《The Normal Dungeon Core: Lethe》 Chapter 1: Youre not special ..........." a loud crash echoed around the stone as random chunks of rock flew, massive trees fell, and various critters were blown away around a newly made crater.
contacting...contact established]
"Hello?" ... ... ... "Okay, that didn''t work. Need to focus! [Initialize Tutorial]" As it focused on the prompt, the surroundings began to glow in a light green hue.
[Tutorial System has been initialized]
[Transfer complete] [Generating entrance type: Auto-selected CAVE]
[Welcome to the Dungeon Core Tutorial]
[Designate Name]
[Designate Name]
It didn''t have a name. Even though the dungeon core understood what the boxes wanted, it didn''t know why it should name itself. ''Whatwould I want to call myself?'' As if in answer to his query, a word, no, a name, started to form in its mind. It didn''t know why, but an instinctual response replied to the prompt, "I want to be called Lethe."
[Name designation successful] [Name: Lethe]
[LEVEL 0] [EXP to LEVEL 1: 100]
[Quest: Open the status screen 0/1]
Chapter 2: The first room Chapter 2: The first room
[Quest: Open the Status screen 0/1]
Reading the prompt, Lethe was bewildered. "Status screen? Umm...so I guess I just say it again? Come to think of it, I don''t really have a mouth so how am I talking? I mean, I can hear myself, but at the same time I know I''m not broadcasting my voice to the surroundings. Is it a sort of telepathy or...you know what never mind." "Let''s see. Show status!" "Status screen!" "How do I view my status?" "..." "..." "[Status]!"
STATUS
NAME: Lethe RACE: Dungeon Core CLASS: Locked LEVEL: 1 EXP: 0 / 100 (Earned EXP/Required EXP) MOB POINTS: 00/25 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 6 (60m^3 total volume of control)
SKILLS
??? ??? ??? ???
TEMPLATES
???
MOB TYPES
???
RULES
???
QUESTS
Main Quest: Open the status screen 1/1
[Ding!] [Quest: Open the Status screen 1/1] [Quest complete! Reward: Unlocked skills [Creation - Floor 1], [Territory Control 1]] [Receive Rewards? Yes/No]
This was the first time that Lethe saw a choice from the system. He wondered what would happen if he chose not to receive the rewards. Would he forever lose access to those skills or would they simply stay in the background for him to receive in the future. However curious he might be, he did not want to risk losing access to essential skills. This time, Lethe focused on the prompt and selected [Yes]. The instant he did so, he felt a swathe of information relating to the skills become available to his consciousness. The new skills that were just...rewarded(?) to him now allowed him to expand his territory of control, gave him the ability to customize his floors with rooms, and make new floors when he had the ability to. He also realized that the phantasmal hands that created the entrance by the system were also in his control! It dawned on him then that the system had actually taken control of him when it had made the entrance, yet for some reason...it felt natural? Taking some time to review what he knew about dungeon cores, he understood that the phantasmal hands were what he needed to use to interact with his environment and mobs. He also realized that if he concentrated, he could break down everything in his territory. He wondered where the destroyed substances actually went as he wasn''t aware of any form of storage.
[Creation - Floor 1 | Rank: 1/5 | Allows user to designate and shape a room with maximum volume of 10m^3 as a single room.]
[Territory Control 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to expand his territory.]
[Ding!] [New Quest: Use your skills and create 1 room 0/1]
Reading the new quest, Lethe understood that the system had been set up to guide him in setting up his first floor. For now, he reviewed the information he had for [Territory Control 1]. The skill allowed him to control his territory, specifically where the bounds of his consciousness were. There seemed to be a limit to the size of his territory, which expanded every time he would level up. Going by that logic, he also understood that he received a new floor with every increase in level. So the idea was that each level corresponded to larger floors and a larger territory. After he refocused his thoughts, Lethe sent intent to enable the skill, [Territory Control 1], and instantly felt that small particles of brown, green, and yellow dots of light had gathered from thin air start to surround and rotate around his core. He knew that these particles represented the mana in the surroundings, which is a basic element of the world. He didn''t know what else mana could do, but he felt that a large part of his powers would involve it. With [Territory Control], he was essentially allowed to use the particles to soak his consciousness into his surroundings. As the particles continued to gather, he felt his awareness shifting to a larger area and spread out, pushing against the walls of the cave, seeping in, claiming the wet dirt, soil, and stone as his, and expanding his zone of control in a sphere centered around him. He debated whether he could change the shape of his territory, a sphere hardly seemed practical for expansion as he wouldn''t be going up into the ceiling of the small cave. Gathering the edges of his territory, he mentally willed for the expansion to only go down into the floor of the cavern and away from the entrance and the top of the chamber. As he concentrated, a headache started to develop but he could sense that his control slowly shifted focus to the designated area below the cavern. However, his previously gathered territory didn''t seem to retract, just staying there as if it would forever be under his purview.
[Ding! Skill Rank Up! Territory Control 2] [Territory Control 2 | Rank 2/10 | Allows user to expand his territory. Direction of expansion can be specified.]
Is that the only way to rank up?'', he idly wondered. Perhaps, perhaps not. What is that?''...
[Ding! Skill Rank Up! Creation - Floor 2] [Creation - Floor 2 | Rank: 2/5 | Allows user to designate a room with maximum volume of 10m^3 as a single room. Allows user to set up design templates.] [Ding! Saved Template: Cavernous Room]
[Ding!] This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.[Quest: Use your skills and create 1 room 1/1] [Quest complete! Reward: Unlocked skills [Creation - Mob 1], [Design Structures 1]] [Receive Rewards? Yes/No]
[Creation - Mob 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to generate mobs based on mob points.] [Mob Types Available: -- Select 0/1 --]
[Design Structures 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to create and design various structures (traps, buildings, objects, etc.) inside rooms.]
[Ding!] [New Quest: Generate and spawn mobs 0/25]
Chapter 3: Goblins are boring?
Chapter 3: Goblins are boring?
[Ding!] [New Quest: Generate and spawn mobs 0/25]
STATUS
NAME: Lethe RACE: Dungeon Core CLASS: Locked LEVEL: 1 EXP: 0 / 100 (Earned EXP/Required EXP) MOB POINTS: 00/25 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 6 (60m^3 total volume of control)
SKILLS
[Creation - Floor 2 | Rank: 2/5 | Allows user to designate and shape a room with maximum volume of 10m^3 as a single room. Allows user to set up design templates.] [Territory Control 2 | Rank 2/10 | Allows user to expand his territory. Direction of expansion can be specified.] [Creation - Mob 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to generate mobs based on mob points.] [Design Structures 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to create and design various structures (traps, buildings, objects, etc.) inside rooms.]
TEMPLATES
Cavernous Room
MOB TYPES
???
RULES
???
QUESTS
Main Quest: Generate and spawn mobs 0/25
MOB SELECTION
[Select 1/1 from listed mob types] Available: 6/??? Beasts Slimes Goblins Nature Undead Fey ???
[Beasts: A category of mobs giving the dungeon access to spawn critters and predators typically available in a forest. Selection of this mob type on Floor 1 will grant access to the [Earth Hare] and [Wind Wolf] mobs. Further selection of this mob type in subsequent floors will expand available mobs of this category.]
[Slimes: A category of mobs giving the dungeon access to the most numerous and random creatures available on Sphaira. Slimes are acidic gelatinous blobs that prefer to use pack tactics due to their inherent weak nature. Selection of this mob type on Floor 1 will grant access to the [Acid Slime], [Stone Slime], and [Treasure Slime] mobs. Further selection of this mob type in subsequent floors will expand available mobs of this category.]
[Goblins: A category of mobs giving the dungeon access to the basic goblin. Green-skinned, barely intelligent, tribe based monsters, Goblins are the most basic of all mobs. Selection of this mob type on Floor 1 will grant access to the [Goblin Scout], [Goblin Grunt], and [Goblin Shaman] mobs. Further selection of this mob type in subsequent floors will expand available mobs of this category.]
[Nature: A category of mobs giving the dungeon access to spawn creatures aligned with nature. These fauna benefit from environments filled with vegetation and foliage. Selection of this mob type on Floor 1 will grant access to the [Poisonous Viper] and [Brown Bear] mobs. Further selection of this mob type in subsequent floors will expand available mobs of this category.]
[Undead: A category of mobs giving the dungeon access to spawn the recently departed. These damned creatures seek out the living to join their unending afterlife. Selection of this mob type on Floor 1 will grant access to the [Undead Skeleton] and [Shadow] mobs. Further selection of this mob type in subsequent floors will expand available mobs of this category.]
[Fey: A category of mobs giving the dungeon access to spawn creatures aligned of the whimsical fey. These tricksters of nature are known for their cunning and beguilement. Selection of this mob type on Floor 1 will grant access to the [Thorn Fairy], [Petal Fairy] and [Leaf Fairy] mobs. Further selection of this mob type in subsequent floors will expand available mobs of this category.]
Chapter 4: Slimy plans Chapter 4: Slimy plans Investigating his completed layout for the first floor, Lethe realized that he had accomplished one of the first milestones of a dungeon core in only a few hours since he was ''born.'' Understanding the system itself was intuitive for him and looking out from the entrance of his dungeon, he saw that the sun had only started to sink on the horizon. Quickly inspecting his surroundings, Lethe also realized that he needed to work on a way for his adventurers to reach his entrance, seeing as the cave was almost at the top of a 130 meter hill. The hill itself was covered in greenery, with an almost barren top, shrubs and saplings growing along the middle, gradually tapering into tall spindly birch trees meeting the forest around him. It was an idyllic scenery all things considered. The climb to the hill itself was not ''steep'' per se, but it would be a chore for most. Perhaps he should make a path from his dungeon entrance leading to the edge of the forest; however, that was for later. Moving his focus to the first room once more, Lethe was finally ready to inspect his mobs, his [Slimes]. And as soon as he willed it to be, the description for each type were now available to him.
[Acid Slime 1 |Rank 1 | Cost: 1 MP (mob point) | Drops: 1-3 Copper Coins | Type: Common]
[The most common variation of a [Slime], generally spawned from pools of stagnant acidic water. [Slime] type mobs are able to combine with other [Slime] type mobs and have the inherent ability to control their gelatinous body to harden, soften, or expand.]
[Stone Slime 1 | Rank 1 | Cost: 2 MP | Drops: 25% 1 Hardened Stone, 3-5 Copper Coins | Type: Uncommon]
[A [Slime] birthed and shielded by stone. Can integrate into stone structures. [Slime] type mobs are able to combine with other [Slime] type mobs and have the inherent ability to control their gelatinous body to harden, soften, or expand.]
[Treasure Slime | Cost: No cost | Drops: 33% ???, 33% ???, 33% ???, 1% ??? | Type: Special]
[The [Treasure Slime] does not attack but is exceptionally good at running away. Will spawn only in treasure chests and escape once opened. Any treasure that is in the chest will be consumed by the slime and enhanced. Will also randomly generate loot when captured or defeated. Cannot be taken out of the dungeon.]
The [Treasure Slime] was a surprise for Lethe, but one he would gladly take. It would serve as a good incentive for adventurers. On the other hand, the [Acid Slimes] and [Stone Slimes] would prove to be a fair challenge for the first floor. Shifting his attention to the first room, Lethe placed 3 [Acid Pool]s, two of them flanking the tunnel that lead into the room and one more hidden in a nest of thick stalagmites near the curved tunnel leading further into the dungeon. Crude shallow pools of transparent bubbling water, measuring at about 2 meters at their widest, appeared in the designated locations. Changing gears, Lethe invoked [Creation - Mob 1] and spawned his first [Acid Slime] in one of the pools. As soon as the skill had finished casting, the water in the pool itself started to absorb the ambient mana, creating a membrane on the surface of the pond followed by a distinct ''plop'' sound at the bottom of the shallow pool indicating that the slime had spawned.
A transparent gelatinous body with a thick membrane and a small rock at the center slowly rose and started to float on top of the pond itself. Lethe marveled at the creature he had created. The slime that spawned wasn''t a small ball as he had initially though; instead, it was a large 1 meter droplet. The bobbing slime could possibly even swallow one of the shorter races in this world. Some might say that [Slimes] were too bland of a base, too simple and ineffective. However, for Lethe, the simple structure of its body meant a lot more opportunities for him to experiment. Quickly spawning two more [Acid Slime]s in the other pools, Lethe shifted his focus to the first tunnel. This time, instead of creating a structure, Lethe aimed [Creation - Mob 1] at the wall of the tunnel. He attentively observed as a large part of the wall started to ballooning out into a large bubble before another ''plop'' sounded and a large piece of stone, again about 1 meter in size, fell to the floor of the tunnel. Initially, he had thought that the [Stone Slime] would actually be made off of stone instead of the acidic substance of an [Acid Slime]. Looking closer though, he realized that the [Stone Slime] had a layer of stone as its membrane in addition to its acidic insides, somewhat similar to stone armor. He could still make out the small core at the center of its body and wondered how much more difficult these would be to slay for adventurers. This time, he directed the [Stone Slime] to shift into the middle of the ceiling of the tunnel and he watched as it spread itself into a sheet of stone and almost completely camouflaging itself. Before moving on to the center room, Lethe decided to establish a [Rule]. He pictured the scenario for the rule, where if there is an adventurer, or more, passing through the tunnel below, the [Stone Slime] would retract onto itself and then fall down, on top of an adventurer if possible.
Rule Established
Subject Stone Slime 1 (F1-T1)
Rule Fall from station
Trigger >=1 enemies
Optional condition Fall on enemy
Designation Mob Fall Trap - Stone Slime
Investigating the new screen in front of him, Lethe started to understand that these [Rule]s would be a fundamental aspect of his dungeon. He had expected that [Rule]s would only be available for setting up traps but since his mobs can be affected by them, then would the adventurers also be affected by them? Would he be able to set up rules for the whole of his dungeon or specific floor based rules? So far, he could not see anything that would contradict this line of thought, but perhaps he should set them up after his first party. Checking in on the [Stone Slime], he also saw that there was a small chain-like mark next to its name, most likely indicating that it has been tied into a rule. Since he was able to set up a [Rule] here, Lethe shifted his attention to the [Acid Slime] in the hidden pool of his first room, and willed it to only come out if an adventurer is close enough for it to jump to it.
Rule Established
Subject Acid Slime 3 (F1-R1)
Rule Ambush enemy
Trigger 1 enemy within 3 meters
Optional condition Fall on enemy
Designation Ambush Trap - Acid Slime
Deciding that this would be enough for the first leg of his dungeon, Lethe focused in on the 2nd room. He set up another [Acid Pool] directly at the center of the room and spawned another [Acid Slime]. Looking at the moss he set up for people to get in and out of the room, he created another 2 [Stone Slime]s and ordered both of them to hide behind the mossy and only attack if the [Acid Slime] in the middle of the room is being attacked.
Rule Established
Subject Floor 1 Room 2 Mobs
Rule Ambush once ally is threatened
Trigger Ally Acid Slime 1 (F1-R2) is being attacked
Optional condition ---
Designation Ambush - Room
This time, Lethe noted how the rule did not only apply to the [Stone Slimes] but rather the whole room, which proves that he can set up room based rules. Checking his mob points of which he only had 15 left, he decided to rank up the difficulty for the last leg of the floor. He created 2 [Acid Slime]s, placing the acid pools on the sloped walls of the second tunnel as well 2 [Stone Slime]s from the walls of themselves, their stony texture seemingly covered in the greens of the tunnel. Mentally commanding the slimes to gather together, Lethe willed for all of them to combine. As soon as he had ordered it, the slimes started pushing against each other until an acid slime devoured its neighbor, growing to almost 2 meters in size. Their stone-based counterparts did the same, creating a [Stone Slime] about 2 meters in size as well.
[Ding! New Sub Skill Generated] Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
[Combine | Sub Skill] [Ding! Skill Rank Up! Creation - Mob 2] [Creation - Mob 2| Rank: 2/10 | Sub Skills: [Combine] | Allows user to generate mobs based on mob points. Mobs can increase in rank by consuming or defeating mobs of equal rank.]
[Combine: 2x[Stone Slime]] [Ding! Mob has ranked up!] [Stone Slime 2 | Rank 2 | Drops: 25% 1-2 Hardened Stone, 6-10 Copper Coins]
[Combine: 2x[Acid Slime]] [Ding! Mob has ranked up!] [Acid Slime 2 | Rank 2 | Drops: 25% 1 Bottle of Acid, 2-6 Copper Coins]
A new skill rank and also two stronger slimes for any party delving into his dungeon. Watching the two 2nd rank slimes, Lethe felt that they were not enough. He didn''t want just a couple of stronger [Slime]s for this part of the dungeon; so he decided to experiment further. He willed the two different slimes to [Combine] this time and saw how the [Stone Slime] started to absorb the [Acid Slime] almost instantly. The thin membrane of the [Acid Slime] had been crushed as soon as the tougher stone membrane started to dig through it. What came out was not something Lethe had expected though.
[Combine: [Stone Slime 2] x [Acid Slime 2]]
[Ding!Mob has ranked up!]
[Stone Slime 3 |Rank 3 | Skill: Stone Shield | Drops: 10% Stone Shield, 25% 1-3 Hardened Stone, 9-15 Copper Coins]
The new rank 3 [Stone Slime] spanned almost the whole width of the heavily sloped tunnel it was spawned in. Almost 3 meters in size, it continued to have the stone membrane from the lower ranks, however, the stone itself seemed to be much denser. The slime had also developed a spherical shield-like object that seemed to hover right above its membrane, which Lethe assumed had to be the Stone Shield skill that was also added to it''s drop list. An interesting development, as he had thought that the new slime would have to be an amalgamation of the [Acid Slime] and [Stone Slime]. Instead, it seemed that one of the slime''s were treated as the base and it had simply ranked up instead; although the new skill was a nice surprise. He wondered if it would''ve been better if two rank 2 [Stone Slime]s were combined instead. He would have to hold off on trying that for now though as he only had 9 mob points left. Instructing the [Stone Slime] to always be visible and at the middle of the path, which for some reason did not create a [Rule], he turned to the final room for what would most likely be his final experiment. At the center of the room, right next to where the mossy overhand led to the floor, Lethe created 9 [Acid Pool]s and combined them to make a large oval basin spanning through the center of the room and digging itself into the wall at the end to create a hollow cavity in the wall. He also created small ridges along the basin with breaks, which would allow adventurers to reach the cavity, albeit they would have to be careful not to fall in.Looking at the large basin full of acid, Lethe create 8 [Acid Slime]s and willed them to [Combine] in pairs until he had 2 Rank 3 [Acid Slime]s.
[Combine: 2x[Acid Slime 2]] [Ding! Mob has ranked up!] [Acid Slime 3 | Rank 3 | Skill: Acid Splash | Drops: 25% 2-3 Bottles of Acid, 2-6 Copper Coins]
Looking at the 3 meter blobs of partially sentient acid, Lethe felt a thrill rise in him. He could see that there was a hazy green vapor now rising off of the two slimes, which he guessed would be due to the new skill that they developed. Thinking back, creating these rooms and mobs was a cathartic experience for him after his traumatic descent into this world. He found that the enjoyment from experimenting and creating helped soothe his emotions. Granted, the experiments themselves were fun by themselves as well. Gleefully looking back to the rank 3 [Acid Slime]s, Lethe began his final experiment, willing the two to [Combine]. He watched as a green glow started to exude from in between their membranes as the hazy green vapor began to turn more solid, reaching up towards the ceiling. He witnessed as the two slimes seem to melt into each other, finally combining into a towering monstrosity about 5 meters high from the floor of the dungeon.The additional increase of a meter in size was a surprise for Lethe; but what had caught his attention was that it had two cores now, instead of the previous single core it had during prior rank ups.
The new mutated [Acid Slime] had the same gelatinousmembrane as its lower ranked brethren; however, the strong vapors coming off of it were proof that getting close to this monster would not be a pleasant experience. The two cores at its center seemed to be glowing in a greenish haze and even without his command, the slime started to sink into the large basin he had created, making the acidic water sizzle and bubble as if it was cooking. Lethe himself was quite pleased with this new mob, which he believed to be exactly what he needed for his final room. He had been hoping for a larger than usual [Acid Slime], but the mutation now allowed him to consider it as a [Boss]. Looking at his mob list now, Lethe realized that he only had 1 point left. Looking at the cavity he had created at the end of the room, he spawned the [Locked Chest] structure, which he hoped will contain the [Treasure Slime], and spawned 1 more [Acid Slime] right in front of it, simply giving it the command to defend the chest. Thinking maniacally, Lethe decided to set a floor [Rule] where the [Mutated Acid Slime] would spawn after the small [Acid Slime] in front of the chest was killed. Just imagining the face people would make as the large slimy mob unveils itself from the acid pool while they would be distracted over trying to open the locked chest sent him into an exuberant mood.
Rule Established
Subject Mutated Acid Slime(F1-R3)
Rule Ambush once ally is defeated/killed
Trigger Ally Acid Slime 1 (F1-R3) is being defeated/killed
Optional condition ---
Designation Floor 1 Boss Fight - Room]
Chapter 5: Quest Issued
Chapter 5: Quest Issued
[Ding!] [Quest: Generate and spawn mobs 25/25] [Quest complete! Reward: Unlocked Party Finder] [Receive Rewards? Yes/No]
[Ding!] [New Quest: Defeat adventurers 0/5]
STATUS
NAME: Lethe RACE: Dungeon Core CLASS: Locked LEVEL: 1 EXP: 0 / 100 (Earned EXP/Required EXP) MOB POINTS: 25/25 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 6 (60m^3 total volume of control)
SKILLS
[Territory Control 3 | Rank 3/10 | Allows user to expand his territory by spreading consciousness. Direction of expansion can be specified with will. Territory can now be shrunk by ceding consciousness.] [Creation - Mob 2| Rank: 2/10 | Sub Skills: [Combine] | Allows user to generate mobs based on mob points. Mobs can increase in rank by consuming or defeating mobs of equal rank.] [Design Structures 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to create and design various structures (traps, buildings, objects, etc.) inside rooms.]
TEMPLATES
Cavernous Room
MOB TYPES
Slimes: [Acid Slime 1], [Stone Slime 1], [Treasure Slime]
STRUCTURES
RULES
QUESTS
Main Quest: Defeat adventurers 0/5
Party Finder
Party Name Rank Member Count Distance from dungeon Quests Completed
2
Jones and Folks 1 5 23 km 0
Chimpions 1 3 25 km 4
Jemika and Dray 1 2 26 km 1
Hansen''s Striders 1 4 58 km 6
Detir Sewer Rats 1 4 60 km 2
Yes/No]
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 6: First Room Right after accepting the quest, the rest of his band of brothers started to pack up and take down the camp. They had about a day''s journey to reach the dungeon, according to the quest indicator, and they already had all of the necessary supplies ready. Even if they didn''t, they wouldn''t be able to afford anything more than a few loaves of bread. While everyone else prepared, Jones spent the time reviewing his [Party].
Party: Jones and Folks
Party Members Level Rank Class
Jones Ram 4 1 Acolyte
George Ram 4 1 Shieldbearer
James Ram 4 1 Skirmisher
John Ram 4 1 Hedge Mage
Harry Ram 4 1 Tracker
[Ding! Jones and Folks have accepted the quest.] [Distance from the dungeon: 23 km]
[Ding! Congratulations on finding a new dungeon!] [Quest complete! Rewards: 50 XP!] [As the first party to discover this dungeon, awarded a 100% XP bonus for the first week while in the dungeon!] [Enter Dungeon?]
[Distance from the dungeon: 20 m]
Chapter 7: Sneaky Slimes
Chapter 7: Sneaky slimes "Slimes? Really? A slime dungeon?" George complained as the party gathered together after clearing the first room. "It could''ve been worse ya know" Harry replied, "Could''ve been one of them undead dungeons. Heard those are spooky." "I''m glad that it''s a slime floor, with the bonus, we''ll all be well on our way to level 7, maybe 8, after we''re done here." Jones finished, indicating to the group to start moving again. Reviewing the short encounter it self, Jones couldn''t help but feel proud of his party. They had faced tougher fights than the one they just had while traveling to Lityus but the fact that they couldn''t get a contract there for the last few weeks had made all of them start to doubt their skills. The fact that everyone was able to coordinate as well as they did even with all of the ambushes went to show that all of their training at the village hadn''t gone to waste. Thinking back to those gruesome days when the elders had trained the five of them from dawn to dusk, he couldn''t help but feel a shiver run down his spine. They had been able to escape those monotonous times but none of them took their training for granted. By the time they had reached Lityus, without any adventurer classes as well, the group had already realized the importance of what they had been taught. The fact that none of them had realised this before leaving caused everyone, especially Jones as he led them out, a deep sense of shame. Yet, having come this far, the brothers couldn''t simply go back. Even with all of the setbacks, they still had the hope that they would all grow strong and their road to that dream started with this dungeon.
Lethe continued to watch as the group returned to their formation and went into the tunnel. He was eager to see if any of them would be grievously injured with the ambush but he doubted any of them would perish here. The party slowly trudged down the curving passage, the light from the small bobbing rob barely covering the walls and a part of the ceiling. As they passed the midway point, Lethe braced himself for the fight he knew was coming. And within the span of a few moments, he watched transfixed as the [Stone Slime] attached to the ceiling released it''s hold and attempted to envelope both the [Hedge Mage] and [Acolyte]. Due to the large surface area of the slime and it''s stone membrane, the bubble shield of the [Acolyte] had only managed to knock him down and couldn''t repel the slime at all. As the other 3 watched slowly in horror, the [Hedge Mage] broke a small bone and instantly cast [Flare] without having to waste time with the chant, while yelling, "AMBUSHHH!" Furthermore, being so close together, the [Skirmisher] tried slashing at the stone membrane while the [Shieldbearer] instantly rushed at the mob intent on freeing his party members. The encounter soon devolved into a mini episode of chaos as the melee combatants attempted to free their comrades, both of whom had curled up in on themselves on the ground, which Lethe assumed would help protect their vitals. Meanwhile, each strike of the rusted blades and wooden shield managed to dislodge a few pieces of stone from the slime, as if it was a 1 meter hollow boulder. Being a slime though, even encased in stone, it wasn''t heavy enough to stay rooted to its spot and was soon knocked back by the combined efforts of the melee combatants. As soon as it was far enough away from the curled up duo it had trapped, the [Trapper] released his arrow, which started gathering green motes of wind suspected mana around itself and propelled into the stone membrane of the slime, directly hitting it''s floating core. A brief pause followed before the Aline''s core shattered from the force of the arrow and the monster sank into the ground, eventually despawning and leaving behind a few pieces of copper and a round smooth piece of hardened stone. Even after the monster melted away, the party continued to have their guard up for a minute or two, before finally relaxing after noticing that nothing further attacked them. Jones eventually got up off of the floor, dusting himself off and helping John up as well. "Well, glad we stayed alert hah!" Jones stated to the group, a speck of anxiety and fright in his voice. None of the others spoke up or replied to him, still maintaining their caution as if something would ambush them from the dark. "That slime was made of stone Jones. I think this ain''t just a slime dungeon." Harry said, clutching his bow and arrow loosely. "Didn''t even know slimes could stretch that thin!" "It is a dungeon slime. The ones we had out in the boonies wouldn''t have even been rank 1." "How about you grab the loot Harry and we head on through. It''s still floor 1, so I doubt there will be more of those. Make sure the light is high enough to show the ceiling and walls and just gotta stay careful." Jones said, indicating to the loot and the floating orb of light. As the [Trapper] returned with the loot, the party once more headed off, this time much more alert and cautious. Soon, they came upon the ledge leading to the second room and the mage sent his ball of light forward to scout the area. "There''s another one of those pools in the middle of the room." Jones stated. "The first ones were hiding in them. I''m sure a few others are hidden here as well, so expect surprises." Jones edged to the end of the ledge and looked down. "We can''t just jump down from here either but looks like the dungeon ain''t that evil, we got some vines we can use to climb down. George, ya go on ahead with James and keep watch. We''ll follow on through after things are clear." he finished after which the others nodded and followed through. Lethe continued to watch with both pleasure and mirth as the party split up for the first time. He was pleased that his mobs so far had managed to instill a sense of caution in the group but the lack of significant injuries so far frustrated him. Feeling childishly spiteful, Lethe attempted to command the stone slime camouflaged on the first wall to attack the [Shieldbearer] as he climbed down. Immediately, he received a glaring red notification.
[Warning: Actions or modifications to the floor are not allowed while the floor is occupied.]
Reading the prompt, Lethe could only dejectedly sigh as it seemed he wouldn''t be able to change anything for now. Thinking on it further, he could only accept the fact that there were restrictions to dungeons as well and making the challenge unfair would be frowned upon by the system. The system had created dungeons to help shepherd souls, not to harvest them. Returning his attention to the party, he saw that they were all once more assembled on the floor of the second room. He noticed that their formation had changed as well. The [Shieldbearer] continued to be at the front of the party, but now the [Skirmisher] was at their flank with the 3 ranged members huddled together in between and the [Acolyte] continuing to be at the exact center. As the party carefully made their way across, Lethe noticed the [Acolyte] signal to the [Trapper] and [Hedge Mage], pointing at the pool in the center of the room. Both nodding, the [Trapper] fixed his arrow and aimed at the pool while another chant for [Flare] was whispered by the [Hedge Mage]. As soon as the chant finished, both of them released their attacks concurrently at the center of the pool, the arrow reaching into it first, followed by the small orb of fire. Both of the attacks were weakened by the water, but they still hit the hidden [Acid Slime], which instantly surfaced and launched itself like a ball towards the group. Instantly, the other two [Stone Slimes] hidden along the walls dropped to the floor and started rolling towards the group, sandwiching them in between. The [Shieldbearer] instantly received the first [Acid Slime] with his sword, knocking it down to the ground while throwing his shield at the oncoming [Stone Slime] while the [Skirmisher] ran out and engaged the one rolling in from behind. "Kill the acid one first!" Jones yelled as a transparent bubble enveloped the sole [Skirmisher]. Meanwhile, the other two ranged combatants focused their attacks on the [Acid Slime], each spell and arrow keeping it pinned down, while the [Shieldbearer] ran up and engaged the last slime. Eventually, the combined attacks of the mage and archer defeated the preemptively attacked slime. However, the [Stone Slime]s were proving difficult to handle for the sword users. Their rusted blades barely chipping away at the stone skin. Before the party could focus down the other two though, the remaining slimes backed up from their combat and rolled towards the other. Swerving around the bewildered party, the two slimes crashed into each other and seemingly started to use [Combine] by themselves! Lethe watched fascinated as he had no idea that his slimes could do that. Looking into the process further though, he realized that they were not combining but rather merging, as was stated in their descriptions. The difference, he witnessed, was that the new mob had increased in size and toughness but didn''t increase its rank.
[Merge successful!] [New mob available: [Stone Slime+]]
While the slides were merging together, the party on the other hand regrouped into their initial attack formation. As soon as the merge completed, a gust of air blasted out of the now larger [Stone Slime+], pressuring the party to step back. Instantly, the slime launched itself directly at the [Shieldbearer], crashing into his shield. However, instead of being rebuffed like earlier, the slime was able to shove the party''s sole defender towards the [Acolyte], who had already used his bubble spell on the [Skirmisher]. As the duo slid backwards, the slime rebounded against the shield and launched itself at the [Trapper], who was barely able to dodge the fast moving blob. As it sailed past, a [Flare] from the magic user struck the slime, blasting away a portion of its stony membrane. Quickly getting up from the ground, the [Shieldbearer] charged at the slime instead of waiting for it to attack as a wave of green energy from the now sitting [Acolyte] boosted his vitality. Being pinned down once more, the larger slime could only smash itself against the shield, each time pushing the guardian back a few feet, but unable to inflict any further injuries to the party. Eventually, the group was once more able to whittle the mob down before a flare and arrow combination took out its core, defeating the final mob of the room. As they watched the slime dissolve into particles, it was evident that the encounter had left the group winded and fatigued. Of note, Lethe noticed that the [Acolyte] was bleeding slightly from the back of his head after being knocked down and the [Shieldbearer] had let go of his shield and was clutching the arm that held it, evident that the slam attacks from the stone slime affected his arm in some form. "Finally!", Lethe joyously thought, "Substantial injuries." He had initially been peeved that the group was able to essentially clear out all of his mobs and ambushes without difficulty so far. But seeing the current injuries, he felt that it was an appropriate level in terms of difficulty. The last leg of the dungeon would be much more difficult than even this fight but he actually enjoyed seeing the teamwork and camaraderie shared by this party. He started to hope that they would survive the final challenges and walk away from here today so that they might see more from him in the future.
[Ding!] [Skill unlocked due to dungeon core''s thought processes and current progress.] [Skill: [Boons] has been unlocked!]
Chapter 8: Challenge or retreat?
Chapter 8: Challenge or retreat
[Ding! Skill unlocked due to the dungeon core''s thought processes and current progress.] [Skill: [Boons] has been unlocked!] [Possible incompatible Skills removed from available [Skill] list!]
Looking at the new notification put Lethe into a daze. He had known that his actions could lead him to generate new Skills as it seemed obvious but so far he had received none other than the ones from quests. However, being able to receive a Skill from just his thought processes showed that there was more to this than he had initially realized. Bringing up the details for his new skill, Lethe was surprised by the versatility it already offered.
[Boons 1 | Rank 1/??? | Allows the dungeon core to apply specific buffs to selected [Party] in the dungeon. Can be used while dungeon is occupied.]
Lethe also understood now that he wasn''t completely helpless while a group was in his dungeon as it seemed like interaction in a way would still be possible through the [Boons] skill, and perhaps even communication in the future. Reviewing the influx of information he had received upon the creation of the skill, he tried to decide the most appropriate one he could grant the party. He had a lot that he choose from and was able to quickly sort through his options, finding two that were what he thought would be most compatible. He looked at the group below, [Jones and Folks], with a fondness. They were what he might have wanted if he had been part of a community, a group of individuals that cared and trusted each other. At the back of his mind, Lethe understood that the sentimentality was probably a side effect from his reincarnation and part of his personality before. Before he could go further down that train of thought though, he willed the [Boons] skill to show the two options he had been debating over to help his decision making.
[Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions | You and your party members have demonstrated a trust that is rare to find in this world, although much more expected in adventurer''s than mercenaries. Grants increased effectiveness in working together with your party members.]
[Adventurer Boon - Cautious Journey | Your party is cautious, you check each corner, try to plan out your route, and stay mindful of your surroundings. Grants increased effectiveness in reacting to unexpected situations.]
He felt that both of these could and most likely would help the group in the next and final fight. However, [Cautious Journey] would probably result in the biggest benefits, which Lethe didn''t want to do. The boon would mostly negate the surprise he had in store for the final room. On the other hand, the [Trusted Companions] buff would allow them to more effectively fight after the surprise but there would be a much higher risk of someone dying. The dungeon core liked this party, even though they were the first group he saw, but he felt that coddling them would stunt their growth. And so, he decided on the more appropriate boon, willing it to activate and notify the group.
"We were NOT ready for that. What was that?!" George exclaimed, cradling his most-likely broken arm and sitting down on the floor. He was the most injured and exhausted in the party, which was surprising as he was the most physically fit. But Jones agreed with him, they were not ready for what they had just faced. "I agree George. We were not ready for that one. Think it was almost a rank 2 but hey, we were able to survive and win!" Jones declared, moving towards the wounded [Shieldbearer] and casting [Mend] on his arm. He sensed the fractured bones and dislocation the man had suffered from, working the spell through the affected parts and allowing the mana to restore him to his original Self. "But," he muttered while healing, "we know what the risks of a dungeon are, even a newborn dungeon. And this one seems to be prepared to give us a challenge. Y''all don''t remember, but the last few weeks I''ve been hanging mostly around the Adventurer''s League to find a contract and heard some things. Ya see, dungeon cores could be quite malicious if they want to be, we coulda'' been ambushed by every single monster it could make in the very first room of this dungeon and we couldn''t have done shit all if it had wanted to kill us. So far though, I think we''re lucky. The dungeon is tough but fair and I expect the same for the rest of us as well. We will give it a challenge but we''ll face it fairly." he finished while looking into the eyes of each of his companions. They had been through many things over the years as youths, things they now knew were meant to prepare them to be fighters. They still didn''t understand the significance of it but he could clearly see from everyone''s stances and gazes that they weren''t afraid. Rather, everyone, including George, were all just reeling from the sudden encounter. "Either way, after that last biggun'', I''m pretty sure we''ll get enough XP halfway to level 6, maybe even enough for the full level!" Jones commented, bringing full grins of excitement from everyone around them. A peculiarity they had discovered early on as they entered the dungeon was that none of them could assign any XP while here. Jones didn''t know if this was normal but he could see why it would be the case. Being able to increase in level, or even rank, while inside a dungeon would render a lot of the challenge moot. He had also heard that dungeons could scale the difficulty depending on the party when they initially entered but he wasn''t sure of that. He also knew that they would have to be ''polite'' when leaving, if they survived. However, just as the rest of the group were ready to form up once more, George having healed as much as possible and somewhat able to use his shield arm once more, a prompt appeared distracting everyone.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
[Dungeon Boon Granted!] [Your actions during your delve have pleased the dungeon core, granting you and your party a [Boon] for the duration of your stay in its territory.] [Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions | You and your party members have demonstrated a trust that is rare to find in this world, although much more expected in adventurer''s than mercenaries. Grants increased effectiveness in working together with your party members.]
The party dazedly looked at the panel in surprise, reading through what they were given. They looked at each other and felt a slight nudge in their minds guiding them to stand in certain ways to let them know how to best work together with everyone else. Looking at the somewhat confused look on each of his party members, Jones cleared his throat and started to seemingly talk to the air. "Umm..well me and my party express our thanks to the dungeon core and hope you will give us a fair challenge." he stated and gave a short bow towards one of the walls, indicating the others to do so as well. Quickly following in his actions, the rest gave their own short bows, and standing back up. Without further preamble, Jones motioned for the group to return to formation after which they headed to the wall with mossy ladders leading up to the sharply sloped tunnel at the other side of the room. Reaching the base of the part of the wall where they would have to climb up, the [Trapper] walked forward without instruction, joined by the [Skirmisher] as the two began to make their way up first to look out for any ambushes, the rest quickly following behind. Climbing to the ledge of the tunnel, Harry quietly spoke to the others, "This looks to be a difficult slope Jones. Footing is gonna be a problem and there is something blocking the light in the middle, looks ta be pretty big as well." He finished quickly, followed by James indicating the same from his own observations. Soon enough, the rest of the party made their way onto the sloped ledge, the less physically capable of the group, namely Jones and John, carefully grabbing the vines along the walls. Once they were in formation, Jones signaled their [Hedge Mage] and the light orb flew closer to the large object in the distance. As it revealed more of the obstacle, the mood grew grim for the group. They had all received the [Inspect] skills when they were given the Adventurer League classes, a freely given skill necessary to work in this field. The obstacle that blocked their way forward was large and inspected showed it to be another slime.
[Stone Slime | Rank: 3]
About 3 meters across, the rank 3 slime almost covered the whole span of the tunnel. A floating grey shield seemed to be slowly moving in front of it, its core still visible beneath the layers of stone. From what Jones could see, the Rank 3 mob could possibly wipe them all out without them even making a dent. He didn''t think that they would be able to take it. They were just a Rank 1 party and not even at max level. Going by the standard of difficulty, they would all have to be either Rank 2 or at least at the peak of Rank 1, to even have a hope of defeating it. Looking back across the faces of his brother''s Jones knew that he had just made a difficult decision. "Folks, I know we''ve been doin good. But we gotta retreat for now. We still got a week of XP we can grind here and I say we leave, set up camp outside, spend our XP and try ta get to Level 10. With our levels maxed out, I think we can take it on. Before that, I wouldn''t want any of y''all to die." he stated. Thinking about what he had said about the dungeon being fair and giving it a challenge, he felt a blush starting to form on his face. But for his brothers, he would take on the role that he needed to. "Jones is right y''all. Don''t think we should take that on for now. My hand still feels like dough and we gots time. Let''s head back for now and we''ll come back tomorrow and keep grinding the first few mobs, I reckon we''ll get to level 10 pretty soon with the bonus." George finished, his hand shaking and struggling to keep hold of his shield due to his recent injury. The group collectively went silent. The [Boon] that they had received would most likely be gone if they left now and perhaps the dungeon itself would be harder but it would be better than dying. Gripping their weapons and steadying their gazes, the rest nodded their assent and the group began to return to the entrance they had entered the dungeon from. The atmosphere was subdued. They had thought they would conquer the dungeon and return in glory. Instead, they were leaving with their tails between their legs, believing that they weren''t ready for the next challenge, which Lethe had to agree, might have been a bit too much. The now regretful dungeon core looked on as the group came to the entrance to his lair once more before stopping. "Well", he heard the [Acolyte] start speaking to his companions once more, "y''all know what to do. 10%, send it to the dungeon." he said, and an influx of white jagged particles left the man and he seemingly became lesser than what he once was in Lethe''s vision. Seeing the same happen with the rest of the party, Lethe looked on curiously as each of them headed out of the dungeon, the multicolored jagged particles staying afloat.
[Ding! Tribute XP received from party [Jones and Folks] [17 XP received!] [Congratulations on receiving XP! Congratulations on receiving sub-trait: [Challenging]] [Ding! Unlocked 1/3 requirements for Dungeon Trait!]
Lethe looked through the list of notifications he received as the group left and realized that the jagged particles were pieces of XP they donated. If he heard them correctly, each of them had given him 10% of what they earned while in the dungeon. Thinking about it further, he calculated that each of the four [Acid Slime]s must have given 20 XP, the [Stone Slime] in the tunnel netted them 25 XP, and the spontaneously merged [Stone Slime] they fought last had rewarded them with 65 XP, totalling 170 XP divided amongst five, concluding in 34 XP for each of them. Doing the math further, 10% from each of them, and he received 17 XP in total, which is essentially 10% of the total they received. He was happy that he did not specifically have to kill the groups that ventured into his caves to receive XP as he had initially thought. But the fact that the party must willingly donate the XP to him was an aspect he would have to get used to and not expect from every group he encountered. Either way, Lethe was even more excited about the last part of the notifications. He didn''t have any knowledge as to what "Dungeon Traits" were, but the sub-trait he had received, [Challenging], was something he agreed with. Inspecting the trait further gave him just a bit more information.
[Challenging | Your dungeon has been visited by adventurers who have deemed their experience as a challenge. This trait indicates that your dungeon is currently considered more difficult than most other dungeons of the same rank but is not fatal]
With the new trait, Lethe felt as if a part of him that he didn''t know had just been revealed to him. The core had felt restless when the group had easily bypassed the first two obstacles he had placed but seeing them struggle and overcome the merged [Stone Slime] had also invigorated him. He was hopeful that [Jones and Folks] would be coming back tomorrow and looking forward to when they would be confident enough for the rest of his crafted dungeon.
Chapter 9: Doubt in the camp
Chapter 9: Doubt in the camp As the party hiked down from the hill they had climbed, looking for a place to make camp, Jones couldn''t help but chastise himself once more. The mood was a lot brighter than before they left the dungeon, as the notification they had upon exiting visibly lifted their spirits.
[Ding! Dungeon exited! 33 XP earned!] [33 (100%) Bonus XP assigned!] [Accept? Yes/No]
They had all received the same notification and after they finished reading it, a few more details of dungeon delving were revealed to the group. As they had just learned, dungeon XP is apparently "delayed" until they actually leave the dungeon and any bonuses they would receive would be calculated afterwards. This meant that the everyone in the group had received 66 XP in total, which was more than 1/3rd of what they needed to advance to Level 6. Jones himself, inspecting his own [Status] screen, already had 72 XP out of the 153 they would require for their advancement. Since acquiring their new classes and being introduced to the system of advancement used by the Adventurer''s League, the group had already been made aware of the requirements for advancing to rank 2. They weren''t informed of how to advance to rank 3 yet, but Jones assumed that they would be made aware of the requirements once they had gained the rank. Furthermore, as they all had [Adventurer] type classes, which was essentially a step above the [Common] classes most people receive from living day to day, and below the [Noble] classes of people more well-born, their requirements for advancement were also harsher. For one, most [Common] classes did not have so many levels or ranks. People with [Common] classes would be able to increase to rank 2 by level 3, which would only require earning 95 XP in total, or 45 XP for level 3. On the otherhand, [Adventurer] type classes required them to increase to level 10 first, the final level requiring 777 XP. To reach rank 2, they would need a total of 2288 XP. Being Level 5 himself, Jones had so far earned 337 XP in total, a far cry from what they would require to rank up. At first, he would wonder how other parties increased their rank to 2 so fast, seeing the staggeringly high XP costs. After investigating further though, he learned that most of the XP these parties received were for finishing the contracts and rarely from slaying beasts. However, [Jones and Folks] had unable to receive any contracts at all and had gained all of their 337 XP from combat. Reviewing their abilities and situation further, Jones realized on hindsight that perhaps this was better for them. He doubted that his party would be able to take on a level 8 or 9 party; however, he believed they were strong enough to defeat most level 6 or 7 parties, being a level 5 party themselves. Granted, the group were more skilled in facing beasts rather than people. As the rest of the party made camp at the base of the hill, Jones busied himself with scavenging herbs around the area. He had used a few during the fight today for casting [Mend] but he had an ample supply from their frequent jaunts in the forest and the recent trek to the dungeon itself. He also looked for some edible mushrooms, finding a few button and cremini shrooms hugging the trunks of the overgrown flora. Soon enough, the smouldering wood and tinder at the center of the camp gave way to a slowly shifting fire as the skies darkened and the visage of the Maiden shone silver on the lands. The cold months of King Winter had recently passed and they would soon welcome the fair weather of Lady Spring. Yet, the nights continued to be chilly. The group sat around the fire, Harry slowly boiling the mushrooms, some roots he had found, and week-old jerky into a stew. "Y''all assigned your XP, yeah?" Jones asked. John, who was seating the closest to him, nodded his head. "Sure did Jones. Got 80 XP in the bank. Still hard ta believe I''m almost halfway to the next level already, without even completing that dungeon." He remarked, although the sensation was shared amongst the rest of his brothers. Pausing for a few seconds while focusing his thoughts together, Jones continued. "I know what y''all thinking. We did good today but we ran away when we saw that rank 3." He stated hanging his head lower but continuing to stare at the flames. The splintering echo of the wood amid the dancing flames transfixed his mind for a moment, and as if empowering by the fire his own words, he continued.
[Quest Received!] [Conquer the dungeon and forge a connection with the core!] [Note: This is a System-issued quest. Possible rewards include but are not limited to XP, [Skill]s, [Armament]s, or [Boons].]
------ Chapter 10: To delve once more
Chapter 10: To delve once more
[Dungeon is currently not occupied by a [Party]] [Repopulating mobs]
Lethe watched as his slimes started spawning throughout his dungeon once more. First, the three [Acid Slime]s in the first room rose from the bottom of their pools. Then the [Stone Slime] in the first tunnel sank out of a wall and moved to the ceiling as he had previously instructed. Finally, the slimes for the central room, each of them spawning and returning to their positions. The chipped rocks, the footprints on the dusty floor of the cavern, the frayed vines that the party had used to scale the walls, all repairing and returning to how they were, as if time itself had reversed. [Jones and Folks] had made decent progress, with essentially the last leg of the floor left to conquer. In retrospect though, most of his mob points went towards the mobs that they weren''t able to face. The large [Stone Slime] in the second tunnel was the biggest obstacle in his opinion. If they were able to defeat the rank 3 slime, they would be able to face the boss, hopefully with some losses. From what he knew, he would need 1 adventurer to be killed to get enough XP for the next floor. He wasn''t aware of how the adventurer''s spent their XP, but it seemed that he received XP based on the rank as well as the adventurers. He would then be able to upgrade his mobs for the first floor enough so that they wouldn''t just be basic rank 1 threats. Although, doing so for the already upgraded mobs would be more difficult. He guessed that mob points were limited as they gave him the complete value whereas XP that he received or assigned to a mob were only the leftovers from the soul being harvested. Regardless, Lethe switched his attention to his first floor. He didn''t want to change anything about the floor yet; however, he could think of a few improvements. As he started going through the details of his dungeon, investigating what he would want to alter, time seemed to ebb and flow without notice. Soon enough, Lethe''s attention drifted back to the entrance of the dungeon. He saw with his limited view of the outside that [Jones and Folks] had returned. The party seemed to be doing much better in terms of morale since their escape the day before. However, the dungeon core also detected a sense of determination from them, as if their delve yesterday had only been a scouting trip. Without so much as a word, their [Acolyte] took the lead and entered the dungeon followed closely by the rest of his party. The spectating core was shown a repeat of yesterday''s performance, the group instantly going into formation as they strode forward to the first room. Before the [Acid Slime]s could engage though, an arrow and a [Flare] hit each of the two mobs, with the [Shieldbearer] grabbing the attention of both. The party didn''t wander into the room either, staying near the entrance so that the range of engagement would only cover their melee combatants. Like a well-oiled machine, the party mowed through the two [Acid Slime]s, harvesting the coin, and moving onto the third one, the [Shieldbearer] at the lead. As soon as the man reached the threshold for the [Rule] to trigger, the [Acid Slime] launched itself at him before being rebuffed by a block from the shield that had it sink into the floor of the cavern. A couple of minutes later, the room was cleared. Without any preamble the group headed into the tunnel, performing another pre-emptive strike against the ceiling-borne slime, which Lethe noted he should establish a rule for it to change locations frequently perhaps. Being stretched out as it was, the encounter had no more risk for the party than their first room, and soon enough, they were on the precipice of the second central room. Tuning into what the party were talking about, Lethe noted that they were debating whether to kill the [Stone Slime]s or let them merge once more. Considering that they would get bonus experience if they let it merge and were able to keep the encounter controlled, it could be a worthy farming tactic. And seeing as it was unlikely for them to have increased their level yesterday, they would once more have to retreat from the rank 3 [Stone Slime] in the second tunnel. Soon enough, with the talking completed, the group descended to the floor and engaged the [Acid Slime] at the center. The formation was somewhat different though, with both melee combatants staying close to the [Acolyte] while the two ranged started to burst down the [Acid Slime]. Soon enough, the [Stone Slime]s from the walls launched themselves at the group and were lured away by the melee combatants. For a moment, Lethe thought that the [Stone Slime]s would not merge as they had the day before; however, when the pace of the engagement was set, the same maneuver that they used yesterday repeated itself. Both of the [Stone Slime]s retreated from combat and merged together. Different from their last encounter with the upgraded mob though, this time the [Shieldbearer] didn''t stand and wait for the slime to engage. Instead, he charged at the slime just as it was finished with its transformation. As the encounter continued, Lethe noticed that the [Shieldbearer] seemed to be able to handle the mob much better today without as much strain. Thinking on it further, the dungeon core realized that it had to do with initiative. As the [Shieldbearer] had been the one to initiate combat this time instead of having to hold his ground, he was able to dodge strikes instead of only being able to block them. Soon enough, the monster was brought down and a shower of coins and cubed stones dropped. After taking a few minutes to rest and gather the loot, the party headed back the way they came and were soon out of the dungeon once more, this time without any tribute. An interesting point that Lethe grasped after seeing the [Stone Slime+] mob once more was the difference between his [Level] and the [Rank] of mobs. From what he gathered, his levels and XP needs were only relevant for creating new floors. Any increase in his [Level] would not contribute to an increase in the mob point''s rank as they were two separate systems. For a mob to have a higher rank, they would have to either be combined or merged, at least for [Slime]s. Whether this would hold true for other types of mobs, he wasn''t sure yet. Another fact that he observed were the skill ranks, which he guessed demonstrated mastery of a skill. He wondered what would happen if he increased a skill rank to its maximum. From observing the party, he understood that adventurer''s also had different ways in which to increase their powers but it seemed to be a mix of both his leveling system and the mob-based rank system, with [Rank]s being the threshold and [Level]s being the steps. A pulse of mana spread throughout the dungeon with all of his mobs repopulating once more. Looking out of his entrance, Lethe guessed that about 2 hours had passed since [Jones and Folks] had left. And as if on cue, he saw the same group trekking up to the entrance once more to delve. ------- Phoebus, the local star, had already set over the horizon while a canvas of ebony spread across the heavens, distant celestial bodies blinking across the night sky. Lethe watched as the party went outside of the dungeon once more, doing a total of 4 delves for the day. As he watched the [Acolyte] exit, Lethe couldn''t help but wistfully remark the lack of tribute. Perhaps they could only provide tribute to a dungeon once? As he sulked by himself, he noticed that the group reentered and each of them gave a bow. "Honored dungeon core, please accept this tribute for the trials that you have allowed us to participate for the day." Lethe turned around and watched as the [Acolyte] was bowing towards the first room. "Just between ya'' and me, we figured we should send the tribute afta'' we finished all our runs and got the bonus from the system hehe." the [Acolyte] stated, his tone reminiscent of a sly fox. As each of them gave him a bow, they stepped out of the dungeon, while a slew of notifications bombarded Lethe.
[Ding! Tribute XP received from party [Jones and Folks]]
[136 XP received!] [XP 153/100] [Ding! Core is ready to level up! Warning: Increasing levels will close access to [Dungeon] until the process has finished.] [Increase level? Yes/No]
Reading the notifications, a moment of confusion gripped Lethe. He had calculated how he received 17 XP the day before, even though it was just 1 run they had completed instead of the 4 runs today. If he received the same percentage as tribute, he should''ve received 85 XP. Yet, he received 136 XP instead! That''s almost 1.5 times the amount he should''ve received! The party had killed the same amount of mobs per run as they had the day before, which would be a total of 680 XP. Thinking back to what the [Acolyte] had mentioned, Lethe realized that they were actually receiving a bonus from the system. He didn''t know exactly what percentage of a bonus they received, but since he received 136 XP, and each of them still donated 10%, then that means they had each given him 27.2 XP. Extrapolating further, this would be 10% of 272 XP, which is the total each of them received after 4 runs. So for each run they would have each received 68 XP, which is exactly double of what they should''ve received based on his tribute from yesterday. This would mean that they received a 100% XP as a reward after exiting the dungeon! Being able to finally solve the dilemma he had suddenly encountered, he started to notice a large sense of pressure on himself. He realized that the pressure was due to him carrying more than the allowed XP, which seemed to be growing stronger every minute. Not wanting to find out the consequences of oversaturating his core, Lethe accepted the prompts to increase his level. Instantly, he saw that the opaque veil at the entrance of his dungeon had become dark while chunks of green and grey motes of light emerged from his core, sinking throughout his dungeon. He felt his territory solidify, which he instinctively knew meant that the territory for his first floor had just become immutable. He would still be able to change around the rooms but he wouldn''t be able to add any further territory at least relating to his first floor. Furthermore, he started to feel his gem, his body, his core, start to shake and tremble. He watched as the emerald gemstone started to float away from the loam that had hidden it, glowing in a viridescent shade. He felt himself grow larger and saw that a new layer had enveloped his body, before burrowing into the bottom of the floor and tunneling through the dungeon. The small path his octahedron core created filled itself automatically as he exited at the ceiling of the final room and started to float behind the [Locked Chest] in the small alcove he had created. Before he could observe anything further, a weight descended onto his mind, his perception slowly sinking into the gem. The last thing he saw was a brilliant, deep green flash of light and felt himself sinking into the soil once more. ------ Jones was a happy man tonight. A jubilant smile was plastered on his face as he drank from the limited amount of liquor that the group had. Looking around the campsite, he felt a flutter in his chest upon seeing the similarly happy expressions of his brothers. They had farmed the dungeon four times today and Jones could hardly believe that he had received enough XP to level up again! He was also halfway through to level 7 as well, which he should be able to reach by tomorrow. "Oy, you guys!" Jones exclaimed, gathering the attention of his party members. Seeing as all of them were looking at him, he continued. "We gonna have this XP boost for five more days. Shame we basically wasted it on the first day but what can ya do. How about we continue to grind tomorrow and the day after as well, try to get five runs in this time, and try ta tackle the next part when we gots 2 days left? We should all be level 8 by then, I think we can take it on then." A murmur of nods and grins made its way across the small camp as they all agreed to the plan. "Hoorah! I''ll drink ta that!" George yelled, standing up from the stump he was sitting on. In his hand was a small cup filled with an ash-grey liquor, a local Deshvit brew they were able to get their hands on when they still had some coin left over. He threw the alcoholic concoction down his gullet as the rest of the party lifted their cups with him and drank with him. A sense of cheer and expectation to the future hung around the group, each of them talking about the monsters they slew, sharing what they felt when they were fighting. As he finished his own drink, Jones sat up and looked up to the hill that their fortunes would come from, barely able to see the entrance to the dungeon. Suddenly, he noticed that the usual grey glimmer on the entrance that was even evident in the middle of the night had changed, shifting to a dark obsidian, as black as the midnight sky. Soon after, a squall buffeted the surroundings, knocking Jones down on to his back where he felt a slight tremor going through the ground, pebbles and twigs bouncing and vibrating across the clearing. The rest of the party noticed the changes as well but before they could figure out what could be going on, everything stopped. The wind became calm once more and the shivering of the earth ceased. The group looked at each other and then as one looked towards the entrance of the dungeon, seeing the grey shimmer once more. "Think I drank a lil'' too much ta soon Jonesy." George said. "Aye, think we all might''ve or it might that our local dungeon there got an upgrade." Jones replied, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his robes. "Think it''s still safe ta go there tomorrow Jones?" Harry asked. "It''ll be fine. Now y''all, I''m gonna hit the hay, we''r doing 6 runs tomorrow up and early! Wake me up when its ma turn ta watch!" Jones replied, sliding into his bedroll and turning away from the fire. "Well, ya heard him. George, first watch''s on you." Harry replied, doing the same as the rest of his party members bar George. "Why am I always first...." ------ Chapter 11: Designing the second floor
Chapter 11: Designing the Second Floor
As quickly as he lost consciousness, Lethe roused himself from his stupor. He felt distinctively larger, not in the sense that he was big, but in the sense that he had more "space" in his mind. Expanding his consciousness further, he was unable to find any changes to the dungeon itself with one notable exception. His core was now at the end of his first floor instead of in the first room he had made. Seeking more concrete numbers, Lethe willed his [Status] to appear.
STATUS
NAME: Lethe RACE: Dungeon Core CLASS: Locked LEVEL: 2 XP: 53 / 200 (Earned XP/Required XP)
FLOOR ONE
MOB POINTS: 25/25 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 6 (60m^3 total volume of control
FLOOR TWO
MOB POINTS: 00/50 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 14 (140m^3 total volume of control
SKILLS
[Territory Control 3 | Rank 3/10 | Allows user to expand his territory by spreading consciousness. Direction of expansion can be specified with will. Territory can now be shrunk by ceding consciousness.] [Creation - Mob 2| Rank: 2/10 | Sub Skills: [Combine] | Allows user to generate mobs based on mob points. Mobs can increase in rank by consuming or defeating mobs of equal rank.] [Design Structures 1 | Rank: 1/10 | Allows user to create and design various structures (traps, buildings, objects, etc.) inside rooms.]
TEMPLATES
Cavernous Room
MOB TYPES
Slimes: [Acid Slime 1], [Stone Slime 1], [Treasure Slime]
STRUCTURES
RULES
BOONS
Applied to [Jones and Folks] [Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions | You and your party members have demonstrated a trust that is rare to find in this world, although much more expected in adventurer''s than mercenaries. Grants increased effectiveness in working together with your party members.]
QUESTS
Defeat adventurers 0/5
The first change he noticed were his resource pools. His mob points, or MP, and the number of rooms he could control were now separated based on the floor he was working on. The second detail that caught his attention were that his resources were both reset and increased for his second floor. On hindsight, he realized, this was something that he should''ve already known about when he had first received the information about dungeon cores. However, he only understood the portion of knowledge now when he actually experienced the change. Lethe decided to attribute this particular gap in his understanding, which was one of many, to the fact that he had received a lot of information. Since he woke up and landed in this world, if he just sat down and started to process the information, by now he would have only understood less than 10% of it. Regardless, he now had a whopping 50 MP and 14 rooms to design for the second floor!
Enthusiastically, Lethe started to imagine how he would structure his next floor. His primary mobs were still slimes, but due to the [Merge] and [Combine] mechanics, he started to develop an idea on how he would design the new area. The biggest issue with his first floor, Lethe thought, were the final two mobs, the rank 3 [Stone Slime] and the rank 4 [Mutated Acid Slime]. He realized that these two mobs were usually too dificult for just a first floor. As such, for the next floor, he didn''t want to challenge adventurer''s. Instead, he wanted to reward them, obviously with risk of losing limbs still involved. He invokved both [Creation Floor] and [Territory Control] simultaneously, and started to shape a staircase from the end of little alcove in the final room, each step curving inwards, wider at the end and narrow towards the center. Slowly but surely, a curved stairway leading to the depths was made, while his territory created a cylindrical area hugging the walls of structure. Each stair was about 1 meter long, with the whole cylinder going down for about 10 meters before he stopped. Internally sensing the amount of area the staircase took up, Lethe was pleased to note that he had about 110 m^3 in area left for the floor.
[Rule Established]
Subject: Floor 2 mobs Rule: Roam within 10 meters of spawn Designation: Passive behaviour - Floor 2 Mobs
[Rule Established] Subject: Floor 2 mobs Rule: Ambush enemy Trigger: 1 enemy within 3 meters Designation: Ambush Trap - Floor 2 Mobs
[Ding! Tribute XP received from party [Jones and Folks]]
[170 XP received!] [XP 223/200] [Ding! Core is ready to level up! Warning: Increasing levels will close access to [Dungeon] until the process has finished.] [Increase level? Yes/No]
Receiving the jagged pieces of broken light once more into his core, Lethe didn''t see any reason why he shouldn''t continue to level up. He had the whole night to spend and he was already finished in so far with his second floor. Accepting the level increase, Lethe was once more witness to the incredible density of mana and movement that comes with a dungeon increasing its level. The entrance changed from its usual opaque grey to a pitch black, his recently expanded territory sinking into the walls of his second floor, all of his mobs repopulating on the first floor, Lethe once again sank into unconsciousness. ------- Jones was happy tonight as well but the mood came with a weariness as well. They had pushed themselves hard today, barely taking time in between the dungeon being reset to rest up before entering once more. Thankfully, they were all able to level up again today. However, everyone looked miserable. All of his brothers sat around the campfire, eating dry rations while cleaning their equipment as best as they could. Harry was able to find a fast flowing stream the first night they had spent outside of the dungeon, thankfully allowing them to refill their waterskins and clean their equipment better than they would have been able to without it. Checking their party list, Jones stared at the progress that they had made after 3 days of delves (and well 2 days of grinding).
[Party: Jones and Folks] [Party Members] [Jones Ram Level 7 Rank 1 Acolyte | XP: 239/345] [George Ram Level 7 Rank 1 Shieldbearer | XP: 242/345] [James Ram Level 7 Rank 1 Skirmisher | XP: 242/345] [John Ram Level 7 Rank 1 Hedge Mage | XP: 239/345] [Harry Ram Level 7 Rank 1 Tracker | XP: 247/345]
Chapter 12: Refining a challenge Chapter 12: Refining a challenge
Waking up for the second time from leveling up in the recent week, Lethe felt a large growth of his body and power. If he could lift a bottle previously now he felt he could easily carry twice as much. Checking his [Status], his guess was proven true.
STATUS
NAME: Lethe RACE: Dungeon Core CLASS: Locked LEVEL: 3 (Sub-trait: Challenging, ???, ???) XP: 23/400 (Earned XP/Required XP)
FLOOR ONE
MOB POINTS: 25/25 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 6 (60m^3 total volume of control
FLOOR TWO
MOB POINTS: 50/50 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 14 (140m^3 total volume of control
FLOOR THREE
MOB POINTS: 00/150 (Used/Total) ROOMS: 24 (240m^3 total volume of control
His allowed mob points were tripled and the amount of space he could create for the next floor was almost doubled. Eagerly checking his own gem, he saw that the emerald core had grown another layer, growing from pebble-sized to the size of a closed fist. Another detail he noticed were the increase in his skill levels.
[Skill rank up!]
[Territory Control 4 | Rank 4/10 | Allows the user to expand his territory by spreading consciousness. Direction of expansion can be specified with will. Territory can now be shrunk by ceding consciousness.Expansion can be used in conjunction with creation for finer control.] [Skill rank up!] [Creation - Mob 3| Rank: 3/10 | Sub Skills: [Combine] | Allows the user to generate mobs based on mob points. Mobs can increase in rank by consuming or defeating mobs of equal rank. The user is now able to summon advanced mobs through direct consumption of MP.]
He guessed that he had ranked both of the skills up due to him reaching level 3 and the lack of a notification until he woke up confirmed it. Finally, he expanded the list of mobs he could create now.
MOB LIST
[Acid Slime 1 | Rank 1 | MP: 1 | Drops: 1-3 Copper Coins] [Acid Slime 2 | Rank 2 | MP: 2 | Drops: 25% 1 Bottle of Acid, 2-6 Copper Coins] [Acid Slime 3 | Rank 3 | MP: 4 | Skill: Acid Splash | Drops: 25% 2-3 Bottles of Acid, 2-6 Copper Coins]
[Acid Slime 4 | Rank 4 | MP: 8 | Skill: Acid Rain | Drops: 2% Skill Book: Acid Rain, 5% Acid Resistance Potion, 3-5 Bottles of Acid, 5-12 Copper Coins] [Mutated Acid Slime 4 | Rank 4 | MP: 10 | Skill: Acid Rain, Dual Mind | Drops: 2% Skill Book: Acid Rain, 5% Acid Resistance Potion, 25% 4-6 Bottles of Acid, 8-16 Copper Coins] [Stone Slime 1 | Rank 1 | MP: 2 | Drops: 25% 1 Hardened Stone, 3-5 Copper Coins] [Stone Slime 1 + | Rank 1 | MP: 3 | Drops: 1 Hardened Stone, 5 Copper Coins] [Stone Slime 2 | Rank 2 | MP: 4 | Drops: 25% 1-2 Hardened Stone, 6-10 Copper Coins] [Stone Slime 3 | Rank 3 | MP: 8 | Skill: Stone Shield | Drops: 10% Stone Shield, 25% 1-3 Hardened Stone, 9-15 Copper Coins]
Looking over the list, he confirmed the fact that he now had the ability to summon his higher ranked mobs directly, which would allow him to optimize the difficulty of his floors better. He also assumed that any higher ranked mobs would either be unlocked as he manually created them or when he leveled up further. What was disappointing to him though was the lack of any new types of [Slime] mobs. He had thought that he would get new types with every level up, but perhaps the restrictions were different. Regardless, Lethe had a new floor to build. Focusing on the small alcove at the end of the second floor, where his gem now rested, Lethe expanded the size so that it could comfortably fit any groups that were able to pass through the rest of his dungeon. Focusing on his consciousness, Lethe felt that the dirt and stone had some traces of moisture around parts of his second floor. Assuming that these areas had access to a water source, Lethe located the dampest spot on his second floor and expanded his consciousness into a line, digging into the walls until he found his goal. An underground water table, presumably with a source to a river on the surface graced him with its presence. Holding his consciousness near the edge of the water table, Lethe focused on excavating a tiny tunnel, barely half a meter across, from the resting area at the end of the floor to the pool of fresh water. Soon enough, his resting area had a small pool of fresh water for adventurer''s to use to clean or refill their supplies. Finished with his modifications, Lethe focused on the very edge of the alcove, and created a meter high square opening. He started to expand downwards once more, creating the twisting stairs he had previously, stopping once he was 20 meters below the previous floor. He fashioned the stairs with moss, discovering now that some of them were glowing with a very mild luminescence. Another hidden perk from leveling up, he assumed. He interspersed the luminescent moss with the older ones, creating pockets of light for adventurer''s to see the surroundings as they descended to the next floor. Already, Lethe had an idea of what he wanted to accomplish for his third floor. Given that he did not have any other mobs yet, he hoped to truly challenge any parties that were able to venture to this point of his dungeon. From the bottom of the stairs, Lethe directly invoked his skills to create a semi-spherical cavernous room without bothering to expand on any of the details for now. He saw that the room that was created with just the template had the luminescent moss as well as drips and drops of water from the stalactites, creating a further haunting ambience. By the time he finished excavating the first room, he felt his connection to the first floor grow constricted, which he assumed to be [Jones and Folks] entering the dungeon once more. Ignoring the party for now, Lethe created a short narrow tunnel, barely wide enough to have 2 standard-sized people to walk abreast, leading directly into his second room. He continued to follow the same pattern for this room and the next tunnel, and further on until he had six rooms created, each leading into the other. Checking the layout of the rooms with his consciousness, Lethe compared it to a sinewy snake. Each of the tunnels leading to the next room were not directly at the other side of the room but rather either on the left or right walls from the entrance to it. This resulted in a curving "S-shaped" layout of these 6 rooms. At the 6th room, he created a longer tunnel, which then started to branch off into 3 directions. At the end of each of the paths, he created another room, with a total of 9 rooms created for his 3rd floor so far. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Lethe left the central room of the branching paths alone and instead created 2 tunnels from the branching rooms. He left the layout of the tunnels the same as earlier in the floor, both of the tunnels leading into another room and finally another tunnel joining each of them together. At the middle of the tunnel that joined the rooms, he expanded it into a short path and created another room. Each of the rooms from this point on, he made sure to make them larger from the ones he made previously, keeping the area cost overall the same size by further narrowing the tunnels. Creating a further four rooms with short paths between each other, Lethe finished creating 16 rooms in total. At that point though, he felt a large pressure descend on him, which he now realized would be exhaustion. He couldn''t continue to create, not for the rest of day at least. He knew he still had areas he could expand into, but his mental muscles were too exhausted. Spreading his consciousness to cover the half-finished 3rd floor, Lethe invoked the cavernous template to all of them and decided to keep the template running instead of stopping it after once pass. The pressure this caused was much lower than actively expanding his consciousness and designating rooms, so he was able to relax while he thought over what he would occupy his third floor with. Lethe wanted the third floor to be a genuine challenge, one where any party of the appropriate level wouldn''t be able to leave within a day. He wanted to live up to the moniker of [Challenging] and perhaps, with this floor he would be able to unlock another sub-trait. Chapter 13: Exhaustion - Skills and Perks
Chapter 13: Exhaustion - Skills and Perks Lethe continued to watch the template shifting and changing the patterns of his 3rd floor. Each of the rooms started to have longer moss, of both the luminescent and non-luminescent kind, growing and expanding, covering the walls with pockets of light. Vines started to sink and curve the rapidly growing outcrops of stalagmites and stalactites, further sinking the ambience of the rooms to represent the depths of the earth. It seemed that as his number of floors increased, the current template he had would alter and augment the surroundings according to depth. So far, he was around 20 meters underground, his first floor taking up most of the middle of the small hill, the second floor taking the base of the hill, and all of his third floor being underground. Granted, he wouldn''t have been able to create as many rooms as he already had for his third floor if it wasn''t underground, so Lethe considered that a solid plus. He decided to continue to leave the template running and focused back on to his first floor, and witnessed a very surprising twist. According to his subconscious that was monitoring the party, [Jones and Folks] had already finished 3 normal runs for the day. They were currently on their 4th run, and each member of the party looked as if they would sink into the earth from fatigue. They were currently fighting the lone [Stone Slime 1] in the first tunnel, and their [Shieldbearer] was barely able to block its attacks. Lethe knew for a fact that his mobs grew marginally stronger with his increase in levels, but it should have barely impacted the now Level 7 [Shieldbearer]''s aptitude to defend. The others were also sluggish. Both the [Acolyte] and the [Hedge Mage] were barely able to keep their eyes open, the [Tracker] wasn''t aiming as well as he used to, hitting his mark most of the time but sometimes missing his shot outright, and the [Skirmisher] was only using a single shortsword instead of his usual two. Lethe was baffled by their current conditions. He couldn''t imagine how, who, or what led to the party becoming so...pathetic. At least, compared to what he had seen of their coordination and alertness before. Before being disappointed in them though, Lethe wanted to wait and figure out what had happened. Soon enough, the party had brought down the [Stone Slime]. As soon as the slime started to deflate and dissolve into the ground of the cave, the [Shieldbearer] just sat down in the middle of the floor. "We can''t do this no-more Jones. We''ll risk our lives with the next room if we keep on goin''." the [Shieldbearer] said, leaning against the wall of the tunnel. "We''ve been going at this non-stop for too long. We need ta rest." he finished. The [Acolyte] continued to stand there, seemingly in deep thought. After a minute or so of silence, he spoke up. "Y''all are right. We should be able ta get Level 8 with the 3 runs and these mobs we did, so let''s pack up. We''ll rest up for the night and come back bring an'' early to take on the next section, yeah?" As if energized by the thought, the rest of the party enthusiastically nodded and started to head out. Realizing what had happened, Lethe took a moment to himself to think. The group had been going through at least 4, and once 5 runs, a day since the first day they turned back. The exhaustion from so many fights must have reached the breaking point, leading to their current performance. Feeling exhausted himself, Lethe watched as the group made their way back through the tunnel and out of the dungeon. As usual, after each of them left once, they returned, gave a small bow, and went out of the dungeon once more.
[Ding! Tribute XP received from party [Jones and Folks]]
[119 XP received!] [XP 142/400]
Banking the XP, Lethe decided to rest as well. He still had a lot of work left to do for his third floor and he also wanted to be of a fresh mind when the party returned for their run tomorrow, hoping that they would be refreshed and ready to face his challenges. ------ Jones and his brother''s were trudging down from the dungeon entrance, the sun quickly setting behind their backs. For the past couple of days, they had pushed themselves to complete over 10 runs of the dungeon upto the second room, the exhaustion of concentrating for long hours culminating finally into what they had become now, barely able to move, their arms and legs as if made of lead, and a subdued aura of exhaustion wafting out from each of them. Regardless of how exhausted they were though, the party had reached their goal. Each of them had just now received a total of 214 XP, enough to increase their level to 8, granting them their next set of perks and skills. As the group settled around the campsite, Jones went ahead and increased his level. A burst of energy went through his body as he reached the threshold, allowing him to breathe easier and feel stronger than before. Leveling up didn''t refresh his exhaustion though, just unlocked more of their bodies potential. And with that potential, he had unlocked his 4th skill and second perk from his [Acolyte] class. Listing out his [Class] list, Jones went over the new skill and perk.
[Class: Acolyte]
[Skills]
[Mend | Instant Touch Divine | Heal a small amount of HP and injuries through touch. Multiple casts compound effects.]
[Perks]
[Devoted | Your mind is devoted to the deities. Skills focused on the divine have increased potency.] [Path of the Priest 1 - Steadfast | Your heart is focused on the deities. Obstacles in your way are easier to overcome. Enhances willpower.]
Reviewing his new skill, [Radiance], Jones was able to let go of a long held burden. Being the healer for his party, he understood early on that he shouldn''t be attacking. Yet, not being able to help his brothers in bringing down their foes had always disgruntled him. Finally, he had a spell that he could use offensively. On the other hand, his new perk confused him. He had listened to some gossip while they were in the outpost and most people had mentioned that [Perks] tend to be more confusing to understand but work as a guide in a way. He had initially thought nothing of it, as his first [Perk] seemed to be fairly straightforward. Seeing the new one though, he now understood why people got confused. Deciding to investigate what the others received, Jones looked at the rest of his party and saw that they were done with their XP distribution as well. "I''m guessin'' y''all got your new skill and perk, yeah?" he asked. Receiving nods and affirmative grunts in return, he shared his class list with the others and asked the rest to do the same so that they could review their combat potential.
[Class: Shieldbearer]The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
[Skills]
[Block Stance | Stance Physical | Use your shield or weapon to block attacks, reducing the amount of force received. Increases enmity.]
[Perks]
[Sword and Board | Through the use of a sword and shield for combat, you have grown familiar with stances and footwork to enable greater movement and steadier stances.]
[Class: Skirmisher]
[Skills]
[Snake Stance | Stance Physical | Use bladed weapons to pierce and gouge, moderate increase to piercing damage and evasive footwork]
[Perks]
[Dual wield | You are able to wield two weapons independently of each other, allowing greater coordination and fluidity to actions.]
[Class: Hedge Mage]
[Skills]
[Perks]
[Class: Tracker]
[Skills]
[Track | Action Physical | Track an object, mark, or scent.] [Power shot | Channel Physical | Channel for 2 seconds before shooting, dealing moderate physical ranged damage.] [Jump | Action Physical | Maneuverability through obstacles and height when jumping increased. Physical ability and weight determines potency.] [Split shot | Instant Ranged Physical | Split your arrows (or other ranged weapon) into two. Does not duplicate weapons. Split arrow (or weapon) deals moderate force damage. Original arrow (or weapon) deals moderate damage.]
[Perks]
[Survival | You are more easily able to survive in hostile conditions.] [Path of the Ranger 1 - Hunt | Targets marked by you will receive additional mild force damage from any type of physical attacks.]
Each of their new perks seem to be indicative of the direction their class was heading. For himself, he could see that he would develop into a [Priest]-like class. For George, the big guy looked to be heading towards a [Knight]-like class, and [Rogue]-like for James. Seeing John''s perk did surprise him as he had thought that the guy would be heading towards [Mage], not [Wizard], the more scholarly of the magic-based classes. Same for Harry. He had thought the guy would be heading towards [Archer] and not [Ranger], which is more specialized in survival and hunting than shooting a bow well. Regardless, the new level gave all of them a large boost to their combat potential. Their skill sets were overall more fleshed out and their increased inherent stats from being a higher level made them much stronger. Finally, [Jones and Folks] are ready to continue their delve into the depths of this dungeon. Chapter 14: Clearing the obstacle
Chapter 14: Clearing the obstacle The morning sun brought with it a fresh breeze. The previously sweltering heat of the forest had lessened over the week with the passing of the season towards the end of year. The now refreshed dungeon core watched as his favorite, and only, group of adventurer''s made their way towards his entrance. It was evident to Lethe now that the group needed the rest from yesterday. Already, their posture and ambience was much improved, each of them carrying a confident gait to their steps. As the members of the group entered the dungeon, the formation around them sprang up almost automatically. Lethe, being the ever helpful dungeon, and also bored of them just grinding every day, decided to give them a helping hand. Invoking his almost-forgotten [Boons] skill, he reinstated the [Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions] on the group, slightly startling them while they were getting into formation.
[Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions | You and your party members have demonstrated a trust that is rare to find in this world, although much more expected in adventurer''s than mercenaries. Grants increased effectiveness in working together with your party members.]
Reading the newly received boon, the group of brothers set their shoulders and headed into the dungeon. Similar to their previous 10+ runs over the past few days, they had zero problems clearing the first room. The group''s coordination had already been great and now being boosted by the boon and higher level, the 3 [Acid Slime]s were barely able to hold them off for a minute. Heading into the tunnel, and then the second room, the group continued to steamroll through the mobs. In less than 30 minutes, the group was standing on the ledge leading into the second tunnel and their greatest obstacle in the delve. The rank 3 [Stone Slime] continued to take up almost all of the tunnel, leaving barely enough space for anyone to squeeze through on either side. Its floating shield, stone-like membrane , and slowly undulating core, exerting the pressure of its higher rank on the group. Looking at their adversary, the party didn''t bother to make any new plans. The group had apparently already discussed what they would do, and as they readied their weapons, the [Shieldbearer] started walking towards the slime, his group close behind him. He stood there, ready and waiting, the rest of the party close enough to be able to support him. As soon as he saw that the shield was nearer to the base and front of the slime, the tank started running and then almost instantly doubled his speed, using [Rush] to close the distance between himself and the slime, instantly ramming his own shield into the side of floating one, using [Bash] to double the effect. Due to the nature of the floating shield itself, even though it was far stronger than what the [Shieldbearer] had equipped, the angle at which he finished his rush, and the subsequent [Bash] the shield was knocked to the side and away from the slime until a musical ''snap'' caused it to clatter to the ground, the magic and tether to the slime itself broken due to simple distance. Examining this opening move, Lethe knew that what the [Shieldbearer] had done was not an easy feat to accomplish. As the dungeon core had been focusing on the man, he was able to see that the man had used two skills in conjunction as well as simply physics to cause this effect. As soon as the shield was untethered from the [Stone Slime], without it even being able to start any form of counter-attack, the rest of the group started throwing their ranged attacks while the [Skirmisher] dashed through the side of the occupied slime and reached its back. Before being bombarded by the multiple ranged attacks, the [Stone Slime] shuddered as its tether snapped, rolling forward and closer to the [Shieldbearer]. As it got closer, part of its membrane gathered and solidified into a stone-like fist, battering the tank on its shield. When the ranged attacks reached it, a silent howl and wave ran across the slime, chips of stone blasted off of its body. Bracing himself behind the shield, the [Shieldbearer] continued to throw in attacks with his sword whenever the fist retracted. Before another volley could reach the slime however, Lethe saw that the [Skirmisher] was behind it and plunged both of his short swords with a [Backstab], resulting in the slime pausing its attacks for a second while waves undulated across its stony membrane. During such a fast start of the battle though, one second was enough for another volley to engulf the slime. Looking at his mob, Lethe now realized that anatomically, slimes did have a back. The small cores that the slimes had were rather flat, with a circular face on one side, usually the one facing the party. It seemed that the party had realized this minor anatomical aspect of the slimes throughout the past few days and leveraged that into allowing their [Skirmisher] to use a skill on it. Large chips of stone started to fall off of the slime while the area where it was stabbed, presumably its back, had acidic liquid oozing out. The [Skirmisher] quickly jumped back and started shredding into it with piercing blows. At the front, everytime the [Tracker] shot an arrow, it would split and deeply embed themselves into the slime. Lethe noticed that one of the arrows was real. The other one, seemingly made out of some form of mana, started dissipating soon after it penetrated the membrane, while the physical arrow penetrated deeper. A sudden flash of light from the [Acolyte], who had so far been chanting under his breath, launched from the top of his palms towards the mob. As the glowing orb of light reached the stony membrane, it split apart the area, the stone seemingly turning into glowing motes of light. Finally, the [Hedge Mage] continued to pepper the slime with blasts of [Flare], one out of every 3 to 4 casts of the spell seemingly dealing more damage. While the party kept attacking the rank 3 [Stone Slime], the mob itself kept battering the [Shieldbearer]. Initially, it had been using one stone fist to hammer the man into the ground. Now, 4 sets of stone-fists continued to pummel the tank, leaving him absolutely no room to continue attacking. Lethe could see chips of wood flying out of the square wooden shield with each hit, the durability of the shield steadily decreasing. On another angle, the spectating dungeon core saw that the [Skirmisher] had also attracted the attention of the slime, with similar stone-fists occasionally springing out to attack the lithe fighter. As the encounter kept progressing, the [Shieldbearer] started being pushed back towards the ranged group eventually having to set his stance barely a meter from the [Acolyte]. This, however, caused the man to endure the strikes through his stance and shield arm, and Lethe noted that underneath his leather armor, the skin of his armor started to crack and bleed. He wasn''t able to check the condition of the man''s bones, but he could guess that it was not doing well. Thankfully, the [Acolyte] was able to rush up and place his hands on the man''s back, chanting under his breath. A green glow started to surround the arm of the [Shieldbearer], healing the damage but not outpacing it. Slowly, the encounter turned into a battle of attrition. The [Acolyte] was able to heal effectively and keep the [Shieldbearer] going; however, the damage from the multitude of stone fists was taking a toll on the man. The damage dealers on the other hand, seeing the situation the fight had turned into, increased their pace, concentrating on attacking faster and harder. Recklessly, the [Skirmisher] tried to use the same skill it had earlier and [Backstab] the slime. However, a stone fist exited to the side and flew towards the fighter. Seemingly caught between continuing his attack or retreating, the [Skirmisher] tightened his fists around his swords and continued, plunging the weapons into the stony membrane, penetrating the exterior. Before he could retreat though, the attack from the [Stone Slime] had arrived. Twisting his body, the [Skirmisher] was barely able to avoid being hit in a vital area and was knocked on the shoulder, flying back and crashing against the walls of the tunnel. Yet, due to the recklessness, the slime had paused once more for a second, allowing the healer and tank to recover. Before the attacks from the monster could continue, a bright glow spread from the [Acolyte] into the [Shieldbearer], restoring him, before the tank held out his sword and once more rushed towards the slime, piercing the slime once more. Before he could get attacked, he bashed the slime with his shield, slightly knocking it back and retreated towards his previous position where he could get healed. Chapter 15: Boss Battle!!!
Chapter 15: Boss Battle!!! As the victorious party settled down from their celebration, Lethe heard the [Acolyte] lightly reminding the group, "Y''all know we''re in a dungeon right?" And with that, the atmosphere instantly became subdued. As the [Skirmisher] grabbed the coins on the ground and dumped it in the small bag attached to his belt, the [Shieldbearer] went forward and picked up the dropped [Stone Shield]. "Oy, Jones. This shield here is great! Let Me use it, that old one can barely hang on." he remarked, pointing at the almost broken, splintered, and loose shield he was still somehow carrying. With a nod and a wave from the [Acolyte], Lethe saw as he dropped the wooden shield and equipped his new stone shield. The equipment itself was far more similar to a buckler than his previous wooden targe. It was hexagonal in shape, with smooth rounded edges and an area at the back for an arm to slide through. As the man started to fiddle with the item, shifting his stance and balancing on his heels, the rest of the group gathered together. Soon after, the composure of the group returned and they started to head farther into the final room. As they came upon the exit, their view of the area below was covered by the rolling vines hanging from the edge. Pushing aside a few of them, the group looked over and saw a darkened cavern with large glowing pools of acid, stacks of stalagmites at the edges of the chamber, and a small alcove at the back. Understanding that they would have to once more scale down using the natural ropes, the group fastened their equipment and started to shimmy down, each man using a separate vine. While descending, Lethe could see that the whole party was tense, afraid of another ambush similar to the previous room, their foreheads slicked with sweat. He felt their heart rate increase as they kept on descending and finally landed on the far southern end of the pool, with the small alcove he had made for the treasure chest towards the north. Huddling together and grasping their weapons for a few minutes, the group finally relented their guard seeing nothing attack them. "This looks like one of em puzzle rooms, Jonesy, ya know those the [Receptionist] had mentioned." the [Hedge Mage] guessed, seeing no active enemies. "That might be it. Still, let''s try not to let our guard down too much, still a dungeon we''re in." Jones, the [Acolyte], replied. "I think that''s where we need to get to boys." he said, pointing at the alcove at the back. "Careful with yer steps, Harry, I want ya to go first, then George , then me, John, and James, watch our rears." he ordered. Another round of "Ayes" followed and the [Tracker] led the way for the group as he advanced across the precarious steps lining the large acid pool. Lethe watched as with each step, the man carefully judged the weight and area, pointing out how to step on them to the others standing by as he made his way across the obstacle fluidly. ------ Jones had been on edge ever since they climbed down those blasted vines into this room. He had thought that they would be ambushed or have an inkling of where the mob was, but all he could make out were the bubbling pools of acid that made up the cavern. The stench and vapors of the dangerous substance in these pools had made it evident that anything dropping into them would almost instantly be eaten up by the corrosive liquid. The weapons they had bought from the outpost were rickety and would most likely only be able to survive a few more encounters. His own staff as well as John''s wand were doing fairly well compared to the others, seeing as they weren''t being used physically. However, James''s daggers, George''s sword, and previous shield, and Harry''s bow had seen better days. Thankfully, they were all able to make the most of the durability the equipment had with religious repairs and maintenance throughout their use, allowing them to extend the lifespan of the cheap weapons. Their armor on the other hand, other than George''s, was doing much better, although still being relatively cheap in quality. The [Leatherworker] at the outpost was known for his quality gear, and so none of them had to worry about the leathers and clothing they wore falling apart. Looking at the corrosive pool ahead of him though, Jones somehow felt that their equipment would soon be on their way to the dump pile. As he watched Harry, their intrepid [Tracker], make his way across the precarious ledges through the pool he couldn''t help but remember the way this dungeon had so far worked. He was expecting, waiting, for an ambush, for something to happen. When Harry was around 80% of the way there, Jones noticed that he might have found something in that hole in the wall. He watched as Harry signed to him that there was an ''enemy'' and ''opportunity'' ahead, requesting to continue and take care of the enemy. Not knowing exactly what he meant but believing in the man''s threat assessment, Jones signed back and agreed to his request. As soon as he received the signal, the [Tracker[ steadied his ground, readied his bow and arrow, and before any hesitation could sink into his mind shot at the as of yet unseen enemy, which now that Jones thought about, was probably a slime. Soon after, he watched as the man drew back another arrow and shot it around the same area and started to head back towards his group, carefully making his way back through the precarious footing, occasionally shooting an arrow towards, what now was evident for Jones as they got closer, was an [Acid Slime]. The rest of the party returned to their formation, waiting for the man to return. As the man stepped back onto shore and took his position behind the party, George met the oncoming monster with his new shield, swiping at the apex of its most recent jump, which it presumably made in an attempt to cross the distance. The [Acid Slime] was swiped, blocked, and [Bashed] towards the side of the pool by their tank, and before it could do anything further, a quick [Flare] and another arrow sent it to its doom. Before any of them could relax however, the chamber suddenly started shaking, loose debris falling from the ceiling into the room, the pools of corrosive liquid boiling and bubbling. As a group, the party stared at the pools as a large shape emerged from the center. "We need to back up! Move! Move!", Jones yelled over the din of boiling water, urging the rest. As the party started to retreat towards the far end of the room, they were witness to the largest monster that they had ever seen emerging from the depths. A large 5 meter tall monstrosity of a slime with green viscous ooze and two cores floating inside of it, its skin giving off steam as the debris that fell melted into sludge, before eventually being consumed by the monstrous glob of acid. "Use ranged attacks as much as possible, it''s skin is too dangerous to get close! George, make sure to only try to block, we''ll take care of the damage!" he yelled, after which George instantly nodded and firmed his stance. "James, I want you to only attack when you get a chance for a [Backstab], otherwise stay the heck away from it, The rest of you, let loose, we have a [Boss] to kill!!" he finished, shooting a searing ball of [Radiance] from the top of his staff towards the now unveiled [Mutated Acid Slime 4]. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Jones''s attack was the precursor for the initiation of the battle, as soon enough a [Focus] enhanced [Flare] and [Split Shot] followed his blast of light towards the giant mob, sinking into its almost half a meter thick membrane, barely able to wound the monster. Before the group could do anything further, the whole 5 meter tall [Acid Slime] started to convulse and wobble, before two gelatinous tentacles burst forth from its sides, their size almost twice as large as George''s shield, before rocketing towards their lone tank. As he watched the massive clubs of liquid acid head towards him, George lifted his shield up to cover most of his body, squaring his shoulders, and holding his stance loose enough to move out of the way when he could. Not a second sooner did he feel the impact from the club-like appendage slam against him, and before the attack could pound him into the ground, [Shieldbearer] shifted his weight to the side, getting knocked back a couple feet but able to remain standing. Immediately afterwards, the second appendage flew towards him from the side, barely giving him time to shift his shield to his right to take the hit, knocking him up into the air back towards the group. As their tank kept the monster distracted, the others continued to pile on, slowly spreading out and away from the fast melee. Taking his chance, Jones watched as James was able to sneak up towards the back of the [Acid Slime] and in a repeat of their previous encounter, proceeded to [Backstab] the monster. As soon as the daggers made contact with the thick membrane, the edges started to visibly melt and soften. Not wanting for his only weapons to get vaporized, James pushed the daggers in, finishing his skill, and instantly using [Retreat], allowing him to pull the now corrosion-tipped blades from the slime. Sensing the damage, the party were able to witness the slime seizing for almost one second before another set of club-like appendages grew out of its body, this time chasing the fast retreating [Skirmisher]. Understanding that if they didn''t do anything to distract the mob, James would mostly be hit without any form of protection, Jones yelled at their [Hedge Mage], "Use [Force] on those daggers! James, just parry and dodge!" Somehow, even through the sounds of battle, of gelatinous limbs smashing against the stone, of varieties of floor and shield, and the blood boiling in his ear, James was able to hear the instructions. He stopped trying to run away and waited for the limbs to get closer, dodging towards the left, away from the pools of acid, making the club hit the cavern floor. Before he could get his bearings any further, he saw that his weapons were glowing with a blue hue, and knowing what John had just cast on them, he parried the next limb to the side. The slime, as if understanding that he wouldn''t be able to cause any meaningful damage to the adventurers, retracted each of its limbs after a few more attempts, and started to convulse. All this while, it continued to be bombarded by arrows as well as shards of flame and light. Seeing that the melee combatants were able to take a break, Jones signaled them to get back into formation before proceeding to cast [Mend] for the bruises and scrapes they inevitably gathered during the encounter so far. Jones watched the slime as it kept on convulsing, its club-like appendages nowhere to be seen and finally rear back, sinking a section of its gelatinous body back into the pools of acid, and witnessed globs of acid appearing like dew-drops on the surface of its membrane. As the number of drops began to multiple, the slime reared back and into itself, as if a spring ready to coil. "Oy Jones. I think it ain''t healing with what it''s doing. Think we should take cover?" Harry inquired, warily watching and preparing another shot. "Yeah...I uh yeah I think we should! Get behind those stalagmites boys!" Their party leader exclaimed, turning around and running behind a set of stalagmites set off against the walls of the cavern. "Time ta hide!" George yelled, diving behind cover as the rest of the group followed their brave healer and tank. ----- Chapter 16: Searing light | Contact Chapter 16: Searing light | Contact Lethe kept watching as the group of adventurers ran for cover, wondering how they had known to do so. Looking at his [Mutated Acid Slime] though, he was able to easily piece together the puzzle. The tiny little dew-drops on the surface of the slime''s body were actually spinning while the slime itself kept shrinking into itself. For the first time in a while, Lethe didn''t care what happened to the little group of adventurers anymore; he was far more excited to see the skill in action. When he had first seen it in his mob list, he had no idea it would take such a long time to gather itself. Perhaps an improvement in the base slime type would improve the lethality of it, as it was somewhat evident that it wouldn''t be able to hit any of the adventurer''s after they took cover. Soon enough, the slime stopped shrinking and without pause, ballooned into its previous mass. The drops of acid that were just before attached to the slime''s body were shot out everywhere, spinning small globs of corrosive fluids, pockmarking the cavern with dots. The speed at which they were shot out was nothing to scoff at either, as the projectiles started to melt through the obstacles that were in its way, albeit much slower after going out the other side. Unfortunately for [Jones and Folks], that meant their hastily found shelters were not enough for them to escape unscathed from the massive attack. As the [Acid Rain] dissolved the stones, rock, and various other substances of the cavern, steam began to rise, floating into the cavern, creating a sizable mist. Alongside the mist, groans and yelps of pain emerged from almost all of the party members. Surprisingly, the only one unaffected was the [Shieldbearer], not because of any skill in his part, Lethe observed, but simply due to luck. The group of rocky pillars he decided to shelter behind were closely knit together, and most of the acid was unable to even pass through the stone. In contrast, their only healer, seemed to be faring the worst, mostly due to his hiding spot not giving him enough cover and also poking his head out of cover while the skill was ongoing. The man now had burns on his right cheek, a couple of spots on his arms, and various other places, judging by the state of his disheveled robes. The rest of the party were hit, each of them having a couple of burns on their backs or thighs, and the actual damage seemed to be limited. Looking at the scene in front of him though, Lethe guessed that the primary damage from this skill came from difficulty in avoiding the area of effect and the agonizing burns, which also seemed to be particularly hard to heal, evidenced by the number of [Mend]s the [Acolyte] has had to cast on himself. Overall though, Lethe was pleased with what he had seen. This was a boss fight that he could get behind since it didn''t seem to be as difficult as he had thought it might be but still had its dangers. He could easily see another party reacting much more different to the set of moves the [Mutated Acid Slime] had unleashed, where they were more than likely to charge in to attack rather than use caution and hide. Removing himself from his fantasies, for now, Lethe once more focused on the group, who were already leaving their cover and heading back towards the fight, the [Shieldbearer] once more drawing the monster''s attention with an attack followed by a sizeable [Bash] with his shield, actually knocking back the gelatinous monster a few feet. As horrible as acid burns were, Jones thought they were actually quite lucky to have made it out of that attack as well as they did. The cavern itself was now pockmarked by coin-sized holes from the massive AoE skill the boss had presumably released and the fact that they were all actually still alive was a blessing in itself. As the battle played out, the healer himself continued to shoot sporadic [Radiance]s towards the mob, while healing the party, except for George, of the burns. They would definitely have to upgrade from their crappy equipment once they were back at the outpost. Soon enough, the rest of the party was ready to start dishing out damage once more, although, Jones noted, it seemed that they had passed a threshold. The [Acid Slime], which had previously been content in using 2 massive club-like appendages to crush their valiant tank, had upgraded to its presumably, hopefully, the maximum number of limbs of 4, each pair working in conjunction to keep George pinned and taking bruises one after the other. The man would probably be all black and blue after this encounter, although whether they would survive it was still up in the air. The [Acid Slime] itself had shrunken somewhat, to around 4 meters in size after another opportune [Backstab] from James, who was currently trying his best to aid George in distracting the gelatinous appendages from making him into a paste. Jones knew that if they didn''t pick up their damage per second, they were more likely to exhaust themselves to early death than conquer this boss. "Boys, Ima start Plan B-eaaam hahaha!! I''m gonna start searing this oversized pudding, should give y''all enough time to attack it all ya want, let''s bring it down!" Jones yelled, feeling his blood boil in his ears in anticipation. Without bothering to make sure if everyone heard him or not, Jones focused on his skills and started to chant a [Prayer] before overlapping it with the lines for [Radiance]. As his chant reached the crescendo, a beam of searing white light escaped from the end of his staff, as if the gods themselves were smiting down the massive jelly. The beam traveled from the end of his staff, burning and tearing into the slime''s membrane, digging into its gooey insides while Jones himself felt his mana pool draining with each second he continued to maintain the cast. While he had to keep the majority of his focus on maintaining the spell, Jones was able to witness the appendages of the slime moving at a now much more glacial pace, as if the intelligence controlling it was distracted, giving the melee combatants of his party enough time to get past the limbs and start attacking the body. Each slash, blast, stab, bash, and puncture seemed to make the slime shrink, and before long, it was small enough for Jones''s beam of light to penetrate one of the floating cores and shoot out of the other end of the slime before dissipating. Jones himself, seeing that a core had been destroyed, was unable to maintain his focus anymore, nor the cost from his pool, and let the chant dissipate. Leaning against a column of rock, he puffed and panted, as if he had walked a marathon alongside a growing headache he knew he would have to face sooner rather than later from using so much mana at once. As for the boss itself, with one of its cores destroyed, it seemed to sink back in on itself in fear, shrinking far quicker with every attack. As Jones kept observing the fight, now reduced to a spectator due to his absence of resources, he noted that the monster seemed to be on its last legs, now less than a quarter of its original size. Jones had never heard of a slime with two cores before, but it seemed that there wasn''t anything too special about them other than its ability to attack multiple people; although that skill it had used in the middle to rain acid everywhere was intimidating; however, he did notice that the slime seemed more solid than before, albeit smaller. Before he could continue his line of thought though, he saw James lunge in for a [Double Fang], intending to finish off the mob, and a shred of fear crossed his mind. George gave a slight nod to him, continuing to carry James over to the spot he indicated. "Ya know, we prolly should''ve--"
[Greetings [Jones and Folks]! I am Lethe, the [Core] for this dungeon!]
[You all have been splendid in getting this far, have shown excellent coordination with your brothers, and the caution necessary to clear my first floor!] [As a reward to you all, I will let you all know a little secret! The chest at the end of this floor contains a surprise. Be quick on your feet and keep your eyes out, don''t let IT get away!]