isn''t good. The goblins have finished walking down the tunnel and every fiber of my being screams that I must not let them reach the orb in the middle of the room. At this point I realize what a dungeon core is. It¡¯s definitely a suspicious and shiny floating orb, and that orb is me. Just the kind of thing a goblin would love to get his grubby hands on. The goblin with the knife noticing a sparkly orb begins walking towards it with his hand reaching out. The two goblins with clubs fan out looking for any danger. "Please don''t touch me before you wash your hands." The goblin tilts its head as the sounds ring out from me. "Gabba?" the knife-wielding goblin says as it tilts its head in confusion. "Apparently I can talk without a mouth after all. But of course we cannot speak the same language that would be too easy!" I sigh and suddenly the voice rings out again. "Sorry for the delay, your request has been approved. New minion species Mindeater will be summoned." I feel a surge of power inside myself as a black mist begins pouring out of me onto the floor and pools into single spot. The goblins now terrified scream while dropping their weapons. They turn and run but the knife goblin trips on his own legs and falls to the ground. the mist becomes more dense and turns into flesh. The creature seems to be mass of black flesh resembling a slug only it''s about the size of a goblins head. It has four tentacles that begin to dart quickly around the air. "Well he is kind of cute in the ''gives you nightmares kind of way''." My new creation seems to have no eyes, yet seems to be doing something I only can call staring at the goblin on the floor. The goblin, staring back begins to scream as the mindeater launches itself at his head using its tentacles. Blood, chunks of flesh, and an eyeball fly as its tentacles dig into any orifice they can find. The goblin, while screaming, tries to tear the mindeater from its face using the knife. It sadly snaps in half as soon as it enters my minions flesh. The goblin does the next best thing and begins ripping at its face with its own claws. The two creatures struggle for what feels like hours before the goblin''s body suddenly goes limp and falls to the floor. The mindeater''s tentacles are still firmly rooted into the goblins skull. The hilt of the dagger still poking out of the mindeater slowly pushes out of its flesh and falls to the floor with he wound closing immediately after. "Are you okay? Did we win?" I say directing my voice towards my new minion hoping it can hear me. The creature doesn''t respond. The little guy doesn''t have a mouth, eyes or ears¡ª but neither do I so that''s no excuse. Suddenly the goblins body stiffens and its limbs spasm before it begins to rise with my new minion still stuck to its head. "How the hell is that thing still alive!?" The goblin turns its head to look at me and the mindeater''s flesh pulses. The goblin coughs up some blood and begins to speak. "Orrr derrrs?" it says with a distorted voice. Chapter 2 Chapter 2
Congratulations! You have defeated the enemy. 5 Dungeon Points Received!
¡°You know this whole disembodied voice thing is cool, but I would like to have an actual name to refer to you. Lets call you Steve! Yup, I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s a great name!¡± I say to the voice from the void. ¡°So I earned Dungeon Points, let''s call those DP for now. I wonder what those are for?¡± ¡°Understood, Initiating tutorial. You may use Dungeon Points to upgrade parts of your dungeon. Minions will also level on their own by killing enemies and performing tasks. Your minions will also provide you with skills, which are based on their own knowledge. View your status to see your unassigned points.¡± says Steve. Right, I can see the status of things. I focus on my core and a window opens in front of me.
Dungeon Information
Name Nameless Dungeon Core A nameless dungeon that has appeared in an abandoned mining tunnel. Little is known of you by the world and you have accomplished little.
Dungeon Name Nameless Dungeon
Titles N/a
Age 20 minutes
Sex N/a
Mana 45/50 Current Skills
Theme Unknown New!!! Goblin Language. Basic Goblin Construction.
1 Floor Mining Tunnel
5 Dungeon Points unspent
5 Research Points unspent
¡°Hey Steve, what are mana and research points used for?¡± I ask my handy helper. Steve begins to explain. ¡°Mana is used to spawn objects, summon minions, and create rooms." Says steve. "Okay that makes sense and what about research?." "Research points can be assigned to unlock new objects, rooms, and monster evolutions for your dungeon. Research is limited to your current knowledge and objects you have absorbed in the past. " ¡°So I can''t just research some badass high level minions right away?¡± ¡°You are correct. A dungeon that has only absorbed rats will be limited researching aspects of those materials. Please absorb more materials to expand your research tree. "Can I at least edit rooms and objects? You can change aspects of rooms, traps and other objects by using your own knowledge to manually edit them with your mana. Most dungeons use this to make rooms larger or smaller." Oh, so there are other dungeons? That''s neat, I hope I can meet one, I have lots of questions that I would love to ask. "So Steve, can I just move some first around and cordon off the entrance?¡± ¡°Dungeons must always have a reachable core. " Steve responds with an annoyed tone. Perhaps it¡¯s taboo to wall yourself off? Seems like a touchy subject, I''ll leave Steve alone for now. I suddenly realize the goblin from before is staring at me with a blank stare, waiting patiently for a response. My mindeater is still fixed firmly to his head. ¡°Uhhh.. Hi¡­ how''s it going?¡± I say tentatively to the goblin. ¡°Orders?¡± Responds the goblin with a much clearer voice. Hmm... let¡¯s go ahead and examine him again. Possessed Inferior Goblin. This goblin has become brain dead due to extreme damage to the brain. A mindeater is now using the still living body as a puppet. Mindeaters are a weak parasitic monster that kills their host and takes control of the body by puncturing the brain with its tentacles.
Equipment
Weapons Broken Rusted Knife A now broken rusted knife. Useless for battle.
Armor Tattered Loincloth A tattered loincloth that is heavily stained.
Other Items Ripped Satchel ( Items inside are currently hidden) A ripped satchel with a single strap.
Please unlock an analysis skill to see more information. This will not be shown again. ¡°Oh my little mindeater survived and the goblin didn''t actually rise from the dead. That is such a relief.¡± I nervously laugh out loud. ¡°Why hasn''t the goblin and it¡¯s equipment been absorbed though?¡± Steve, per usual, responds to me orating my thoughts,¡°The goblin is now part of your brood of minions. Minions stay active to defend the dungeon and gather resources or do research.¡± says Steve, rather smugly. Okay that explains that, well lets try giving this little guy an order. ¡°Please give me whatever happens to be in your satchel.¡± The mindeater¡¯s flesh pulses as the goblin pulls off the bag and tosses the items inside onto the ground. I feel for my mana and have it wash over the items, now on the ground of the chamber.
1x Rat Carcass Absorbed! 5x Rocks Absorbed! 1x Human hand Absorbed! 2x Weak Wooden clubs absorbed! 1x Goblin Eyeball absorbed!Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Mana is now fully restored.
¡°Wow, what a haul I''m certain the dungeon will be unbreachable now that I have five whole rocks.¡± I say to the mindeater, whose blank stare remains unchanged. Suddenly the omniscient voice of Steve echoes again. ¡°Lesser Rat added to the dungeon monster list. Weak wooden clubs can now be created.¡± ¡°Well what can I do with these other items now?¡± ¡°Items absorbed will grant mana depending on the type of item. Research can be used to experiment with objects to create solutions to problems presented or find upgrades to existing rooms, traps, and other tools.¡± Okay, awesome, so we should start spending mana to improve the dungeon and make some more minions to defend it. ¡°Orders?¡± says the little mindeater once again. ¡°Oh right, can you just go gather some materials that we can use to build with while I try to figure things out? Anything you can find near the dungeon would be great. Just don''t get yourself killed.¡± ¡°Order confirmed¡± The little slug pulses and the goblin waddles down the hall and out the entrance with his bag in hand. ¡°I guess walking is new to him, what with being a slug and all. What a cute little guy. Sluggo will be his name.¡± I say to myself. Time to take a look at some of these menus.
No room designs currently available. Please research a design or construct a room manually.
Okay so no rooms available until I make one myself or research some. Next on the shortlist is room upgrades and research.
Currently available Research
Research Point Cost Description
1 Research Point NEW!!! Research lesser rat evolutions.
N/A Research Mindeater evolutions. Currently Locked. Free minions granted by the tutorial cannot be evolved until the creation of a second floor.
Unnamed Floor
Room Core Room
NEW!!! Upgrades available for Core Room: Convert wood pillars to stone. Increases room durability and reduces the chance of a cave in. Requires 1 DP (unlocked from small rock)
Basic Goblin construction Level 1: (provided from Sluggo)
Mana Cost Description
1 mana Locked! Wooden spike: Requires materials you have not discovered. A spike carved from a wooden log that can be used to create barricades or walls.
5 mana Locked! Goblin shack: Up to two goblins can respawn here when the dungeon floor is empty. Goblins may also rest here. Requires Materials you have not discovered.
2 mana New!!! Goblin rock pile: A pile of rocks that can be used as simple projectiles.
Leave it to the eccentric mind of a goblin to figure out a pile of rocks and pebbles. Let''s assign a research point to lesser rat evolutions and upgrade the room to stone pillars. Hopefully the rats evolution can gather resources and fight intruders. Steve¡¯s metallic voice chirps in. "Research points assigned. ERROR! Unable to load lesser rat evolution. the system will notify you once an evolution is found. Room upgrade purchased.¡± I feel my mana stretch out across the room and soak into the old wooden supports. Slowly they petrify, changing their form into stone. They now look freshly carved, with no wear shown. Wow upgrading rooms is pretty quick but I guess researching evolutions take more time? ¡°Old wood absorbed! Goblin shack and goblin spike can now be constructed!¡± Steve rings in helpfully. Well I guess this should have been done first. It would be quite nice if the entrance to the dungeon had something a bit more... menacing. So let¡¯s go ahead and construct this shack. I¡¯m sure sluggo can rest in it. Does he even need rest? No matter. I feel the now familiar pull as I see my mana clump together into flat pieces of wood, that start haphazardly attaching themselves to other assorted wood pieces. I patiently wait for the shack to be complete before realizing that''s really all there was to it. In front of me rests what seems to be a few loose pieces of flat wood stacked against each other like a house of cards coming to be about four feet high with an opening between two planks in the front. Looks like it could snugly fit two goblins inside but they would have to lay on the dirt floor inside. The sturdiness of the shack is questionable, I find myself certain a strong breeze could topple it. I suddenly feel quite lucky that we¡¯ve made our home in a cave. ¡°Fantastic goblin construction at work, This will certainly meet safety standards!!¡± I say while I chuckle to myself. We are going to need all the defenses we can get. The other goblins ran away, but they may be back and this time with more friends. I take hold of my mana, moving it over to where the room and entrance tunnel meet. There I construct a wooden spike, pointed to a frightening tip, facing away from the core room at an angle. The construction finishes quickly. The hallway is about 6 feet wide and the spike itself is reaches approximately 1 foot wide. I generate another four spikes and space them in a way in the hallway that provides just enough room for a single goblin to pass into the room. My mana is now down to 40. ¡°Now intruders will have to come single file or try to climb over some very sharp and pointy logs. That should slow them down a fair bit.¡± I construct a goblin rock pile near the spikes we can toss rocks at any intruders while they try to move down the tunnel into the Core Room. Congratulations, due to your remarkable engineering ingenuity a new room upgrade has been unlocked! Goblin security barricade room upgrade is now available. Alright, let''s take a look at this upgrade we unlocked.
Room: Entrance Tunnel
Cost Available Room Upgrades
3 DP New!!! Convert the entrance tunnel into a goblin security barricade
15 Mana New!!! Add a goblin watchtower. 0/2
4 Mana New!!! Add a goblin Totem. 0/1
Looks like the system recognized what I was doing and provided some new upgrades to compliment it. These are a bit expensive, let''s try to make some minions and rooms first. I start pulling my mana out of the core and begin by sculpting a small tunnel on the opposite side of the entrance tunnel. I feel my mana easily absorb the packed dirt and rocks that are in the way. The new tunnel itself is now about 20 feet long, 6 feet across, and 4 feet high. I began sculpting a room on the other end until the room extends approximately 20x20 with 6 foot high ceiling. ¡°This room will be massive to those goblins¡± I say out loud while chuckling to myself. ¡°Packed Soil absorbed. Packed soil can now be used construction¡± Steve informs. Doesn''t look like I''m going to be getting much mana from the soil and I am now sadly at a pitiful 10 mana. My, building rooms sure does take a lot of mana! I can see why researching new rooms could be more efficient. "Hey Steve can I move my core to the new room?" I ask. "It would be recommended to move your core to the safest part of your dungeon. You should be able to do this with your mana. Simply push the core in the direction you would like to move.¡± I release some mana and push it back against the core and sure enough it moves with ease through the new tunnel and into the freshly created room. This costs a total of 4 mana to do but I would imagine it increases with distance. "I should be a little safer here I suppose.¡± I begin to feel lightheaded and then come to the sudden realization that I never asked Steve about mana recovery. ¡°Steve, how can I replenish my mana stores?¡± ¡°Mana is absorbed from objects and corpses. Stronger beings grant more mana. You will also absorb ambient mana naturally at a rate of 5 mana per floor, daily.¡± Woah, I just spent a lot of mana and it doesn''t look like I''m going to be getting it back anytime soon. At the very least it won¡¯t be until we get some materials or intruders to absorb. I am definitely going to need to make some minions before I run out. Sluggo is gone and I don''t have much to defend myself with. Luckily, Steve chimes in at the perfect time. ¡°Research lesser rat evolution now complete. New monster type available for summoning.¡± Let''s take a look at my monsters that are available for summoning.
Monsters
Mana Cost Monster Type
5 Mana Mindeater, limit 1 per dungeon until a second floor is created.
1 Mana 1x Mana. Lesser Rat pack. Creates 3 lesser rats No longer available due to researched evolutions.
6 Mana New!!! Error! Please contact your administrator. Palmtail Skitter pack. Creates 3 Palmtail Skitters.
I don''t know what a palmtail skitter is yet, but it looks like I only have one option available. I wasn''t aware evolution research would consume the original monster type. This feels like it would have been pertinent information to know... Steve. Nevermind, It worked out anyways. With six times the mana cost they must be much stronger! Time to create a palmtail skitter pack. I feel as if absolutely nothing could go wrong. I feel my mana leave my core and form into a mist again. This time it pools into three separate piles before turning into flesh. Three mostly normal looking black rats form in front of the core. Well, I say mostly normal because spread over the skin of the rats are blisters of varying sizes, oozing puss and other fluids. But that is far from the strangest part of these creatures. Near the rear of the rat where their tails would normally be located is an entire human wrist, connecting to a human hand extending out from behind each rat. The rats squeak as the hands move and flex their fingers before each rat runs off in different directions. ¡°Well I''m sure that is totally normal.¡± I say to myself. I suddenly feel an intense pain coursing through my mind.
Error! System calculating...
Congratulations new title House of Horrors has been unlocked!
"Warning! All mana reserves have been expended. Shutting down core temporarily to avoid mana exhaustion and preserve core integrity." The shrillness of Steve¡¯s chirping pierces through me as my consciousness fades away. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 I have been walking long enough for the sky to become dark. I hunger for sustenance but the only food available was already given to the master. I cannot stop until I fulfill my orders. The master¡¯s orders are to be completed, even at the cost of my own life. Of course, this is ironic as I was ordered not to die. The forest is dense with trees and other wild plant growth. It is not safe to travel alone, but I must despite the predators watching me from the darkness. No path leads to my destination, though I know where it is. These memories are not mine but they read easily, as if from a book. Finally, I approach the small clearing and the glimmering light of fire becomes visible. This area was once part of the forest, its trees torn down to be used for construction. An encampment, if one could truly call it that, is out in the open. A series of wooden logs stacked in a disorderly manner form what these creatures must consider to be a wall. I count ten cabins, varying in appearance, and numerous tents making up the encampment. Some are formed from the remnants of ruined wagons others from crates, both of which they presumably have taken from their raids. A massive bonfire roars in the center. Fire is one of the few things these creatures are good at. I approach the entrance to the camp where a lone sentry stands at guard. His flimsy wooden spear is resting against his shoulder. Of course these inferior creatures cannot even perform even the simplest tasks, as the sentry is fast asleep, leaning against the wall of logs. I know him, his name is Gork, the strongest fighter in the camp but also the most stupid. I pull my dagger from its sheath. The blade has been broken in half but its edge remains sharp. I slash out horizontally at Gork''s face. A shallow cut forms across his face, and blood begins to dribble out as he wakes and begins screaming. He readies his weapon before noticing me. "Boss!? Me sorry! Me think you were dead!" His eyes move to my head. "Wow boss you kill demon... and make hat? Boss good leader." he says while smirking. Of course these simple beings are not intelligent enough to understand something is seriously wrong here. They only understand and respect one thing. Violence. But this works to my advantage. "Gork you idiot, do not fall asleep while on guard duty. We could be ambushed at any moment, we are already in the plain view to anyone walking by here." I groan out while rubbing my jaw. I try practicing opening and closing my mouth while moving my tongue. Talking is still strange to me. "Boss why you want bush?" asks Gork. I let out a sigh. "Just keep watch. I''m going to speak with the others. No sleeping this time." "Got it Boss." He gives me an awful attempt at a salute. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I walk into the camp through the entrance. No gate or door stands here to slow down intruders. A few wooden spikes point outward. Most of the goblins are currently fast asleep. I approach the bonfire, with its only caretakers being two goblins sitting on logs, repurposed as seating. Two skewered rats roast over the open fire. These two are also supposed to be on sentry duty. They were¡ªare,my personal guards. Their names come to me as I see their faces. The scrawnier of the two is named Dimwit, the most intelligent goblin in the camp. Still an idiot compared to other races. The other goblin¡¯s skin appears as if it could rip off any moment from the sheer size of his muscles. This one''s name is Dak and he is close to his first evolution. He will be this clan''s first hobgoblin. When a goblin manages to evolve they typically kill the current leader and take over the clan. Of course most goblins don''t live long enough to evolve. They usually live out there lives scavenging and raiding. They rarely manage to kill enough in their short life span to evolve. Of course, goblins love killing but when your targets are often other goblins how will you live long enough to grow any stronger? "Boss you live?" Dimwit shouts in excitement. "Boss safe. That good." says Dak. I feel anger bubble up inside me, a leftover effect of how this body felt in its final moments as its soldiers fled. ¡°You fools are my personal guards but you ran away the second a monster appeared. You should be punished." I say while glaring at them. "We sorry boss! We no want fight demon! Too scary! But boss kill demon! Boss true boss!" Says Dimwit. Dak nods silently in agreement. I let out a well drawn sigh. "Nevermind. We are moving to that cave we found, it will be our new home. We cannot remain in this raiding camp forever. We need a true home." I say. "But shiny ball makes nasty demons! Shiny ball no good for goblins even if very shiny! Shouts Dimwit in protest. "I did not ask for your opinion Dimwit. We WILL move to that cave and that shiny ball is my master now and is a god compared to the rest of you inferior creatures." My anger accidentally spills out. I must be more careful when managing these inferior creatures. "Shiny ball is Shiny God? Oh that good. We worship and offer many shiny! Get demon hats!¡± Says Dimwit. "Shiny god make goblins strong." says Dak in agreement. I proceed to give them orders. "Gather the others we will only take what we can carry. Leave everything else behind.¡± "Understood" says both goblins as they give a clumsy salute and run off to grab the others. There are twenty goblins in this camp and they will make great materials for the master. ¡°I''m sure Master will be happy with me!" I smirk while thinking of my master¡¯s praise and begin cackling uncontrollably. Luckily the goblins rushing around are either too busy grabbing supplies or don''t find this abnormal. An old goblin hag sits in front of her shack, topped on a rotten tree stump. A large cauldron rests next to her over a small fire. Various animal parts make up the contents of the soup bubbling inside. She is staring at their leader who is cackling uncontrollably. She leans over to another goblin who is rushing around frantically to fill up bags with various pieces of meat and corpses. "Dimwit must told boss good joke again." They both look at each other and begin laughing as well. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Well this is a familiar sight. Here I am floating in a vast ocean of emptiness again. This must be what happens when dungeon cores have no mana. If I''m destroyed will I remain in this void for eternity? I''ve seen a small slice of a whole new world and it''s already so interesting, I must make sure I never return to this void again. The void is mostly the same as before but there is one minor¡ª no, it''s a huge difference. "I still have access to my menus." I say aloud. The first thing I do is check on what the House of Horrors title does. ¡°Congratulations on becoming a House of Horrors. You have done what should be impossible and fused two materials together. Disables normal monster creation and research. Unlocks monster fusion research. Unlocks abomination spawning.¡± Maybe this title is why I was no longer able to spawn inferior rats? But if fusion is impossible, why was I able to do it? I will have to ask Steve once I''m conscious again. Well, I have nothing better to do while floating around in here I might as well look into all my menus. I have no way of keeping track of time in the void but it feels like years have passed as I finish sorting through the different menus. Maybe time flows differently here? Many of these menus are the same as before, but one new one in particular caught my attention.
Dungeon Themes
Theme Bonus Provided Prerequisite
Small Cavern Spawns inferior beasts automatically for rooms. (Inferior rats, inferior bats, cave bear boss.) Unlocked from having at least one beast type minion.
Small Mine Dungeon spawns ore automatically. Ore type and rarity based on floor level. Grants the skill basic mining to all intelligent minions. Unlocked from existing abandoned mine.
Small Labyrinth Your rooms and hallways generate in a maze like way. All intruders will be afflicted with the lesser topographical disorientation debuff while in the dungeon. Unlocked from creating a room manually.
Warning! House of Horrors title may affect dungeon themes in an unknown way.
Well, automatic monster spawning does sound nice but I''m not sure if it would be disabled by House of Horrors. Let''s not take the risk on that one. Small Labyrinth seems like it will confuse intruders however that doesn''t actually aid in defeating them. Also I know I definitely need all the resources I can get. So let''s be honest, there is only one real option here. I focus on my choice and I''m notified of the change. "Congratulations! You are now a Small Mine dungeon! Your rooms will automatically update to match your chosen theme. Have an excellent day!" As I close the menu, a familiar voice rings in my ears, "Mana detected. Resuming dungeon core operations." Color washes over me once again; however, I am more prepared this time. I start assessing my surroundings as my vision clears. Something is wrong here. Very, very, wrong. Fanned out around my core are twenty goblins. They are on their knees, with heads pressed down, bowing to the ground. "Master you have awoken?" I glance over to see my firstmost minion, still firmly attached to his goblin puppet. He is staring at me with a grin stretched across his face. "Uhhh.. hey there Sluggo. What the hell is going on right now? Why are there so many goblins here? Are we under attack?" The frantic state of my mind does not allow me to fully comprehend the stupidity of the question I just asked. I doubt groveling is some sort of secret combat stance. Besides, Steve did alert me last time I was in danger. "Master, these inferior ones have recognized your excellence and will be serving your greatness from now on. They will make great materials!" Sluggo¡¯s grin continues to stretch even wider. He must be very proud of himself. I suddenly feel a tension which I was unaware of, slowly release from inside me. "Well I did ask for materials. Though I was expecting items more along the lines of rocks, or maybe even sticks on a good day, but this works too. Good job." I didn''t know living things were materials. Now calm, I start to take stock of my surroundings again. My core room is very different from before. Two sets of usable cart rails now run from the edge of the room down to the connecting tunnel. A somewhat rusty but serviceable minecart sits on one of the rails. A matching pair of worn shovels and mining picks rest against the old cart. The wooden support beams holding up the ceiling are now in much better repair. The room itself now much less likely to collapse than previously. I wonder if I am able to upgrade these to stone the same way I did in the previous core room? Lanterns now line the ceiling, providing much needed light to the otherwise dark room. I find myself impressed with all the improvements provided by my theme. A lot of work has been done here in my absence. Sluggo is surely a minion to rely on. One of the goblins rises and starts to speak. "We bring many shinies for Shiny God." The goblin smiles at me, it would be almost cute if it wasn¡¯t for its crooked nature. Filled with rickety teeth, waiting for the right moment to pop. "Dimwit you are not to speak to the master unless spoken to!" Sluggo reprimands. "Hey Sluggo it''s fine we are all friends here right? Also who is Shiny God?" I inquire. "Master, that is how the inferior ones refer to you. It''s a fitting name even if it''s a bit too simple to describe your majesty." So I have a name? Awesome, I¡¯ve never had a name before. What a great start to a day. Though I have only had two of those, so there is not much to compare to but still this is a great day! Names give us meaning, everyone should have one I think. I notice the goblin named Dimwit motioning to a pile. He begins to speak in his broken language. "Okay to speak, yes? We bring these shinies and also not so shinies. Boss say you want not so shinies too. We offer all to you shiny god. Also me get demon hat now?" He seems almost shy at voicing his request. Sluggo voices his agitation once more. ¡°You will be granted ascendance if the master sees fit to do so Dimwit." Wow all these goblins brought me materials? Steve wanted me to kill them all. Maybe we shouldn''t trust Steve that much. He also didn''t tell me what would happen if I used all my mana. Yeah, now that I think about it, Steve can actually go fuck himself. Note to self, Dimwit deserves that demon hat. Further note to self, figure out what a demon hat is. I take hold of my mana, pulling it out of the core and begin to absorb the offered pile of items.
Rotshroom absorbed Blood Moss absorbed 3x Gold Coins absorbed 24x Silver Coins Absorbed 102x Iron Coins Absorbed 1x Golden Plated Goblet Absorbed 1x Copper Greatsword Absorbed 3x Lesser Horned Rabbit Carcass Absorbed 7x Lightning Roach Carcass AbsorbedReading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Mana is now fully restored. Mana capacity exceeded. Excess Mana lost.
Damn it. I''ll have to be more careful with absorption in the future so I don''t waste potential mana. While I begin to look over the new materials I absorbed I become confused. "What are coins for? I ask. "Dunno. Very shiny so we take." Dimwit answers. Suddenly Steve¡¯s familiar voice sounds out, in a droning fashion. "Coins are now part of your dungeon¡¯s available treasure. Treasure can drop from monsters in your dungeon when defeated. Monsters may also drop equipped items." "Why would I want to have my monsters drop treasure?" I ask. "Treasure will attract adventurers and monsters alike. The deeper into your dungeon they perish the more mana you will gain." At the mention of this, Sluggo becomes visibly excited. "This will help master grow stronger!" The puppetted goblin nods in agreement, Sluggo holds fast. So I lure in monsters and adventurers with treasure to gain mana and make my dungeon better. Seems simple enough. I still don''t trust Steve entirely anymore but Sluggo seems to agree, so I suppose it must be true. Sluggo speaks up interrupting me from my thoughts. "Master do you have any orders?" The goblins around him are still bowing, but are clearly beginning to get uncomfortable from being in the same position too long. "Oh right¡­ Orders¡­ Why don''t you help the goblins get settled in for the time being. I''m going to do some experimentation with construction and research." I say non committedly, I have far too much in the way of new tools to explore with to worry about the goblins myself right now. "Understood. I will teach them how to behave under your rule master. Would it be acceptable for this one to start making a living area?¡± Sluggo¡¯s growing excitement is reaching obviously uncontainable levels at this point. The puppets life-less smile grows ever wider as the body shakes in an attempt to control the feelings of its denizen. "That''s fine with me." I¡¯m barely able to get the words out through laughter, enamored with Sluggo. "Enough resting slaves! It is time to get to work!" he shouts at the goblins. They all stand and stumble around before giving a cute salute. They are adorable. I hope Sluggo has a lot of fun with his new friends! Time to research! I have a lot of materials to experiment with now. I have already made a monster, so let''s try researching a new room. I''m fairly certain goblins need to eat, so I assign a research point to develop a food production room. ''Research Point assigned. Subterranean Farm room now available.'' Well that was practically instantaneous, so why did my rat evolution take so long to research? Maybe it was because of the House of Horrors title? I guess it''s not important right now so let''s make this new room! I move my consciousness down the tunnel and pass the goblins who are currently receiving direction from Sluggo and move into the main chamber. I dig out a connecting tunnel, using around 2 mana in total and then select the new room from my menu. I feel my mana stretch out further and further from me and begin to carve out a new room from the wall. Wooden supports and hanging lanterns appear as a large empty chamber is created. A wooden plank pathway forms on the floor circling the room and back to the tunnel. Hanging pots from around the room are suspended from the ceiling. A few small holes and cracks open in the ceiling allowing a small amount of natural light to reach into the room. Right when I think the room is finished rotshrooms begin popping up randomly from the dirt of the floor of the room. Blood moss spreads rapidly across the room¡¯s walls and ceiling. Once the room finally seems finished I check the room menu.
Subterranean Farm
An underground farm with harsh conditions. Ambient mana will cause plants to grow at an accelerated rate. Monsters assigned to this room have an increased chance to gain the basic farming skills while working.
Cost Upgrades
5 mana New!!! Add an area for water collection. Water increases growth rate of crops.
8 mana New!!! Add a farming shack complete with a set of rusty tools. 0/1
1 DP New!!! Allow House of Horrors title to influence the farm and its crops. This will have an unknown effect.
These all seem very useful right now, so I decide to purchase all three upgrades. The quite familiar feeling of my mana pours into the room and begins construction the new objects. Large roots erupt from the ceiling, causing some water to trickle slowly onto parts of the farm. The room expands slightly and a trench forms along the wall opposite of the entrance to the room. Water bursts from some rocks along the wall into the trench forming a small stream. The water seems to empty into a newly formed hole in the opposing wall. The room expands further allowing room for a hut to be created. It is much larger and sturdier than the simple goblin shack I created before. The hut itself seems to be about an appropriate enough size for two goblins to live in. It comes complete with two simple sleeping mats inside made of blood moss. A door made of sturdy wooden planks provides an entrance into the new housing and the building itself is fairly tall, allowing a second floor to be built if needed. A small extension forms, attached to the shack with its own rickety door. Inside hangs some basic farmhand equipment and a rotting wooden bucket. As I am admiring the farm the blood moss in the room suddenly begins glowing and twitching. ''Due to the influence of the House of Horrors, blood moss has evolved into Flesh Moss.'' Parts of the moss tremble and begin to grow fruit shaped, fluid filled sacs of meat. ''Due to the influence of the House of Horrors, rotshrooms have evolved into Observer Rotshrooms.'' The text flashes out of my view as I watch in amazement, the rotshrooms in the room change to a dark shade of crimson. Each one of the shrooms then sprouts a single goblin eye complete with eyelid. The eyes dart around as if searching for something before stopping and staring at the area my consciousness is floating in. "I wonder if they are staring at me?" I ask out loud. Suddenly, something dashes into the room. It leaps across the wall in a blur as it plucks a sac of meat hanging off the Flesh Moss and lands on the ground. Now on the ground I can make out the creature. "Oh a palmtail, I forgot about you guys. Silly me." The palmtail looks in my direction for a moment and then curls back and begins eating the flesh pod. "Looks like we have food covered for now. I hope the goblins enjoy these as well!" I return to the main chamber and notice them goblins standing guard at the wooden spikes I had built yesterday. I move over to them and speak. "Hello!" They become startled and look around in confusion. Can they not see me? "Shiny god! We no sleeping we swear!" Says one of the goblins, a little cowardly. The other goblin joins in. "We are good guards. No sleeping. Please no kill us." "I''m not going to kill you guys! Just intruders. Is there anything I can do to help you two settle in?" I ask the pair of goblins. The two goblins salute in the general direction of my voice. "We happy. Shiny God kind. We kill many for Shiny God." They say in unison. These guys are adorable I love their little salutes. I''m going to make sure they can be proper guards! "I''m over here anyways so I am going to upgrade the entrance!" I announce my intent to them. I purchase the upgrades for the entrance that I avoided yesterday, leaving me at 1 mana. Just enough to keep me from returning to the void. The entirety of the entrance tunnel and main chamber glow as my mana spreads out as the rooms begin to change drastically. The entrance tunnel itself has grown much longer then before. Although it remains fairly cramped for the first half of its length, it opens up into a funnel shape in the second half, fanning outward to connect to the edges of the main chamber. The chamber itself now has expanded greatly as well. The ceiling has been raised to a much higher height, giving us just enough allowance for watch towers. A whole goblin village could now fit snugly in this room. The chamber remains lined with wooden wall supports and arches spanning across the ceiling where lanterns hang. Cart rails now run from the entrance to each of the connecting rooms. A large totem resides in the center of the main chamber. Wooden goblins appear to be fighting and climbing over one another to form the base of the totem leading up to a wooden copy of Sluggo whose hands reach out above him to hold a replica of my dungeon core made of gold and silver at the top. "Oh look it''s the goblins and I! How adorable!" I turn to see the newly formed watch towers that now reach 10 feet off the ground. A simple ladder made with wooden pieces leads to an elevated position where goblins can rain down rocks on their enemies. The spiked logs now form a wooden wall running the length of the room. A wooden gate blocks the only way of entering the fortified area. "So I can''t wall off the core but gates and doors are okay. Good to know." The wooden shack I had constructed yesterday has now become massive in size. The barracks comes complete with blood moss woven mattresses layed on top of two bunk beds. A set of wooden tables and chairs rest up against the wall in the corner of the room. Further inside the barracks sits two cramped cells with stone bars and wooden doors. Most likely they will be used to hold misbehaving goblins or possibly the occasional intruder. A half dozen wooden clubs now rest on some crooked wooden racks in the room ready to be used for combat. I look over to the two Goblins I spoke to earlier and they look very surprised¡­ and slightly terrified? "This should make guard duty a little easier." I say to them. They both drop to their hands and knees to bow towards my voice. They must be very happy with all this! I can''t do much more while I''m out of my mana so I return to the core room to watch the other goblins. "Shiny God is gone." says Dak in relief as he peeks up from the floor. "Shiny God make whole fort. Shiny God Powerful." Says Gork. "Maybe Shiny God make me into Boss Monster? Finally evolve and grow stronger?¡± Dak asks no one in particular. "Maybe. But we need guard gate before Boss cut me again.¡± Answers Gork, while rubbing the wound on his face. The two goblins walk over and take up their posts on each side of the gate. Gork, expectedly, falls asleep immediately upon taking his post. Over at the farm a goblin walks into the room, looking around in confusion. "Shiny God make this?" He mutters to himself. He glances down and sees an Observer Rotshroom staring back at him. "Why mushroom have eye?" He reaches down and plucks the mushroom. "Maybe gift from Shiny God? Eyeballs be pretty tastiest." He mutters as he tosses the mushroom into his mouth. As he chews and swallows his body quivers an eyeball bursts out of the skin of his forehead and settles into a newly created eye socket. ''Congratulations! Due to your unique choices and choice of cuisine you have evolved into Goblin Cultist.'' Text Flashes in his vision but he cannot read it. He swats at the floating text until it goes away. He pauses for a moment as his new eye searches the room. It eventually settles at a spot of the wall as if looking beyond it. "Me understand now. Me see everything¡­" He mutters to himself again. A palmtail watches as the goblin leaves the room before scurrying away, in search of its next meal. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Today is a new day, and to my surprise is already noticeably better than yesterday. Of course, I also regenerated 5 mana, bringing me back up to 6 mana. "Hey Steve guess what happened!?" I ask. "The Tutorial System recommends building a boss room." Steve says to me with a measurable annoyance in his voice, avoiding the question. "I discovered something today thanks to Sluggo! MANUAL LABOR!!! We don''t have to build everything with mana, because the goblins can make rooms and tunnels for us!" I can barely contain my excitement. "Sluggo said I should save mana for important things! Why didn''t you tell me about this Steve?" "It is not recommended to allow non-summoned monsters to live in your dungeon. They could destroy your core at any moment. Please destroy your intruders and construct a boss room." Steve advises. Steve really is quite the little liar. If my goblin friends were intruders I wouldn''t be able to use mana to build things in the first place until they left. Clearly it''s okay for friends to be here. I really should stop talking to Steve. I float away from my core and head to the main chamber to check on the progress of the goblins. Sluggo said they have been so excited at the prospect of building a home that they¡¯ve yet to sleep! I''m glad he''s getting along with the other goblins. I float over to the totem in the center of the chamber. The goblins constructed some sort of altar here yesterday and two armed goblin guards stand at the sides of a goblin, draped in a black robe. He currently is giving some sort of speech to passing goblins. Of course they are too busy with work at the moment, but some occasionally slow down to listen in before returning to their duties. As I decide to talk to the goblin in the black robe I notice something strange. Was there always a three eyed goblin? I feel as if I¡¯d remember seeing something like that clearly. As I''m thinking to myself his third eye glances over to me and stares. "Hi there!" I say to the robed goblin. His guards suddenly become alert, looking around for the location of the voice. The robed goblin raises his hand and they return to their original positions. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, O¡¯ Shiny one." he says as he gives a deep bow in my direction. I guess he''s able to see me like Sluggo? That''s great! I need to learn more about this fascinating new development. "You are oddly well spoken compared to the other goblins I have met! What''s your name?" "It is all thanks to your power that I have grown stronger O¡¯ Shiny One. This one has abandoned its previous name. If you would be so merciful as to grant this one a new name, it shall serve you with even greater fervor." He proclaims, wistfully. Well if I learned anything yesterday, its that names are great. So what can I call this little guy? Goblin names are usually pretty short¡­ "How about¡ª" as I''m about to give him the infinitely inspiring name of Bob, an otherworldly pain pierces my mind and another name slips out instead. "Glaaki, Glaaki will be your name ¡°Thank you Shiny God, I shall serve you with all my being." He descends into another deep bow as he speaks. I feel some mana leave me and as it soaks into the goblin a window pops up.
A monster has been named and successfully contracted. Unique Monster Glaaki: Goblin Cultist has been added to the dungeon.
That was close, I lost 5 mana from that, leaving me at 1 again. I almost returned to the void. On the bright side, it looks like Glaaki is now a permanent resident of the dungeon similarly to Sluggo. And I can contract monsters now as well? This is perfect! Once I have enough mana, I can just contract all of the goblins and Steve wont be able to complain at me anymore. "O¡¯ Shiny God we shall prepare an offering immediately." Says Glaaki. One of the guards quickly moves over to a crate and unseals it. He reaches into the wooden container, pulling out a monster I have never seen before. It''s surprisingly about the size of the goblins, which causes him to struggle with it. It has one giant claw and a hard shell with ten pointed legs flailing beneath it. It squirms in his hands as he holds it down, pressing it onto the altar. Glaaki reveals a crude stone knife and begins chanting in a language I have no comprehension of. He begins cutting into the creature and it lets out a fantastic screech. He takes his time slicing into different areas, every motion causing the screeching to change in pitch. The creature finally dies as Glaaki finishes his ritual. I assume the offering is for me, so I move my mana over and begin to absorb the creature.
1x Hellcrab Corpse Absorbed. 10x Mana Restored.
"We will add to the flock and prepare more offerings, Shiny One." Says Glaaki before returning to his sermon. Before I move on, I check his status window.
Monster Information
Name Glaaki Goblin Cultist''s are an evolution of the standard goblin. They possess a superior level of intelligence and charisma that they often use to lure others into their cult. These cultists often commit brutal rituals in the name of gods or spirits that they serve. This species specializes in causing fear and terror and is immune to their effects.
Species Goblin Cultist
Age 8 months old
Sex Male
Health Unknown Skills and Traits
Mana Unknown All Seeing Eye, fear immunity, terror immunity, basic curse magic, basic leadership,
Most of these skills seem self explanatory but what does All Seeing Eye do? I focus on the skill and a new window pops up.
All Seeing Eye
This creature has seen past the veil of reality and is now able to see that which cannot be seen by ordinary denizens of the realm.
Well that explains why he can see me when I¡¯m out of my core. I decide to check in on the other areas of our budding goblin village. I move my mind over to the first building the goblins built. Never have I seen them work so hard, so quickly! Sluggo informed me that this building is called a ¡®Tavern¡¯ and apparently it''s where goblins go to eat, drink, and fight each other. I move my mind inside the tavern for the first time and take a look around. The first floor consists of a bar, and an assortment of tables with stools. The second floor has some small bedrooms for goblins to pass out in. The basement has a fighting ring where the goblins enjoy punching each other unconscious! Sluggo told me that the goblin running the tavern is practically the most important goblin here. Once goblins are denied food and grog they become outright destructive. Goblins are wild enough as it is. The taverns is mostly empty right now as most of the goblins are out working. A guard stands posted at the door and another goblin is cleaning mugs at a bar. Sluggo said this goblin¡¯s name is Cook, and she is an essential goblin. "What kind of name is Cook? Isn''t that a job?" I ask suddenly. The goblin is startled but calms down fairly quickly. "Oh. Hi Shiny God. Cook is name and job. Cook very important name to goblins." Answers the goblin, still a little unsure. ¡°Cooks prepare food for many goblins. Sometimes make food from goblin too. Must know how to fight hungry goblins off and know where to cut food and when to kill food to make most tasty." She says while lifting a rusty butcher''s knife and making a chopping motion. "Okay but let''s try not to eat each other in the dungeon we are all friends here." I suggest tactly. She nods and says, "Boss explained. Only Shiny God allowed to eat goblins in dungeon. Shiny God hungry?" She asks, motioning to a cauldron filled with various bits of meat and mushrooms." ¡°I''d hate to waste the food you made unless it can give me mana." I reply. "Mana? Old Hag use mana. Maybe ask her?" She replies. I''ll have to make note to talk to the old hag later. "Me give you offering. Weak monster... but tasty!¡± She runs to the back of her kitchen and pulls out a long creature from a basket. Its scales appear to be changing continuously as the light hits it from different directions. Sometimes it becomes transparent, other times it reflects the things around it. "Hag say this called mirror snake. It tasty and shiny, so goblins love it." She smirks as she puts the corpse on the bar. I move my mana over and absorb it.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
1x Mirror Snake Corpse Absorbed 5x Mana Restored.
"Thank you for that Cook, it was delicious." I lied. I can¡¯t actually taste anything, but I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of hurting her feelings. She turns around so her back is facing my current direction, gives a hearty thumbs up and presumably a smile. These goblins continue to be quite compelling companions! "Is there anything you need from me? Maybe some upgrades to the tavern?¡± I ask. She gives a short and awkward repy. ¡°We good here.¡± I''ll have to think of something to do for her. I say my goodbyes and head over to the entrance. Over near the front gate is Gork, instructing another goblin on how to be a good guard. "It''s good to see he hasn''t fallen asleep for once." I say to myself in amusement. Outside of the gate a pair of goblins are currently digging some pitfalls. Sluggo told me they will serve as a basic defense until we can construct more complex traps. I learned the design once he explained it to me, but he told me not to concern myself with such basic machinations. So I decided to save my mana for more important things. I continue my surveying of the village, my gaze resting on the barracks. Dak is now in the barracks, sorting through documents that have been printed on a creature''s dried skin. I''m not so sure what the skin belonged to, but I can¡¯t imagine that being important. Sluggo told me earlier Dak has been put in charge of the goblin militia. Under Dak¡¯s leadership the goblins have been doing a good enough job with their patrols and guard posts. Only the occasional nap break has been reported so far. Sluggo wished for me to talk to Dak about evolution today. He stressed the importance that we make the members of the goblin leadership a formal part of the dungeon. I find myself a little lost on the importance of such things but Sluggo has yet to fail me. I wait patiently for Dak to finish his current task. He finally puts down his paperwork and leans back in the chair before giving a sigh. ¡°Hi there Dak.!¡± I say excitedly. He is not startled this time and simply looks in my direction. ¡°Shiny God here?¡± ¡°Yup! Sluggo sent me over. He says you want to evolve and I wanted to form a contract with you! I figured we would make a trade!¡± ¡°Shiny God make Dak Stronger? Make Dak dungeon boss?¡± Dak¡¯s eyes appear to bulge out of their sockets at the prospect of such an agreement. ¡°Sound good. Dak agree.¡± He attempts to act stoic, yet his happiness is plain to see in his toothy grin. I move my mana over onto Dak, trying to recreate the feeling I had when I contracted Glaaki and a familiar window pops up.
A monster has been successfully contracted. Goblin Dak has been added to the dungeon.
Just another adorable goblin added to the roster. Now for the evolution I promised. ¡°Dak, my monster system requires me to use you as a base and fuse you with something else. I know you want to be a dungeon boss but what else are you looking for in an evolution? This is important.¡± I attempt to stress the finality of such a commitment, hopefully he caught on. ¡°Dak want be strong. Want be swordman.¡± He says with a smirk. He wants to be a swordman? Well I can work with that. The goblins did bring me a greatsword! I assign a research point to create a goblin swordman dungeon boss. Just like the previous time it completes instantly. I open my monster summoning menu.
Monsters
Mana Cost Monster Type
5 Mana Mindeater, limit 1 per dungeon until a second floor is created.
6 Mana Palmtail Skitter pack. Creates 3 Palmtail Skitters.
10 Mana Goblin Swordman. Creates a Goblin Swordman Dungeon Boss. Limit 0/1 Requires a Goblin monster to evolve from.
I select the new option, using Dak as the base. My mana leaves me and passes into Dak. He begins changing immediately while screaming in pain. Pieces of sharp copper pierce out through the skin on his arms and torso, forming a set of spiked armor. His bones shift and change, their composition now consists of copper metal and the remaining few pieces of bone. Two copper blades burt from the remaining flesh on his forearms, extending outward until they each reach a foot in length. The green skin of his head starts to shine, becoming copper as well, until it forms a series of riveted copper plates across its length. His mouth now looks closer in appearance to a bear trap than anything a living creature should have for a maw. He screams in agony as he claws at his face. A large blade begins growing out the front of his forehead until it reaches five feet in length. The sheer size of this copper greatsword horn is nearly twice that of the goblin¡¯s actual body. His neck muscles bulge out to an unfathomable size in support of the added weight. His legs grow denser to support his increased body weight but remain mostly unchanged. His breathing starts to slow down, and his grunts of pain start to shift into a mad laughter. ¡°So much power!¡± he yells as he swings his head in a circular motion, tearing through walls around him and destroying the table in the display of his new strength. He starts chuckling to himself and begins to talk again.¡±We will have the boys rebuild barracks. My new size will mean I require new house!¡± He seems entirely satisfied with how this turned out. ¡°I''m glad you are enjoying your new evolution. Sorry about all the pain.¡± My apology appears to be unneeded however. ¡°Do not worry about me Shiny God. If pain makes stronger, I gladly bear all amounts. No creature shall ever make it to core again!¡± He says in response with a noticeably less clumsy salute. ¡°Now I need to get boys to work before they slacking off. I¡¯m sure they will be greatly shocked at new me.¡° He says while trying greatly to hide his laughter. As he leaves the barracks, he attempts to squeeze out the door, ultimately failing and taking the door frame with him, laughing all the way. We are definitely going to need to make all the buildings larger. I check his status window as he''s leaving.
Monster Information
Name Dak An abomination created by the Shiny God. The creatures body is more copper than goblin at this point. It possesses strength far beyond a normal goblins. Its hardened body is naturally durable against attacks and blades will never pierce it''s skin. Goblins under its command will never rout as they are more afraid of it than any enemy. As a living abomination it is the natural enemy of the church.
Species Goblin Swordman Abomination
Age 3 Years Old
Sex Male
Health Unknown
Skills and Traits
Mana Unknown Slashing Immunity, Lesser strength, Natural Armor, Self Repair, Basic Leadership, Basic Swordsmanship
I will have to learn an analysis skill soon. I decide to return to my core room for today. A tall, lean figure exits the dense forest. They are wearing a hooded, green cloak that conceals most of their features. They bring their hands up to their hood, slowly removing it from their head. Long, pointed ears flop out from the hood, and the figure¡¯s appearance could be best described as androgynous, with golden blone hair, braided eccentrically, dorning their angular face. They have a heavy bow slung around their back, a quiver attached at the hip, and a pair of hand axes held to their belt by an iron clip. He is an elven ranger and his name is Ralvon. He approaches a clearing where the remains of a goblin raiding camp lie. He approaches a small fire with three others sitting around it. A tall, handsome man, pale of skin, looks over to Ralvon with a smile. He is plucking a tune on a lute by the fireside. He is the leader of this group, his name is William and he is a bard. ¡°Did you find the trail?¡± he asks Ralvon. ¡°Yes. Believe it or not, they seem to have relocated to a new dungeon.¡± The large bearded man in the group gives a glance over in surprise but remains silent. His name is Rokar and he carries a large greatsword on his back. His class is barbarian. A woman, stocky in figure clothed in white robes speaks up. ¡°A new dungeon? Shouldn''t we report this back to the guild?¡° Her grip on her golden staff tightens as she asks the question. Her name is Isella and she is a priestess of the Holy God. William interrupts, trying to ease the tension. ¡°Don''t be foolish, how often does a new dungeon appear? At the very least we can map it out and sell it to the guild when we return.¡° ¡°Agreed, we should not back down from a spectacular challenge like this.¡± Says Rokar. William¡¯s soothing voice enters the conversation again. ¡°Besides its a young dungeon, and its monster type is goblins? Plus we were tasked with stopping the raids on the caravans in this area.¡± ¡°I suppose you are right¡± says Isella. ¡°So we leave in the morning then?¡± Asks Ralvon. ¡°Agreed. Lets all get some rest. I will take first watch¡± says William. The other three return to their tents in an attempt to get some sleep in preparation for tomorrow''s dungeon crawl. ¡°If we are really lucky I can take this dungeon core¡¯s power for myself.¡° William says in a whisper to himself. Spoiler :
Dungeon Information
Name Shiny God A mine that is being used as space for a goblin village. The goblins here worship the dungeon as a god. Little else is known so far.
Dungeon Name Nameless Dungeon
Titles House Of Horrors
Age 3 days
Sex N/a
Mana 6/50 Current Skills
Theme Small Mine Goblin Language. Basic Goblin Construction, New!!! Basic Leadership
1 Floor Goblin Village
0 Dungeon Points unspent
2 Research Points unspent
Chapter 6 Chapter 6 The four adventurers approach the mouth of the mine. The elven ranger, Ralvon, raises his hand, holding it in a fist near his head. ¡°Hold up.¡± He kneels and touches the tracks on the ground. After a few minutes of observation he begins to speak again. "I''m counting at least a dozen goblins. It''s hard to say the exact amount, many of the tracks are overlapping.¡± "Makes sense. It''s not a huge tunnel" says William. The group searches around the entrance to plan out their assault and look for traps. "The entrance seems to be safe. It''s going to be narrow so we will have to move in pairs. It looks like this is a recently abandoned mine. See? There are some cart rails in fairly useable condition." "There was a town close by, but it has been in ruins ever since the war started." Says Rokar, the barbarian, stroking his beard. "How many floors are we dealing with here?" Asks William. Isella the priestess chants and the tip of her staff begins to glow, a golden light taking form around the staff, pulsing as if the beating of a heart. Isella¡¯s eyes widen. "It''s hard to believe but we are dealing with an infant dungeon here. Based on the mana saturation, it''s only a single floor.¡± Her voice is soft, but stern. "So other than the goblins that moved in, we are dealing with rats and slimes at the most? Should be easy enough!" The bard roars in excitement at the news. "Well I saw a lesser wolf once, but in general a one floor dungeon is short on threats.¡± Says the bearded barbarian in agreement. The firm voice of the priestess chimes in, adding her piece. "I''m sure everyone knows this already, but I¡¯m going to reiterate the rules of the dungeon, as we are all new to the guild. Do not touch the core. Unless you want to part with your head. Dungeons are the only way to purify mana that has been corrupted.¡± "Yes, we all know it''s illegal to destroy a core. The kingdom considers them an important resource. We are just here to kill some goblins and map it out. Then we will head back and report the new dungeon to the guild and get paid a good amount for the discovery of a new dungeon." William says with a burning smile. "Are you able to cast words of the world? Always good to know what the enemy is saying and I doubt anyone here speaks goblin." Asks Ralvon. Isella nods and begins a brief chant before a golden rune forms on each of the adventurers foreheads. Once the rune is fully formed Isella begins to speak. "Keep in mind it works both ways. Don''t say anything they can use against us. " Ralvon laughs and brings to ready his axes before speaking. "Well goblins are idiots but it''s better to be safe. I''ll move in front with Rokar. My bow is probably useless in here as it is, considering how cramped it is." The four adventurous double check their gear one last time before heading into the opening of the mine. The tunnel is narrow so they move in pairs. The barbarian and ranger lead the assault while the bard and priestess support from behind. William begins plucking a tune on his lute filling the four party members with a strange energy. They move down the tunnel at a crawling pace, with Ralvon stopping every so often to check for traps. He holds his hand up to signal the others to stop. "Pitfalls. Follow my steps or you might sprain an ankle. They aren''t too deep. Also, I see some lanterns in the distance over a gate. Looks like they have settled themselves in." A chuckle is heard from behind them, coming from William. "That gate should be unlocked. Doors cannot be locked unless there is a key somewhere in this tunnel, and there''s no other rooms here. Dungeon rules are always the same. There must always be a path that can allow the dungeon core to be reachable." As the party maneuvers past the pitfall traps, the large gate from before comes into view. With the better view, the group can see that the gate has two watchtowers stood fast on each side of it. The room it¡¯s guarding seems to open up into a shockingly large open area, catching the adventurers by surprise. "No wonder they moved in, they could fit their entire village in that one chamber." Says Rokar. A horn in the distance blares, causing the adventures to ready their weapons. Two goblins poke their heads up from the watchtowers. "Nasty humies!" Says one. "Go away! We hit wit rock." Says the other. The priestess points her staff and fires a bolt of light at one of the goblins. The small goblin is engulfed in flames immediately. The goblin begins to scream in pain and starts a retreat from the tower. At least, that''s what should have happened. The party looks at the goblin in surprise as it begins laughing and throwing rocks at them with an increased fervor. Most of the rocks miss, and the few that do hit hardly cause any damage. But the goblin continues throwing until he succumbs to the white flames, dying. The holy flames die out as the goblin dies, never spreading to the tower. The other goblin is no longer in sight, most likely having retreated. The firm voice of the priestess breaks through the tense silence. "That was strange. He should have run in fear, but instead he kept attacking until he died.¡± "It is most likely that they have a leader they are more afraid of than us. At most, it¡¯s a hob. Our plan stays the same.¡± William¡¯s voice is soothing, honeyed by his ever-growing smile. The four open the gate and proceed inside. The gate comes crashing down behind them. "Its locked. Possibly a trap or ambush." Says the ranger as he checks the gate. Before they can get a view of their surroundings, three goblins wielding nothing but wooden clubs rush out of a nearby building. "Gut the humies!" Yells one. "Kill for Shiny God!¡± Scream the other two in unison. Rokar let''s out an audible sigh and proceeds to cleave the first two goblins in half in a single motion. He shakes the blood from his blade. "How dull.¡± He says, mid swing. The other goblin manages to slip past him and proceeds to receive an axe to the skull from Ralvon. "This is too easy. Where''s the challenge?¡± Says Rokar in annoyance. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Where are the rest of the nasty little things. Shouldn''t they be assaulting us with the others?" Asks Isella. ¡°Oh come on, you know these little buggers are adorable. Don''t call them vulgar names." The sarcasm is dripping off of the voice of the bard in waves. Before the group has a chance to check the surprisingly well constructed barracks, they are interrupted by chanting. "Its coming from that...totem?" Says Ralvon. The troupe examines the giant totem from the distance. "Looks like the goblins are worshipping the dungeon core." "Good, the core is still intact then." Says William in relief. "There shouldn''t be anything too powerful then. If a goblin consumed the core we might have to deal with an orc or a goblin chieftan, but it looks like we lucked out. Remember we are reporting this to the guild. I don''t want to see anyone get greedy for the core." Says Isella. The barbarian¡¯s boisterous laughter barrells through the conversation. "Well it would be three versus one if someone decided to try and take it. I doubt anyone would be that stupid." The group cautiously begins moving to the other side of the massive chamber ignoring the other structures filling the chamber. The group passes by what appears to be a large tavern, and the barbarian becomes visibly excited. "We should look for booze on the way out.¡± "Stay focused." Ralvon chastises. Finally, what lies beyond the totem and tavern comes fully into their view. They look on in shock as they see a dozen goblins surrounding two figures while chanting. One of the figures appears to be normal goblin wearing a black robe. The only characteristic visible on his face is an evil grin, the rest obscured by his hood. This alone is not something that would shock them. To his side stands a creature not of this world. Its body clad in copper armor blades and its head seems to be some sort of sword, nearly as large as Rokar¡¯s. "So the humies had no fun with da bois. Need real fight. Need challenge. Come die wit glory to Dak." He shouts as the goblins around him cheer. The party readies their weapons for the group of goblins but only the metal goblin begins to approach them. "Looks like the others will run after we kill big boy here" says Rokar. "Stay on guard the others must be afraid but they may join in if we show weakness." Says William. "Thats¡­ that is an abomination! How is that here, in a one floor dungeon? We need to purge this dungeon and notify the church immediately." Says Isella as she readies a spell with a chant. "DO NOT DEFILE THE SHINY GOD''S DOMAIN WITH YOUR FAKE GOD''S WORDS!" Shouts the robed goblin as he stabs his own hand in anger with a stone knife. He raises his bloody palm and a mass of dark energy forms. It begins to take shape, becoming moulded into something reminiscent of a crossbow bolt, before launching from his wound and piercing the throat of the priestess in an instant, interrupting her chant. "Glaaki! Don¡¯t kill Dak¡¯s toys!!" Shouts the metal goblin. Isella scratches at her throat while gasping for breath. William reaches down to aid her as Rokar charges in. Ralvon turns to William. "Take care of her, we will hold it off for now. We are going to need her healing miracles." The ranger pulls out his bow and begins firing as he runs off towards the metal goblin. William examines Isellas condition. "She cant breathe? A curse? She needs an anti-curse potion." William mutters to himself, reaching into her pack to grab the necessary poultice. Her face begins to contort as she starts suffocating. William hurries, trying to open the potion bottle he pulled from her pack to cure her. A black blur snatches the potion from his hand and lands a few feet away. "Is that a rat?" He looks over in its direction. The creature skitters away before he can get a true read on its appearance. He looks back at Rokar, who is now about to meet the metal goblin in a charge. "Finally a worthy foe." Yells Rokar as he swings his claymore down in full force at the charging goblin. A snap rings out across the chamber as his blade breaks from the impact. The metal goblin smirking as his momentum continues, driving his great sword horn into the chest of the barbarian. The goblin swings his head and in one motion rips the body of the mountain of a man in two. The goblins cheer again as the metal goblin stands in triumph. William laughs morbidly. "Sorry Isella, looks like you guys are going to die here. At least the goblins saved me the effort of having to betray you all later I suppose. You really should have brought more potions.¡± The priestess looks up at him in shock, her eyes widening to an impossible level, before the oxygen finally leaves her brain. William¡¯s appearance changes into that of a goblin as Isellas eyes begin to close. Ralvon pulls out his bow and attempts to fire off a few more arrows at the charging metal beast. The arrow simply bounces off the copper skin. The goblin laughs at him and says "Humies are pathetic. Why need weapon when you are weapon!" "I''m an elf. Not that it matters." Says an annoyed Ralvon. ¡°Goddess It''s like fighting a golem, we were so underprepared.¡± His eyes glow yellow as he chants shortly. Time around him slows as he analyzes the creature. ¡°Slashing immunity. How is that even possible? Why is there a floor boss outside of a boss room and how is it this strong. We were doomed the second we stepped foot passed the gate." He says while chuckling. The metal goblin finally reaches him and charges straight into his chest while cackling. His heart is pierced and he dangles from the goblin¡¯s head lifelessly. In the next chamber a lone goblin approaches the dungeons core. A single goblin stands at guard with its back turned to him. ¡°Hi boss, me help keep core safe." Says the goblin, approaching waringly. The figure turns and the goblin becomes frightened at its visage. Where the face should be is a pulsing sack of black meat with tentacles hanging. The creature scoffs at him and begins to speak. Its tentacles wiggle and its flesh pulses while doing so. "Your disguise will not work here." A large amount of black mist forms and pools around the feel of the creature. An immense pressure causing the goblins form to revert to that of a human. William in shock at his broken disguise skill which has even fooled the king and church falls to his knees. ¡°Please don''t kill me! I just wanted the cores power! I''ll do anything, just let me live!" ¡°You will die here. It will help the masters growth.¡± The creature raises its hand, the dagger firmly in its grip. William tries to run but is unable to move from the terror. "Wait" The new voice feels as if its from all around him. "If the giant goblin wants to join, that''s fine." "Master, these inferior creatures came in here and killed your slaves. They should be punished." Says the tentacled creature in protest. "No, this one didn''t kill anyone Sluggo. He did play some cool music though." William wonders to himself. ¡®This voice feels powerful, but it''s so simple minded. How did a core gain a will so quickly? Maybe I can reason with it? This is probably the shiny god the goblins referred to.¡¯ William¡¯s thoughts are interrupted by the overwhelming voice of the core. "Hey there giant goblin, would you like to join the dungeon?" William moves seamlessly from his kneeling position into a formal bow. ¡°O¡¯ great and amazing Shiny One! This one would gladly serve you, but this one is human and not a goblin, so it may be impossible. But I shall stay here and serve you until you see fit to release me." "Hugh Man? Good name choice. You are pretty well spoken for a goblin. You are kinda tall and that skin is a little pale but Dak is downright orange at this point. I''m sure you''ll be fine, so get along with the others. Contract accepted." Says the voice. William stares in horror as the core¡¯s black mana penetrates his body and a window pops into his vision. "Impossible..." Was all he was able to get out before fainting.
A monster has been named and successfully contracted. Unique Monster Hugh Man has been added to the dungeon.
Chapter 7 Chapter 7 ¡°Warning too many errors have been detected, please reset your core and contact an administrator.¡° Steve has been repeating that phrase for a countless amount of time now. Luckily, after fiddling with my menus I finally found a way to mute him and hide system windows. Well today has been a strange day. We were invaded by a group of adventurers. They all seemed to be some sort of species of giant goblin and that startled me. Thankfully Dak and Glaaki managed to fight them off, and we even won! The giant goblin that lived decided to join up with us as well and he can sing! Sadly we did lose four goblins in the battle. Hugh Man is out of commission right now most likely he''s very tired from the process of forming the contract. Sluggo said we can''t respawn the fallen goblins as they were not part of the dungeon yet. I''ll have to make sure to get everyone else contracted soon. He said I shouldn''t care about inferior creatures deaths, but they were still my friends, even if I didn''t know their names. I did a few things while the goblins were cleaning up. I officially made the room that my core is in the core room of the dungeon. The room itself and any upgrades will now move with the core if I relocate it. The other thing I did was build a table and four chairs at the base of my core in the room. I made the furniture itself out of stone to ensure Dak¡¯s weight won''t destroy it. Sluggo is the first to return to my core chamber. He has grown to look a bit different over the last day. The goblins head is now mostly replaced by black flesh and tentacles. Sluggo said this means he''s fully rooted into the body now and it should increase his power a bit so I suppose that is good. "Master your orders have been given and the others are on their way and will be here shorty." Sluggo says while bowing. "Okay thanks Sluggo." ¡°Master, is there anything else you need from me before the others arrive?" "Yes, actually. Sluggo, what would happen if a dungeon core reset itself?" Sluggo''s tentacles stiffen and he gets visibly angry. "Master, you must never reset your core. Your mind will be purged. You will no longer be you." That confirms my suspicions. I am now certain I can no longer trust Steve. Shortly after recruiting Hugh Man, Steve started freaking out telling me that it should be impossible. He told me to reset my core immediately. Luckily I have been cautious of Steve''s advice for awhile now and thought to ask Sluggo first. "Sluggo, Steve tried to get me to reset my core, luckily I found a way to mute him for now but I won''t be able to get any assistance from him anymore. He simply keeps telling me to reset myself to fix my errors. I will need you to step up and act as my assistant if you don''t mind. You have been so helpful in the past and I hate to take advantage of you but I really need your help." Sluggo kneels before me. "Master! Nothing would please me more than to act as your advisor. I shall help you turn your dungeon into a glorious kingdom!" As I thank Sluggo, the others whose presence I had requested begin to enter the room. The first is Glaaki, who gives a formal bow and takes a seat at the table. The next to enter the room is Cook and she gives a thumbs up in my direction before throwing another dead mirror snake on the table. Lastly, after a few moments Dak enters the room and has two goblins take up guard posts near the entrance to the room, before approaching the table. ¡°Check out Dak! Dak got humie hat now!¡± Dak motions to the corpse of the elven ranger still mounted on his sword horn. Sluggo is not as amused. ¡°Dak quit playing around with the masters materials and sit down.¡± Dak frowns and tosses the corpse onto the ground next to me before taking a seat at the table awkwardly trying to avoid hitting anyone with his sword-horn. Time for me to be authoritative. "Thank you everyone for coming. We have a few things to go over now that the first adventures have arrived. I''ll also hear out any of your concerns and try to fix them" I say to the group. "No need to thank us we are your tools to use Shiny One." Says Glaaki. Sluggo and Dak both nod in agreement to the sentiment. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Maybe not tool but me still want help." Says Cook. I return to my speech. "Thanks guys for all the help. So our first concern is going to be the uncontracted goblins. I don''t want to lose anyone else. Additionally, we are limited on numbers now and Sluggo told me that once the guild that manages the adventures you defeated today notices they are missing, they will send out a search team. It is only a matter of time until we are discovered, so we need to bolster our forces. Glaaki raises his hand, asking for the room. "Shiny God I may have a solution for that. I believe with the proper evolution I can bring the other goblins into the fold all at once. This won''t help with increasing our numbers at the moment, but you should at least be able to respawn the fallen. Sluggo appears to be in agreement, giving his piece. ¡°You have a few materials you can absorb so we don''t need to worry about your mana for now master.¡± "What is your idea Glaaki?" I ask. "Shiny one I am currently designated as a goblin cultist, a fantastic evolution created from your great power.¡± Glaaki¡¯s grin can be seen just enough under his hood. ¡°If I feed the others a diluted concoction brewed from your observer mushrooms, the others should evolve and so shall I. I have already experimented greatly and have shown others the power of my sermons. I am confident we are ready." "As long as they can respawn so we don''t lose anyone else, I''m satisfied." I say. "Excellent! Sluggo and I shall get started immediately after the meeting concludes!"Says Glaaki with Sluggo nodding in agreement. Cook speaks up next. "If Shiny God want help runnin da place then me should probably evolve." She says all of this with a mouth full of mirror snake. "That goes without saying, we will come up with an evolution after the meeting." I say to her and she returns the gesture with a thumbs up of approval while eating her meal. "Dak going to need some boys with hard skin. Goblins squish to easily. Gib Dak a couple of boys that don''t die so easy. Dak will whip doze boys into good soljaz." ¡°You should be able to use our fallen goblins as a material for that new monster type. That way we will know they are somewhat intelligent enough to follow orders." Says Sluggo. ¡°Da boys don''t haf to be smart but dey need to follow orders." Says Dak in agreement. "I will research you some durable fighters as soon as I can. Once they are summoned I''ll have them report to you. Does anyone have anything else?" Sluggo has more to say. ¡°Master make sure to absorb materials slowly so you can use the mana from them efficiently." "I agree. I need to make sure I don''t waste any mana going forward and we will need as much as possible for what I need to do next. I think we need to finish the first floor and build a second floor. I also have come to a decision on everyone''s position. We will use this council from now on when I have questions if you all don''t mind. Dak is now officially in charge of military affairs and security. Cook will be in charge of resource acquisition and Glaaki is in charge of religious affairs. Sluggo will of course be my personal assistant and if anyone needs anything please reach out to him. And finally, I am going to turn the first floor into a town. It will be a no combat zone. If we can teach these intruders we are peaceful then we won''t have to lose anyone ever again." This was difficult, this whole time I¡¯ve been trying to hold back my emotions. The loss of the four goblins is still weighing on me. ¡°Of course anything beyond the first floor will be fair game and it will be back to kill on sight." Dak and Glaaki both look momentarily confused but then compose themselves quickly. "Whatever the Shiny God wishes shall be done." Says Glaaki. "Okay Shiny God but if humies want fight we fight." Says Dak. I give them my final piece in an attempt to reassure them. "I know you two are concerned, but look at it as a way to gather resources. We can trade with adventurers and gather mana that way.¡± With the meeting finished, Cook stays behind with the core to work on an evolution. Glaaki and Dak leave the core room together. As they enter back into the goblin village Glaaki turns to Dak. "The shiny god is smart. We act peaceful and bide our time until we are stronger while luring them in. Then we can kill the heretics." Glaaki is cackling. "Oh! That what Shiny God thinking. Glaaki you smart gobbo to figure out da plan!" Dak laughs and slaps Glaaki on the back nearly knocking him over. "Let us get back to work, we have a lot to prepare for." Dak gives a firm nod in agreement as the two part ways, passing by a half dozen goblins who are now dragging the corpses of the adventurers and their fallen kin into the core room. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Today is going to be busy, and we have a lot we need to do before we can get started on a second floor. I, quite handily, received another 5 DP from when we defeated the adventurers. This will help with some upgrades I have in mind. We will need to make sure it''s all done before the guild shows up, or we could be overwhelmed before we have time to build any strength. First and foremost we must handle the matter of Cook¡¯s evolution and contract. The contract was easy enough to form and she accepted it unconditionally. I assign a research point to create a new boss, using Cook as the foundation. My mana slithers around her, as if sizing up its prey. It starts its work by circling up her body starting from her legs, soaking into her green skin along the way. The skin of her legs starts to fuse together, binding the two appendages into one at her thighs. Her legs are now recognizably a tail, as the former goblin¡¯s skin shifts its shape, turning into a hardened layer of black, shimmering scales. Her ears lengthen and her black hair grows much longer. Her eyes change, becoming not so different from those of a snake, and her tongue becomes forked, darting in and out of her now lipless mouth. As her transformation nears completion, a sharp pain enters my mind once again, urging me to call a name: ¡°Yidhra¡± I utter through my pain. Shortly after, the stinging fades and I receive a notification.
A monster has been named and successfully contracted. Unique Monster Yidhra: Goblin Naga has been added to the dungeon.
The evolution and contract cost 10 mana total leaving me at 1 mana again. I decide to take a look over Cook, no¡ª Yidhra¡¯s status as well.
Monster Information
Name Yidhra An abomination created by the Shiny God. Half snake and half goblin this creature uses venom to paralyze its prey. The goblin naga¡¯s scales can be changed at-will to render the creature invisible or change its appearance to fool others. This creature is a master of manipulation often coaxing those with weak wills into its service. It is rumored this creature gains the power and abilities of that which it eats. As a living abomination, it is the natural enemy of the church.
Species Goblin Naga
Age 2 Years Old
Sex Female
Health Unknown
Skills and Traits
Mana Unknown Intermediate Cooking, Expert Butchering, Basic Illusion Magic, Stealth Detection, Natural Venom, Poison Immunity, Fear Immunity, Terror Immunity, Basic Fire Magic, Great Devourer
It seems as if Yidhra has gotten the biggest power boost of all the goblins so far. Let¡¯s see how she¡¯s holding up. ¡°How do you feel Yidhra?¡± ¡°Shiny God, thank you for my new form¨C it''s fantastic! I feel like I could easily kill any adventurer now. My only complaint, though minor, is I feel ravenous!¡± She gives a hearty laugh. ¡°Good to hear. I was worried about changing your name, but you seem very happy with it.¡± ¡°Oh yes Shiny One! This name has brought great power alongside it! I will begin instructing the others on the ways of resource gathering immediately. I have never felt so clear headed! We should begin harvesting the ore in the mine as well! Oh so much to do!¡± She gives me a thumbs up before slithering away. I direct my gaze over to Sluggo, who is currently instructing Dimwit on how to run things. Dimwit is now Sluggo¡¯s second in command and is often responsible for relaying his orders. ¡°Hey Sluggo?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes Master?¡± The creature turns away from Dimwit to look at me. ¡°I am about to assign my last research points, I have learned that we replenish our dungeon points from defeating intruders, but how do I gather more research points?¡± Sluggo contemplates the question for a moment, before summoning the necessary knowledge from his memory. ¡°There are a few ways master. However the easiest at the moment would be to construct a second floor, of course we would need to finish the first floor first. We will go over the other ways once you have constructed the second floor.¡± He advises. ¡°Thank you Sluggo.¡± I attempt to give him a nod in recognition, before remembering that I lack a corporeal form aside from my core. ¡°No need to thank me master, I will always abide to your will. Now as long as you have no other questions please excuse me, as I must continue Dimwits education.¡± Dimwit salutes towards me and Sluggo nods in approval. I''m glad to see these two are still getting along well as friends. I''m going to focus on Dak¡¯s request next. I move my mana over and begin to absorb the bodies of the goblins which fell in the battle, unfortunately they don''t completely fill my mana but it comes fairly close. ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys, I refuse to let your sacrifices be in vain.¡± I mutter to myself
4x Goblin Corpses Absorbed 12 Mana Restored!
¡°Thanks friends.¡± I say to myself. I would probably be crying right now if I had tear ducts. I should have Sluggo look into making a memorial later. Dak said he needed some soldiers that were more durable. Goblins, as much as I love them, are pretty fragile. I look through my material list and settle on a fairly hardy creature to combine with the goblin. The hellcrab. I hesitantly assign my last research point and I immediately receive the alert and dismiss it before opening my monster list.
Monsters
Mana Cost Monster Type
5 Mana Mindeater, limit 1 per dungeon until a second floor is created.
6 Mana Palmtail Skitter pack. Creates 3 Palmtail Skitters.
6 Mana Hellclaw Soldier. Creates a Hellclaw Soldier.
10 Mana Goblin Naga. Creates a Goblin Naga Dungeon Boss. Limit 1/1 Requires a Goblin monster to evolve from.
10 Mana Goblin Swordman. Creates a Goblin Swordman Dungeon Boss. Limit 1/1 Requires a Goblin monster to evolve from.
Dak is going to need a few more of these to fill out his ranks. In an attempt to salvage some more mana, I absorb one of the fallen adventurers.
Elven Ranger Absorbed! All equipment will be added to the materials list. 70 Mana Restored! Excess Mana...ERROR!!!
I feel the excess mana try to leave me, it¡¯s as if every fiber of my being is swelling, and somehow I force my core to hold it inside. I quickly allocate 60 of the mana into hellclaw soldiers. Every second is agonizing and I feel as if my core will break any moment. As the mana leaves me it pools into ten piles and I feel the pain disperse. The new minions are given shape within my view. The creatures have two legs beneath them, resembling a goblin¡¯s in appearance, but covered in a green exoskeleton. The creatures¡¯ right arms are shaped into a massive crab claw with a bright red color. The claw itself is nearly the size of the creature¡¯s entire torso. On the opposite side of the creature rests a much smaller claw, green in color. The torso of the creature is also covered in the same green exoskeleton. Below each clawed arm is a smaller, less armored goblin arm, most likely used for manipulating objects. Instead of the regular head of a goblin, the creature¡¯s head has been replaced with the body of a crab. It features two eye stalks that are able to look around in any direction to prevent enemies from sneaking up on it. The hellclaws themselves are much taller than a goblin, each one approaching nearly six feet high. Good thing we are already making the buildings larger for Dak! Each of the ten hellclaw soldiers salute me in an almost practiced unison. To be quite honest, their salutes are captivatingly adorable. ¡°Reporting for orders master.¡± Says the Hellclaw who first became fully formed. ¡±Report to Dak, he will give you all your assignments, you can''t miss him! He''s big and orange!¡± I say. The Hellclaws all begin leaving the core room in a group march. Looks like they will do well in their guard roles. I hope they like living here. I will have to ask them later if they need anything as well. As I go to begin working on my next project a notification comes into view.
Congratulations! A new skill has been learned from absorbing Elven Ranger! The Magic Eye Skill has been unlocked! Your status windows have been improved!
This is what I have been looking for! I should be able to access a lot more information now! I would love to perform a fist pump right now but the lack of hands thing really continues to be an overall disappointing experience. I quickly look around the core room until I find someone. ¡°Hey Hugh Man do a fist pump!¡± Hugh Man, who has been sitting in a corner with his arms around his knees rocking back and forth, suddenly stops and begins to stand up. He walks over to the core and begins to speak in a terse tone. ¡° Look I really don''t want to watch you absorb my coworkers, I mean sure, I was going to betray them once we reached the core. But that''s not important right now. Also, my name is William.¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon Hugh Man is a great name and you picked it, so stop trying to change it! Now give me a fist pump.¡± Hugh Man lets out a sigh as his shoulders slump. He slowly raises his hand and gives an unenthusiastic fist pump as I give out a loud cheer. Now I have the perfect opportunity to test my new magic eye...hmmm...how do I have magic eyes? I don''t have eyes. Oh well, on to Hugh Man¡¯s status window!This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
An error has been detected while opening an adventurer¡¯s status window. Please contact your administrator. Retrying¡­ Solution found, switching to Monster Information¡­.
Monster Information
Name Hugh Man Stats Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...Error humans can not be dungeon monsters. This dungeon monster is a human...
Species Error Strength 8
Titles Master of the Theatre Constitution 8
Age 34 years old Dexterity 16
Sex Male Agility 12
Health 100/100 Intelligence 14
Mana 0/0 Charisma 22 Status Effects
Energy 90/100 Wisdom 10 Well Rested, Stressed
Sanity 40/100 Luck 3
Jobs Job Level Skills and Traits
Bard 4 Grandmaster Acting, Expert Disguise Creation, Intermediate Illusion Magic, Invigorating Music, Basic Cooking, Intermediate Lockpicking, Musical Instrument Mastery, Basic Fencing.
Actor 50
Oh my, I have so many questions now! There is so much new information! "Hey Hugh Man I have some questions about your status window I would like to ask." Hugh Man gives out a long sigh in response. "Yes, I already know that it''s been a mess ever since we...contracted." "Well let''s take my questions one at a time. Explain stats to me." I command. "Oh you must have an analysis skill, most of the time we cannot see stats outside of a guild. Well it''s pretty simple really there are eight stats and we can influence and grow seven of them. Luck is the exception it never changes.¡± He furrows his eyebrows as he continues his explanation. ¡° I''m sure you can see, but my luck is terrible which likely contributed to why I''m here now, answering your basic questions." I decide to interrupt him here, he must be wrong. "I don''t know about that, it seems pretty lucky we got to meet!¡± He waits for me to finish my outburst before continuing. "Generally, the normal stat for your average human should be around ten. Every race is a little different though and as we grow, so do our stats.¡± I interject once more, this is all getting very contradictory. "But you said the average is ten how come your strength and constitution are so low and your other stats are much higher?" "That has to do with my jobs, actors use charisma to make their roles believable, agility and dexterity are often used for dancing." He explains. "Ah, so those stats grew because you were using them the most!" He gives me a few claps to congratulate me coming to the conclusion on my own. "Yes, and as actors rarely have to do manual labor or participate in any combat my strength and constitution are lacking." "Well don''t worry I won''t make you fight I''d you don''t want to!" I say with conviction. "Thanks for that. Although I doubt you would need me in combat." He says while eyeing two Hellclaws at guard near the entrance to the chamber. "As you can see my charisma is quite high. Having twenty in even a single stat is rare, and denotes power in it¡¯s area. Most humans never reach it due to our limited lifespan.¡± He keeps saying most Hugh Mans but he should be the only one right? Wait it must be like the cook name Yidhra had, every tribe must have such naming conventions! "So, what are jobs I haven''t seen those before." I ask. "Jobs are how most of the enlightened races are able to grow. It''s what separates us from monsters. Without them, we wouldn''t be able to resist monsters or survive as we would be far too weak." His lips thin as he pauses. That does make sense. Dak was able to easily defeat them even with their jobs. Hugh Man continues. ¡°Do keep in mind we can have any number of jobs, but the total level cannot exceed 99.¡± It appears that he has finally finished his explanation. "Thank you Hugh Man. This information has been very helpful! I''ll let you know if I have any more questions. I think you should be in charge of adventurer relations going forward, considering you know a lot about them!" I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. Hugh Man¡¯s body stiffens in momentary shock and after a brief moment he speaks up, with as much courage as he can gather. "I can attempt to talk to others as they show up, but honestly adventurers are mostly only motivated by money. Without being able to earn a wage, they won''t treat this as a town no matter what you do. "Oh money is important for adventurers. Sluggo did tell me that." I move my mana out and begging materializing piles of gold and silver coins on the ground. I use about ten mana total to construct the currency and hopefully it''s enough. "Will this be enough to get started?" Hugh Man stares down at the pile of thousands of coins on the dungeon floor, remaining completely motionless for a few moments. He suddenly snaps back to attention. "This is great. You know what? We can probably start our own guild here. I''ll be your guild leader. We can offer bounties within the dungeon and in the area around it. We can pay the adventures with the currency you manufacture. We can also buy materials like other guilds but we will have you absorb them instead of using them for crafting. We just need to make sure no one from the church sees the abominations like Dak. Goblins should be fine and the Hellclaws can probably pass without too much suspicion.¡± Hugh Man¡¯s thinned lips start to turn upwards into and even thinner smile. ¡°Yeah, this could work. I''m really glad I came here." His eyes have yet to move from the gold and silver on the floor. I let out a cough to break the silence that had started to encroach our conversation. "Well let me know if you need anything else. I have a lot to get done today, but feel free to get started." I say before I move my mind out of the core room, but Hugh Man never responds, continuing to stare at the money on the floor. Adventurers must really love money. I move out into the main room of the dungeon. Goblins are dashing all over the place trying to get ready for Glaakis ritual. The little goblin village has really come together now. They have constructed quite a few dwellings and have even increased the size of both the barracks and the tavern to accommodate larger creatures. Over the past few days I realized something important. The upgrade system for rooms seems to work off of my ideas and intentions and is not something generated in a linear fashion from the system. Now that we decided to turn this place into a real town the upgrade menu should be different. I decide to pull it up in anticipation.
Monster Village
A village built by multiple species of monsters in an abandoned mine.
Cost Upgrades
5 DP New!!! Convert the existing monster village and subterranean farm into a monster town. House of Horrors title will effect this upgrade in unknown ways.
40 Mana New!!! Add a church for the cult of the Shiny God. 0/1
30 Mana New!!! Add a mining tunnel network where ore can be harvested.. 0/1
30 Mana New!!! Upgrade the rail system to create a better transportation system for transporting ore.. This feature is heavily influenced by the House of Horrors title.
20 Mana New!!! Add an adventurers guild 0/1
5 Mana New!!! Upgrade the goblin totem into a shrine of the Shiny God. Turns the surrounding area into a non combat zone. Initiating combat will inflict the aggressor with multiple status effects.
As I thought, the system definitely can interpret my intentions and change my options to fit them. This also explains how monster fusion has mostly created creatures that can fill their intended roles so efficiently. I decide to purchase all of these upgrades. I move my mana over to the corpses of the other two adventurers and begin absorbing them.
Human Barbarian Absorbed! All equipment will be added to the materials list. 50 Mana Restored! Human Priestess Absorbed! 90 Mana Restored! Excess Mana...ERROR!!!
Once again I force the mana to stay within me and immediately allocate it to all the upgrades available. Some excess mana might still be lost if I dont have anything to asign it to. It seems the priestess contained the most mana, maybe magic users contain more mana? More importantly, I can¡¯t believe the party of adventurers had three Hugh Mans, that has to be confusing in conversations! My mana stretches out across the entire village chamber before reaching even further into the farm as well. The rooms glow in a violet hue that envelops everything. Some of the goblins stop and stare at the totem in the center of the village before dropping to the ground, kneeling. After a few moments the blinding purple light fades and the upgrades have fully finished. The results swiftly become apparent. The chamber itself has grown so large in size that it would now buckle under its own weight, if not for the multiple massive stone pillars now supporting the roof above the town. Where the entrance to the dungeon used to lie has now expanded and been replaced by two large rail systems exiting the mouth of the mine. A large creature three times the size of a goblin is racing down its tracks. It appears to be a combination of the lightning roach I had absorbed and a minecart. It is mostly roach in appearance, but fused to its back is a large metal cart and in place of legs it has four wheels that seem be given movement from the discharge of its electrical pulses. A goblin who is riding in the cart is either screaming in terror, or cheering. I cannot quite tell the difference. As the cart passes by I notice a large stone wall now stands around the perimeter of the entire town with four stone watchtowers, thirty feet in height, resting atop it. Two gates stand on each end of the town, one leading to the entrance of the mine, the other to my core room. Located within the town walls is a large garden area with various underground plants growing, including the observer mushrooms and flesh moss. The flesh moss is now growing across most of the mine¡¯s walls in the main chamber, ready to be harvested for hungry citizens. The tavern has been upgraded and looks like it can now host upwards of thirty guests at a time. The barracks has increased in size as well and now sports an armory and improved prison area. A guard house now sits near the other gate as well. The town has dozens of dwellings that are much better in quality compared to the shacks the goblins had used before. A large building now sits across the way from the tavern and a sign hangs from it reading ¡°Adventurers Guild¡±. Posted outside of the tavern is a new bulletin board, but nothing is listed on it as of yet. In the middle of the town where the totem once lied is now a massive church, the building itself seems to be constructed from still living flesh and bone. Sacs of pus ooze from its sides occasionally. The totem now erupts from the church¡¯s roof in the same location it once stood and gives off an eerie glow. The totem remains largely the same, but now seems to be carved from bone rather than wood. I notice Glaaki and the other goblins have approached the church and most of them are now kneeling in front of it with the exception of Glaaki, who for some reason can''t stop laughing. Spoiler :
Dungeon Information
Name Shiny God A mine that is being used as space for town for various species of monsters. The creatures that live within worship the Shiny God.
Dungeon Name Nameless Dungeon
Titles House Of Horrors
Age 5 days
Sex N/a
Mana 26/50 Current Skills
Theme Small Mine Goblin Language, New!!! Common Language, Basic Goblin Construction, Basic Leadership, New!!! Magic Eye
1st Floor Monster Town
0 Dungeon Points unspent
0 Research Points unspent
Chapter 9 Chapter 9 The rest of the day went by at a relatively quick pace. My dungeon¡¯s citizens all got right to work after Glaaki gave a sermon at the new church. He was very appreciative of having a much more official place of worship now. Some of the goblins are now working in the mine, collecting ore and gems. Others can be found tending to the fields, gathering mushrooms and moss. Yidhra has told me it is important to gather resources for trade once we get our first wave of adventurers. Glaaki informed me he should be ready to perform his ritual in a few more days, which is amazing news. I won''t have to worry about another goblin dying permanently. I decided to spend the day observing everyone and offering help where it was needed. Sadly, everywhere I went the goblins told me they would not dare ask the Shiny God for anything. I''m glad they don¡¯t want to burden me, but it would be nice to have them rely on me from time to time. After all we are all friends in this together. I think its about time to start carving out the second floor.As i go to open my menus I notice Hugh Man is approaching my core. "So I have an idea on how to make this seem like a real town." He says. "Perfect! Let me know what it is and I''ll assist with whatever you need!" I reply excitedly. "I have a few¡­ associates near here that have been out of work ever since the nearby town was destroyed during the war.¡± He rubs his hands together, as if trying to warm them. ¡°We can have them come to work and live here to make it seem like the dungeon is cohabiting with the enlightened races." "Oh, friends of yours? That''s perfect! They are welcome here of course. I will get ready to make the contracts!" William pauses and stares at my core for a moment before he snaps back to attention and speaks. "That won''t be necessary. They will work for silver and I''ll give them some gold to take the job. I can even offer a few acting lessons to help everyone else blend in. No need to contract everyone that walks in the gate." "But if they are not contracted I cannot respawn them when they die. I don¡¯t like it when my friends die." I say with a hint of sadness in my voice. "Look enlightened races don''t¡ª you know what, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you could respawn them. Still, they will work for coin and they can keep themselves safe. Not everyone is defenseless you know? Besides, who is going to attack them in town?" "But Dak killed the adventurers so easily!" I say incredulously. ¡°I do not need a reminder on that. Dak is not a good representation of the threats out there. They can handle other humans just fine¡± "Okay but if they decide they want a contract so they can respawn, just let me know! It''s a lot safer!" I affirm. "They will be fine. I''ll head out to get them right now." Hugh Man seems to be losing patience with me. "Great! I will have Dak send some escorts with you!" "Escorts? I''m not going to run. I''m already contracted." Of course not. Why would he need to run anywhere? "You don''t have to run anywhere, the guards are for your protection. You said you don''t want to fight anyone. What if you¡¯re attacked while traveling?" "Ah yes I did say that. Fine." He replies. "Yay! Good luck and be safe. Make sure you get along with the Hellclaws!" I say as Hugh Man gives a bow and leaves the core room. Three figures travel along a dirt road, long in its need for repair. One of the figures is a simple human who has begun showing signs of his age. His blonde hair is lengthy and pulled back into a knot. His face seems to be eerily handsome as if changed by some sort of magic. He wears a simple black cloak over leather armor. On his hip rests a rapier that reflects the light off of it so well, one would think it had never been used. Most people would not be intimidated by a man who wields a sword such as this. In his hands he plucks the strings of a finely carved lute. Hanging from his belt is a cloth sack, heavy with coin. Most citizens of the Kingdom of Leconak would recognize this man as William, a famous actor of the Leconak theatre house. The creatures at his side however, would terrify those same people. The two Hellclaw Soldiers march in perfect unison. Their eyes shift direction constantly searching for threats. "I know this area like the back of my hand. You do not need to be so on guard here." Says William nonchalantly. He sighs as neither guard responds to him. "You two are not great at conversation. The master told us to get along." One of the guards speaks up, uttering through his maw. "Dak told us not to trust you, Hugh Man. You have won the masters favor but not ours." "Well it''s good not to trust others and all but you could at least pretend to find my jokes funny. Or maybe you can sing along with me while we are on the road for entertainment? Might help others warm up to you guys." Says William. "This one does not need entertainment. This one only seeks to serve its master." The group travels in silence on the road for hours. Finally, the group passes over a large hill and their destination comes into sight. The ruins of a small farming village comes into view. Most of its buildings have been turned to rubble and offer little in the way of shelter. The fields that the farmers used to work are barren, having been reduced to ashes years back. As the group moves closer to the village, William''s guards immediately become alert and assume a combat stance. Five men who were set to ambush the group as they pass come out of hiding and approach the group from the front, now knowing their ambush has failed. The five men approach the group with weapons drawn before one breaks the silence. "Wait is that William? By the gods we thought it was a group of monsters. What''s up with the crabs?" He asks in surprise. William raises his hand and the two hellclaw guards immediately drop their combat stance and return to an idle position at guard to his sides. "Personal guards assigned by my new employer. Probably here to make sure I don''t runaway or get myself killed." Says William. The five men look at each other and begin to laugh. One of the men begins to speak up. "Isn''t running and not dying all you are good for? Besides acting that is." He says trying to hold back his laughter." William''s face slips into anger momentarily but snaps back into a charming smile before anyone can notice. "Hilarious as usual Paul. Is the boss in? I have a job for you guys." Asks William. The men finally stop laughing long enough for the one now known as Paul to give a reply. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Yup we will escort you to the boss. You know the rules no weapons." Paul says before glancing at the giant sharp claws of William''s guards."Nevermind not like we can disarm those guys anyways." He points to the Hellclaws. Two of the men return to their hiding places chuckling as Paul and the other two begin escorting the group into the village. "I see not much has changed in the last few years." Says William trying to break the silence. "Right? It''s takes all we got just to make a few coins and survive. We got no fields to work now and we don''t exactly have the funds to go rebuilding." Says Paul. As the group walks into the village they pass by a dozen onlookers who stare in wonder, or possibly horror at William''s guards. Some of the children in the group approach William. He pauses and pulls out a handful of silver coins before kneeling down and handing one to each of the kids. They stare at him, eyes wide open in surprise. "Is..that was silver. You throwing money around now William? Those kids can eat good for a month with that. Thanks for that." William stands and pats the dirt off of his pants. "Hey even I have a heart." The group approaches a building in the middle of the village. It seems to be the building that is in the best working condition, though it still is not something one would consider habitable. Its walls are scorched black from fire. And a portion of the roof has collapsed in on itself. A man, heavily injured with bandages all over his body stands guard near the entrance. Paul walks over to the guard and speaks with him for a few moments before returning to William. "The boss is inside. You are cleared to enter but your...guards need to stay out here.¡± As William begins to speak one of the Hellclaws interrupts him. "Your request is denied Hugh Man Paul. We are under orders to guard Hugh Man. He is not to leave our sight." William and Paul stare at the creature for a few moments before Willam breaks the silence. "I doubt we can convince them otherwise Paul, once these guys have orders they follow them to the bitter end." Paul sighs and shrugs his shoulders. "Well it was worth a shot. I''m sure if you were here to harm us they could have already wiped us all out by now. Go ahead and talk to the boss." Paul says as he motions to the door. ¡°Thanks Paul." Says William. William opens the door, which is in surprisingly good condition, and enters the room. The room itself is mostly empty aside from than a large table with maps and books sprawled across it. A rug made of wolf skin lies next to a fireplace that is burning. A woman stands at the table, her attention has not yet taken away from the documents she''s sorting through. The two Hellclaws salute William and take up guard at either side of the door. William nods at them and turns to walk towards the table. The woman looks up at him. She is a living monument of strength. Her muscles are even larger than the barbarian William worked with when they raided the dungeon. Her long red hair rests in front of her shoulder in a braid. Her face is covered in various scars and burns. "William." His name escapes her lips without hiding the anger hidden behind the word. William gives a formal bow before turning his head up to her and gives a wicked smile. "Hello Clara it is a pleasure to see you!" Says William in an exaggerated excitement. Clara walks towards him and he begins to extend a hand in greeting. She promptly ignores it and quickly punches him in the gut which sends him flying across the room. The two Hellclaws immediately charge towards the woman, each placing a claw around her neck before she can react. "Stop," Williams voice is rattled, but he gets the words out without much trouble, "I probably deserved that." He says as he rises to his feet, coughing up some blood. He quickly uncorks a potion and pours it down his throat. The two guards pull away from the woman and return to their posts. "You know that could have killed me. Luckily, I have potions." He says. "Oh I really did hope it would have, William. It would have been worth getting killed by those crabs to watch your smug face turn to horror as you bleed to death internally." She replies. "Why are you here?" She asks in anger. William sharpens his gaze, putting up an air of intensity unexpected of him. "I''m here for business." Clara, bursts out in laughter at the notion of such a thing. After a moment, she is able to reign in her cackling enough to continue the conversation. "You want to hire us? You come waltzing back to your hometown after you left us all here to die?" Asks Clara. William shows his usual smile but allows a hint of animosity to slip into his voice. "Oh do let the actor fight on the front line. We both know it would have changed nothing." "That''s not the point,¡± Clara lets out a tired sigh, as if she¡¯s had this exact conversation before, ¡°You coulda helped us afterwards. You coulda used some of that actin¡¯ money to help the town get back on its feet." William runs his fingers through his hair, taking hold of a tuft of it as he tries to reign in his annoyance. "Look, I''m not here to argue with you. I don''t want to be here either. But I¡¯m¡­ working for someone who needs to hire you." She scoffs at him. "Fine, but I''m billing them extra on account of having to look at you." "That will not be an issue." Says William in return. Clara raises an eyebrow at him before pulling out a quill and paper. "How many men do you need and for how long? We may be bandits now but we can still do good work." She says, suddenly more authoritative. "The boss is going to want all of them. Duration of the contract is permanent." Says William. Clara puts the quill down and and rubs her temples. "You want all of my men? Look we still need to take care of the kids and the wounded here. And what do you mean permanent? What is the work?" "Permanent means permanent. And we are hiring the sick and wounded as well. The work is well¡­ living in a town." William looks around the room and sighs. "Obviously not this town. A new one." Clara looks momentarily confused but then begins to put her quill to the paper and starts documenting information. "So your boss wants us to relocate to this new town. So we are to do what exactly? Be guards?" She asks as she continues writing. "No, I''m fairly sure my boss has that covered already. "Says William as he motions to the Hellclaw soldiers at guard near the door. "I''m not selling us as slaves if that''s what your getting at." Says Clara. William sighs again. "Hey, my boss just wants you all to live in the town. You will be full citizens. Exempt from taxes for five years and you will be paid for the relocation. You aren''t slaves, you will be free, other than that you have to live in the town. You can work the fields like you guys used to or you can open shops. Hell, you can even drink all the money away in the tavern if you want." William explains. "This is a lot to organize. When does the job start?" Asks Clara without looking away from her continuing documentation. "Today. You will move there immediately. I would like to be back before the morrow." Says William. Clara puts her quill down again and looks up at William as she crosses her arms. "William, your boss cannot afford this. This is a logistical nightmare, and you want us to move thirty people to some town that may or may not exist. On top of that, your boss employs some weird race of crab people. I need a few weeks to see the town first and give my people some time to be exposed to these creatures so they don''t live in terror." William''s grin spreads ear to ear as he pulls a heavy sack from belt. He throws it on the table and gold coins spill out. "It¡¯s not just crab people, there are goblins too. This should be more than you need even with the tax of having to see me now and then." Clara''s eyes bulge as she sorts through the gold coins. "William just where did your boss get so much money? You could buy an entire town with this. You wouldn''t even need us. Actually, don''t answer that I don''t want to know." "So I take it you accept the job?" William¡¯s usual smirk has grown to become an inviting grin. "Yup, we will leave behind anything we can''t take. We can leave in an hour." As she counts the coin, a veil of blue shimmers from the shadows and the figure of a man appears out from it. William stares at him in surprise but neither of the Hellclaws react, almost as if they knew he was there already. "Relay the orders to Paul and get everyone ready to go." Clara commands. "Yes ma''am." Says the man in black robes before he disappearing again after a salute. William nervously asks, "Assassin job? Who is that?¡± "Can''t be too careful these days William. Although I''m surprised your guards seemed to know he was here. This new boss of ours must be pretty powerful." William lets out a sigh that transitions into a groan halfway through. "You don''t know the half of it." Chapter 10 Chapter 10 William and Clara approach the entrance of the mine with the townspeople in tow. Two Hellclaws stand guard at the mouth of the mine. They stand perfectly motionless as if they were statues. A large gate now rests in the entrance, it was not here when William left. "Looks like they have been busy while I was gone." Says William. "I still don''t know whether to believe you that there is a town inside this mine. I''d say you are walking us into some sort of trap but I don''t really care considering how much you are paying us." Says Clara with a shrug. William looks over the villagers. Most of them that could work are either too sick or wounded. Even so, they have a burning passion in their eyes now that they will finally have a real home once again. The children however seem fairly anxious, most likely never having traveled this far before. William looks back to Clara and Paul. "So, you explained the rules to everyone?"says Willian. "Yup, everyone knows. Don''t be afraid of the big ugly monsters. Let outsiders know this is a peaceful town. Otherwise we are free to do whatever we want." Answers Clara. "And no violence. If you harm someone, the penalty isn''t cheap." William says as a reminder. "I still can''t believe this town your boss is runnin¡¯ has a protection zone. Usually those are reserved for major cities but I ain''t gonna ask where he got it." Says Clara with a sly smile. "Well let''s head inside then. Oh and before I forget, don''t freak out about the church here. They have started their own religion here." Says William almost having forgotten. "Ha why would we freak out about a church. " says Paul interrupting the conversation. "Never cared for them church types but we won''t complain about them either." Says Paul. William walks up to one of the Hellclaws and salutes. The Hellclaw salutes back and waits for William to speak. "Will...Hugh Man here reporting back. I have the new townspeople with me." Says William with a depressed look on his face. "Affirmative. You are cleared to enter the town Hugh Man." Says the guard. The two guards push open the gate. The gate itself struggles to open due to the doors being unreasonably heavy. "Can humans even open that?" Says Paul with a chuckle. "Strength junkies like Clara will be fine, but I''ll run it by the master¡­ he lacks certain perspectives." Says William while Clara glares at him. "I''m not a strength junkie you are just frail." Says Clara. "Sure, it''s completely normal to dump all your stat points into strength and nothing else." Says William as he rolls his eyes. "Oh but charisma is fine?" "My stat distribution is normal for my job." Says William. "Right you don''t fight anything. You just talk until you can run away. Just like you did during the war." The grin that stretches across Clara¡¯s face has become immeasurable. Laughter can be heard amongst the crowd of towns people. William, looking momentarily annoyed, motions for the group to enter. "Enough, let''s head inside already.¡± The group passes down the tunnel and follows the rail tracks. The tunnel is oddly longer than William remembers. It takes a few minutes of walking before reaching the towns walls and gate. Once again two Hellclaw guards stand at watch. "Wow look at this wall! Is your boss building a fortress in here?" Asks Clara. "I guess you can say my master believes in good security." Answers William. "Is he hiding something in here? I understand securing the town, but this excessive." Paul says while eyeing the stone watchtowers. "Are we not all hiding things? I can assure you that my master is really trying to build a town here." Says William. Clara leans over to Paul and begins to whisper. "Maybe he found some kind of new metal ore in here. It would explain why he hired crab mercenaries instead of humans. It also explains all the money he is paying." Paul nods silently in agreement. This time the two guards signal for the gates to open without speaking to William. The group enters cautiously. "Well you weren''t kidding about the church. It is massive and is it...alive?" Clara asks. "Gross, it¡¯s oozing." Paul adds as he points at a sack of pus that burst. "Honestly I''m not sure. Goblin stuff." Says William trying to dodge the question. "Well Clara from now on you are in charge of your people and any other humans that decide to relocate here." William deftly moves the conversation to a more comfortable discussion. "Understood. So we can set up where ever we want? What about work?" Clara asks. "Human residential area should be that way. The homes should be sized appropriately. You will have to build your own furniture though. As far as work goes. This is your town now, so you guys can figure it out. If you are good at farming the fields are that way." Says William as he motions to the farming area. "So we are really just free to do what we want? " Asks Clara. "Yup open shops if you want to. You''re tax exempt remember. If you want to do some construction just run it by Sluggo, he''s the one with a squid for a face. He''s the master''s overseer." Says William. Clara begins to ask a question but is immediately interrupted and given an answer. "Overseer is basically the position of the bosses right hand man." Says William. "Okay boss I''m sure you want to get some merchant stalls set up. I''ll run over and get it approved with this Sluggo guy." Says Paul to Clara. He gives a prompt salute and runs off looking for the goblin. "And where do we find you if we need you?" Asks Clara as she folds her arms in front of her. "Well I''m going to report to the boss that you guys have moved in but otherwise you are looking at the new adventurers guild master for this town." Says William with a smile. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Oh like you have done any adventurin¡¯. You spun a lie to get your boss to give you that position I bet." Says Clara. William narrows his eyes at the continued assault on his character. "My master is fully aware of my qualifications." The two share some goodbyes before moving off in opposite directions. As the group of townspeople make their way to the human residential area Clara hears some of the townspeople scream in terror. Clara launches herself towards a group of children who cowering in fear in front if two goblins. The rest of the townspeople had begun moving away from the children rather than moving in to protect them. "Shit I knew it was too good to be true." She says. . "Accelerate!¡± She shouts as her body is covered in a magical glow and blurs as she moves inhumanely fast. Before she can reach the children one of the goblins reaches for something most likely a weapon. He puts his hand forward and reveals a silver coin. Clara suddenly stops in her surprise at the gesture, causing her to almost fall over from the momentum. "Hi little Humies. Me sorry I scare you. Shiny God say get along with Humies. Little Humies like shinies?" Says the goblin while handing the coin to a child. The child stares at the coin blankly in confusion as it¡¯s dropped into the palms of her hands. She suddenly snaps out of her confusion before returning an awkward smile to the goblin. "Thanks mister." Says the child hesitantly. Clara approaches the goblins and motions for the rest of the group to keep moving. The children wave to the goblin before joining the rest of the townspeople. Once everyone else has made it to a safe distance Clara turns back to the goblins that are now staring at her. "Woah giant Humie! Hi my name Dimwit. This gobbo is Gork." Says Dimwit as he motions to Gork. "Gork my guard. Good guard when not sleeping." Says Dimwit. "Gork not sleep on duty today. Doin¡¯ gud job" Says Gork with a huge grin. "Hello Dimwit and Gork. I honestly thought you were going to hurt the kids, sorry for the misunderstanding. We shouldn''t judge you guys on appearance if we are going to be living together. I''m Clara." She says as she squats down and extends a hand to Dimwit. Dimwit, with a look of confusion tries to hand her a silver coin. Clara shakes her head and grasps his hand and shakes it. "Sorry about that. This is a human greeting called a handshake." Says Clara to clear up the confusion. Dimwit smiles and begins to speak. "No worry Clara. Good to know human greetin. Usually gobbos just hit other gobbo to greet." Says Dimwit. "We used to do the stabbin when we see humies. Shiny God say no do that in town." Says Gork. "We be friend with humie now. No want be punished by Shiny God." Says Dimwit. "Well thank you for that. I guess from now on we will be stabbin¡¯ humies and monsters together as friends." Says Clara with a laugh at her attempts to mimic their speech. "But tell me this Dimwit, where did you guys learn to speak the human language so well?" Asks Clara "We no speak humie. We speak gobbo." Says Gork with a puzzled expression. "Oh shiny God must be doin this." Says Dimwit in excitement while Gork Nods in agreement. "Well your God must be a good one if it wants to help races understand each other. We could use more of that outside of this town too." Clara¡¯s eyes suddenly soften, remembering the harsh realities of her village¡¯s past. "You praise Shiny God. Must be good Humie." Says Dimwit. "And smart humie. Oh and strong Humie. Lots of muscles." Gork adds. Clara¡¯s eyes harden again, but not as they had been before. This time, there¡¯s a little light behind them. "Flattery will get you everywhere Gork." She says. Hugh Man approaches a large stone gate. Two Hellclaws stand guard, barring any entry. William gives a formal bow before returning to his standing position and giving a smile. "I have returned and I seek an audience with the master." Says Hugh Man. One of the hellclaws opens the gate allowing Hugh Man to pass. As he enters the hallway he notices a building that blocks the way forward. "This was not here¨C what is going on?" asks Hugh Man. "The master has been busy this is Dak''s new barracks. The Hellclaws sleep and train here alongside General Dak." Says the hellclaw. "When did Dak become a general? I was only gone two days... " His voice trails off, the thought never reaching completion. The hellclaw following him opens the door to the barracks. Hugh Man enters and finds himself standing in a large training area. Various other hellclaws are sparring with each other under the under the orders of a slightly more crimson hellclaw. "There was only ten of them when I left how many did he summon?" Hugh Man whispers the question to himself. One of the Soldiers approaches him and leads him down a hall into a large chamber where he finds Dak sitting at a desk. The soldier approaches Dak and salutes. "General, Hugh Man seeks an audience with the master." Dak stands while smiling, most likely happy to no longer have to look at paperwork. He returns the salute and dismisses the hellclaw soldier." He approaches Hugh Man and slaps him on the back, knocking him straight to the floor. "Good job gettin¡¯ the Humies to come. Shiny God is happy!" Dak says with a smile. Hughman stands and smiles without showing his annoyance. ¡°That is good to hear Dak. What is going on here. Why are there so many Hellclaws and why is there a barracks in the core room hallway?" Asks Hugh Man. "Oh. Dak asked master for some more boys. We got fifty boys now. Barracks floor one boss room." Says Dak with a huge grin. Hugh Man sighs heavily while pacing in a circle trying to think. Dak watches him in amusement before Hugh Man decides to break the silence. "Dak, no one will ever make it through here to the second floor once its built. You and the Hellclaws are too strong for a first floor boss." "Oh that why you confused. No worry second floor tunnel is complete now! It under the church!"Says Dak. "Dak, floors need to be after boss rooms so that''s functionally impossible. I need to talk to the master." Says Hugh Man. "Okay follow Dak." Dak leads Hugh Man down a few hallways before they reach a large circular room. Shackles and chains hang from the walls and the floor seems to be made of stone that slants into metal drains. The pair passes through the gate on the other side and end up in the core chamber. "Shiny God, Hugh Man is here to see you. Says Dak. "Oh hi Hugh Man. Thanks for getting your friends to move in!" The voice of the core rings around the room. Dak approaches and salutes the core and Sluggo who is sitting at the meeting table. Dak moves to take his place at the table and Sluggo motions for Hugh Man to approach. Hugh Man kneels in front of the core and begins to speak. "I see you have made a lot of changes while I was gone master. I''m happy to report that I have successfully hired my former associates and they have begun moving in." "That''s great!" Says the core. Hugh Man looks around the room quickly and notices there seems to be no stairway leading down to another floor. He nervously begins to ask a question. "Master, Dak told me you have started construction on a second floor?" "Yeah we started the construction yesterday!" Says the core enthusiastically. Hugh Man pauses for a moment and begins to speak. "Master I see no stairwell leading into a second floor. Please pardon me for being rude, but I think you may be confused. The second floor needs to be connected to a boss room." The chamber remains silent for a few moments which stretch on and feel like an eternity to Hugh Man. Finally the core breaks its silence. "Why?" Hugh Man is caught off guard by the question and says. "I''m sorry master?" "Why must it be connected to a boss room?" The core¡¯s voice has become pointedly annoyed now. "Master, there are rules that all dungeons must follow. There is always a boss room and then the stairs to the second floor that the boss guards." Says Hugh Man. "That''s stupid." Says the core causing Dak to laugh. Sluggo begins staring at Hugh Man in annoyance. "Look Hugh Man maybe the other cores listen to Steve, but he is a jerk. We are doing what we want from now on. It is much safer this way." Says the core. "But adventurers are going to find it strange. They might report it!" Says Hugh Man. "Yes they will report it to the nearest adventurers guild, which you run now. If we say the second floor is actually the first floor no one will ever be able to find my core. I''ll even add a boss room on floor two which will fool them into thinking it''s the first floor. From now on this is no longer the first floor, it''s just a town in a mine that discovered a dungeon." Says the core while Sluggo and Dak nod in agreement. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 A heavy silence hangs over my core room as Hugh Man is escorted away by a hellclaw. I was surprised by how resistant he was to the changes I made while he was gone. I know he''s worried about the church, but I think we will be fine. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Sluggo break the silence. "Master, Hugh Man was correct on some things. We should make sure the new floor looks like it¡¯s the first floor of a dungeon to reduce suspicion. We are too weak to take on the church at the moment." "Ha! Me and the boys can take on any foe!" Dak¡¯s voice is as explosive as ever. Sluggo glares at him, causing Dak¡¯s enthusiasm to waver, just a tiny bit. I decide to interrupt this display before it grows any more tenuous. "Yeah I understand that Sluggo but we have a bit of an issue in that case. I can''t make normal monsters anymore." I say. "Master, you will be fine. The church knows that there are a limited number of monster types that can appear in the world and it''s dungeons. However, the average adventurer shouldn''t be aware of what all the types are." Sluggo divulges the information to me in a tone that would remind one of a wizened old wizard. It makes for a quite remarkable appearance, hearing that voice come from a tentacled goblin. "So we should start with with weaker monster fusions first? In order to make the difficulty of the dungeon seem low?" I ask, albeit a little sheepishly. I wish I didn¡¯t have to rely on my friends so much, as helpful as they are. Sluggo, ever patient, continues to explain the situation to me. "That is correct master. The lower the threat level, the less likely it will be that any higher ups in the guild or church will show up. The longer they take to arrive, the stronger we can grow." I take a moment to think on the current information I have available to me. I quickly remember that I have 5 more research points that where made available after digging the stairway to the second floor of the dungeon. "I''ll create a simple dungeon, based around the mine we¡¯re already in. Perhaps I¡¯ll put a few beasts or slimes as well as a boss monster at the end." I state my plans plainly, with no room for misinterpretation. "Dak would rather have more strong boys. Let Dak kill church. Only need one god anyway. Only need Shiny God." Says Dak with a smug smile. "You underestimate their power." Sluggo¡¯s chiding tone pierces through Dak, and his smile drops. "For now let us focus on building the second floor and prepare for the guild investigator.¡± Once more it is up to me to stop their bickering. ¡°We can worry about who to kill later." I attempt as soothing a voice as possible, and it appears to work. Dak and Sluggo talk amongst themselves for a few minutes before they both dismiss themselves. As Sluggo begins to exit my core room he suddenly turns as if remembering something. "Oh master? Do try to avoid using humans and other sentient beings in fusions for now." He says before leaving the chamber completely. I guess it''s a good that I got so many new materials to absorb from Yidhra over the last two days. After all, I do need to make some new monsters for our new floor. For the time being we just need a simple monster type and a boss. I decide on my first fusion. I think the best options are going to be a giant mole and a lesser wolf for the base materials. These two creatures were on the acceptable difficulty list that Sluggo gave me. Hopefully regular adventurers can deal with them easily with some teamwork. I assign my research point and head over to the church. The church itself appears to be reverberating as I move towards it, almost as if it is trying to acknowledge my presence. Next to the church is our new path leading down to a lower floor complete with its own set of rail tracks. Suddenly a roach cart shoots out of the second floor tunnel. The roach flies past me and I noticed it¡¯s filled with various ore, and sitting atop said ore is a goblin who is currently screaming. I''m glad he is having some fun while working. The electricity generated by the roaches sure does make them move fast. I wonder if we can use the roach carts to transport adventurers later as well? Standing at the sides of the entrance to the second floor are two hellclaw guards who salute me as I pass. As I travel down the stairs and into the new hall I notice a half dozen goblins working ahead in a small chamber. The goblins have been carving out the tunnels and rooms down here in order for me to save on my mana usage. Oddly enough my dungeon theme seems to detect these tunnels and rooms and begins to change them in accordance with my dungeon theme. Mine cart rails run down the tunnels for our roach carts while wooden columns and arches support the walls and ceilings. Lanterns hang at close enough intervals to provide just enough light for working, yet leaves just enough darkness between them that one can only wonder what lurks in the in betweens. I pause and admire the goblins¡¯ work. They really are doing a great job. "Thanks for the hard work everyone." I say to the group of goblins. All of the goblins simultaneously stop what they are doing and look towards my general direction. Each of them drops to the ground, prostrating themselves and they remain in position, in silence. I wait for a moment and decide to break the silence. "This is awkward. You guys don''t need to act like this everytime you notice I''m around. We are all friends!" Sadly none of the goblins move from their positions. "I figured this would happen." Says a familiar voice from down the tunnel. At first the figure is blurry as my attention is directed elsewhere, but as they begin to move closer I quickly recognize them. "Oh hello Hugh Man. What are you doing down here?" The sight of Hugh Man prompts me to put on a more benevolent tone in my voice. "Well I decided to come down here and make sure you don''t make anything too terrifying this time. It''s already going to be difficult enough to explain the church above us." He says. "You are wrong. There isn''t anything wrong with the church. I like it and so do the goblins." I say sternly. "Fine. I won''t argue." Hugh Man¡¯s eyes scan the chamber as the words leave his lips. He continues his surveying of the room before continuing, "You guys should get back to work. Glaaki will applaud your worship but Sluggo will be aggravated if the second floor isn''t complete before the guild arrives." The goblins in the chamber suddenly spring up from the ground and begin working harder than before. "So have you created anything horrible for the second floor yet? Hopefully I''m not too late." His breath seems to quicken at the thought, I think he¡¯s excited to meet a new friend! "Yes, I have already researched a new monster and im calling it a Molf!" I say proudly. Hugh Man, to my suprise, sighs and begins speaking. ¡°One monster type is fine for the first floor, let''s just add some traps and a boss in the last room. Dungeons should be fairly simple early on. The first floor of a dungeon is usually a series of tunnels and chambers with no deviating paths. We don''t want anyone getting suspicious early on.¡± Ah, so that¡¯s what he is concerned about. "Right. Traps. Like the pits the goblins dug? Should I have them dig some more?" I really want to assuage his anxiety over any possible unpleasant outcomes. Hugh Man raises an eyebrow at me and asks a question. "Master please don''t tell me you don''t know how to make traps? Every dungeon can make them. They are usually more frequent than monsters in most of the dungeons early floors." I am taken aback by the question, this is the first time someone¡¯s ever expected me to have more knowledge than I possess. Frankly, it¡¯s a little daunting. "Maybe that was something Steve should have taught me. Stupid Steve. Maybe you can help me make a trap Hugh Man?" Hugh Man strokes his chin for a moment and then looks back towards me with a smile. "How about we mine out a long slanted tunnel, with grooves in the side occasionally. They should be just big enough that a humanoid can stand in them. At the end we should have a doorway leading to the boss room." He says. Hugh Man probably knows what he''s talking about, so I begin creating the hallway in his design. After a few minutes and some mana I have a finished tunnel and a rather empty boss room. I do have some questions however. ¡°What are the grooves for? Oh, will Goblins hide in them and stab people!" I ask excitedly. "Not everything needs goblins." Says Hugh Man. "But I like goblins." I say sadly. "This is a trap room. Other dungeons tend to use these early on. It''s called a boulder trap. You need to outrun a boulder to get into the boss room. Slower adventurers can hide in the grooves and will be safe, but then the boulder will prevent them from entering the boss room until they leave and it can reset. Fairly simple and good for keeping weaker adventurers from moving too far in when they are not ready for a boss yet." Says Hugh Man. "But what''s a boulder?" I ask. Hugh Man shakes his head briefly. "You really don¡¯t know anything unless someone tells you about it? It''s uh, basically a giant ball that drops from the ceiling and rolls down the slope. It astonishes me just how unlike a dungeon you can be." He gives a quick laugh before my excitement overtakes the discussion. "Oh a giant ball! I can do that! Goblins are fine for that right?" The pride in my voice is immeasurable. "What do you mean goblins? Wait!" Shouts Hugh Man but I am too busy assigning my research point. I summon my new creation from the menu immediately. It¡¯s pretty expensive at fifty mana but I''m sure all will be well. After all, Hugh Man is the one that wanted to make this! I feel my mana stretch out and encompass the boss room and boulder trap tunnel. A bright light fills every nook and cranny of the second floor and as my new creation appears Hugh Man drops to the ground crying. He must be really happy that our ideas came together! In front of us rests a giant mass of entangled goblin limbs and heads forming a sphere. The creature possesses countless arms and dozens of heads which first look at Hugh Man before moving to me. "Orders master? Should we consume the frail human?" Asks my new friend. "Oh don''t consume him! He''s basically your papa he helped make you!" Hugh Man would make a really great father now that I think of it. "Understood. This inferior human shall be designated at this one''s father. Hello father." says all of the creature''s heads in unison while gazing at Hugh Man. "Please stop. "Says Hugh Man. He''s still crying and now he has also begun to shake. He must be so happy to be a father now! "Orders?" Asks the goblin sphere once again while looking back towards me. "Oh right, orders! You are our new goblin boulder trap! When intruders enter here you should fall and roll down the tunnel. If they hide in the grooves don''t hurt them! Then you fight them in the boss room to prevent then from moving forward! This was all your dad''s idea, isn''t Daddy smart?" I say excitedly. My new goblin ball buddy begins climbing up the tunnel walls and hangs itself over the doorway before begins digging out a hole in the wall. It nests itself in the new dark hole it has made. The creature is now out of sight but still ready to drop behind unsuspecting adventurers at a moment¡¯s notice. I look over and notice Hugh Man has fainted from sheer joy! I will have to give him some time off to spend with his child in the future. I decide to open our joint creation¡¯s status window. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Monster Information
Name None Stats An entangled mass of goblin body parts, acting as a floor boss. This creature functions as a living boulder trap found in most dungeons. Due to its massive size and redundant organs this creature is incredibly hard to kill by conventional means. Although Powerful, those who make it to the boss room before it shall not be harmed.
Species Goblin War Sphere Strength 10
Titles Spawn of Hugh Man Constitution 20
Age 1 Minute Dexterity 18
Sex Intersex Agility 8
Health 1000/1000 Intelligence 8
Mana 0/0 Charisma 3 Status Effects
Energy 100/100 Wisdom 6 Lesser Regeneration, Stealthed
Sanity 100/100 Luck 10
Jobs Job Level Skills and Traits
N/A N/A Basic Climbing, Goblin Language, Intermediate Unarmed Combat, Intermediate Weapon Mastery, Tough Skin, Redundant Organs, Lesser Regeneration, Grand Master Multitasking, Basic Stealth
A boss and a trap all in one. Truly the definition of efficiency. Besides, the only thing cuter than a goblin is dozens of goblins put together! This was a great idea. I will have to consult Hugh Man every time I¡¯m building from now on! I open my monster menu again so I can begin summoning some Molfs.
Monsters
Mana Cost Monster Type
2 Mana Molf. Creates 1 Molf.
5 Mana Mindeater. Creates 1 Mindeater.
6 Mana Palmtail Skitter pack. Creates 3 Palmtail Skitters.
6 Mana Hellclaw Soldier. Creates a Hellclaw Soldier.
10 Mana Goblin Naga. Creates a Goblin Naga Dungeon Boss. Limit 1/1 Requires a Goblin monster to evolve from.
10 Mana Goblin Swordman. Creates a Goblin Swordman Dungeon Boss. Limit 1/1 Requires a Goblin monster to evolve from.
50 Mana Goblin War Sphere. Creates a Goblin War Sphere Dungeon Boss. Limit 1/1 when used as a dungeon boss. Goblin War Spheres can be used as a regular monster type after the construction of a 5th floor at a reduced mana cost.
This is great news! I can make as many Goblin War Spheres as I want once the dungeon grows enough! I''m really glad Hugh Man joined us. Now that I think about it, the boss room needs to guard a core room according to Hugh Man. I very quickly build a small chamber and hall at the other end of the boss room across from the boulder trap. Inside I build a neat little replica of my dungeon core atop a stone pillar. Hopefully anyone that enters this new core room thinks this is the real dungeon core. Now that I have a boss room and ¡°core¡±, I need to get some monsters summoned. The molfs are cheap so I hope this means their difficulty is appropriately low. I decide to create five of the creatures and my mana spreads out into five pools and takes shape fairly quickly. The creatures have the fur of a wolf with a shaggy tail that seems to wag happily. Its rear legs seem to be wolf legs that end in regular wolf paws. The torso is fairly wide and gives the creature a stocky build. Its front legs end in large claws used for digging. The head of the creature looks vaguely like that of a wolf, but instead of a snout its face ends in large teeth that push out of the front of both halves of the creature¡¯s jaw. This gives it an almost beak-like appearance. The creature¡¯s eyes seem to be fairly small but should be well adapted to low light conditions. The five molfs run off in different directions not being intelligent enough to follow complex orders. They should be able to attack adventurers when they show up at least. I move back towards the entrance of the second floor and head into the longest tunnel the goblins had dug. I head towards the end of the tunnel and begin using my mana to create a chamber. Once I have made a decent size room I get a notification that the upgrade I¡¯m looking for is available.
Empty Chamber
An underground chamber that was found at the end of a mining tunnel.
Cost Upgrades
10 mana New!!! Upgrades the chamber into a Molf nest. Molfs will eat, sleep, and breed here. Allows the respawning of Molfs when the floor is empty.
80 mana New!!! Adds a Molf Mother and Molf pups to the room. Killing the Molf pups will spawn a unique floor boss called the Molf King.
10 DP New!!! Adds Molfs to the worlds monster pool.
Woah, I have never seen something that costs so much DP before. I definitely can''t afford that. We will just have to settle on the molf nest for now. My mana leaves me and in an instant a series of small tunnels open up in the walls all along the rooms. Flesh moss blooms from holes surrounding the tunnels and begins covering the walls and ceiling. Surprisingly little else in the room changes. Not even my dungeon theme changes the room. I guess molfs wouldnt live in a mining area. Most likely the flesh moss is what the molfs diet will be mainly consist of. I wonder what they will do about water? I take a closer look at the small tunnels that appeared and they seem just big enough for the molfs to enter. I¡¯m guessing their nest is actually some sort of network of small tunnels? Well either way we can now respawn these guys. Sluggo said only dungeon bosses respawn automatically, so for everything else I make we will need some sort of building or nest. We even had to make a place for the hellclaws up on the first floor, they are now actually able to respawn in Dak¡¯s barracks, even when the floor has intruders. Sluggo said this is because the dungeon will not recognize visitors as hostile in the town, so the hellclaws can even respawn when people are here! A molf walks into the nesting room and looks towards me while wagging their tail. These guys are pretty cute! They would make good mounts for the goblins upstairs! As I am imagining my goblins friends happily riding around on molfs and roach carts inside the town I¡¯m suddenly interrupted. Hugh Man bursts into the chamber covered in sweat. He looks at the molf who is sitting wagging his tail before looking towards my direction. ¡°Master we can talk about these ugly things you¡¯ve made later. We have a problem.¡± I recognize an unfettered urgency in his voice, yet I¡¯m more concerned with him insulting my new friends. ¡°No you are wrong the Molfs are so adorable! What''s the problem, did Dak break a door again?¡± ¡°No. In what world would that be considered a problem here? By the gods you distract me so easily. This is bad. The guild investigator has arrived.¡± Says Hugh Man with a horrified expression plastered upon his face. Spoiler : Heres the dungeons current status window. Looks like the corruption from the core is begining to effect it.
Dungeon Information
Name Shiny God Due to an influx of impure mana from the war, a nearby abandoned mine has become a dungeon. There is a new town that has been constructed above the dungeon and the creatures that live within worship the Shiny God. Everyone living in the town is happy, they are all friends, and they don''t hurt each other. The totally normal dungeon below the town is definitely one floor and not two floors. Also, the church in the center of town is not weird. It¡¯s cute.
Dungeon Name Nameless Dungeon
Titles House Of Horrors
Age 8 days
Sex N/a
Mana 20/100 Current Skills
Theme Small Mine Goblin Language, Common Language, Ambient Translation, Basic Goblin Construction, Basic Leadership, Magic Eye
Floors Error
0 Dungeon Points unspent
3 Research Points unspent
Chapter 12 Chapter 12 At the entrance of the mine two humans from the guild stand waiting in front of two Hellclaws. The two men couldn¡¯t be further from opposites of each other. One is short and overweight. The other could be best described as immense. His body is covered in full plate mail that completely hides his features. The taller man also holds a giant tower shield and impossibly massive mace in his hands. The short man is dressed in an expensive maroon colored robe, embroidered with gold. He occasionally lifts a gold plated pipe to his lips and smokes from it. His hair and mustache, although excellently groomed, are white from his age. "How much longer will it be?" Asks the shorter man with an annoyed voice. The towering man glances over at the two Hellclaws that have remained motionless before returning his gaze to the short man. "Shouldn''t be too much longer master Alvin.¡± The eyes of Alvin narrow at the mere suggestion of a further wait. "Harold this is not acceptable. Do they not understand that I am a guild investigator? These stupid crab people should have more respect for someone of my position!" The voice of Alvin grows ever more shrill as his irritation deepens. Harold stiffens his body and grips his mace. "Should I kill them master Alvin?" Alvin looks at Harold in confusion. "No you buffoon. We don''t need a war with another race right now. The king can barely deal with the orc kingdom." The two men stand in silence for a few more minutes while Alvin occasionally smokes from his pipe. A voice suddenly breaks the silence from the entrance of the mine. "Sorry for the long wait gentlemen." Says a femimine voice. Alvin and Harold turn towards the voice and the most beautiful human woman they have ever seen walks out and stands before them. "A goddess!" Yells Alvin as he rushes over and grasps her hand. "The gods are truly kind to allow me to be graced by someone of your beauty." For a moment Alvin thinks he sees disgust on the woman¡¯s face but he must have been mistaken, as her face currently has the most enchanting smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you Alvin. My name is Yidhra and I serve the Shiny God." "The Shiny God?" Asks Harold. "I''m not familiar with a church of the Shiny God." Alvin¡¯s pudgy face scrunches in what is presumably confusion. "You wouldn''t have had the opportunity to hear of our church, master Alvin. This was originally the god of goblins after all.¡± Yidhra¡¯s smile furthers its enchanting expanse, becoming the only the Alvin¡¯s eyes can focus on. "I can smash goblins." Alvin¡¯s gaze is broken for a moment as he looks at Harold, only seeing a smile through the knight¡¯s helmet shutter. "Shush you idiot." Says Alvin before turning back to Yidhra, his grip tightening around her hand. "My lady, I apologize for my guard. He is an imbecile. We would love to learn more about this religion of yours, however I must first tend to my guild business." Alvin releases her hand and gives as elegant a bow he can manage. "I am master Alvin, guild investigator. I am here to investigate a missing adventurer party and the goblins they were sent to subdue. This is my personal guard Harold. He is dimwitted but steadfast." Alvin, though seemingly irritated at the presence of his protector, holds a bit of pride in his tone as he compliments Harold. Yidhra stares at Alvin in amusement. "Very well we shall bring you inside then. We can answer any questions you have as well.¡± She motions them to enter. The group travel down the tunnel towards a massive gate. "As you can see, my employer has built a town in this mine." "A town? This looks like a fortress." Says Alvin. Yidhra brings her hand to her mouth and gives a brief chuckle. "I can assure you master Alvin, this really is a peaceful town." The two Hellclaw guards salute Yidhra and signal for the gate to open. Chains can be heard as the gate slowly rises and the group enters the town. "By the gods what a beautiful church." Says Alvin. In the center of the town is a pristine church carven from marble, towering in its stature. Its various stained glass windows seem to be made of gemstones rather than glass. "Yes a shiny church for a Shiny God." Yidhra motions to the heavens as she continues her tour. "Here I was thinking we would see some shack carved from bones. I guess these goblins are truly different than others." Says Alvin. Harold suddenly charges forward bracing his shield to guard Yidhra and Alvin. Two goblins had approached the group when Alvin was distracted. "Hello Hummies. We gud Gobbos no need to squish." Says one of the goblins."We need be friends with hummies to make Shiny God happy." Says the other. "This is Dimwit. You can think of him as the leader of the goblins here in the town." Says Yidhra. "Amazing!" Shouts Alvin as he pushes past Harold and pulls out a journal and begins logging information. "Peaceful goblins! What a discovery! Perhaps this Shiny God has blessed them and turned them into an enlightened race? Marvelous!" He says while writing rapidly. "Master should I kill them?" Asks Harold in confusion. Yidhra interrupts them, attempting to reign in the situation to some degree. "I would not recommend that. The leader of the town has set up a rather strict protection field." "Ah I thought I felt a field when we entered. Is your employer a nobleman? Also what is the penalty I will need to log it?" Asks Alvin as he readies his pen. "Well, various afflictions really. Initiating violence will inflict you with unease, nausea, a strength and agility drain and a job level loss." Says Yidhra with a smile. "Oh a little weaker than the capital then. That''s impressive. I did hear the king''s son has left the capital on an untold mission. " Alvin says with what he believes to be a knowing grin. "Unrelated, I assure you." "Sure. Sure. Back to the goblins." Says Alvin as he turns to Dimwit. "Hello goblin, I am master Alvin, guild investigator." "Hello shiny humie. We gobbos get you gift. Please no kill gobbos." Dimwit pulls out a small cloth sack and hands it to Alvin. "Oh what is this?" Alvin peers into the contents of the pouch. His eyes bulge for just a moment before he quickly closes it and places it on his belt. "Ah yes, finally someone who respects the guild. I wasn''t aware goblins had nobles. I''m sure we will be great friends from now on Dimwit." Says Alvin. Dimwit examines Alvin''s clothing and jewelry. And nods. "Good to have such a shiny friend. Says Dimwit as he extends his sickly green hand, covered in warts." Alvin looks down at the hand and sighs before shaking it. "Handshakes are for common folk and not for us of the nobility my dear Dimwit. I have much to teach you of what it means to be nobility." He says as Dimwit nods once again but this time in confusion. "Well I see the crabmen and the goblins are peaceful enough Yidhra. Where are my missing adventurers?" Asks Alvin. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "Of course. The one who can explain matters is at the guild. Let''s head that way." Yidhra turns and begins to move onward. The group says goodbye to the two goblins. Harold, still confused at the lost opportunity to smash goblins trails at the end of the group, sulking. As they travel through the town Alvin is surprised to see not just goblins and crabmen but also large amounts of humans. "Where did all these people come from? I know you said this was a town but I wasn''t expecting too many humans here." ¡°Refugees from the war mostly. They all had nowhere to go so my employer and the Shiny God welcomed them here." "I see. It is good to see that coexistence is working here. Hopefully we can have the capital recognize the town soon. Although I''m sure your employer already has influence with the capital." Says Alvin with a chuckle. Moments later the group approaches a guild hall situated across from a tavern. They enter the building and are soon brought upstairs to a private office. Alvin takes a seat while Yidhra and Harold stand behind him. "Sorry for the wait" Says William as he enters the room and sits in the opposite chair. "William? I don''t believe we have had the pleasure of meeting. I used to attend your plays every evening, they were fantastic!¡± Says Alvin. "It''s always fantastic to meet a fellow lover of the arts." Says William. "So you were in the party sent to investigate the goblin attacks. Please, tell me what happened here." Alvin has now become more serious in his demeanor. The fragments of the man who had been cajoling all around him mere minutes ago appears to have left completely. He pulls out his pen and journal and readies himself for his work. He looks up from his journal and nods, signalling William to start. "Well it was all fairly simple really. We tracked the goblins to this town. We were surprised to find they had begun living peacefully with humans in town here under the influence of the Shiny God." States William. "But that doesn''t explain why the others are not here or why you never returned to the guild." Alvin chuckles. ¡°Well you see Alvin. Our group got greedy. This town is built atop a dungeon you see." Alvin raises an eyebrow but continues writing. "Fantastic resource for a town. I see why it was constructed here inside the mine then." Says Alvin, not looking up from his journal for a moment. "Yes, and we quickly cleared the first floor and that''s when the problem arose. You see it was a single floor dungeon and half of the group decided we should destroy the core." "Clearly not the priestess? So the barbarian and the ranger then?¡± William gives a solemn nod. "Sadly yes. The priestess was killed before she knew the betrayal was happening. I was lucky enough to escape. "And what of the other two¡­ and the core, is the core intact?" Asks Alvin. "Yes the core is safe. The two begun to dispute over who should be allowed to break it before fighting each other. The ranger dispatched the barbarian but was mortally wounded. With the priestess dead they had no way of healing serious wounds. I wish there was more I could have done. I should have tried to stop them." Says William with his head slumped down in sorrow. "Yes it must have been hard on someone of your level. Without combat jobs what can be done? This happens too often on dungeons with few floors." Says Alvin. "But the good news is we still have a new growing dungeon." Says Yidhra. "Yes indeed. We will have to get a guild master assigned here after I bring my report back to the guild." Alvin closes his eyes as he starts to assign the information he¡¯s been given to memory. "Actually our employer loves William''s work and has already assigned him here as acting guild master." Says Yidhra. "Very well I will notify the guild, but we will still need to send you some staff and we must send in some adventurers to test the dungeon" Says Alvin. "Of course." Says William. The original group exits the guild hall and stands in front of the tavern. Harold stands at the ready as many goblins and humans pass by in a rush. "Should we stop in for a drink? I actually run this establishment." Says Yidhra. "A beautiful priestess of a church running a tavern? This Shiny God knows how to attract new flesh to their flock." Says Alvin while laughing. "I would love to. Alas my dear, I must return to the guild quickly in order to turn over my report. I will have a more thorough stay next time I visit." He says while giving a wink. The group continues traveling towards the town entrance before Alvin pauses, seeing a rush of human and goblin bodies alike heading towards the church. "What is going on?" "Oh it''s just a local ritual. Nothing to concern yourself with master Alvin." Says Yidhra. "Nonsense. As a priestess shouldn''t you be participating? We should let the commoners see that even the nobility is humbled by the gods. Here, I''ll escort you.¡± Alvin grabs hold of her arm and pulls her towards the church with him. "I really don''t think this is a good idea." Says Yidhra. Harold shrugs his shoulders and follows behind them taking up a guard post outside the church. As the pair enters the church Yidhra loses sight of Alvin almost immediatly as he forgoes his grip on her, pushing his way towards the front of the congregation. An assortment of confused humans and excited goblins fill the church wall to wall. Up near an altar a hooded goblin stands giving a sermon. Sadly, and to Alvin¡¯s surprise, the sermon appears to be reaching its end. "Brothers and sisters you know me as Glaaki, first contracted of the Shiny God." The goblins in the room cheer all around Alvin. "Those of you who are here are ready now. We drink deep and become one for the Shiny God." The goblin shouts as he lifts an embellished cup above him. Two heavily armored goblins begin passing out cups and mugs full of a strange drink to everyone in the room. "Some kind of wine? Thank you!" Says Alvin towards one of the goblin guards as it hands him one of the cups scooped from some sort of cauldron. The room grows rowdy before Glaaki raises a hand to quiet them. "This is not the time for fancy words or speeches. It is time to drink and see the glory of the Shiny God." He commands as he raises the cup to his mouth and drinks. The entirety of the room mimics the actions of Glaaki, bringing their various goblets, cups, and mugs to their lips. Alvin, caught up in the excitement does the same. "What¡­" says Alvin as a piercing headache hits him. His world around him blurs as he almost drops to his feet, barely catching himself. The room around him changes into a horrific scene. Some of the various goblins and humans in the room have begun screaming in pain and clawing at their skin. Others have dropped to the ground and begun sobbing. A select few instead have begun bowing and laughing madly. Alvin looks over to the altar to see it now covered in blood. Glaaki stands above them cackling madly. "What... is... this?" Alvin asks himself through pain. The room itself is no longer made of beautiful marble but flesh and bone. The flesh quivers and pulses as if alive. Portions of the fleshy floor bubble up and start to reach towards Alvin, causing him to stumble backwards into something firm. He turns to see a goblin that has begun eating its own fingers in between fits of maniacal laughter. "I need to get out of here... this is a madhouse. I should not have been so foolish.... as to think goblins could be peaceful." Says Alvin as he tries to climb to his feet. He moves a few feet towards the entrance before a wave of pain hits him once more, causing him to lose footing. He braces himself against a pillar which is coated with growths and sacs of fluid. One of the sacs bursts as he presses against it, covering him in a combination of pus and blood. A moment passes before he begins to immediately vomit the contents of his lunch onto the floor. Alvin would have passed out from disgust by now if the pain in his head wasn''t so intense. Suddenly he begins scratching at his face as an eye erupts from his forehead. His new eye darts around the room in confusion before he adjusts to his new addition. Parts of his skin and bones shift, causing dagger like claws to erupt from his fingertips. The claws begin to drip with some sort of black fluid. Eight tentacles grow from his back and burst through his robes flailing out in pain. He feels his organs shift inside him as if something is growing in his body. Bone plates erupt from his skin''s surface in various places, linking together into a white exoskeleton. Other areas of his body develop strange growths or sacs similar to what he saw on the church itself. Alvin drops to his knees and scans the room one last time. He notices at some point Harold had broken into the church in an attempt to rescue him but was quickly subdued. Most of the other attendants simply grew a third eye and saw no other physical changes. Alvin is unsure of why his changes are so extreme. His head drops back as he looks up to see Yidhra walking into view. "Alvin you are an idiot. Everything was going smoothly but you just had to go in the church didn''t you.¡± She chastises. "What is this?" Asks Alvin even though he is barely able to get his voice out. "Not even my illusions can hide it from you anymore huh?" Says Yidhra with annoyance. Her form now resembling a goblin and a naga rather than a beautiful human woman. Glaaki approaches the pair and begins speaking to Alvin. ¡°You have been blessed with seeing the Shiny God¡¯s domain. One day everything will be like this! You must endeavor to serve the Shiny God well." Says Glaaki while cackling. Glaaki¡¯s robes, now torn, reveal parts of his body¡¯s new form as well. His three eyes now rest upon stalks that rise from his head. Various spines run along his back and seem to be coated in some sort of viscous venom. Alvin''s mind suddenly clears. "Yes, I must serve the Shiny God!" He shouts with a newly found conviction. Alvin is unsure if he is screaming or laughing anymore. Chapter 13 Chapter 13 William is sitting at his desk in the guild hall. He runs his fingers through his hair and a few strands fall loose from his head. "Great, all this stress is making me lose hair now." he says with an awkward chuckle. He takes a look at the open journal that has been laying on his desk. "I just don''t understand what went wrong. Did Sluggo and the council plan this from the beginning? Everything was going according to plan until..." William looks up, interrupting his own speech. Across the desk from William, seated in a relatively simple chair, is Alvin. Alvin is currently sitting with his legs crossed while smoking from his signature gold pipe. It is currently being supported by a jet-black tentacle. Occasionally, black liquid seeps from the sores on his skin onto the chair. "I will need to replace the furniture later." says William with a sigh. "You worry too much William, I simply need to make my report to the guild and return." says Alvin. William leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest. "How exactly do you plan on doing that with your current appearance?" asks William. "Oh you are concerned about my new additions. I suppose that makes sense. It''s simple really. Most of this can be hidden within my robes." says Alvin, ever confident. "The guards will notice something is off the second you reach the gate." "William I have never been the most handsome man. A few sores on my face will not alert the guards." says Alvin with a grin. "And if you are wrong the kingdom and the church will find out they have abominations on their doorstep." William had never been so frustrated in all his years. "And if I don''t return, you end up with an army on your doorstep looking for a guild investigator." says Alvin. William sighs heavily. "I suppose your point holds. What about your guard Harold?" William asks. "Luckily the Crabmen restrained him without lethal force. The man is too much of an imbecile to even notice I have changed. I will travel back to the guild and return here in a few days." "So you will be returning then?" "Oh of course. First I need to talk to some of my contacts. I must return and work hard for the Shiny God!¡± shouts Alvin with a fervor that is matched only by his attempts at courtship. "Fine. Here''s your journal. Your report seems fine." says William. He hands the tattered journal towards Alvin as a black tentacle shoots forward and grasps it. "You will most likely start seeing some adventurers as early as tomorrow. I will see you in a few days William." Alvin says as he gives an elegant bow. William rests his head in his hands as Alvin leaves the office. "I need to speak with the council." the words come out as a mumble through his fingers.
Escorted by a Hellclaw guard, William once again makes his way through the barracks towards the core room. As the pair reaches where the gate to the core room should be William becomes confused at the sight. "Where¨C where is the core room gate? Did we enter the wrong room?" asks William. The guard casually walks up to the stone wall and knocks on different spots along it. The wall itself rumbles briefly as a giant eye opens along its surface. "What is that?" shouts William as he points towards the giant eye. The soldier, undisturbed by William''s display of confusion, gives a prompt salute. "Hugh Man seeks an audience with the council" states the guard. A voice rumbles from within the wall giving off a sound of stones grinding against each other. "Entry is approved." A maw of jagged stone teeth opens underneath the massive eye and a long tentacle like tongue stretches out. William falls backwards in horror and begins scurrying across the floor as the tongue coils around him. "Please no!" he shrieks as the tongue pulls him along the ground. He claws at the floor trying to escape but the tongue¡¯s grasp on him only tightens. William looks towards the guard for help but simply gets a blank face back as the guard shrugs at him. In a last bit of effort to survive William fumbles for a knife at his waist only to be interrupted by the tongue coiling around his arm and bringing it tight against his chest. Finally the creature begins to drag him inside its mouth while he kicks and flails. The world turns black for a few moments as William contemplates just where his life went so wrong. What choices led him to be here in this moment, eaten by a stone monstrosity? Suddenly dim lights penetrate the darkness as William finds himself standing in a hallway. The tongue that was coiled around him recedes back into the wall¡¯s maw and its eye and mouth turn back into stone. "What happened? I thought I was going to die?" asks William in confusion while patting down his body to make sure all his parts are still in their respective places. William expected no reply but jumps in surprise as a voice answers. "The master made a gateway mimic. It''s a good gate, but a little moist." says the voice. William looks around the hallway looking for the voice¡¯s source before noticing various slug like creatures similar to Sluggo''s head moving along the ceiling and walls. William looks on in horror as one of the creatures quivers as it speaks. "The master and the council are up ahead Hugh Man." William quickly regains his composure in order to not show any weakness to the core. "Thank you. I will be on my way then." he says with a handsome grin as he walks down the tunnel towards the core room. William''s fake sense of composure does not last for long. As he travels down the tunnel its walls begin to change from their mine like appearance. First occasional strips of muscle and flesh appear along the walls and floor almost as if it''s some sort of root structure. As he continues down the tunnel more flesh starts to appear. The various support beams and arches now seem to be some sort of bone-like rib cage holding up the ceiling and walls. Various sacs and tumors seem to grow across the fleshy corridor. Some of these sacs even glow, giving off light similar to a lantern in brightness. Tentacles and tendrils grow out of the mass of flesh in various places but part for William as he walks. Occasionally he spots eyes growing from the fleshy roots that stare at him without blinking. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "This is insane. The core room seems like it''s becoming similar to the church out in the town. How far is the core¡¯s influence going to spread?" he asks himself. William wears his fake smile while drowning in sweat from his fear. Finally William reaches the end of the tunnel. All aspects of the mine are now gone and the world around him is completely made of flesh and bone. A large gate of sharp fangs lies ahead of him. Around its perimeter are hundreds of eyes all staring at William. William''s smile gives just for a moment before he catches himself and returns to his mummer¡¯s grin. The teeth of the gate chatter before opening, allowing William to pass into the main chamber. William''s terror reaches new heights as he looks around the core room. The entire chamber now seems to be constructed entirely from flesh and bones. Various giant red sacks line the chamber and massive tentacles occasionally move and wave about. Thousands of eyes appear dotted around the room¡¯s perimeter. However to William''s relief, not all of them seem to be staring at him this time. The core itself is no longer visible as it seems to now be completely covered in the fleshy growths William had seen along the tunnel. William hears a noise reminiscent of someone stepping in thick mud and looks at one of the pulsing red sacs near him. One of the massive tentacles darts over to the sac and punctures it, causing blood and pus to pour out onto the floor. William takes a step back as to not get covered in the fluids. A goblin-like body stumbles out of the sack, gagging and coughing for a few moments in its struggle for breath. The creature stands up, opening its eyes to see William. "A goblin? Three eyes like Glaaki?¡± says William, absolutely baffled. The goblin cheers as it stretches its arms above it. "Me born. Me love Shiny God." shouts the goblin. "Me go work now." The three eyed goblin turns and runs down the tunnel towards the town. William laughs at the sight, overwhelmed in equal parts by his fear and confusion. "You could at least put some clothes on!¡± he shouts as the goblin fades from his vision. ¡°What is even going on?" "Isn''t it amazing!?" William turns towards a voice to see Glaaki has approached him. Glaaki, looking much different than the last time William had seen the goblin, throws him further into confusion. "The master has decided it''s easier to spawn new servants this way." says Glaaki. William recovers from his shock with a jolt and gives an elegant bow. "Greetings master Glaaki." Glaaki scoffs before speaking. "No need for formalities Hugh Man we are all one under the Shiny God are we not?" William raises his head and speaks. "Yes, of course.¡± William shakes his head, waving off the last bits of shock from his rattled brain. ¡°Glaaki? Is it just me or do you look different from when I last saw you?¡± "Oh yes, the master has graced me with a new evolution! If you work hard I¡¯m certain you will obtain one as well Hugh Man." says Glaaki with uninhibited glee. "Humans can''t evolve. Actually nevermind, I wouldn''t be surprised if they could at this point. I''d rather not evolve." says William as Glaaki¡¯s face turns to anger. "Because so many are more worthy than I." shouts William to calm Glaakis anger. "Oh yes of course. For a moment I thought you were insulting the Shiny God. Of course you wouldn''t dare." says Glaaki with a chuckle. "How does this even work. How is the dungeon making goblins from these sacs. Mana must become a problem eventually, I assume?" asks William. "Let us move over to the core the master will answer your questions there." Glaaki turns and motions towards the center of the chamber.. The pair walk in silence towards the center of the chamber before Glaaki takes a seat at the long table, now made of bone. Dak, Yidhra, and of course Sluggo are already seated at the table. William, being closer to the core now is able to make out more of its appearance. Countless eyes cover the surface of its black skin. The eyes are looking off in various directions as if observing multiple things at once. The flesh near the core bunches up into roots that penetrate into the floor of the chamber. Tentacles six times the height of a man grow out from the fleshy floor near where the core lies. A maw of countless teeth opens up into a horrifying grin as a voice leaves its depths. "Hello Hugh Man!" says the strange but familiar voice. A tentacle lashes out before gently touching William''s skin. "Its neat being able to feel things now!" says the creature. "Who and what are you?" asks William. Glaaki gets clearly angry at the question but remains silent. "Oh right I didn''t have a body before. It''s me the Shiny God!" William finds himself lost in the maw of the Shiny God as he processes this new information. "But,¡± he gives out a heavy sigh, much like one would see out of an old man who has seen far too much. ¡°Nevermind. Hello Shiny God. Why do you have a body? What is going on?" continues William as he tries to keep his smile in place. "The master decided it was too restrictive being made of mana so they have decided to create a body, as you can see." answers Sluggo. "Right! I mean it was so annoying trying to float around and do things. Now I really am the dungeon!" says the Shiny God. The Shiny God laughs causing the chamber itself to shake. "Cores can''t have bodies though." says William nervously. "Oh stop it with the Steve talk! I mean Steve was wrong about everything right? Goblins are friends not intruders. Fusing monsters is fine! And abominations are cool! So I was thinking, why listen to any of those rules Steve made up?!" says the Shiny God. "But¡­" William begins to speak but is immediately interrupted. "So anyway, if monsters can evolve why not dungeon cores? Of course the evolution was insanely expensive at 1,000 DP. But then I thought to myself, ¡®well Shiny God, why do you even need to use dp and research points?¡¯ After all that''s a Steve thing and so here we are. Now I have a cool fleshy body!" says the Shiny God as it gestures to itself with a tentacle as Yidhra nods in agreement. "Master those rules are in place for a reason, there could be consequences!" says William as tact as he can muster. "No I''m pretty sure the rules are bad. I did feel like I was disconnected from something but I don''t think it''s too important. Also Steve is permanently gone now so that''s good! " says the Shiny God. "Havin¡¯ a body is good. How can you win fights with no body?" says Dak as he flexes his muscles, they¡¯re swollen as if he just worked out, he probably did actually. The shiny god tries to recreate the pose with two of its tentacles and Yidhra gives a thumbs up in approval. "Master how are you going to build your dungeon if you are confined to this chamber?" asks William. "William don¡¯t worry your handsome little head, I¡¯m growing myself in that direction. I''ll sprout some eyes down there and I should be able to make changes with mana, just like normal! It seems I just can¡¯t get away from using mana. Guess at least one of the rules are real." says the Shiny God with a chuckle as it brings its tentacle to its mouth. William sighs and slumps his shoulders. "And the spawning sacs?" "Oh that was my idea!" shouts Yidhra. "I mean the master had to keep waiting for mana generation in order to make monsters. Why wait?" "That doesn¡¯t explain anything," says William with a sigh. "Basically we have to wait for me to purify mana to make things right? But why not just make things with impure mana? There''s tons of it!" says the Shiny God. "Of course you can do that." says William in exasperation. "Yup and why make just one goblin cultist when I can make something that makes them at regular intervals?" "Of course. Common sense really." says William having fully given up on the insane workings of his master. "So you do understand!" shouts Glaaki as he stands up from the table. "Isn''t the Shiny God amazing!" he shouts once again. William glances over at Glaaki before returning his gaze to his grinning master. "I''ll just focus on guild business from now on then master. I swear every time I come in here you have done something impossible. I don''t know how long my heart can take this." says William. "Okay Hugh Man thanks for the help!¡± says the Shiny God as it extends a tentacle towards him and begins to softly pat his head. As William begins to head to the exit of the chamber he hears his master''s voice talking to the council behind him. "So what do we do with divinity points?" says the Shiny God. William continues walking towards the exit, trying to ignore the impossible thing he just heard. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 A wooden carriage of extraordinary craftsmanship travels leisurely along an old, but well maintained brick road. A pair of muscular thoroughbred horses pull the carriage, just as they have done hundreds of times before, while a handsome man with silver hair manages the reigns. The carriage itself is covered in ornamental gold plates and jewels, letting all who pass know that nobility is traveling by. The carriage slows to a stop as it reaches the front of a large iron gate. This gate has stood tall for hundreds of years and serves as the main entry point into the capital city of Leconak. The carriage finds its place within a small line of carts, almost all of which likely belong to merchants looking to trade their goods within the city. A lone guard moves away from a merchant and approaches the carriage¡¯s coachman. "Good day. I assume from the look of your carriage you are not here to sell goods?" says the guard. The handsome man gives a playful wink before speaking. "You would be correct sir. I serve master Alvin, guild inspector. He has finished his investigation and has returned to make his report to the guild." says the coachman. "Alvin huh? I thought I recognized this carriage from somewhere. Well a full inspection must be performed despite that." The guard signals to a group of his fellows, who then begin to approach the cart. "Oh of course. However, my master is in quite the hurry¡ª¡± He stops for a moment, assessing this situation. ¡°Though you young guards are all that keeps the city safe from all the brigands and monsters these days. We understand you are quite busy and we appreciate your hard work." says the coachman as he removes a pouch from his waist and tosses it towards the guard. The guard catches it with ease and tosses the pouch between his hands a few times to get an idea of the weight. The guard flashes a grin and signals his men to leave. "Seems everything is in order here. Hurry inside." commands the guard. The coachman gives a quick nod and snaps the reigns, guiding the carriage inside the city. Inside the carriage sits Alvin and Harold who are currently chatting. Alvin is wearing an even more elegant robe than before, having to dispose of the torn rags of his former clothes. A ridiculous feathered hat sits on top of his head that hangs down, covering a portion of his forehead with a veil. "As usual the city guard will let anyone in that spares them a few coins." says Alvin with a throaty chuckle. "They should treat their work more seriously. They lack honor." complains Harold. His whinging is comparable to a small child¡¯s. "I agree. The Shiny God would never allow such a thing I''m sure. These guards would let a man eating ogre walk into the city if it paid some gold." says Alvin while placing an elegant seal onto a letter. "This is the last one Harold. We will make my report and send these letters out to my contacts. In a few days we will return to the mine." "I do not like that place master Alvin. It is too confusing not squishing goblins." Alvin gives a hearty laugh and pulls out his journal to begin writing. "Harold I''m certain you will settle in eventually. Now please remain quiet, I still have a lot of information I need to log for the Shiny God." says Alvin. The coachman guides the carriage through two more checkpoints with no issues. After nearly half an hour the carriage arrives in front of the guild. The coachman quickly climbs off the carriage and opens the doors. Harold is the first to exit, his giant frame barely managing to squeeze out the carriage doors. Shortly after he plucks his short pudgy master from the cart and places him on the ground on his feet. "Many thanks Harold," says Alvin. The giant man simply nods at his master''s approval. Alvin turns to his coachman and begins handing him a stack of letters. "We will be in the guild for awhile so do run these along. When you return we will head back to the estate for a few days for some much needed rest." Alvin goes to turn away but quickly turns back and hands a single gold coin to the coachman. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Here is a tip, please be quick about it." says Alvin as the man stares at him in shock. The coachman quickly snaps back to reality and gives an elegant bow. "Of course master Alvin thank you for your generosity." says the coachman, still in disbelief from the kind gesture. Alvin simply waves the man away and approaches the guild entrance. Harold moves in front of his master and opens the large wooden doors. He steps into the room first. Even in town Harold is always ready for any danger that may threaten his master. Harold scans the room before looking back. "Should be safe master Alvin. No monsters." Alvin laughs and pats the mountain of a man on the back. This is a wasted effort as it never penetrates the thick platemail. "Harold you never cease to amuse me. I doubt we would ever see monsters in the guild of all places. Though men are often more dangerous than beasts are they not? Thank you for always remaining alert." says Alvin. Alvin surveys the room as Harold leads him to a counter. Various adventurers sit amongst the tables talking and drinking. There is a board hung on a wall, where many bounties and missions are listed. A group is currently looking over the boards content, most likely looking for an easy bounty to make some quick coin. Unexpectedly, the groups are composed almost entirely of humans. Avlin sighs, "You know what Harold? Leconak really needs to fix its relationships with the other races. We hardly see any of them these days. Of course the only elf we have seen in years had to go and get himself killed." Harold looks at his master in confusion. "Right. Might be too complicated of a subject matter for you my friend." says Alvin with a sad look. Alvin approaches the counter, handing the receptionist a large stack of papers. "Hello master Alvin. I see you have, quite unfortunately, returned safely. I''m guessing this is your report? Please do everyone a favor and die next time." says the woman. "Always playing hard to get. I love that about you my dear! Yes this is my glorious report of my adventure and investigation. Perhaps after this we can grab dinner? " says Alvin with a roguish smile. The woman stares at him for a moment in disgust before she briefly looks at the report. "I''ll bring this to the guild master straight away. Please wait here." says the woman.
Alvin leans against a wall while Harold stands at guard. The pudgy man smokes from his pipe while writing in his journal. Nearly an hour passes before he finally hears his name called. "Master Alvin the guild master is ready to see you now. Please trip on the stairs and die on the way up." says the receptionist. Alvin does his best to give the woman a charming smile but only succeeds in disgusting her further. Alvin and Harold move up the stairs and into the guild masters office. Harold stands at guard while Alvin takes a seat in front of the desk. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A burly bald man with a mustache enters the room and takes a seat at the desk. "Alvin if you could stop harassing the staff I would really appreciate it." "Hello My dear guild master. I must assure you that women love it when nobility attempts to seduce them." says Alvin. The man leans back in his chair with an annoyed look. "No. They really don''t." The man sighs, ¡°I read your report. As usual you exaggerated your trip a little too much. This town in the mine is just a few shacks or tents right?" Alvin gives a smile. "Oh no, I can assure you we have a real town. A town where goblins, humans, and crabmen are coexisting. It was fascinating." The guild master thumbs through a few pages of the report before looking back up at Alvin. He stares at Alvin in silence for a moment. "Alvin are you okay? You look ill." The guild master¡¯s stare grows more intense. "Oh I''m quite fine I assure you. Just a little fatigued from the trip." says Alvin. The guild master stares at him for another moment before shrugging and resting his shoulders. "So we have a dead priestess and a dead elf. I couldn''t care less about the barbarian, but this is bad timing Alvin. We were finally seeing the other races coming to Leconak again and this might become a turning point." "Yes I agree. This may strain our already damaged relationship with the elves. The evidence does point to him trying to destroy a dungeon core and you and I both know what the church would have done if they got their hands on him." says Alvin. The guild master nods at the statement. "I decided to send some staff out with an adventurer party to evaluate the dungeon. The staff will be moving in and running the guild. I know the mayor there made William the guild master but I cant trust him to run a guild on his own." says the guild master. "I understand. When do they leave? I can give them some information about the locals, dos and don¡¯ts and the like." says Alvin. The guild master closes the report and folds his hands in front of him. "They just left. I can''t risk someone else possibly trying to break the core of a new dungeon." he says. "I never thought I would see the day that the guild acts so quickly!" says Alvin with a smile. The guild master laughs. "Well we had to be quick. I wanted our people there before the church gets there." Alvin blinks in confusion. "Why would the church be heading to this new town. My report did include that the town has a local deity already didn''t It?" asks Alvin nervously. "Of course they do. Most of the border towns do. The church will want to talk to the locals and this god¡­ that¡¯s if it can even communicate. After all they just had a priestess die in this new territory." says the guild master. "When will you let them know?" asks Alvin. "I already did." Alvin stands from his seat suddenly, his face turning to anger. "When did you tell them?" he shouts, surprising the guild master. The guild master laughs. "Where is this sudden confidence coming from, I thought you were a coward?! I told them maybe ten minutes after I got your report. They asked me to keep you here. Pretty normal to question people when a priestess dies." says the guild master nervously. Alvin''s face grows even angrier as he turns around quickly. "Harold we are leaving." shouts Alvin. "Alvin you must stay for questioning, it won''t take the inquisitor long." commands the guild master. Alvin rushes out of the room while Harold follows behind. The duo rush down the stairs and turn to run towards the exit. "Alvin stop!" shouts the guild master from the top of the stairs. The duo quickly approach the large wooden doors. Alvin attempts to open the doors but they hold fast. ¡°Apparently they think they¡¯ve barred us inside Harold.¡± says Alvin knowingly, making way for Harold. Harold laughs madly as he plows his body straight through the massive doors. The doors burst open, sending splinters and debris all over the road in front of the guild. Alvin heads outside, following his guardian. Towns people nearby have stopped to watch the event. Some are even gossiping amongst themselves already. Alvin''s carriage is still gone, his coachman hasn''t returned yet. Alvin quickly scans his surroundings and notices a group of people wearing white and golden robes that are quickly approaching them. "Fuck. They are already here. I thought we would have more time." shouts Alvin. Alvin glances over to Harold. "Harold listen to me." orders Alvin. "Yes master?" says Harold as he kneels down to get to eye level with Alvin. "The church isn''t going to let me go. That''s an inquisitor and he''s going to see my status. I really thought we would have more time before the guild notified the church." says Alvin as he sighs. Alvin removes the tattered journal from his bag and looks sadly at it for just a moment, then begins to write a few more lines inside it. "Harold, do you remember Yidhra? The nice priestess?" Harold thinks for a moment before nodding. "Yes I remember! She was pretty." says Harold. "I need you to get this journal to her Harold. It''s more important than anything." The members of the church have moved even closer, starting to encircle the two men while passerby watch. "I can take you to her so you can give it to her master." says Harold. "Thank you Harold but I will only slow you down. Get this to her. Don''t stop for anything. I''m going to bide you some time. You must get there before the church." says Alvin. "I understand. Then I come back and get you? " asks Harold. Alvin laughs. ¡°Yes of course. I''ll be fine." The members of the church have completed their encirclement, and the man who is recognizably the inquisitor steps forward. His face and hands seem to be covered in various scars and burns. His long white hair hangs over his shoulders. The inquisitor seems to be blind, his eyes dulled in their color, yet this does not appear to limit his capacity to understand his surroundings. "I was just coming to interrogate you Alvin, yet here I find that you have defiled the Holy God¡¯s land with your corrupted form. Just where did you spawn from demon?¡± The word leaves his lips as if it is an ember jumping out from a fire. Infinitely capable of as much fervor as its source. ¡°Tell us and we will grant you a swift death." Harold looks up at the inquisitor while he readies his mace and shield, preparing to charge at the man who dared threaten his master. "Harold! You have your orders. Go now!" shouts Alvin. Harold quickly grabs the journal from his master and turns away from him. "I will be back for you master Alvin!" shouts the giant man as he charges forward. Four men try to brace for his charge but are flung aside as Harold bashes into them. One of the men is trampled beneath his weight and has his skull crushed by Harold''s foot. Most of the robed men and women move to chase after the armored man but are interrupted by the inquisitor. "That one is not tainted yet, we will deal with him later.¡± he says calmly. The men and women return to blocking off Alvin from escape. Many of the towns people have gathered at this point watching the struggle in front of the guild. "On your knees while I question you." "Sorry, I will need to put up a little resistance here." says Alvin with a grin as sweat trickles down his neck. "Fine. Force him down." Orders the inquisitor. Four of the robed men and women approach him and reach out towards him. Suddenly four jet black tentacles fly out of Alvin''s robe. One of the tentacles pierces the throat of one of the men, too slow to react. His body falls to the ground into a quickly forming pool of blood. Someone latches onto Alvin''s arm and tries to pull him to the ground. Alvin quickly lashes out with his claws, cutting open the face of the man and covering the wound with a black liquid. The man falls to his knees in shock grabbing at his face. "So you showed your true colors demon." shouts the inquisitor as he draws a single sword. Alvin quickly picks up the man next to him with a tentacle and throws the body at the inquisitor. The inquisitor cleanly cuts the man in two and charges at Alvin quickly. Barely having any time to react to the speed Alvin tries to brace against the sword with his tentacles. The blade cuts all four of them with no resistance, sending jet black fluid and blood flying across the nearby people. Alvin''s tentacles drop to the group flailing. "You inquisitors are insane." says Alvin. "You have given up your pure form for this filthy one demon. How weak and pathetic." says the inquisitor as he effortlessly cuts off both of Alvin''s arms. Alvin drops to his knees in defeat. The inquisitor looks over his soldiers and some of the nearby towns people. "Keep the demon alive, I will get my answers one way or another." One of the women in robes approaches the inquisitor. "What about the witnesses?¡± she asks. "Burn everyone here. I will not have an infestation in the capital." His soldiers all bow before him, then direct their gazes towards the townspeople. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 I was incredibly glad that everyone enjoyed Glaaki¡¯s ritual today. Sadly the guild investigator had already left before I had a chance to talk to him. Sluggo told me that it wasn''t necessary, but I would have preferred to meet a new friend. Having a body for the first time was a very different experience. My new body was wonderful but it was still limiting in a lot of ways. I was unable to move my mind around in its mana form and I wasn''t able to move from the core room like my friends were able to. I didn''t even have legs at the time. Instead, I had to slowly grow my body out in the direction I wanted to reach. My new body was closer to a tree made of flesh than something like the bodies of my goblin friends, which I adored ever so much. In fact, once I evolved from a dungeon core I even gained a new line in my status window. It said: ¡®Species - Flesh Tree.¡¯ I spent most of my time moving my fleshy roots towards the dungeon below me so that I would be able to see and hear things that happen down there. I had also wanted to spread to the town but it was pretty safe there, so I decided I would spread myself there later. I asked Sluggo and the other members of the council what I''m supposed to do with Divinity Points. I had unlocked two of them after Glaaki¡¯s ritual. Unfortunately, Sluggo and the others had no idea how they are used. Sluggo said those were not part of the dungeon systems, so they were mostly acquired in another way. Maybe they were granted because so many people worship me? Or maybe it was because of the house of horrors title again? I wasn''t too sure. I tried opening various menus looking for a place to allocate them but I wasn''t able to find anything. After spending a fair amount of time thinking about it, I realized something. Maybe they are used in a way similar to research points? The goblins did name me Shiny God and gods should have blessings and powers right? Immediately upon that thought reaching me, a status window appeared before me.
Divinity System
The divinity system allows the use of Divinity Points to perform miracles, create blessing, and change aspects of the world system.
Status You are currently a lesser god. Lesser gods often serve as local deities for a small town or population.
Suddenly I was flooded with multiple messages.
Congratulations on becoming a Lesser God!
Notifications
You have been named the Shiny God by your worshipers.
You are now the god of the goblins. Goblins across the world will now worship you and spread their faith. Goblin Divinities are now available.
You have obtained the physical form of the Flesh Tree. Plant based Divinities are now available.
You are a lesser god that is also a dungeon core. Dungeon Divinities are now available.
Warning, other gods are now aware of your presence.
That was a lot of information to absorb. Other gods were now aware of me and I wasn''t sure if that was good or bad yet. Probably bad, considering how much Sluggo had warned me about the Holy God¡¯s church in the past. That did explain why I couldn''t find a menu to use these divinity points though. I rummaged through my menus and found a place to allocate them. I didn''t know how often I was going to get those points, so I decided to only use one.
Divinity System Tree
The divinity system allows the use of Divinity Points to perform miracles, create blessing, and change aspects of the world system. Please purchase upgrades to unlock more options.
Divinity Cost Description
1 Increase the crop yield for the next five years in your territory.
1 Decrease the chance of monster spawning in your territory.
1 Add goblins to the world''s enlightened race pool. Warning this will remove goblins from the worlds monster pool.
5 Allow the House of Horrors title to influence the divinity system.
1 The local dungeon will immediately gain a new floor.
The goblins had already done so much for me, so I felt I should use the first Divinity Point to help them. I remembered Hugh Man told me that enlightened races could get jobs and grow stronger so that seemed like a great place to start. I assigned the Divinity Point to the goblin enlightenment choice.
Notifications
Goblins have been added to the world''s enlightened race pool. Goblins have been removed from the worlds monster pool.
Strangely enough, this time there was no flash of light or mana stretching out like when I purchased previous upgrades. Did anything really change? I would have to talk to the goblins later and see if they felt different in any way. While I was thinking over the strangeness of the situation, I felt one of my fleshy roots reach the dungeon floor below my core room. My new appendage had immediately sprouted an eyeball, allowing me to take a look around. I was then able to see into the boss room. "With a little more growing I should be able to see everything down here." I said aloud. After which I suddenly found myself interrupted by a voice. "Master, I am assuming you found out a purpose for your Divinity Points?" asks Sluggo. "Oh, Sluggo. Yes I did, how did you know?" I asked while patting him on the head with one of my tentacles. I loved petting all my adorable friends. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "The goblins are all freaking out right now because one of your workers unlocked the miner job. Dungeon monsters can''t have jobs so I felt this must be a blessing from you." said Sluggo while giving a nod. "I figured that''s what it would do! But nothing seemed to happen when I used the point. I''m glad it worked!" I said. "Did anything else happen?" asked Sluggo. "Yes the notification said goblins have been removed from the worlds monster pool and added to the enlightened race pool." I said. Sluggo¡¯s grin stretched from one ear to the other as soon as I uttered the words. It was hard to tell that the smile was there, but I just managed to see it behind the tentacles hanging from his face. "Master, this is amazing. In just a few weeks you went from a weak dungeon core to a lesser god and now you have even managed to grant enlightenment to goblins?" he shouted with excitement. "We are accomplishing so much, so quickly!" I shouted back to him, mirroring his excitement. "The state of the world will turn to chaos. Master, it is wonderful. We shall continue to spread your influence and corrupt the entire system itself!" Despite my joy with the situation, I still had questions that needed to be answered. "But what is the monster pool Sluggo? I have seen it a few times now." I asked, hating to interrupt his celebration. Sluggo, quickly calmed down before beginning to lecture me. "Master, monsters that can spawn in the world or in a dungeon are pulled from that pool. This means goblins will no longer spawn from mana. Of course your corrupted system seems to bypass that." He said while motioning to one of the goblin birthing sacs. "What!? Sluggo that''s not good. The world needs goblins." I screamed while lashing my tentacles around the room in a tantrum. Sluggo tried to calm me, "Master they can still reproduce, do not worry. The world will never run out of goblins," He paused for a moment, "Probably." "What do you mean probably?" I asked, demanding an answer. "The Holy God and their progeny may hunt them down. A race hasn''t been enlightened in centuries, and plenty of the races hate goblins." "Hate goblins?" I screamed, causing the chamber to shake. I flailed my tentacles around the chamber, smashing them into the walls and pillars around the room. After a few moments of my unsightly behavior, I was able to finally manage to compose myself long enough to continue the conversation. "Sluggo the Holy God is definitely evil. How can anyone hate this?" I said, waving one of my tentacles around my core room in demonstration. Sluggo immediately noticed that in my grasp was a single goblin who for some reason thought it would be the perfect time to pick his own nose. "Look at it. It is literal perfection." I belted out, shaking the hapless goblin with my tentacle. "Master I understand your¡­ preferences, but other races don''t think the same way you do." said Sluggo. "Oh I understand! The church is just a bunch of Steve''s. I hate them." I said while crossing my tentacles and pouting. Sluggo stroked one of his tentacles for awhile, similar in fashion to how one would stroke a beard before speaking. "Well master I suppose you could always change how they think with a few mindeaters if they do ever show up." "Sluggo you are a genius. " I said while extending a tentacle towards him and hanging it in the air in front of him. Sluggo looked back and forth between me and the tentacle for a moment in confusion. "Geeze Sluggo it''s called a high five, Dak taught me it. Raise your hand up." I said while Sluggo raised his hand in confusion. I immediately slapped my tentacle against it. I cheered as soon as we made contact. During the conversation, I had managed to spread my roots into most of the dungeon below us. As I sprouted some eyes I noticed a few different things. The first thing I noticed was that I had been getting pretty good at multitasking. The second thing I noticed is that it seemed like my palmtails were doing great. At this point, it seemed as if they had pretty much spread across the whole dungeon. I wasn''t aware that they were able to reproduce on their own. The third thing I noticed was my molfs. I had forgotten about those guys up until now. I did hope that didn''t make me a bad parent. I was no longer using Steve''s stupid dungeon point system so I was able to purchase some of the upgrades I couldnt before. "I bet Steve came up with the dungeon point system just because he hates cute goblins and molfs because hes ugly and dumb." I said to myself while I purchased the upgrades. A familiar feeling hit me as my mana spilled out across the molf nest. Once the flash of light faded I observed the nest. "We have puppies now!" I shouted with excitement and began clapping my tentacles together once I saw the little baby molfs that had appeared. They were currently playing with each other while their mother watched over them. The molfs I had spawned the other day ran over suddenly and started barking at my roots while wagging their tails. They must have appreciated the upgrade. Based on my conversation with Sluggo I came to the conclusion that my other purchase that added molfs to the world monster pool should now be in effect. I assumed that meant that molfs would now be appearing around the world and in other dungeons. "Obviously that is great, who wouldnt want molfs?" I said to myself. From what I was able to see around the dungeon, it seemed like it has pretty much reached completion. I would have to talk to the goblins about making a new floor soon. I checked in on Hugh Man¡¯s child and they were glad to talk with me, but they had little to report. I would have to get some adventurers to try the dungeon soon. "I can''t forget to give Hugh Man some time off either, parent child bonding is important!" I said to myself. As I was checking out the areas of the dungeons completed first floor I felt a strange sensation. I forced one of my tentacle roots to grow rapidly towards the direction. It used a lot of mana to force myself to grow more quickly but I needed to know what that feeling was. Suddenly I felt my fleshy root pop out of the soil. "Did I reach the surface?" My question was quickly answered. My root grew a few eyes and I looked around. The first thing I noticed was that I seemed to still be underground but there was a lot more light. I must have been inside some cave near the surface now. As I continued looking around the cave I was shocked by what I saw. A shattered dungeon core lied on the ground of the cave floor. "Why is there a dungeon core here? This seems oddly close for two dungeons." I said to myself. Was that feeling from before some sort of dungeon distress signal? It looked like the core broke before it got any help from Steve. As usual, Steve was useless. I took a look around the cave to see who could have possibly destroyed the core. I didn''t feel any lingering attachment to the fallen core but it was still good to be aware of possible threats. I made out the image of five creatures standing in a circle near a wall, past the shattered core. The creatures seemed to be some sort of bipedal lizard, each standing about two feet tall. Four of the creatures were holding spears and shields and the other seemed to be carrying a staff with a red gem. "We have defeated dungeon! We true dragons!" said the staff wielding lizard while raising their staff towards the ceiling of the cave while cheering. "We feast on mushrooms, yes?" asked one of the spearman. "Yes we feast in victory!" shouted another. "Yes we feast. Then we tell tribe!" said the staff holder while motioning to a wall covered in mushrooms. Their odd form of speech was so charming! I continued staring at the little creatures while slowly growing my roots across the wall to get closer to them. The creature¡¯s toothy grins soon came into view. "Adorable!" I said aloud, this was by accident however. Apparently my new tentacle grew a mouth in order to accomodate my need for speech in the cave. "Ambush! Shield formation!" shouted one of the lizardmen. The four shielded lizards suddenly went alert and took on the formation. They locked their shields together to form a wall in front of the staff wielding lizard. They were apparently more organized than my goblin friends. "Who there? Why you speak dragon tongue?" asked the lizard with the staff. I quickly lashed my tentacle root out and picked up the staff wielding lizard. Of course the little lizard people were shocked, but they were too cute for me to ignore. "No hurt queen!" shouted a spearman as he attempted to stab at my root. I felt a bit of pain, but ignored the little guy. They were too adorable to hurt after all! I quickly extended another tentacle from the wall and slowly patted the head of the struggling lizard queen. I didn''t know lizards had royalty. "I''m the Shiny God! Let''s be friends!" I said. The lizards looked at me in shock while I continued petting their queen. "No hurt us Shiny God?" asked the struggling lizard queen. "What are you guys? You are so damn cute!" I said. "We no cute. We fierce dragons!" shouted one of the spearman. "Yes. Tiny, cute, and fierce dragons!" I said in agreement. "We kobolds. We have dragonblood. You want be friends with kobolds?" said the queen with a confused look. "Yes let''s be friends! Why did you guys break this core? Did Steve tell it to hurt you?" I asked. "Who Steve? We break core to get strong! Need win war!" said one of the kobold spearman. "We worship shiny god and Shiny God give power, yes?" Asked the kobold queen. "Sure! If you want you guys can come to my town. I''m sure the goblins can help with your war!" I said, in an attempt to be as persuasive as possible. "Goblins bad. Goblins kill Kobold." Said one of the shieldmen, still unsure. The queen glared at the soldier while still in my grasp. "We come. We need win war. Goblins better than no help." said the queen. This was perfect. "More cuteness for my dungeon! " I shouted while laughing. The walls vibrated from my laughter. The kobolds were shaking in fear. "We no mean to anger Shiny God. Goblins are good, yes? No kill kobolds?" asked one of the soldiers, not quite sure of my opinion of them. "We lure enemy to town with kobold tactics. Goblins help win war. Then we worship Shiny god. We all benefit." said the queen. "That sounds adorable¡­ I mean perfect." I said while gently placing the queen back on the ground. " My tentacle quivered as a large sac quickly formed on it. I pumped extra mana into it while it rapidly grew before bursting. Blood and pus exploded out across the cave and a goblin body fell to the ground. The goblin stood and immediately cheered. "Yay me born! Thank you Shiny God!" said the goblin before it turned towards me and started waving. The kobolds all bowed in unison while staring on in awe. "Shiny God powerful." said the queen. "This little goblin friend will show you how to get to the town." I said while pushing the goblin towards the kobolds.. I waved my tentacle while they left the cave with my newly created goblin friend. "Have a fun war!" I was soon the only one left, still waving my tentacle in utter joy. Chapter 16 The master has surprised me once again. This time they have formed a contract with kobolds. If we grant them victory in their war, they shall become the master¡¯s servants. I was surprised at first. After all, kobolds are one of the weakest races. But for some reason the master sees value in them, where others would look at them as useless. It seems the the Shiny God values the inferior races even though they are able to make such wonderful beings on their own. As I exit the core room and enter Dak¡¯s barracks I receive salutes from every hellclaw soldier that I pass by. These creatures that master has created are so much more efficient than the goblins that serve us. They follow orders to the finest detail, and only break from their work to eat and sleep. We will not be able to rely too much on the hellclaws during this war. It would not be worth the risk of leaving the town and more importantly the core room unguarded. I signal towards a group of the hellclaws and they rush over to me. They immediately stand at attention after giving a short salute. "Orders master Sluggo?" asks one of the hellclaws. "I want ten of you with the main force. The rest of the hellclaws need to be on guard. I will not tolerate any gaps in the town¡¯s defenses and the core room must be heavily guarded while we are gone. Keep shift-changing and breaks to a minimum until we return" I order. "Understood." say the soldiers, in unison, as they quickly hurry off. The hellclaws should be able to easily defeat whatever forces we may be fighting alongside the kobolds, but if Alvin failed we could have the Holy God''s forces here any day. We can''t risk leaving the master vulnerable. I continue to travel out of the barracks and into the town, which at first glance appears almost devoid of life. Most of the residents are inside and many others have moved out to the battlefield in preparation for the war. I pass by the church and briefly stop to admire the master¡¯s work. It would be fantastic if we can continue to spread their influence. Perhaps we can begin infecting the capital once the Holy God is dealt with? After a few minutes of walking, the bright light of the sun blinds me as as I exit the mine. It has been a few days since I''ve seen the world outside of the dungeon. Mostly because I have been busy tending to the goblin birthing sacs and organizing our forces. The bright light reminds me that I much prefer the darkness of the master¡¯s core room. As my vision clears I find that my two escorts have arrived to bring me to the battlefield. The two heavily armored goblins wear jetblack platemail. I am unsure whether the armor is metal or skin¡­ perhaps both? Each of the goblins have a giant sword strapped to their backs. I believe Glaaki said these two acquired the goblin zealot job shortly after their enlightenment. Neither of the guards salute me and simply take up posts on either side of me. Normally the other goblins seem to salute or bow to me out of fear and respect. Do they not see me as their boss? I walk through the forest while being escorted by the silent duo. I happen to notice the grass and flowers near their feet wither as they walk. Curse magic as an aura? Fascinating! Nearly an hour of traveling through an unmarked path in the forest we exit the tree line and begin to approach the old raiding camp of our goblins. Of course it is no longer recognizable. The walls have been reinforced and multiple sharpened stakes now sit as barricades around the entrances. As we enter the camp, I notice a few tents and wooden watchtowers have been set up already. Goblins and humans alike seem to be rushing around trying to have everything ready for the battle. As I travel towards the command tent that is serving as a centerpiece of the camp, I notice that there seems to be a roaring bonfire nearby. The goblin hag seems to be brewing something inside a massive cauldron. Food perhaps for our forces? As I approach the command tent my two escorts break away and begin walking somewhere else. Does Glaaki plan on creating soldiers that have no loyalty towards me? I will have to create my own personal guard after this battle. I will not leave the master¡¯s safety to the others due to some stupid power struggle! I notice two goblins standing guard at the entrance have been staring at me awkwardly. As I turn my attention to them I''m surprised that they seem to be taking the post quite seriously as neither of them are slacking off. The pair of goblins salute me as I approach them. "Glory to Shiny God." say the duo in unison. It seems the goblins are finally shaping up into passable servants! Perhaps this is the influence of Glaaki''s ritual? I enter the tent and approach the command table in the center. Dak and Clara seem to be going over a map and some documents. Dak looks up and salutes me immediately. "Hey Boss. We just going over da plan. Don''t know what the boys are gunna be fightin¡¯." "Dak what is with this troop composition. We have no ranged weaponry?" says Clara with a sigh. Dak bangs his fist on his chest, the clanging sound of metal against metal droning harshly. "Don''t need pointy sticks. Just got to run in and get to choppin!" says Dak with a laugh. "Clara is right Dak. We need to diversify our forces. Your copper skin may stop arrows, but when we fight the church will it hold against their magics?" I ask. "That''s what I''ve been trying to explain all morning!" says Clara. "We already got new troops! Some of the gobbos are riddin¡¯ molfs and roaches. Gobbo cavalry!" shouts Dak as he pumps his fist in excitement. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Dak informed me we don''t even know who the enemy is. Do we at least know how many kobolds are going to be assisting us? " asks Clara. "Sadly the master did not obtain that information." I say while imitating a human bow. "Kobolds are weak. Not strong like hellclaw. Why does the master even want them?" asks Dak. I feel anger rise up within me at Dak¡¯s statement but I do my best to hold it bback.how dare he question the Shiny God''s orders! "Dak, do not question the master! Or do you not trust the Shiny God?" I say as my anger slips out. Dak''s shoulders slump as he pats the back of his head. "Sorry boss." A moment of awkward silence passes before I break it. "I did not mean to question your loyalty Dak. Forgive me," I say, though not entirely sincere. "So Clara, what is our force composition?" I ask. "Ten hellclaw soldiers provided by you and Dak," she motions to the still sulking Dak. "Five molf riders, and that crazy goblin that never gets off the lightning roach was screaming from somewhere nearby. Glaaki also sent over fifteen goblin fanatics and two goblin zealots. Oh, and one Dak." says Clara. "Hardly an army, but we will have to make due with what we have.¡± My voice may give off airs that I¡¯m confident, but I¡¯m not too certain of our chances of success. ¡°The humans are not participating?" I say. "Not without knowing what we are fighting. We will help out in the back lines with operations but that''s it. We were not hired to fight." says Clara trying to remind me of their role in the town. Dak perks up and begins talking. "Don''t need army! Dak is army!" He shouts. "Oh Sluggo, we need to have a conversation about goblins having jobs all of a sudden," says Clara. Her annoyance with recent events is clear on her face. "Maybe you can also tell me why some of my townspeople grew an extra eye?" The question is being inflected with a serious tone as she crosses her arms in front of her. "Not now. After the battle I''ll tell you whatever you want to know. Though I will warn you, you may not like the answers to the questions you are asking." I say. Dak and I leave the tent as Clara continues to sort over documents while referring to the map on the table. "The boys should be ready boss. Did the Shiny God say when the kobolds would be comin?" asks Dak. "No. The master simply wanted us to be ready for the battle." I said. Perhaps this is a test of our loyalty? The master gave me few details to work off of. I would have thought I was being told some friends were coming over to play by their tone, if it wasn¡¯t for the word ¡®war¡¯ being mentioned. It seems our Shiny God knows something it cannot tell even me. I can''t let this affect the troops. We will simply follow orders. No need to question them. Of course, we will have more issues after the battle. The church could be here any day and Clara seems to have lost the little trust she had in us. Glaaki has only managed to convert a quarter of the humans, so we can''t risk a rebellion this early on. Perhaps one of my mindeater siblings could be of use? Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by an alarm bell being rung from one of the watch towers. As I turn towards the alarm I notice Dak and most of the soldiers have already moved to defensive positions around the camp. One of the goblins cultists runs up to me. His dark robes covering most of his body yet underneath I see his third eye is darting around in a panic, the cultist quickly salutes me. "Glory to Shiny God! Kobolds sighted boss!" says the cultist. I quickly shove past him and run towards the barricades. They are already here? It hasn''t even been a full day! Hopefully we are prepared enough. As I make my way towards the front of our soldiers I am unable to see anything past the tree line. Perhaps I need to upgrade from this basic goblin body, its senses are inferior to the cultists. After minutes of everyone waiting on edge, suddenly five kobolds lead by a single naked goblin break out of the tree line running towards the camp at full speed. "We here! No kill!" shouts one of the kobolds. "They are kind of cute." says Clara who at some point snuck behind me. "The master did not say they would be with a goblin." I say while crossing my arms. Why did the master give us so little information? The kobolds make their way towards us. "You win war. We worship Shiny God, yes?¡± asks the female Kobold. "Yes, those are the terms of the agreement. Where are the rest of your forces? Where is the enemy? Who is your leader?" I ask. "We kobold. We all leader." says the female kobold, perplexed by the question. "She queen, she leader.¡± Says one of the other kobolds. The queen immediately glares at the kobold but he stares at her with a toothy grin. "Don''t worry, Dak win War!" shouts Dak. "What is a Dak? What you mean forces. Shiny God win war and we worship, yes? Not kobold win war, yes?" says the kobold queen. Clara slaps her leg and begins laughing. "Your boss made a deal with five kobolds? What are they even at war with a single boar?" At this point most of the humans have begun laughing from behind us. This is hardly good for our morale. Did the master make a mistake? "I don''t understand. Why are we helping the five of you when the church could be here declaring war on us any day?" I ask. "Shiny God say win war. Then kobolds worship Shiny God. We help Shiny God with church after, yes?" says the queen. Suddenly, our conversation is interrupted by the alarm once again. The forest nearby suddenly goes silent as the brush shakes and three massive creatures burst from the forest. Their bodies reach over twelve feet long and must weigh close to 900 pounds. Their bodies are lengthy, and enamored with girth, each comparable in the four legs protruding from their lower halves. Each of the creature¡¯s snouts are coated in blood. They stand on their hind paws, raising their heads in the air before they roar. They look back to us, and charge towards our forces. "Kill them. Win war for kobolds! Become dragons!" shouts the queen. "Dak win war, don''t know about being a dragon!" shouts Dak as he rushes towards the creatures. For a moment, everyone stares at him before the rest of the soldiers begin to charge. "Are those weasels¡­?" Asks Clara from behind me, the question lingering: the answer obvious. Chapter 17 Chapter 17 "Me kill you for Shiny God!" shouted Dak as he charged towards one of the massive weasels. The giant creature hissed as it moved its nine-hundred pound body towards him while its partners moved towards the rest of the Shiny God¡¯s forces. Sluggo and Clara watched as a group of goblin cultists approached one of the weasels at full speed. "For the Shiny God!" shouted the group of goblins as they tried to stab the giant beast with their knives. The giant weasel quickly dodged out of the way and swiped at them with its massive paw. The group of goblins were flung across the battlefield and crashed into some of their allies, breaking some bones in the process. "You fools! Surround the beast!" yelled Sluggo upon witnessing his follower¡¯s incompetence. The hellclaw soldiers immediately responded to the orders and encircled the large beast. On the other side of the battlefield Dak was occupied, fighting with what one would presume to be the leader of the weasel pack. "No interrupt Dak''s battle. Dak will get glory for da Shiny God!" his commanding voice stilled the soldiers. The weasel swiped its claws at Dak but failed to pierce his copper skin. "You too weak to hurt Dak." said Dak while he laughed at the giant weasel. He charged forward in an attempt to impale the monster''s leg with his sword horn. Unfortunately, the creature had nimbly jumped back avoiding the blow. "Stop runnin away. You scared of Dak?" shouted the copper goblin with a grin stretched across his metallic face. "Dak! Stop fooling around!" yelled Sluggo, both Dak and the giant beast looked towards him as he shouted his orders. "During your gloating, the zealots have nearly defeated a beast of their own! Hurry up!" Dak looked over to the direction in which Sluggo was pointing. He saw the pair of black armored goblin zealots standing on either side of one of the giant weasels. The creature¡¯s face had gone pale and its legs wobbled beneath it as its strength was sapped away, its weight becoming arduous to endure. The nearby goblin cultists simply stared at the pair of zealots in awe. "It seems their curse aura is easily draining the creatures life away from it. I doubt it can fight for much longer." said Sluggo. "Curse magic is outlawed." mumbed Clara from behind him. The dire weasel finally fell to the ground, finally giving out under the weight of its own body. One of the zealots slowly approached the beast and effortlessly slid his giant sword into its neck. The creature quickly succumbed to its wounds. Strangely the monster seemed to have shown a sense of relief as it died. A strange black glow started to emanate from the corpse, unnoticed by all aside from Sluggo, and moved into the body of the zealot who had slain the creature. "That''s one down. Although it seemed like a cheap win to me. Do you not plan on joining the battle?" asked Clara. "Unfortunately this body is that of a relatively normal goblin. I could hardly contribute much." said Sluggo. Sluggo looked back at the hellclaws and goblins that were fighting the other dire weasel. About a third of the goblins were now dead, their corpses scattered around the weasel. This was not achieved without cost however, for every goblin struck down, a hellclaw would manage to strike the beast and wound it further. The beast was covered in various wounds, blood dripped from it by the bucket, whether it was from the beast or the goblins was unknown. Whenever the beast tried to back away, the hellclaws would move in and wound it further with their massive crab claws. "Keep up that pace. The beast will fall soon." ordered Sluggo. Nearby, the weasel leader was looking at Sluggo once again instead of focusing on it''s own battle. "Stop runnin¡¯ and fight Dak for real." ordered Dak as he slammed his fist on his chest creating a loud clang in an attempt to gain the monsters attention. The beast looked back at Dak and hissed angrily. It moved forward to swipe its claws at Dak but once more seemed incapable of piercing his copper body. Everytime Dak moved forward to impale the monster with his sword horn it would simply jump away. Dak began to laugh. ¡°Fine, boyz let''s show dis beast why we da best. Charge now!¡° shouted Dak as molf cavalry emerged from the nearby forest, charging at the weasel leader. In an attempt to avoid the spears of the charging riders the beast leaped back towards Dak, making itself vulnerable for a moment. ¡°Got you now!¡± shouted Dak as he pierced his sword horn into the side of the creature. The monster screeched in pain and quickly ran towards the tree line. ¡°Too shallow,¡± whined Dak as he tried to chase the weasel leader. However he was too slow to keep pace with the beast but the cavalry followed in pursuit. The weasel leader turned suddenly and swiped its massive claws at the riders. Three of them managed to move out of the way, but two were killed instantly. One of the molfs survived and retreated back towards the camp. Nearby, the other dire weasel finally succumbed to its wounds as the hellclaws and the remaining goblin cultists raised their hands in triumph. The weasel leader roared in anger at the sight of its allies death and charged past Dak while it ignored the calvary, who managed to wound the beast with their spears, towards Sluggo. "Where you runnin¡¯? Come back!" Shouted Dak as he chased the massive creature. Some of the goblin cultists moved towards the weasel to stop it but were then easily trampled by its giant paws. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Clara drew her sword to ready herself for the giant beast. "Stand down, I have a plan." Said Sluggo as his grin peeked out from beneath his tentacles. "I thought you said you were useless in battle?" said Clara. The dire weasel approached Sluggo and looked at him with what seemed to be a smile. The creature leaned down and slammed its paw against Sluggo crushing his goblin body instantly. The weasel lifted its giant paw and the goblin body, now squished, spasmed briefly before going limp. The dire weasel looked down at its defeated enemy with a rather smug grin. "Well that was anticlimactic." said Clara Suddenly the dire weasel began screaming and clawing at its head. A large mass of black flesh and tentacles began to quickly grow across the monster¡¯s skull, forcing the weasel to roll around on the ground, writhing in pain. The tentacles lashed out as the creature struggled, they tore at its flesh and dug into its eye sockets and burrowed into its muscles and bone. Once the tentacles were settled, the beast stopped struggling and sat up from the ground. "Well that was an interesting experience." said a familiar voice from underneath the net of tentacles. "Boss is that you?" said an approaching Dak, who currently had a defeated look on his face. "Yes Dak. Just a quick body change. Nothing to worry about." said Sluggo while he extended his new limbs and stretched his back. He then laid his new body down and began to, quite literally, lick his wounds. ¡°Dak sorry. Dak failed to kill da enemy.¡± said Dak with his head sunken low. Sluggo licked his massive paw while speaking. ¡°There wasn''t much else you could do Dak. We lacked any ranged weapons. The hellclaws and the zealots did well but the goblin cultists were¡­ not very useful.¡± Nearby the goblins were currently looting the corpses of their fallen allies. ¡°We need to train da boyz better. Get better equipment too. Dak realizes Dak can''t win alone now.¡± said Dak. ¡°It''s nice that you''re all soft and fuzzy now Sluggo but what the hell is going on. Why can a goblin possess a dire weasel?¡± asked Clara while she began patting Sluggos fur. ¡°We will talk when we get back to town Clara. It seems we have won the kobold¡¯s war.¡± Said Sluggo as he looked around the area. ¡°Where have the little kobolds gone?¡± ¡°They disappeared as soon as the fighting started,¡± said Clara. ¡°Do they not plan on honoring the agreement? They would betray the Shiny God?!¡± shouted Sluggo, anger evident in his voice. ¡°Knew da kobolds were no good. Why no fight for glory?¡± asked Dak. ¡°We will find them and deal with them later. Let''s clean up and head back home.¡± said Sluggo. The hellclaws began patrolling the battlefield while the goblins looted and dealt with the dead. The two zealots vanished from the battlefield while the others were busy. The corpse of the dire weasel they had slain now appeared to be missing. ¡°What is going on here?¡± asked a voice that seemed to surround everyone, causing the various goblins and hellclaws to take up defensive positions around the camp in response. ¡°Who is there?¡± asked Sluggo. ¡°No be coward, come out and fight Dak!¡± shouted Dak as he made a heroic pose. An old man slowly appeared from the forest''s edge. His large white beard reached the ground and dragged along as he walked. His pale face appeared impossibly ancient. He wore robes that seemed to be woven from a mish mash of animal furs, indicating no real purpose in their choosing. Grasped within his frail looking hand was a wooden staff, which appeared to have been formed by three branches, woven tightly together. The old man looked towards Sluggo and stroked his beard as he spoke. ¡°Why have you stopped attacking, you have your orders? I want these pests out of my forest.¡± said the ancient man whose voice seemed to still surround the group. Sluggo hissed and arched his back in anger before he suddenly calmed himself and spoke. ¡°What is this influence? Mind control?¡± asked Sluggo. ¡°What wrong boss?¡± asked Dak. ¡°My head went fuzzy for a moment, I suddenly felt an intense need to kill all of you. Not that I would unless you threatened the master.¡± Sluggo did not appear entirely impartial to the thought. ¡°Oh thanks so much for not killing us all¡± said Clara sarcastically. Sluggo paused for a few moments, thinking before he spoke. ¡°This weasel body seems to have some memories of this old man. He has the ability to control plants and animals.¡± said Sluggo. ¡°A druid?¡± asked Clara in surprise. ¡°Why are you not attacking? Fine, I''ll just treat you as a pest as well!¡± shouted the voice from around them. The ancient man raised his staff towards the sky and its tip glowed with a green light. The entirety of the forest grew silent. The trees around the battlefield began trembling as their branches and roots began to grow towards the camp. Birds rose up from the forest and formed giant clouds that blocked out the sky as they flew around above them. Various boars, bears, and wolves appeared from the forest''s edge as they readied themselves to attack. ¡°Kill these pests. Cleanse my forest.¡± boomed the voice. ¡°Take up defensive positions!¡± commanded Sluggo. ¡°That''s way too much to deal with we need to retreat.¡± said Clara in defiance. ¡°No retreat, only glory in battle for Dak!¡± Once again, Dak began to charge in alone. ¡°Dak get back here, we need to maintain a defensive line.¡± shouted Sluggo once again. ¡°You will all die here. The very forest is at my command!¡± screamed the Druid. Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared from the forest''s edge, following the light was the droning sound of a constant scream. From the tree line emerged a familiar roach cart, traveling at a speed much faster than any beast. A lone goblin was dangling off the back of the cart, holding on for fear of losing his life if he let go from the speeding chariot. The roach hissed as lightning sparked, causing its wheels to move even faster. It was almost as if it was trying to remove the goblin from its back. The goblin simply continued to scream as he dangled in the air. ¡°What is this beast? Fascinating. I''ll need to examine it.¡± said the distracted druid. ¡°Wait how is it so fast?!¡± screamed the druid. The roach cart had made its way to the ancient man in a matter of seconds, the druid attempted to have some beasts rush to him to act as shields, but they were not fast enough. He found himself knocked unconscious as the roach cart crashed into his frail body knocking him across the battlefield. The cart continued on its journey, its mind focused on nothing in particular, before eventually disappearing into the opposite edge of the forest. Everyone simply watched on in silence. The nearby beasts that were summoned regained their senses and retreated back into the forest. The birds left the sky and the trees and plants stopped growing. What felt like an eternity passed before Clara broke the silence with laughter. Sluggo sighed, glared at Clara before giving orders once more. ¡°Gather his body, we will bring him to the master.¡± Chapter 18 Chapter 18 I felt an immense level of boredom from absentmindedly lounging about my core room while Sluggo and the others were off playing war in the forest. The goblins that were maturing in the sacs along the walls could do very little to entertain me. I did manage to pass some time by watching the Hellclaws while they were on their patrols but that got boring pretty quick. I decided to check on how William was faring, he was taken aback by the sight of my eye sprouting out of the wall of his office, but he quickly returned to work, ignoring me. "It''s really lonely in here," I said to myself after a heavy sigh. I¡¯ve never really been alone in all my time alive here. I really was looking forward to meeting my new Kobold friends.
Congratulations! You are now the god of Kobolds. Divinity has increased!
This was great news. It was certain now, we won the war.. The sight of my system notifications made a feeling of relief wash over me, drowning me in euphoria. "Maybe Steve learned his lesson?" I asked aloud as I unmuted my old assistant. A loud voice immediately boomed into my all too-new ears. "Warning! Excessive corruption detected, please reset your core immediately!" chirped Steve. I sighed heavily before I muted Steve once more. I''m not sure what I expected to change. "I wish Steve could have tried harder to be a friend rather than misleading all of the dungeon cores out there!" I said, letting out a huff of frustration upon finishing. And then I felt a strange sensation. "This is from where I met my kobold friends." I said to myself, realizing something was touching one of my roots. I had allowed my eyes there to rest as it was fairly boring back there once the kobold¡¯s left. I opened my eyes along the root back in the cave and a tiny kobold came into view. I quickly lashed out a tentacle and picked up the little lizard and patted its head and back with another of my appendages. "Hello Shiny God." said the kobold as it tried to struggle out of my grasp. After a few seconds, it gave up and accepted its pats. "Shiny God awake now?" asked the kobold. "Yes, sorry about that. It''s good to see someone around here, I¡¯ve been quite bored." "Queen said to tell Shiny God that we won war." Said the lizard as he tried to adjust into a more comfortable position. Upon noticing his discomfort I placed him back onto the ground, but not before giving his head one last pat. "That''s good we can be friends now!" I shouted in excitement. The kobold became frightened and cowered in front of me. I''m not sure why he was so startled. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you. Are you going to move to my town now?" I asked. The kobold quickly did his best to compose himself before speaking. "Kobolds help Shiny God first. Then Kobolds come. Kobolds win and become true dragons." said the lizard in triumph. "Help me with what?" I asked but the little kobold had already lost focus and had left the cave. I suppose he was just a messenger, it was nice seeing a kobold again and they were just as cute as I remembered. Sadly, I once again found myself all on my lonesome.
A lot of time passed. I briefly considered making some new friends as I was not a fan of being by myself for so long. Even early on Steve was always with me, even if he was a jerk. I hoped my friends would have returned sooner so we could have a celebration. I grew excited for a moment as I saw someone entering the town. Surely my friends had finally returned? A large armored man limped passed the gate. His once glorious platemail seemed to be in tatters. Blood was dripping from many areas of his body and one of his arms seemed to be bent in the wrong direction. Two of my hellclaw guards were escorting him but he seemed to shrug off their attempt to assist him. He looked to be clutching a bloodied journal tight against his chest with his working arm. "That''s Harold, Alvin''s friend! I never did get to meet him. Why is he so hurt?" I said to no one in particular. Harold limped over towards the front of the church in the center of town while leaving a trail of blood behind him. He suddenly straightened his posture and shouted. "Master Alvin needs help, I must deliver this book to Lady Yidhra!" Shouted the massive man. What was I to do? Yidhra and everyone else were currently out of town. I only had my Hellclaws and Harold seemed to be ignoring them. It didn''t take much thinking for me to make a decision. "Harold''s injured and I''m not going to lose a friend. He also said Alvin needs help so we can''t waste any time!" I said to myself in order to instill some confidence. I quickly grew some of my fleshy roots up along the church and sprouted some mouths and eyes. I stretched a large tentacle away from the church and motioned towards Harold who was now staring at me in awe. Harold stared blankly at me for a moment before he managed to stammer out one word. "G-God?" "Well yes I am the Shiny God. Harold, you are hurt. Follow me. We can help Alvin after we talk and make sure you''re safe." One of my eyeballs rolled off the tentacle and dropped to the ground. My loose eye quickly sprouted a tangled mass of tentacles and began skittering along the ground towards the core room. Harold nodded and followed my eye while gripping the journal tightly. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The hellclaws did not act surprised as my eye approached and simply saluted. I made my eyeball salute back with one of its many tentacles. Harold was noticeably confused at the sight and quickly composed himself while deciding to also give a prompt Salute. He relaxed and followed my eyeball into the barracks. We navigated through the halls and nearby hellclaws stopped to salute us while we passed by. I had my eye lead Harold through the Mimic and down the tunnel made from my roots. Unlike William, Harold did not seem nervous or confused by anything else he witnessed, even when the wall opened up and swallowed him whole, he remained perfectly calm. He continued to remain composed as we journeyed into the core room. Once Harold had finished entering the chamber he paused for a moment while he glanced around from wall to wall. His eyes finally settled at the center of the room. Immediately after that he broke into a sprint which was very surprising to me considering he was still covered in blood and heavily injured. He quickly reached his destination and stood in front of me at the center of the core room. He seemed to wince in pain as he kneeled down in front of me. He awkwardly kept his head lowered without saying a word while still gripping the tattered journal tightly with his working hand. I decided to break the awkward silence. "Hi Harold. Good to finally meet you." I said while I extended one of my many tentacles to pat his head. "Hello God." Said Harold calmly. "Harold, you said Alvin was in trouble?" "Yes God. Alvin said I need to give his journal to Yidhra, the pretty lady. " "But why are you so hurt?" I asked while forming my tentacle into a question mark shape. "Harold had to deliver the book. Didn''t stop for anything. The church attacked Harold." He said. "The church again? Yidhra isn''t here right now unfortunately. Maybe I could look at the book?" I asked while holding out a tentacle in front of him. "Master Alvin said to give the book to the pretty lady Yidhra." Said Harold as he looked at the journal in his hand." "God is more important so it must be okay though?" He asked himself while nodding yes to his own question. Harold extended his hand out, the journal still firmly in his grasp. I plucked the book up my tentacle and brought it over to some of my many eyes. I had to be very delicate, as the journal was in rough shape, and my massive tentacles made it difficult to turn the pages. I glanced over the text while I tried to quickly skim through the pages. After a few minutes I placed the journal on the meeting table and sighed. "Harold we have a problem." "Yes God. Master Alvin needs help." "Well yes but I meant a different problem. Apparently I can''t read. I have no idea what the journal says." Harold paused for a moment and attempted to rub his chin as if deep in thought. Sadly his plate helmet blocked his hand gesture, making for an awkward look. "That''s okay God. Harold can''t read either." he said while trying to remain composed. I noticed fresh blood seemed to be continuing to drip front his armor. I extended a tentacle and patted him on the head again. "Thanks Harold. How can I help Alvin?" I asked. Harold shrugged. "The church took master Alvin. Harold was going to kill them but Alvin said to bring his book to Lady Yidhra.¡± "That''s a great idea!" I shouted which caused the walls of the core room to tremble. Harold looked at me in confusion. "We should just kill the Church. They are bad people that hate goblins right?" I asked while wrapping a tentacle around Harold''s shoulders.. Harold thought deeply for a few moments and spoke. "Yup. The church doesn''t like goblins.¡± His thick voice was deeply contrasting to the simple conclusion. "I knew it! What a bunch of Steves." I said while curling and shaking a tentacle in anger. "Where are they?" I asked. "The goblins?" Asked Harold. "No, the church." "Oh. They found Harold and tried to take the book. Harold squished some and got hurt. Then they chased Harold. Maybe nearby still?" He said. "How many of them will we need to fight?" I asked. Harold shrugged again. "Sorry God. Harold is not good with counting." "Most of my forces were out already. I could probably send out William but that''s about it. Maybe I could make some troops to fight them." I said. "It''s okay, Harold will go rescue master Alvin." "Harold, you are too injured for that." I said. As usual Harold took some time to think hard on the subject. "You God right?¡± Asked Harold. "Just make Harold an angel. Harold will go rescue Alvin. "What''s an angel?" I asked in confusion. "Angels are like Harold but can fly and smites evil things with fire." He said. Fire and wings? That sounds more like a dragon, Harold must be confused. The man did appear to be somewhat simple, though good-natured to be sure. I did as he asked. I reached my tentacle into a nearby pile. It was pretty squishy and wet as this pile of corpses had been sitting here for a while. Yidhra wanted me to absorb them all but I usually waited to do it until I needed to refill my mana. It wouldn''t be smart to waste resources after all. I rummaged around deep in the mound of corpses until I found what I was looking for. "Found it!" I said as I pulled out a carcass of a dragon whelp. It was a baby but it should work fine as material. I quickly selected the whelp and Harold and fused them. Harold did not seem phased even as my mana washed over him. Harold cried out in pain as my mana seeped into his skin. He clawed at his body as his bones and muscles shifted causing the already mountain of a man to grow even larger. His broken arm snapped back straight and his wound erupted in flame as they seared shut. His skin hardened into scales, which fused with his platemail. Large claws erupted from his fingertips as a tail burst from his body. Harold scratched at his back and tore at his skin as two gigantic wings stretched out from his body. His face elongated into a dragon like snout and fire spewed from his mouth as he howled in agony. Harold took a moment to compose himself as the pain faded from his body. The whole process only took a few seconds. "Not quite an angel but this is great. Thank you God." Said Harold as he gave a deep bow. He seemed completely calm, considering how much his body changed. I guess he did request this though. "I am at your service.. Hopefully we can help Alvin now." I said. "I will go rescue master Alvin right away." Said Harold as he stretched out his wings. "Wait!¡± I shouted. ¡°At least let me send some back up with you!" "But god you said no one was here." Said Harold with a confused expression. "It''s okay Harold, I have a brilliant idea!" Chapter 19 Chapter 19 William¡¯s sigh was deep and heavy. The sky looked as if it had been painted as black as tar, limiting his vision. A torrential downpour had inexplicably started the second he left the min. He was now soaked. His clothes had been thoroughly soaked and were now weighted down to his skin. To make matters even worse a cold front had moved in, leaving William hunched over, now clasping his hands together in a vain attempt for warmth. "This is terrible," he huffed out, almost silently. William heard some rustling behind him as something approached him. Beads of sweat formed quickly on the back of his neck as he thought of what may have been coming for him. His body shook, but he was unsure if it was from the cold or from remembering what had been following him. He quickly attempted to compose himself and straightened out his posture. "Father?" asked a multitude of voices in unison. Their voices rang through his ears in what was almost a harmonious melody. He could not help but let out a chuckle at the sight of such monstrous beings with voices like that. If its form could be hidden, the beast would easily pass off as a choir for the church. William had learned from the goblin named Dimwit that the Shiny God had suggested that William''s¡­ child learned to sing to compliment his own acting skills. "If only the Shiny God¡¯s subordinates could have stayed as small and pure goblins." William whispered to himself. William brought his hand to his face and began laughing. Months ago he would never have thought a world could have existed in which he''d prefer goblins to any other creatures. "Father, we have arrived." Spoke the voice once again however this time it had felt much closer to William. "Ah. Y-yes good job." Said William as he attempted to hide his chattering teeth. He paused for a moment and peeked back over his shoulder. Even though the jet-black darkness and rain clouded his vision he could still feel the countless eyes that were looking back at him. William¡¯s body seized and as quickly as he could he turned away from the creature once again, not wanting to meet its eyes. "When the Shiny God said he wanted us to spend time together, this is not what I thought he meant." said William while he folded his arms in front of him. "Yes, is it not wonderful, Father? We will spill the blood of these inferior creatures for the Shiny One together." William felt his anger boiling beneath his skin, "You do know I''m one of those inferior creatures you¡¯re speaking of?" he asked, and he regretted it immediately. He never loses his composure like that. William was always a coward, but he had lost what little confidence he had left after meeting the Shiny God. "You are different father, you have been chosen by the Shiny One!" Shouted the many voices behind him. William was surprised at the anger in their voices. It was almost as if the mass of flesh behind him cared about him. William quickly shook off the feeling, even if that were the case, he would never let himself be their father. William brought his thumb to his lip and began to chew at his nail. He once again turned his head backwards catching a glance at the goblin warsphere behind him. "Yes, I may be chosen but I am still an inferior human aren''t I?" William asked with a smug smile. He wasn''t sure why he felt a need to prod at them, but he felt some relief in doing so. William managed to make out a few of the faces of the creature in the darkness. His eyes had most likely adjusted to the darkness. The monster''s faces seemed to have grown sullen at his statement. The warsphere¡¯s expressions along its many faces suddenly changed and became serious. Its many eyes looked up and stared at William making him feel his anxiety increase even further. "Don''t worry Father, I''m sure this is just another one of God''s tests. The Shiny One will grant you a new glorious form soon. I¡¯m sure of it!¡± Tears ran down William¡¯s eyes as he paused in fear. He quickly turned his head away from the mass of flesh once again realizing he can''t show weakness in front of it. "Please, anything but that." William whispered as tears mixed with the rain and streamed down his face. "Father is so happy to serve the shiny one that he cried..." William heard the monster say in utter awe. Many arms began to surround William and he tried to pull away. The warsphere was too quick and managed to subdue him easily. William flailed in a vain attempt to escape, but the monster''s grasp only tightened. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ''Did I do something wrong? Am I finally going to die?'' William wondered to himself. Seconds that soon turned into minutes passed, but the creature appeared to only wish to hold him in place. "Just what are we doing?" asked William, not bothering to attempt to hide any sense of fear in his voice. "We are hugging Father." said the warsphere. "Right, of course we are." said William with a nervous chuckle. William chewed on his lip as he tried to figure out how to end this hug. He was doing his best to keep calm, but he was unsure of how much time had passed while he was being embraced by this terrifying ball of flesh. His thoughts were soon interrupted by the faint sound of wings flapping nearby. As the sound grew closer William felt some relief that this ¡°hug¡± would soon be ending. The beating of the wings grew closer and suddenly ended, as quickly as they came. To Williams'' surprise a large crash happened nearby and it had sounded like someone dropped a boulder from the sky. "Enemy siege equipment? Do they have a catapult?" shouted William. "Sorry, Harold fell. Harold is not so good with landing." said the man that approached them from the darkness as he flexed his wings. "Hello Harold." said the warsphere. Harold returned its greeting with a nod. "Yes hello Harold. I''m assuming you''re done with your scouting report?" asked William as he squirmed in his child''s grasp. Harold paused as if deep in thought while staring at William. After a few moments passed William asked once again. "Harold?" ¡°What are you guys doing?" asked Harold abruptly. "What?" asked William in surprise. "What are you doing?" asked Harold again. "This is the human custom of hugging. We have been informed this would make Father happy by Miss Clara." Answered the warsphere. "Clara said to do this?" William attempted to ask. Harold nodded and ran up to William. "What are you doing?" asked William as Harold wrapped his arms around them as best as he could. "Hugging." Said Harold as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Might have been better to die." said William in unconstrained agony. It was not too long after that William felt a surge of relief as he sat on a nearby stump. Joy filled his heart now that the embrace that seemed that it would never end was finally over. "So Harold, give me your report." Said William. Harold looked at William with confusion. William sighed. "You were supposed to scout out the enemy forces." William allowed his frustration to show once more, losing his composure. "Oh! Harold did that!" Harold near uncontrollably gesticulated to himself in excitement. The warsphere started to clap at the scene, only serving to grow Harold¡¯s enthusiasm. "So how many were there? What kind of equipment do they have?" asked William with an agitated tone, tapping a finger on his knee in unrest. Harold''s expression grew serious as he began counting on his fingers. William began tapping his foot on the ground as both his annoyance and impatience grew in equal measure. Harold smiled and raised a single finger into the air in front of him. "Just one?" asked William with a puzzled look. "Only one was strong." said Harold in triumph, his grin near consuming the rest of his facial features. "But how many were there in total?" asked William again in confusion. "Only one was strong. Rest were weak like William." said Harold while pouting. The warsphere looked over at its father who was burying his face in his hands. All of its faces turned crimson with rage. "Father is not weak." Harold shrugged at the suggestion. "Harold is not good with counting. Can''t waste numbers on weaklings." said Harold as he picked his nose with a claw. "Harold!¡± William shouted, before quickly calming himself. "Sorry,¡± he sighed, ¡°Look, we need to know how many enemies there are all together, even the weak ones, before we engage them." explained William, as calmly as he could. "Oh! Master Alvin is good with counting. Once we rescue him, he can count for Harold." He said while flicking a booger onto the ground. "Shall we try to scout them Father?" asked the warsphere. "No, it''s too risky. We are going to need to rely on a hit and run strategy until we get a better idea of their numbers. Luckily the darkness and rain should help us." Said William. "Thats dumb. Harold can just smash them." Harold lifted his mace, accentuating his claim. "Father is correct. We need to maximize terror to teach these heathens a lesson." said the warsphere. William stroked his beard as he thought for a few moments while Harold and the warsphere argued. "No, that should work fine.¡± William started to map out his plan, ¡°Harold, you can distract the strong one. If you attack from the air in this darkness confusion will set in quickly. They may even accidently attack each other." "See! Harold is right." Said Harold as he stuck his tongue out at the warsphere. The warsphere ignored the dragon man and pointed towards the trees with its many hands. "We shall ambush them from the above as well, and work to create chaos amongst their ranks." "Alright sounds good. Remember, we just need to keep them occupied long enough for Sluggo to return with our forces. Don''t go dying." said William. The warsphere and Harold both nodded at William. Harold quickly but awkwardly took flight as he quickly disappeared into the rain filled night sky. "Be careful as well father." said the warsphere before it moved towards the nearby forest. It quickly climbed up a tree and disappeared from William¡¯s sight. "Great. Now what the hell am I supposed to do. What can I even do against enemy forces? Why did the dungeon core ask me to fight them?" William asked himself before sighing. "Apparently the Shiny God had the brilliant idea of sendIng us out to delay the enemy forces." William said before a grin stretched across his face. "Well maybe I could get them to rescue me."