《Napoleonic Dungeon》 Prologue: A Goddesss Creation Seated upon her throne, the goddess exudes an air of boredom, her head resting on her left hand. Absentmindedly, her right hand sifts through a list of souls, swiftly skimming each one in an earnest search for a soul suited to become a new dungeon core¡ªsomething unique and captivating. Since the inception of the world, she has been tirelessly crafting and populating it with dungeons, each meticulously tailored to its environment. As an added touch, she bestows sentience upon every dungeon, even if the inhabitants of the world remain oblivious. After all, these dungeons are her cherished creations, akin to her children. As such she embarked on a new challenge. Create a dungeon using a reincarnated soul. The goddess had never tried it before, so she ensured to make this dungeon as unique as possible. It was clear to the goddess that it would be a long while before she found a soul that would fit her needs. In spite of this the goddess continued with this endeavor determined to see it through, even if it takes a millennia to find them it matters not to her. ¡°Boring¡­ too generic¡­ hmm, unsuitable.¡± The goddess says, as she swipes the souls to the left, the goddess frowned at the lack of suitable souls, but she supposed that the specific characteristics she''s looking for in a soul would massively narrow down the list. It took a couple more untold hours until she found a soul that fit her desired characteristics. The goddess smiled. ¡°Look at what we have here.¡± She muttered, pulling the soul¡¯s profile and giving it a look over.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Gender: Female Karma: 1000 (Eligible for reincarnation) Age: 26 Class: Unknown Job(Prior to cause of death): History Professor. Interests: Video Games, History, Television, Gardening, Teaching. Cause of Death: Rescuing younger sister from a burning building. System Notes: This soul seems to have a deep fascination with history relating to the Napoleonic Wars.
"Fufu, I have found the soul that fits within my criteria. I can finally begin to design a dungeon around this, and as an extra I''ll throw in her fascination," the goddess remarked with a twinkle in her eye. The goddess created an empty Dungeon Core and began pouring some of her power into it, in which the Core began emitting a soft blue glow. "Yes, this is perfect. She''ll make for a unique dungeon, undoubtedly one of a kind. Oh I can''t wait to see the end result!" With that, the goddess stood up, cradled the soul, and strolled toward the center of the room, stopping just short of the center. She levitated the soul a few inches away from her, and the soul was engulfed in a bright flash of light, which lasted for a second, until the light dissipated and the soul had vanished. The goddess smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be watching from time to time, but for now I¡¯ll be off.¡± The goddess said, before making a deep sigh, ¡°I need to design another dungeon in the Maryura continent to replace one that got destroyed.¡± And the goddess sat back on her throne. Already starting the foundations for her next Dungeon Core. Why must these mortals kill her creations? Guess she''ll never know. Chapter 1: Settling In Ugh what happened? I look around my surroundings, it''s an empty gray room, there¡¯s a glowing blue orb floating above a pedestal. I don¡¯t have a body anymore, it''s very clear to see, and I somehow instinctively know the dimensions of this dull gray room, which if they¡¯re not wrong is a 5x5 room. Wait! The burning apartment! It¡¯s obvious that I died, but my sister! Oh god I hope she¡¯s safe and okay. I rushed to her apartment, the fire was devastating, spreading rapidly to nearby units. It happened so fast. First, a panicked call from my sister, and suddenly in the next moment, I found myself coughing heavily, carrying her unconscious body as the smoke and heat escalated. Then I fell unconscious right as firefighters began rushing in. That''s right, I remember now, it happened while I was in the middle of class, my personal phone rang on my desk. Picking it up, I heard the desperate voice from my sister as well as the noticeable crackling of a raging fire occurring in the background. I placed two in two together and rushed out. No use in worrying over it now, I¡¯ll just hope that she made it out ok, but I shall pray for her safety. Well alrighty then, if I reincarnated then what did I reincarnate as? A ghost maybe? My musings were interrupted when a blue screen appeared in front of me, which almost made me jump¡­ almost¡­ alright it jumpscared me and I even screamed. Fortunately nobody heard it¡­ I hope so, anyway I read what the blue screen says.
Hello! Starting today, you are starting your life as a Dungeon Core, the purpose of a dungeon depends on what the core wants, as such dungeons vary, some focus on killing, some on not, while others find a balance in between, it''s all up to you! But, for now since you¡¯re a relatively young dungeon, all contact with the outside world is blocked until you at least have one floor with one puzzle, one trap, and one creature. The Dungeon System shall assist you in whatever task you need. For starters please say status.
Wow, so I¡¯m a ¡®dungeon core¡¯ this is unlike any previous reincarnation stories i¡¯ve read, but at least i¡¯m not slime eh. Ok that was funny when I thought about it, anyways. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Undetermined Exp Req: 0/100 Level 1 Mana: 20/20 Mana Regen: 5 per hour Floors: 0/5 Titles: None
Most of these are self explanatory such as mana or levels, assuming that I need to get one hundred xp in order to level up, and if I am a dungeon, and if it''s anything like in video games then floors are related to how many levels one must go through in a video game dungeon, yep pretty self explanatory. Now the question is how do I make a floor? Let''s ask the Dungeon System. Wait, the blue screen continues on.
Once you''re finished checking your stats. Navigate to a tab labeled ¡®Floors¡¯, keep in mind that each floor is 10x10x10x10x5* grid dimensions and will cost mana to extend beyond it. Once there you must simply choose a theme. You can decorate, build and add as many features to floors as you¡¯d like, as long as you have the mana to spend, with buildings and decorations that don¡¯t stick to the theme costs twice as much, and to check the floor capacity navigate to the subtabs in the floors tab. Now to summon a creature simply navigate to a tab labeled ¡®Creatures¡¯. Once there you can choose from a list of creatures or alternatively you can design one yourself, you can summon as many creatures as you want in a floor, granted you have the mana and the floor capacity to support them.
Wait tabs? What ta-oh I didn¡¯t notice them at first but apparently in the top right corner of my vision the tabs that the system mentioned were there. I navigated over to the floors tab.
Select a theme for Floor 1: Forest Farmland Plains
Not many choices huh? I guess I¡¯ll get more as I level up. As for the choices? Well I picked farmland, purely because I want the first thing adventurers to see when they first enter is something cozy and then BAM! They won¡¯t know what¡¯ll hit them. Well farms are cozy right? My grandfather on my dad¡¯s side seems to think so. Hovering over the farm option the description reads: A Floor dotted with wheat fields, farmhouses and barns, a perfect environment for farmers. This floor has a capacity of 32 creatures. The moment I exit the tab the room changes, well the floor, if I¡¯m being technical, is gone. The gray room was replaced with flat lands dotted with wheat fields with occasional farmhouses and barns, as well as light forests. I could still feel my core and its room having been moved back to the far end. Now as for how big? Well I estimate that it would take about 23 minutes for a party of four to walk from the entrance to what I have dubbed as the Core room. Pretty good so far, now onto creatures. Navigating to the tab I¡¯m greeted with a perplexing list.
Creatures: Farmer: 5 Mana Armed Farmer: 10 Mana Guard Donkey: 10 Mana Herd Dog: 5 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
Ok the first four make sense, but hold up, wait a minute, back up something is not right with the last five, if I¡¯m in a fantasy land then there¡¯s no way I¡¯m able to summon creatures from the period of history that I¡¯ve been interested in, enough for me to be a history professor, right? There''s only one way to find out. At least the militia regiments are labeled as such, so I¡¯m guessing that line infantry will be separated into their section. Which I¡¯m honestly thankful for, since there were so many regiments between these five major nations, not to mention the various minor nations that participated. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Hovering over the French National Guard it¡¯s description reads: The National Guard are armed militias, but more like an armed police force, intended to maintain public order, as such against an armed military the National Guard will not be expected hold out, however as dungeon creatures they shall fight till the last. Formed in 1789 as a result of ¡°la Grande Peur¡± or the ¡°Great Fear¡±. Failed harvests led to unrest and the National Assembly needed a police force. To be honest, I already knew most of this information, except the added part about dungeons. Wait! Do people actually die? And also how do I earn xp? System please answer!
People do not die inside of dungeons, instead they are barred from entry for one week, however while all wounds heal they will still feel the injuries for this duration. Certain outsiders may wish for more challenge when venturing inside dungeons as such they¡¯ll request Permadeath. In Permadeath mode all creatures are twice their level, additionally non-hostile creatures will become hostile, puzzles are harder, and some traps become unavoidable. If an outsider dies during Permadeath then they are barred from entry permanently, however the loot is ten times better. The only exception to this are outsiders who wish to harm the Dungeon Core in any way possible, upon entry the dungeon enters Permadeath mode regardless if Permadeath mode has been unlocked, and these outsiders are killed then they¡¯re dead permanently. Dungeons unlock Permadeath mode after they¡¯ve placed their first boss floor at floor ten. All outsiders get to keep any loot collected at the time of death. To earn xp outsiders must die and or beat the dungeon, with bonus xp rewarded if outsiders complete a puzzle regardless if it''s successful or not, and fall for a trap.
Huh, that''s good to know, but enough dallying, time to summon some National Guard, after spending fifteen mana (oof), I watch as a set of twelve National Guardsmen appear before me. Huh? Wait, why are they all girls! I mean I knew they¡¯d be human b-wait a minute why am I complaining about it? Ok moving on, their uniforms consist of a blue jacket adorned with red lapels and cuffs, paired with white trousers. A distinctive touch on the bicornes is the placement of a red, white, and blue cockade on the right side, and a red and white plume that protrudes from the top of their bicornes, above the cockade. To top it all off, on their backs are rucksacks, with a bedroll on top. Their bayoneted muskets, which sit holstered on their left shoulder. In the distance, next to the entrance of my core room sits a military encampment complete with support staff such as cooks and doctors, who are all girls. I spotted the officer, approached me, kneeled and stood back before staring at me. ¡°Madame, we are at your command.¡± I heard her say. I do not want to keep referring to her as her. She needs a name! ¡°Well first, I shall call you Emile, as for what you can do, well not much right now. So for now at least until the entrance opens, just sit tight and do whatever. Also feel free to give everyone names.¡± I instructed Emile. At first upon hearing her name, she saluted and marched back towards her unit and began reiterating my instructions. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Undetermined Exp Req: 0/100 Level 1 Mana: 5/20 Mana Regen: 5 per hour Floors: 1/5 Titles: None
Welp, I¡¯m going to be hemorrhaging mana aren¡¯t I? Well guess I¡¯ll summon a farmer and some cattle, I spotted a farmhouse with animal pens. Spending my remaining mana, I summoned a farmer, as well as two of every farm animal. I told her that I¡¯ll summon additional support, oh and I named her Jane. As for Jane¡¯s appearance, she¡¯s wearing brown trousers with suspenders, and a white shirt, finishing off with a straw hat. Let''s see the floor capacity.
Floors->Floor 1 Theme Farm Capacity: 13/32
Huh, neato! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª It¡¯s been roughly 9 hours since I¡¯ve reincarnated, and since then I¡¯ve added a dirt road that connects the entrance and my Core room, and a day-night cycle, my creatures don¡¯t need sleep, but do need to eat as evidenced by the National Guardswomen gathered around the cooks tent enjoying a hearty meal. I also added a generic pitfall trap at the midpoint of the road. Finishing it off with summoning two more farmers to help Jane out. Bringing floor one¡¯s capacity to 15 out of 32 Now I just need to make a puzzle. Now this puzzle is very simple actually, help the poor farmer fix her carriage wheel as it¡¯s fallen off, the reward will be a key, and five shillings. If the farmer is ignored or killed then the key will be found at the military encampment. This key is one of two keys required to enter the Core room. Now if I¡¯m being honest, this isn¡¯t even a puzzle, but the System considers it a puzzle so I¡¯m not complaining. Status check.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Undetermined Exp Req: 0/100 Level 1 Mana: 17/20 Mana Regen: 5 per hour Floors: 1/5 Traps: 1 Puzzles: 1 Titles: None
Oh it¡¯s added a trap and puzzle counter, neat. I also see that I have enough for another set of militia. I¡¯ll do that before opening the entrance. Creatures!
Creatures: Farmer: 5 Mana Armed Farmer: 10 Mana Guard Donkey: 10 Mana Herd Dog: 5 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana (Non Hostile, passive or domesticated creatures such pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
I think I¡¯ll choose the Prussian Landwehr. Their description reads: Landwehr are soldiers, quite capable at defending their homes. They also serve to quell troublesome civilians, however due to their lack of training they shouldn¡¯t be expected to fight as well. Like before a set of twelve creatures appeared, I say creatures but it¡¯s twelve human girls. Ahem, anyways unlike the National Guard their uniforms consist of a dark blue coat with red collar and cuffs, white trousers, on their backs are a rucksack with a bedroll on top, finishing off with a dark blue shako hat with a red band, an iron cross sits at top front the hat. Though if you ask me their hats look more like a peaked cap than a shako, but I digress. And like before the officer approached, asked for instructions, relayed it back to her unit. I named her Ellen, who unlike the other Landwehr wore a shako with an iron cross at the front. I changed the first key placement so that the key would be randomly placed between the French and Prussian officers. Now the moment of truth.
Would you like to open the entrance?
Yes.
Entrance is now open.
Welp, no going back now. Chapter 2: Discovery It''s been about three days since I opened the entrance, and to be honest with you, I don¡¯t know what I was expecting, since the only thing that entered so far have been a pack of wolves. All of whom were easily dealt with. I did gain thirty xp though. I spruce up the first floor even more, there¡¯s now a small stream that split the floor in half, as well as adding a couple of granaries, and adding more crop varieties. That''s right there¡¯s cabbages, apple orchards, tomatoes, and potatoes, among many others. I¡¯m sure my soldiers appreciated the variety. Oh speaking of soldiers Emile and Ellen had created a plan to post a guard detail at the entrance, one Landwehr and one National Guard. They even built a watchtower and I didn¡¯t even spend any mana on it! Way to go! In that time I maxed out this floor''s creature capacity by summoning three guard donkeys, one armed farmer who I named Helen, and one herd dog. Speaking of Helen she¡¯s wearing the exact same outfit that my other farmers wore, except for she¡¯s armed with a musket. I informed both Emile and Ellen to notify me if anything comes through the entrance as I¡¯ll be off to start on my second floor. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Vonesmy Adventurers Guild office The door bursts open startling Guildmaster Andreas, a wood elf, came in shortly thereafter. Andreas stood up clearly annoyed at such an unannounced entrance. ¡°Volkoth, what is the meaning of this?" Andreas asked, crossing his arms. The wood elf now known as Volkoth, after catching his breath, Spoke. ¡°Sir, I have discovered a new dungeon.¡± Andreas¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Truly? You do not jest?¡± Volkoth nodded. ¡°I had Cast Dungeon Scan and it revealed that the dungeon is really young, only being four days and eight hours old.¡± Andreas was ecstatic. A dungeon was exactly what Vonesmy needed for the local economy to be restarted. Truth be told, ever since the combined Lariz and Ergon embargoes imposed upon the Union of Kurz, times have been tough, businesses closed, trade halted. UoK¡¯s only source of outside trade goods had been our protectorate in Lazogh. Kurz only had one dungeon which is situated east of the city of Kurz known as the Karland Dungeon. Union of Kurz: formed as a Union between Humans, Wood Elves and Dwarves after wining the 5 year long Kurzian War of Independence against the Laziran Empire. The country is run like a direct democracy with members of the three species receiving equal representation in the Grand Council. The inhabitants of the Province of Kurz felt like they were neglected by the Laziran Empire, more specifically from their High Elf monarch who felt no need to develope the Province. This has resulted in rampant poverty, infrastructure decaying, and constantly being on the verge of famine, as such the people of the province banded together and declared independence against the empire. Every city has their own local councils this ensures that the voices of the people are heard from directly. Everyone can and are encouraged to participate in their local council meetings at the end of each week. During these meetings each Local Council debate and vote for Local Agendas, then representatives from the Local Councils are sent to Kurz to vote for a Collective Agenda based upon the vote from the Local Council they represent, once a Collective Agenda has been decided it must then go through a vote at the Grand Council. Currently there are 14 local councils who have 1 vote each. Note Local Agendas are separate from Collective Agendas and must be voted by the Grand Council to be implemented. Then there is the separate Grand Council ruling directly from Kurz, members of this council are voted in through public elections and decide on national matters, such as laws, diplomacy, etc. And lastly the Grand Court, which acts to enforce and interpret laws, as well as strike down laws deemed unconstitutional by the court, each judge are elected for life. Each branch of the government have measures in place to prevent each other from gaining too much power. The Grand Council can order for the removal of a judge through a vote, and as previously stated The Grand Court can declare Grand Council directives/laws unconstitutional. The Local Councils can vote against implementing Grand Council directives/laws and the Grand Council in turn can vote down Local Council Collective Agendas. While the people elect judges the Local Councils also have the power to remove judges and the Grand Court can in turn declare Local and Collective Agendas unconstitutional. A vote passes based on majority. During Local Council votes, each council MUST have at minimum 100 participants for a vote to count.
Republic of Ergon: Is a representative democracy run by Orcs, and is founded upon a set of 12 principles. Representatives are elected from the 9 provinces of Ergon and meet at the Ergonese capital of Uzd. Each province has 3 representatives in the House of Representatives, which in total would have 27 provincial representatives. The Ergonese Senate has 2 Senators from the country''s 25 cities totaling at 50 city Senators. Both seats are colloquially known as the Ergonese Parliament. The President is decided through two separates votes, the city and provincial votes. The President can choose their Vice President, if a candidate wins the city vote and the other the provincial vote, then the candidate who won the city vote is declared the president, and the other candidate who won the provincial is chosen as the vice president regardless of who the president chose. There are three branches: Parliament, Presidential, and the Supreme Court. There are checks and balances to prevent one branch from gaining power. Parliament must approve Presidential appointments either to the cabinet ministers or the Supreme Court, Parliament can impeach and remove the president from office, and lastly the Parliament can override presidential vetoes. In regards to the Supreme Court, Parliament can impeach judges and remove them, and Parliament can introduce amendments to the Ergonese Principles. The President has the power to veto Parliamental laws and appoint judges. The Supreme Court can declare certains acts of the President and Parliamental Laws unprincipled. Basically the Republic of Egron is just the USA but with differences in presidential elections.
Lazir Empire: The Lazir Empire or more commonly reffered to as the Laziran Empire is a elective triple monarchy between Orcs, Humans, High Elves. The empire has a small Arachne minority. Each section of the empire divided into three sections based on where majorities of each race live, the western section is administered by an Orc monarch, the central section is administered by a Human monarch, the eastern section is administered by a High Elf monarch. All three monarchs answer to the current ruling Emperor or Empress. The election of the monarch and the ruler is conducted independently and is decided by the people, with nobles counting for two votes.
Republic of Lazogh: The Republic of Lazogh is a Dark Elf nation, with a sizeable Wood Elf minority. Currently the RoL is a Sister Republic to the Union of Kurz. Lazogh was once a part of the Laziran Empire like the UoK. Once UoK declared independence, the Dark Elves of Lazogh felt like they weren''t represented fairly in the triple monarchy and followed Kurz''s example and follwed suit. The revolutionary leaders of Lazogh knew that they didn''t have the capacity to wage war and it''s armies undersupplied so, the leaders of Lazogh, with approval from the people agreed to become a client state of the Union of Kurz. The government of the RoL is the same as the UoK except they have a Prime Minister whose the chief of the army, and the one to conduct diplomacy. Despite being a client state, the UoK leaves Lazogh alone, never meddling with the country''s affairs. It is to the point where the RoL is it''s own independent country rather a client state on paper. ¡°Gather a party of six, I¡¯ll bring the good news to Mayor Laramie.¡± Andreas instructed. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª I had just finished digging out the second floor, which had cost me ten mana just to extend the floor beyond a 10x10x10x10x5 size limit. I must now choose a theme.
Select a theme for Floor 2: Forest Plains
Well it makes sense that the farm option is gone, now I have only two options left. The plains is a vast open field, perfect for cavalry, but unfortunately I can¡¯t summon cavalry. So naturally I picked forest, it¡¯s the perfect terrain to conduct ambushes. Especially since I only have access to militia regiments. With the theme selected I am now greeted with a sunny forest, so naturally I spend five mana to implement a day night cycle, and like in my previous floor I added a dirt road connecting floor two entrance with my Core room. Time to check my Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Undetermined Exp Req: 30/100 Level 1 Mana: 5/20 Mana Regen: 5 per hour Floors: 2/5 Traps: 1 Puzzles: 2 Titles: None
Man the struggle is real with that mana capacity. Dungeon name huh? Guess I gotta choose a name, but what name should I pick? Guh this is so hard. I¡¯m bad with creating names, my sister often teases me about that fact every time she asks me to run her DnD campaign. But I guess I gotta choose a name, I cannot keep putting it off forever. I¡¯ll name this Yokakko Dungeon for now, at least until I can come up with a better name. I can¡¯t really do anything right now but make a puzzle. So I¡¯ll spend the rest of my mana into creating this. So I¡¯m thinking that in order to solve this puzzle, well there¡¯s two parts, part one involves placing the correct tree bark onto the correct tree, then the second part is to correctly identify two of five chosen trees, each of the five trees will be different for everyone. The reward will be a third key required to open the door to my Core room and randomized dungeon loot, failure to complete the puzzle will make the key appear hanging on top of the tallest tree, the area where the puzzle is located is a small clearing located on the right side of the road, at the midpoint. Aaaaaand now I wait. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Vonesmy Guild Hall- ¡®Volkoth had really outdone himself this time, managing to get the Manarias Party¡¯ Andreas thought. He walked out from the receptionist desks and moved to address the six assembled adventurers, Samarra the mage, Greorjy the gunner, Markus the tank, Hazmir the cleric, Casmur the paladin, and lastly Najira the ranger. "Listen up!" Andreas declared. "This is a new dungeon we''ve stumbled upon. All six of you are to enter and explore everything it has to offer, following our Kurz adventurer tradition. And, above all, try not to die. I understand nobody truly dies in a dungeon, but I''d rather you avoid the phantom pains that come with it," Andreas cautioned. This got a round of applause from the gathered six, and they set off to the temporarily named Yokakko Dungeon. Two hours later the six had left the city of Vonesmy, to the direction of the dungeon. ¡°What do you guys think is inside the dungeon?¡± Najira asked, as she held her bow. Markus Gunner turns to Najira, ¡°Well Najira, I hope it¡¯s Magic Crystals.¡± He said, holding his Kurz Pattern 56 Crystal Musket, in other words a musket that requires Magic Crystals rather than gunpowder to fire, and produces no smoke when fired. Magic Crystals are a scarcity in the UoK, something the Ergons and Lazirians are taking advantage of. ¡°This baby eats way too much of it, I love her, she¡¯s great, but I haven¡¯t got a chance to use her lately.¡± Magic Crystals possess a rich, deep purple hue reminiscent of amethyst, adorned with an orange iridescent vein and a delicate light silver streak. All firearms have components made from this ore. In order to load a magic rifle, one must take a small chunk of Magic Crystal, split it half, insert the chunk into the breech, and then take the other half into the muzzle, then much like a regular musket the user then needs to use a ramrod to push the other chunk down. ¡°I think it¡¯s only you that''s has to worry about it, Greorjy.¡± Hamzmir said, with a goofy grin on his face. Greorjy chuckled, ¡°Aye, but the Laziran Rifle Legions do make me worried, and they¡¯ve got the crystal supply to support them.¡± An eerie silence fell upon the group. Casmur who was ahead of the group, turned to look at her compatriots. ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on this for now, let''s instead head into the dungeon.¡± Everyone nodded along and continued trudging along the dirt road, silence fell upon the group. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Enough time should have passed, my mana should¡¯ve regenerated by a significant amount, at least enough to summon one regiment for the second floor. Let''s see, status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 30/100 Level 1 Mana: 15/20 Mana Regen: 5 per hour Floors: 2/5 Traps: 1 Puzzles: 1 Titles: None
Nice, let''s see¡­
Floors->Floor 2 Floor 2 Theme: Forest Capacity: 0/64
Oh so the capacity increases by thirty-two per floor, alright time to summon creatures.
Creatures: Bear: 7 Mana Wolf Pack: 15 Mana Jaguar: 6 Mana Anaconda: 7 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana (currently floor locked) (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
Yikes, seeing the price tag increase for animals is rough with my max of twenty mana. Though, I¡¯m glad that the price tag never went up for the militia¡¯s as I could always just summon more militia if other units and animals get too expensive, I think I¡¯ll save up for the Spanish Guerrillas. Guess I¡¯ll wait for one more hour. Man it¡¯s really a shame these guys are only locked for this floor specifically, well at least until I fully unlock them. After an hour had passed, I summoned the Spanish Guerrillas, their description read: Guerrilla units aren¡¯t soldiers, but civilians, often bands of families, friends, and neighbors driven to take up arms against foreign occupiers. During the French invasion of Spain and Portugal in what was known as the Peninsular War, the local Spanish population rose up against France, with guerrillas engaged in constant partisan warfare against the Grande Armee, so much so that Napoleon referred to Spain as an ¡°Ulcer¡±. The term Guerrilla Warfare was coined in the context of the Peninsular War, one in which the Portugues, Spanish, and British were fighting the invading French forces. Though in reality guerrilla warfare tactics have been used long before the term was first coined, even going as far back as the 6th Century BC with Sun Tzu proposing the use of such tactics in The Art of War. Anyways I summoned the Spanish Guerrillas, and I¡¯m confused. Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 30/100 Level 1 Mana: 0/20 Mana Regen: 5 per hour Floors: 2/5 Traps: 1 Puzzles: 1 Titles: None
Ok¡­ I have used up all the mana, but they¡¯re still not here ok, time to check floor capacity.
Floors->Floor 2 Floor 2 Theme: Forest Capacity: 15/64
Hold on, something¡¯s not right, they must¡­ hiding¡­ if I had the ability to face palm right now, I guarantee you my hand would¡¯ve gone through my head. ¡°Alright guys, you can come out now.¡± If I could pout, I¡¯d be pouting hard. The bush in front of me began rustling and up jumps a woman, dressed in civilian clothing adorning a top hat, she¡¯s wielding a carbine in her right hand, and a hand ax in her left hand. That same woman is giving me a very smug grin, to which I deadpanned hard. ¡°Well Se?orita Yokakko, a pleasure to meet you.¡± The woman spoke before securing her carbine on her shoulders, sheathing her hand ax at her left hip, and then offering a respectful bow. ¡°I don¡¯t want to keep referring to you as ¡®The Woman¡¯ so I¡¯ll call you Isabella. ¡°Ahh, I shall accept this generous gift, kind dungeon.¡± Isabella said, smiling heartily Before I could even utter a word Ellen approached, tipping her hat to Isabella, before turning her attention back to me. ¡°Fr?ulein Yokakku, six figures approach the entrance. What are your orders?¡± Wait guests? Like real guests and not animals? Oh this is so exciting, I gotta watch them! ¡°Do what you think is best Ellen, and that goes for you too, Isabella.¡± I said, before disappearing from floor 2 and reappearing at the dungeon entrance, where I spotted six figures observing the floor¡¯s surroundings. I count three Humans, one Dark Elf, one Dwarf, and one wearing full plate armor. ¡°Hi, and welcome to Yokakko Dungeon, name is still pending and-¡° I stopped myself, huh, why are they ignoring me? System can you please provide an explanation?
Outsiders cannot interact with a dungeon avatar, unless the avatar has manifested.
Well that makes sense, I guess I¡¯ll try harder next time. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The party arrived at the supposed location of the dungeon, its a hill surrounded by by the forrest, now the entrance itself is an iron door situated on the foot of the hill. All members briefly glanced at each other, before steeling themselves to walk towards the door. Upon the party''s first entry into the dungeon, they marvelled at the sunny landscape of their current location. Dotted with farmhouses, barns, and a couple granaries. "Whoa, this is surreal. If we weren''t in a dungeon, I would''ve mistaken this for an actual farm." The mage Samarra commented. "Place must''ve made an impression on you, Samarra, you barely talk on our adventures." Markus said, nudging Samarra. "Focus! We''re still in a dungeon, who knows what creatures go against us." Casmur cautioned, before continuing. ¡°Alright, here''s the plan Markus, you and I are up front, Greorjy, Najira, you''re our back line, Hazmir only heal if one of us is critically injured, and finally Samarra, your''e our support, stay in the middle.¡± The Paladin briefed her companions. She received a chorus of aye, aye Casmur. Meanwhile by the watchtower overlooking the entrance. Bertin and Cecelia observed the six adventurers. ¡°So, do we fire?¡± Bertin asked. Cecelia shook her head, ¡°Nein, we¡¯ll let them take the first shot.¡± Both guards pointed their muskets at the group of adventurers, fingers poised on the triggers. The situation changed when the ranger spotted the sentries in the watchtower and promptly alerted her party, who received instructions to eliminate the two guards. ¡°Alright, fire back!¡± Cecelia declared, as she fired her musket, ducked down to reload, and Bertin fired soon after. [With the party] ¡®Tch, how does this dungeon have access to magic crystals? And furthermore how does it already have crystal rifles for monsters ¡¯ Casmur thought as both Markus and her raised their shields to block bullets. She turns to Greorjy. ¡°Greorjy, try to see if you can snipe them!, the rest advance while there¡¯s smoke covering the watchtower!¡± Casmur yelled, as yet another bullet hit her shield. ¡°Way ahead of you!¡± Georjy responded, kneeling as he aimed his rifle at the watchtower. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Wow, I¡¯m watching what is essentially a video game dungeon raid party in real time. Yeah, not surprised that they easily took care of the watchtower guards. So now they¡¯re examining their corpses. ¡°Don¡¯t recognise these uniforms. Also why weren¡¯t they wearing armor? Seems impractical to me.¡± The dwarf wearing a white robe said, pointing to Bertin''s corpse., then he gestured to Cecilia''s corpse. "Also her uniform reminds of the Ergonese Zephix Battalion." The other guy, also wearing full plate armor without a helmet, shrugged. ¡°I dunno, beats me, but check out this hat.¡± The man said, as he wore the bicorne. ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t see any parts made from Magic Crystals, so I¡¯m a bit perplexed as to how these can shoot.¡± Says the man as he held a musket picked up from one of my soldiers. Now the one in the full plate armor opened the cartridge pouch from Bertin¡¯s corpse and, oh what heck! They¡¯re dumping the cartridges! ¡°What is this?¡± They say, picking up a cartridge and tearing apart the paper, revealing the musket ball, and she dumped the gunpowder. She¡¯s wasting precious gunpowder! They then take a look at the lead ball and she throws it away, mouthing ¡°useless.¡± Now to be fair, I don¡¯t know how the musket that man in leather armor was wielding is able to fire without any gunpowder. I observed him break off a piece of an unfamiliar gem, one I had never seen before. He split it into two halves, inserting one into the breech and placing the other into the muzzle. Using a ramrod, he proceeded to push the chunk down the muzzle. The group continued walking down the road. Chapter 3: The Dungeon dive ends I finally learned the groups names, and by learned I meant I eavesdropped on their conversations as they were walking on the road. Big guy wearing plate armor, and a bicorne? His name is Markus. The Dark Elf ranger¡¯s name is Najira. The dwarf cleric¡¯s name is Hazmir. Man with the funky musket. His name is Greorjy. Person wearing full plate, their name is Casmur, and they sound feminine, though I can¡¯t confirm that due to the helmet. Their mage¡¯s name is Samarra, though from what I heard, he doesn¡¯t really talk much. But wait? Didn¡¯t I hear their names when they first arrived earlier? Uhh well, I was too excited at the prospect of visitors, and wasn¡¯t paying attention. Right now they¡¯re halfway to the floor, having just stopped a short distance away from the carriage with a missing wheel. As earlier, they pissed off two guard donkeys, one of whom kicked Greorjy on the thighs, which gave him nasty bruises. Ok it was kind of funny seeing him walk up to one and getting kicked. Of course both were swiftly dealt with. I think I heard one of them talk about leveling up, the mage was it? What was his name again? I see their tank, Markus was it? Cautiously approach the carriage with the worried farmer, crouched by the fallen wheel. She turns and smiles, ¡°Ah, excuse me, but fair gentleman, I appear to be in a bind. You see, a wheel fell off, and I don¡¯t have the right tools to fix it.¡± The farmer explained, ¡°Do you perhaps have something that could help me with this? A hammer would do the job.¡± Markus blushed, ¡°Oh uhh, I don¡¯t have a hammer perse, but maybe my throwing axe should do the trick.¡± He says handing her the axe. ¡°Thank you kindly, now please hold the wheel as I hammer it in.¡± The farmer said as she gestured to the wheel. ¡°Yeah sure,¡± Markus said, taking hold of the fallen wheel, keeping it level with the axle. As the farmer began hammering it back in place. It took ten-minutes, but eventually the wheel was back in place, and I earned twenty xp for Markus successfully solving the ¡®puzzle¡¯. Nice! I watched as the farmer waved as she dematerialized, getting more and more pixelated, and eventually disappearing alongside the carriage. In Markus¡¯s left hand a golden key and a small sack filled with five shillings, materialized. The rest of his party soon walked next to him. ¡°So, what did you get?¡± Casmur asked. ¡°I got a key, I¡¯ll check the sack later.¡± Markus replied, ¡°Anyway, let''s keep a lookout for a door, on our way to the end.¡± Casmur nodded, and the group continued down the road. I quickly made my way to Ellen, who''s currently setting up a roadblock by creating two cheval-de-frise, which are stakes laid down in an x formation, where I could count fifteen soldiers, ten Landwehr, eleven counting Ellen, the number also included the drummer and colour bearer holding the Prussian flag, and four National Guard. ¡°Ah, Fr?ulein Yokakko, what can I do for you?¡± Ellen greeted me. ¡°Do you have the second key?¡± I asked Ellen shook her head, ¡°Nein, Emile has it, currently she¡¯s setting up a blockade at the floor two entrance.¡± Then her eyes became hyper focused on what was behind me. I turned around, and there they were, six adventurers. ¡°STAND IN FORMATION!¡± Ellen yelled at the top of her lungs, rushing everyone into a somewhat cohesive line, two ranks deep, as the drummer was playing beats. After the chaotic organization, both groups stood awkwardly, fifteen feet apart. ¡°Ellen, ask them why they¡¯re here.¡± I instructed. Ellen nodded, and asked. ¡°For what purpose have you arrived?¡± The group of six took glances at each other. Before Casmur stepped forward. ¡°We have come from the nearby city of Vonesmy, and have come to check the dungeon.¡± She declared, ¡°And if possible beat it. Will you give us the chance?¡± Ellen looks at me, glances at me. ¡°Tell them that anyone can attempt to beat my dungeon, IF they make it to the end. Err, something like that yeah.¡± ¡°Anyone can make an attempt, if you survive till the end.¡± Ellen paraphrased what I told her. Casmur nodded, and soon the group of six ran forward as I heard Ellen shout a series of commands, followed by beats of the drum. ¡°Make Ready!¡± Soldiers from both ranks set their flintlocks from half-cock, to full-cock. ¡°Aim!¡± The soldiers aimed at the charging group. Ellen unsheathed her saber, pointing it at the adventurers, ¡°Fire!¡± I could hear the crackle of twelve guns fire. I received a barrage of notifications.
Greorjy level 28 Gunner killed, 35 xp rewarded. You leveled up! You Unlocked four new themes: Ocean Desert Tundra Star Fort
I paused the notifications. I''ll look at them later. Right now I¡¯m currently invested in this fight, anyway as the smoke cleared, the remaining four, though looking worse, had closed the distance, as a result of the volley, both the Tank¡¯s and Paladin¡¯s shields had rendered useless and were discarded, but are otherwise unharmed. Hazmir didn''t escape unscathed; he''s on the ground, clutching his left leg and desperately attempting to heal the wound. Samarra, though managing to avoid major harm, did so only by casting a barrier, barely escaping unharmed. ¡°CHARGE!¡± I heard Ellen scream the order, which was followed by screaming and loud thumping of feet. Casmur drew their sword. ¡°Samarra cast fireball!¡± Samarra looked panicked, ¡°I don¡¯t have enough mana!¡± The first soldier to arrive was swiftly dealt with by Casmur, ¡°Well cast something! We may be superior without the use of firearms, but this is soon going to be leveled out by sheer quantity.¡± They yelled. I witnessed another soldier bayonet the fallen Hazmir, killing him instantly. Kick him while he¡¯s down, why don¡¯t cha. She was promptly defeated by Markus, after one singular stab. I¡¯m assuming they¡¯re level 1 with how easy they¡¯re getting killed. I see sparks emitting from Samarra¡¯s hands, lightning bolts soon appearing in each one. He hurled them towards the soldier lagging behind, Which I counted three. All three immediately died as soon as lightning bolts hit. All in all the charging soldiers were swiftly dealt with, Ellen fought valiantly but she was soon outnumbered. ¡°Is everybody alright?¡± Casmur asked. Markus examines their surroundings, ¡°Hazmir, Najira and Greorjy aren¡¯t with us.. "They''ll be waiting for us at the entrance. We have to keep moving," Casmur urged the remaining adventurers forward. ¡°In the meantime steer clear from those firearms, even without the use of magic crystals in the manufacturing and firing, they¡¯re just as deadly.¡± Casmur continued down the road, before stopping, turning to Markus and Samarra. "They''re the reason why a level 1 peasant can easily go toe to toe with a level 50 knight. Now granted, said peasant doesn¡¯t miss, but the point still stands." Casmur remarked, glancing down at the ground. "And those same firearms are the reason I lost my position. Now I¡¯m a Paladin, I do more good now than before at my old job." Continuing to walk, he was soon joined by the other two, with silence lingering in the air. It took no more than ten minutes before the group was faced with Emile¡¯s group. I counted seven guardswomen, including the drummer and the colour bearer carrying the French flag, well eight including Emile.¡± What the National Guard had done was set up a line of fences for cover. Simple but effective for taking cover to reload. Approaching Emile, who in turn noticed me. ¡°Ah, madam, do you bring good news of Ellen¡¯s victory?¡± ¡°Ehhh, no, but her unit did take out three of them.¡± I answered. A soldier runs to Emile, ¡°They¡¯re here, they¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Talk to you later, madame.¡± Emile said, drawing her pistol ¡°In positions everyone!¡± The eight guardswomen positioned themselves behind the fence, with the drummer and color bearer situated further back. From their vantage point, they observed the trio reaching the midpoint of the road, shortly after interacting with the farmer and her carriage. I went back to check on the trio- and they activated the pitfall trap¡­ ok to be fair, placing it at the midpoint wasn¡¯t such a great idea. Yeah I¡¯ll relocate it to the encampment¡¯s entrance. As the trio got closer and closer to the entrance, they began talking. let''s listen in! ¡°Here.¡± Casmur said, handing a bottle with a blue liquid to Samarra, ¡°This should be enough to cast fireball.¡± Samarra nodded, taking the bottle and drank the bottle till it¡¯s empty. Then the mage began channeling magic, until I saw a ball of orange continuously grow till they were the size of a watermelon. My metaphorical eyes widened as the mage launched a ball of fire towards the makeshift defense line where Emile and her unit stood. The attack proved devastating, annihilating everyone in its path, and leaving nothing but fires in its wake. Dang no wonder why mages in my sister¡¯s campaign love to cast fireball, even when she asks me to DM her campaign, I see the devastation it causes, and I admit it kind of did intimidate me a little, it¡¯s different when all you''re doing is describing its effects versus actually seeing the devastation firsthand. Well the path to my unfinished floor 2 is open, but they can¡¯t open the core room if they don¡¯t pick up the second key at the encampment. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª They¡¯re about one-third of the way into my second floor, it''s a bit bare-bones right now as the only other feature here is that tree puzzle I made, and I can¡¯t find where the guerrillas are, I know they¡¯re there and they¡¯ve already sniped Samarra in the back of his head. Yeah ever since that happened both Casmur and Markus are constantly on-edge, they¡¯ve been looking around, checking every bush, every tree, even going so far as to walk at a slower pace. Now I know how Napoleon¡¯s soldiers felt every time they went out to hunt down Spanish Partisans. Both stopped walking. ¡°This is ridiculous Casmur, we.¡± Markus was cut off from his speech when a loud crackle and a musket ball soon hit him in the back of his head. Falling down, his bicorne falling from out of his head. Hey, on the bright side he got to keep the bicorne, that''s gotta mean something right? ¡°SHOW YOURSELVES! YOU COWARDS!¡± Casmur yelled at the top of her lungs, brandishing her sword in every direction. ¡°Ah, but who¡¯s got a full suit of armor, is it you? Or is it me?¡± A voice said behind them, I could tell it was Isabella messing with her. Casmur turned behind her, only to find herself face to face with Isabella and two others from her guerrilla band. The trio simultaneously discharged their muskets at point-blank range, or in Isabella¡¯s case, shooting her flintlock pistol. Casmur collapsed to the ground, her armor saving her life but barely holding on. Her legs were on their last legs, quite literally. I observed Isabella crouching down to meet Casmur at eye level after reloading her pistol. "When fighting an enemy ten times powerful than you. Then you must use every advantage," Isabella uttered, aiming her pistol at Casmur''s head and promptly pulling the trigger, ending Casmur''s life. I think what Isabella did was completely unnecessary, but she¡¯s right, guerrilla''s use every advantage they get over the enemy. Well better luck next time! Now to see those notifications. As soon as I said that, I¡¯m now bombarded with notifications. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Greorjy level 28 Gunner killed, 35 xp rewarded. Hazmir level 25 Cleric killed, 35 xp rewarded. Samarra level 27 Mage killed, 35 xp rewarded. Markus level 32 Tank killed, 45 xp rewarded. Casmur level 59 Paladin killed, 65 xp rewarded You leveled up two times! You Unlocked eight new themes: Ocean Desert Tundra Star Fort Small Urban city, with forest Countryside villages Taiga Mountain Special Theme [Undead Outbreak] maximum of 1, and is only available for Small Urban City theme, Countryside villages, and Star Fort theme. Six regiments unlocked: French Old Guard British 42nd Regiment of Foot(Black Watch) Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 Prussian Silesian Schuetzen Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadiers One new Individual Summon: Nockgunner New customization species for custom regiments: Moon Elf Dark Elf Dwarf Mana Regen increased to 10 Mana Capacity increased to 50 Floor capacity increased by 3 You have unlocked skill: Identify
Awesome! I''ll definitely check out this ''Undead Outbreak'' at somepoint in the future. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 10/450 Level 3 Mana: 50/50 Mana Regen: 10 per hour Floors: 2/8 Traps: 1 Puzzles: 2 Titles: None Skills: Identify
Wait? Does this mean I¡¯m no longer hemorrhaging mana? Oh who am I kidding I¡¯m still gonna be down on mana, even if it''s slightly higher. Ok time to see the new summons. I hovered over to the Creatures tab.
Creatures: Bear: 7 Mana Wolf Pack: 15 Mana Jaguar: 6 Mana Anaconda: 7 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana (currently floor locked unless unlocked) (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
Wait, no, could it be? I unlocked the Old Guard! YIPPEE! They cost 650 Mana. Just like that, my excitement was thrown into the trash can, dumped into a garbage truck and incinerated in the landfill. Of course, it couldn''t be THAT easy. Maybe I should try creating a custom regiment? To keep my mind off of this, but I¡¯ll try out the Identify skill first. ¡°Hey Isabella, could I talk to you for a sec?¡± A bush rustled nearby, and Isabella appeared, ¡°I¡¯m at your service.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna see your stats, alright.¡± I said, as Isabella nodded.
Identify used on Isabella.
Name: Isabella Level 2 Dungeon Creature Class: Guerrilla STR: 17 DEX: 25 CON: 19 INT: 18 WIS: 17 CHA: 15
Wow, level 2 and they managed to take down a level 59 Paladin. Guns really do balance the playing field as I heard Casmur state earlier. ¡°Thanks, you can go now Isabella, that''s is all.¡± I said, as Isabella took a bow, before disappearing into the nearby foliage. Ok time to create a custom regiment. System: how do you design creatures, what''s the process?.
To design creatures, navigate to the subtab called ¡®Design¡¯ and from there you are only limited by your creativity and mana. Keep in mind the more intricate and complex a creature is, the more mana it¡¯ll cost.
Oh it¡¯s that simple. Right Creatures->Design and I¡¯m taken into an empty gray room much like my Core Room. Alright, Let''s create! I¡¯m presented with three options.
Select a Base: Humanoid Monster Animal
Obviously Humanoid.
Select a Species: Human Dark Elf Dwarf Moon Elf
First three, I already know, but the last option, which is the Moon Elves. I¡¯ve never heard of them before. System: What are the Moon Elves? I want a basic description please!
Moon Elves are a race of elves who primarily inhabit the northern forest regions. Moon Elves have a deep connection to the moon, with some claiming they descended from the celestial body. Moon Elves stand tall and graceful, they have a slender physique and luminous, silver-hued skin that seems to reflect the soft glow of moonlight.
Ah I see, pick Moon Elf please. An entirely gray model of a female elf figure t-posing appeared in the middle of the room, it''s like seeing a gray stl model. I got confused at first until I saw the word Moon Elf above the model. Next order of business, replacing her leather armor into something appropriate for this dungeon. Now let''s see, where would I find the uniforms? Aha! There it is.
Create Regiment->Select Type Cavalry Artillery Line Infantry Elite Infantry Skirmisher Militia
I chose line infantry. The elf¡¯s leather armor was immediately replaced with gray trousers and a gray coat with lapels and cuffs. Replace the shako with a gray Austrian infantry kasket helmet. Perfect! Now for the next part.
Choose a Weapon: Prussian Potsdam Musket 1809 Russian Musket 1805 Charleville 1777 Corrig¨¦ IX Land Pattern Brown Bess Austrian Musket 1798
Why do I need to choose a musket? Isn¡¯t that a bit redundant? Well I guess I have no choice, but to choose one if I want to continue. Ok then, I pick the Charleville Musket. The musket in question materialized, strapped on the Moon Elf¡¯s left shoulder. Now one more category, which is to create a uniform color. For the trousers, I¡¯ll keep the gray, but I¡¯ll darken it¡¯s hue, for the coat I¡¯m thinking that color has to match, or at least relate to the moon. I got it! The color will be orange, representing the fact that the celestial body is orange when it¡¯s low in the horizon, and last, but certainly not least I¡¯ll place the letters A and Y on the front of their kasket helmet. The colors I¡¯ve chosen are then applied to the uniforms, to add to that the t-posing Moon Elf now sports silver skin and deep yellow eyes, and also on the front of their kasket helmet, now has an A and Y etched onto them. All I have to do now is name the regiment, but should I call them? Oh, I know! They¡¯ll be called 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment.
Creature creation complete. Calculating Mana Cost¡­ Calculating¡­ calculation complete, adding unit to existing roster.
Sweet! Checking the creatures tab right now.
Creatures: Bear: 7 Mana Wolf Pack: 15 Mana Jaguar: 6 Mana Anaconda: 7 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1, 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana (currently floor locked unless unlocked) (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
I most likely will not summon them just yet. Anyways how capacity does floor two have again? I forgot.
Floors-> Floor 2 Theme: Forest Capacity: 15/64
Yeah, I¡¯ve got plenty of room. Hovering over the Black Watch Regiment, their description read: After the Jacobite Uprising of 1715 the British Government had no resources nor the manpower to keep a standing army in the Scottish Highlands, and were thus forced to recruit from local Scottish populations to maintain order, this however proved unsuccessful in deterring crime. The regiment started out as a militia from ten Independent Highland Companies known commonly as the ¡°Black Watch'''' although this nickname may have come as a result of how they were dressed. They recruited from local clans. In 1739 all ten companies were consolidated into the 43rd Highland Regiment of Foot. The regiment was renumbered 42nd after Oglethorpe¡¯s Regiment of Foot was disbanded, and in 1751 the regiment was formally titled 42nd Highland Regiment of Foot, the regiment was then honored with the name Royal Highland Regiment. Whoah, wasn¡¯t expecting a brief history lesson in the description, granted it skips over a lot of things, like how the regiment was the first of three Highland regiments to fight in the Americas. Summon the Black Watch regiment please! A unit of 13 women appeared. Their uniforms include a red coat with dark blue lapels and cuffs, paired with a dark green checkered tartan kilt extending just above the knee. Completing the ensemble are diced red and white kilt hose secured with a tie reaching just below the knee, worn over a pair of buckle leather shoes. Topping it off, they don feather bonnets on their heads. The officer, who is wearing gray trousers instead of a kilt. She introduced herself to me, and I named her Marley. Oh the extra person is a Bagpiper, I¡¯ll ask her to play some music for me later. I also summoned a Nockgunner, and she¡¯s dressed in a horizontally striped blue and white button-up shirt, complemented by a red scarf tied around her neck. Completing the ensemble are white trousers, topped off with a tan top hat. ¡°So, Annabelle, that gun won¡¯t break your shoulders right?¡± I asked while simultaneously naming her. She shrugs, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess we¡¯ll see.¡± Annabelle said smiling. Huh ok. I wonder how those six are doing now? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Ughhh, this headache is the worst.¡± Casmur complained, clutching their or rather her head, now without her helmet. She is revealed to have dark-silver hair and dark-blue eyes. Greorjy winced, massaging his left thigh. ¡°Yeah, you said it. This is by far the worst phantom pain I¡¯ve received from a dungeon in ages, and I¡¯ve been to a lot.¡± ¡°Let''s just get back and report our findings to the Guildmaster.¡± Najira interjected, ¡°Was anyone able to take one of those guns?¡± ¡°Ah well, I grabbed one as a souvenir.¡± Greorjy answered, smirking as he presented the musket. ¡°If I can figure out the mechanism, or what¡¯s used to fire these, I¡¯ll be permanently switching to this one.¡± It took the group longer to reach the Vonesmy Guildhall and into Guildmaster Andreas¡¯s office. "Ah, welcome back," Andreas greeted, motioning for each member to take a seat. "Judging from the expressions on your faces, it was a TPK. No need to tell me. Now, I need to know what we''re up against inside the dungeon." All six grimaced at the mention of the term "total party kill." ¡°I think it¡¯s best if Greorjy showed you.¡± Casmur said, as Greorjy stood up handing the musket to Andreas. Andreas grabbed the musket, inspecting it from every angle ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw the dungeon creatures fire these, without using Magic Crystals, as for how, and what ammunition is used? That I do not know. So far the only problem I see is the smoke that comes after each shot.¡± Greorjy said, but little did all six know at the time that Casmur held the ammunition, dumped its contents and threw the lead ball. ¡°Another thing that¡¯s peculiar is that all of the dungeon creatures are human, specifically all women.¡± Casmur acknowledged, ¡°Which to my knowledge has been the only dungeon to have humans as creatures.¡± Greorjy. "I see, I need to report this to the Grand Council," he remarked, returning the musket to Greorjy. As he stood up to leave, Andreas noticed the peculiar hat that Markus was wearing. "I must say, Markus, where did you get that hat?" ¡°Ah, this hat?¡± Markus started, as he took off his hat. ¡°I looted this from one of the dungeon creatures, personally speaking I think it looks good.¡± Andreas nodded before walking out, the other six soon followed afterward. Chapter 4: A typical calm day. It¡¯s been about two days since the dungeon dive, and in that time I added a bulletin board at the dungeon entrance, a list of ¡®Dungeon Rules¡¯ which are basically jokes rather than they are rules, I was giggling throughout the entire creation process. There¡¯s currently three rules; Rule 1. No posting memes in #general. Rule 2. No takesy backsies Rule 3. No slap fighting in the dungeon. Thank you :) If I come up with any more ¡®rules¡¯ I¡¯ll add more. Look I wasted thirty mana just on these three ¡®rules¡¯, maybe it¡¯s a good thing that my mana is capped at such a low amount, but in my defense it¡¯s funny and this is also my dungeon. Besides nobody is even gonna understand what they mean, especially rule 1, and honestly speaking rule 3 is gonna do a lot of heavy lifting! I added a medium sized river with a bridge that split floor two in half, the Black Watch Immediately built guard stations on both ends of the bridge. I littered the floor with wildlife such as various types of birds, a couple species of river fish, and yes even a jaguar, which I¡¯m surprised they¡¯re on the list, since they mainly live in rainforests, but I guess the forest theme encompasses all forests. I¡¯m not complaining, at least it¡¯ll let me pet it, instead of mauling me to death! And last but certainly not least, I added a medium sized log cabin located to the right side of the floor and a dirt path that connected the cabin to the main road. So far the cabin currently has no use, but I¡¯ll think of something later. The girls so far have enjoyed the log cabin, and it even became an unofficial spot for the leaders of the units plus Annabelle to meet. Another thing to note was, a second military encampment appeared right by the Core Room entrance, much like the first floor. Annabelle had personally taken it upon herself to guard the entrance. Everyone that died on floor one has already been revived. Which is great, at least I know that I don¡¯t have to spend mana resumoning them. Then I¡¯d be in real trouble! I went around the first floor, fortunately everyone was at the encampment and I stopped by just to check in with everyone. However, as I exit the encampment. I noticed that Ellen was sitting on a bench, all by her lonesome, her saber unsheathed embedded into the ground, her head also looking down. While everyone else was at the encampment. So I went to go see what''s up. ¡°Why so down Ellen?¡± I asked. Ellen glanced up at me, a sense of sadness in her eyes. "It''s just that... I failed. I failed to stop them, I failed my unit... I failed you," she somberly admitted, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. I look back to the encampment and see merry faces of both the Prussian and French troops, heck even Emile is chugging down a bottle of wine. How did she get that wine? I have no idea. ¡°It sure doesn¡¯t sound like it, even Emile is jovial, and her unit didn¡¯t even get any action.¡± I remarked. ¡°I know but-¡° Ellen started, but I cut her off. ¡°Listen Ellen, you didn¡¯t fail. And you certainly didn¡¯t fail me¡± I said, ¡°On the contrary, your unit killed two on the first volley, and a third one on the charge.¡± I continued, by reassuring her, "And you didn''t fail me. You did your best, stalling them for as long as you could. I don''t think anyone in the dungeon expects both your Landwehr and Emile''s National Guard to hold the line. But don''t ever think that you failed anyone, okay? If something is on your mind, please talk to someone. There''s Emile, Helen, Jane, Bertin, and Cecelia, plus the girls on floor 2. Hell, I''ll even lend an ear. The most important thing to me is your mental, and frankly everyone''s well-being." She leaps towards me, embracing me in a tight hug, or in other words air, she¡¯s hugging air. I won¡¯t spoil the moment though. We separated after a couple of minutes, and she beamed a huge smile. ¡°Thank you, I will not forget what you said. I think I¡¯ll go join the rest of them back at camp.¡± The officer said, sheathing her saber back into its proper place, offered me a bow and went to join the rest. Ahh, this reminds me of an encounter with a crying student during my lunch break. I''m not an expert at comforting people, but I sincerely offer a listening ear. To cut the story short, I heard crying in Music Hall, found her with her head down on her lap, and learned she was bullied. I promptly contacted administrators to address the issue, though our conversation was brief as I was running late for class. The next day, she approached me with a bright smile, sharing that she had switched her major to history. Huh, who would¡¯ve thought that I''d start feeling nostalgic? I guess having this much free time as a Dungeon Core really makes one have too much time to think. I¡¯ll go check on the girls from floor 2, as I¡¯d already checked on the farmers. The moment I entered floor 2, I could hear loud yelling in the direction of the cabin. Materializing inside the cabin, I found the source of the yelling, "Girls, girls!" I''m now desperately trying to stop an escalating argument between Isabella and Annabelle. The argument began when Isabella insulted Annabelle''s Nockgun, and things spiraled from there. Marley just sat in a chair, observing the scene with an amused expression. I shot her a pleading look that screamed ''Help me!'' Marley had finally intervened, standing up and getting in between the two, ¡°Alright, alright, cut it you two.¡± ¡°Stay out of this Marley!¡± ¡°She insulted my dear Betty! I gotta get at her!¡± Both Isabella and Annabelle yelled simultaneously. Oh jeez this is getting out of hand! Fortunately Marley was there. ¡°Listen Lassies, while both of you were busy tearing each other apart, our gracious dungeon was desperately trying to end this.¡± Yes thank you Marley! It was time for me to speak up. I addressed Annabelle first "Listen, I understand that what Isabella said about your Betty was hurtful. However, that doesn''t excuse lashing out," I stated firmly. Annabelle lowered her head in shame. Turning to address Isabella, I continued, "I don''t know what you said, but it clearly upset Annabelle enough for her to react this way, but you can¡¯t just go around insulting other people. How would you feel if you''re the one being insulted?" Now, it was Isabella''s turn to lower her head. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not asking both of you to apologize or to get along.¡± I said, ¡°But please don¡¯t argue, at least when I¡¯m within earshot¡± Isabella and Annabelle both nodded together. ¡°If there¡¯s anything else, I¡¯ll be around improving floor 2.¡± With that said, I left the cabin. Now what should I do? I should¡¯ve recovered some mana by now. Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 10/450 Level 3 Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Mana: 42/50 Mana Regen: 10 per hour Floors: 2/8 Traps: 1 Puzzles: 2 Titles: None
Ok I can work with forty-two mana. Hmm let¡¯s see what I can add. Oh I know, I¡¯ll create hidden stashes around for adventurers to find, except there¡¯s a fifty percent chance they¡¯ll be trapped, in a way I kind of am making a trap. Let''s create two for now.
Hidden supply stash x2 created, mana cost 24.
Yikes, that''s pretty pricey. Ok now to make them spawn randomly each time someone enters the room, and have one of them be a trap.
Features add to ¡®Hidden supply stash x2¡¯ mana cost 18.
Man, why is everything so expensive? Has my dungeon been hit with inflation? If I¡¯m correct then I should have no more mana left. Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 10/450 Level 3 Mana: 0/50 Mana Regen: 10 per hour Floors: 2/8 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: None
Yep I was right, and it seemed like the system is counting it as a trap, welp time wait. I''m gonna go visit Molly, she¡¯s the bagpiper. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª With the girls at the cabin After witnessing Amelia exit the cabin, an awkward silence settled in the air. ¡°As much fun as it was to watch both of you blabber on, I really hope this won¡¯t become a problem, especially since we¡¯re going to need to cooperate in the defense of this dungeon, our home.¡± Marley stated as a matter-of-fact, emphasizing the last two words. Annabelle grabbed ¡®Betty¡¯ her Nockgun. ¡°Well of course.¡± She stops at the entrance, turning to Isabella, ¡°This doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s over.¡± Before leaving the cabin in its entirety. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else Marley then I¡¯ll be off, and yes this won¡¯t get in the way of dungeon defense, but as she said quote ¡®doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s over¡¯.¡± Isabella said as she left. ¡°Those two¡­¡± Marley uttered, before sitting back down on the chair she was previously sitting at. A Black Watch soldier entered, ¡°Hey what''s the commotion in here?¡± ¡°Heh, you just missed it Caitlin, they were here a couple seconds ago, even got a stern talking from Amelia herself. About time too since they¡¯re always at each other¡¯s throats here...¡± Marley said, taking a bottle of gin that was previously hidden underneath the table. ¡°Want some?¡± ¡°Ah, no thanks.¡± Caitlin said, declining the offer, ¡°But speaking of Amelia, do you know where she is?¡± ¡°Suit yourself, as for Amelia, she was just here as well, she did say that she¡¯d be here improving this floor.¡± Marley informed her, then asked, ¡°Why do you want to talk to her?¡± A blush grew on Caitlin¡¯s face, ¡°Ah, ma¡¯am I¡¯m sorry but it¡¯s personal, but thanks for telling me!¡± Caitlin said, before exiting. Marley shrugged her shoulders and went on to drink her gin. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª I was busy contemplating life and all its various. Ok, I¡¯m very bored right now waiting for my mana to trickle up, but it¡¯s not bad right now, especially since I''m listening to Molly play. We even gathered an audience, a mix of guerrillas and Black Watch, it seems everybody was here to listen to Molly play, I''ll summon more musicians when I get the chance. It was then that a soldier approached me, hands behind her back, looking very nervous. ¡°Hello, Caitlin right?¡± I asked hoping I got her name right. ¡°Yes, it''s Caitlin. Um, can I talk to you privately about something?¡± Caitlin asked. I signaled to Molly telling her that I¡¯ll be back. As Caitlin led me deep into the forest, now in any normal situation following someone into a forest is a red flag, but this is my dungeon and she¡¯s classified as a dungeon creature. She wont turn on me and kill me right?
Summoned dungeon creatures cannot harm Avatar and Core
Alright, well good to know system! That definitely alleviated some concerns, anyways after walking, I say walk but really I¡¯m just floating. Caitlin turns to me, looking very shy, twiddling her pointer fingers together. Cute! ¡°Uh, umm, well, j-jeez this is so e-embarrassing.¡± Caitlin stuttered out. She¡¯s actually going to kill me with cuteness overload, ack! My Black Watch can¡¯t be this cute!
Summoned dungeon creatures cannot harm Avatar and Core
Yes I already know that! Don¡¯t need to tell me twice! Caitlin managed to compose herself, and spoke ¡°Well I¡¯m just wondering if you can give me a stuffed animal? It¡¯s just ever since I found a book inside the cabin that mentioned them in it. I want one for myself, but on one hand I understand if you have better things to spend your mana on...¡± Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 10/450 Level 3 Mana: 10/50 Mana Regen: 10 per hour Floors: 2/8 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: None
I guess I¡¯ll cough up the mana, I¡¯m prioritizing the happiness of my creatures you know? Especially considering the puppy dog-eyes Caitlin''s is giving me. A stuffed bear materialized in her hands, and she squealed in joy.
Object ''Teddy Bear'' created, Mana cost 10.
"Thank you so much!" Caitlin exclaimed, tightly hugging the stuffed bear before attaching it to the left side of her backpack. She then ran back in the direction where we came from. I can wait five more hours. Maybe I should give that undead mode a try for my next floor¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Vonesmy Adventurers Guild Hall The party of five were at the tavern portion of the guild, lazily sitting on one of the corner tables. ¡°I admit we severely underestimated that dungeon and now we''re out of commission for the next five days.¡± Najira stated, breaking the silence. Greorjy takes a drink from his mug, ¡°Has anyone seen Casmur? I haven¡¯t seen her since this morning.¡± ¡°Her pains are worse, since she was shot in the head.¡± Najira replied. ¡°Yeah, girl was having a hard time sleeping, me personally, I could feel like this metal ball that''s been embedded into my chest, but it''s not there, but it was manageable.¡± ¡°Heh, that''s the true danger of exploring dungeons.¡± Markus remarked, while he was polishing his throwing axe. An adventurer dressed in leather armor, with iron greaves and braces approached the five. ¡°Say I hear that there¡¯s a new dungeon not far from here, may I know where it is?¡± He asked. Greorjy finishing his mug was the first to speak, ¡°Yeah sure, do you have a map?¡± The man responded by retrieving his map. ¡°Ok so the dungeon is located¡­¡± After a five-minute explanation about the whereabouts of Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary), the adventurer expressed gratitude to Greorjy for the information before heading outside. The adventurer walked for a couple of more blocks till he reached the outskirts of the city near a clearance hidden from the main road. Waiting for him was a band of twelve humans all armed to the teeth, hanging by some carriages. A man wearing splint-mail armour, with a coppergate helm approached. ¡°So, find anything?¡± he asked. The adventurers gave a gleeful smile. ¡°The stars above, a new dungeon has appeared in Kurz!¡± This got the attention of everyone present, the "adventurer" went on, saying, "Yes, and the best part is that it''s brand new. That means it''s going to be easy to shatter the Core, fulfilling our contract to hunt down dungeons inside Kurz and weaken this country. We''ll be rich!" Cheers erupted from the assembled group, and they all boarded the carriages, setting out towards Yokakko Dungeon(Temporary). Chapter 5: Third Floor and Dungeon Invasion (People actually die this time for real) It''s been about six hours and my mana has reached max capacity, so currently I¡¯m thinking what to do with floor 3, and I¡¯m thinking to get into floor 3 there¡¯s a 5x5 meter hallway filled with blood and dead bodies, both human and undead. Actually instead of littering the hallway, I should instead have two dead soldiers at the entrance, with the door boarded up, the words ¡®Don¡¯t enter, Dead Inside.¡¯ Inscribed in blood on the door. Alright let''s do it! I created a 5x5 hallway, and another floor that connects each other. I Navigated to the Floors tab.
Please select a theme for floor 3: Plains Ocean Desert Tundra Star Fort Small Urban city Countryside villages Taiga Mountain
Small Urban city please! The scenery transformed with numerous English Georgian-style buildings, and cobblestone roads adorned the landscape. From a bird''s eye view, it resembled the size of a town, yet it barely reached the threshold to be called a city. Of course I gotta add the obligatory day-night cycle! Now I¡¯m greeted with a new prompt.
Would you like to activate Undead Outbreak? Cannot be undone. Maximum 1 allowed.
Yes please! The scenery underwent another transformation, with some buildings collapsed, others engulfed in flames, and hastily built barricades strewn across the streets and buildings. Some windows were boarded up as well.
Zombies in the form of slow moving shamblers spawn automatically without need for any mana expenditures and won¡¯t count towards floor capacity, however any extra undead must be summoned. Undead variants of the unlocked regiments are exclusive to this floor.
I demand a twenty-minute slog through this floor! Time to check the creatures.
Creatures: Shambler: 5 Mana Runner: 10 Mana Undead Sapper: 35 Mana Bloater: 20 Mana Undead Cuirassier: 30 Mana Undead Soldiers: 15 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
For the undead, I have a rough guess as to what they are, but I¡¯ll take a look at their descriptions one by one, starting with the shambler; Shamblers are slow moving undead. Easy to kill and are especially dangerous in a group. Runners are agile undead. Easy to kill, but if one is not careful they will knock you down and claw out your guts. Undead Sappers were once human, and have since fallen to the undead. They¡¯re very slow moving undead. They carry an axe that will easily kill and tear down barricades with ease. This undead tougher overall, however their slow pace makes them vulnerable to ranged attacks, one can kill them in melee, but must take caution doing so. Bloaters are undead that have grown in exponential size, easy to spot and match the same pace with shamblers. Upon death they¡¯ll explode, taking everyone in their vicinity. Undead Cuirassiers were cavalry soldiers that had fallen to the undead. They match pace with shamblers, and their chest and backplate protects them from ranged and slash attacks above their waist; their helmet provides some head protection, but is still vulnerable. And lastly the Undead Soldiers, they¡¯re regular shamblers, but I can choose which unlocked regiment to summon them as, which is neat. Before I summon anything in, I need to first decorate the Floor 3 entrance. Upon returning, I created and arranged two "dead" Black Watch soldiers¡ªone sitting and leaning against the wall, the other on the floor. I added barricades on the entrance with two easily removable boards, creating a passage that led directly into a basement. Finally, I added the text ''Don''t Enter Dead Inside'' at the top and bottom, respectively. The entire addition cost me 35 Mana, leaving me with 15 Mana to spare. Alright, I¡¯ll decorate the city with ¡®corpses¡¯ which aren¡¯t really corpses, they just to add to the atmosphere. I¡¯ll start in the basement. I created and placed a zombie that has a musket & bayonet stuck on its left shoulder. I¡¯ll place another dead Black Watch soldier on the floor. With this I had used up all my Mana. Inspecting the basement itself doesn¡¯t have anything in particular, just boxes haphazardly strewn about and two ¡®corpses¡¯, to finish it off I placed a note in the middle of the room. All In all I¡¯m very satisfied, even if it had used up all of my remaining Mana, I¡¯ll just come back later once my Mana has sufficiently refilled. In the meantime, I¡¯ll check around the floor, note down spots where I can hide a cheeky bloater. It¡¯s been about 4 hours give or take, I found a barracks that''s been barricaded completely, located in the eastern part of town, which is also in direct path to the Core room. That¡¯s where I¡¯ll summon soldiers. Now the barracks itself is a two-story high brick building, and it¡¯s surrounded by 3 meter high walls with brick guard towers at each corner, the front gate is blocked by stacks of crates, barrels, and a Conestoga wagon situated behind the barrels and crates. I¡¯ve also divided the town into three sections, and in between each section is a small event that adventurers must complete, whether it be tearing down a barricade, or looting the town, and I¡¯ve stuck through and added corpses in areas where I want adventurers to go. So in total I spent around 20 Mana I should still have enough Mana to summon a creature, let''s check. Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 10/450 Level 3 Mana: 20/50 Mana Regen: 10 per hour Floors: 3/8 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: None
Wish I had more Mana, but what can I do about it? Anyways, let''s see what I can summon. Creatures!
Creatures: Shambler: 5 Mana Runner: 10 Mana Undead Sapper: 35 Mana Bloater: 20 Mana Undead Cuirassier: 30 Mana Undead Soldiers: 15 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
I¡¯m thinking Opolcheniye, let''s see their description. The Narodnoe Opolcheniye, or Opolcheniye, sometimes translated as ¡®People¡¯s Militia¡¯ or ¡®Home Guard¡¯. These militias were featured prominently in early Russian history. Before the unification of Russia each city or town had its own Opolcheniye not named Narodnoe but after the city or town, Novgorodskoye Opolcheniye, Moskva Opolcheniye etc. These aren¡¯t militia, but armed crowds, that would arm themselves with whatever weapons handed to them, be they muskets, pikes, pitchforks, or hatchets and some used shovels. Once armed they would then gather into a polk or which if translated with modern meaning is regiment. During the War of the Fourth Coalition, 612,000 Narodnoe Opolcheniye were mobilized, but not used in combat. In 1812 during the French Invasion of Russia 420,000 Narodnoe Opolcheniye were raised, and were used extensively during the war. As per usual it glossed over some details, but I won¡¯t complain anymore. I summon the Opolcheniye, or rather the Yokakko Opolcheniye. As usual, a unit of twelve soldiers materialized in the Barracks courtyard. They were dressed in brown redingote coats with red collars, paired with matching trousers. Their heads were adorned with a mix of peaked hats and fur caps. It was evident that I had received one of the more uniformed Opolcheniye regiments. Their weapons were also a mixed bag. I counted five muskets, three pitchforks and three pikes, with the exception of the officer, everybody has hatchets sheathed on their right hip. The officer herself is wearing a dark green version of the uniform and peaked hat, with the hat itself having a red band around it and a maltese cross at the front. She approached me. ¡°Tsarina.¡± Whoa, I¡¯m Tsarina now? That''s quite a promotion! The officer continued, "Are you sure it''s okay for us to be here?" She asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice, attempting to peek over the barricaded front entrance. ¡°We may be born of this dungeon, but the cannibals out there will still attack us, dungeon or not.¡± Huh!? Whoa hold is this even possible? System! Please answer! And also why did she refer to zombies as cannibals? Ah! That''s right the term zombie wasn¡¯t coined until 1819, ok well I won¡¯t correct her. But why isn¡¯t she referring to them as undead? Ah whatever, I won¡¯t dwell on this much longer, it''s her choice on whatever she wants to refer to the zombies as.
Normally dungeon creatures cannot fight one another, however due to the special nature of this floor undead creatures will attack both outsiders and non-undead dungeon creatures, the only exception to this is when Permadeath mode is active for whatever reason. Undead will begin spawning the moment non-undead creatures get summoned or outsiders reach this floor. Any undead creatures summoned on this floor will not count towards floor capacity.
Whoa! This is serious. If the zombies that spawn, along with those I summon, attack the Opolcheniye at the barracks, I fear they''ll get overrun. As it stands, twelve of them cannot hold out. ¡°Alright Sasha, I¡¯ll summon more backup when I get more Mana.¡± I said, ¡°In the meantime, just try to keep a low profile, and fortify the barracks.¡± Sasha nodded, and began directing her unit to take positions in various places around the barracks. And true to the System¡¯s message, I could hear zombies growling outside the barracks. Sasha approached me again, ¡°What can we do about supplies? Like food and water? As you know, the supplies we have right now won¡¯t last.¡± Sasha asked, raising the question about the supply problem. Informing her of some options to rectify this problem, I said ¡°Good question, search through the barracks. It might have supplies you can use. If you run out, you may need to scavenge the city, but please be careful, you may be able to respawn, but I still don¡¯t want you to die. I¡¯ll try to figure something out on my end.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Sasha said, giving a bow before going back to coordinate with her unit. Before summoning anymore regiments, I need to find a permanent solution to this supply problem¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Sasha POV: Once Tsarina Amelia Yokakko left, I gathered my unit together. ¡°There is a horde of cannibals, out there. Now they may be of this dungeon, but they won¡¯t hesitate to attack you.¡± I explained, unsheathing my saber. The girls all nodded, I continued, ¡°I¡¯ll take three with me to check the inside of the barracks, make sure it¡¯s clear.¡± I ordered two musketeers, and one pikewomen, to follow me. We cautiously opened the double front door, my pistol drawn, ¡°Katerina you go first, We¡¯ll be right behind, be ready with the pike.¡± Katerina nodded, raising her pike forward and walked inside, the rest of us followed suit. When we entered, the inside wasn¡¯t looking any better. Beds overturned and tables were overturned with one table split in half, trash littered the floor, lastly there''s a trail of blood leading upstairs. ¡°You two,¡± I addressed Lidia and Katerina, ¡°Check the restroom on the far east side. Be careful.¡± Both girls nodded as they clutched their weapons tighter. Then I turned to Lilya, ¡°Lilya with me to the second floor.¡± We slowly walked up the stairs, my pistol raised, and my saber unsheathed in my right hand. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Upon reaching the top we struggled in getting over bed frames used as makeshift barricades to block the stairs, but we successfully overcame the obstacles. We were met with the same scene as on the first floor, only this time there''s two corpses, one clearly undead, and the other is where the trail of blood ended. This corpse, though hard to tell is or was from Britain, her uniform is completely unidentifiable, I was able to tell purely because her tattered shako is unmistakable. Lilya almost threw up, but managed to keep it in, ¡°So not only are we up against this, but also outsiders?.¡± I heard Lilya ask. ¡°Yes, that''s exactly it.¡± I replied, walking towards the corpse, careful not to step on any debris. Once I reached the deceased British soldier, I poked at its head with my saber. I waited ten seconds and relaxed, nothing happened. ¡°Looks like this floor is clear, let''s meet up with Li-¡° I was interrupted by a loud bang downstairs. Lilya and I immediately rushed downstairs to find Lidia reloading her musket, and an undead impaled upon Katerina¡¯s pike. Approaching the two, both turned their attention to me. "Ma''am, we found one hiding in the restroom, but otherwise, this floor is clear," Katerina reported as she slid the corpse off her pike. "Lilaya and I discovered two corpses upstairs; otherwise, it''s clear," I responded. "Let''s inform the others and get this building cleaned." ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia Pov: I came back two hours later, now with 25 mana, which isn¡¯t a lot, but I¡¯m hoping that I can at the very least create a well for the soldiers at the barracks, speaking of. ¡°Sasha! I see that you¡¯re clearing out the barracks what for?¡± I asked. ¡°Ah, well, we checked the barracks. Found one cannibal, now we¡¯re just cleaning out the building.¡± Sasha explained. I nodded, err tried to. ¡°I have a solution to the water, and food problem.¡± I stated, for now I¡¯m going to create a basic water well, and a 4x4 garden plot.
Water Well and 4x4 garden plot created. Mana cost 25.
A well materialized at the north side of the barracks compound. The Mana cost is completely worth it. ¡°That should cover your food and water for now, though you¡¯ll have to wait for the food to grow.¡± I said. Sasha nodded. ¡°I thank you kindly,¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anything else you need, don¡¯t hesitate to call me,¡± I said before leaving the barracks. Getting a birds-eye view of the city, I could see the streets littered with zombies, of the shambler type. Man thank goodness that they don¡¯t count with the capacity, otherwise I¡¯d have already hit it by. I¡¯ll just confirm first.
Floors->Floor 3 Theme: Small Urban City Special Feature Active: Undead Outbreak Capacity: 12/64
I¡¯m guessing the reason the capacity didn¡¯t increase was because of the amount of zombies, that''s too many to count. I¡¯ll see what reinforcements I¡¯ll summon as backup for the Opolcheniye. Creatures!
Creatures: Shambler: 5 Mana Runner: 10 Mana Undead Sapper: 35 Mana Bloater: 20 Mana Undead Cuirassier: 30 Mana Undead Soldiers: 15 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
I wish I could summon the Old Guard! It''s sitting there¡­ beckoning me, calling me, yet it''s always out of reach. It''s so unfair! Well Vistula Legion Grenadiers is tempting, what with them being equipped with grenades, however I¡¯ll summon my custom regiment, purely because I want to see them. That and also summon a second Nockgunner, because why not! Well time to wait, I guess I can pass the time by adding non-hostile fauna since they¡¯re free. About five hours of randomly placing all kinds of fauna, yes including flies, which then began gravitating towards the corpses that''s everywhere in the city. The flies overall add to the immersion of a zombie apocalypse. Returning to the barracks, I saw three girls huddled around a campfire, attempting to relax amid the constant growls of zombies. I even saw one enter one of the brick towers. Phasing through the wall I spot Sasha in the middle of the room, overseeing a map. Approaching her I said. ¡°Hey Sasha, I¡¯m gonna summon more backup, telling you now so that you don¡¯t get surprised.¡± ¡°More help would be appreciated, thank you Tsarina.¡± Sasha replied, still staring at the map. Going upstairs where I see one girl sleeping on a bed. I hope I don¡¯t wake her up! Anyways. Creatures.
Creatures: Shambler: 5 Mana Runner: 10 Mana Undead Sapper: 35 Mana Bloater: 20 Mana Undead Cuirassier: 30 Mana Undead Soldiers: 15 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
I summon the 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment! No description needed cause I created them! Thirteen girls appeared, and similar to the Black Watch, the extra girl was a fifer! The girls resembled elves, but with silver skin and pale blue eyes. They wore orange coats with dark-gray trousers. I realized that I forgot to change the color of their lapels and cuffs, so they defaulted to purple. And adorned on their heads are the Austrian helmets, except for the officer, again I forgot to make a separate uniform for her! The only thing different is she¡¯s wearing a purple bicorne from front-to-back, that has an orange plume protruding from the left side. The officer, a slender moon elf, approached me. ¡°By the light of the moon, the first regiment is ready to serve the dungeon.¡± The officer proclaimed. Honestly speaking, seeing a fantasy elf, any of them wearing early 19th Century inspired military uniform is a bit surreal, If i¡¯m being completely honest. ¡°First I shall call you Vaeris. Second you are to assist Officer Sasha and her Opolcheniye regiment.¡± I stated, ¡°Remember, there''s zombies out there, and won¡¯t hesitate to attack you. So be careful.¡± Vaeri saluted, and began ordering her unit to move downstairs, where they¡¯ll be briefed by Sasha. Welp, I can¡¯t ask the fifer to play music, as I¡¯m not sure if it would attract zombies. Best play it safe for now. It was then that I received a notification.
Warning! Outsiders with the intent on harming the Dungeon Core detected. Entering Permadeath mode¡­ Permadeath mode is active until the threat has been eliminated or has fled the dungeon.
Now I¡¯m panicking! I don¡¯t want to die! It hasn¡¯t even been a year, let alone a month! I hope my soldiers, fauna, and undead can defeat them! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Minutes earlier, Unknown Adventurer POV: Oh man! We¡¯re finally here! After a day and night of nonstop travel, as well picking up a couple more guys to help which doubled our numbers to twenty-four. Killing this dungeon is going to be a breeze! Now once we¡¯re done with this dungeon, only the Karland Dungeon will be left. Its 100 floors is a complete pain in the ass, but fortunately for us this dungeon is brand new. Well according to the Manarias Party that is. Our leader, a gruff old man who calls himself Alkanoid, barked orders for everyone to dismount from the carriages. Our leader began addressing everyone. ¡°Now! The moment we walk in there all hell will break loose. Now the contract only states to kill a dungeon, but it doesn¡¯t state anything about loot. So feel free to take as much loot as you can!¡± We all cheered in excitement at the prospect of the massive payouts we¡¯ll receive as well as the possibility of earning ourselves any loot. All twenty of us stormed through the dungeon, with the last four staying behind. everyone of us receiving a warning from our systems. It''s routine at this point, so we all ignored it. When we entered the first thing that greeted us was a bulletin board, amidst the bright sunny background. Alkanoid halts us, reading what the bulletin says out loud. ¡°Dungeon Rules: No Posting memes in #general, No Takesy Backsies, No Slap fighting in the dungeon. Thank you, and a smiley face.¡± We were pretty confused at the so-called rules. Now it''s not uncommon for dungeons to post a set of rules at their entrance, hell even the Karland Dungeon has two, but these are bizarre! I mean, what even is a meme? and a ¡®#general¡¯? The slap fighting one is so specific. Anyways Alkanoid snapped us out of our stupor, and ordered us to march onto a dirt road with the surroundings resembling that of a countryside farm. ¡°Keep your eyes peeled, men!¡± Alaknoid stated. ¡°Hey sir there''s two figures on the watchtower.¡± I said, pointing at the watchtower in the distance. ¡°Bah! Just burn it!¡± He declared, and so our mages began launching firebolts which quickly engulfed the tower in a fiery inferno, taking the two figures down. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The Yokakko POV: Drats! I was hoping one of them would¡¯ve sniped at least one person! Maybe Bertin¡¯s and Ellen¡¯s regiments can get at least ONE invader out of twenty, whose numbers make me nervous. I¡¯m praying and hoping that they forget to collect the keys, otherwise they won¡¯t be able to enter the Core room and destroy/shatter/disintegrate and whatever else can be put on there, to my Core! They quickly dispatched the guard donkeys that charged at them. The invaders met Ellen¡¯s Landwehr, all ten of them, I say ten because they placed two at the watchtower, reinforced by farmers, Helen the only farmer with a musket, the rest armed with pitchforks. ¡°I SHALL STALL YOU HERE, INVADERS!¡± Ellen declared, yelling at the top of her lungs. This confused the invaders, which Ellen took advantage of and did not hesitate as she ordered a volley be fired before ordering a charge. During that volley I received two notifications, but I quickly dismissed them for later. A person wearing the most ornate and sophisticated leather with reinforced chainmail armor that I¡¯ve seen was the first to recover and ordered a countercharge. In fact eighteen of them are wearing the same thing as their leader, and one is wearing just regular leather armor with iron greaves and braces. The two sides quickly collided in a melee, where swords clashed against bayonets and pitchforks. It became evident that Ellen''s side was at a disadvantage, given the opposing party¡¯s greater experience in close combat. The Landwehr, essentially composed of part-time soldiers and farmers with no combat experience, struggled against the more seasoned fighters. Despite the challenging situation, the defense force succeeded in eliminating three opponents, with Jane even impaling one with her pitchfork. Meanwhile, Ellen found herself locked in a sword duel with the enemy leader. ¡°Retreat please! Group up with Bertin!¡± I urged Ellen, but alas it fell on deaf ears as she continued, she soon fell in battle. After the brief clash there were sixteen of them left. I heard a flurry of questions and comments coming from the invaders.. ¡°Hold on, since when can dungeons summon humans?¡± ¡°It''s a shame these girls are dungeon creatures¡­¡± ¡°Where did this dungeon get guns that don¡¯t require magic crystals?¡± ¡°These uniforms look somewhat like the Ergonese Zephix Battalions.¡± These are some of the things I was able to pick out, and also whoever said the second line, YOU better not do anything to my girls without their consent! Or else I¡¯ll grab a Nockgun and fire it point-blank at your face! Anywho, they continued onwards to the second floor entrance, after they looted the corpses, while being constantly harassed by the multitudes of farm animals. Jeez man I died laughing at a guy that got his leg broken by a cow! They soon arrived at halfway point to Bertin''s defense line at the second floor entrance. As they approached, they came under fire as they entered musket range. Both sides exchanged fire, with archers and mages launching arrows and firebolts. As the invaders neared, the leader ordered a charge, and they swiftly closed the gap to the defense line, albeit not before losing three more members. The eager National Guard, determined to prove themselves, entered into close combat with the invading force, benefiting from the advantage of fighting with cover. Similar to the Landwehr, they found themselves in a losing battle. Despite Bertin managing to graze the leader''s face, the vast difference in experience between the National Guard and the invaders became evident, echoing the challenges faced by the Landwehr. Anyways, It didn¡¯t take long before the National Guard was defeated. Now let''s see how they fare against Isabella¡¯s Guerrillas and Marley¡¯s Black Watch. Oh? And it looks like they¡¯ve ignored the encampment, which works out for me cause now they can''t enter the Core Room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Unknown Adventurer POV: Alkanoid stopped us from looting the camp situated next to the second floor entrance, and he ordered us to move into the floor. His argument being that we¡¯ll have more time to loot once the Core is shattered. Anyways the landscape for the second floor is a forest, which unlike the last floor is more common for dungeons to have as a first floor. "Cease, men! Though this dungeon may harbor peculiar creatures, a forest remains a forest. It''s the perfect terrain for hidden creatures, poised to ambush us," cautioned Alkanoid. "Corvo, stand prepared with the Mana detection spell." ¡°Aye, aye, sir.¡± Corvo said, as his hands began glowing blue. We all stood waiting, in tense silence. Corvo¡¯s hands began dimming until they were no longer glowing, and he gave a report, ¡°Nothing but animals detected, we should still proceed with caution.¡± Alkanoid nodded and proceeded to divide us into three groups. Two groups of five each assigned to shadow the remaining six, including him, from the forest. The final group is to march along the dirt road from the forest. I was placed in the group moving along the dirt road. We marched on the road for approximately thirty minutes, maintaining a deliberate and cautious pace while keeping a vigilant eye on the surrounding forest. Thus far, encounters had been limited to the occasional deer, and our progress remained relatively uneventful. Reports from the two groups shadowing us indicated sporadic skirmishes with humans, possibly more dungeon summoned humans, but they had fallen silent for the last ten minutes. As we continued, we bypassed around a small clearing that appeared to be some kind of puzzle or trap. Eventually we neared a bridge there seemed to be guard posts on both ends. Alkanoid stopped, and gestured for us to get low on the ground. We all immediately complied and got down. ¡°You lot see that?¡± Alkanoid said, pointing to the bridge. ¡°What, the bridge? Or the guard posts?¡± Our hunter said. Alkanoid shot him a glare, ¡°No! You idiot! It''s more of those humans.¡± he said, pointing to figures of four human women wearing strange bright red outfits that have some white stripes, I think that''s a skirt? Also I''ve never seen those types of bonnets before. ¡°I¡¯m referring to those women wearing such impractical outfits. I mean who wears a skirt in a forest, without wearing any leg armor! That''s not even mentioning the fact that they¡¯re wearing bright red outfits that''s easy to spot¡± One of our surviving mages commented in a condescending tone. Alkanoid gave a deadpan expression, ¡°And those same women with impractical clothing are equipped with guns.¡± He chastised the mage, ¡°Guns whose bullets ignore the fact that you''re a level 41 mage. Now zip it and let me concentrate.¡± He continued. That shut him up real quick, of course while our group did manage to very quickly kill the last two groups of dungeon creatures, the fact their guns killed some of us with ease. Despite being fired without the need for magic crystals. Alkanoid had everyone gather into a huddle, ¡°Ok here¡¯s the plan¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia POV: Isabella and her guerrillas were able to take out the group on left and three on the right, leaving only two survivors. This did come at a cost, Isabella herself is dead, my jaguar is dead. Only two guerrillas survived. Per my request, they retreated to the bridge with the Black Watch. I see movement from where the group is hiding. Two moved up, the other pulled out a bow and the other hands began glowing a very bright orange. Oh no! He¡¯s going to cast fireball and decimate the guard station! Except he didn¡¯t and he instead hurled two firebolts while his partner also shot two arrows. The first firebolt missed its mark, but the second struck the first soldier squarely in the chest, reducing her to a pile of ash. The remaining three soldiers heightened their alertness. Two arrows were unleashed, finding their marks on the second soldier''s left knee and chest, rendering her incapacitated. The last two soldiers retreated into the guard station, a box-like structure devoid of windows with only a roof for cover. While not offering much protection, it served well for firing from. After dragging their fallen comrade inside, the pair assumed crouched positions and unleashed a barrage of shots toward the direction of the projectiles. Unfortunately, without a medic, the third soldier succumbed to her injuries shortly thereafter. By now the rest of the regiment plus two remaining guerrillas had heard the shots and began rushing to aid their comrades. If the Black Watch fails to stop these Invaders, then maybe the zombies will. Now the remaining eight invaders began rushing to the bridge. Can I help my creatures?
Negative. The Dungeon Core is unable to aid summoned creatures whenever there are outsiders until the avatar has manifested.
Well when can I manifest then?
Dungeon Core is able to manifest an avatar after reaching level 10.
Well darn! I¡¯ll be cheering on Marley from here, and from the looks of it the only mage fired three more firebolts, both hit two more turning them into heaping ash piles. Now the remaining eleven formed a line, one rank deep and fired a volley. Of course two were killed leaving only six remaining. Their surviving mage and archer returned fire killing a Black Watch soldier, and the two remaining guerrillas. Before the invaders reached the seven Black Watch, they were able to fire another volley. They all missed because of course. Anyways a melee ensued, and unlike the militia regiments of the first floor the Black Watch actually performed better in the melee, this was proven when a soldier bayoneted an invader upon immediate contact, and Marley herself killed one more with her saber. But of course even though the Black Watch was better experienced than both the Landwehr and National Guard, they were still outmatched by the five invaders. Regardless the Black Watch continued to fight with great ferocity, which balanced out the fact they were outmatched. Marley even yelled and I quote ¡°YOKAKKO FOREVER!¡± I don¡¯t know how I should feel about that. On one hand I feel flattered and on the other I feel like I disrespected Scotland. Well nothing I can do about it now. In total the melee lasted for about ten minutes, with the Black Watch, with the fight ending after the aforementioned ornate armor wearing member of the five, just out of nowhere pulled out this absolutely giant glowing sword and just disintegrated everyone, before said sword shattered and disappeared. ¡°Tch,¡± Ornate Guy started, ¡°I was gonna use that to shatter the Core, but these dungeon creatures were proving to be more troublesome than I initially expected.¡± HE WAS GONNA USE THAT TO KILLLLL MEEEEEE! Ok, ok, calm down Amelia, breathe in, breathe out, it¡¯s gone, that sword is no more, take solace in the fact that they didn¡¯t grab the two keys on the first floor, even if they grabbed the third key from the tree puzzle. It all would¡¯ve been for naught, as without the two keys from floor 1 they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the Core Room. Anyways they crossed the bridge and it wasn¡¯t long before they reached the hallway leading to my still unfinished third floor. Stopping just in front of the door that has ¡®Don¡¯t enter, Dead Inside¡¯ inscribed alongside two corpses. I could see that everyone except Orante Guy had chills on their spines. Now you HAVE to slog through it, having to fight not just my two summoned regiments, but also an endless wave of zombies! Or cannibals as Sasha refers to them as. Interlude: The Mayor of Vonesmy (Two and half days ago) Guildmaster Andreas entered Mayor Laramie¡¯s. Now the mayor himself, he¡¯s a young dwarf or well young in dwarven years. Mayor Laramie looked up from his endless mountain of paperwork, and smiled upon spotting the figure of Andreas. ¡±Ahh, Andreas, my good friend, its nice to see you here.¡± Laramie said as he greeted, Andreas. He stood up, walking over to him and offered him a handshake. ¡±Say, you rarely visit during work hours, is there perhaps something important that I should know?¡± Laramie asked. Andreas returned the handshake, ¡°Aye, I do, there¡¯s a new dungeon that appeared near here. About a day of travel, two if one is traveling with a large group.¡± Mayor Laramie was shocked at this revelation, so much so that he almost collapsed to the floor that was prevented by leaning on his desk, which resulted in his mountain collapsing. ¡±Truly? This isn¡¯t some cruel joke? Laramie asked, still unsure. Andreas nodded, ¡°Yes truly.¡± Andreas responded, as he laid the palm of his hand flat on the desk, before a map of the local territory materialized on top of the desk, showing a pulsating red dot north of Vonesmy. ¡±This,¡± Andreas started, pointing to the red dot, ¡°This is the new dungeon.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Laramie''s eyes widened in astonishment. "This... this is wonderful news, Andreas," the dwarf stammered out. However his astonishment was quickly replaced with resolve, ¡°Quick Andreas, you must inform the Grand Council, I¡¯ll gather a group of soldiers to secure the entrance and prevent the saboteurs that have been killing the country¡¯s dungeons!¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be off to the City of Kurz!¡± Andreas said before leaving the office. Once Andreas left, Laramie walked to the window on the left side of the room, which provided a nice view of Vonesmy. Vonesmy itself is a city that used to be a trade hub, located strategically in the middle of the country, the city itself served as a connection for the eastern, and southern coastal cities, where goods would then travel westward to the capital. But now, as a result of the Ergon and Laziran embargoes, very few trade occurs and Vonesmy suffered as a consequence. The once bustling streets lay silent, with very few citizens out and about. However all is not doom and gloom, as despite the hardship, the denizens of the Union are determined to withstand any and all challenges imposed upon them, and to preserve the country¡¯s independence. Mayor Laramie gazed upon his city once more before returning to his desk, opening a drawer, taking out a blue crystal ball and placing it on his desk. He tapped the crystal ball twice, and he waited. It didn¡¯t take long for him to wait as the crystal ball began emitting a blue glow and a figure of a female wood elf wearing half-plate armor and a Morion helmet appeared shortly thereafter. Laramie processed to show the map to the wood elf. ¡±Guard General Tira, Send a squad to guard the dungeon at this exact location, but make haste! The longer we wait the more time these bastards, whoever they are, have to shatter the Core!.¡± Laramie ordered. ¡±Aye, aye, sir! I¡¯ll personally lead a squad to guard the dungeon entrance.¡± Tira said, before the blue glow died down. The mayor could only pray that they weren¡¯t too late, and that the dungeon is still there. Chapter 6: Continued Floor 3 Development and the Beginnings of A Dungeon Town They¡¯ve entered the basement, and are immediately greeted by the sight of a zombie, with a bayonet stuck in their left shoulder, plus another Black Watch soldier not too far from the zombie. Ornate Guy noticed the note on the ground, and began to read it out loud. ¡°To whom may read this. The dead have risen from the grave, taking all those unfortunate enough devoured in their wake, turning those consumed into flesh eating cannibals! The eastern portion of the city has fallen, and other parts may soon fall, it''s only a matter of time before the barracks falls to the mass of cannibals. I bequeathed thee to turn back to whence you came.¡± The group exchanged looks of uncertainty, before Ornate Guy began barking orders to exit the basement. Yeah so I did a bit of tweaking on the note, mostly changing any and all mentions of the word zombie to cannibal. Yes Sasha has gotten me thinking, and sure zombies are undead and they also just so happen to eat people hence why they can technically be classified as a cannibal. What am I even talking about? I¡¯m getting sidetracked, and oh darn they must¡¯ve left while I was sidetracked. Quick I must find them! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Outside the dungeon. Guard General Tira and her squad of seven had just arrived a bit aways from the dungeon. Having dismounted from their horses, it didn¡¯t take long for the eight to notice a set of six black carriages, and four figures at the entrance. ¡±Darn, those bastards beat us to the dungeon. Since the entrance still stands, we may not be too late, come let''s intercept them now before it''s too late.¡± Tira declared, as she drew her falchion sword, and began approaching the four figures. The rest of her squad followed suit. ¡°Hey you there! What are you doing outside the entrance!?¡± Tira yelled, garnering surprised looks from the four. A man walked forward to meet Tira, ¡°Ah, we are but simple adventurers.¡± The man calmly states, attempting to hide his panic. ¡°I would¡¯ve believed that if it weren¡¯t for the Black Mark which proves that you¡¯ve shattered a Dungeon Core or are associated with somebody who has shattered a Core. Which said seal you are so desperately trying to hide!¡± Tira stated, before continuing. ¡°Therefore I place you four under arrest, for violating Grand Council Directive No.3729, titled ¡®Dungeon Protection¡¯ under article 7 quote ¡® provides City Guards, Militia, or the adventurers guild the authority to conduct an arrest on individuals proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are about to or are in the midst of an attempted Core shattering, individuals discovered with the Black Mark within a 5km of a dungeon are to be arrested and interrogated.¡± The Black Mark is pictured as a shattered pedestal, which typically held an orb representing a Dungeon Core. 10,000 years ago the first ever Dungeon Core was shattered by a party of twelve, the Goddess of Dungeons upon hearing this was furious, so furious in fact that she descended from the heavens, an act that the deities hadn¡¯t done since the Creation Era. The goddess smited the one responsible, and placed the remaining eleven with a permanent curse, the Black Mark on both of their shoulders. Those cursed with the Black Mark are ostracized everywhere one goes, and it is also see-through, meaning that no matter how many layers of clothing one puts on, the Black Mark is still visible and no amount of magical means can hide this curse. Since then the term ¡®Shatter the Core¡¯ has been used to describe any attempt, successful or not, at destroying the Dungeon Core, by any means. Grand Council Directive No.3729 ¡®Dungeon Protection¡¯ was passed by the Grand Council of Kurz which grants the military the authority to protect Dungeons Cores from being shattered by individuals suspected to be plotting to shatter the Core, or those with the Black Mark. However due to the current embargoes and sanctions, the military is unable to enforce this directive, and thus the Grand Council amended the directive to allow local law enforcement and the Adventurers Guild the ability to enforce this directive. ¡°Oh shit.¡± The man responded, shakily drawing his rapier. ¡°Yeah, not a chance!¡± Tira nodded, ¡°So you¡¯ve chosen to resist, then pay with your blood!¡± She said as her squad and she charged at the four. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª I actually caught up to them, the group that is now five. So what happened to the sixth guy? Umm, well a zombie nicked him in his left thigh, and instead of helping his buddies just left him to die. That''s cold man, but I won¡¯t be crying over him that''s for sure! Yeah, it comes to no surprise that the remaining five are plowing through any zombies they see. Shamblers are pretty weak after all. They navigate through the streets and eventually end up in a four-way intersection, with both the east and west roads blocked by barricades, consisting of barrels, crates and chevaux-de-frises. Ornate Guy pointed to the only member of the group not wearing chainmail with his leather armor and ordered him to remove the east barricade. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of this Dungeon,¡± Leather Guy complained, as he was in the process of carrying a crate. Ok well good then! Now leave! And oh? What¡¯s this more enter? Oh god I hope they aren¡¯t reinforcements! I materialized at the entrance, only to find four outsiders, a mix of two humans, one dwarf, and one wood elf wearing Morion helmets and half-plate armor. Almost like they¡¯re larping the Spanish Conquistadors. Of course like the first group they got confused at the bulletin board, though one of them, a tall female wood elf her Morion had a red feather protruding from the left side, as opposed to the other three who had none. That must mean that she¡¯s some kind of leader or officer. ¡°If there¡¯s four outside, then there''s usually more further in!¡± Their leader said, ¡°Or at least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard from other city guards.¡± Wait! These guys are coming? Oh bless them, they¡¯re coming to rescue me! Metaphorically speaking. Anyways it took them ten minutes to get from Floor 1 all the way up to the Floor 2 entrance to the hallway, before actually entering Floor 3. On the way there, they ran past all the bodies of my creatures, which they didn¡¯t pay attention to. It would¡¯ve taken them much longer if they gawked at the first floor longer. They got there and they met with Annabelle! Whose sitting on a crate, with her Nockgun on her lap facing the hallway entrance. Wait! I completely forgot about Annabelle! I¡¯m so sorry! Annabelle chuckled. Oh crap! She must¡¯ve heard, I¡¯ll make it up to you somehow! ¡°This is odd. A dungeon able to summon a human, and what a peculiar gun you have.¡± The Leader said approaching Annabelle. ¡°Heh.¡± She responded. Hey Annabelle, introduce yourself and ask them for their names, please! Annabelle shrugged, turning to look at the Leader. ¡°Hey, names Annabelle, and you?¡± ¡°Oh, forgive me, I am Guard General Tira of the Vonesmy City Guard.¡± Tira responded, she then proceeded to point at her other companions, ¡°The two human twins behind me are Jaime and Jesse, and the dwarf next to me is my XO Arwa.¡± After Tira finished introducing everyone she continued ¡°We have been dispatched by Mayor Laramie to protect this dungeon from individuals with the Black Mark.¡± Wait, the Black Mark? What is that? Annabelle echoed my confusion by essentially voicing our confusion. ¡°Well, to put it the Black Mark is a shattered pedestal that appears on the shoulders of individuals who have participated, or is associated with one that has already shattered a Dungeon Core at the time of shartering.¡± Tira explained. ¡°And we have reasonable articulable suspicion that an individual or individuals have entered with the intention to shatter the Dungeon Core.¡± Wait, now that she mentioned it, I did notice those shattered pedestals on everyone except the leather guy and I dismissed them thinking that they¡¯re just tattoos from a gang they¡¯re a part of, but now I know that''s not the case! To say that Annabelle is livid was putting it mildly, clutching her Nockgun tight, I can see a burning rage in her eyes. So much to the point that Tira and the rest of the Vonesmy Guard backed away just a bit. ¡°You know, I received a system notification telling of Permadeath mode.¡± Annabelle said through clenched teeth. ¡°But, heh, now that I know the real reason as to why that¡¯s been invoked, heads will begin rolling.¡± Yikes! Remind me to not piss off Annabelle. Actually let''s check on those five right now! Definitely not saying that to get away from Annabelle! I¡¯m just distancing myself¡­ socially¡­ yeah that''s it! I materialized back at the intersection and the first thing I see is Ornate Guy on the ground, being mauled by a horde of cannibals. Now Sasha has gotten me saying that! ¡°Fuck the contract! This dungeon isn''t worth dying in!" exclaimed one of the invaders as he swiftly decapitated a cannibal. His sentiment was echoed by his companions as they all hastily retreated. However, one of them had his leg grappled by a cannibal before they could escape and was subsequently mauled by more cannibals that appeared, reducing their numbers to three. They had to dodge a bunch more cannibals before they reached the basement, into the hallway. At this point I¡¯m referring to zombies as cannibals from now on. As they exited the hallway they were greeted with four Vonesmy City Guard, and a very pissed off Annabelle pointing her Nockgun. ¡°Wait!¡± Before Leather Guy can say anything more, Annabelle fired her Nockgun point blank at the three, making a loud boom and absolutely decimating them. OOF! That''s like seven muskets firing point blank! This also caught the four off guard, but they didn¡¯t say anything.
Alert, threat to Dungeon Core eliminated. Proceeding to resume functions in Normal Mode.
Oh speaking of let''s see the notifications!
Due to the sheer volume of notifications, the system has condensed it as much as it can. Mercenaries killed x20, levels 24-78 XP: 5,736 Dungeon Core leveled to 9. Themes unlocked: Ocean Islands Large Urban City Unlocked seven new Regiments and one Irregular unit: Russian Cossack Cavalry French Young Guard French Dutch Guard British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) French 4th Hussar Regiment British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) Russian Partisans Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry You have unlocked the Spanish Guerrillas for use on all floors. Mana regen increased to 35 Mana capacity increased to 150 Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Floor capacity increased to 2 You have been granted the ability to communicate with other Dungeon Cores. You can create your own flag, for use by you, or your creatures. You now have the ability to create Artillery units from any of the currently available nations, however you must choose the type of artillery. Achievement unlocked, repelled an enemy intent on shattering your Core. Reward x2 Mana regen for three days. Title Unlocked, Early Survivor.
Sweet! I¡¯ll check out the custom flag later, and it¡¯s about time I receive some cavalry, and to some extent artillery. Status please.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 5,746/6,927 Level 9 Mana: 150/150 Mana Regen: 35(70) per hour Floors: 3/10 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor
Still not enough for the Old Guard, big sad. Let''s see the cost for the new creatures. Creatures!
Creatures: Bear: 7 Mana Wolf Pack: 15 Mana Jaguar: 6 Mana Anaconda: 7 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) 55 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana French Young Guard 100 Mana French Dutch Guard 100 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 45 Mana Cavalry Russian Cossacks 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment 60 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas 20 Mana Russian Partisans 20 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
Hmm, I¡¯m not in a rush to make another floor, I¡¯ll continue working on the third floor, until I¡¯m satisfied enough. Oops I completely forgot that the Vonesmy Guards are still here! ¡°Hey Annabelle! Can you tell the Vonesmy Guards the location of an untrapped stash? I feel like they deserve a reward for at least coming to my rescue. Even if they did nothing, please and thank you.¡± I asked Annabelle. ¡°I can point you to an untrapped stash, it''s in that¡­¡± Annabelle proceded to act on my request, but I didn¡¯t hear the rest, as I¡¯d already moved into floor three. Alright! As it stands now there¡¯s only one ¡®holdout¡¯ zone and that''s the barracks. So I¡¯ll create another zone, and that''s at the town center, specifically inside the town hall, and a siege camp right at the Core Room. The purpose of this camp is to bombard the town. Basically I want adventurers to survive for one hour against hordes that progressively gets harder with new types appearing every five minutes, they get two options, survive at the barracks, or the town hall. Adventurers have to arrive at one of those locations first. After they have successfully survived the one hour then they¡¯ll get teleported to Floor four, but right now they beat the dungeon and are teleported outside with random loot alongside a badge of a bloodied weary Old Guard soldier with the words ¡®The Guard¡¯s Last Stand¡¯ in French. Alright, Let''s get to work! And after maybe I can try out this new communication function with other Cores. The question is who do I talk to? Karland Dungeon? Ah, I''ll figure it out later. That temporary 70 per hour Mana regen boost will do wonders. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Tira POV: Following the directions of Annabelle, we found a crate hidden in the ground, which after some digging, we unearthed a crate. After saying our goodbyes to Annabelle, Jaime and I carried the crate outside where we¡¯re greeted by the rest of our squad. ¡°So,¡± Jaime began, ¡°Any thoughts on that extraordinary dungeon?¡± ¡°It''s an odd dungeon, but the first floor is beautiful. I bet we can collect crops there.¡± Jesse remarked. I paid them no mind as my attention was drawn to the crate, or more specifically what''s inside of it. ¡°Arwa, let''s try to get this crate opened shall we?¡± He nodded, and we soon got to work opening the crate. Inside we found two firearms, what''s strange about this is that I don¡¯t see any magic crystals on it, there''s a note on top of them. I began to read the note out loud. ¡°Hi, as a thank you for helping (even if you did nothing), here¡¯s instructions on how to use a musket, these steps should be similar to the muskets you¡¯re used to seeing: Step 1: take a paper cartridge from a pouch, there should be two there, then bite the indent on the cartridge (Note cartridges have gunpowder and a metal ball inside.) Step 2: Pour some gunpowder into the priming pan. Once you are finished close the priming pan and pour the remaining gunpowder down the barrel alongside the metal ball. Make sure the ball is still encased in paper as it stops the ball from rolling out. Step 3: Take out the ramrod and push the cartridge as far down as you can go, make sure that the cartridge is firmly in place. Step 4: Take it from half-cock to full-cock, and you are ready to fire! If you have no intentions of firing the musket, then ensure the cock is set to half-cock as it acts as a safety. Do note that these muskets can be, and are inaccurate.¡± Everyone crowded around me as I read the instructions, there''s even pictures at the bottom showcasing all the steps. I handed the note to Arwa. I then grabbed a musket, inspecting it briefly before grabbing a pouch and taking out a tube shaped paper object. ¡°The note says to bite the end of this thing right?.¡± I said, taking the tube and inspecting it closer, sure enough there''s an indent at the top where it looked like it''s been tied, and at the bottom is a circular object. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Arwa replied as he read over the instructions. ¡°Well, here goes.¡± I tried to follow the instructions and the illustrations as best as I can, but it took me a couple of tries and a bit of this powder into my mouth that I finally got it correct. I aimed at a tree not too far from here, ensuring to aim for the center. Pulling the trigger, there''s a loud boom and smoke that came out. Once the smoke cleared, we spotted a noticeable dent in the center. ¡°Whoa! This dungeon just solved our magic crystal woes!¡± Jesse remarked, starstruck. I propped the firearm next to the crate as everyone is now checking over the contents. Meanwhile I retrieved a blue crystal ball from my storage sack. Tapping it twice, the ball instantly glowed, with Mayor Laramie on the other side. ¡°Mr Mayor, I bring good news.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia POV Alright, instead of placing these cannibals individually I decided to place them into the random spawn system, it adds a sense of unpredictability and it''s cheap too! So I added all of them into the spawn pool which ended up costing me around forty-five mana. I also checked the title I received. Here''s what they say: ¡®Early Survivor¡¯ Granted to dungeons in the Maryura continent who¡¯ve survived an attempt to shatter the Core. Passive: Dungeon creatures leveled 50x during Permadeath mode for outsiders seeking to shatter the Core. And that''s really OP. However, it¡¯s only for anyone that wants to kill me, which is good. Don¡¯t want to make it harder than it already is. Moving forward, I completed both the camp and town hall. Let''s begin with the camp. It resembles a typical military setup, with rows upon rows of tents and similar structures. However, a notable distinction lies in the wooden palisade that forms a semicircle, stretching from one section of the dungeon wall to the other. Facing the town, there''s an open section where I''ve positioned a 12 pdr cannon and a 6 in howitzer, both overlooking the town. The available ammunition includes canisters and regular cannonballs for the 12-pounder, and explosive shots for the howitzer. I ensured that the ammunition respawns when the boxes are emptied. Alongside the cannons, a worm rod and ramrod with a sponge appeared, a set for each cannon. While I intend to incorporate more cannons in the future, perhaps a mortar or two and additional types of ammunition, but for now, this setup suffices. Additionally, I elevated the ground to create a small hill, this had cost me 70 Mana. Now onto the town hall. Now the building itself is a two-story building that has a glass dome on the roof. I removed the roof purely because I didn¡¯t want cannon balls to shatter the glass and explode inside; some of the windows are boarded up. At the front courtyard is a cannon that''s pre-loaded with canister shot, plus a crate for canister shot next to it and a cannon ramrod and worm propped up against the cannon. Around the courtyard are barricades that form a semi-circle around the cannon and the front entrance to the building. This in total costs 80 Mana. Of course I took a break every two hours just to replenish my mana, but they filled up quickly thanks to the 70 Mana regen. Time to summon! Creatures.
Creatures: Shambler: 5 Mana Runner: 10 Mana Undead Sapper: 35 Mana Bloater: 20 Mana Undead Cuirassier: 30 Mana Undead Soldiers: 15 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) 55 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana French Young Guard 100 Mana French Dutch Guard 100 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 45 Mana Cavalry Russian Cossacks 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment 60 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas 20 Mana Russian Partisans 20 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders)
Defending the townhall will be the Nizam-I Cedid Infantry, and the Infantry Regiment Nr.1, it''s time that Austria receives some recognition in this dungeon. Let''s summon the Ottoman regiment first. I know the Ottoman Empire didn¡¯t play any major role in the Napoleonic Wars, but I think it¡¯s good that the system includes countries that never took part in the wars. Alright time to look at the description. It reads: The Nizam-I Cedid or ¡®new order¡¯ were a series of reforms undertaken by Sultan Selim III in an effort to catch up to the west militarily and restructure Ottoman politics. Selim III saw a need for a new army, one that''s modeled after the west, and thus the formation of the Nizam-I Cedid Army or New Order Army. After losing the Russo-Turkish War of 1782-92, Selim III concluded that the Ottoman military needed to be reformed if the empire was to survive. In 1797 he created the Nizam-I Cedid and by 1806 the Nizam-I Cedid had a force of 26,000. In 1799 200 Nizam-I Cedid soldiers assisted Jezzar Pasha in his heroic resistance against Napoleon¡¯s army in the Gaza Strip and around 304 Nizam-I Cedid soldiers and artillery men were present at the Siege of Acre, in which they helped repel Napoleon¡¯s Army. The Nizam-I Cedid Army as well as the Nizam-I Cedid reforms as a whole was brought to an end in 1807, in the end the Nizam-I Cedid Army proved to be a failure and was disbanded by Selim III. The Ottoman Empire tried to reform, but forces within refused. Such as the Janissaries who launched a coup, placed Sultan Selim III in prison who was then assassinated. Anyways let''s summon them! As per usual 12 women appeared. They were dressed in a red tunic, around their waist is a white cloth belt with a gold buckle, paired with baggy blue trousers, while a tall red cloth Bostandji Bachi cap adorned their heads. The musket they carried is the Charleville 1777 with bayonets alongside Shamshir swords sheathed on their right hips, unlike the rest of the regiments the Nizam-I infantry are not wearing backpacks. The officer herself, as the front and bottom edges of her tunic are lined with gold coloring, the front of her Bostandji Bachi cap has the words, from top to bottom inscripted in gold; A, Y, D. Her only weapon is the Shamshir sword. ¡°Ahh, Sultana Yokakko, is it wise for us to be here?¡± The officer asked, also I¡¯m naming her Ceyiz. ¡°Eh, you''re just gonna have to hide in the town hall, just don¡¯t get spotted!¡± I replied. ¡°Right now it¡¯s quiet as it¡¯s night time currently. Now if you want I can create fences around the town hall.¡± One by one the Cedid soldiers enter the town hall. ¡°No, it is not necessary, but thank you for the offer.¡± Ceyiz said as she was the last to enter the town hall. Now for the Austrians! Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 5,746/6,927 Level 9 Mana: 60/150 Mana Regen: 35(70) per hour Floors: 3/10 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor
Oh, that¡¯s plenty of Mana! That 70 regen is coming in quite handy! Summon the Infantry Regiment Nr.1. I won¡¯t bother with reading their description, the Austrians have been waiting for too long. Next time I¡¯ll definitely read the description for the next Austrian regiment. 13 women appeared, wearing white coats with red lapels and cuffs, white trousers, complete with black boots, and lastly the extra soldier is a fifer, adorned on their heads are Kasket helmets. Unlike the rest, the officer is wearing a dark gray frock coat with a yellow belt around her waist, and adorned on her head is a bicorne worn side-side. I¡¯m naming her Greta. Greta wasted no time in getting everyone into the town hall. Those white uniforms are going to get messy on this Floor! Fifers and drummers are completely useless on this floor as the noise will attract cannibals. Fortunately the camp is ¡®far¡¯ enough away that the sounds of the cannons won¡¯t attract any cannibals. I materialize through the building, finding Greta and Ceyiz are inside the conference room with a map of the town overlaid on the table. ¡°Hey, I suggest you mark the barracks.¡± I started, ¡°The barracks is currently housing the Russian Opolcheniye and my very own 1st Dungeon infantry regiment.¡± ¡°I see, we¡¯ll have to try to establish contact with them.¡± Ceyiz said, placing a miniature Russian, and a gray flag at the barracks. I really should create my flag. Anyways I bid them farewell returning to the barracks and informed both Vaeri and Sasha of the town hall. Let''s see what the capacity is. Floors->Floor 3 Theme: Small Urban City Special Feature Active: Undead Outbreak Capacity: 38/64 Almost filled it to capacity, hopefully I have enough room to summon two cannon crews. Moving over to the two cannons I summoned 14 French artillery crew, 7 for the 12 pdr and another 7 for the 6 in howitzer. The crew¡¯s uniform consist of a dark-blue coat with red lapels and cuffs, a dark-blue trousers, red epaulettes on their shoulders, and adorning their heads is a shako that has an imperial eagle imprinted on the front, a red white and blue cockade at the top with a short red plume protruding behind the top of the cockade, with a red string and tassel tied around the sides of the shako. Summoning them brings the capacity to 52, which means that I have enough room for one regiment. ¡°Alright ladies!¡± I yelled, getting everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Your mission is to bombard the town. Now only fire once you start hearing crackling, explosions, basically any signs of fighting in the town. Which I predict won¡¯t be long when the day arrives.¡± They all saluted and went inside the tents, to sleep. It is midnight afterall. Speaking of, I should try to get in touch with a dungeon, and create a flag. Meh, that''s for tomorrow for me to solve! For now, sleep. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The next day, outside The Vonesmy guard had created a set of four tents, two per tent, they all awoke to the sounds of hooves. They all got up to go outside, only to find Mayor Laramie alongside a dozen or so civilians. Those civilians brought tool boxes and any equipment that one can carry in a construction site. ¡°I came as fast as I could.¡± Laramie said, dismounting from his horse. ¡°With me is everybody skilled with construction. The stablemaster was ecstatic at the prospect of this dungeon, and lent all of his horses to us. Meanwhile behind me is a wagon train, they¡¯ll arrive in the afternoon tomorrow, along with the rest of the construction equipment." ¡°Oh so does this mean we''re building a dungeon town?¡± Tira asked. Laramie grinned, ¡°That we will.¡± Chapter 7: Dungeon Communication, Floor 3 Challengers, And Manifestation 2 days after the attempted Core shattering. I tried to summon the Young Guard to defend the artillery crews and uh, yeah I went over the limit and I sacrificed a soldier. Look, I¡¯m not getting rid of the fifer, but that does mean that I¡¯m not gonna have a second Nockgunner, which is a pity. As for the Young Guard¡¯s description it reads: The Young Guard, much like the Old Guard are part of the Imperial Guard. The Old Guard consisted of veterans whereas, the Young Guard consisted of the best of the best from among the fresh recruits and conscripts alike. In 1809 the Young Guard appeared unofficially in the form of two tirailleurs-grenadiers and tirailleurs-chasseurs, this changed when in 1810 the Imperial Guard was officially divided into three sections, the Young, Middle, and Old Guard. In 1812 during the battle of Krasny the Young Guard fought valiantly, but perished afterwards, during Napoleon¡¯s arduous retreat from Moscow. During the events of 1813 Napoleon recognized the Young Guard as effective shock troops, and by 1815 the Young Guard consisted of volunteers, retired men, corsicans, recruits and even deserters. Oof, the Grand Army never truly recovered after the invasion of Russia. I also got curious and took a gander at the Russian Partisan¡¯s description. Here¡¯s what it read: During the French invasion of Russia, Napoleon¡¯s Grand Army faced little resistance from local populations in territories inhabited by Polish, Byelorussian, and the Baltic peoples. This changed the further the Grand Army marched into Russia as they soon faced heavy resistance from local populations in territories inhabited by Ethnic Russians. Another catalyst for Partisan warfare against France was when the Grand Army engaged in looting Smolensk. Partisan warfare came into three forms, either cossack or light cavalry raids on French supply lines, or picking off lone units. A Hessian Captain Roeder who was stationed at Vitebsk observed an incident saying ¡°Everything was suddenly thrown into ridiculous uproar because a few Cossacks had been sighted, who were said to have carried off a forager. The entire garrison sprang to arms, and when they had ridden out it was discovered that we were really surrounded by only a few dozen Cossacks who were dodging about hither and thither. In this way they will be able to bring the whole garrison to hospital in about fourteen days without losing a single man,¡± or as is the case in Spain fierce resistance from local peasants and civilians, and lastly Scorched Earth. Uh yeah, Tsar Alexander I referred to the French Invasion for the first time as the ¡®Patriotic War¡¯ and the tsar called for all peoples of Russia to resist, the phrase was then used by Stalin referring to WW2 as the ¡®Great Patriotic War¡¯. Moving on to the Young Guard themselves, they sport a blue coat with red collars and red cuffs, and red epaulettes on the shoulders, paired with white trousers and black knee-length boots. Their shakos feature the French imperial eagle at the front, adorned with a gold-colored band wrapped around the top edges. Above the eagle sits a white, red, and blue cockade, with a long red plume extending from the top. Finishing off with a red string and tassel wrapped around the sides of the shako. The officer who I named Marie, her shako has a gold colored string and tassel, and gold colored epaulettes. Yes she¡¯s wearing the pre-1815 uniform, otherwise her coat would be entirely blue without the white vest underneath. While I wished I summoned the Old Guard instead, I guess I¡¯ll settle for the Young Guard. Though I¡¯d much prefer the Old Guard. After giving her the rundown of her regiment¡¯s assignment, which is to as I said earlier, defend the artillery crew from any stragglers coming over. The crews themselves have begun shelling the city, mostly centered around the town hall, which I was right when I predicted that the town hall would be the epicenter of the fighting. The barracks had mostly been quiet, save for some curious cannibals. Now to make it fair, I added gunpowder, and cartridge boxes inside the barracks and town hall that would refill when empty. I spent 37 Mana in total for the boxes. Another thing I did was lower the time limit for adventurers who¡¯ve already ventured into the first and second floors down to 30 minutes, but I added an alternative way to beat my dungeon via a sign informing newcomers. Instead of having to comb through the first floors, they can instead opt to survive for 3.5 hours against increasing waves of cannibals. Adventurers are teleported to the basement, they must navigate the city to the town hall or the barracks, all while under constant cannibal harassment. The timer starts if one of the locations is reached. Now regardless if adventurers trudged through the first two floors or not they¡¯ll still receive that Old Guard badge I created, except now I created another badge given to those who ¡®died¡¯ on this floor. The badge features a bloody and an image of a zombified Old Guard soldier with glowing red eyes, the words ¡®The Guard Has Fallen¡¯ inscribed under the soldier. This ended up costing me a whopping 150 Mana! So now I¡¯m waiting for my Mana to trickle up again. The difficulty depends on the levels of the people in a party. For example, if there is a party of five and all are around levels 25-30 then the zombies/cannibals that appeared will average to around level 27 somewhere in the middle. If it¡¯s just one person who is level 25 then they will also be level 25. What if the party of five are, let''s say level 5, then the zombies/cannibals will all be level 5 with less variety of types appearing and bloaters will not appear. My regiments will provide no assistance. Should I add a difficulty setting? I¡¯ll think about it in the future. Another thing I noticed was people who look like farmers and or regular civilians, going into the first floor, and harvest the crops there. Which I don¡¯t particularly mind, these crops reappear anyway, if my farmers tend to them that is, and besides I¡¯m mostly likely helping feed some local community out there, and that makes me feel good. Besides, the Landwehr and National Guard leaves them alone. You know it was funny seeing their reactions to seeing humans as dungeon creatures when entering for the first time, but now those same people just either ignore them or stop to talk to them. I even saw a pair of old farmers, what looked to be a married couple, hand an apple pie to Helen and the rest of my farmers. That was very sweet and wholesome! Now to find a willing tes-I mean volunteer, yeah a volunteer to try floor 3. I¡¯ll have to ask either Ellen or Emile to request a quest through one of the visitors. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Outside. Newly developed Dragdville. Outside Amelia¡¯s dungeon a town is beginning to take shape, though not quite big enough to be called a town per se, more like a hamlet, considering its current size, though that will soon change as more and more settlers from all over the UoK arrive en masse to this burgeoning settlement. Dragdville itself resembles a temporary tent city, with the sounds of saws and hammers echoing as buildings, essential or residential, are under construction. However, in time Dragdville will resemble a proper city. Inside the Dragdville Adventurers Guild tent, a trio of adventurers can be seen standing in front of the quest board. All are female¡ªtwo humans and one foxkin subspecies of the Animalkin. The first human is garbed in red Nimai-Do armor and a matching red kabuto helmet with no faceplate. She brandished a naginata with a katana and wakizashi sheathed on her left hip. The second human dons green leather pants and a matching green shirt, over the shirt is a set of Haramaki-dou armor, as well as a black pouch by her left hip, complemented by an olive bycocket adorned with a red feather at the back. She has a rifle slung on her left shoulder, a katana and wakizashi sheathed to her right hip. She has kozane plates on her arms and legs. As for the foxkin, she looks like a human except that she has fox ears and a fox tail. She is wearing brigandine lamellar armor and a kettle helmet, modified with holes to accommodate her ears and tail. She wields a kite shield and scimitar. All three are indecisive on which quest to take from the board. ¡°Taira, nothing good is available here.¡± The Warrior exasperated. ¡°Hang on Minase, I¡¯m sure we can find something.¡± Taira said, then turning to the foxkin, ¡°Maya, you spot anything?¡± Maya pointed to a quest pinned at the top right. ¡°Says, ¡®Need Challenger for floor 3, reward 100 gold pieces, plus additional dungeon reward, requested by Ellen.¡¯ Maybe we can take that? We do need the money.¡± ¡°Yes! Let''s take that!¡± Minase exclaimed. She swiftly took the paper and made it over to the receptionist desk. Both Taira and Maya followed suit. ¡°Um, can we take this?¡± The receptionist smiles, stamps the quest, ¡°What is your Party Name? If there is none, then tell me your names?¡± The Receptionist asked. ¡°Oh, we don¡¯t have one, in order it goes me/Yamakawa Taira, Miyahara Minase, and Maya Von Seltzuneberg.¡± Taira said. ¡°The three of you must be from the Hoyashi Shogunate and the Earthian Kingdom respectively.¡± The Receptionist remarked. ¡°Would it be alright if I write down just your first names?¡± The Hoyashi Shogunate is a country ruled by 7 clans with the 8th being the Hoyashi Clan ruling as the Shogun from the capital of Hisomiya. The country itself is an island nation that''s sandwiched between the Maryura continent to the left and the Varigny continent to the right. The island itself is named after the current ruling Shogun. The Modernist Hoyashi clan ousted the ruling Magic Tradionalist Taizho clan after a grueling 20 year long civil war between the Modernist clans and the Magic Traditionalist clans.
The Kingdom of Earthia is a country ruled by Animalkins, located on the smaller continent of Tamnis just below Hoyashi Island also sandwiched between the two aforementioned continents. Ever since Earthia''s declaration of independance 200 years ago from the Kingdom of Grire, they have been at war with their neighbor. Borders constantly shift to the point that map makers have given up on trying to keep up and have instead split the continent in half on maps, as of now the both kingdoms have agreed to a ceasefire, but it''s unclear how long it will last. Currently Earthia diplomatically isolated, save for trade relations with the UoK disregarding the combined Laziran and Ergonese embargoes.
The Kingdom of Grire is a country ruled by Human supremacists who''ve for over 1,000 years the country have oppressed the Animalkin populations inhabiting the western portion of the continent. ¡°Yes, write down Taira, Minase and Maya.¡± Taira responded. The Receptionist finished writing the Trio¡¯s name on the form before depositing it in the desk drawer. ¡°Oh and one more thing this quest was requested from a dungeon creature, thought I¡¯d let you know.¡± The trio gave the Receptionist confused looks as she just chuckled, ¡°Oh, believe me I had the same expression when I first got here.¡± The trio nodded at the same time offering no more words as they walked out. After a couple minutes of walking the trio arrived inside the first floor and were greeted by a farming countryside with the sun rising in the background. The trio marveled at the sight, before noticing a bulletin board and a sign next to it. ¡°Rule 1. No posting memes in #general. Rule 2. No takesy backsies Rule 3. No slap fighting in the dungeon. Thank you :), Huh? What do they mean?¡± Taira asked as she read the rules posted on the bulletin board. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but since this is a dungeon they could mean anything, plus that last one is odly specific.¡± Maya said. ¡°Anyways let''s not dwell on it, we have a quest to complete. ¡°Look!¡± Minase said as she pointed to the sign next to it. Maya walked to the sign and crouched to be at eye-level with the sign. ¡°Tapping this sign will bring you or your party to Floor 3 where one must survive 3.5 hours without dying or suffering a TPK. Failure to survive will net half of the rewards.¡± ¡°Well the quest says that they¡¯re only looking for challengers to floor 3. It didn¡¯t specify how we arrive there.¡± Minase reasoned. And so Maya tapped the sign and all three were transported to the barracks of floor 3. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The Yokakko Dungeonator I know I said that adventurers must navigate the city to reach either the town hall or barracks, but I¡¯m too excited to see this work. Plus this is only a trial run, just to see if everything is running as intended, and make tweaks if need be. The next time they arrive, they¡¯ll be teleported to the basement, I promise. Anyways as for the trio themselves, I can definitely see that two of them are Japanese based on their samurai-esque armor. Though the girl holding her naginata is clearly a samurai, the other is wearing a mishmash of Japanese armor and Robin Hood¡¯s fit. The last girl is a beautiful fox girl. Achem, moving on she¡¯s definitely got this Eastern Roman/Byzantine inspired lamellar armor. Oh yeah, they¡¯re getting their situation explained by both Vaeri and Sasha, of course I watched the three do a double take when they saw line infantry night elves. I know even I¡¯m still surprised and I created the regiment! Anyways it shouldn¡¯t be long before the zombies arrive. At this point I¡¯m just using the word zombie and cannibal interchangeably. And oh? The first cannibals have arrived! Here comes a shambler climbing over the wall, aaand they¡¯re dead! Killed by the Naginata samurai girl. If I was there in person I¡¯d keep an eye out for bloaters. The description said that they explode when they die, so I would operate on the assumption that their deaths can destroy barricades, and also the Zombie sappers as well, purely for their axes. In any case so far with the aid of the Dungeon Regiment and the Opolcheniye they¡¯re making short work of the zombies that arrive. Even clearing them from the barricaded gate. Now to be fair this is pretty early, it''s going to get tougher from here on out. Now while they try to survive I¡¯ll relocate myself to the church bell tower nearby. It gives me a pretty good view of the barracks. Now time to try this dungeon communication thingy. Oh there¡¯s a new tab underneath floors called ¡®communication¡¯ so I pressed it, err well, look I accessed it ok! The exact moment I enter the tab, I¡¯m immediately bombarded with a huge list of Dungeon Cores! There¡¯s so many! Is there a way to filter this? Like setting it to only show nearby dungeons? Oh wait, I¡¯m dumb there''s a triangle arrow right next to the search bar that says ¡®filter¡¯. Filter to nearby dungeons please! Almost Immediately the long list disappeared, only showing 20 dungeons instead. As I scanned the list, one caught my eye ¡®Karland Dungeon¡¯. Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah! I overheard some of the visitors harvesting crops mention this dungeon. And- oh Jesus 100 Floors!?!? Well looks like nobody¡¯s gonna be beating Karland! Let''s see, location Union of Kurz, east side of the city of Kurz. Let¡¯s pop them a message! ¡°Hi! :wave_emoji: My name is Amelia Yokakko! What¡¯s your name? I hope we can be friends!¡± Alright, hopefully I didn¡¯t come out too strong, an-oh, oh! They¡¯re typing let¡¯s see their response! ¡°Ara, ara, a young dungeon wishes to befriend little ol me? Oh I¡¯ve been so lonely with nobody to talk to, since all the other Cores outside the Union are¡­ how should I say this nicely¡­ mean.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Oh no please don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re going to be those ara ara characters from anime! Oh wait they¡¯re typing, let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see. ¡°Oh where are my manners! I didn¡¯t introduce myself while you did, how unladylike of myself. I am Lady Karland, but please refer to me as Karland.¡± Ok, so they¡¯re a she, whew! Didn¡¯t want to misgender and anger someone I¡¯m trying to talk to! I gotta send a reply. ¡°Oh it¡¯s no problem! :thumbs_up_emoji: Please refer to me however you like! I don''t mind!¡± Wait, I''m not done typing! ¡°Is there any way we can do a video call?¡± Feel like that¡¯s a fair question to ask. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°Yes, but since you haven¡¯t manifested an avatar I¡¯d only be seeing your orb¡± Man, I hope I¡¯ll level up after this trio leaves. Speaking of them, time to check on their progress, I believe it¡¯s only been an hour. Huh, the gate is busted wide open and the barricades destroyed, I¡¯m seeing runners, zombie cuirassiers, and zombie sappers moving in. Yeah they¡¯ll be fine, just gotta have some faith is all. ¡°Sorry, I had to check in on the progress of a trio of adventurers.¡± And send. I check back to the trio while I wait for Karland to finish typing. I see that the artillery have shifted their focus onto the barracks now. It seems that everyone has retreated inside. I¡¯m rooting for the trio to survive and earn that badge! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Minase POV: I swung my naginata, swiftly beheading an undead. As it collapsed, I heard growling behind me. Turning swiftly, I blocked the undead''s attempt to scratch me, but now it''s got a tight grip on my naginata. If this continues I¡¯ll be sure to get knocked down! Now I hear more growling behind. Craning my head to the left I see more undead climbing through the window. Bang! The undead that gripped my naginata fell, revealing Sasha with her pistol pointing at me, smoke coming out the barrel. ¡°First floor is about to be overrunned! Retreat upstairs!¡± Sasha yelled. ¡°Go! I¡¯ll be right behind you!¡± Without hesitation, we sprinted, leaping over overturned tables and racing up the stairs. As we approached, I noticed three pikes pointed downward, but as Sasha and I drew near, they were swiftly raised before being lowered in acknowledgment of our presence. I immediately spot Taira and Maya, in the corner alongside Vaeri. Sasha and I both walked over to them. ¡°That was a close one!¡± Taira exclaimed. ¡°We¡¯re not in the clear yet.¡± Vaeri the Moon Elf reminded. ¡°You three still have to survive twenty more minutes.¡± Sasha after she finished reloading her pistol walked to Vaeri, ¡°What are our casualties?¡± Vaeri pondered for a moment, before replying. ¡°We lost 6 Opolcheniye and two of my soldiers are trapped in the top right watchtower.¡± Sasha winced at hearing that number. ¡°That¡¯s half of my unit.¡± Vaeri nodded. ¡°Although, keep in mind that five of those killed were from bloaters.¡± ¡°Maya, how is your shield?¡± I ask, approaching Maya. Maya looked at her damaged shield before replying. ¡°I reckon it can withstand one more bloater blast.¡± We were interrupted when we heard a shout from one of the pikewoman yelling, ¡°They¡¯re Coming!¡± Followed by multiple gunshots going off simultaneously. ¡°This is going to be a long twenty minutes.¡± I commented. Clutching my naginata tight. I rushed forward to the stairs, stopping myself just short as I spotted an incoming bloater explode on the three pikewoman guarding the stairs, killing them instantly, plus another ten undead behind it. ¡°Guys!¡± I heard Taira yell. ¡°I¡¯m out of crystals, I have to resort to my katana.¡± Vaeri stepped forward, saber in hand, ¡°Gather around we¡¯ll make our stand here.¡± Then Vaeri proceeded to let out a warcry pointing her saber towards the growing crowd of undead, after which I became invigorated in some way, like I¡¯ve been invigorated and all my fears washed away and filled with an intense bravery. If I were to describe it, it¡¯d be like I¡¯ve been given a strength and speed buff. I watched as Vaeri suddenly charged at the growing number of undead as she cut down 8 undead and counting. I followed suit, slicing 5 undead and prevented one runner from tackling Maya. My charge was halted when I came face to face with one of those undead sappers that Sasha and Vaeri talked about. This one is a Moon Elf wearing the same uniform as Vaeri¡¯s soldiers except that she¡¯s wearing a bloody tan apron, and carrying an axe. It swung its axe downward, almost hitting me as I dodged, the result was the axe had been jammed into the floor and was almost impossible to remove. Using the undead¡¯s inherent focus in its attempt to retrieve the axe, I swung my naginata sideways, prompting beheading the undead. That was then that I felt this surge of energy wear off, as another appeared this time wearing some kind of chestplate and a helmet that¡¯s got horsehair attached to the back. It was slow, and I used the reach of my polearm to pierce through the undead¡¯s head. I heard screaming to my left and I bore witness to Maya surrounded by undead as they swarmed her, dragging her to the floor. I rushed forward to help her, swinging wildly in an attempt to rescue Maya by killing the undead on top of her. As I cleared the undead, I saw that Maya was still alive, breathing heavily. Extending my arm, she grabbed hold of it and got back up. ¡°Thanks Minase.¡± Maya said, ¡°My armor prevented me from being bit, however had you taken longer, I would¡¯ve ¡®died¡¯ there and have had to deal with sensations of being eaten alive.¡± I shuddered at that thought, ¡°Well, it''s a good thing I arrived, where¡¯s your sword?¡± ¡°Dropped it.¡± Maya stated. ¡°Oh.¡± I said, before I unsheathe my wakizashi and handed it to her, ¡°Here use this, we should be almost done¡­ I think¡± Maya took the wakizashi from my hand, and we stood back to back as more undead poured through from the stairs and surrounded us. An explosion was heard on the roof causing a huge chunk to fall on a crowd of undead, crushing them. Then I received a system notification.
Clear the remaining undead.
In my vision I see the remaining 20 undead highlighted in red. It was the same ones that surrounded Maya and I. I hear a warcry ring out from the other end of the room and I witnessed 10 being cut down as Sasha, Taira and the 5 remaining soldiers charged. Maya and I exchanged looks and charged at the last 10. I raised my naginata and swung downward, only to realize my mistake as I had killed a bloater, and the ensuing bloody explosion dispatched 9 undead nearby. I on the other hand didn¡¯t make it out unscathed. Not only do I have guts on me, but my left arm has been bent backwards, causing me to drop my naginata. Taira rushed over, ¡°Minase! Are you alright?¡± ¡°Tch, these damned bloaters, despite being big, they easily blend into crowds.¡± I sneered, as I clutched my left arm. The last undead was easily dealt with after Maya and Sasha tag teamed it. I received another system notification. Quest complete! Return to Ellen to receive your reward, she¡¯ll be waiting at the dungeon entrance. All undead cleared.
Rewards: Survived Badge 350 Gold coins 500 silver coins 1000 copper coins 1 musket and cartridge pouch. 1 Belgic Shako 1 Saber 1 fife 2 grenades Rewards will be received upon exiting the dungeon.
This is a bit much! Especially for a floor 3 challenge. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Back to Amelia! My conversation with Karland came to an end as something came up on her end. So I ended watching the trio survive the last 20 minutes, I nearly winced when that samurai girl, Minase was it? Anyway she almost died when she melee¡¯d that bloater now fortunately she got away in time with a bent left arm, but man those bloaters, despite being chonkers they do blend in really well within crowds. The trio was teleported back to the entrance where Ellen is waiting and handed each of them a pouch containing 100 gold coins, as I promised in the quest. After they exited I received some notifications.
Yamakawa Taira level 27 Gunner successfully beat the dungeon, 500xp Miyahara Minase level 30 Samurai successfully beat the dungeon, 650xp Maya Von Seltzuneberg level 36 Knight successfully beat the dungeon 700xp Dungeon Core leveled by 1. You are now eligible to manifest an avatar. No new themes unlocked. Mana regen increased to 45 Mana capacity increased to 210 3 new regiments unlocked Austrian Infantry Regiment Nr.34 Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier Regiment British Coldstream Guards 2 new summons Axe-Gunner Hand Mortar Crew
I immediately wheezed hard when I saw the axe-gunner, which is a pistol that has an axe head attached to the barrel, a gun that may sound impractical, but was used by Polish cavalry in the 16th century all the way to the 18th century, and by the Swedish Navy from the 18th century till 1840. Very surprised to see them here, but then again Sweden did participate in the Napoleonic Wars, fighting against Napoelon in the Pomeranian War/Franco-Swedish, fought the Russins during the Finnish War, fought the British in the Anglo-Swedish War of 1810-1812, and was even present at the Battle of Grossbeeren, and the Battle of Leipzig during the War of the Sixth Coalition. So if I were to guess I''ll be seeing the Swedish Navy boarding axe pistol. I was also surprised upon seeing the hand mortar on here since they weren¡¯t in use by the time of the Napoleonic Wars, since they weren''t that useful in manuever warfare, but maybe the system thought that hand mortars are useful in my dungeon. Scratch that! I can finally manifest an avatar! As much as I trust the system let me just confirm that those changes took place. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 7,562/10,783 Level 10 Mana: 210/210 Mana Regen: 45(70) per hour Floors: 3/10 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Looks like I can edit my avatar anytime if I¡¯m not satisfied with it. Creatures!
Creatures: Shambler: 5 Mana Runner: 10 Mana Undead Sapper: 35 Mana Bloater: 20 Mana Undead Cuirassier: 35 Mana Undead Soldiers: 15 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) 55 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana French Young Guard 100 Mana French Dutch Guard 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard 120 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 45 Mana Cavalry Russian Cossacks 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment 60 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas 20 Mana Russian Partisans 20 Mana
(Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders) Alright! Time to head to the core room where I can manifest my avatar! I wanted this to be a surprise when I finally introduced myself to everyone! I entered the gray room where my core resides, and it just dawned on me that I have no idea on how to manifest my avatar. Umm, system how do I manifest my avatar?
To summon your avatar, simply utter ''Avatar Manifest.'' Should you wish to revert the manifestation, simply say ''Avatar Unmanifest.'' Should your avatar be destroyed, then you are unable to manifest it for one week.
Ok! Avatar Manifest! My perception shifted from an ethereal existence to inhabiting a physical form. Initially unsteady, I regained my balance after a moment. Inhaling deeply, I exhaled slowly, centering myself. With a deliberate motion. I have a body now!. Smiling widely I created a big mirror using up 25 mana. The reflection before me depicts a woman with short brown hair, standing at around 5''6" tall. She''s adorned in a dark blue coat adorned with red cuffs and gold epaulettes. Beneath the coat, a crisp white vest complements her attire. White trousers and knee-length black boots complete her ensemble. At her left hip rests a saber with a gleaming gold hilt. Crowning her appearance is a Black Bicorne hat, adorned with a tricolor cockade of red, white, and blue, with a vivid red plume trailing behind. Lastly she wore a pair of white gloves. And that woman is me! I walked over to the entrance of the Core Room, which now that I¡¯m actually paying attention to is a tall iron double door that depicts a Napoleonic Battlefield. As I walked, at first it was slowly with careful balancing, then as I grew more accustomed to walking I continued on with a steady and confident pace, reaching the double doors and pushing it open. I entered Floor 3 and I had to cover my eyes as it adjusted to the sunlight that greeted me. I caught a whiff of the fresh air, that''s mixed with the scent of blood, but let''s not talk about it, and no one but Marie, and her sergeant noticed me. Good, now to strike a pose and unveil my grand entrance! ¡°GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM! I mean GOOD MORNING, FRANCE! I mean, arghh.¡± I¡¯ve now curled up into a ball and am now dying of embarrassment as everyone gathered around me. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Several seconds earlier, Marie¡¯s POV. I was having a conversation with my sergeant Jean, when suddenly we heard the door to the Core Room open outward. ¡°Hey did anyone get past us?¡± Jean asked, removing her shako, scratching the back of her head. I shrugged, ¡°No I don¡¯t think so, it¡¯d be impossible for an outsider or a cannibal to sneak past us¡± Then the most beautiful woman that I¡¯ve ever laid eyes on stepped out. Jean and I were both mesmerized. The woman placed one hand on her hip, the other extending outward with her palm outward and her fingers forming into a V shape. The woman yelled, ¡°GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM! I mean GOOD MORNING, FRANCE! I mean, arghh.¡± Safe to say that whatever this woman was doing, messed it up. Her yelling caught the garrison¡¯s attention as all eyes were on her. She blushed heavily, her face becoming as red as a tomato. The woman proceeded to get on the ground and curl into a ball. This whole time the entire garrison has surrounded this woman that came out of the Core Room. Later we learned that the mystery woman was our very own Dungeon Core, Amelia Yokakko, the one who¡¯s given us life, yes even those cursed cannibals. Chapter 8: Amelia Goes outside and Touches Grass + Crazy Random Encounter, Registration 1 Hour after the embarrassing ¡®Grand Entrance ¡°There, there.¡± Marley said, as she¡¯s giving me headpats, while I just slump down on a log. By now everybody has gone back to what they were doing previously, having satisfied their curiosity upon meeting me. The headpats are nice¡­ Wait! Since I have an avatar, would it be possible for me to go outside? Excited at the prospect of going outside I stood up startling Marley. [Yes, however, you must stay within a 12km(or about 7.4 miles) radius around the dungeon, it is possible to increase this limit past level 50.] Aww poo, well that definitely placed a damper on my mood. Oh well at least I can visit this city I keep hearing about. That''s still a huge area mind you, I just can¡¯t go past it. ¡°Marley!¡± I suddenly said, ¡°I know what I have to do!¡± ¡°Umm, what?¡± The Young Guard officer nervously said. Smiling widely, and I grab both of her shoulders. ¡°I wanna go out and touch actual grass! Not dungeon grass, but real grass!¡± I declared. Marley had this confused expression, so I clarified, ¡°What I mean is that I wanna go outside the dungeon.¡± ¡°Oooooh, ok, I understand.¡± Marley said, and then asked. ¡°But are you sure going out alone is wise?¡± Tch, she¡¯s right, and I don¡¯t know If I can reasonably defend myself since I have absolutely zero experience with swords and only basic self-defense techniques. Why would a history professor such as I need sword training? System can I bring my creatures with me? If so then how many?
You can only bring a maximum of two dungeon creatures with you. This cap may be increased after leveling up to level 65.
Wait! So what happens if I go beyond the limit?
You will be teleported back to the dungeon entrance.
Ah, ok good to know. Then it''s decided, I¡¯m taking a Young Guard and another from my 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment, purely because I just want to see the reactions from people at seeing a Night Elf line infantry. ¡°Alright, your concerns are valid, and as such I¡¯ll take one from the Young Guard, and a second from the 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment.¡± I said, scratching the back of my head. ¡°I would like to bring more, but I¡¯m only allowed 2. Is that fine with you?¡± ¡°Oh absolutely!¡± Marley exclaimed. Bidding Marley farewell, I began to walk around the camp to search for somebody to pick. Essentially choosing the next Young Guard I see. And ahhh, I love hearing those cannons roar. Continuing on, I saluted the cook, who smiled and waved back, as I passed by her tent. Huh? That''s odd, I do not remember summoning any cooks, but then again they must¡¯ve automatically spawned when I started summoning actual soldiers. I wonder what other camp followers have appeared? Either way, I¡¯m glad, cause I don¡¯t see them as summonable options otherwise my girls would be starving! An army marches on its stomach as Napoleon once said. I have faith that the girls at the Town hall and barracks are fine when it comes to food and water. I¡¯ll pay them a visit later. Soon thereafter I spotted a group of four, sitting on logs near tables having a hearty meal and laughing merrily. Yeah I won¡¯t interrupt them, I pan to the left and quickly spot a lone woman reading a book underneath a tree. "Hey!" I called out as I approached her. She perked up, glancing away from her book. ¡°What are you doing here alone?¡± Closing the book the guardswomen replied ¡°Oh y¡¯know, I¡¯m taking refuge, away from the noise at the moment.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I said, smiling before placing my hands on my hips. ¡°I¡¯m planning to go outside the dungeon, and I need to have an escort of two. Wanna come? It¡¯s perfectly ok to decline!¡± She rose from her seat, tucking her book into her backpack and securing it on her shoulders. With a swift motion, she retrieved her musket and offered a brisk salute. ¡°Ma¡¯am I¡¯d be honored to accompany you!¡± The woman declared, dropping her salute. ¡°But before we go, do you have a name?¡± I ask, to which the girl nodded. ¡°Mhm, Officer Marley bestowed me with the name Jeannette-Dubois ma¡¯am¡± Jeannette responded. ¡°Well then Ms Jeannette I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± I say as I offer a quick bow. Alright! Bodyguard 1 get! Now onto bodyguard 2. So how am I gonna get to the barracks¡­ Oh wait! I forgot I am the Dungeon Core, I can just teleport Jeannette and I there! ¡°Ok Jeannette stay near me I¡¯m about-¡° I was interrupted when a voice behind me yelled for me to wait. Turning behind only to face a panting Marley. ¡°Madame, before you go, here take this. I noticed that you do not possess a pistol.¡± Marley says handing me a flintlock pistol, and a cartridge pouch. "Thanks, Marley!" I expressed gratitude as I swiftly took the pistol and holstered it on my right hip. I then grabbed the cartridge pouch, slinging it over my shoulder and adjusting it until it settled comfortably at my right rear. Once I was finished, I motioned Jeannette to stand near me, as I snapped my fingers and both Jeannette and I were teleported inside the second floor of the barracks, completely startling both Sasha and Vaeri. Fortunately it was just Sasha and Vaeri currently up here. ¡°Hello World!¡± I declared once the teleport was finished, I noticed Jeannette was hanging onto my leg like her life depended on it. Poor girl must¡¯ve been freaked out¡­ I¡¯ll make it up to you I promise! Vaeri, however, was the first to recover. ¡°So the Great Mother has finally graced us with her physical form.¡± Vaeri proceeded to cusp both hands together and utter something in Elvish. Honestly speaking I have no idea what she¡¯s saying so I turned to Sasha and whispered. ¡°Do you have any idea what she¡¯s saying?¡± Sasha just shrugged, ¡°Ah I haven¡¯t a clue either.¡± Vaeri finished doing whatever it is she¡¯s doing and finally addressed both Jeannette and I, ¡°So what does the Great Mother need from us? And also who¡¯s that clutching onto your leg?¡± ¡°Ah, this lovely lady holding onto my leg is Jeannette-Dubois, a member of the Young Guard.¡± I stated, as Jeannette let go, standing up she dusted her trousers before offering a sheepish smile while scratching the back of her head. ¡°And to answer your first question, I am going outside the dungeon and am looking for a second guard. Specifically one from the 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment.¡± Vaeri nodded, ¡°Then I know the perfect candidate, Earalyn. She may not be as skilled as say Jeannette when it comes to firearms, but I can assure you she¡¯s very good at lightning and water magic. I¡¯ll go grab her now.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, hol up, something ain''t right. Since when can you use magic?!¡± I asked, showing a shocked expression. When did I give the 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment the ability to use magic? ¡°Ah, since we were summoned. I¡¯ve had the regiment practice magic when those undead aren¡¯t actively attacking.¡± Vaeri explained, ¡°We¡¯ve decided to use magic, only against troublesome adventurers.¡± Moon Elf, fantasy race, figures. Vaeri proceeded downstairs leaving Sasha and I alone. ¡°So,¡± I said, then continuing ¡°What happened here when they first used magic?¡± Sasha let out a long sigh and facepalmed, ¡°It was ridiculous. Before all that happened, we searched the barracks some more, and found a hatch that led down to the cellar. The cellar itself was empty, but on the far side of the room was a tunnel, upon further exploration this tunnel leads directly to the townhall and since then we¡¯ve been giving the Austrians and Ottomans supplies to sustain themselves.¡± Sasha paused to take a drink from her water flask, and continued, ¡°Shortly thereafter Vaeri and her regiment made the cellar their home, relocating all their belongings there. So one day we heard an explosion and the entire garrison was thrown into alarm thinking a bloater had destroyed a portion of the wall. We were wondering where Vaeri and 1st Dungeon were, until we heard more explosions coming from the cellar. I took some girls with me to investigate and what we found was shocking. We saw objects float, fire created from thin air and some others. I don¡¯t know how to describe it except witchcraft and sorcery.¡± Oh wow, so the Moon Elves threw the Opolcheniye into a panic just by practicing magic. That''s actually pretty funny. ¡°So I take it that the misunderstanding was solved?¡± I asked. Sasha nodded, ¡°Yes, Vaeri apologized to us profusely for causing a panic, and I don¡¯t know what she did but we¡¯ve never heard anything coming from the cellar everytime they practice their witchcraft.¡± ¡°Umm, what is magic? And what is witchcraft¡± I heard Jeannette speak up. Oof, I do not know how to answer that. Sorry Jeannette, you are asking the wrong people here. ¡°Uhh, maybe you can ask Earalyn when comes? Cause I don¡¯t know.¡± I truthfully state. That was until Vaeri came back with another Moon Elf, who has soft deep-silver skin, that at certain angles seem to glow, and she has short silver hair, topped off with pale-blue eyes with a tinge of silver. ¡°I¡¯m back, and I¡¯ve brought Earalyn.¡± Vaeri says as she gestured to the elf in question who removed her helmet and proceeded to do a quick bow before equipping it back on. ¡°Earalyn reporting for duty, It¡¯d be an honor to accompany the Great Mother!¡± Earalyn declared. I nodded, ¡°Then, Earalyn. Stay close, you too Jeannette.¡± As I said that, both Jeannette and Earalyn drew closer to me. Though in the case for Jeannette, holding on for dear life as I proceeded to snap my fingers. The three of us suddenly found ourselves near the dungeon entrance this time startling a group of four adventurers looking to challenge my dungeon. I spot two Humans, one Dwarf and one Wood Elf. Though the Dwarf looked old, well old in Dwarven years at least, I mean he¡¯s got gray hair showing. ¡°Ah, so the avatar has manifested.¡± He comments, after he said that, his three companions all visibly paled. Wait, how does he know? Was I that obvious? I mean of course my outfit is novel to this world, but I could¡¯ve been another creature! ¡°Was I that obvious?¡± I plainly stated The Dwarf gave a hearty chuckle, ¡°Kid, I¡¯ve been exploring dungeons for the past 300 years. No other dungeon creature can suddenly teleport between floors flanked by two creatures, one Human and Moon Elf for that matter. Since this dungeon is still relatively young, it has no creatures capable of teleportation, and judging by the increased mana signals you emit pales in comparison to your two companions. Hell I¡¯m so old that I remember a time when dungeon avatars would regularly interact with us outsiders.¡± The Dwarf said, then he suddenly sports a gloomy and downcast expression. ¡°It saddens me that avatars don¡¯t interact with us anymore, thus leading to the world forgetting that dungeons are very much alive. Dungeon killers certainly have not helped.¡± Oh wow, well that was sure something.. Then the Dwarf had a puzzled expression. ¡°Speaking of, I heard from the guild that you have humans as creatures, but they never mentioned anything about Moon Elves being dungeon creatures?¡± He said, a sentiment echoed by his companions. I shrugged, ¡°Oh, I for sure thought the party that survived floor 3 would¡¯ve told the guild about my Moon Elves. I guess they forgot. Anyway my name is Amelia Yokakko! What''s yours?¡± I asked and offered him a handshake. ¡°Jagruik Mineriver, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Jagruik said, returning my handshake, then he gestured to his companions. ¡°The Wood Elf next to me, his name is Yinxalim Ineli, the humans behind us are Arthur Short, and Emma Short.¡± Upon the mention of their names each person either waved or bowed "Well, Jagruik, I won''t keep you any longer. Good luck! But above all, remember to have fun!" I bid farewell to the group, gesturing for my two companions to accompany me. Pushing open the hefty door, I led the way into the outside world. ¡°Hah, we will!¡± Jagruik said, as we soon parted ways. Emerging together, the three of us experienced the outside world for the first time. Before us lay a city in the making, its landscape dotted with tents serving as temporary shelters or vital facilities. Beyond, the lush embrace of pristine forests framed this burgeoning settlement. There¡¯s a dirt road that connects my dungeon to the settlement. I take a deep breath, and let out a drawn out exhale, ¡°Smell that fresh air.¡± That was then when the three of us were garnering a large amount of attention. Of course, it¡¯s basically guaranteed that everyone just lazer focuses on us, we basically stick like a sore thumb! Especially with the uniforms we wore. ¡°Alright, Jeannette, Earalyn. Stay close, we won''t or rather can¡¯t wander far, I just plan to walk around.¡± I said, as the two soldiers drew their muskets, but ensured that their muskets were set to half-cock. I panned to my right where I spotted two Conquistador-esque soldiers wielding halberds, staring intently at us. ¡°Um excuse me, do you know where the current adventurers guild is?¡± I asked, raising my pointer finger. This snapped them out of staring at us before one of them answered. ¡°Um, move down the road, and at a four-way intersection, turn left, and straight ahead there should be a large tent that has a post outside depicting a mug, sword, and a shield. That''s the adventurers guild.¡± ¡°Alright! Well thank you miss, mister.¡± I said before we began walking down the road, and passing a couple of farmers loading crates onto a wagon who took a brief glance at us and continued on with their work. While Jeannette and Earalyn were diligently scanning our surroundings. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª About 20 minutes of walking, still the Yokakko Povenator: We, or rather I decided to walk at brisk slow pace, you know just to admire the hustle and bustle of this settlement as well as the foliage. Honestly speaking, we¡¯d be at the Adventurers Guild by now if it weren¡¯t the fact that I keep stopping every few seconds just to admire every fantasy fauna that I happen to come across. By now the people got used to us and have stopped incessantly staring, which was good cause I was starting to become self-conscious! So we reached the intersection that the guard mentioned and we took a left turn to what I can assume as a residential district. As for why the Adventurer¡¯s Guild would be in a residential zone I have no idea, but then again it is temporary. Overall there wasn¡¯t anyone here. Probably out doing either farming or construction. That was until halfway through the street Earalyn placed her hand in front of me completely stopping me dead in my tracks. I look towards her and she¡¯s showing a serious expression staring intently at some bushes in between two tents to our left. Earalyn set her musket to full-cock and pointed it at the bush. Jeannette seeing this also mimicked the Moon Elf. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± I said as I drew my pistol and also pointed at the bush. ¡°Yes, just now I casted ¡®Scan¡¯ and I counted 6 red dots.¡± Earalyn said, ¡°They could be anything, from animals to people.¡± Just then a band of six jumped out brandishing all kinds of weapons, from knives, short spears, and frankly all manner of weapons. I counted 3 men and 3 women, and all look like they¡¯ve just got out a dumpster. Except not really, I mean who wears a bright yellow shirt and pants while trying to rob someone! Everyone else seems like they got the memo and tried to be inconspicuous and wore much less brighter clothing. ¡°Halt!¡± Jeannette yelled, ¡°In the name of the Empress stay where you are!¡± The bright Yellow Girl over there began to start drooling at the sight of us, ¡°Hey now missy¡¯s, why don¡¯t you come with us~¡± She said, making lewd gestures. Her five companions just looked at her like she¡¯d gone mad. Ugh, couldn¡¯t this girl get anymore insufferable, and it¡¯s a girl doing it too! Which makes this worse. ¡°Listen, we don¡¯t want trouble, I just want to go to the Adventurers Guild. So we¡¯d appreciate it if you stepped aside, and nobody has to get hurt.¡± I stated in as plain a voice I could muster. The group of six began huddling together, before Yellow Girl stepped forward and said, ¡°We tried to be nice, so now we¡¯ll have to do this by force.¡± He unsheathed and began dual-wielding daggers. ¡°Fire!¡± I declared as the three of us fired a volley, killing two. I missed and hit a tent instead. Oops! Looks like somebody¡¯s gonna be pissed when they come home. Vaeri instead of reloading like what Jeannette and I are doing, slung her musket on her shoulders and her hands began emitting electricity, causing two lightning bolts to form in each hand. She hurled both bolts, striking Yellow Girl with pinpoint accuracy who fell to ground and began convulsing. Hot damn Vaeri must¡¯ve had a grudge against him. Makes sense considering she was being extremely sus. But! I¡¯m now locked in a sword duel with this Catgirl holding a shortsword. My two guards are preoccupied, though I did hear another shot and a body going down. It¡¯s clear at my lack of sword training cause I¡¯ve only parried once and I¡¯m just dodging her sword strikes. I pan to my right and witnessed Vaeri now holding her musket locked into a melee with a man using nun-chucks and doing some seriously impressive acrobatics. I pan to my left and watched as Jeannette bayoneted a girl through the head. Agh! I shouldn¡¯t have been distracted as this Catgirl kicked me causing me to drop my saber. My bicorne also fell off! ¡°That''s It!,¡± I declared, ¡°No more Mr. Nice Guy.¡± And I assumed a pose, raising my fists. Ok just like my self-defense instructor taught me. The Catgirl has stopped striking, careful to be cautious, what she didn¡¯t expect was a sudden leg sweep and me grappling her in a chokehold. ¡°Ack, P-lEasE.¡± The Catgirl said, straining as she did so. 12 more appeared surrounding Earalyn, Jeannette and I. All twelve dressed in a black suit and tie, short black hair and dark tinted sunglasses. Oh goddamnit where did these guys come from! I released the Catgirl, causing her to spring back into action and backflipped away from me. Before she and the rest of her group ran off. ¡°Well this is a bit of a pickle.¡± I commented. So these newcomers are dressed much more elegantly as if they¡¯re servants of some noble or something like that. Somebody dressed in a very elegant black top hat and tuxedo slowly approached, doing a slow clap. ¡°Well, well. Some new Dungeon Core thinks she¡¯s hot shit huh.¡± The man stopped to come face to face with me. ¡°You three have been troublesome, and it''s time to put you in your place.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. What the hell is this guy¡¯s deal! I just wanted to see the Adventurers Guild! I¡¯ve done literally nothing to deserve this! ¡°What do you mean by that? I just wanted to see the Adventurers Guild.¡± I said, my face was heating up with anger as I glared at this man. The man broke into a laugh, with his lackeys following along. ¡°Heh, hahahahah. You¡¯re funny, but unfortunately it¡¯s time for you to go, the Bangania Dungeon sends his regards'''' The man walked back towards the circle, and I could see that we¡¯ve gathered a crowd of onlookers, and why aren¡¯t the guards doing anything! This is not right! I could even see adventurers with weapons drawn and ready for a fight. ¡°Eliminate them, and then we go into the Dungeon and take her Core.¡± The man said, raising his fist before, and soon his twelve lackeys began glowing before each lackey had one large dark sphere. I admit I¡¯m actually scared right now, and suddenly I understand why the adventurers and guards aren¡¯t doing anything right now. ¡°Well, ladies it was nice knowing you in person. Seeing as I won¡¯t be seeing you in person for one week.¡± I said, embracing both Earalyn and Jeannette into a tight hug as the twelve guys launched their spheres at us. I closed my eyes waiting for this to be over¡­ but it never came, I opened my eyes and found that we were encased In a white barrier. I glanced upward and beheld a striking sight: a Foxgirl adorned in a lovely red dress embellished with delicate floral patterns, she is also wearing black elbow-length gloves, and red heels with black stockings. Her long brown hair was elegantly tied into a ponytail with a Chinese hair pin adorned with a flower motif. That man is glaring at her, ¡°Stay out of this Karland! This doesn¡¯t concern you!¡± Wait! This woman is THE 100 floored Karland Dungeon! Oh thank you!. Karland giggled, ¡°Oh but it does concern me, Bangania.¡± She said, ¡°If this is your way of trying to get back together with me? By killing Dungeons in MY homeland?¡± Bangania fell down to his knees, ¡°YES! YES! If I gather enough Cores and give them to you then maybe you¡¯ll love me again! And we can finally be together¡­¡± Huh?! What the huh?! How did this turn from me wanting to touch grass and walk to the Adventurers Guild, to being mugged then onto a quarrel between exes!? I mean seriously, why am I involved in this? Well anyways, no matter how much I complain, I¡¯ve been unceremoniously dragged into this! ¡°Umm,¡± I began, but the man glared at me and interrupted, ¡°Shut it! This is between Karland and I, not you!¡± Karland landed in front of him, three of the lackey¡¯s made an attempt to get at Karland, but she just slices them in half with one single hand motion, while not even batting them an eye, ¡°I have told you for the past 500 years that we will never get back together again, you blew your chance when you killed my friends. In fact you¡¯re proving my point right now by trying to kill Amelia, my first ever friend in 500 years. So yes this does involve her,¡± Karland said glaring daggers at Bangania. Holy moly are her eyes glowing red? Anyways I pan to my left, and I watch Earalyn hands begin to spark, and to my right Jeannette¡¯s musket is ready. I picked up my saber and sheathed it, since it¡¯s clear that I am not great with it. Bangania stood up, and began madly cackling, and his face grew into a twisted smile, ¡°Heheh, AHAHAHAH, if I can¡¯t have you¡­ THEN NOBODY CAN!¡± Then he pointed to the three of us, ¡°Automatons! Kill her creatures, and either knock or restrain the avatar, I¡¯ll take the Core myself.¡± He jumped to the skies, with Karland doing the same. The barrier dissipated causing the 9 remaining lackeys to attack. Jeannette was quick and fired her musket. Aaaand the shot missed¡­ Earalyn uses force lightning, it''s super effective! As two Lackey¡¯s were electrocuted to death, then she does some kind of zig-zag pattern with her hands and out comes a torrent of water every time she slashes using her hands. Looks like Earalyn¡¯s got herself handled. Oh what¡¯s this a challenger approaches? Well then, COME AT ME! Raising my fists, I swerved to the left dodging a sword strike. I knee him in the stomach causing him to drop his sword. It''s a fair 1v1 fist fight! Except he bends down to grab his sword. Big mistake buddy, so I uppercut him, causing his head to fly off. Uhhh, I¡¯m pretty sure my punches aren¡¯t THAT strong, and is that some green liquid? Wait are those wires and circuitry jotting out from his neck! Yoooooooo, I thought these were real humans for a second. They¡¯re more built like androids, at least to me they are. Suddenly I was grabbed from behind, another stands in front and punches me in the stomach. I held back a scream, but it was tough. I attempted to hit the person that grabbed me with my elbow, but it was for naught, cause as soon as I even made the attempt, I was hit in the face. This happened three more times before Jeannette hit the guy with the butt of her musket before bayoneting him in the face. I finally elbowed the person who grappled me, which caused me to be released. Turning to face the person it was, surprise, surprise! Another lackey! ¡°Payback,¡± I said, before punching him in the face, knocking him down instantly. I didn¡¯t stop there, I was pissed! So I grabbed him by the collar and I punched him again, and again. This went for at least 12 more seconds, stopping once I saw his face becoming mangled with his outer skin, flesh, and wires. ¡°Well, that sure was the randomest of random encounters I tell you what.¡± I comment, dropping the man¡¯s body, and going over to pick my bicorne to place back on my head. Until a body fell on top of me, knocking me down to my stomach. With some help from both Earalyn and Jeannette, both free me by sliding the body off. And getting up I could now confirm that this guy was Bangania, who also stood up, albeit a bit shaky. He stares longingly at Karland, floating above him, ¡°I LOVE YOUUuuu-¡° Bangania said, his voice growing quieter as his body, as well the bodies of his lackeys, began dissipating into blue particles, until there was nothing left. In fact the area around us reverted back to its previous state, almost like nothing even happened here. Except for the absolutely huge crowd of on-lookers who bore witness to this, and I dare say it an incredibly dumb fight that did not even need to happen. Except for the bullet hole in the tent, no that''s still there, and the corpses from the first group who tried to¡­ rob us? Whatever they¡¯re still there. Karland, released a huge sigh, ¡°Where did I go wrong.¡± She said, before touching down to the ground just in front of me. She suddenly beamed a huge smile, before encasing me between her huge breasts! ¡°Mmmphfmmpfpmfhs.¡± I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t in heaven right now, but is it really worth it if I suffocate? She finally let go after what seemed like forever as I was gasping for air. ¡°Oh I¡¯m so glad to finally meet you Amelia!¡± Karland exclaimed, sporting a smile that just about threatened to split her face in half. ¡°And I¡¯m so sorry that you got dragged into my personal life, but the fortunate part is that we won¡¯t be seeing him for a week.¡± ¡°Yeah, well uh, um, yeah¡­ that sure was something.¡± I said, scratching the back of my head. ¡°Hey, quick question. That Bangania person, was he related to that mercenary group that tried to shatter my core not too long ago?¡± I asked. Karland shook her head, ¡°Fortunately no, if it was him. Then you wouldn¡¯t be alive, rather you¡¯d be unconscious since he¡¯ll personally show up to take the Core. I¡¯ve had a couple of run-ins with them myself. I mean seriously that creep has a floor dedicated to showing off his Core collection.¡± Wait what? This guy has an entire floor filled with other Dungeon Cores!? ¡°Hang on! Does this guy seriously have a floor like that!¡± Karland nods. ¡°Yep,¡± She said rather bluntly. ¡°How did I know that? He told me, I can¡¯t do anything about it because my range is 1 km away. Otherwise I would¡¯ve beaten him to a pulp and shattered his Core.¡± ¡°I-I see, then another question two actually: why didn¡¯t the guards and adventurers do anything? And how did you and Bangania find me?¡± I said. Karland placed har right hand on her chin. ¡°Hmm, my guess would be that they detected a fight between dungeon avatars, thus choosing not to interfere. As for your second question, oh that''s easy, I followed Bangania here after he entered my dungeon claiming that he¡¯s found and I quote, ¡®another dungeon to my gift collection¡¯ and here I am with you.¡± ¡°Ahh, I see.¡± I said, ¡°But still doesn¡¯t answer my first question though.¡± ¡°Well as was demonstrated here today, fights between avatars and their creatures can get very nasty for virtually everyone else, have the potential to be fatal, and result in much destruction.¡± Karland explained. ¡°And even though the landscape and or any damage caused as a result revert back to how it was previously. Say a house was obliterated as a result of a fight between two avatars, then once the fight has concluded then that house will reappear. Like nothing even happened. The same can¡¯t be said for anyone unfortunate to be caught in the crossfire. ¡°Ah, ok, that actually makes sense.¡± I said, ¡°Say, would you like to accompany me to the Adventurers Guild? It''s right ahead.¡± Karland smiled, and simply said, ¡°Lead on.¡± We continued walking to the Adventurers Guild, this time the three of us were joined by Karland. By now the crowd which had gathered has been dispersed, going back to what they were originally doing. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Dragdville Adventurers Guild, Receptionist Anna, I looked up from my quilt when I heard the tent open, only to find 4 absolutely gorgeous women walking inside. I briefly studied them, the group consisted of two Humans, one Foxkin, and one Moon Elf. The Foxkin is wearing a red dress that resembles something you can find in Far Eastern countries. On the other hand the three next to her are wearing some unfamiliar uniforms, save for the girl in the middle of the trio, her hat resembles the hat that I saw Markus wear. ¡°Excuse me ladies, is there something I can help you with?¡± I said, getting the attention of the four. ¡°Yes you can!¡± The girl in the middle of said trio spoke, approaching my desk. ¡°I would like to register as an adventurer please.¡± Then she turned to her companions, ¡°Do you two want to join?¡± ¡°I go wherever the Great Mother goes.¡± ¡°I am sworn to protect the Empress!¡± Both the Moon Elf and the other Human said simultaneously. Wait! Empress? Great Mother? Ah whatever I am not paid to judge whoever enters the guild. Then she turned to the Foxkin, ¡°What about you?¡± She asked. The Foxkin smiled, ¡°You know what, sure. This''ll be interesting.¡± The girl just nodded. ¡°Yes! We have a party of four.¡± ¡°Individual or party?¡± I said, pulling out two separate forms from the drawer and placing them on the desk. ¡°We¡¯d like to form a party.¡± She responded. Removing the left form and placing it back inside the drawer, ¡°I see, in that case, sign this party form. Write down your party name, though that''s optional, full name and signature at the bottom, then your other party members must also do the same. Don¡¯t worry about classes and the like, It¡¯ll be taken care of once I scan the form.¡± I explained, passing the form as well as a feather and ink to their side. The girl took no time in writing on the form, before passing it onto her other companions and in turn they did the same. It didn¡¯t take them long to finish filling out the form as they handed it back to me. Taking the form, and reading it. Party Name: Boney¡¯s Warrior-Terriers Party Leader: Amelia Yokakko Names: Amelia Yokkako, Earalyn Sikweaver, Jeannette-Dubois Seyrais, Karland Signatures: AY, [very fancy scribble], JDS~, KD Alright, everything¡¯s in order. I grab my scepter which was propped up against my chair. I activate it causing the gray crystal at the end to begin emitting a soft green glow. My scepter began emmiting a green glow as I scanned the form, in which green squares in a grid pattern momentarily appeared before vanishing and four cards materialized on top of the form. I levitate all four cards to me so that I can perform one final check. Name: Amelia Yokakko Adventurer Level: 1 Class: Undetermined Race: Dungeon Core Gender: Undetermined HP: Undetermined MP: Undetermined Hold on! Did I misread it because I swear it said ¡®Dungeon Core¡¯ in the Race section, and why is the levels section changed to Adventurer Level? Rereading it again yielded the same result as, yep it said ¡®Dungeon Core¡¯ on it, I wasn¡¯t going crazy. I grabbed my guild card from my left breast pocket and confirmed that it did indeed change to Adventurer Level. Oh boy¡­ the head honchos over at every regional guild branch in everywhere are gonna lose it when they read Amelia¡¯s file. I stamp Amelia¡¯s card and place a magic seal over the stamp, soon after a picture of Amelia appears at the top left corner. I lower it back on the desk, and I move on to the next. Name: Karland Adventurer Level: 1 Class: Undetermined Race: Dungeon Core Gender: Undetermined HP: Undetermined MP: Undetermined Another Dungeon Core! Oh man. I just stamp her card and move onto the next. Name: Jeannette-Dubois Seyrais Adventurer Level: 1 Class: Elite Line Infantry Race: Human (Dungeon Creature) Gender: Female HP: 250 MP: 0 I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised when it said dungeon creature next to Human, but it did. I repeated the process on Jeannette¡¯s card and I moved on to the last card. Name: Earalyn Silkweaver Adventurer Level: 1 Class: Line Infantry Race: Moon Elf (Dungeon Creature) Gender: Female HP: 220 MP: 150 My eyes went wide eyed. A Moon Elf! As a dungeon creature, man that dungeon in Dragdville is something else entirely. Scratch that the Grandmaster himself is going to go absolutely ballistic when he eventually reads the files. After finishing with the last card, I levitate their respective cards in their hands. ¡°Woohoo!¡± Amelia yelled, raising a fist to air, ¡°Adventurer resignation complete, say let''s go over the quest board and pick out our very first quest!¡± The trio and Foxkin all walked toward the quest board. Suddenly I receive a system notification.
Hahahaha, watching those four is going to be very interesting¡­ I can¡¯t wait! Sincerely God of Adventure Vynus.
Oh brother, what have I done? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia POV Now that I¡¯m officially registered as an adventurer in the guild, what quest should we do? It has to be nearby which is a bummer. ¡°What about this?¡± Jeannette said, picking a parchment from the top right, ¡°It says Orc tribe requests for feral dire wolf extermination. Apparently these wolves are attacking their sheep, and every time they¡¯d rally their warriors the wolves are faster and scatter.¡± Hmm, that actually sounds fun, but unfortunately it''s beyond my 12 km limit, which is a shame since I also want to help this tribe, but oh well.
Due to some bizarre circumstances the God of Adventure and the Goddess of Dungeons have made a joint decision to remove your travel restriction. You are able to freely travel anywhere in the world, and you¡¯ve been granted the skill ¡®Return¡¯ allowing you and your creatures to be teleported back inside your dungeon from any distance. This also applied to Karland.
YIPPEE! I can travel anywhere! ¡°Alright! Let''s take it!¡± I most likely am not gonna travel far from my dungeon, but it''s great knowing that I can go anywhere and come back instantly. Taking the parchment I walked back to the receptionist lady and handed her the parchment. ¡°Uh, are you sure? This quest is reserved for level 20 adventurers.¡± The Receptionist said with a hint of uncertainty. I nodded excitedly, smiling wide. ¡°O-okay¡­¡± she said, reluctantly stamping the quest before handing it back to me. ¡°The tribe¡¯s location is about 24 km northwest, basically just follow the road north and then head west. Should be about a four hour walk, at least that¡¯s where they were located last time I checked.¡± We walk back outside, I¡¯m so excited! I can¡¯t wait to go on this quest! ¡°Guys wait here, I gotta do some stuff at the dungeon real quick!¡± I said, teleporting myself to my Core Room. Alright, let''s give myself a musket, specifically a Brown Bess musket. Afterwards, a Brown Bess and a cartridge pouch materialized in my hands costing 10 mana. I slung my musket over my right shoulder, and secured my cartridge pouch for my Brown Bess to my left rear. Oh what¡¯s this? There¡¯s a group doing the challenge? I take a peek at floor 3 and sure enough it''s none other than Jagruik¡¯s group, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine! Anyways I pop back into my Core Room. My next order of business is to create a fourth floor. As much as I am confident with floor 3 one can never be sure. Navigating over to the Floors Tab. I want to create a new floor!
Please select a theme for floor 4: Plains Ocean Desert Tundra Star Fort Countryside villages Taiga Mountain
I picked the ocean theme, let''s see some naval warfare! My surroundings changed from me standing in the gray room to floating over a vast ocean. I don¡¯t think the current floor size is big enough for ships to maneuver, especially since I want to have a big island at the center, and smaller islands surrounding it. I wish to expand the floor please.
Expanding the floor beyond its 10x10x10x10x5 grid dimensions will cost 50 mana. Would like to expand by another 10x10x10x10x5 grid dimensions?
Yes please! I sensed the floor expanding beneath me. Satisfied with the space, I proceeded to craft a large island at the center, encircled by five smaller islands arranged around it. So far the Islands themselves are barebones and have nothing, but as a finishing touch I added a day-time cycle, as is standard for my dungeon. In total I used up 55 mana. Let¡¯s see what I can summon.
Creatures: Shark: 10 Mana Kraken: 70 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) 55 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana French Young Guard 100 Mana French Dutch Guard 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard 120 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 45 Mana Cavalry Russian Cossacks 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment 60 Mana Irregular Spanish Guerrillas 20 Mana Russian Partisans 20 Mana Ships types (Water Floor Exclusive): Sloop: 7 Mana Brig: 7 Mana Galley: 7 Mana Schooner: 10 Mana Barque: 15 Mana Frigate: 20 Mana Ship of the Line: 35 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders. You can summon creatures on ships in addition to the crews summoned alongside the ships.)
Oh wow, look at all those ships! Maybe make this floor pirate themed, you know, make the adventurers have to join a pirate crew and fight off the British navy, or any navy for that matter. Ideas for when I come back. Oh and I¡¯m definitely adding the Kraken as a way to punish adventurers for dallying too long. For now I summon a sloop, and a frigate, I¡¯ll designate the sloop as a French ship, and the frigate British. I guess I gotta give them a name. Then they¡¯ll both be referred to as the Leclere, and the HMS Mermaid. I wish that I could introduce myself to the crews, but my party is waiting for me back outside the guild¡¯s tent, though I will come back to polish the floor a bit. And also I put up a sign on the floor 4 entrance door that says ¡®Out Adventuring! Will come back soon to finish floor four, please be patient!¡¯ If anybody disregards this sign then they¡¯re going to drown and be shot at by the sloop and frigate. I also checked to make sure the 30 minute survival timer doesn¡¯t teleport people to the next floor, which I¡¯m happy to report that it does not¡­ yet. ¡°Alright I¡¯m back!¡± I said, as I teleported myself back. Karland smiled, ¡°Oh good You¡¯re back, we can begin the quest. Say how was your dungeon Amelia?¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s great, somebody¡¯s doing the challenge on floor 3.¡± I said, ¡°And shall we say some ¡®nautical nonsense¡¯ on my newest floor. It¡¯s unfinished though¡± Karland placed her hands on her hips, ¡°Well let¡¯s get going, that tribe isn¡¯t gonna help themselves.¡± "Before we set off, there''s one thing I must do," I announced, striding toward a patch of grass. Crouching as low as possible, I extended my hand, gently tracing it across the grass. Yes ladies and gentlemen I did indeed touch grass, it¡¯s really an accomplishment. I stood back up and walked back to the party, who all had confused expressions, or in the case of Karland an amused one. ¡°Well, let''s go!¡± I said, as we began walking down the road. Chapter 9 Part 1: Amelias Outside Adventure Continues About 3 hrs of walking. We¡¯ve been walking for almost 3 hours now, here¡¯s our party¡¯s marching order. It goes both Karland and I on the front, Jeannette and Earalyn at the back holding their muskets at the right shoulder arms position. That is to say holding the butt of the musket with their right hand with the barrel resting at the shoulder. Eventually we left the tent-city and it took us an hour to exit the forest, before the scenery changed from lush forest to a plains with tall grass that towered over the small grass, tall grass themselves look like they¡¯re looking down on their smaller grass brethren. Now along the way we passed by some small villages. We walked for three hours, because we spent an hour at this village. I think Baroqueville is what it¡¯s called, this one bakery there that sold the best muffins I¡¯ve ever tasted. To add to that the people there not only are they nice, but they¡¯re really good at playing baroque music! Now I see where that name comes from now. ¡°So, Karland, What are you gonna do after turning the quest back to the guild?¡± I said. Karland thought about it for a moment, ¡°hmm, I¡¯m most likely gonna go back to my dungeon, got some things to sort out, plus with my travel restriction removed a certain someone to visit.¡± She answered, ¡°afterwards? Well, I¡¯m going back to my dungeon and I most likely won¡¯t be back for a while. Don¡¯t get me wrong, it''s great for us cores to have the ability to go outside, but we can¡¯t stay out for too long.¡± ¡°Um, why¡¯s that?¡± I asked. ¡°The system never mentioned anything to me about any drawbacks to going outside.¡± ¡°Well, just because we Cores can travel outside our dungeons via avatars doesn¡¯t mean our actual Cores are safe. No, no, on the contrary adventurers can still come and go as they please, and some of those may potentially have ulterior motives, such as attempting to shatter our cores, or in Bangania¡¯s case take it.¡± Karland explained, ¡°furthermore there¡¯s also developing the dungeon itself, like you said, your fourth floor is still unfinished and needs more development. Point is do not Neglect your dungeon! Cause when I find out that you¡¯ve neglected your dungeon, thereby abandoning your duties as a Dungeon Core, I will come over and bonk you on your head!¡± Then as if to cement her point she bonked me on my forhead. ¡°Ow! Geez man I get it! You didn¡¯t have to bonk me on the forehead!¡± I said, rubbing my forehead. The walk turned back to silence, trekking through the road for another five minutes before we spotted a sheep and boar carcass, on the left side with two muscular green figures that are, I¡¯d say, about 7¡¯8¡± tall give or take, Orcs and males, if I were to guess. They¡¯re probably the Orcs mentioned in the quest, since they have dark-yellow skin, instead of the usual green. One of them spotted us and hailed us, ¡°Ah, you must be the adventurers the guild informed us of, well I¡¯m afraid that those dire wolves are now killing our boars.¡± He said in a deep-gruff voice. Now that I can see him he¡¯s wearing padded leather armor with no matching chest plate. His partner on the other hand is just wearing a cloth shirt, and a cloth pants. ¡°Indeed we are,¡± I replied, waving at him as we approached. Both men nodded, ¡°Then come follow us, the chief wishes to meet you.¡± And so we took another couple minutes of walking, before eventually reaching a small settlement with a fence, big enough to hold off most predators encircling around the settlement. Now the settlement itself has a lot of Mongolian style yurts with horses tied to hitching posts outside, and a pretty big horse stable on the far east side. Whoa! Even the horses are tall and muscular. The two Orcs lead us through the camp, before stopping at a particularly large yurt. They beckoned it inside before we were greeted by two figures, one male and the other female. The female might I add is also muscular and just as tall as the male next to her. They¡¯re both adorned in scale-lamellar armor alongside a cone-shaped spike helmet on their heads. ¡°Ahh, sit, there is something we must discuss.¡± The man said, pointing at four mats. Immediately the four of us sat down and the Orc continued, ¡°Now, I am Chief Yugrah and next to me is my wife Valtara. Please dear.¡± His wife nodded, laying out a map of the local area, with an X drawn in red ink at the top right of the map. ¡°By the time our warriors ride out to confront these dire wolves picking away at our sheep, but now our boars as well,¡± Yugrah explained, ¡°Fortunately our trackers tracked them to a cave, that¡¯s where the X is, and we were just getting ready to ride out and confront these wolves at their den.¡± I studied the map, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we showed up at the right moment.¡± Yugrah, scratched the back of his head, ¡°Well, originally we posted a quest at the local adventurers guild to help us track down the dire wolves, but since you''re here, we can spare four more horses to catch up with our riders.¡± Karland gestured at herself, ¡°Oh, it''s ok, I can fly to catch up.¡± I turned towards Jeannette, and Earalyn, ¡°Any of you know how to ride a horse?¡± I said in the vain hope that the two behind me knew how to ride a horse, since I certainly don¡¯t. Both just shook their heads, ¡°Well this is gonna be a long walk.¡± I comment. Yugrah let out a hearty laugh, ¡°Oh that wouldn¡¯t be a problem, we can just use a wagon instead, as after this we¡¯re going to pack up and follow our boar herds north. Though, you¡¯ll be slow, plus there¡¯ll be a wagon train trailing behind. I hope that¡¯s alright with you?¡± I nodded ¡°Oh that would be great, god knows it¡¯ll take us far longer on foot.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Twenty minutes later. I¡¯m sitting at the back of the wagon, my brown bess on my lap, I also wore my bicorne front-to-back. As for where my three companions are? Well, Earalyn is at the front alongside an Orc warrior who¡¯s holding the reins, and Jeannette is sitting down sleeping with her Shako covering her face, and Karland is with the riders. Staring out, I could see another wagon behind us matching pace. Staring to the right, I saw 5 horsemen herding boars, I¡¯d say that there¡¯s about 25 boars give or take. We¡¯re actually going pretty fast, I¡¯d say we¡¯re about 15 meters behind the main riders heading to the supposed cave where the dire wolves reside. Man these horses are something else, cause they ain''t slow! As for how many wagons there are? Well there''s 12 wagons in this wagon train with the wagon I¡¯m on leading the train. ¡°Would you like to hear our peoples'' tales?¡± An old woman donned in fur clothing, a fur cap, and a golden broom necklace. Said, as she sat next to me. ¡°Uhh, sure, yeah, I''d love to hear it.¡± I replied. The woman gave a sad smile, ¡°Well, It is a long tale, and one that is tragic¡­¡± Suffice to say, I was fully invested in the woman¡¯s tale. Yeah, apparently the reason why their skin colors are dark-yellow instead of green was because these Orcs are called Soline Orcs, which are one of four Orcish peoples native to this continent. Soline Orcs live a very nomadic lifestyle, following what is essentially a fantasy version of Kazakh Tengrism, a religion that has survived a thousand years on this continent! Another interesting part I learned is that the Solines are also boar and sheep herders! The tragedy comes when the regular green Orcs, called Braxlese Orcs, arrived some 350 years ago from the other continent and waged bloody wars with the nomadic Soline tribes for 39 years. Despite fierce Soline resistance, the invaders came out on top and established the Empire of Lukrah, an empire that lasted till it was dissolved after a revolution 100 years ago, establishing the current day Republic of Ergon, to where the republic according to her has made attempts to reconcile with the Solines, including monetary compensation, exclusive hunting and fishing rights, events promoting Soline culture and traditions, and the list goes on. However, all the tribes want is their traditional lands back, land that was historically used by them to herd boars and sheep. That is all they want. But the details of what the Lukrah did to the Solines are just horrifying. Just thinking about it chills me to the bone, in fact the tamest thing I could probably mention is the expulsions. ¡°Wow, that''s a very interesting tale.¡± I said, ¡°Thanks for sharing it with me.¡± The old woman smiled, ¡°Think nothing of it. I just like to tell our tale to everyone I meet. Though if you want, I have folktales and myths that are, hmm, less depressing, and should lighten the move..¡± ¡°Oh, in that case, tell me a happy folktale. Cause I sure need it after that.¡± I replied. The woman began to tell her tale, ¡°This is a short one told to aspiring riders and warriors. Achem, Long ago, there lived a rider named Xumis¡­¡± So to quickly summarize the story; Xumis the greatest warrior of the Wagmukruh tribe, which fun fact the tribe my party and I are doing this quest for is the Wagmukruh tribe, pretty neat. Anyways, this guy is the best warrior nobody could beat him. Every time he¡¯s deployed into battle, the tribe just instantly wins, and he always survives no matter the injury. So after one battle with the Cadarr tribe which left Xumis the only survivor amidst a sea of corpses around the battlefield. He walked for time, before essentially having a mental breakdown and was cursing at the Skygod Nesigrundar for cursing him to survive every battle, so he uh descends from the sky standing in front of Xumis, placing a hand onto Xumis¡¯s left shoulder, as he stared at the Skygod with tears just endlessly pouring from his eyes. Nesigrundar told Xumis that his gift of battle is special and is a sentiment shared by everyone, it''s just Xumis was the only one that honed in on the ¡®gift¡¯. Which, oh my god this guy literally neglected everything just to train to be a warrior, with Nesigrundar just straight up telling him quote, ¡°It is true that I am proud of your fearsome reputation as a warrior and your propensity to survive the odds is noteworthy, this gift is not a curse, it is simply the honed skills of a mighty warrior. However, it is important to balance one¡¯s training with other matters of life, such as seeking a spouse, or watching a friendly spar between two warriors. As for you? You¡¯ve neglected all aspects of life. In your quest to be a mighty warrior you pushed those around you away.¡± So basically guy got so good at fighting that he survives every battle and got told by his god that he tryharded so much at combat. Eventually Nesigrundar told Xumis to head back to the tribe where he admits to being the only survivor, but to his shock everyone gathered around him to offer condolences. At least that¡¯s the point the woman got to her story as we were interrupted when the wagon stopped abruptly, forcing the entire caravan to halt. ¡°Hey, get ready! We¡¯ve got feral dire wolves incoming! And they¡¯re after the boars!¡± The Solinian warrior who currently held the reigns yelled. The elder woman got up, grabbed a circular shield from the back and jumped down the wagon. Meanwhile I¡¯m trying to wake Jeannette by shaking her. To which she groggily opened her eyes. ¡°Hey, hey wake up! We¡¯ve got company!¡± I yelled at Jeannette, violently shaking her. By now Jeannette became fully awake and sprung into action grabbing her musket and donning her shako, she jumped outside with me following behind. I turn to our left and spot a pack of five giant wolves, four jet black and one snow white, and they almost reach the waists of the Soline Orcs. All five have surrounded three Solinians, all of whom are wearing lamellar armor with coned helmets, with the Soline in the middle having a blue horsehair plume protruding from the top of his helmet. So far all the wolves are doing is just circle the three, occasionally one of them would growl. And to our right I spot another pack of three dire wolves chasing down boars while also being chased by Solinian warriors on foot. ¡°Alright Jeannette, see if you can stop those three from catching the boars.¡± I said. Jeannette says ¡®Un¡¯ does a salute before turning around to join the chase. I crouched down low, aimed my musket and made silent prayer to the gods that I don¡¯t miss. I pulled the trigger, and I hit one in the back right foreleg. Well crap, now they¡¯re all looking at me. Oh and did I forget to give myself a bayonet? Well now I¡¯m really screwed. The white wolf charges at me. What the hell! Why is it so fast?! The smoke hasn¡¯t even cleared yet, but before I could even do anything else, the wolf was now on top of me effectively pinning me to the ground. Only reason why it hasn¡¯t mauled me to death was because my Brown Bess kept the wolf''s snout at a distance, but I have no idea how long I can hold amidst the wolf¡¯s thrashing and snarls. Hnngh, I can¡¯t hold on, my arms are shaking and my Brown Bess is slowly lowering. I heard a small whimper as somebody kicked the white dire wolf away, then silence. ¡°Hah, thanks for the save.¡± I said, Standing up, I turned to my savior, finding none other than that elderly woman, carrying one wolf over her left shoulder and that same axe she leaped out with in her right arm. She grinned at me. ¡°Well, don¡¯t thank me just yet, we¡¯ve got more to deal with. Though I¡¯m suspecting that this is just half of the dire wolves and the other half are facing the riders.¡± ¡°I see,¡± I said, as I slung my musket over my left shoulder. Then another one charged at us, this time I was quick on the draw as I unholstered my pistol and fired, hitting the wolf right in the forehead before it could jump, killing it instantly. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The remaining three wolves scattered in different directions at seeing two of their comrades dead, however the three Solines took this opportunity to catch one. They did, although the wolf bit the arms of its captor forcing him to release the wolf. The three were about to give chase when the elderly woman next to me signaled for them to stop. ¡°Let them go, they¡¯ve already been defeated.¡± With her axe securely tucked at her right hip, she lifted the lifeless white wolf onto her shoulder. "Despite their attack, they''re still animals. Let''s gather their bodies for fur, claws, and meat. We¡¯ll use everything, nothing gets wasted." Carefully, she arranged the carcasses at the rear of the wagon we had been traveling in. I picked the dead black wolf and mimicked her actions. ¡°Now it is up to our cooks to carry out their jobs.¡± The woman said, ¡°Come on, there''s still fighting at the front!¡± We swerved around the right side of the wagon, before we were joined by Jeannette and the Soline with the horsehair plume on his helmet. ¡°The boar herds are secured, Elder Oghash.¡± He said. ¡°Good let¡¯s join the others at the front of the wagon, the remaining dire wolves are there.¡± Oghash said. We sprinted to the very front and we spotted a Solinian corpse. His left arm had been torn off, with bite and scratch marks dot his body. Oghash crouched down, closing the orc¡¯s eyes, ¡°The skygod is with you.¡± Jeannette pointed in the distance, ¡°Madame look! Earalyn is surrounded!¡± Sure enough I see Earalyn surrounded by 8 wolves, with 8 corpses, 2 Orcs and 6 dire wolves had littered the field around Earalyn. Jeez man, those wolves really did decide to go after Earalyn! As for the Moon Elf herself? Well she¡¯s just using magic, her musket is slung to her left shoulder. ¡°Alright, Jeannette reload with me.¡± I ordered as I began to make the motions in reloading a musket. So it took Jeannette about 12 seconds just to reload and I took 30. While we were reloading Oghash threw her axe in an attempt to draw the attention of the wolves onto us. It somewhat worked. Since the axe drew the attention of 3 wolves, Earalyn used this period of distraction to make a run for it. She leaped over the distracted wolves and began a mad dash towards us. With the wolves hot on her trail. Oghash took a javelin that was protruding from the ground, and brandished it as a spear, and the Horsehair Plume Orc unsheathed his sword and along with Oghash formed a small shield wall. I signaled for Jeannette to aim alongside me. ¡°Fire on my command.¡± The wolves are quickly closing the gap between them and Earalyn. As for the distance I¡¯d say they¡¯re about 75 meters away from us. I am sure that Jeannette next to me is confident about hitting something at such a distance without relying on luck. Me on the other hand? I am not a trained soldier, in fact before reincarnating my only experience with guns is airsoft, So let''s hope I can hit something, yeah especially since the Brown Bess that I¡¯m holding has an effective range of 91 meters (100 yards). Anyways moving on Earalyn is now 45 meters away, and I begin a countdown. ¡°3¡± ¡°2¡± ¡°1¡± ¡°Fire!¡± Both Jeannette and I simultaneously fired a volley. I prayed that I actually hit something. Once the smoke cleared 2 of 8 wolves chasing Earalyn are dead, and the Moon Elf herself has reconnected with us and the remaining 6 dire wolves are now just moments away from pouncing on us. ¡°Brace for it!¡± Horsetail Orc yelled, right as the wolves made contact with our ad-hoc line. Agh, Crap! I¡¯ve been pinned to the ground for the second time and two of these wolves just double teamed and tore a huge gash on my left ankle, while the other is trying to bite my throat, only being held at bay by my Brown Bess. What the?! ¡°Aaaagggghhhh¡± I scream, This bastard wolf just tore apart my ankle! I attempt to kick the snout of the wolf that just tore off my ankle with my right foot. But it''s no use. This bastard is too strong, and my strength in my arms is weakening. To make matters worse it responded by tearing another gash on my right ankle. ¡°Hya!¡± Was all I heard before the wolf towering over my head was chopped cleanly in half. The other wolf who was previously biting down legs, witnessed this and began scampering off into god knows where. Immediately both Earalyn and Jeannette dragged me till I was propped up against the left side of the wagon, leaving a trail of blood. ¡°It hurts¡­ it hurts so much.¡± I said, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll go get the healers.¡± Oghash said she then turned to address both Jeannette and Earalyn. ¡°You two, secure the perimeter; there may be more dire wolves waiting to strike.¡± ¡°Bu-but Madame is hurt! How can I face the rest of my regiment when they find out I let Madame be injured.¡± Jeannette said in a panicked protest. ¡°Come on let¡¯s do as the orc says, I don¡¯t know any healing magic, besides the Great Mother¡¯s health will become more jeopardized should anymore of those accursed wolves arrive.¡± Earalyn said, gently placing a hand on Jeannette¡¯s left shoulder. Jeannette nodded, before the two walked off. As Oghash nodded before sprinting off. The Horsehair Plume Orc crouched down, and offered some kind of green leaf. ¡°Here take this, it will numb the pain.¡± Mustering whatever strength I have left, I took the leaf and placed the entire thing into my mouth and I began to chew on the leaf. By now tears are streaming from my eyes. The Solinian retrieved a long strip of cloth and cut it half with his sword, and began wrapping my wounds with it. By now I swallowed that leaf, and I can feel the pain begin to lessen. ¡°That should stop the bleeding, at least until our healers can assess the injuries.¡± He said before joining Earalyn and Jeannette. Man, even though I am a dungeon core this still sucks, and I know these wounds would heal when I return, as if nothing ever happened, but man I need to be more careful when in my avatar, cause as it stands I am currently fleshy girl and not you know a floating omnipotent orb inside my dungeon. Ok this is probably not the time for jokes. I waited for about 7 minutes, but it felt like an eternity, when Oghash returned with an even more elderly looking man wearing a brown robe and a cap with what looks to be deer antlers attached to the sides. ¡°Let''s take a look at that leg.¡± The man said, crouching down, he began to inspect my ankless leg. Another Soline arrived, ¡°Elder, the riders have returned bringing news of our victory. And all the dire wolves around the wagon train have either fled or been eliminated.¡± Oghash nodded, ¡°Good, any casualties?¡± ¡°For the riders, none reported, although there were injuries. As for the wagon guards, about 10.¡± He replied. ¡°Damn, those ferals really did catch us by surprise.¡± Oghash commented. ¡°Oh, before I forget the Elders are convening a council and all Elders are required to attend.¡± He informed Oghash. ¡°Bah! They¡¯ll be fine without me, besides I¡¯ve got more important matters to attend to, such as assisting the younger Healers with tending to the wounded, as is the case with this girl here.¡± The Robed Man said, taking out a mortar and pestle and was in the process of grinding multiple herbs. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be sure to inform the council.¡± Oghash said, nodding. ¡°Come take me to the location.¡± Both Solinians promptly left. I witnessed the Robed Man delve into his robe, extracting a wooden cup, to which he poured the ground up herbs. The man then went back into his robe and retrieved a wooden pitcher and he began pouring water into the cup, he then fetched a wooden spoon from his robes and stirred the concoction. Jesus is this guy¡¯s robe a large glorified bag of holding? I just witnessed this man go into his robe and grab three things, in fact he just pulled a bundle of 24 small sticks, a metal cup holder just big enough for the wooden cup, and a bottle which contained lava, yes you heard that right a lava. I actually should be happy that he¡¯s making some kind of medicine, but this is just messing with my mind. After he¡¯s done setting up this mini campfire he opened the lava bottle and poured just a tiny bit of lava, and the entire thing just caught on fire! ¡°Is that lava?¡± I asked in a weak and raspy voice. The man chuckled, ¡°No my child, it is but a mimicry of lava, created by our best fire casters. The flames themselves don¡¯t last long, but are extremely hot.¡± He positioned the cup holder over the flames, and continued to stir only stopping once the liquid turned bubbling dark green texture. ¡°It is hot, careful, and drink slow, it will heal your open wounds. Though I will admit it doesn¡¯t taste good and is very bitter. But the best healing remedies in the tribe are bitter.¡± The Robed Man said, ¡°I say this with great sorrow, but I cannot do much for that missing ankle.¡± He then handed me the cup once the flames died down. I take it with one hand, and I¡¯m surprised that my hand isn¡¯t burning. I take a sip, and oof it''s hot! ¡°Ah, it¡¯s no problem, probably gonna have to be carried back home, thank you really.¡± ¡°Again, I am sorry about dragging your party into our problems. Those dire wolves have eluded us for a long time.¡± The Robed Man said, as he unwrapped the now blood stained cloth wrapped around both my legs. ¡°What¡¯s your name? My name is Amelia Yokakko.¡± I said, taking more sips. ¡°It''s Kargynax, and ahh, good it is healing.¡± Kargynax replied, never bothering to look away from my legs, and re-wrapped my now healing wounds with a fresh set of cloth. ¡°What are those wolves anyway, they¡¯re huge and fast!¡± I said, by now I¡¯d just finished the medicine and handed the cup back to Kargynax before it promptly disappeared back into his robe. ¡°Ahh, well you see, the origins of the dire wolf dates back to when the world had just been created and thus had an excess amount of mana to which regular wolves who had absorbed an excessive amount, they would evolve into the dire wolf, an intelligent and somewhat aggressive breed of wolf with a growth spurt and red eyes, I say somewhat because they¡¯ll only be aggressive when you threaten them or their young. Now the feral version of the dire wolf ditches their intelligence and is an extremely aggressive version to their non-feral counterpart. Unfortunately there¡¯s no visual way to tell a feral apart, aside from looking at their mana.¡± Kargynax replied. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got some other wounded to tend to, it was nice talking to you Lady Amelia.¡± Kargynax then walked off before disappearing into one of the wagons further back, but not after packing everything, by that I mean disappearing inside his robe. ¡°Amelia! Oh my days what happened!¡± I heard a voice to my left, craning my head. I spotted none other than Karland running over. ¡°Those wolves got me pretty good.¡± I said, ¡°It''s been taken care of.¡± ¡°Well that''s good.¡± Karland said, with a relieved look on her face. Oghash returned carrying a large pouch. ¡°I just arrived from the council meeting and this is the agreed upon sum for the reward plus a thousand more extra.¡± ¡°Oh please we don¡¯t need the extra money, just pay us what is owed on the quest.¡± I said, trying to refuse, but Oghash had none of it and shook her head. ¡°Nonsense, the Elders and I agreed to pay extra for the injuries inflicted. Take it.¡± Oghash didn¡¯t take no for an answer and just dumped the pouch onto my hands. ¡°A wagon will take you back to Dragdville. Don¡¯t worry about the wagon, it''ll easily catch up with the rest of us.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get Jeannette and Eralyn, let them know we¡¯re heading back.¡± Karland said before walking off into the distance. ¡°May I have the quest? So I can sign it off as proof of completion.¡± Oghash said, reaching out her hand, to which a retrieved the quest, that''s slightly creased but she signs it regardless and hands it back. Karland returned with Earalyn and Jeannette behind her. ¡°Come on, let''s help you up, Oghash lead us to the wagon.¡± Karland said. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª It took the combined effort of Karland, Jeannette, Earalyn and Oghash just to lift and carry me to the wagon. Seriously, I''m not THAT heavy. But then again¡­ No stop it brain, I am not heavy! Anyways the three of us are sitting at the back of the wagon watching as the wagon train disappeared in the distance. We¡¯re also escorted by 4 riders, so that''s good at least. Jeannette has once again fallen asleep this time with her shako on her lap, and Earalyn is sitting with the driver at the driver at the front. Karland and I are at the back with our legs dangling over the ledge. I shouldn¡¯t even be worried, yet I constantly think about my ankle or the lack thereof, I am a Dungeon Core! This¡¯ll just heal in the moment I return and unmanifest, but the pain¡­ the blood¡­ it felt so real, yeah I think I¡¯ll just stick to my dungeon and Dragdville from now on, which means no going on grand quests, uh uh no matter what the guild thinks. I¡¯ll just limit my visits to Dragdville once in a while, maybe even visit Karland¡¯s dungeon, and also stick to my dungeon. It was about halfway to our return trip before Karland signaled for the wagon to stop, ¡°Hey I gotta go, something came up with my dungeon, bye! I had fun, we should definitely hang out sometime.¡± She said, ¡°Yeah me too, let''s meet again soon, though let¡¯s just stick to Dragdville or somewhere around your dungeon.¡± I replied, waving Karland goodbye as she hopped off the wagon and flew off west. The wagon continued onwards to Dragdville. Ah drats I forgot to ask her if she wanted any cut from the reward. Oh well, I¡¯ll just message her later when I get back. For now I scoot next to Jeannette and fall asleep next to her. I was woken up when Earalyn shook, ¡°We¡¯re here Great Mother, I¡¯ll wake Jeannette next and we can get moving.¡± I look to up towards the sky as the sun has began to set, and true to her words were at the entrance to Dragdville, which the city itself has changed drastically, for starters half of the tents are gone, replaced by medieval style buildings, for example the tall three story building with a big sword and shield emblem at the front. I¡¯m guessing that where the Adventurers Guild tent used to be, because it stuck as a sore thumb amongst a sea of tents. ¡°There,¡± I said, pointing to the three story building, ¡°We need to submit the quest, then it¡¯s home sweet home.¡± By now Jeannette was wide awake and Yawned loudly, causing me to yawn. Oh no it¡¯s spreading! Anyways, both girls helped me exit the wagon, and I waved and bid the Solinians good, watching as the wagon and its four escorts quickly disappeared into the distance. With my right arm over Earalyn¡¯s shoulders and with my left using my Brown Bess as a makeshift crutch, we slowly but surely trudged towards the guild building, weaving through huge crowds. Man what is going on? Why are there so many people at the Adventurers Guild? ¡°Hey Jeannette, can you ask somebody what¡¯s going on?¡± I said as Jeannette nodded, before she tapped on somebody¡¯s shoulders. He turned around revealing to be a wood elf with coal dust that dotted his face. ¡°Um, excuse me sir, but why might there be a large gathering at the guild?¡± Jeannette asked. The man let a toothy smile, ¡°Well, ya see, therm b¡¯outta start the Dragdville council meet¡¯in in¡¯bout 13 minutes, and I aint missin dat.¡± The man said with a very accented voice, I have some guesses as to what the accent is related to, but I could be very wrong so let''s not ask him that. ¡°Okay well thank you sir, the three of us are heading inside to turn in a quest, then we¡¯re heading home.¡± I replied. ¡°Aw¡¯rite, darn shame, you¡¯da ave a say in how things are run¡¯ere¡± he said before going back to what he¡¯s doing whatever it was he was doing. We finally entered the building and whoa! This place is huge! At the far end is a counter with separation glass, my guess is it¡¯s big enough for 3 receptionists, next to the counter is a set of stairs going up. At the center are 12 circular tables with chairs, and there are 4 square tables at each side. Place is pretty empty, must be about that council meeting that guy was talking about earlier. Anyways we walked over to the counter to find, hey! It¡¯s that same receptionist from earlier! ¡°Your back!¡± She exclaimed, smiling brightly, until she saw my leg. ¡°Oh dear! What happened there?¡± ¡°Wolf got me good.¡± I said, before I pulled the quest and placed it on the glass, ¡°But anyways, here¡¯s the quest.¡± She briefly scanned the quest, before stamping it and promptly storing it in some kind drawer. ¡°You sure you''re alright?¡± I nodded, ¡°Positive.¡± She stared suspiciously at me, ¡°O-kay then. By the way you got here just in time, in 13 minutes the guild will be closed to adventurers.¡± She said, standing up. ¡°In fact I was just about to begin setting up the room for the council meeting.¡± ¡°Wait, you''re doing this on your own?¡± I asked dumbfounded, I mean come on this is just too much work for one person! The Receptionist viciously shook her head, ¡°Oh no, once the ¡®meeting¡¯ starts in 13 minutes there¡¯s a 1 hour prep time before the meeting actually starts.¡± She said, emphasizing the word ¡®meeting¡¯ in air quotes. ¡°Ah well that¡¯s good.¡± I said, ¡°Anyways goodnight ma¡¯am. Come on, let''s go home.¡± The Receptionist smiled, and waved at us as we exited. Chapter 9 part 2: Fourth Floor Development Ahh, home sweet home! It''s great to be back at my dungeon! So by now I¡¯ve unmanifested my avatar, but not after scaring, worrying and frankly enraging the militias of the first floor, with Ellen declaring, and I quote ¡°Whoever did this to Fraulein Amelia WILL taste Prussian STEEL!¡± Followed by cheers from the Landwehr, alongside shouts of ¡°VIVE LA FRANCE¡± from the National Guard, they were even waving their muskets high into the air. Jeez man I just lost one ankle, it''s gonna grow back I swear! Though it fills me with great joy that my creatures care this deeply about me. Honestly speaking I don¡¯t think that both the Landwehr and National Guard would¡¯ve been able to do anything anyways since I can only have a maximum of two creatures allowed outside the dungeon at once. So both Jeannette and Earalyn have returned to floor 3, Jeannette was absolutely swamped by questions from her fellow Young Guard and some of the artillery crew about our escapades into the outside world. Poor girl is absolutely overwhelmed! I have no idea where Earalyn disappeared into. Probably practicing magic in the basement. Alright let¡¯s check my notifications! Probably gonna be swamped with them! Hopefully the system condensed it like last time.
[Welcome back! Due to the amount of notifications the core received while they were away, the system has condensed it as much as it can. 22 outsiders had died, total xp earned averaged to 7,849. 8 outsiders successfully beat the dungeon, total xp earned averaged to about 4,631. There have been 5 unsuccessful puzzle attempts, and 6 successful puzzle attempts, bonus xp gained from successes and failures rounded to 190. Dungeon Core leveled by 4. Mana regen increased to 60. Mana capacity increased to 295. 1 new theme unlocked: Battlefield. 6 new regiments unlocked: US Marine Corps British Royal Marines French Imperial Guard Marines Spanish Marines British Royal Scots Greys French 1st Cuirassier Regiment 1 new summon: Blunderbuss Gunner
Awesome! Glad to receive more cavalry regiments. Having marines is quite nice, which I¡¯m guessing is the system screaming ¡°FINISH YOUR FOURTH FLOOR! Which alright geez, I hear you! Oh and also definitely gonna have to see what this battlefield theme is all about. Time to check my status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 20,061/29,961 Level 14 Mana: 295/295 Mana Regen: 60 per hour Floors: 3/10 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
I¡¯ll check out the new creatures later, I can¡¯t keep putting off floor 4, I gotta work on it! But before I do, let me send Karland a message, doing this now so I don¡¯t forget later. Navigating through the menus, stopping once I find Karland¡¯s name. ¡°Hello Karland, would you like a cut of the rewards?¡± And send, I¡¯ll check back later for her response. I teleported myself to the fourth floor and I am once again treated to the barebones islands and the two ships patrolling the oceans. This is a travesty that shall not go on for long! Let''s see, I start by littering all five islands with trees. Now on the small island on the top left, I added a small abandoned pirate outpost that¡¯s been left in ruins, and on the bottom right island I added a supply outpost guarded by a Nockgunner and an Axe-Gunner. I name them Rosey, and Mariah. Rosey is Annabelle¡¯s young sister. Yes folks it¡¯s official, all Nockgunners are canonically related to Annabelle now. Why do I feel like I¡¯m going to regret that later? Ah whatever that''s a future me problem! Rosey has long red hair tied into a ponytail which reached her waist, she wore almost the same outfit as her sister, her shirt is a striped red and white. Mariah on the other hand has short unkempt jet black hair, and wore a straw hat, tan shirt, brown trousers, and finished it off with a pair of black knee-length boots. And to finish off the smaller islands, I¡¯ll litter them with bonus loot! Just something extra for adventurers who take the time to explore. This in total had cost me around 135 Mana, which I can accept, since I have about 160 Mana left to spare. Now to summon THE KRAKEN!!! Muhahahah - ack cough, cough, achem, moving on. Creatures!
Creatures: Shark: 10 Mana Kraken: 70 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Blunderbuss Gunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) 55 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana French Young Guard 100 Mana French Dutch Guard 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard 120 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 45 Mana Cavalry Russian Cossacks 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment 60 Mana British Royal Scots Grey 65 Mana French 1st Cuirassier Regiment 65 Mana Marines: US Marine Corps 65 British Royal Marines 65 French Imperial Guard Marines 65 Spanish Marines 65 Irregular Spanish Guerrillas 20 Mana Russian Partisans 20 Mana Ships types (Water Floor Exclusive): Sloop: 7 Mana Brig: 7 Mana Galley: 7 Mana Schooner: 10 Mana Barque: 15 Mana Frigate: 20 Mana Ship of the Line: 35 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders. You can summon creatures on ships in addition to the crews summoned alongside the ships.)
Well first I¡¯m gonna summon the Kraken, and set it to be dormant and only come out in about 15 hours and adventurers have made no progress to the exit, or if too much debris lands on/in its home cave. It¡¯ll be an optional mini ¡°boss¡± fight, defeating it will also advance adventurers to the next floor, but for now you beat the dungeon. Though I am curious as to why I don''t have more aggressive seacreatures to summon, sharks rarely attack humans and only about a dozen of the 300 species have ever been involved in attacking humans? Ah whatever, I''ve got the Kraken and that''s good enough for me! My next move is on the large central Island. I want to have a small colonial port settlement surrounded by wooden palisades, with small farms around the outskirts. So I do just that, creating a town with buildings that is very reminiscent of what you¡¯d find in the colonies of the 1600s till the 1760s. There''s even a small dock on the southern part of the settlement. This will be a safezone, which means that creatures will refrain on attacking adventurers on sight, however they can in terms of self defense. This even applies to Permadeath mode, well unless you''re here to kill me that is. Of course the only exception to this is the Kraken cause why not. There is a concern of mine that creatures summoned outside the safezone would still attack adventurers, but I¡¯m sure that it won¡¯t be a problem. I did however include a one story tall fantasy tavern thats its own separate zone, one where anyone, and yes I mean anyone, including my own creatures can teleport to from any floor and relax, maybe have a couple of pints and if one¡¯s brave enough drink till one¡¯s passed out drunk on the floor. However, there is a caveat, absolutely NO WEAPONS are allowed! Only fisticuffs, and the fights themselves have to be entertaining, to me, but in the end all participants MUST pay for damages. If a fist fight does occur, otherwise they''ll be kicked out of the dungeon and be barred for a day. Once someone leaves they¡¯ll get sent back to where they were originally. Can¡¯t have people skipping the first three floors! I¡¯m not so worried about my creatures starting fights with each other or against the adventurers, it¡¯s everyone else starting fights that I¡¯m more concerned about. So the last thing I¡¯ll do is add a bonus objective of finding THE ONE PIECE! Okay, okay, I¡¯m kidding, I won¡¯t actually do that. Or would I? No I won¡¯t, I did however scatter more treasure around the island for adventurers that actually bother to explore. I will definitely add more things to find later. This entire endeavor had cost me around 110 Mana, giving me about 50 Mana to spare. Which I used to summon a unit of 12 Spanish Guerrillas and 12 Russian Partisans. Hey I have to populate this town somehow! As usual the Spanish wore civilian outfits, they just so happen to be carrying guns, and other weapons, it¡¯s just they¡¯re outfits are more of the colonial variety. Honestly I don¡¯t know what I was expecting from the Russians, at least they¡¯re wearing summer clothing, and not thick overcoats and fur caps meant for winter, but it is still Eastern European in style. Anyways, entering the tavern, I used up the last 10 Mana to summon a Blunderbuss Gunner and designated her to be the barkeeper. I call her Jackie! She has shoulder-length brown hair, she dons a dark green dress accentuated by a black corset. A red ribbon adorns her waist, complementing her brown knee-length boots and black thigh-high stockings. Oh and she has a blunderbuss slung on her left shoulder. Jackie immediately went behind the counter and began wiping the counter with a cloth rag she found in one of the cabinets underneath the counter. Behind her are 5 rows of shelves with all kinds of modern looking bottles, alcohol probably. The tavern itself is small, measuring approximately 35 by 45 feet, with a capacity for about 20 people, 26 if we include the 6 barstools at the counter. Five circular tables with 4 chairs each occupy the center, and I reckon I could squeeze in two tables at the bottom right and left corners, each with 4 chairs as well. It is rather unfortunate that I ran out of mana as I wanted to make this tavern bigger, but it¡¯ll do for now. Let¡¯s look at the creature count to see where I¡¯m at.
Floors->Floor 4 Theme Ocean If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Capacity: 28/72, Ships 2/10
Oh nice, so the ships are separate. That¡¯s good to know otherwise I¡¯d have hit this cap a long time ago! Time to see if Dungeon Cores can get drunk! Avatar Manifest! The room was soon engulfed in a bright flash of light, and I soon appeared in front of the counter a-and my ankle is still missing¡­ I won¡¯t let that hamper my mood, time to get wasted! ¡°Hey Jackie!¡± I said, taking a seat at a barstool and setting my bicorne on the table, ¡°Give me the strongest stuff. And keep it coming till I pass out!¡± ¡°Yes mother.¡± Jackie replied, grabbing a bottle from an alcohol brand I¡¯m unfamiliar with, look I never touched any alcoholic drinks cut me some slack! Soon she opens the cap, sets a mug in front of me and begins pouring till the mug is full. ¡°Enjoy!¡± Jakie said, as I began drinking. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Outside, midnight, Dragdville. Two lightly armed figures wearing black cloaks are seen sneaking past Dragdville guards on patrol, at certain points hiding in between buildings, and bushes. Their hoods keeping their identities hidden from any would be pursuers, which fortunately they have avoided thus far. The two figures soon stopped in front of the dungeon entrance, where two guards slumped down on the ground dead asleep . ¡°Well that was easy.¡± The first figure said with a feminine voice. ¡°Be that as it may, it would behoove you to quiet down lest we wake the guards.¡± The second figure said with a deep masculine voice. The two figures tiptoed past the guards, silently opening the door, once upon the two figures stepped inside before silently closing it again. The first floor is just as dark as the outside. However, the two were overjoyed that it''s also dark inside, ensuring a quick and easy ¡°grab and go¡± operation. Ignoring the bulletin, and all the signs, they proceeded down the road. ¡°So what do you hope to find inside this dungeon?¡± The feminine voiced figure asked. ¡°You know why! We¡¯re here to earn money so that we can afford the medicines our parents need!¡± The masculine voiced figure said, ¡°Hopefully we find at least something worthwhile to sell.¡± ¡°What makes this dungeon any different!¡± The feminine voiced figure retorted, ¡°We¡¯ve been kicked out of every dungeon, cause we keep dying.¡± ¡°Well What Choice do we have? Do you seriously think that we can afford to wait a week to try again?!¡± The masculine voiced figure yelled, by now both figures have stopped walking and devolved into an argument. Unbeknownst to them, two soldiers, one Landwehr the other a guardswoman, they¡¯ve been posted to the watchtower and had been alerted to the argument. ¡°Someone¡¯s here!¡± The Landwehr soldier said. ¡°Alright, I''ll alert the rest at the camp, go and confront them. They must have a reason for coming at night.¡± Replied the guardswoman. Back to the couple, ¡°And what if we¡¯re killed here? Huh! What then?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll, t-then we¡¯ll-¡± ¡°Halt!¡± The masculine voiced figure was interrupted, both figures turned to reveal a strange looking soldier pointing a gun at them. ¡°Identify yourselves now!¡± The two figures turn to each other, before turning to the soldier, "We''ve been discovered; there''s no point in concealing ourselves," the feminine voice declared before lowering her hood. Revealed beneath was a tan, distinctly feminine face adorned with neon-colored hair and captivating red and green heterochromia. Reluctantly, the second figure lowered their hood, unveiling a masculine visage with brown skin, short black hair, and deep brown eyes. The couple raised their hands. ¡°Now answer the question, why are you here?¡± She repeated. The man suddenly fell to his knees, ¡°Wait! Please don¡¯t send us to prison! Please we need some gold, money, valuables, anything.¡± He pleaded with desperation. ¡°Huh? What no, I won''t send you to jail, we don¡¯t have such a floor.¡± She responded, confusion in her voice. The man¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Y-you won- ack!¡± The woman smacked him at his head. "What my brother is trying to say is that we''re in deep shit and must venture into the dungeon while it''s deserted. This way, we can gather valuables or money without interruption from other people, hopefully earning enough to afford medicine for our ailing parents back in the Methyr Theocracy," the woman elaborated. By now Ellen, accompanied by Emile and two other soldiers had arrived on scene. ¡°So just what is going on here?¡± Ellen asked, quite ticked off at having been woken up. The soldier saluted, ¡°ma¡¯am, these two have entered the dungeon just to look for something and plan to leave.¡± Emile raises her eyebrow, ¡°Oh really? So you two aren¡¯t even gonna try and attempt to complete the dungeon?¡± The two shook their heads. ¡°How much do you need?¡± Emile asked. ¡°1000 Methyr Kranus, although gold coins of any variety will also be acceptable.¡± The man said. Sighing, Ellen reached into her coat pulling out a cloth bag and tossed it to the man, who swiftly caught it, ¡°Here take it. The bag¡¯s got 1500 gold shillings, they¡¯re basically gold coins, use the extra 500 to get both of you something nice.¡± The man intensely stared at the bag he''s holding before staring back at Ellen, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ellen nodded, ¡°Yes, and I know Fraulein Yokakko will be disappointed if she found out that we turned away someone in need.¡± Tears began streaming down their faces, with the cloaked female crying intensely, ¡°T-thank y-ou! We, w-e, we¡¯ll never f-f-forget this k-kindness.¡± The man said, bowing deeply, ¡°Come on sis let¡¯s go!¡± The man took his sister by the hand and rushed back to the entrance, turning to wave at the figures, ¡°We¡¯ll be back! Thanks again.¡± The woman said, before the two of them promptly disappeared into the outside world. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª With Amelia again. Ugh, turns out Dungeon Cores can not only get drunk, but pass out as well, man this headache is killing me! I know this¡¯ll disappear when I unmanifest my avatar, but damn this currently sucks. Suddenly, a plate of steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli as a side dish was laid right in front of me. Not sure if this is gonna help alleviate my hangover, buuut I won¡¯t say no to a nice hot meal that''s for sure! ¡°I noticed that there¡¯s a kitchen out back. So here¡¯s some breakfast, Enjoy!¡± Jackie said. ¡°Thanks, and I will!¡± I exclaimed, digging into the food, probably gonna have to summon a cook, cause there¡¯s absolutely no way Jackie can cook and serve drinks at the same time. Her cooking is fantastic. Also I¡¯ve got some good news, my ankle has regrown! I heard the door open, turning to look behind me, I saw Ellen enter and began to approach me. Oh that¡¯s right, I forgot that anyone can enter this tavern. ¡°Hi! What can I get you?¡± Jackie called out. Ellen took a seat at one of the barstools next to me, ¡°I¡¯ll take a mug of cider please.¡± Then she turned to me. ¡°There was an incident last night.¡± Ellen said, which brought me to full alert, ¡°Well, incident is a bit of a strong word, strange encounter is more apt here.¡± ¡°Oh, do tell.¡± I said, setting down the fork and spoon at my plate. ¡°Last night,¡± Ellen started, before taking a sip from her mug after Jackie set it in front of her. ¡°Some siblings entered the dungeon-.¡± ¡°Whoa that¡¯s a surprise, nobody comes here at night.¡± I comment, interrupting Ellen. Heh, sorry I was just surprised and had to comment. ¡°-They arrived without the intention of completing the dungeon and were merely looking for riches. We did not kill them, instead I handed them a bag of shillings and sent them on their merry way.¡± Ellen finished. Oh wow, so two people entered looking for money at night? Surely there must¡¯ve been a reason for why they¡¯d enter at night. ¡°Ok so why¡¯d they enter at night and not during the day? And also why did you give them any shillings?¡± Ellen finished her mug before standing up, ¡°Well, according to them, they wished to be unbothered by others. As for the shillings? They entered with the goal of collecting enough money to buy medicine for their parents.¡± I nodded, somehow I feel really good about knowing that I through my creatures have indirectly aided someone and a smile began to form on my face. ¡°Wow, so did you get their names?¡± Ellen shook her head. Oh well, hopefully they come back, I¡¯d love to meet them. Ellen reached into her coat, pulling out two silver and one bronze shillings. ¡°Here, fraulein, a payment for such a fine drink.¡± Jackie blushed, ¡°O-oh it¡¯s alright. My services are free for mother and all creatures.¡± Said, frantically waving her hands in an x pattern. But it seems like Ellen wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer, she just sat the coins on the table, saying nothing as she turned around before walking out. Oh that¡¯s right! I need to advertise this tavern. I began to gulp down the food, thanking Jackie before vanishing from the tavern, aka unmanifesting my avatar. I teleported to the dungeon entrance, and proceeded to place a sign next to the floor 3 challenge sign, advertising Jackie¡¯s tavern. Uh gotta come up with a name, um let¡¯s see how about calling it the Closed Tarrier? Let''s keep it! Henceforth the tavern shall now be known as the ¡®Closed Tarrier¡¯. Yeah, perfect! Or Jackie could change it to something else that works too! I go back to floor four, hmm? What ship should I give the adventurers to board? Let me check the list again. Creatures!
Creatures: Shark: 10 Mana Kraken: 70 Mana Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Blunderbuss Gunner: 10 Mana Militia Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) 55 Mana Elite Infantry French Old Guard 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana French Young Guard 100 Mana French Dutch Guard 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard 120 Mana Skirmisher Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 45 Mana Cavalry Russian Cossacks 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment 60 Mana British Royal Scots Grey 65 Mana French 1st Cuirassier Regiment 65 Mana Marines: US Marine Corps 65 British Royal Marines 65 French Imperial Guard Marines 65 Spanish Marines 65 Irregular Spanish Guerrillas 20 Mana Russian Partisans 20 Mana Ships types (Water Floor Exclusive): Sloop: 7 Mana Brig: 7 Mana Galley: 7 Mana Schooner: 10 Mana Barque: 15 Mana Frigate: 20 Mana Ship of the Line: 35 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders. You can summon creatures on ships in addition to the crews summoned alongside the ships.)
You know what I¡¯ll assign a Ship-of-the-Line instead, it¡¯ll be a 122 gun 1st Rate, and I¡¯m only doing this because of the kraken, oh speaking of, I¡¯ve added various non hostile sea-creatures in the ocean. As a finishing touch, I added some coral on the seafloor! As for the ship¡¯s name, I¡¯m gonna rip Blackbeard¡¯s name for his frigate and call this ship-of-the-line the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge. But, if I were to only give the adventurers a pirate 1st rate, then that would be too easy, a 1st Rate will easily breeze through the frigate and the sloop, so I¡¯ll summon one 54 gun frigates, another 122 gun ship-of-the-line, and lastly one 16 gun barque. I¡¯ll call the the frigate the Nuestra Senora Gabriela, the barque shall be named the Jeune fille, and lastly the ship-of-the-line HMS Royal Victory. I think these are pretty good. They should all come with their own marine detachments, anyways there''s one last thing that needs to be done, well actually two things: first summon some marines, two build a ruined castle somewhere on the island. Who better than to summon some US Marines in that settlement, which will be called Port Magen. They¡¯re gonna be helping defend the town from attacks, either from the adventurers who act stupid and attempt to try and start something in the safe zone, or the Kraken, which I have given the ability to attack targets on land. So in total this costs about 125 Mana give or take, which brings me to about 170 Mana left to spend. Honestly they shouldn¡¯t have trouble subduing any trouble makers, considering everyone has a mix of guns, hatchets, pikes, and pitchforks. I stopped as soon as I reached the docks. Alright prepare the summoning ritual! What am I even saying? There¡¯s no ritual, they just instantly appear from thin air. Ok I am just digressing from the point. Ok one last digression, reading the description, been a while since I¡¯ve read one. Let''s see the description says: Formed on November 10 1775 when the Continental Congress ordered two battalions of marines to be raised as landing forces alongside the navy. Their first operation was a raid on Fort Nassau successfully seizing British stockpiles of gunpowder and munitions. This was conducted under the command of Captain Samuel Nicholas who was later promoted to Major, the first commissioned officer of the Continental Marines. After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, the Continental Marines were subsequently disbanded. However the Marines were re-established in 1798 during a quasi-war with France involving a landing at Santo Domingo, and even took part in operations against Barbary Pirates. During the War of 1812 The Marines took part in numerous naval operations and took part in the defense of Washington at Bladensburg, and fought alongside Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. Whoa, great description, now enough reading, let''s summon! With those words, as usual, a group of 12 women materialized out of thin air. Each had blonde hair and wore black stovepipe shakos, accented with a yellow braided string and tassel wrapped around it. Atop the shakos, a red plume stood tall, while a gold plate featuring the letters AY both at the top and bottom, in the middle an imgage of. Wait a minute, is that me?! Upon closer inspection it is me, I¡¯m pointing a saber at the foreground, that''s so cool! Anyways their uniform also included dark-blue coats with red collars and cuffs adorned with yellow worsted tape, paired with white trousers and knee-high black boots. A woman wearing a black bicorne front-to-back with a red plume protruding from the right side. She approached my incorporeal form and salutes. ¡°Semper Fidelis, Ma¡¯am¡± She declared, followed by 11 other voices mimicking their officer at such a loud volume, I''m pretty sure everyone in the settlement heard them. Um wow, didn¡¯t expect my currently non-existent ears to get blasted, especially since I was standing close to them. ¡°At ease gentlewomen, your main task is to guard this port. Which shouldn¡¯t be a problem since everyone here has weapons and can assist in keeping the peace, but for now until adventurers arrive, just relax and chill around the settlement, or go into the forest/deeper in land if you want. But I expect everyone to be ready the exact moment adventurers arrive on this floor.¡± I explained By the time I finished, all twelve had huddled around me, ¡°If you need anything just ask Macy.¡± I said, pointing to the Officer now named Macy, ¡°or come find me, I¡¯ll hang around here anyways, polishing the floor.¡± Everyone nodded, and began scattering around the settlement, presumably to do whatever it is they want. Hey I don¡¯t mind nor care for what my creatures do in their spare time. Now ont- wait! What if I add the Flying Dutchman as an Easter Egg? That ghost ship won¡¯t even do anything, it¡¯ll only have 1% chance of appearing, heck I¡¯ll even make Davy Jones¡¯s Locker an actual locker that people can access in the deepest part of the ocean, of course with a high chance for drowning doubly so if one is not prepared, but good rewards. Yes let¡¯s go create! After this, I¡¯ll go out and find some test sub- I mean ¡°willing volunteers¡± to playtest floor 4. Then it''s onto my fifth floor woohoo! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª 2 days later, Manarias Adventurer Party, Casmur POV, midday The 6 members of the party have once again stood outside the entrance of the very same dungeon they were originally sent to investigate. ¡°Wow, this place really changed since we last visited.¡± Hazmir remarked. As they witnessed a party of four sulking as they exited the dungeon. ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Let''s go in.¡± Markus said, ¡°Yeah hopefully we manage to reach beyond the second floor.¡± I nodded, ¡°Especially since I have a score to settle with that woman on the second floor,¡± She said, approaching the door, opening it and stepping inside. Her 5 other companions followed suit. Once inside we were greeted by a woman wearing a strange uniform with a similar hat that Markus now wore, she also has short brown hair and a moderate size bust. ¡°Hi,¡± She waved, ¡°My name is Amelia, I am the Dungeon Core-.¡± The Dungeon Core!? Are they even real? As a child, my father who used to be an adventurer once told tales of Dungeon Cores as entities created by the gods to bring entertainment for all living beings. Though I never believed any of it, now that I¡¯m standing face to face with one who claims to be a Dungeon Core, I can¡¯t help but re-evaluate those stories. ¡°-I am looking for people to test my fourth floor, since I noticed you six enter, and the fact that all of you were also the first ones to enter, I want you to be the first ones on floor 4. Of course you will be compensated generously, and you don¡¯t have to accept. However, I would appreciate any feedback if all 6 of you participated.¡± Amelia said, smiling widely and reaching out her right hand. I looked towards my companions to gauge their reactions, Markus shrugged, Najira gave me a thumbs up, Greorjy just grinned, resting his firearm on his shoulders, both Samarra and Hazmir looked indifferent. I stare back at Amelia, smiling just as bright as she was before, now with an expectant look at her face. ¡°You know what, sure, on one condition.¡± I said. ¡°Name it,¡± Amelia replied, still reaching out her hand. ¡°I get to duel that girl who killed me on the second floor.¡± I said. ¡°Accepted.¡± She said, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°No, that will be all.¡± I replied before I promptly shook Amelia¡¯s hand. Before we could even do anything, the seven of us were teleported on board a ship. Looking around I could spot cannons on each side, with humans, all female dressed in sailors garbs just milling around the deck. Why do I get a sneaking suspicion that things are about to get ugly? I guess I¡¯ll have to cross that bridge when I get there. Dedicated Lore Chapter World Lore: Magic Crystals possess a rich, deep purple hue reminiscent of amethyst, adorned with an orange iridescent vein and a delicate light silver streak. All firearms have components made from this ore. In order to load a magic rifle, one must take a small chunk of Magic Crystal, split it half, insert the chunk into the breech, and then take the other half into the muzzle, then much like a regular musket the user then needs to use a ramrod to push the other chunk down. The Black Mark is pictured as a shattered pedestal, which typically held an orb representing a Dungeon Core. 10,000 years ago the first ever Dungeon Core was shattered by a party of twelve, the Goddess of Dungeons upon hearing this was furious, so furious in fact that she descended from the heavens, an act that the deities hadn¡¯t done since the Creation Era. The goddess smited the one responsible, and placed the remaining eleven with a permanent curse, the Black Mark on both of their shoulders. Those cursed with the Black Mark are ostracized everywhere one goes, and it is also see-through, meaning that no matter how many layers of clothing one puts on, the Black Mark is still visible and no amount of magical means can hide this curse. Since then the term ¡®Shatter the Core¡¯ has been used to describe any attempt, successful or not, at destroying the Dungeon Core, by any means. Grand Council Directive No.3729 ¡®Dungeon Protection¡¯ was passed by the Grand Council of Kurz which grants the military the authority to protect Dungeon Cores from being shattered by individuals suspected to be plotting to shatter the Core, or those with the Black Mark. However due to the current embargoes and sanctions, the military is unable to enforce this directive, and thus the Grand Council amended the directive to allow local law enforcement and the Adventurers Guild the ability to enforce this directive. Country Lore: Union of Kurz: formed as a Union between Humans, Wood Elves and Dwarves after wining the 5 year long Kurzian War of Independence against the Laziran Empire. The country is run like a direct democracy with members of the three species receiving equal representation in the Grand Council. The inhabitants of the Province of Kurz felt like they were neglected by the Laziran Empire, more specifically from their High Elf monarch who felt no need to develope the Province. This has resulted in rampant poverty, infrastructure decaying, and constantly being on the verge of famine, as such the people of the province banded together and declared independence against the empire. Every city has their own local councils this ensures that the voices of the people are heard from directly. Everyone can and are encouraged to participate in their local council meetings at the end of each week. During these meetings each Local Council debate and vote for Local Agendas, then representatives from the Local Councils are sent to Kurz to vote for a Collective Agenda based upon the vote from the Local Council they represent, once a Collective Agenda has been decided it must then go through a vote at the Grand Council. Currently there are 14 local councils who have 1 vote each. In addition to this each of the fourteen councils have jurisdiction on nearby towns and villages. Note Local Agendas are separate from Collective Agendas and must be voted by the Grand Council to be implemented. Then there is the separate Grand Council ruling directly from Kurz, members of this council are voted in through public elections and decide on national matters, such as laws, diplomacy, etc. And lastly the Grand Court, which acts to enforce and interpret laws, as well as strike down laws deemed unconstitutional by the court, each judge are elected for life. The number of councillors elected in the Grand Council is proportional to the population of each city with a Local Council, as in for every ten thousand there is one representative. Each branch of the government have measures in place to prevent each other from gaining too much power. The Grand Council can order for the removal of a judge through a vote, and as previously stated The Grand Court can declare Grand Council directives/laws unconstitutional. The Local Councils can vote against implementing Grand Council directives/laws and the Grand Council in turn can vote down Local Council Collective Agendas. While the people elect judges the Local Councils also have the power to remove judges and the Grand Court can in turn declare Local and Collective Agendas unconstitutional. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. A vote passes based on majority. During Local Council votes on Collective Agendas, each council MUST have at minimum 100 participants for a vote to count.
Republic of Ergon: Is a representative democracy run by Orcs, and is founded upon a set of 12 principles. Representatives are elected from the 9 provinces of Ergon and meet at the Ergonese capital of Uzd. Each province has 3 representatives in the House of Representatives, which in total would have 27 provincial representatives. The Ergonese Senate has 2 Senators from the country''s 25 cities totaling at 50 city Senators. Both seats are colloquially known as the Ergonese Parliament. The President is decided through two separates votes, the city and provincial votes. The President can choose their Vice President, if a candidate wins the city vote and the other the provincial vote, then the candidate who won the city vote is declared the president, and the other candidate who won the provincial is chosen as the vice president regardless of who the president chose. There are three branches: Parliament, Presidential, and the Supreme Court. There are checks and balances to prevent one branch from gaining power. Parliament must approve Presidential appointments either to the cabinet ministers or the Supreme Court, Parliament can impeach and remove the president from office, and lastly the Parliament can override presidential vetoes. In regards to the Supreme Court, Parliament can impeach judges and remove them, and Parliament can introduce amendments to the Ergonese Principles. The President has the power to veto Parliamental laws and appoint judges. The Supreme Court can declare certains acts of the President and Parliamental Laws unprincipled. Basically the Republic of Egron is just the USA but with differences in presidential elections.
Lazir Empire: The Laziran Empire or more commonly reffered to as the Laziran Empire is a elective triple monarchy between Orcs, Humans, High Elves. The empire has a small Arachne minority. Each section of the empire divided into three sections based on where majorities of each race live, the western section is administered by an Orc monarch, the central section is administered by a Human monarch, the eastern section is administered by a High Elf monarch. All three monarchs answer to the current ruling Emperor or Empress. The election of the monarch and the ruler is conducted independently and is decided by the people, with nobles counting for two votes.
Republic of Lazogh: The Republic of Lazogh is a Dark Elf nation, with a sizeable Wood Elf minority. Currently the RoL is a Sister Republic to the Union of Kurz. Lazogh was once a part of the Laziran Empire like the UoK. Once UoK declared independence, the Dark Elves of Lazogh felt like they weren''t represented fairly in the triple monarchy and followed Kurz''s example and follwed suit. The revolutionary leaders of Lazogh knew that they didn''t have the capacity to wage war and it''s armies undersupplied so, the leaders of Lazogh, with approval from the people agreed to become a client state of the Union of Kurz. The government of the RoL is the same as the UoK except they have a Prime Minister whose the chief of the army, and the one to conduct diplomacy. Despite being a client state, the UoK leaves Lazogh alone, never meddling with the country''s affairs. It is to the point where the RoL is it''s own independent country rather a client state on paper.
The Hoyashi Shogunate is a country ruled by 7 clans with the 8th being the Hoyashi Clan ruling as the Shogun from the capital of Hisomiya. The country itself is an island nation that''s sandwiched between the Maryura continent to the left and the Varigny continent to the right. The island itself is named after the current ruling Shogun. The Modernist Hoyashi clan ousted the ruling Magic Tradionalist Taizho clan after a grueling 20 year long civil war between the Modernist clans and the Magic Traditionalist clans.
The Kingdom of Earthia is a country ruled by Animalkins, located on the smaller continent of Tamnis just below Hoyashi Island also sandwiched between the two aforementioned continents. Ever since Earthia''s declaration of independance 200 years ago from the Kingdom of Grire, they have been at war with their neighbor. Borders constantly shift to the point that map makers have given up on trying to keep up and have instead split the continent in half on maps, as of now the both kingdoms have agreed to a ceasefire, but it''s unclear how long it will last. Currently Earthia is diplomatically isolated, save for trade relations with the UoK disregarding the combined Laziran and Ergonese embargoes.
The Kingdom of Grire is a country ruled by Human supremacists who''ve for over 1,000 years the country have oppressed the Animalkin populations inhabiting the western portion of the continent.
10K Views Hurray! (I鈥檓 very emotional right now) Hello there, Umm I don¡¯t know what to say, I mean, god I¡¯m so emotional right now because two-three hours ago as of me writing this, I had attended my High School¡¯s graduation ceremony and received my diploma (not really, actual diploma will arrive by mail), sorry if there¡¯s a lot of mistakes in this, well I guess author¡¯s note. When I logged on today and I found out that Ten thousand people had read my, and I¡¯m going to be honest here, dumb story that I just randomly thought of in the middle of the night, it¡¯s just wow. Never in my wildest dream would I have thought to have 10k people read this. When I first started this like couple of months ago, I only expected at most 10 people to read this, but as the days go by and I witness as the number of views grow day by day, I just couldn¡¯t believe it! This story has and will always be a fun hobby for me. One in which I¡¯ll write in just to relax after a long day. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Now 10K may not be a lot, at least compared to other stories, but to me it is, and for that I thank you dear reader for taking the time to read this story, and again thank you for the best graduation gift ever!!! (P.S: Here¡¯s a sneak peak of chapter ten. ¡°Squinting, I noticed small flagpoles at the stern of both ships. The smaller ship flew a red, white, and blue tricolor flag, while the larger ship displayed a red cross intersected by red lines forming an X, with blue triangles between the lines.¡± This was me trying to describe the British Union Jack from the pov of a fantasy adventurer who has never heard or seen the Union Jack.) Chapter 10: Nautical Adventures of the Manarias Party Casmur PoV: I am curious as to what this floor entails. I mean it¡¯s clear that it is a water level, but from what I heard and experienced. Water levels in dungeons usually involve adventurers having to trudge through either underwater, build a raft, or be provided a small boat. None of them ever included a full blown ship! My attention was suddenly brought over to Amelia who was coughing, uhh rather violently might I add. Everyone, including the crew, was just staring at her. "Whoa, excuse me, not sure what happened there. Anyway, your job is simple: sink every ship. You''re being hunted since, well, you''re on a pirate ship. Or you can make it to the end. You can die as many times as you want here; you''ll only lose once this ship sinks. Think of this ship as a respawn zone. There is, however, one final way to complete this floor, but I''ll let you figure that out." Amelia explained. If I understand correctly there 3 ways to complete this floor, with the third being some kind of mystery, a puzzle perhaps? ¡°Um, if I may,¡± Najira spoke up, ¡°Could you give us a hint as to what the third option is?¡± ¡°All I¡¯ll say is that it¡¯s a huge threat to everyone and you¡¯ll see it in 15 hours. Or if it¡¯s been disturbed enough, one of the two¡± Amelia said, playfully winking at us. Uhh ok, not weird at all, ¡°That aside. Could you provide a map, if that''s no trouble.¡± I asked. ¡°Sure.¡± Was all Amelia said, snapping her fingers and a map appeared above our heads. Fortunately Markus quickly caught the map before it could fall down. The five of us crowded around Markus as he unfurled the map. It revealed five islands: one large island surrounded by four smaller ones. The north end showed a door labeled "Exit," while the south end marked the entrance, where we were currently located. ¡°Look, there are several points of interest here. The bottom right island has some kind of outpost, top left has what looks to be an abandoned campsite. And question marks on the two remaining small islands.¡± Markus said, as he pointed towards the points of interest on the map, then he pointed to a location called ¡°Port Magen¡± at the western portion of the bigger island. ¡°We should definitely visit there sometime, and maybe explore the island further.¡± Markus said, looking up at the 5 of us gathered around him. I stare to my left and I spot Amelia holding a clipboard and a quill pen. She caught me staring at her, however she said nothing and instead flashed me a smile. ¡°I say we go to that outpost first.¡± Najira suggested, before Hazmir shook his head. ¡°No! I say we go to those ruins first!¡± Hazmir said, ¡°We might find something useful in whatever remains.¡± Najira doubled down on her original proposal ¡°But, this outpost might be even more useful!¡± ¡°Might I suggest we search in those islands marked with a question mark?¡± Greorjy offered. Hazmir almost looked offended. I turned to Samarra and walked over to him ¡°Samarra, what do you suggest? You¡¯ve not said a word.¡± I said addressing our mage who¡¯s so far been quiet. Samarra shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Ok, Samarra, just know that you also have a say in what we do in this party.¡± He nods his head and says nothing. I look back to the argument and Hazmir was about ready to punch Najira. By the goddess these two always get like this everytime the party needs to make a choice. ¡°Alright, settle down you two.¡± I said, getting in between the two arms stretched out. ¡°Why don¡¯t we put this to a vote? Obviously my vote doesn¡¯t count unless there''s a tie.¡± ¡°So I¡¯ll start with Hazmir, then all in favor for the ruins, raise your hand.¡± I stated, immediately afterwards, I see two hands raised, Greorjy and Hazmir. ¡°Those in favor of the outpost raise your hand.¡± Three hands. Let''s see.. Samarra, Najira, and Markus. ¡°Ok, what about the question mark islands?¡± No hands raised, ¡°Alright, we''re going to the outpost. First, and to the ruins later.¡± Everyone nodded before scattering across the deck. I headed up a flight of stairs, eventually reaching the quarterdeck, before he wandered off Markus gave me the dungeon map that he was holding. I rolled it back up and stored it in my satchel. I spotted a beautiful brunette woman with shoulder-length hair. She wore a jacket with white lapels and cuffs as well as yellow linen noodle like decorations on her shoulders, under which she had on a white shirt and a red waistcoat, unbuttoned at the top to reveal her upper cleavage from her moderately sized breasts. Her outfit was completed by black trousers and knee-length heeled leather boots. A leather belt held some kind of short sword on her left hip and two non-crystal pistols on her right hip. A bandolier crossed from her left shoulder to her belt on her right hip, with two more pistols resting at her chest. Lastly she wore a strange looking triangle hat adorned with a long red feather protruding from the left side. Judging from her looks, she must be the pirate captain. Judging by her choice of uniform, this woman must be the captain, and If I were to say, she¡¯s dressed similarly to the notorious Pirate Queen Guinevere. Who last I heard was sailing south. Now that I get a better look, everyone else seems to be wearing a mix of clothing. Some have shirts, some button-up, while others wear leather vests or jackets over their shirts, and quite a few combine all three. For headwear, a majority wore these triangle looking hats, some only wore scarves around their heads, and a few wore both. However, they all have one thing in common: red and black striped trousers. She turned her attention towards a woman who I presumed is the helmsman, or I should say helmswoman. The helmswoman waved and flashed me a toothy smile. ¡°So yer the landlubbers that our gracious Lady has us escorting.¡± That Pirate Captain Lady said approaching us. Huh!? Did she just call me a landlubber? Ugh, whatever I¡¯m not here to start arguments and fights, especially against dungeon creatures. Besides that one girl from the second floor is the one who I have a real grudge on. Not a moment too soon, the woman got up close and personal, before eying me down top to bottom. ¡°This sword¡¯s gotta go, me matey.¡± The rather rude Woman stated. ¡°Huh! Oh hell no I ain''t getting rid of my longsword!¡± I defensively said, unsheathing my longsword and hugging it tightly. ¡°Besides, what''s wrong with my longsword?¡± ¡°Oi Relax yer hiney, Before ye interrupted me, I was about to explain to ya that swords like that aint no good to on a ship. They¡¯ll get caught on the ropes, and are no good below deck¡± She said, before she unsheathed a short sword. ¡°This here be a cutlass, perfect for ship combat. Here you can have mine.¡± I swiftly caught the cutlass, causing me to inadvertently drop my longsword, which I immediately picked up and sheathed it back in place. I began to inspect this ¡®cutlass¡¯ and its hilt is similar to that of a rapier, and the short blade curves near the end. ¡°Interesting.¡± I said, ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you got a scabbard for this.¡± She proceeded to toss me her scabbard without uttering a single word. I caught it and proceeded to sheath the cutlass and attach the scabbard next to my longsword ¡°Now then, forgive me for this late introduction but I am Captain Muriel Godfrey, and this here be my ship.¡± Muriel said, ¡°Now where would ya and yer crew like ta go missy?¡± ¡°We would like to go to the outpost first if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I replied. ¡°Aye the outpost, sure thing. Just be warned ta be ready for a fight! Those filthy French and British bilge rats be prowlin the oceans, best be careful.¡± Muriel cautioned. Well I guess she¡¯s right, WE are on a pirate vessel¡­ a vessel crewed by dungeon creatures being hunted by other vessels also crewed by dun- you know what forget about it, I could feel a migraine begin to form just by thinking about it. Captain Muriel, returned to stand next to the helmswoman and began barking orders ¡°Anchors Aweigh, full speed ahead, set sail for the outpost!¡± To which the crew responded with shouts of ¡®aye-aye cap¡¯n¡¯ Then I began to hear singing. I think the lyrics started with ¡®Now we are ready to head for the horn¡¯ or something like that¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª CaSmUr Pov: It took roughly about 35 minutes give or take of sailing before we arrived at this sort of mini docks, if one could call it that¡­ We had to land using row boats from the ship, but anyways we were greeted by two more women, one has red hair tied into a ponytail, and wore some kind of buttoned shirt with red and white horizontal stripes, a red scarf tied around her neck, she also wore white trousers completed by a tan top hat and black ankle length boots. The girl next to her has short messy jet black hair, wearing a tan shirt, brown trousers, and a straw hat. Finishing off, she wore black knee-length boots. Behind the two sat a small wooden house and a watchtower next to the house. Right across from both structures is a small wooden building with a thatch roof. Above the door which showed a sign that had a picture of a crate filled with all sorts of items. Judging from the sign, that building is the warehouse. ¡°Hello there dear visitors!¡± The Redhead greeted with a smile, as we stepped off of the boat and moved onto the docks. ¡°What brings you here?¡± I looked back to my companions, ¡°So, anything we need specifically?¡± I asked. Markus approached the two women, ¡°Aye, we like to see if you¡¯ve got any supplies we may need.¡± ¡°Hmm, come with me, I¡¯m the one that handles the supplies.¡± The Black haired girl said, beckoning Markus to follow her. ¡°Follow me to the warehouse.¡± ¡°Aye, I¡¯ll go too, just remembered that the ship ran out of rum.¡± A Crewmember of the ship said, before promptly following them. All three soon disappeared into the warehouse. My attention was brought back to the redhead, when she clapped a couple of times. ¡°Mhm, now I''m very sorry for the late introduction. I was too excited to have guests! Now, my name is Rosey and that other girl with black hair is Mariah!¡± Rosey said, in an overly hyper tone. ¡°Um, actually what else can we find on the island? Y¡¯know besides this.¡± Najira asked as she gestured to the buildings, which in turn caused Rosey to immediately deflate like a balloon, dropping onto the floor, and she¡¯s liquifying... ¡°This Island is too small¡­ I searched everywhere for any secrets¡­ Mother, why is this island small?¡± Rosey somehow said with a sad and depressed tone, staring directly at someone behind me, as she¡¯s turned into a puddle on the ground. I turn around behind me, curious as to where or rather who she¡¯s gazing at. Only to find Amelia''s cheeks red and attempting to hide her face with her clipboard. ¡°Hey what¡¯s that on your back? I¡¯m gonna be honest here, I¡¯ve never seen a gun with 7 barrels.¡± Greorjy said, walking up to Rosey¡¯s liquid form¡­ and pointing to that strange 7 barreled firearm. Suddenly Rosey solidified, and jumped right back up startling Greorjy causing him to lose his balance, before he fell, he was caught by both Hazmir and Samarra. ¡°Why I¡¯m glad you asked!¡± Rosey practically yelled in excitement, as she unslung her strange firearm, and presented it to us. ¡°This here beauty is what we like to call the ¡®Nock Volley Gun¡¯ or just Nockgun for short, it¡¯s got seven barrels for seven times the blast potential!¡± ¡°Wait, wouldn¡¯t the recoil of that thing break your shoulders?¡± Hazmir commented. As for me? Well I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell, since I¡¯m not knowledgeable when it comes to firearms. Rosey¡¯s past excitement died at Hazmir¡¯s question , ¡°Well, uhh, um, yeah¡­ it does break the shoulders of anyone who isn¡¯t a Nockgunner.¡± Warehouse door opened, as Markus was the first to exit pushing a cart with three crates, followed by that Crew Woman who was carrying 8 crates. Wait! She¡¯s carrying 8 crates?!?! How is that even possible, oh wait Dungeon Creature¡­ man you always forget that the sentients one talks to in this dungeon are Dungeon Creatures. And lastly, Mariah, that black haired girl came out and closed the door behind her as she followed behind Markus and that Crew Woman. ¡°Aye this should be everything.¡± That Crew Woman then walked to the dock behind us. ¡°I think this Island¡¯s all there is to it, come on let¡¯s get back on the ship.¡± Markus said, following the Crewwoman. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for us to go too.¡± I plainly stated, getting nods of agreement from my party members, we turned and began walking to the dock. ¡°Wait!¡± Rosey yelled, and ran up to me ¡°Before you go, I¡¯m gonna give you this just for stopping by to talk.¡± A small wooden box materialized in her hands and she gave it to me. Opening the box which revealed 6 tokens which appear to have our faces etched onto them. ¡°Use those tokens to get free drinks and food at the tavern in Port Magen! And come visit us again¡± Rosey said, waving at us ¡°Oh and tell my sister, that I said Hi!¡± Smiling, I replied, ¡°Thank you, Ms Rosey, and I¡¯ll be sure to come visit whenever I¡¯m on this floor. Not sure about these knuckleheads in my party.¡± Afterwards, I closed the box and continued walking, eventually meeting the rest back at the rowboat, which was also holding a stack of 9 crates at the back. ¡°So what did Rosey give you?¡± Samarra asked. ¡°Six tokens, custom made for each of us, we can use these to supposedly get free drinks and or food at a tavern in Port Magen.¡± I replied, opening the box and handing the tokens to my party. ¡°Alright, scratch that ruin, we''re changing our destination to Port Magen!¡± Markus declared, receiving unanimous agreements from the party, well except for Samarra he said nothing. I am kinda hungry, I hope this tavern serves food. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Still cAsMuR POV: We¡¯ve been sailing on the open ocean for a good 4 hours and 35 minutes and have just now entered open water, as the Manarias Party and I were seated upon a table generously placed on the deck for us. Though truth be told I wanted to lay down on a cot somewhere below deck, but Greorjy insisted saying and I quote ¡°We¡¯ve got to experience authentic pirate life!¡± Which personally I don¡¯t understand, but he was really excited when he said it. ¡°SEA DOGS SPOTTED CAP¡¯N! PORTSIDE!¡± I heard someone yell from the top of the crows nest, which threw the once peaceful deck into a frenzy as crew members began taking positions. ¡°Um, question, what is a Sea Dog?¡± Najira asked, tilting her head. Markus stood up, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I get the feeling that something¡¯s about to go down!¡± The moment Markus finished speaking, the ship rocked as something struck it, followed by the deafening sound of explosions. Cannons quickly fired back at whatever it is that hit us, the blasts echoing across the sea. I still find it odd and amazing that the weapons used by the dungeon creatures here have any magical crystals whatsoever. Anyway, I sprinted to the bow of the ship and spotted two smaller vessels in the distance. One appeared to be the size of a frigate, while the other was either a schooner or a sloop. Squinting, I noticed small flagpoles at the stern of both ships. The smaller ship flew a red, white, and blue tricolor flag, while the larger ship displayed a red cross intersected by red lines forming an X, with blue triangles between the lines. ¡°TAKE COVER!¡± My observation was immediately cut short as another explosion impacted the ship. Which caused me to instinctively dive behind a set of barrels nearby. I stood up and sprinted towards a 3 woman gun crew to the left side of the ship. ¡°Is there anything I could do?¡± The first Crew Woman holding a ramrod gave me said ramrod, ¡°Here hold this, the sponge is still wet, I¡¯ll be back with another bucket of water since it spilled!¡± The cannon I was now manning fired, rolling backwards and the gun port was quickly closed. ¡°First sponge the inside, and quick!¡± I inserted the sponge, which looked like a blackened cylinder that has been attached to a stick, into the bore, reaching deeper into the barrel, before hitting the end. I was unsure of how many times I should do this, so I repeated this motion about three times. Then the second Crew Woman came over holding an oval shaped paper wrap, inserting it into the bore. ¡°Do what you just did with the sponge but use the opposite end.¡± She said, before picking up an iron ball. I repeated the actions I did with the sponge, this time using the other end which had a conical shape to the end. I had to repeat this two more times for the iron ball and a wad of paper. After all of this was done, we pushed the cannon towards the gun port. The last Crew Woman, presumably the gun captain, pulled a rope which opened the gun port, then she pulled a lanyard, which was attached to the gun. BOOM! It was very fortunate that I installed a soundproofing mechanism to my helmet, otherwise I would¡¯ve definitely gone def. Once the smoke cleared, I could see that small ship sinking, as its mast came tumbling down, and her crew abandoned ship. By this time the first Crew Woman had returned carrying a bucket. ¡°Thanks for the support! I¡¯ll take over from here why don-¡± She was cut off when someone yelled. ¡°AVAST YE LADS, WE BE BOARDING THAT BLOODY FRIGATE!¡± Soon enough, we were sailing dangerously close to that frigate, all while both ships exchanged fire. Once both ships were practically side by side, many of the Queen Anne¡¯s Crew jumped on board the frigate, I could hear the clashing of steel. I unsheathed my cutlass and made my way to the railing, leaning over to watch. Below, women dressed in red coats, white trousers, gray knee-length boots, and black top hats with yellow trims moved about. Each hat bore a black circular insignia on the right side, with a red and white plume protruding just behind it. Fighting alongside them are women who wore white and light blue striped button up shirts and khaki trousers. Some of them were also wearing scarves on their heads. Cutlass in hand, I vaulted over the ledge and quickly landed on the deck. I had forgotten I was wearing full plate armor, so jumping down from the much larger ship, combined with the weight of my armor, meant I was bound to crash onto someone or something with full force. The moment I landed, or rather slammed onto the deck, I heard a pretty audible crack even amidst the clashing, and the wood under me snapped in half causing me to fall and crash face first on top of a barrel below deck destroying it entirely. Ouch, good thing my armor has cushioning inside, otherwise I¡¯d have been knocked out. Unfortunately my armor has been dented in some areas. ¡°Oi, those bloody pirates have made it below!¡± I look up to find an enemy sailor about to strike me with a cutlass. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to dodge this strike. I am currently on the floor and my armor is weighing me down. The best I can do is attempt to parry with my cutlass which was somehow still in my hands. She swung, but I raised my cutlass just in time to block her sword swing, however this was short lived as I could sense the barrel of a firearm pointed at my head. I closed my eyes, waiting for my end and respawn back on Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge. I heard a bang¡­ well two bangs actually. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I open my eyes and I find two bodies at my feet and Muriel standing in front of me, dual wielding pistols in her hands with smoke coming out. ¡°Get up, lassie, ship¡¯s almost ours, the captain is at the front bow with her last remaining crew.¡± She said, as she holstered her pistols and reached out her hand. I took her hand, getting back up. ¡°Quite the fall eh.¡± Muriel commented, I could feel a smirk behind that comment. ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± I deadpanned, and Muriel let out a hearty chuckle. Muriel and I returned to the top deck, and had to push through a crowd of crew women and bodies. Once we were at the bow of the ship. I spotted a woman who I assume is the captain, as she¡¯s wearing a hat similar to what Markus is currently wearing, except she¡¯s wearing it front to back, a bluecoat with gold buttons and white trousers. She¡¯s hiding behind 6 of those red coated, top hat wearing women. Just in front of that group is the rest of the party. I turned to Muriel next to me, ¡°Muriel, Let''s finish this shall we?¡± Unsheathing her cutlass Muriel laughed, ¡°Aye, took the words out of me mouth!¡± As we approached the party, Greorjy was the first to notice both Muriel and I approach. ¡°Hah so Casmur lives!¡± ¡°Oh? I thought the fall would¡¯ve done her in!¡± Markus piped up. I let out a long sigh, ¡°I¡¯m not escaping from this am I?¡± ¡°Hahah, nope.¡± Hazmir said, giving me a hard pat on my armored back. ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t bloody ignore us! We¡¯re still here ye mangy scoundrels!¡± Oh¡­ I think we actually forgot about those seven for a moment¡­ Awkward. ¡°Charge! For Britain, For Amelia! Britannia Rules the Waves!¡± The seven rushed at us, to which my party plus Muriel countercharged. We each split off, choosing our targets individually. I happen to face off with the one on the left. She thrusts with her bayonet, which did nothing but scrape my armor. However I can¡¯t be too careless, as she could penetrate my armor if she aimed for the dents. She thrusts again, but I parried it with my cutlass. This is not good, I only have a short sword and she has the reach advantage, especially in an area with limited space to maneuver around. For the third time she thrusts, but this time I grab hold of her firearm, and yanked it towards me. This action had taken her by surprise and as a result she fell down. Of course I took advantage, and stabbed her in the back, killing her instantly. ¡°Gug, Help!¡± I heard a frantic cry to my right. Swerving my head I saw Najira struggling as she¡¯s entangled in a chokehold by a Red Coat. I sprung into action, throwing my cutlass towards Najira. In hindsight this probably wasn¡¯t the best move, but nonetheless Najira caught the cutlass, and stabbed that Red Coat in her left leg, causing her to release Najira as she clutched her leg in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. Najira finished her off by stabbing her in the head. ¡°Casmur thanks for the help.¡± Najira said, relief evident in her voice. ¡°Oh by the way, here''s your cutlass back.¡± ¡°Thanks, and yeah, no problem.¡± I said, ¡°Looks like Muriel has dealt with the captain.¡± Soon enough Muriel approached Najira and I, as she held said captain over her left shoulder tied up like a sack. She was soon joined by Greorjy, And Markus. ¡°Wait, where''s Hazmir and Samarra?¡± I asked. ¡°They were just here with us?¡± ¡°Weeeeell, they both bit the bullet.¡± Markus responded, ¡° And if what Amelia¡¯s saying is true then they should be waiting for us at Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge.¡± ¡°Ah I se-¡± I was interrupted, from that captain¡¯s incessant whining. Muriel became irritated, ¡°Oi shut yer mouth, or it¡¯s off to Davy Jones¡¯s Locker!¡± ¡°You think that¡¯ll- AHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± Splash! The six of us became instantly silent as we witnessed Muriel chuck that captain overboard. Note to self, DO NOT PISS OFF Muriel. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Casmur PoV: We continued sailing on open water after taking 2 hours of looting that frigate and performing ad hoc repairs on the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge. Though I don¡¯t know why we didn¡¯t scuttle that ship. By now the sun had just begun to set. Wait, how is it possible for this dungeon to have day night cycles? Ahhhhhhh! Stop questioning this dungeon Casmur! You¡¯ll only hurt yourself this way! I removed my helmet, and proceeded to slap myself, afterwards I re-equip my helmet. ¡°Whoa, you good there Casmur?¡± Greorjy asked, with a worried look on his face. I shrugged, ¡°Oh nothing, it''s to stop myself from asking more questions about this dungeon.¡± ¡°O-kay then,¡± Greorjy said, ¡°Oh look what I found!¡± He reached into his left pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. ¡°Huh, that''s pretty neat.¡± I said, ¡°Speaking of finding things, I found this top hat, the same ones that those RedCoats were wearing. I''m planning on giving it to my father as a gift. He¡¯d unironically wear it.¡± ¡°LAND HO!¡± Almost by instinct, Greorjy and I stood up and rushed over to the railings. There in the distance, we spotted wooden walls and a great big sign that read ¡®Welcome to Port Magen¡¯ It didn¡¯t take long for us to dock at the harbor. We then hear Muriel¡¯s booming voice, ¡°Well enjoy yer shore leave me mateys! I be speakin to the harbormaster about repairs.¡± A ramp was lowered leading towards the docks. ¡°Well shall we?¡± Greorjy said, I shrugged my shoulders. We walked down, only to be met by a blonde-haired woman in a dark bluecoat and trousers, as well as those hats that the captain and Markus wore. She''s also wearing some kind of dark sunglasses and is smoking a pipe. Judging by her attire she must be an officer, or a leader of some sort. Behind her she is accompanied by 4 more blonde-haired women, but their head wear is this tall circular visored hat with a red plume at the top and a gold plate with the letters AY and¡­ Amelia? Nope, not gonna think about it. She took off her pipe, ¡°Pirates¡­ Well just be aware that Port Magen is under the protection of the United States so I don¡¯t wanna hear any complaints from the Spaniards and the Russians.¡± ¡°Uhh we won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± Hazmir said, walking behind Greorjy and I ¡°Though not sure about our pirate compatriots.¡± Muriel appeared and leaned on the ship¡¯s railings, ¡°Relax there missy, my crew won¡¯t cause trouble on the ONLY port here right?¡± She said, in a thinly veiled threat towards her crew. The response was immediate as a chorus of NO ¡®MA¡¯AM¡¯S¡¯ sprung from all over the ship. ¡°Well then, welcome to Port Magen.¡± That Blonde-haired Officer said, ¡°Any questions?¡± By now the rest of my party had joined Greorjy and I at the docks. Greorjy raised his hand ¡°Uh yes, I have one. Where did you get those glasses?¡± ¡°Oh this? Well I found it.¡± The Blonde Haired Officer said. ¡°Hang on! You did not find that.¡± It was now that Amelia had finally spoken after being silent for a long time. Ok I¡¯m gonna admit, I completely forgot that Amelia was accompanying us and was writing things down on her clipboard. ¡°You practically begged me to give you aviators, even though those shades don¡¯t even fit the time period!¡± Amelia continued as she pouted. That woman coughed, covering her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her glowing red cheeks. ¡°Well If you need anything I¡¯ll be here keeping watch on that pirate vessel. Believe me, we¡¯ve got cannons loaded and pointed at that vessel.¡± ¡°Well if there¡¯s nothing else then I guess we can just keep going.¡± I said, walking further to the town, with the rest of my party trailing behind. We walked for about 10 minutes, and by now my party has split off, or rather I split off from the party as they immediately went to the tavern, which is located just one block to the left after exiting the docks. As for me? Well, I uh, somehow found my way to a farm just outside the town¡¯s palisade, and have somehow gotten roped into helping harvest potatoes by a woman with black hair, wearing a dark green frock coat and pants named Kalagina Inessa Savelievna, very long name, so I¡¯ve just been calling her Kalagina. For the past hour, I have done nothing but harvest potatoes. At least I get to keep them so that''s a nice plus. We ended up harvesting about one thousand potatoes, and about two hundred of those were picked by me. ¡°Da, this good potato,¡± Kalagina said with a very heavy accent of some kind, if I were to guess it¡¯d be a Nomnian accent. ¡°Are you sure full armor is wise?¡± She said, ¡°After all we¡¯re in field, da.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine, sun¡¯s setting anyways.¡± I replied, as I am harvesting potatoes and depositing them in a crate. ¡°By the way, where will these potatoes be going?¡± ¡°Ahh, they going to tavern, though for you? Get to keep potatoes you pick. Is only fair for making you work¡± Kalagina answered, stopping as she harvested the last potato, in this very big field. ¡°Ohoho, this a lot potatoes we pick for today, come on we go and deliver to tavern now yes.¡± Well, I guess I''m heading to the tavern either way. We walked for another ten minutes as Kalagina led me to the back door of the tavern. She opened it and beckoned me inside, where we stepped into a spacious kitchen. To the left were four cooktop stoves with an oven below, flanked by two sinks. On the right stood four fridges for storing fruits and vegetables, with a door labeled ''Meat Locker'' beside them. In the middle of the room were flat counters, presumably for storing extra ingredients and for cutting. Across from us, a door led into the main area of the tavern. We spotted a woman with shoulder-length brown hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a dark green dress with a black corset, a red ribbon around her waist, black knee-length boots, and thigh-high stockings. Over her dress and corset, she wore a white apron and was currently busy cooking something. ¡°Privet Jackie! I come with potatoes you requested.¡± Kalagina announced. ¡°That¡¯s great! Set them by the other produce to the left of where I am.¡± Jackie answered while still focusing on her dish. ¡°I will end up using them anyway.¡± ¡°Looks like you need some help.¡± I said, setting the crate I was holding, after I had pocketed 10 potatoes and stored them in my bag of holding. ¡°Oh that would be great, next time I¡¯ll ask mom to give a few helpers.¡± Jackie said as she let out an exasperated sigh. Then she looked away from her dish and glanced at me, ¡°Though you better wash your gauntlets.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll just take off my armor.¡± I replied, as I snapped my fingers and my armor vanished. Fortunately my mother is an enchanter and enchanted my armor for free, otherwise this type of enchantment would¡¯ve cost me an arm and a leg literally. ¡°Anyway you don¡¯t mind me being here?¡± ¡°Nope not all,¡± Jackie casually replied, ¡°Especially since you came in with one of the Dungeon Creatures, like myself that inhabit this floor.¡± ¡°Da, I help too! Make Russian food!¡± Kalagina declared, raising a wooden spoon, being completely oblivious to our conversation. ¡°Where¡¯s the menu?¡± I asked, ¡°If we¡¯re gonna cook food for customers, then there''s got to be a menu.¡± Jackie looked embarrassed, ¡°Uhh about that, I may not have one for meals.¡± Jackie replied with a strained smile, ¡°Look I wasn¡¯t prepared nor did I expect people to order food! So I had to quickly improvise a food menu, not finished.¡± She handed both Kalagina and I this unfinished menu, and yep it¡¯s exactly as I expected, completely bare bones. ¡°So does this mean we can add anything?¡± I asked. I¡¯m not going to lie, I¡¯m taking this opportunity to add in some traditional Moon Elf cuisine onto this menu. Jackie finished the dish she was cooking and set it on a plate nearby, the dish is the steak with salad. ¡°Uh, yes if we can procure it locally.¡± ¡°Alright, time to get to work.¡± I start by grabbing some tomatoes and a spare cutting board before heading directly to the flat countertops in the middle, as for what I¡¯m making? They¡¯re both Moon Elven dishes that when translated in human tongue is called Lunar Garden Salad, requires special ingredients only found in the north of the Maryura Continent, so I shall be using substitutes which are lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, vinaigrette, and crumbled cheese. The taste should be relatively the same. The next dish I plan on whipping up and adding on the menu is called Starfire Stew, again the closet ingredients would be venison or any kind of red meat I prefer venison, carrots, sweet or regular potatoes, onions, garlic, any kinds of herbs I prefer rosemary, and lastly barley and bone broth. [Intense Cooking Commences] ¡°Hey, we¡¯re out of lettuce!¡± I said. Jackie held two plates, and was about to open the door. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m about to close up for the night. In the meantime I¡¯ll go serve these two plates to Samarra and Hazmir¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I said, as I finished cooking the last piece of venison and transferring it onto a bowl, the Starfire Stew was finished and ready to serve for the last customers, which according to Jackie was the rest of the Manarias Party sitting at one of the corner tables. Oh they¡¯ll definitely get a kick out of this, which fortunately they all said and quote ¡°Surprise us.¡± ¡°You got the orders?¡± I ask, holding a wooden tray containing a plate of Lunar Garden Salad for Najira, and the Starfire Stew for Greorjy. The man loves stews. ¡°Da, got Borscht for Markus!¡± Kalagina said, with pride I can tell she worked extremely hard on this ¡®Borscht¡¯ next time I stop by. Kalagina and I walked towards the door carrying our dishes, and stepped into the tavern proper. Now, if I am being honest, this tavern has nothing remarkable, save for it being in a dungeon, as I¡¯ve seen this layout numerous times, though this does have a nice warm cozy charm, I¡¯ll give it that. It didn¡¯t take long for my party to notice me. ¡°Whoa, Casmur not in her armor? This sure is surprising.¡± Greorjy exclaimed, feigning a shocked look. ¡°Har har, you know I can just retract your meal. And eat it.¡± I sort of snapped at Greorjy, which caused him to shut up immediately, then I set the plate of Lunar Garden Salad in front of Najira, and the bowl of Starfire Stew to Greorjy ¡°Anyways, this is for you Greorjy, and this one¡¯s for you Najira. Both are dishes from my homeland.¡± Both Greorjy and Najira begin to dig in, smiling after each bite. I was glad they liked the Moon Elven cuisine I cooked. ¡°Uhh what is this red syrupy thing on my bowl?¡± Markus poked at some beetroot chunks with a fork. Kalagina stared at him expectantly. ¡°Come on, try, is good, promise!¡± Markus stabbed at a chunk of beetroot, and hesitatingly, with shaking hands, raised the fork near his mouth, and took a bite, chewing slowly, then almost immediately he went starry eyed. One can even see actual stars in his eyes, and before long he grabbed the bowl and gulped it down in one sitting. ¡°Haha, see I told you is good!¡± Kalagina declared with pride. ¡°Alright I think we¡¯ve dallied for too long, let''s get back on the ship.¡± I said, getting unanimous nods of agreement from among my party members. I gave a short bow to Kalagina, who waved in response, as my party members left the tavern one by one, until it was just me left. As I was about to exit Jackie ran over holding a bowl wrapped in cloth. ¡°Here take this, it''s on the house for helping!¡± She said, handing the bowl to me, ¡°I tried my hand at making Starfire Stew after watching you make one, so I hoped I did okay.¡± I nodded, as the bowl disappeared in my bag of holding ¡°Why thank you Jackie, and I¡¯ll be sure to let you know what I think of it.¡± ¡°Bye! And please come again!¡± Jackie said, as I exited out to my waiting party members. ¡°So did any of you use those tokens?¡± I ask, snapping my fingers as my armor reappeared. Markus shrugged, ¡°Well we used it to get free drinks, and the rest of us thought about getting free food, but then Samarra spoke and convinced us to pay for the food.¡± ¡°Oh wow, I would¡¯ve done the complete opposite, get free food and pay for the drinks.¡± I state, earning chuckles from my comrades. And we walked in silence towards the dockyards. Which took us about 3 hours, because Greorjy had to ask every passerby who had guns questions, and even went on a shooting competition! Which were based on who could shoot the most bottles in 10 minutes, and ok I admit the shooting competition was entertaining. Greorjy lost, though he¡¯d never admit that. Moving on, as soon as we arrived at the docks, it''s now sundown. ¡°You think Muriel will let us sleep on the ship?¡± Hazmir asked. ¡°Why of course you can! Ye can even sleep in me cabin if ye want!¡± Muriel said, appearing out of nowhere and startling all of us. ¡°Well that¡¯s great!¡± Najira said, yawning, ¡°Well let''s-¡± She was interrupted when an explosion was heard nearby. ¡°Blast, ALL HANDS ON DECK!¡± Muriel screamed as she ran over to the ramp and disappeared into the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge. We heard footsteps to the right of us, as that Blonde Officer from before came running accompanied by 8 other soldiers. ¡°Man the shore batteries! Get into positions!¡± The Officer commanded, as all 8 split off in different directions as more explosions continued to occur over the town. Her attention was then directed to us, ¡°You six, follow me! We¡¯re under attack and surprisingly not from the pirates!¡± She ran and we followed, ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°To the armory, it¡¯s got more shore batteries that¡¯ll easily be able to overlook the town and the surrounding waters. Plus we can arm all five of you with muskets.¡± She explained, while running at full speed. It didn¡¯t take us long to reach a stone square building, with stone brick walls surrounding the base, with a gate entrance on the far-left. I could spot 4 cannons, two at the base, and 2 inside gun casemates on the stone fort, and at the top is an even bigger cannon. All in all, a pretty decent fortress for a small town. ¡°Inside!,¡± She led us through the gate, as a cannon from inside the casemate fired, and also on the base. ¡°Grr, I was just about to go to bed!¡± She said, ¡°through those doors is the armory, stock up on guns! You¡¯ll need it.¡± ¡°Wait, but I don¡¯t know how to use them.¡± Najira protested, raising her bow as if to make her point. ¡°Well you better learn quick then.¡± Was all she said, before running out of the fort. Another explosion rang out, causing a section of the stone brick wall to collapse. Through the remains, six figures emerged, all dressed in slightly dark-bluecoats and trousers. They wore black top hats adorned with a gold plate depicting an eagle, topped by a red, white, and blue circle, and a large blue pom-pom above it. Najira gave them an awkward smile and waved. ¡°Uhh hello.¡± They all pointed their guns at us, ¡°EVERYONE TAKE COVER!!!¡± I yelled, which spurned everyone to move as a crackle of six shots simultaneously firing was heard. All the while another explosion rang out this time hitting the stone tower, as a cannon from inside returned fire. ¡°Guys, I think I¡¯ve been hit.¡± Najira said, causing me to run up to her. ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMING!¡± Greorjy yelled, as he fired his gun at the smoke cloud, watching as a figure fell. I soon reach Najira as she¡¯s on the ground bleeding. ¡°HAZMIR GET OVER HERE!¡± I yelled, trying to get his attention, ¡°Najira, look at me, where did you get hit?¡± ¡°I-I-I-I don¡¯t know, I think my left leg.¡± She responded, before coughing. I scanned around her left leg, and sure enough I spotted two holes, one on her thigh, and another on her ankle. It was at this moment that Hazmir arrived. ¡°Let''s get her inside the building where it¡¯s safer.¡± He said, finding myself nodding in agreement. ¡°Ok Najira, we¡¯re gonna try to bring you inside, just hold on.¡± I said, ¡°Alright Hazmir grab her bow, I think some of her arrows fell, I¡¯m gonna drag her inside.¡± ¡°Aye, will do.¡± He said. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Casmur POV I had successfully dragged Najira inside the building, where we were greeted by two of those ¡®United States Marines¡¯ who went out to confront those invaders. As for right now, Hazmir is tending to her wounds. Of course we can just respawn on the ship, but once we either fail or succeed in the dungeon, we will feel every accumulated wound as phantom pain. It¡¯s just better overall if there¡¯s less. In the background more explosions occurred and the building would occasionally shake, and the cannons inside would return fire in a rhythmic dance. ¡°How''s she?¡± I asked, as Hazmir came over, ¡°She¡¯ll live, but it was pretty hard at trying to remove those bullets, let¡¯s say.¡± I nodded, ¡°I see well in that c-¡± The door burst open, admitting Greorjy, Markus, Samarra, and a US Marine in. As Markus and that US Marine worked to block the door using whatever they could find. So far they¡¯ve only managed to find boxes, chairs, and barrels. ¡°Gah, there¡¯s too many, the courtyard has been overrun as those blue soldiers have been joined with soldiers wearing blue and white trousers with more of those circular caps that''s got an anchor at the front and a red plume at the top, alongside those redcoats from earlier!¡± Greorjy exclaimed. ¡°Get that wounded up to the second floor pronto!¡± The US Marine ordered, as she overturned a table, and relocated it to face the door. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Markus said, lifting the unconscious Najira, and going up a flight of stairs. ¡°Get ready!¡± Greorjy said, ducking behind the table, alongside the US Marine, while Hazmir positioned himself to the left of the door. I unsheathed my longsword, though I don¡¯t bother with equipping my shield. They¡¯re attempting to bash the door open, but the impromptu barricades are still holding strong. Until they stopped, and there was only silence. A very deafening silence. The door was blown open sending debris scattering everywhere, causing everyone to take immediate cover, Hazmir wasn¡¯t lucky being so close to the door a great many debris have hit him and he¡¯s lying on the floor very much dead with his body being littered with splinters of all shapes and sizes. Oh me? Yeah I was completely unharmed since plate armor fully protected me, yes even the dented parts. Almost immediately a mass of red and bluecoats came charging in. Both Markus and That US Marine came out and both fired at once, killing two as they dropped to the ground, and quickly ducking behind their table. I lifted my longsword and with a great swing, I sliced through a redcoat killing her instantly, and I bash another to my left, disorienting her, before knocking her unconscious. Another came at me from the front. She was electrocuted by Samarra. I could hear footsteps from upstairs, as Markus came running down, wielding a sword and shield. Another explosion occurred outside as a portion of the walls collapsed, adding yet another point of entry for the invaders. ¡°Retreat upstairs, come on I¡¯ll cover you!¡± I ordered, gripping my longsword even tighter. The US Marine was the first up the stairs, as she fired off a shot. ¡°Casmur I¡¯m with you!¡± Markus said, moving next to me. ¡°There¡¯s too many, you think we¡¯ll make it out?¡± ¡°I hope so! The Dungeon avatar is essentially giving us a free pass by placing us on the last floor.¡± I said, and at the mention of her, Amelia popped her head out from behind some boxes and waved at me, before disappearing behind them. Greorjy stepped up onto the stairs, ¡°We¡¯ll cover you from the stairs goodluck!¡± I gripped my longsword tighter as I counted at most 20 red and bluecoats, 10 inside the building and the other 10 outside. We may not come out alive, err let me rephrase. We won¡¯t come back for a week. ¡°Let¡¯s go down with a bang shall we.¡± Markus said, flashing me a smirk. We charged going in different directions, I swung my longsword at a bluecoat slicing her firearm in half as she had raised it in a feeble attempt to block my swing. In the end I tore through her chest, and delivered my final blow when kicked her now lifeless body. I swerved to my left, just in time to dodge an incoming thrust, turning around. I came face to face with a redcoat and a bluecoat with white trousers. The redcoat raised her firearm, and fired causing me to duck down as I heard a body drop to the ground. However, me being crouched was taken advantage of, as I was pushed to the ground with the redcoat girl standing over me with a smug expression. She took my helmet and tossed it behind her as she raised her firearm in preparation to thrust it, only for a saber to pierce through her chest, and she was knocked to the side, upon seeing this, the bluecoat with white trousers fled the building. Revealing that Blonde Officer from earlier. ¡°Damn, I was gone for ten minutes and I returned to this place being blown like hell.¡± She said, still smoking that pipe. ¡°I returned after I had organized an ad-hoc militia, so get up soldier, we got a town to defend.¡± She helped me get back up on my feet. ¡°Thanks, though I just realized, but I know this isn¡¯t the right time to ask, but I never got your name, mine is Casmur.¡± The Blonde Officer smirked, ¡°Hell of way for introductions, but my name is Macy, pleasure fighting with you Casmur.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± I said, ¡°So what¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°Well good news we sunk a frigate, severely damaged the second one, bad news a Ship-of-the-line appeared and is currently engaged with the pirate vessel.¡± Macy said, as she and I ran outside to the courtyard finding a chaotic melee occurring as civilians clashed with the soldiers we were just fighting. A cannon fired from inside the building causing cheers to erupt from the inside, Macy took out a spyglass and began looking through it. ¡°Haha yes, both frigates down!¡± Macy cheered, even doing a little dance. This of course was short lived as the ground began to shake violently, causing everyone to stop fighting and be confused. A set of 6 huge tentacles rose up from beneath the ocean and they began circling around both of the big ships who were previously engaged in combat not but a moment ago, another set of 4 came barreling towards us at the fortress. ¡°Well shit¡­ we¡¯re gonna need a bigger cannon.¡± Macy states, lowering her glasses down to the base of her nose. As she said that I got a system notification.
Mini Boss Fight - The Kraken
Soon enough at the very top of my vision a red health bar appeared with the name of the boss on top of said health bar. Well, first boss fight inside of this peculiar dungeon¡­ Chapter 11: Kraken "Mini" Boss, and Duel! Casmur PoV ¡°Alright People, up on the tower is a large coastal battery, it may be strong enough to take this beast down! Come on chop chop!¡± Macy ordered, then all four tentacles were about to close in¡°Oh shit, EVERYONE SCATTER¡± yelled, as she dove for cover behind some barrels. All four tentacles crashed themselves upon the courtyard, destroying whatever remains of the walls as well as flattening those unfortunate enough to be under the tentacle''s strike zones. ¡°GET TO THAT BATTERY!¡± Macy yelled, as she got up and ran towards the building. Alongside two of those bluecoats from earlier trailing behind her. ¡°I¡¯ll go with them.¡± Greorjy said, also disappearing inside the building. The tentacles raised themselves high into the sky, ready for another strike. They came barrelling down, like an eagle diving for its prey. And Kalagina was directly right under its strike zone, completely unaware as she¡¯s barking orders at some other civilians. I didn¡¯t have time to react as I swiftly dashed and shoved Kalagina out of the way, raised my sword and shield, positioning myself beneath the path of a descending tentacle. It slammed down with such force that it drove me into a crouch. However, my sword found its mark, lodging itself into the tentacle as it struck. But the tentacle continued to increase its pressure. I don¡¯t think I can hold on much longer, cracks are beginning to form in my shield, but the creature, as if sensing my shield¡¯s weakness, intensified its pressure and forced me to go down to my knees. I felt myself weakening under the crushing weight of the tentacle. Finally, after much struggle, my shield shattered into tiny pieces, leaving me to rely on the feeble strength of my hands against the kraken¡¯s immense power. But it was no use, as the tentacle had crushed me like a flattened slime creature, and darkness overtook me soon after¡­ It didn¡¯t take long before I found myself back on board the Queen Anne¡¯s revenge, as I awoke with a loud gasp, with me is my word sheathed in its scabbard and my shield looking brand new, as if it had never been shattered. Scanning my immediate surroundings revealed the crew frantically scurrying around the deck performing all sorts of tasks. I could see there¡¯s some damage on the ship, with a portion of the portside railings missing, or a number of dead sailors littering the deck. ¡°Look out!¡± A sailor yelled, acting swiftly I sidestepped to the right as a tentacle smashed itself onto the deck soon after. Unsheathing my cutlass, I raised it as high as I could and swung downward with all my strength, using the momentum to my advantage. I slashed the tentacle. The Kraken let out a mighty roar as I inflicted a moderately sized gash and the tentacle quickly retreated before the crew joined in on attacking it. Checking on the boss bar and quickly despairing as we¡¯d only chipped away a small portion of its health. Another tentacle resurfaced, before the ship¡¯s cannons roared and peppered the tentacle, which then proceeded to tear a hole onto the front bow of the ship, which simultaneously exposed the second deck. ¡°Casmur!¡± My attention was brought behind me as I spotted Hazmir running towards me carrying two small black circular objects with a fuse protruding from the top. Now it could be an explosive or something else entirely, as some Earthian¡¯s love using them to dispense a cloud of smoke. Same design and same color. ¡°Now correct me if I¡¯m wrong but is that an explosive?¡± I asked, and was relieved that Casmur is okay. Hazmir grinned, which answered the question entirely. ¡°I figured out how we can damage to this ¡®Kraken¡¯¡± Puzzled, I asked, ¡°And what might that be?¡± ¡°Well to put it simply, the skin on the tentacles is very tough, normal weapons such as firearms and many melee weapons aren¡¯t strong enough to pierce through the skin, the exception to this seemed to be swords that are curved in some fashion, and or stabbing a tentacle with enough strength to lodge the weapon in.¡± Hazmir said, ¡°Now I noticed, after careful observation of the health bar that a chunk, albeit a small one, of the Kraken¡¯s health is reduced after being hit with explosives of any kind, compared to the small damage that small arms cause.¡± As if to prove his point the second ship, the one flying the strange flag, fired a broadside point blank at two tentacles and witnessed a small chunk of the health bar dip lower. ¡°But that¡¯d take too long!¡± I countered, ¡°At this rate both ships will get destroyed with all hands!¡± He held up a finger, ¡°Which is I have a plan, a bold one at that. Getting the Kraken itself to surface!¡± ¡°And how are you gonna do that?¡± I asked, raising an eyebrow, and watching his expression deflate. ¡°Well umm, I was gonna light this and throw it in the ocean.¡± Hazmir said with an awkward smile. ¡°Oh brother¡­¡± I muttered under my breath, as I took an explosive from his hands. I hope Greorjy and the others are faring much better. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Greorjy PoV: Me, The Blonde officer girl whose name is Macy which I later learned, some soldiers and a couple of the townsfolk have barricaded ourselves inside the fort. We¡¯re unable to get to the roof, as the tentacles would swiftly snatch anyone foolhardy enough to pop their heads out from the rooftop hatch, plus they just won¡¯t let up and have continuously battered the fort. The fighting outside had quieted down and at some point a tentacle tore a small hole on the northern walls, but so far the fort is holding. ¡°Goddamnit, if we can¡¯t get on that battery we¡¯re done for!¡± Macy declared. ¡°Well what the bloody hell can we do!? That slimy bastard would pick off anyone that dares open the hatch and move onto the roof!¡± A redcoat said, wearing that strange hat that Markus wore, which I¡¯ve been told is a bicorne. Macy displayed an irritated look, ¡°Oh I¡¯m so So-rry, but we wouldn¡¯t BE in this stupid mess if you Brits, Spaniards, and Frenchies had just never arrived and started a fight!¡± Soon After, both girls unsheathed their sabers and are now at each other¡¯s throats. I let out a heavy sigh, these have been going at it against each other ever since we became trapped in here as I sat against the wall. Markus sat beside me, ¡°So, how¡¯s Najira?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡¯s doing fine right now, albeit sleeping. Hazmir did a wonderful job, such a shame he died.¡± Markus said at first with happy tone, getting somber at the mention of Hazmir¡¯s ¡®death¡¯ I chuckled a bit, ¡°Hah as if, it¡¯ll take more than mere explosives to kill Hazmir, though he¡¯s very relaxed inside dungeons, even if he doesn¡¯t show it!¡± Markus grinned, ¡°Right you are. Say Samarra and I got to talking and we decided to head out and act as bait.¡± I gave him a look of alarm. ¡°You can''t be serious right? That thing squished Casmur with ease, and she¡¯s the strongest out of any of us!¡± ¡°Well, somebody¡¯s gotta keep that thing busy.¡± Markus smiled and got up, ¡°I gotta go now, Samarra¡¯s waiting for me at the front door.¡± And watched as Markus ran up to Samarra and both promptly disappeared outside, before hearing crashing, spells and a sword clashing against flesh, the tentacles stopped pounding on the for which immediately caused both Macy and that redcoat girl to cease their eternal argument. ¡°Wait! Quick, now¡¯s our chance, GET TO THE ROOF!¡± Macy ordered, which made everyone sprang into action. I instantly got up and rushed up the ladder opening the hatch, and quickly scurried onto the roof, there I saw a large cannon mounted on top of a rotatable gun carriage. It looks exactly like a battery that I saw when I passed by Fort Kasel near Baroqueville a couple of months ago. I practically drooled at the sight of this gun, which I snapped out of when I heard Macy coming up behind me, ¡°That is a 36 Pounder gun, which will be used to take this thing down once and for all!¡± Macy said pointing to the gun. Then more soldiers began arriving, ¡°Alright people, aim and load the battery, move move!¡± Macy ordered, as she handed a variety of rods to soldiers, one ramrod, one worm, and another with some kind of lit rope attached to it. I took a quick peek over the ramparts, and witnessed both Markus and Samarra, now joined by some soldiers and civilians, harassing the tentacles. while they¡¯re doing minimal damage, to said tentacles the creature is clearly getting frustrated at the efforts of the two. Huh they seem to be hyper focused on Markus and Samarra. What''s interesting is there''s only four tentacles out of the original six, this is good because that¡¯s less we have to deal with, and bad because the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge will be in even more danger. I take my firearm and aimed at a tentacle, taking slow and methodical breaths, I press the trig- BOOM! A loud explosion was heard in my vicinity, which had massively caught me off guard and caused me to inadvertently fire my gun upwards. I turn behind me and I see smoke coming out of the cannon, which rotated as right as it could go. I then looked in the direction of where the cannon was pointing at and watched as the tentacle was blown off. I noticed the Kraken¡¯s health bar decreased by a moderate amount. ¡°Hell Yeah! One down, three more to go!¡± Macy cheered, before her cheery mood was suddenly erased, ¡°Aw crap, one¡¯s heading right towards us! Quick reload!¡± BOOM! The cannon fired with a deafening roar, and the resulting explosion had torn the tentacle apart, right as it crashed ontop of the cannon, crushing it beneath its weight and anyone who wasn''t so lucky with getting away. ¡°EVERYONE INSIDE NOW!!!¡± Macy yelled, corralling everyone back into the fort, then she looked, ¡°YOU! GET INSIDE NOW!¡± I shook my head as I got up, ¡°No, I¡¯m staying up here.¡± I said, with determination. Macy shook her head in disbelief, ¡°Your funeral buddy.¡± She said before disappearing into the hatch. Now to reload¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Casmur. This was a stupid idea! I don¡¯t even know how Hazmir managed to convince everybody onboard to go through with this! I mean getting the Kraken to surface was a crazy idea all on its own, and using explosives to achieve such a feat? Which yes we did get it to surface, which is why in between the two ships is a large whirlpool with razor sharp teeth protruding out. And also just WHY am I the one doing this? I¡¯m currently on a rowboat with three barrels filled to the brim with explosives and I am sailing into said whirlpool. I am not alone, as I¡¯m accompanied by Captain Muriel. ¡°YOU¡¯RE DOING GOOD CASMUR!¡± I heard Hazmir yell in the distance, to which I responded by flipping him the bird. I swear I could hear laughter coming from him, but whatever. Uhh, that whirlpool is getting closer! ¡°Alright now be our chance. As soon as the Kraken shows its sharp teeth, we throw the barrels at er¡¯s mouth, ye got that?¡± Muriel said. I nodded, here goes nothing, we get one chance and if the Queen Anne¡¯s revenge gets destroyed we fail the floor. The Kraken has fully surfaced itself, and not too long after it began to reveal twelve rows of razor sharp teeth. I felt a hard tap on my shoulder before Muriel and I began chucking the barrels at it. All three landing themselves on a set of teeth firm planting themselves, Muriel threw lit up and threw a grenade at the it¡¯s mouth, which detonated soon after causing a chain reaction of explosions as the barrels detonated soon after. The creature let out a mighty roar before submerging itself back into the ocean¡¯s embrace. I check the creature''s health and see that we¡¯ve dealt a huge blow to it, as the health bar has been greatly reduced, though nowhere near close to defeating it. ¡°Blast! We need more barrels!¡± Muriel said, as a set of four tentacles surfaced and circled around our rowboat. ¡°We¡¯re done for!¡± I exclaimed, unsheathing my cutlass. Muriel on the other hand put on what can only be described as a deranged smile, as she equipped two pistols from her bandolier, ¡°Come at me ya scurvy bilge rat!¡± She declared firing both pistols, then unsheathing her cutlass and dived into the ocean. This had caused the creature to divert a tentacle after her, leaving only three to deal with. Okay Casmur don¡¯t panic, you¡¯ve fought more fearsome non-dungeon creatures and survived. Wait! Except I fought every single one of them on land, oh crap now I¡¯m panicking! All three tentacles were about to split the boat in half, only to be thwarted when that other ship fired a broadside driving all three tentacles away. In response the creature entangled the already damaged ship before promptly splitting it in half. Leaving only the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge as the only ship in the vicinity. Uhh, well um, I¡¯m gonna go tell Amelia that the duel is postponed¡­ No, what am I thinking! I need to get back at that girl! I did see that many of the ship''s crew began evacuating aboard the rowboats, which were all rowing in my direction. Muriel startled me when she surfaced, and climbed back on board. ¡°Oi, I think I know how to defeat this slimy bastard.¡± She said. ¡°Oh please share it, I¡¯m quivering in my boots.¡± I said, ¡°When this is over, I¡¯m not going anywhere anytime.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Muriel chuckled in response, ¡°Once a landlubber always a landlubber.¡± I didn¡¯t even have anything to say in retort, as I let her continue. ¡°Anywho, the key to defeating the Kraken is by attacking its eyes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s eyes?¡± I asked, completely perplexed. ¡°Aye, I noticed it covering its eyes when I dived after it.¡± Muriel responded, ¡°Though I was unable to land a hit, I will go back down and try to get at it again, ye and the lassies will distract the tentacles!¡± A-nd Muriel dived back again. ¡°We heard the pirate captain, come on girls let''s attack the tentacles!¡± Huh wait when did these redcoats get here?! Oh whatever, I won''t be alone! The Kraken realizing our plan, had relocated every one of its tentacles to come confront us. Standing up on the wobbling boat, clutching my cutlass tight, staring hard at a tentacle. The tentacle with great speed, smashed my boat to pieces causing me to fall into the ocean. I panicked as now I¡¯m falling towards the dark abyssal depths of the ocean, my armor only weighing me down¡­ Huh? Why am I not suffocating, nor am I drowning? I don¡¯t remember placing any water breathing enchants on my armor? And water should absolutely be filling up the inside of my armor. I sank deeper and deeper into the ocean, till I finally hit the ocean floor. It¡¯s very dark, but what perplexes me more is I can still walk along the ocean floor, though it takes great effort for me to do so. Regardless I walked forward. I don¡¯t know how long I walked, only stopped once I hit something hard and metallic. Based on what little I could see, it¡¯s rectangular in size and has some kind of circular handle with some numbers on its outer rim, located in the middle. Suddenly this handle began rapidly spinning, before opening, and blinding me momentarily. But once I recovered, what lay in front of me was a sight to behold. A big and spacious room with mountains of either gold coins and or gold bars, plus other riches beyond my wildest dreams. I reached out a hand to grab one before it was slapped away. ¡°Uh uh, no touchy.¡± A to my right said. I turned to my right only to find a Deep Sea Merkin sub species of Merkin! She¡¯s got long red with shades black flowing hair, soft gray skin, and lastly a long silky smooth green fish tail. On her chest is a bra made out of some kind of hard material, if I were to hazard a guess I¡¯d say it¡¯s made out of iron, but who knows? She had a very typical merkin appearance, except for the glowing red bioluminescent rod on her forehead that illuminated our surroundings with a bright white light. This allowed me to see her completely white eyes, her pale yet deep red hair, and her creamy skin which has slight shades of black¡ªa result of living deep in the sea. Many are unaware of the existence of the Deep Sea Merkin, due to the complete rarity of their sightings, in fact not even their Merkin cousins know of their existence. In fact I never even knew they existed until I encountered one. It was twelve years ago, I was invited by a Dwarf friend of mine to board an experimental Dwarven made underwater boat known as the Abyssal Seeker. His goal was to explore as much of the ocean floor in the limited time we had. Long Story short a Deep Sea Merkin got curious and swam close, startling us when she suddenly appeared in front of us. In the end she was very apologetic for scaring us and gave us some type of fanged fish as an apology. ¡°Hello, and who are you?¡± I said. She begins to swim in circles around me. ¡°Oh how silly of me. My name is Mayna! And I arrived when mother Amelia created Davy Jones¡¯s Locker! I mean the actual locker and not the euphemism for shipwrecks and drowning! For which I¡¯m also the guardian of! I also don¡¯t count towards the floor¡¯s creature count due to the fact that I came with the locker!¡± She said in this cheery voice, before muttering quietly. ¡°Mother Amelia doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m here and that I¡¯m lonely¡­¡± ¡°Un excuse me Mayna, did you say something else?¡± I asked. ¡°Huh? Oh no I didn¡¯t.¡± Mayna said with a smile. O-kay that was odd, I swear I heard her mutter something, oh well. WAIT! How am I not drowning! ¡°Forgive me, but I must be blunt, but how am I not drowning?¡± ¡°Oh you drowned.¡± Was the instantaneous reply Mayna gave. ¡°Hah, what do you mean I drowned? I¡¯m still fine and breathing fine, and talking just normally.¡± That can¡¯t be right, there¡¯s no way I drowned, otherwise I¡¯d have respawned on the ship! A clipboard materialized in Mayna¡¯s hands. ¡°Hmm, no it says here that you died by drowning.¡± She said, showing me the clipboard. No, no, no, I DIED! But how! ¡°Now you may be wondering why you haven¡¯t respawned on the ship, as mother intended.¡± Mayna said, clasping her hands together. ¡°Well to put it simply Davy Jones¡¯s Locker pulled you down here.¡± Um what¡­? Am I trapped down here forever!? ¡°Wait, so am I trapped here?¡± I asked with a shred of dread in my voice. Mayna shook her head, ¡°No you''re only trapped here until the Kraken is defeated, or returns to where it lives. And before you ask, no you can¡¯t grab any of the treasure because you''re dead, for that you need to make the journey down, ie diving.¡± I, uh, damn. At least I get the honor of meeting my second Deep Sea Merkin, even if she¡¯s a dungeon creature. Mayna stopped swimming and hovered in front of me, ¡°Oh it seems like you¡¯re about to respawn on the ship, bye bye! Please tell Mother I said hi!¡± She said waving at me. Before I could respond, I could feel myself fade into nothingness¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª At same time Hazmir¡¯s PoV prior to the Kraken¡¯s defeat: Oh snap! That tentacle demolished Casmur¡¯s boat. ¡°We need to get closer!¡± I said, ¡°So that we can drop more explosives! The longer we delay, the higher it is for us to die!¡± I saw the helmswoman nod before turning the wheel. Good, we''re now heading closer to that whirlpool. ¡°Aye, more barrels packed with bombs.¡± A crewwoman said, rolling a barrel over to me. I lift the barrel up, carrying it over to the now missing deck portside gun ports. Suddenly I heard very familiar footsteps coming from behind, turning to see who it was revealed to be none other than Samarra! ¡°Wait Samarra how¡¯d you get here!?¡± I was baffled, last time I saw him was at the fort. Samarra shrugs, ¡°Asked Markus to kill me, figured it¡¯d be the fastest way to get back on the ship.¡± Erm, a bit of an unorthodox method of travel, but um okay. ¡°O-kay, and what about Najira? How is she?¡± ¡°Najira unconscious but alive, Markus said that he¡¯ll stay behind to watch over her, alongside Greorjy.¡± Samarra replied, ¡°I have visual on the Kraken¡¯s preparing fire bolt.¡± Samarra¡¯s hands began glowing a deep fiery red, and a set of two deep red rods began to form in his hands. The Kraken surfaced once again, however it fully revealed its octopus shaped head, and is that Captain Muriel on top of its left eye? Furthermore she stabbed its left eye causing the creature to begin flailing, and a big chunk of its health bar had been reduced. ¡°Throw the barrels Now!¡± I ordered, as everyone carrying barrels began throwing it into the ocean, as Samarra began peppering the creature with fire bolts. The barrels float closer, being aided by those redcoats on their rowboats. As all tentacles began flailing wildly in a vain attempt to shake Captain Muriel off of it. As the barrels got close, a couple had been destroyed by the flailing tentacles, but fortunately a good number had broken through and are now touching the Kraken. ¡°Samarra shoot a firebolt at the barrels!¡± I said, to which Samarra nodded and hurled a firebolt igniting a barrel. Seeing this Muriel jumped and dove into the water as the barrel exploded, causing a chain reaction of simultaneous explosions from the nearby barrels, creating a dense cloud of smoke. I waited with bated breath as the smoke cloud slowly dissipated, and when the smoke finally disappeared, only to find the Kraken still alive, albeit barely hanging on. The Kraken roared, raising all of its remaining tentacles, ready to strike. I dived behind a set of crates and braced for impact ready for the heavily damaged ship to be split in two. However, we heard one last roar before hearing a big splash. I got up and rushed over to the edge, only to witness the Kraken¡¯s lifeless body floating in the ocean with Captain Muriel standing triumphantly on its head. I soon received a system notification. [Mini Boss: The Kraken has been defeated. Congratulations the Manarias Party has successfully beat floor 4 Party Awards: 5,347 XP, 1000 Gold Shillings, A heavy Dragoon Saber, a ¡®Kraken¡¯ pin, a model of the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge, a flintlock pistol with Muriel¡¯s signature engraved, A spontoon, a Springfield Model 1812 Musket with Anchor and Macy¡¯s signature engraved on the stock, 6 sets of cutlassess, lastly both a pistol and musket cartridge pouch. Sidenote: Casmur keeps every potato she harvested.] THAT WAS A MINI BOSS! Because that sure felt like an actual floor boss, man I¡¯d hate to see what an actual floor boss is in this dungeon. Anyways, the rewards are good, maybe those ¡®Shillings¡¯ can be exchanged to proper Gold Coins, but hey we get to keep our cutlassess, plus many of these are quite strange, like what is a spontoon? Ah, I''ll find out soon enough. Also what¡¯s with this about Casmur and harvesting potatoes?! Me and my compatriots were taken into a gray room, I scan around me, it looks like the party is back together. Najira¡¯s sleeping quite comfortably on the floor, and hey! Even Casmur is here too. But what¡¯s interesting is in the middle of the room is a pedestal with a floating blue orb on top of it. This could only mean one thing. We¡¯ve landed in the Core Room. It didn¡¯t take long before we were face to face, with the eccentric dungeon avatar Amelia. ¡°That was AWESOME! So, before I send you on your merry way, do you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or suggestions regarding floor 4?¡± Amelia, as a clipboard materialized in her hands. I stepped forward, ¡°I do have one comment, and it''s about the town. I just want to say I really enjoyed the tavern, though a criticism of mine is that it¡¯s a bit understaffed. I noticed that the lady was unable to keep up with the amount of adventurers that came.¡± After I said that, Amelia began writing on the clipboard, as I stepped back. ¡°Add more staff to the tavern, okay, anything else?¡± Amelia asked, ¡°What about suggestions?¡± Nobody said a word, until Casmur stepped forward and broke the silence. ¡°It''s not ours to say how a Dungeon Core should run its dungeon, though, since you insist, and we did agree to provide some feedback.¡± Amelia said, ¡°I will say that the Kraken mini boss was enjoyable, a major criticism of mine is how those ships managed to somehow locate us at the ship.¡± Amelia continued to jot things down in her clipboard. Then Samarra stepped forward and spoke, ¡°We shan¡¯t keep you occupied Great Core, let us, humble adventurers exit the dungeon and allow a new set of adventurers to experience this floor.¡± Amelia blushed, and scratched the back of her head, ¡°Well gee, when you say it like that, guess I can¡¯t keep you here far longer. Which reminds me, Casmur I saw you drown, why didn¡¯t you respawn on the ship?¡± Casmur coughed, and muttered, ¡°The phantom pains are going to be horrendous.¡± She muttered, though just loud enough for me to hear, which I¡¯m not gonna lie, dying to an explosion will be an interesting experience. ¡°To answer your question, I was dragged into the abyssal depth by Davy Jones¡¯s Locker, where I met a kind Deep Sea Merkin named Mayna, to which she says hi by the way.¡± Casmur answered. Amelia looked confused and tilted her head, ¡°Wait Mayna? Deep Sea Merkin? I don¡¯t remember summoning a creature like that.¡± She said, tapping something in the air. It looks as if she was about to continue speaking before Casmur cut her off. ¡°Oh before I forget, where shall the duel take place?¡± Casmur asked, looking expectantly at Amelia. Amelia snapped her fingers, and suddenly we were in a spacious clearing surrounded by dense forests. In the center of the clearing was a small fighting arena, just big enough to accommodate about twenty-four spectators. We found ourselves seated in one of the stands as the arena began to fill with dungeon creatures. Wait¡ªwas that Macy and Muriel heading our way? ¡°Hohoho, I wouldn¡¯t want to miss this.¡± Macy said, taking a seat next to me, as she held a bucket of chicken legs in her hands. ¡°Want one?¡± I waved her off, but Greorjy didn¡¯t mind as he took a piece from the bucket. Muriel sat at a stand in front of us, took a drink from a mug she¡¯s holding, then turned to face us, ¡°Aye that lass Casmur was it? She¡¯s a brave one at that!¡± Oh wait, speaking of Casmur there she is without her plate armor, and just across from her is another woman dressed in pretty typical East Abercelian civilian attire, except she¡¯s wearing a tophat. The two met in the middle with Amelia in between them. ¡°Alright you two, I want a good clean fight, no magic, you can only use what¡¯s been provided, in this case pistols and rapier¡¯s. Victory is decided upon the first blood or whoever taps out first. Understand?¡± Amelia stated in a firm tone. Followed by a chorus of ¡®Yes Ma¡¯ams¡¯ from the two. Amelia nodded, ¡°Good, best out of three, each round will start with a pistol duel, then move into a rapier duel. I¡¯ll have both of you stand back to back, and on my command walk ten paces, turn and shoot. Good luck ladies.¡± She said as she moved both Casmur and that other lady in the middle of the arena until they stood back to back, both standing as still as a gargoyle, both holding their pistols. Amelia walked back a few steps, raised her left arm then shouted, ¡°GO!¡± Both Casmur and that top hat lady walked exactly ten steps, stopped, then both simultaneously turned and fired. Though both were still standing perfectly unharmed. But uhh it seems that the other lady¡¯s top hat had been shot off. Amelia placed her hands on her hips, ¡°No hits, moving on to second phase, Draw your rapiers, your free arm behind your back.¡± They both dropped their pistols and simultaneously unsheathed their rapiers, ¡°And fight!¡± At Amelia¡¯s command both took fighting stances and cautiously approached each other. As the two got closer the Top Hat lady struck first as she lunged forward, only for Casmur to parry her attack, and launched her own counterattack but Top Hat Lady managed to dodge to the left, back away. Casmur swiftly repositions herself to face her, before the other lady makes another attempt at a thrust before Casmur swiftly parries the thrust, as steel clashes against steel. Instead of launching with her own counterattack, Casmur instead dashed closer and attempted a risky overhead thrust. The other girl seeing this attempted to parry, but Casmur was faster and she and pierced the other lady¡¯s corset dress inflicting a small wound which if one looks closely is leaking a very small trickle of blood. ¡°Halt!¡± Amelia ordered, as she snapped her fingers, mending the Top Hat Lady¡¯s wound, and both girls stopped and immediately stood at attention, ¡°Round one goes to Casmur. Get back to the middle back to back, you will be handed freshly reloaded pistols shortly thereafter.¡± ¡°Man, that duel didn¡¯t last long, if this occurred at the Knights Academy, this match would¡¯ve easily lasted ten minutes. Then again both duelists would wear plate armor and would be equipped with a buckler.¡± Markus commented. I heard movement to my left, turning towards my left I saw Macy holding two buckets of chicken legs as she sat down ¡°Hey I came back with more chicken, and damn I missed the last half of that duel.¡± She said, grabbing a leg and biting off a big chunk. ¡°Alright, round two begins now!¡± My attention was moved back towards the arena, as I hear Greorjy¡¯s enthusiastic cheering for Casmur. Both girls repeated the same exact motions as they did in the first round, except the moment both fired, Casmur dropped to the ground, clutching her leg. Amelia snapped her fingers and Casmur¡¯s leg was healed. ¡°Round two goes to Isabella.¡± Oh so that¡¯s what her name was, man I feel silly for referring to her as the ¡®Top Hat Lady¡¯ good to know. She got up, and walked to the middle of the arena, until she was back to back with Isabella. ¡°Alright this is it, the final round, this¡¯ll decide whether Casmur sulks for an entire month or she¡¯ll have an inflated ego for the same duration.¡± I joked, causing a few chuckles to erupt from among my party members. ¡°Alright final round ladies, give it your best!¡± Amelia said, ¡°And go!¡± Both repeated the same motions as the previous rounds, with both still standing and drawing their rapiers at Amelia¡¯s command. The main difference here is Casmur went on the offensive, taking three steps then lunging with a forward thrust, but it appears Isabella also had the same idea, taking two steps then lunging forward with her own thrust. This achieved nothing as both blades met halfway bending backwards a bit before quickly straightening out. Then Isabella took one step back, then launched a series of quick thrusts with each one being swiftly parried by Casmur. This series of attack and counterattack went on for exactly twelve more seconds, before both girls backed away. I could tell that they¡¯re both getting tired as their movements become more and more sluggish. As both girls circled each other, eying their opponent wearily. Then suddenly Casmur ducked low as Isaballa thrusted forward, with Casmur countering by thrusting upward, catching Isabella briefly off guard, but she soon recovered and switched her mid thrust to be downward. Casmur reacted by rolling to the right, and jumping back up on her feet, and parried another strike, in quick succession. She then countered with an overhead strike, but Isabella managed to parry it. Isabella backpedaled three steps back, before both girls continued to circle each other. ¡°Man they¡¯re really going at it.¡± I comment, as I took a bite from a chicken leg. ¡°Wha? Where am I?¡± Najira¡¯s groggy voice asked. ¡°Casmur¡¯s dueling one of Amelia¡¯s dungeon creatures!¡± Greorjy replied, then took a bite from a piece of chicken he now held. ¡°Huh¡­? Oh ok, I still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± Najira said, still sounding a bit tired, and went right to sleep. Anyways, the fight continued, when Isabella ran then jumped high into the air, making an attempt to stab Casmur in the back. While Casmur swiftly side stepped to the left, turning around to parry Isabella¡¯s attack just in time. This type of back and forth continued on for another minute of just straight up acrobatic performances conducted by both, with the clashing of steel accompanying the acrobatics. However it finally ended when Casmur performed a leg sweep causing Isabella to fall on her back, at which she poked at Isabella¡¯s shoulders causing a small trickle of blood. ¡°Halt! We have a winner, which goes to Casmur!¡± Amelia declared, ¡°Unfortunately there is no prize except defending your honor!¡± Then Amelia snapped her fingers which healed Isabella¡¯s wound. Casmur approached the downed Isabella, extending her hand, to which Isabella grabbed hold of it and got right back up. My compatriots and I were then teleported back to the core room alongside Casmur and Amelia. ¡°Achem, well there you go, I hope the duel was entertaining. I promise the arena will be better, trust.¡± Markus chuckled, ¡°The duel was great, though it was too short for my liking.¡± ¡°If there isn¡¯t anything else I¡¯ll let you six go now!¡± Amelia said, as she waved at us. I can feel myself becoming more transparent. Then a few moments later we were teleported outside the dungeon entrance, and almost immediately I collapsed on the floor as heavy tingly feelings combined with burning sensations and feelings of being impaled by tons of different objects of varying sizes hit me like a horse running full speed and crashed into me. Chapter 12: Battlefield Floor Amelia PoV: Man that duel was AWESOME! Though for next time I¡¯ll separate the pistol and rapier duels, I just wanted to see both in action! And because of that I¡¯m so close to leveling up! Now to investigate this mystery creature¡­ Alright teleportation finished, the locker is there, standing upright, surrounded in a sea of darkness, which, why am I pointing it out? I¡¯m in the midnight zone! But So far so good nothing out of the ordina - -Wait is that a fish tail that¡¯s slightly sticking out from behind the locker? Whoever this is, they¡¯re clearly doing a terrible job at hiding, plus I can see a bit of light emanating behind the locker. Also taking a good look around me, maybe I should add an underwater section to this floor? Ideas for the future I guess. ¡°Uhh, I can see your fish tail.¡± I said, and immediately the tail began twitching massively, before the owner revealed itself. Now the figure in question looks like your stereotypical mermaid, except her skin is a nice cream color with some shades of black, with her hair being a pale yet deep shade of red, and on her forehead is a bioluminescent rod similar to what an anglerfish has. She had a very sheepish look, with her hands behind her back, ¡°So uhh erm, hi mom. Hehehe.¡± She said, giving me a strained smile. Oh geez this is getting very awkward real quick, uhh what to say to break this awkward ness. ¡°Uhh, hey.¡± I said, extending my hand in her direction. ¡°So um you must be Mayna, nice to meet you.¡± Hesitating at first, the mermaid girl slowly reached her hand towards mine, until finally grabbing it fully and shaking it. ¡°So your name''s Mayna right?.¡± I asked, completely unsure if that''s her name or it''s something else entirely. Mayna silently and slowly nodded her head. ¡°Ok well uhh now looking around, it''s um pretty lonely here, out in this dark void that is the abyss.¡± She nodded again, ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m not entirely sure if I could summon more merma-¡± ¡°Merkin, Deep Sea specifically.¡± Mayna said, interrupting me. ¡°Right Merkin, so the best I can do for now is spend mana on some deep sea animals, cause um, following the trends I can only summon non-fantasy creatures.¡± I finished, as I watched her frown and drooped her head low. Aw crap, I just made her more sad! Uhh what do I do? Ok I have an idea but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work, we¡¯ll just have to see. ¡°Ok, ok, how about this, I make some sort of tunnel and or platform where only creatures from other floors can teleport to and come talk to you, as well as creating deep sea marine life, so that way you¡¯ll have people to socialize with. And when there¡¯s nobody there you can socialize with the marine life instead!¡± I said, while smiling. It¡¯s not the perfect solution. Ideally I¡¯d summon another Deep Sea Merkin but that''s not going to be possible. ¡°Really?¡± Mayna asked, staring at me with hopeful eyes. ¡°It''s not perfect but it¡¯s a compromise.¡± I stated, which begs to another question, how did she get here? ¡°Erm onto another point, how did you get here?¡± ¡°Oh I was summoned alongside the locker to act as its guardians from ¡®dead¡¯ adventurers, and those it deems ¡®unworthy¡¯ or whatever that means.¡± Mayna explained, swimming in figure eights as she did so. Uhh ok so, according to her explanation she¡¯s here to guard Davy Jones¡¯s Locker? I don¡¯t understand¡­ How can the ghosts of adventurers be able to grab what¡¯s inside? And furthermore how can anyone be deemed ¡®unworthy¡¯ when you dive all the way down to this dark abyss and survive. I mean that''s one worthy in my eyes, I mean what? ¡°Mom, I can see that look of confusion in your eyes, and I don¡¯t get it either.¡± Mayna plainly stated, ¡°But it is what it is I suppose.¡± I scratched the back of my head, with nothing to say in response, ¡°Alright well It''s been nice talking to you, I¡¯ll see about creating that tunnel/platform or something like that.¡± Mayna smiled and waved as I er levitated myself? A good distance away from the locker. Ok so let¡¯s start, I¡¯ve settled on making something like a glass dome, it looks better than a tunnel in my opinion. I created a glass dome large enough to fit about twenty people, or maybe thirty if you really pack it in. After draining the water from inside, I realized it was pitch dark. Sure, I could easily give myself night vision, but I¡¯m designing this from the perspective of someone without night vision, yeah that''s it. So, for lighting, I placed several 18th-century lamp posts inside the dome. There¡¯s light now, but you can only see out just a few feet from the dome. However, the dome itself is visible from a long distance away. Inside, I added a few picnic tables complete with tablecloths and a set of bathrooms on the far western side of the dome. As a finishing touch, I included a small room extending outward on the southern side of the dome. It has a hatch that, when opened, will flood the room. This allows Mayna to enter and interact with the people inside the dome. ¡°Whoa!¡± Mayna exclaimed, pressing herself against the glass completely mesmerized by what''s inside. And now to really seal the deal I added a door in the middle where people can teleport in from, in which the door will open. Though only my creatures can use it. In total this cost me a whopping TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY MANA! Ay yai yai, the things I do for my creatures, oh look the door opened admitting Jeannette, Annabelle, and Marley in. ¡°Well have fun Mayna, no deep sea fauna and flora for now.¡± I said, as Mayna without skipping a beat, swam towards the hatch, opening it before quickly disappearing inside. Causing me to chuckle Heh, I feel proud of myself! Now back to the surface, I teleported myself back to my core room, looking around it''s pretty bland, I can''t really do anything about it as I¡¯d used up all my mana. Well time to chat with Karland! Hmm let''s see, I pulled up what is essentially my menu, pressing the communication tab, filtering to my friends list, and found her username immediately, huh she changed it to Kar_87, wait! You can change your username?! Since when! I didn¡¯t know that! Damn, oh well I¡¯m too lazy to change mine. Amelia Yokakko: Hello, Karland :wave_emoji: how ya been? Kar_87: Hello dear! I¡¯ve been doing great! Finally taught Bangania a lesson, again sorry about that¡­ but also I¡¯ve met some new friends! Oh so she dealt with him? That''s neat, I guess. And wait, it now shows our usernames in the text boxes?! Since when did it do that? Oh whatever, as long as this dungeon social media thing doesn¡¯t get bought out then I¡¯m perfectly content with the way it is now. Amelia Yokakko: Oh that¡¯s cool I guess, say completely off topic, I somehow managed to summon a Deep Sea Merkin. Kar_87: sent gif of a penguin scratching the pack of it''s head with a giant question mark to it''s right Wait so they exist!?!?! Wait what? You can send gifs! Ohohoho I¡¯m sorry Karland for I will occasionally send memes to you¡­ It must be done. Ok but on a serious note what does she mean by that? Amelia Yokakko: ¡®Wait so they exist!?!?!¡¯-Replying to- Uhhhh yeah man, I have one in my dungeon rn Kar_87: No way I don¡¯t believe you, send me proof right now!!!! sent picture of an armored knight wielding two greatswords running towards the foreground Amelia Yokakko: Alright alright jeez I¡¯ll send you a picture just wait a sec I quickly teleport back to the dome and witness Mayna doing some tricks in front of a crowd of Guerrillas and Partisans, I mean townsfolk. As they observe her from behind the safety of that glass dome. ¡°Hey Mayna! Can you come here real quick?¡± I asked, getting Mayna¡¯s attention. Mayna swam over to me, ¡°What''s up mom?¡± She asked. There has to be a camera option right? Oh wait there it is! I just have to press the plus button located on the far right side of the type box. ¡°Ok great just stand, er float there as still as you can.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh okay!¡± Mayna said, giving me a wide smile. A-and perfect, ¡°Great you can go now!¡± I said, as Mayna giggled and swam back to the glass dome, man reviewing the picture, that bioluminescent rod on her forehead is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to lighting. Alright time to send it to Karland. Amelia Yokkako: Sent picture of Deep Sea Merkin There you happy? Kar_87: !!!! No way!, I wouldn¡¯t have believed this if this didn¡¯t come from a dungeon! :skull_emoji: Amelia Yokakko: :Sob_Emoji: Kar_87: I¡¯m going to tell my friends about this and we¡¯re coming over! Erm¡­? What''s so special about Mayna? She¡¯s just a regular mermaid who just so happens to live in the midnight zone¡­ then again I doubt anyone has gone that deep on this ocean, much like on Earth. Amelia Yokakko: Uhhh sure, you and your friends can come over, but I¡¯ll be designing my fifth floor. Kar_87: Ok have fun! :heart_Emoji: man I love these new features! And I navigated away from the communications tab and onto the floors tab. Yes I want to create a new floor.
Please select a theme for floor 5: Plains Desert Tundra Star Fort Countryside villages Taiga Mountain Special Themes: Battlefield RTS
Whoa battlefield? RTS? They weren¡¯t on there last time I checked, let¡¯s see what they say!
By selecting the Special Theme ¡®Battlefield¡¯ the floor becomes a dedicated Napoleonic War battlefield. Any creatures are automatically summoned, and are unable to leave the floor, aside from the chosen commanders. Also you can bring in creatures from other floors here, and creatures of this floor are able to distinguish non-fifth floor creatures. The number of creatures summoned is dependent on the rough estimate of the chosen battle. Everything is customizable, from increasing the nations present, decreasing or increasing troop numbers, or simply setting a battle to follow exactly as it occurred historically, if you chose historical battlefields. These can all be changed if you wish, but it will cost Mana after the initial creation. Keep in mind that creatures on opposing sides will fight one another with interval pauses in the fighting.
Ayyy I can watch a Napoleonic style battle in real time! Ok time to check RTS!
By selecting the Special Theme ¡®RTS¡¯ the floor becomes separated from the rest and is it''s own special area, where adventurers/parties would pick a nation, build up, then attack each other. The terrain and placement would be random. Before a match starts adventurers can vote on three different game modes, with more added at the Core¡¯s discretion, the modes being; Free for All, Team Deathmatch, Capture Points. Additionally for Team Deathmatch and capture points adventurers are split evenly between two teams. Should there be a team imbalance then a correction will be made regardless if adventurers are part of a party or not. In order for the floor to start, it must have at minimum two adventurers/parties.
Oh so it¡¯s like I¡¯ll be watching adventurers play RTS games like Dawn of War, Warcraft III, Company of Heroes, Age of Empires etc. Ok that would be cool to watch. But I¡¯ve already settled on the Battlefield theme. I just want to watch a battle! Ok I pick Battlefield Theme! I am taken to an empty gray room, before I was given a prompt.
Select a location of your choosing, or alternatively design one.
Uhh okay this is a tough one, there were many battles during the Napoleonic Wars, that''s just in Europe between the years of 1803-1815 alone, not counting the French Revolutionary Wars, in which Napoleon himself had taken part in a total of 60 battles! This also doesn¡¯t count the War of 1812, or the Anglo-Turkish War, uhh okay. But if we''re just restricting ourselves to battles that Napoleon himself took part in then I¡¯ve got 60 to choose from. I mean hey If I¡¯m not satisfied, I can just design my own from scratch. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Alright, I¡¯ve chosen Napoleon¡¯s last battle which is the Battle of Waterloo!
[Waterloo chosen]
In an instant the gray room around me expanded, and the scenery changed giving me an exact one to one copy of the location where the battle took place. I admit I¡¯m kind of impressed actually! Look, I can see Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte! Though I wonder if I can make a system where the location is chosen randomly. I imagine that fighting on Waterloo would get boring too quickly. Yeah something to think about for the future. What''s next?
[Choose the nations: French Empire Great Britain Kingdom of Prussia Russian Empire Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Etruria Kingdom of Sardinia Papal States Swiss Confederation Austrian Empire Kingdom of Holland Kingdom of Spain Kingdom of Portugal Duchy of Warsaw Ottoman Empire Sweden Denmark-Norway United States of America Qajar Iran (Persia) Saxony Bavaria Nassau Numerous other German states]
OH MY GOD THERE''S SO MANY NATIONS! And the system just gave up on listing the rest of the German states. Never could I have anticipated that this list would be so large, in fact the most I expected was just the major powers! Wait, Iran is on there!?!? Oh yeah, the Franco-Persian Alliance 1807 and 1809 and the Russo-Persian War 1804-1813. Furthermore some of these nations were only part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Let''s see, we¡¯ve got a mix of French Client States and Independent nations there, Um, well obviously I¡¯d place France and Britain in their historical positions, and also have Prussia arrive as reinforcements, like what happened historically. But I also don¡¯t have to follow events as they occurred historically now do I? I mean this IS my dungeon afterall, so let''s just say I spawn Qajar Iran and set them to attack both sides. Ok I jest, but the possibilities are endless! Alright so in all seriousness, France, Britain, and Prussia are must haves. Actually I¡¯ll add both Russia, and Austria which will also arrive as reinforcements for the Coalition Forces. Now for France, I¡¯ll add Bavaria, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Duchy of Warsaw. Now it¡¯ll be an even 4v4. Oh this is going to be so chaotic. Alright finalize the nations!
Affirmative, Nations are as follows; side 1 named French Forces: French Empire Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria Kingdom of Italy Versus side 2 named Coalition Forces: Great Britain Kingdom of Prussia Russian Empire Austrian Empire Finalized.
Sweet! What''s next?
Choose Commanders for both sides, sidenote only a maximum of two can be chosen.
First for the French Forces, I¡¯ll assign Napoleon and Davout to France, and for the Duchy of Warsaw I¡¯ll assign Jan Henryk D?browski, and Prince Jozef Poniatowski, for Bavaria I¡¯ll assign Karl Philippe von Wrede, and lastly for the Kingdom of Italy I¡¯ll only assign Eugene de Beauharnais. As for the Coalition Forces, I¡¯ll assign Arthur Wellesley to Britain, for the Prussians I¡¯ll assign Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher and Carl von Clausewitz, for Russia I¡¯ll assign Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration, lastly for Austria I¡¯ll assign Archduke Charles and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg. EEEEEEEP!!! Ok don¡¯t panic, calm down Amelia, breath in breath out, you¡¯ll get to meet them soon, even if they¡¯re female versions of themselves. Alright now that I¡¯m calm. *Brain.exe has stopped working* AAAAAAHHHHHHH I GET TO MEET THEM IN PERSON! Especially Napoleon and Wellington himself¡­ herself? Knowing the trends of this Dungeon they¡¯ll all most likely receive the FGO treatment. Which I¡¯m actually one hundred percent okay with! EEEEEEEE, I¡¯m so excited! I was then blasted with another box.
Set troop amount.
Eh just give all eight nations an equal amount of troops, I don¡¯t care either way.
Before the floor is finalized, set the objectives for adventurers.
Oh¡­ uhhh, not going to lie I completely forgot about the adventurers. Ok so the entrance to the floor is at the southern end of the floor, near the French reinforcements camp, and they basically have to reach my core room entrance on the northern end of the floor near the Coalition reinforcements camp. All without getting caught in the crossfire, I mean if people want to join in the carnage, then all power to them I suppose, it still doesn''t change the fact that they still need to go north. I guess they can keep any battlefield loot.
All parameters set, fifth floor has been completed.
In an instant French and British Army camps spawned In the immediate vicinity exactly where both sides fought, I had to blink a couple of times, to be honest. Uhh I see British troops began to occupy Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte. Behind the British camps, just far enough away are more army camps flying Russian, Prussian and Austrian flags; it would take several hours of marching for any reinforcements to arrive. While behind the French camps, also at the same distance away are camps flying Polish flags from the Duchy of Warsaw, the Bavarian flag, and flags from the Kingdom of Italy. The stage is set! Time to meet Napoleon, wait! How do I look? Does my hair look bad? Is my uniform dirty? Oh gosh why am I so self conscious all of a sudden? I need to go to my room and look! I teleport myself inside my Core Room, and summon a mirror, ok hair? Looks fresh. Uniform? Still wearing that same uniform, no dirt, dust, wrinkles I don¡¯t care about, bicorne is still in pristine condition, okay everything checks out. But ahhh, I¡¯m so nervous! I need some backup! But who? Oh I know, I¡¯ll call Jeannette! I teleport myself onto the artillery camp of the third floor, fortunately nobody is startled by appearance, judging by the roar of the cannons, my guess is that there¡¯s a party making an attempt to survive here! ¡°Hey where¡¯s Jeannette?¡± I asked a passing cannoneer who was carrying a crate full of explosive shells. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s over there.¡± The girl said, making an attempt at gesturing towards the left side of the camp. ¡°Thank you kindly! I¡¯ll be off then bye!¡± I say As I rush over to Jeannette, who is currently standing at attention, yet is also reading a book. It didn¡¯t take long for her to notice me and began waving ¡°Oh hello miss Empress what can I help you with?¡± She smiled. ¡°Come with me to the fifth floor!¡± I said, in an overly excited tone, if one were to look there''s stars in my eyes. Jeannette looked confused, ¡°Uhh okay sure. I¡¯ve got nothing better to do other than sit and wait for cannibals to arrive.¡± She replied, to which I grabbed hold of her hands and teleported ourselves to the French camp on the fifth floor, specifically right outside the closed off command tent, guarded by two tall girls easily at a height of 6''0" , both standing besides the tent flaps. And wait a minute that bearskin adorning their heads, that gold plate at the front that has an eagle on it. There¡¯s no mistaking it these two are Old Guard soldiers. Time slowed to a crawl as I collapsed to my knees, staring up at the blue cloudy skies, raising my hands high into the air in anguish, tears began streaming down my face, before I finally fell to the floor. What sick and twisted joke is this¡­ why must I be taunted like this? Knowing that the regiment that I¡¯ve been yearning for is in front of me yet is still outside of my grasp. What kind of cruel punishment is this¡­ why am I still here? Just to suffer? ¡°Eh!¡± Jeannette said, if she said anything else, I didn¡¯t hear it because by this point I was tuning everyone around me out. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jeannette PoV: Uhh, What just happened? I mean, a couple of moments ago I was ready to fight some cannibals! And now I¡¯m watching my Empress crying on the floor¡­ ¡°Hey is she okay?¡± One of the Old Guard ladies said, as she crouched and began poking the empress. Uhh um what do I even say here! Suddenly the tent flaps opened revealing a beautiful girl, standing at a height of around 5¡¯6¡±, wearing the same uniform as the two Old Guard ladies, except she¡¯s also wearing an unbuttoned gray redingote over her uniform. Though if she has any hair, I couldn¡¯t see it from the bicorne she¡¯s wearing. She strolled out, hands behind her back, and immediately both Old Guard soldiers stood at attention giving her salutes. ¡°May I get an explanation as to the commotion?¡± She said, as she scanned before her gaze landed on the ground where the Empress is still crying, and wait is that a puddle forming?! Then her gaze landed onto me, ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Eeep!¡± I flinched, as she addressed me. She walked over to me, ¡°I assume that girl crying on the ground is the one that brought me back to life. Is that correct?¡± I slowly nodded, ¡°That''s right and um, you are?¡± The girl nodded ¡°I see, and oh pardon me I am Napoleon Bonaparte, you¡¯ve heard of yes? I¡¯d assume so if you''re a ranker in my Young Guard unit in the Imperial Guard. Though I wished I¡¯d never been brought back in the body of a woman, perhaps I should count my lucky stars that the divines deem fit to grant me a second life.¡± Napoleon said, ¡°Though it seems I¡¯ve been brought back to have another go against the British, and the treacherous Prussians! In the fields of Waterloo no less! I won''t fail a second time!¡± Uhh, what is she talking about? Waterloo? I¡¯ve never heard of such a place, furthermore this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of her, and since when did I serve her! Huh, who does she think she is? I only serve Empress Amelia! Before I could say anything to respond to her, the Empress got up, took one good look at Napoleon, letting out a gasp, before collapsing back on the floor¡­ again, aaaand she fell asleep. ¡°Get this girl to a medical tent, I don¡¯t have time for this!¡± Napoleon yelled, ¡°I apologize for short talk, but I must draw up battleplans for the upcoming battle.¡± The girl entered the tent, and I crouched low and attempted to carry Empress Amelia. I lifted her up and began carrying her bridal style. Walking around the camp, I see that everyone is very busy readying for whatever this upcoming battle is. I see some fellow Young Guard soldiers. Though I didn¡¯t pay them any attention. I could tell that they were not the same despite being in the same unit. At least they don¡¯t have to deal with cannibals 24/7. Eventually, I was found by a surgeon and led me to the medical tents, where I laid Empress Amelia on a cot. The surgeon had left, leaving us alone inside the medical tent. By now I had found a stool and I sat next to Amelia¡¯s sleeping form. To help pass the time I continued to read the book I was reading earlier before the Empress had taken me to the fifth floor. BOOM! I was shaken off the stool as I heard explosions outside. No doubt the work cannons firing a volley¡­ The resulting explosions woke the Empress out ¡°Aghhggah, Huh, wha, where am I?¡± I got up, dusting my white trousers, ¡°You passed out and I took you here inside the medical tents.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Amelia said, getting off the cot, ¡°Wow, I met Napoleon, even though he''s a female now, can¡¯t do anything about that¡­ say what caused those explosions?¡± ¡°Cannons ma¡¯am.¡± Was my response. As if to further illustrate my response, another cannon volley was heard. ¡°Hmm, I see. So the second battle of Waterloo has begun.¡± Amelia said, before she suddenly grabbed my left arm. ¡°Come on, I know a good spot where we could watch!¡± Huh!? Next thing I knew I found myself on some kind of elevated platform, which overlooked the entire field. To the right, is a sea of redcoats positioned on elevated terrain, which almost certainly overlooked the French camp. Speaking of, I see a mass of infantry begin marching, towards the British lines, supported by cannons. The Empress on the other hand was looking all giddy, like a kid finding themselves in a toy store. ¡°Hey so, are we safe here?¡± I asked, getting the Empress¡¯s attention, she kinda just smirked at me. ¡°Why of course we¡¯re safe here!¡± Amelia boldly exclaimed, ¡°I specifically made sure that we wouldn¡¯t be caught in the crossfire¡­ I hope.¡± Uhh, why didn¡¯t she sound so confident in the last part of that statement? Anyways I continued to, well I guess spectate the occurring battle as I see infantry charging into a walled farmhouse. Followed by companies of dragoons charging across the field, going past the French lines, though they didn¡¯t make it very far as the British were quick to form squares. Yikes someone¡¯s leg got torn off! And now she¡¯s on the ground screaming in pain¡­ I think I¡¯d rather get swarmed by a horde of cannibals. I let out an involuntary yelp, as I felt myself hit the floor. ¡°Jeannette are you alright?¡± Amelia asked, now laying on top of me. Wah? Her face is so close! ¡°Y-yes,¡± Was all I stammered out, I could feel my face heat up. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t help it ok! Amelia stood up, continued to observe the battlefield, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I saw a stray cannonball headed directly towards you.¡± I was right we aren¡¯t safe here at all! ¡°Uh um, can we go down now?¡± ¡°Oh yeah sure.¡± Amelia said, snapping her fingers and suddenly I found myself feeling the soft grass beneath my boots. And I also came face to face with a British riflewoman from the 95th Rifles! And she¡¯s pointing her musket at me! Immediately I raised my hands, ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t shoot!¡± After a couple of long excruciating seconds, she lowered her musket and continued moving, only for her to be cut down by an oncoming hussar¡­ yeah fighting cannibals all day doesn¡¯t seem so bad now that I think about it. ¡°Jeannette it¡¯s okay you can go back to floor three. Just find the floor entrance. It should be directly south east from where we are¡± Amelia said, giving me a smile. ¡°What about you?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Amelia responded, while doing some hand gestures. I nodded and began walking south. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: I watched Jeannette walk south before she broke into a full sprint as a British hussar began chasing after her, thinking that she¡¯s serving under Napoleon in the French army. Well I mean technically speaking she is a soldier in the French army¡­ Now time to continue watching the battle! Oh the French infantry is retreating and oh what''s that is that the Prussian army and Bavarian army getting close? Ohoho this¡¯ll be interesting. Of course my fun time just got ruined by a system notification¡­
Alert, numerous hostile outsiders have entered, dungeon in Permadeath mode. All non-hostile outsiders have been safely evacuated.
Oh god damnit, and it seemed like the chaotic battlefield had paused, and reverted back to what it originally was. My question is how¡¯d they get past the guards. Oh well it doesn¡¯t matter now, cause they¡¯ll have to get through this giant battlefield if these rapscallions somehow reach floor five! Time to unmanifest my avatar and go see for myself. Interlude: Musket discoveries Fort Kassel 50 KM away from the Laziran-Kurz Border. Two Kurzian generals are located inside the fort¡¯s war room and appeared to be locked in a discussion. ¡°So tell me again, what am I looking at?¡± General Morgantha said, as he looked across the table glancing at his colleague general Greyfield. The man smiled, removing his white plumed morion helmet, and setting down onto the table ¡°You see my friend, this is called a ¡®musket¡¯ sourced directly from the Dragdville dungeon. Though I will add the only problem that I can see with these ¡®muskets¡¯ is the smoke.¡± ¡°And how are they different from the EM-12 Rifles that we use?¡± General Morgantha asked, raising an eyebrow. General Greyfield, grabbed the musket a Charleville Model 1777 Corrige XI, ¡°This right here can shoot without the use of magic crystals!¡± The man exclaimed. ¡°Bah! Don¡¯t make me laugh!¡± Morgantha snorted, ¡°You think this can be used as firearm? A gun that doesn¡¯t utilize magic crystals in its manufacturing and firing might as well be a bludgeoning weapon-or even a children¡¯s toy!¡± Greyfield smirked, ¡°Oh really? You know these guns are the reason why only a small amount of adventurers can make it past the third floor. But since you don¡¯t believe me let¡¯s have a live fire demonstration, to the range.¡± The two men promptly left the war room and onto the fort¡¯s firing range located at the eastern side of the fort in an out doors area, both men settling on the middle row. ¡°Now Morgantha, this musket is already pre-loaded following the instructions from the core herself.¡± Greyfield said, then he gestured toward a straw dummy about forty five meters ahead, ¡°Morgantha, would you kindly attach a piece of paper onto the dummy¡¯s head, right ahead.¡± Morgantha takes a piece of parchment from under his coat, and walks over to the straw figure and securely tied the parchment paper onto the head using string. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Alright prove it.¡± Morgantha said, walking back. Greyfield aimed at the target, taking a couple deep breaths and exhaling, the general pulled the trigger and a loud bang soon erupted from the barrel, as a small smoke cloud formed and quickly dissipated. Morgantha¡¯s eyes widened upon witnessing a bullet hole, dead center of the dummy¡¯s face. ¡°Better close your mouth, lest you catch flies!¡± Greyfield laughed, slapping his colleague at the back. Morgantha rapidly shook his head, then rubbed his eyes, ¡°I-I can¡¯t believe it! But if that shoots without magic crystals then what¡¯s firing mechanism? More importantly what¡¯s the ammunition used.¡± Greyfield scratched his head before presenting the breech. ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact mechanism, but from what I can tell through superficial observation, it uses flint and a locking system. To my knowledge, the Grand Council has tasked the nation¡¯s best engineers with reverse-engineering these ¡®muskets.¡¯ As for the ammunition, let¡¯s head back to the war room, and I¡¯ll show you.¡± Both men returned inside the fort, and soon found themselves back at the war room. Grayfield then reached into a leather pouch pulling out a paper cartridge and then setting it onto the table. ¡°This paper ¡®cartridge¡¯ contains a lead ball and a type of powder, that I¡¯ve never seen before.¡± Greyfield explained, before tearing the cartridge apart, pouring out the gunpowder, and the lead ball onto the table. Morgantha placed a hand on his chin, ¡°Hmm, we can easily replicate the lead ball, we¡¯ve got plenty of lead, as well as flint. Though how are we gonna source this gray powder? Asides from getting it from the dungeon.¡± Greyfield averted his gaze away from his colleague, ¡°I don¡¯t know, from what I could gather, the Grand Council, just like the engineers, has tasked the nation¡¯s alchemists with finding a way to produce this gray powder. So in the meantime we¡¯ll have to rely on that dungeon to supply us, which isn¡¯t ideal.¡± Morgantha sat down on a chair, taking a sip from a mug. ¡°Well regardless this will give us an edge over the Lazirans, and lord forbid the Ergonese. Just think about it, no longer do we have to rely on our dwindling supply of magic crystals. I already used my last firework during this year¡¯s independence day, and no more are being produced because of the shortage.¡± The man said, taking another sip. Greyfield smiling, setting the musket back on the table, ¡°Hah! You got that right, anyway I¡¯m going to inspect the equipment of our firearm regiments.¡± Morgantha said nothing as Greyfield donned on his helmet and walked away, choosing to simply lean back on his chair, and gazed outside from a window, observing the stationed garrison conduct drills. Chapter 13: Even more Ruffians enter my dungeon. WHAT THE DEVIL?! Honestly I am completely speechless right now, okay so for context I am currently at my dungeon entrance and I witness a standoff between eight ruffians dressed in ornate plate armor that''s got some elegant patterns engraved on them, forming a tower shield wall against fourteen Dragdville City Guards, their only armor is a simple breastplate, shin guards, and blue plumed morion helmets. And yeah don¡¯t think that I didn¡¯t notice that shattered pedestal on the ruffians shoulders. Oh and did I forget to mention that ALL of them have The Black Mark? And they have it engraved on their chest plates, they¡¯re not even hiding it! Man those plate armor look thick enough to stop bullets, if not then maybe lessen the impact¡­ I see the National Guard and the Landwehr already formed a line much further ahead. Then the shieldwall separated before quickly reforming again, revealing a tall figure no less than 6¡¯7¡± and this figure unlike the rest has gold pattern trimmed on his armor and his helmet has twelve black feathers attached at the back. He began speaking in a loud voice that''s been amplified, like a megaphone. ¡°You fools, stand down now and your lives may be spared. You are merely delaying the inevitable, which is the destruction of this dungeon. We shall succeed where the bandits failed!¡± The person declared. Excuse me what!? What the hell did I do to deserve this? I seriously don¡¯t remember pissing anyone off and If I did then I¡¯m sorry! Oh my god this is serious business right here! And those poor Dragdville City guards are completely outmatched here considering the fact that there''s only two with swords and kite shields, while the rest just have spears going against tower shields, longswords and straight up full plate armor. Yet despite this massive disadvantage, they look determined to hold their ground. ¡°You bastards have been coming here, killing OUR dungeons every time one appears, HUMILIATING us kicking us while we''re down!¡± Somebody from within the city guard yelled, ¡°Well guess what? No more humiliation! No more dungeon killing! We the people of Kurz are going to defend this dungeon till our last dying breath! We have a second dungeon in our country and we¡¯re not gonna let you or ANYONE ELSE take it from us!¡± As soon as the man finished his impassioned albeit impromptu, speech his comrades in arms began cheering. I appreciate the sentiment, but my guy they are not going to last long against them¡­ The feathered guy turned around, ¡°Crush them.¡± The person said, before all hell broke loose, as the plate armor guys rushed the guards. It was a completely one-sided fight, and despite the guards valiantly fighting, not a single one hit. The aftermath is let''s just say, quite brutal and I¡¯ll leave it at that. After they had dealt with the guards, they continued down the road. ¡°Sir, what should we do about any incoming reinforcements?¡± A ruffian asked. The head ruffian looked as though he was contemplating, at least I think so. Couldn¡¯t tell with that armor. ¡°Ignore them and keep pressing forwards, we¡¯re only here for one mission, eliminating this dungeon while it¡¯s young.¡± By now they¡¯d spotted the militias plus Helen, and they immediately formed into a shieldwall, and began slowly advancing as the militias opened fire. OH MY GOD THE BULLETS ARE JUST BOUNCING OFF THE SHIELDS! And just like that, my creatures didn¡¯t stand a chance the moment the armored ruffians made contact. I get this dreadful feeling that they¡¯re gonna just breeze through the first three floors. Man I¡¯m seriously hoping they get completely stymied by the oceans of my fourth floor! And the non armed farmers wisely stayed out. Besides, they''re not even supposed to fight. Once they reached the floor two entrance, they met some resistance from the militias, but they were easily dealt with. I hope Isabella and her Guerrillas will get some potshots at them, preferably from the back¡­ oh god I just realized I¡¯ve never seen them use magic. Oh no I dread to think of what would happen if they begin using magic¡­ CODE RED CODE RED, I¡¯M AT DEFCON 1, ok deep non-existent breaths in and out. Don¡¯t panic Amelia, maybe they¡¯re magic isn¡¯t actually strong oh who am I kidding of course its... I teleport myself to the fourth floor entrance, where the artillery camp is. Everybody is anxiously staring into the city. I quickly gathered every single artillery crewwoman to assemble around me, ¡°As soon as those ruffians enter, begin shelling them immediately!¡± I exclaimed, with my incorporeal self flailing around. Everyone saluted and scrambled to position the cannons. Though I think the howitzers might have more of an advantage here. Time to check back on their progress, and - OH NO, they¡¯ve defeated the Black Watch at the bridge, and have just crossed it! Ok at least the Black Watch managed to put some serious damage on their armors. If you can call medium sized dents damaged. Oh but where¡¯s Isabella and her Guerrillas! The only thing standing between them and the entrance to floor 3 is Annabelle with her Nockgun, who is standing in front of said entrance. I desperately searched far and wide for any signs of the Guerrillas, when I spotted their corpses on the road just before reaching the bridge. And yes! They took one of them out! Err well not really man¡¯s still alive incapacitated, looks like they¡¯ve left man for dead. GOOD RIDDANCE! My only saving grace so far is the fact that none of them have collected the keys to enter my core room, but I¡¯m not entirely sure if that¡¯s gonna matter¡­ Time to check on Annabelle. Ok they still have not reached her, though they are getting close, albeit they¡¯re walking very slow. Not gonna lie they look very paranoid and are watching the foliage like hawks, good that means the Guerrillas have done their job of instilling fear and conducting psychological warfare. Huh? Why is Annabelle surrounded in a ray of bright light? Why have her eyes turned gold and shining? You know what it doesn¡¯t matter, as long as these guys get evicted! OhmygodthegrouphasreachedAnnabelleohmygodohmygodImscaredImpanickingImactuallyshakingrightnow. DON''T HUG ME I¡¯M SCARED! Okay okay Amelia calm down, okay, you''re gonna be fine - Annabelle has somehow become supercharged, which means she¡¯ll be able to take them on right? Right!? The group of seven upon seeing Annabelle, were hesitant to approach, that was until their leader shouted an attack order and charged at her. Annabelle meanwhile, aimed her Nockgun, which was also glowing gold, and fired seven gold projectiles, all of which hit someone, completely shattering their shield. She then blinked out of existence, and then reappeared right in front of the person who¡¯s shield had just been shattered, and she punch them square in the face.The person reacted by swiftly raising their longsword in an attempt to block the oncoming strike. It did nothing as Annabelle¡¯s fist split the blade in half and then landed a very severe blow to their face. This completely dented their helmet and trickles of blood could be seen pouring out of the gaps. Not long after the person dropped to the ground. Annabelle looked around, finding that the rest had disappeared. She clicked her tongue and sat down on the ground. ¡°Cowards.¡± She muttered. Wait if they¡¯re gone, then oh crap they¡¯ve made into the third floor! The cannibals should slow them down, but I highly doubt it. They¡¯ll only prove to be a nuisance at best. Saying a quick goodbye to Annabelle, who¡¯s clearly still very pissed off. I traveled to the first floor and the six of them are now scrambling to get out the house before it collapses. Good, looks like the artillery is doing their job. In the end six managed to get out by destroying a piece of the wall, where they entered a street filled to the brim with cannibals. Though I admit some are dying due to the artillery fire¡­ ¡°Undead! Remember your training.¡± The Leader said, as they formed a circle, shields up and weapons drawn, and the leader deployed some kind of force field which deflected an explosive shell that would¡¯ve landed in the middle. Touche man touche. Anyways they continued moving down the street, in a slow and steady pace, all the while staving off cannibals. The good news is that they have no idea where they¡¯re going and are unknowingly traveling in the direction of the barracks. Good, this¡¯ll put them in contact with the Opolchenyie, and my very own regiment which I created. Additionally the Austrian and Ottoman regiments will arrive to assist, nearly doubling the numbers. ¡°Forget the formation, we need to get to the Core Room now!¡± The Leader said, ¡°The barrier isn¡¯t going to last long.¡± True to the leader''s words, cracks are beginning to show on the barrier. Good! I hope it breaks, while you''re at it LEAVE! They didn¡¯t comply at my polite and reasonable request, and continued doubling down, by hustling further into the street. They made some turns here and there, till eventually they reached the barracks, but they very quickly ran past it. However a cannonball struck one of them in the leg causing him to collapse to ground, but the others just straight up ditched them as cannibals instantly swarmed them all while being pelted by musket balls. I almost feel bad for that person¡­ almost, too bad it wasn¡¯t the leader. That armor is saving them from being eaten alive. Aaand uh oh here comes a French cannibal sapper! The group of six soon reached the outskirts of the town, spotted my floor four entrance, and began beelining towards it. Seriously, do they not see the camp? Are they blind? Am I stupid? I see the cannon is now firing canister shot, forcing all six to raise their shields, but oh no! The howitzer is still alternating between round shot, so they can''t bunch up to make the shields more effective. Really a conundrum. And of course the pellets from the canister shot just bounced off the shields. As they grew closer to the camp, the Young Guard began firing volleys at the frontal assault led by their feathered leader. ¡°Just disregard everything and rush to the entrance, if they stand in front, kill them. FOR THE GLORY OF THE LAZIRAN EMPIRE¡± The feathered ruffian said, as they vaulted over the sandbag wall, completely walking through the stakes that have been planted on the ground. Just what exactly is that armor made out of? They¡¯re strong enough to block bullets, they¡¯re strong enough to absorb cannonball hits! Yeah like that person from earlier, he should¡¯ve lost, no he would¡¯ve lost his leg! It was a direct hit as well. And wait a minute! What¡¯s this about ¡®The Glory of the Laziran Empire¡¯ argh! Forget about it, I have more important things to worry about than where these ruffian scoundrels originated from! Like you know, NOT DYING! The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Of course they¡¯re slaughtering everyone with complete ease, my god I just witnessed one of them slice a cannoneer in half. They are exactly twelve steps away from entering my fourth floor. The only thing standing between them is Jeannette, Marie, and Jean. Since when did Jean get her hands on a spontoon? Regardless, that half-pike should keep them at bay. ¡°VIVE LA FRANCE¡± Marie yelled, as she charged the six, wildly swinging her saber, she was soon followed by Jean and Jeannette, both pointing their bayonet/spontoon forward. Yeah safe to say they were instantly killed in the most gruesome way ever. I¡¯ll uh, spare everyone the details. I just hope that more die on the fourth floor. I hope they all drown. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Meanwhile outside the dungeon. The fledgling city of Dragdville is thrown into utter chaos, the streets bear the telltale signs of a battle with an occasional dead body littering the street. Several hours had already passed after the invaders went inside the dungeon. Currently a battalion of soldiers from the Kurzian Union Army has been deployed to the city of Dragdville to confront the invaders. A man with a brown handlebar mustache, wearing decorated plate armor and a Morion helmet with blue, white, and green tricolor plume at the back, stepped forward to address soldiers. ¡°Men and women! On this day, a band of dungeon killers have launched their most brazen attack yet.¡± He declared, causing the crowd to murmur amongst themselves. ¡°Eight Foreign knights have dared to attack the good people of Dragdville, nay all of the Union! The city guard had put up a valiant defense, but they were no match for the Laziran Empire¡¯s most finest and decorated soldiers. As such it is our duty to avenge them, but to also thwart their efforts to shatter our country¡¯s second dungeon. For Kurz! For the Union!¡± As he ended his speech, the man unsheathed his bastard sword raising it high in the air, as the gathered soldiers cheered loudly raising their various weapons high. Soon after, the man entered the dungeon, and the rest of the battalion followed suit¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Returning back to Amelia :) You know the only reason they¡¯ve made it this far is a combination of two things: one just rushing to the entrance, two straight up ditching their teammates the moment they become a liability. I mean seriously, Annabelle would¡¯ve been able to wipe the floor with them easily had they stayed and actually fought her. COWARDS! On the bright side the entire crew of the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge is outwardly hostile to them but can¡¯t do anything because the ship is necessary to even progress on the floor. With the exception of Muriel who is actively engaging with the ruffians. And the former for the past twenty minutes or so is acting like a sarcastic jerk towards them. At least I think, I can¡¯t really tell with her pirate way of speaking. ¡°Aye tis true, ye could kill us. If we were on land, that is, sides ye know how to run me ship?¡± Muriel said, responding to a threat that the feathered guy said earlier. His response was to unsheathe his longsword, but Muriel doesn¡¯t look worried, if anything her smile grew wider and she just raised her hands. ¡°I will cu- you know what, why are we even bothering with talking with you dungeon creatures, just get us to the entrance.¡± Muriel lowered her hands, until they sat rested upon her hips ¡°Helmswoman, set sail across the briney deep, and double it.¡± She ordered. ¡°Aye, aye cap¡¯n¡± the helmswoman responded, but the ship is not moving¡­ oh right the sails are still not raised. ¡°Why is the ship not moving?¡± The leader asked. Muriel put on a shocked expression, or that''s what it looks like, I think I know what¡¯s going on! She¡¯s intentionally delaying that group of ruffians until the other ships arrive, that i¡¯m one hundred percent sure. ¡°Ah curses, me mateys responsible for raising the sails got down with severe scurvy and had to be taken down to the brig. And ye must scale the rigging to unfurl the sails, tis the only way.¡± Muriel sobbed, crying fake tears. Ok I know for a fact that none of my creatures can contract diseases, so this is just a bold faced lie. Buut I¡¯m not gonna tell them that. The feathered guy clicked his tongue and ordered one of his buddies to climb. To their credit, they started scaling the ropes and even made it halfway up. However, the weight of their armor proved too much, causing them to lose their balance and crash down onto the deck leaving a gaping hole. The feathered person facepalmed, even with his helmet on. I could tell he was about to say something when a cannon ball struck the foremost causing it to come barreling down! Oh wow we have all the navy ships that prowled this floor had arrived, yeah fellas good luck surviving this encounter! Especially since the crew of the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge aren¡¯t doing anything to help. Oh wow the smaller ships aren¡¯t even engaging, they¡¯re just letting the bigger ships do all the work, and oh what''s this more people entered my dungeon? Oh great, as if I need any more problems, I¡¯ll go check it out just in case. Teleporting myself to the first floor an- Holy crap that¡¯s a lot of people! And oh look at this they¡¯re all wearing different styled plate armor and morion helmets, I think that man with a long flowing beard wearing fancy armor with a blue, white, and green tricolor plume on his helmet must be the commanding officer, or somebody similar. And I see a couple of people who all have the same tricolor plume on their helmets, but they¡¯re armor is less fancy. Must be lower in the command structure. He went over to inspect the grizzly scene of the slaughter. ¡°Poor guys didn¡¯t even stand a chance.¡± He commented. Oh right a different version of Permadeath mode is currently active, meaning 14 Dragdville city guards just died and aren¡¯t respawning damn¡­ or maybe they will, considering how none of them have The Black Mark and are definitely not associated with those eight. The man motioned for everyone to continue down the path, ignoring my dead creatures. Ok looks like these guys aren¡¯t a threat to my existence. Let''s check back to the fourth floor. Alright the British ship-of-the-line had dealt the final blow to the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge, as she began sinking good riddance! I hope those guys sink to the bottom of the ocean and never come back! She sank till all that¡¯s left were lifeboats filled with her surviving crew, not a single armored enemy in sight. That was until a huge ball of light rose above the water, soon the lights dissipated revealing the feathered ruffian, to be levitating. YOUR JOKING! YOUR ABSOLUTELY JOKING! I cannot believe this, yeah this person most definitely saved their last few tricks till their teammates died¡­ and they just propelled themselves toward the fifth floor entrance. Oh my god that battlefield is the only thing standing between me and that feathered ruffian, if it comes down to it, even if my fighting abilities are nonexistent I will fight till the bitter end! Let¡¯s see, the person has entered the battlefield of Waterloo, only to be met by a wall of muskets and cannons aimed right at them. ¡°FIRE!¡± Someone shouted. The person didn¡¯t have time to react as every single musket and cannon fired simultaneously, creating a thick blanket of smoke covering the field. It took a couple of agonizingly long minutes for the smoke to dissipate, but once the smoke cleared the person was on their knees holding their sword as crutch. Furthermore their armor was a complete mess, riddled with dents, some actually penetrating, yeah I could tell where the cannon balls landed just by looking at the big round shaped dents that littered their armor. The person stood up, trembling violently with each movement. They were struggling so much that a light gust of wind could probably knock them over. Slowly, they lifted the battered remains of their helmet and tossed it aside. What the heck!? That person coming to kill me was a cute girl! No way, are you being serious right now? Look I¡¯m sorry but cute girl or not you''re trying to kill me and I can¡¯t have that. Judging by the long pointed ears, chiseled face, fair-skin, this girl must either be a wood elf or a high elf. I can¡¯t really tell, but it doesn¡¯t matter since my life here is on the line! the girl hadn¡¯t had time to get her bearings straight, struggling just to even stand then bugles could be heard playing a reverie, followed by the ground shaking as the thunderous cacophony of hooves from a massive multi-nation cavalry charge filled with all types. In that mix there¡¯s light cavalry to heavy cavalry, lancers, dragoons, hussars, cuirassiers, you name it. She raised her longsword and swiftly parried a strike from a Prussian Death¡¯s Head Hussar, she turned and knocked a Polish Lancer off her horse. Till finally a French Dragoon had pierced her throat, causing the invader to drop to the ground, clutching her throat tight. And before long she succumbed to blood loss. Yeah, I¡¯m not gonna cry over her death, however I am gonna cry for the fourteen guys that stood zero chance yet stood their ground. Also I dismissed the system notifications. I''ll look at them later, I¡¯ve got some business to attend to. Time to check on that battalion, they are all standing in front of the floor four entrance. I then re manifested my avatar in front of them. This caused some of the soldiers to jump in fright at my sudden appearance. The commander, who was about ready to address his soldiers, turned to face me. ¡°So I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re the avatar for this dungeon, yes?¡± I nodded, ¡°Yes the invaders have all been dealt with, even if you are quite late to the party.¡± I said, placing my hands on my hips. ¡°And also who are you anyway?¡± The man coughed, then spoke, ¡°Well, I am Commander Lucius Pelt of the Union Guard, we were deployed to Dragdville the moment the capital received word of highly armed, highly armored dungeon killers rampaging around Dragdville.¡± Lucius replied, ¡°It sure is lucky that your creatures dealt with them before it¡¯s too late, as we wouldn¡¯t have arrived in time to stop them.¡± I nodded, with a grim expression visible on my face, I dread to think of what would happen had I not created my fifth floor¡­ well no use in musing over the what if¡¯s ¡°We will be on our way now, as I have a report to make to the Grand Council, it is likely that we¡¯ll be stationed here for the foreseeable future.¡± The commander continued before ordering the batalion to begin marching back. Though I swear I heard him mutter under his breath and I quote ¡®this is going to cause a political shitshow when I send the report.¡¯ Again I could¡¯ve misheard him and he muttered something completely different. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª City of Kurz, Grand Council Hall: The council hall was unnervingly silent, a stark contrast to the usual buzz of debate that typically filled the space. The only sound that could be heard came from a glass orb resting on a podium in the center of the room, placed on an elevated platform overlooking the marble seats arranged in a semicircle where the councilors sat. Inside said orb is the face of Commander Lucius Pelt as he relayed his report to those present. ¡°As such it is imperative that Dragdville be reinforced in case any more terrorists would launch another brazen attack on the city and the fledgling dungeon in a more brazen manner. Furthermore we¡¯ve confirmed a total of twenty-seven casualties, all of whom were members of the city guard and there were fourteen city guards that perished inside the dungeon. They have since respawned and are currently incapacitated due to severe phantom pains. Furthermore we¡¯ve identified the armor worn by the terrorists to be of Laziran origin, though we will not rule it out the possibility of a third party wearing Laziran armor with the express purpose of causing chaos, and thus a thorough investigation will be immediately conducted. That is all.¡± Right after Commander Lucius Pelt finished delivering his report, the entire hall erupted into chaos, with councilors shouting and arguing among themselves. Then, a man in a powdered wig and wore a black gown stepped onto the platform, picked up a gavel, and delivered a powerful strike to the sound block. The room instantly fell silent. ¡°Order, there will be order!¡± The man in the gown spoke, ¡°Now if there is anybody who has any suggestions for our next course of action, please raise your hand now.¡± A set of hands immediately rose up. Then the man pointed to a young woman with fiery red hair dressed in an elegant silk dress. ¡°Representative Mikaelya Rose of Kurz, the floor is yours.¡± She stood up, ¡°Mr Speaker, I say we summon the Laziran ambassador and demand an explanation for their empire¡¯s bold and brazen transgression upon the Union!¡± The woman proclaimed, followed by a chorus of yeah¡¯s. ¡°All in favor of summoning the ambassador, raise your hand.¡± The Speaker said, he began counting the number of raised hands, and by the end the Speaker only counted ten raised hands out of the thirty-four representatives, and thus the motion to summon the Laziran ambassador failed. before the Speaker could announce the result, another figure stood up wearing a blue justacorps jacket, it was Councilor Nicholas Antelik of Bognan sitting at the center-left "Now now, let''s be all rational here, they could be dissidents or some nefarious actor wishing to cause trouble to our two states, or worse a false flag attack to draw us into a bloody war with the Lazirans. Let us wait until the good commander finishes his investigation." he said getting a chorus of agreements. The Speaker nodded, ¡°I agree Councillor Bognan, we shall wait on the conclusions from Commander Lucius Pelt investigation doing making any rash decisions.¡± The Speaker redirected his attention onto the ensemble of representatives, ¡°Anything else?¡± Chapter 14: Some Much Needed Rest (I Dont Know What to Title This Chapter XD) Amelia PoV: I had just finished assessing the damages that those eight bozos caused, and fortunately there was nothing that my dungeon could instantly repair. While I was at it I decided to add a small religious shrine near the dungeon entrance for people to pray at. I was even allowed to go past the floor limit and I summoned a priestess. I named her Cerelia. Afterwards I was given a prompt to select a god/goddesses to dedicate the priestess to, and personally speaking I am not religious, so I just selected one and continued on my merry way. Hope they¡¯re not too mad at me! Another rather fortunate thing that occurred is that those fourteen guards had respawned, yay! Man I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done if innocent people had died, yikes. Right now I am back inside the safety of my core room. Alright enough yapping, time to check on my notifications!
Due to the sheer volume of notifications, the system has condensed it as much as it can. Laziran Chevaliers 8x, levels 140-240 XP: 18,947 Dungeon Core leveled to 16 No new themes unlocked. Unlocked 9 new regiments: Ottoman Janissaries. Bavarian Landwehr US State Militia Danish National Guard (British) Brunswick Leib-Battalion (Black Brunswickers) French 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment ¡°The Irish Legion¡± Russian Pavlovsky Life Guard Regiment Italian 3rd Line Infantry Regiment (Kingdom of Italy) Italian Royal Battalion of Istria (Kingdom of Italy) Two new Individual Summons: Kalthoff Gunner. Belton Gunner. Wilson Lorenzoni Gunner You have unlocked the ability to summon sappers, with a maximum of two allowed per floor. You are now allowed to create custom irregular and melee units. New customisation species for custom regiments: High Elf Mana regen increased to 320 Mana capacity increased to 65 Floor capacity increased to 3
Oh wow lots of new goodies to unpack here! Glad that I¡¯m finally able to summon sappers, good lord that¡¯d make barricades a lot faster to build! And Oh man I have no idea what that Kalthoff, Lorenzoni and Belton Gunner is doing in a Napoleonic Themed dungeon, but by god is it going to be great watching some of history¡¯s earliest repeaters in action! Let''s see, onto the creatures tab!
Creatures: Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Blunderbuss Gunner: 10 Mana Kalthoff Gunner: 95 Mana Belton Gunner: 90 Mana Wilson Lorenzoni Gunner: 90 Mana Militia: Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana Bavarian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana US State Militia: 15 Mana Danish National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry: British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch): 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1: 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34: 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment: 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment: 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry: 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers): 55 Mana Ottoman Janissaries: 50 Mana (British) Brunswick Leib-Battalion (Black Brunswickers): 80 Mana French 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment ¡°The Irish Legion¡±: 55 Mana Italian 3rd Line Infantry Regiment (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Italian Royal Battalion of Istria (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Elite Infantry: French Old Guard: 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier: 50 Mana French Young Guard: 100 Mana French Dutch Guard: 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier: 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard: 120 Mana Russian Pavlovsky Life Regiment: 160 Mana Skirmisher: Prussian Silesian Schuetzen: 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles): 45 Mana Cavalry: Russian Cossacks: 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment: 60 Mana British Royal Scots Grey: 65 Mana French 1st Cuirassier Regiment: 65 Mana Marines: US Marine Corps: 65 British Royal Marines: 65 French Imperial Guard Marines: 65 Spanish Marines: 65 Irregular: Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana Russian Partisans: 20 Mana Melee Infantry: Ottoman Janissaries: 50 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders.)
This is a nice list of regiments right here! It¡¯s interesting to know that I have two Irish regiments, the British Connaught Rangers and the French Irish Legion. Another thing that I¡¯m glad about is receiving more militias, and I can summon both melee and ranged Janissaries? Interesting, well regardless please keep ''em coming. Yikes those three repeater gunners are pretty pricey, but they¡¯ll be worth it I promise. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 48,908/67,547 Level 16 Mana: 320/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 5/12 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
I¡¯m closer to unlocking the Old Guard, YES! I will be the happiest Dungeon alive once I finally have access to them! Though with that new high elf template I¡¯ve unlocked, I guess it¡¯s been a while since I created a custom regiment. Except there''s one problem, I forgot where the tab is¡­ nevermind I just found it. Creatures -> Design I¡¯m brought back to the prompt of me selecting a base, and I chose humanoid.
Select a species Human Dark Elf Dwarf Moon Elf High Elf
You know what, let''s choose High Elf for the regiment species. Just like last time an entirely gray stl-like model of a female elf figure wearinga gray dress appeared t-posing in the middle of the room. Then next on the list would be selecting the type.
Create Regiment -> Select type Cavalry Artillery Line Infantry Elite Infantry Skirmisher Militia Irregular Melee
Uhhh let¡¯s go with Elite, specifically a grenadier regiment. The dress the stl-elf wore was immediately replaced with gray trousers and a gray coat with lapels and cuffs, alongside a gray shako adorning her head. Now for the next part, which I still think is completely redundant considering they¡¯re all muskets, but whatever.
Choose a weapon Prussian Potsdam Musket 1809 Russian Musket 1805 Chareleville 1777 Corrig¨¨ XI Land Pattern Brown Bess Austrian Musket 1798 Ottoman Jezail Musket Girandoni Air Rifle Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle Springfield Model 1795 Springield Model 1812 Harper¡¯s Ferry 1803 Rifle Swedish Infantry Musket Danish M1794 Flintlock Musket Danish M1808 Short Musket
Wow, the list of weapons has grown exponentially! Granted some of these muskets are for light infantry/skirmishers, such as that air rifle or the Harper¡¯s Ferry Rifle, but nothing¡¯s gonna stop me from equipping my custom regiment with them. Still I¡¯d like to keep things standardized, I¡¯ll only equip infantry with proper infantry weapons. Now that being the case, at the end of the day, it quite literally doesn¡¯t matter what I choose since they¡¯re all muzzle loading muskets, with the differences being the design, model, and type. All right I pick the Springfield Model 1812 as the regiment¡¯s weapon of choice. All right with the prompt disappearing, it''s now time to customize the uniforms! Except I have no idea what to use for the colors! Ok um let¡¯s see what are high elves stereotypically usually known for in fantasy? Well, they¡¯re arrogant, oftentimes looking down on other races, and dare I say very snobbish. Well that¡¯s just the stereotypes, the high elves of this world aren¡¯t like that right? Well regardless they¡¯re just stereotypes and I shouldn¡¯t take them seriously. One thing¡¯s for sure I am gonna make the uniform as detailed as my brain will allow me to. For starters I¡¯ll be replacing her shako with a Austrian grenadier bearskin. And the golden plate at the front above the visor has a depiction of me, looking very proud while wielding a saber¡­ I¡¯m not even gonna comment any further. Moving on, the regimental coat itself will be a deep royal blue, with gold epaulettes on the shoulders, both the lapels and cuffs will be colored silver with the cuffs having an embroidery of a fiery red rose. The leather cross belts, or just a shoulder belt for the officer will be dyed white with a silver clasp, the cartridge pouch will have a fiery red rose engraved on it. I¡¯ll leave the buttons as is except that it is dyed silver. For the trousers, the color will be light gray on the sides of the trousers will have a gold stripe of braided fabric, and lastly the footwear will be black leather boots that reach below the knee. Lastly, any other accessories. So the entire regiment will be equipped with sabers, and despite grenades never being used on an open battlefield, they were widely used during sieges both by the attackers and defenders. As such the grenade pouch will be located below the cartridge pouch. Finally they¡¯ll be wearing white gloves with gold threads. I think they¡¯re fi- Wait! I almost forgot about the backpacks, or knapsack if we¡¯re being really technical. They¡¯ll wear a standard leather knapsack with a fiery red rose embroidered in the middle alongside a white number two beneath the rose. And with that we are finally done. Say hello to the 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment! I¡¯ve shortened it just a bit by removing my last name. An alternative name would be the Dungeon Grenadier Regiment. After I finished customizing the uniform, the figure before me went from an stl file of a T-posing gray elf to a T-posing fair-skinned High Elf with the uniform changes. Now I¡¯m curious, what other race could I add, Orc cuirassiers? Something for the future. Let''s check the creatures!
Creatures: Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Blunderbuss Gunner: 10 Mana Kalthoff Gunner: 95 Mana Belton Gunner: 90 Mana Wilson Lorenzoni Gunner: 90 Mana Militia: Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana Bavarian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana US State Militia: 15 Mana Danish National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry: British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch): 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1: 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34: 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment: 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment: 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry: 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers): 55 Mana Ottoman Janissaries: 50 Mana (British) Brunswick Leib Battalion: 80 Mana French 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment ¡°The Irish Legion¡±: 55 Mana Italian 3rd Line Infantry Regiment (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Italian Royal Battalion of Istria (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Elite Infantry: French Old Guard: 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier: 50 Mana French Young Guard: 100 Mana French Dutch Guard: 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier: 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard: 120 Mana Russian Pavlovsky Life Regiment: 160 Mana 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment/Dungeon Grenadier Regiment: 165 Mana Skirmisher: Prussian Silesian Schuetzen: 25 Mana Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles): 45 Mana Cavalry: Russian Cossacks: 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment: 60 Mana British Royal Scots Grey: 65 Mana French 1st Cuirassier Regiment: 65 Mana Marines: US Marine Corps: 65 British Royal Marines: 65 French Imperial Guard Marines: 65 Spanish Marines: 65 Irregular: Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana Russian Partisans: 20 Mana Melee Infantry: Ottoman Janissaries: 50 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders.)
Buddy you didn¡¯t have to combine both of the names I put forward¡­ oh what¡¯s this a notification for me? Oh how thoughtful!
You are allowed to summon a maximum of two Elite regiments that will exclusively defend the core room during incursions from those seeking you harm. P.S - Normally this would¡¯ve been a part of the introduction where Cores can summon two creatures to guard the Core from attackers wishing to shatter said Core, but due to the unique nature of your dungeon, I¡¯ve been working on an adaptation of a feature that every other dungeon has. I¡¯ve just finished, and good thing too, hope this makes you feel safe. Sincerely The Goddess of Dungeons.
Uhh, so for the past weeks, I¡¯ve been missing out on a feature that everybody has! Better late than never I guess, thank you mystery goddess whose domain is dungeons. Also one of those spots is getting reserved by the Old Guard, that''s final! Achem, time to summon the 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment inside my Core Room! Finally some extra safety between me, my core and whatever psychos that try to come in and kill me! I teleport myself into this gray and dull room¡­ you know what I¡¯ll add furnishing up this place into my ¡®to do¡¯ list, cause man It¡¯s looking kinda depressing in here, as opposed to the lively greenery of my other floors. Actually, I changed my mind. I''ll do that right now, yeah I wouldn¡¯t want to be stuck in a gray room twenty-four seven. Starting off I¡¯m gonna set aside a small portion of my Core Room, build a barracks big enough to house fourteen people, filled with everything and some extra recreational facilities filled with non-period specific things, I¡¯ll also make a separate courtyard dedicated to just magic training. If my Moon Elf soldiers can cast magic, then these lads can. Other than that the barracks is finished but the room is still that same dull gray. I¡¯ve got to change that. Hmm, let¡¯s see, oh I got it! I start by replacing the ceiling with a bright blue sky on a sunny day. Immediately the lighting in the room changed from being completely artificial to at least having the illusion of sunlight being cast down. That''s all well and good but the uhh achem, walls are still gray¡­ Not a big deal I will just replace the walls with an Illusion of a wide open plains. Now if people try to walk towards them and bump onto a wall covered in what is essentially wallpaper, then uhh I don¡¯t know what to say. Next up is my actual Core, yes it''s sitting on top of a pedestal at the center of the room completely exposed. Yeah okay, what if I add a cabin and place it inside?
Alert: you MUST have your core exposed where outsiders can see it.
Buddy that¡¯s so lame¡­ fine have it your way hmph! Okay then how about a pavilion? Like the one you¡¯d find at a city park?
That is acceptable
I placed an oval shaped pavilion right where my core is, I then added some hedge bushes around the pavilion, I added a small stream that starts from one end of my core, running underneath the pavilion and ending near the barracks. To finish things off I added a flag pole on the roof of the pavilion, which is currently flying a white flag¡­ Alright before I do anything else, I gotta design a custom flag, cause it just looks like I¡¯m surrendering displaying that white flag! Hmm let''s see, what should the design be? Should I just use the tricolor? No that''s too unoriginal man, this is harder than it looks. Ok uhh, wait I got it! I¡¯ll use a vertical bi-color split design with two contrasting colors, on the left side is a dark crimson red while on the right is a dark navy blue. I''m thinking that the red represents revolution, sacrifice, change, while the blue represents loyalty, courage, unity. I should definitely add some symbols, at the center I¡¯ll add a gold Imperial Eagle cut in half ending just at the border of the blue side, and over on the red side I¡¯ll add a phyrgian cap right along the border of the red, thus creating a clash of revolutionary ideals against imperial ambitions! Lastly for the bottom, I¡¯ll add a golden curved ribbon with white text, and yes they¡¯ll all be in French, so for the red side I¡¯ll inscribe ¡°Liberte¡± while on the blue side I¡¯ll inscribe ¡°L¡¯Empire. A-and it''s done, I have no idea if this is even gonna work, or look good for that matter, besides I can always change it later.
Custom flag created, all custom regiments will now be summoned with a flag bearer flying the custom flag. Furthermore every spawned regiment, custom or otherwise, has been updated with a flag bearer and floor sizes have been adjusted to accommodate this change. Would you like to replace the flags currently in use by non custom regiments with your custom flag?
Oh sweet, some flag bearers! And no I¡¯m only gonna limit this to custom regiments only, this¡¯d look so goofy on say the Scottish Highlanders. And OOF this entire renovation and flag creation ends up costing a grand total of 220 mana, bringing me down to 100 mana left to spare¡­ Oh that reminds me, I forgot to check my status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 48,908/67,547 Level 16 Mana: 320/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 4/12 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: On Avatar Editor.
Oh yeah, we¡¯re almost there for the Old Guard! Oh well I¡¯ll wait till tomorrow to summon the new regiment. Suddenly the door to my core room opened admitting in none other than Jeannette and Ellen! They look a bit awestruck at my handy work. I¡¯m very proud of what I accomplished I ran over to the duo and greeted them, ¡°Hello, Jeannette! Hello Ellen!¡± I said, waving at them, ¡°What brings you here?¡± Ellen shook her head, ¡°Commander Lucius Pelt wishes to have an audience with you.¡± Huh, alright I¡¯ll hear him out, it¡¯s the least I can hear him out, ¡°Where is he located?¡± It was Jeannette who answered, ¡°He¡¯s at the camp on the third floor.¡± Before meekly adding, ¡°Can I stay here for a little bit longer? It''s so peaceful here¡­¡± ¡°Alright I¡¯ll go meet with him.¡± I answered, then a smile formed on my face. ¡°Yes you can definitely stay for as long as you like! Though I admit I¡¯m not really finished¡­ this also extends to you Ellen.¡± Jeannette smiled before walking off, taking off her backpack, before long she was laying down on the grass reading a book. Ellen on the other nodded and replied ¡°I¡¯m glad for the offer, but I must get back to my duties.¡± She then walked back through the door, and teleported back to floor one. Now, time to talk to the commander. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: After teleporting myself to the third floor, I was then directed to head inside an officer''s tent, where I found Commander Lucius Pelt, alongside Marie, all seated. The Commander stood up and offered a hand, to which I accepted it with a firm shake, before taking a seat myself. ¡°So you wanted to talk to me?¡± The commander nodded, ¡°Yes, several things in fact, starting with the first thing I want to talk about, and this is regarding those eight saboteurs. As you see I am conducting an investigation into them, specifically the armor they wore.¡± Saboteurs? Is that what this country¡¯s military calls them? As opposed to what the city guard labeled them as. Ah finally someone is looking into this! See I''d do it myself, but uhhh, yeah I¡¯ll just leave it at that¡­ ¡°Sure I¡¯ll aid in this investigation as much as I can.¡± I replied with an eager tone. The commander nodded, ¡°Then, what can you tell me about their armor?¡± ¡°Only that they were ridiculously overpowered, why do you ask?¡± I said, tilting my head a little. ¡°I mean, I can summon an exact copy of their armor, though it¡¯s gonna be expensive in terms of mana, but if it helps then I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± I then summoned an armor stand alongside that ridiculous armor besides me. It¡¯s an exact copy of what those eight wore. The Commander stood up, approaching the armor, giving it a scrutinizing gaze, he placed his hands on the chest plate. Then suddenly almost out of nowhere a jeweled crown above three pillars projected itself on the table, and also on the chestplate. The Commander¡¯s eyes widened as if a revelation dawned on him, ¡°I see¡­ this confirms it, but not entirely.¡± ¡°Uhh confirm what?¡± I asked, gazing onto the crown. ¡°The armors we were able to recover were too damaged to receive any meaningful information from, but this confirms at least part of my suspicion.¡± The Commander explained, willing the projections to vanish. Puzzled, I asked, ¡°So what exactly does this confirm?¡± ¡°A much greater political nightmare, one that could spark a war, even now I am completely sure that the Grand Council is recklessly giving the ambassador a demarche¡­ well regardless, thank you for cooperating, while I would love to stay and try this dungeon I¡¯ve got to head back and Interrogate the prisoners.¡± Commander Lucius Pelt said before snapping his fingers before disappearing entirely, taking the armor with him. My gut tells me that something bad will happen in the future¡­ eh it¡¯ll be fine! That''s something future me will worry about! Wait a minute, why do I feel like I was forgetting something? Oh snap! I completely forgot to tell him about how that cute High Elf girl said something about a ¡®Laziran Empire¡¯s Glory¡¯ or whatever¡­ Well I guess he¡¯s bound to find out since he¡¯s investigating. Alright, well too late now, plus I don¡¯t really know where to find him and I don¡¯t feel like going outside, especially after what just happened. I guess while I wait for my mana to trickle up, I¡¯ll pop in and check on how everybody''s doing, starting on the first floor. As I materialized in front of the floor two entrance, I inadvertently startled a man wearing a cloak and dual wielding daggers, who was about to head inside floor two. I quickly apologized to the rogue, though he insisted that he quote ¡®didn¡¯t jump¡¯ unquote. It wasn¡¯t helped by the fact that his three other party members just kept on giggling and teasing him. Looking over their party composition I see a knight, barbarian, a cleric, and of course the rogue who was also acting as the party leader. Anyway, I wished them good luck as they ventured into the second floor. It didn¡¯t take me long to find Emile as well as a couple guardswomen, who were all hanging out by one of the barns. ¡°Hey where¡¯s Ellen?¡± I asked as I approached Emile, who was sitting on a hay bale chowing down on a bowl of soup. She first finished her bowl before replying, ¡°Ah well, after things had calmed down I figured I¡¯d give my regiment a well deserved break. Besides, that group of four looks to be the last ones entering.¡± Emile stood up, ¡°As for where Ellen is? She¡¯s having her regiment perform rigorous drilling to quote ¡®preserve the Prussian Discipline amongst the ranks.¡¯ and they do it everyday when no outsiders enter, taking breaks only on Sundays. I¡¯ve seen what she puts her regiment through and let¡¯s just say my troops are glad to be under my command¡­¡± ¡°Ah- I see¡­¡± I don¡¯t even know what to say, though I hope that any future Prussian regiment, ya know don¡¯t push their soldiers to such a ridiculous extreme, then again Comte de Mirabeau once said, or was it Voltaire? Either way one of them said and I quote ¡®Where some states have an army, the Prussian army has a state¡¯ which is a fitting description for Prussia at the time. ¡°Would you care for some soup?¡± Emile asked, offering a second bowl to me, ¡°The cooks at the camp have really outdone themselves!¡± A tempting offer, ¡°Hmm it depends, is there chicken soup?¡± Emile nodded, ¡°Yes, in fact there''s several different kinds of soup, and there''s more, the farmers are hosting a small feast, at the farmhouse over there, with the meals provided by the camp¡¯s cooks.¡± She said, pointing to a quaint two story country home. ¡°Save me a bowl, I¡¯m still in the midst of checking in on everyone.¡± I said. Emile sat back on the hay bale, ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to let them know.¡± I nodded then bid Emile a farewell, and walked out of the barn. Now let¡¯s see, where could Ellen? Aha! Found her, and uhh it seems like she¡¯s busy conducting some rigorous exercises on the soldiers¡­ best not bother them. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s next? That''s right Annabelle, Isabella, and Marley. Ah I¡¯ll check back later since they''re probably going to be busy dealing with those four adventurers. Next up would be Sasha and Vaeri, then followed by Ceyiz, Greta and Marie. I materialized onto the barracks courtyard, and whoa would ya look at that! This place doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s changed since the last time, save for a pile of bodies in the middle of the courtyard. Ah it looks like they¡¯re getting ready to light it up. Though I¡¯m not sure if that''s a great idea, buuut I¡¯ll just leave them be. Walking inside the first floor of the barracks, I saw both Sasha and Vaeri, by a table with a map of the floor, deep in discussion. Alright, well I shouldn¡¯t distract them, time to go meet Ceyiz and Greta. Oop I see Earalyn approaching me, I¡¯ll go say hi to her! ¡°Ah hello Earalyn, I was just about to leave. What can I do for you?¡± I said, waving at her with a smile. ¡°May I give you a suggestion?¡± She asked. ¡°Sure.¡± I replied, materializing a clipboard and pencil in my hands. ¡°Considering the recent, shall I say ¡®break in¡¯, may I suggest strengthening the defenses in each floor.¡± Earalyn said, emphasizing the words break in with air quotes. I jotted down Earalyn¡¯s suggestion onto my clipboard then answered, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve thought about that, and yeah I need to come up with some contingencies for when this happens again, cause as it stands my only real defense is increasing the distance. For now when I get the mana I intend to summon sappers on all floors, except four.¡± Earalyn nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer, ¡°On another topic, the presence of sappers on this floor will aid us in our struggle against the undead as well as any outsiders.¡± A smirk manifested itself on my face, ¡°Cannibal.¡± I corrected, to which she rolled her eyes in response, and walked away. Alright now, onto the town hall! Teleporting myself, I see that the front entrance has been forced open, with the doors detached from its hinges. The barracks is a much better spot to defend than the town hall, should I relocate the both regiments? Actually nevermind I¡¯m not doing anything, I¡¯ve made a decision and I must commit! Walking inside, I¡¯m immediately greeted by four zombies munching on a corpse of an Austrian soldier right at the base of the stairwell. I already know where I¡¯m placing a sapper for this floor. Moving up the stairs, as the cannibals completely ignored me. You know it¡¯d be fun to see how long I could last against waves of zombies wielding nothing but swords and muskets! Okay moving on, upon reaching the second floor, there is a dead zombified sapper with an axe on her face, leaning against the railing. Which might I add looks like it¡¯s about to fall any second. Onto the hallway, and there''s a dead Ottoman at the end of the hallway, with her left leg chopped off. Alright with that out of the way, there is a set of four doors, two on each side, and looking behind there''s two more doors to the left and another hallway to the left. There¡¯s a trail of blood going into the hallway¡­ I''m gonna see what¡¯s on door number one! Turning to a door directly to my right, my hand on the door handle a-and It¡¯s locked, or to be more accurately it''s been blocked on the other side.. Wait, why don¡¯t I just phase through the door? So I phased through. The room itself is not very big, I see that every piece of furniture has been piled onto the door, there¡¯s two windows and a door that I presume leads to the balcony, however I didn¡¯t have time to continue my observation as I got kicked really hard in the stomach causing me to drop to the floor clutching my stomach. ¡°Oh Mein Gott!" I heard someone exclaim, but I didn¡¯t focus on what they said, as I am too busy writhing on the floor in pain. Judging from the female voice and multiple sets of white trousers in front of my face. Thus I shall correctly deduce that I¡¯ve been kicked by my own creatures, which I didn¡¯t know was possible. In hindsight I shouldn''t have phased through the door¡­ anyways the pain subsided, and I stood up, dusting myself before seeing three Austrian soldiers, one of whom was gazing directly to the ground, her face as bright as a tomato she was standing to the right of the trio. The girl standing to the left has a drum. ¡°Yeowch, can''t say I didn¡¯t deserve that, oh I¡¯m not mad or anything.¡± I said, hopefully reassuring that girl staring intently at the ground. ¡°Anyways, what happened here?¡± I asked, ¡°Cause uhh, the place has seen better days.¡± ¡°Well ma¡¯am, after the invaders were defeated there suddenly was a huge horde of cannibals that suddenly descended upon us, overwhelming our defenses. Officer Greta is trapped in a room on the other side of the town hall and Ceyiz is in the basement.¡± The soldier standing in the middle answered. Oh¡­ well I guess Greta and Ceyiz are doing well all things considered. ¡°Is there anything I can do for the three of you?¡± I mean might as well right? Considering how my sudden appearance startled one of them to prompt a fight or flight response. I mean, I would if I was in their shoes. ¡°Uhh, can you send us to the basement?¡± The Drummer girl asked. ¡°Erm, you sure? Considering what just happened.¡± I said, watching as the drummer girl grimaced. ¡°On second thought, we will just wait out the cannibals here.¡± The drummer girl stated as a matter of fact. ¡°How about this?¡± I snapped my fingers and at the cost of fifteen mana, two swivel guns appeared by the windows plus a third facing the door, complete with two boxes of canistershot. It seems that the girl who was sulking earlier seemed to have recovered and had begun salivating at the sight of the swivel guns. I¡¯ll leave the three to enjoy their new toys, Greta and Ceyiz. I won''t bother them at least until the situation in the town hall improves. I believe after Marie I¡¯m technically done on this floor, I just- and oh what¡¯s this? Those four adventurers have arrived! I¡¯m going to pity them if they choose the town hall¡­ Well in any case, time to check on Marie, I teleport myself to the camp, everything is as it was when I was talking to that commander, uh besides the field of dead cannibals that has littered both in and around the camp. It didn¡¯t take long for me to locate Marie, who¡¯s by the cannons, with her spyglass out. ¡°Hey, how is the camp?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been better. We¡¯ve just repelled an unusually large horde of cannibals.¡± Marie answered, still looking through her spyglass, ¡°Artillery, begin bombarding the town hall''s vicinity, and provide support for the Ottomans, I see them attempting a breakout.¡± The cannoneers sprung into action, and began shelling the town hall. Alright everyone, besides the town hall, is doing pretty well. I¡¯ll move on to- oh? What¡¯s this? Ah it seems that all four of those lads made it past floor two in one piece! Change of plans, I¡¯ll visit floor two, then move onto floor four. ¡°Well I better get going, good luck!¡± Marie lowered her spyglass, then turned to me and nodded, before snapping my fingers, bringing to the familiar forests of the second floor. It took me a good while before locating my creatures, they were all at the log cabin, celebrating, ¡°Ah the boss lassie has *hic* graced us with her *hic* presence!¡± A drunken Marley slurred, taking a big swig from a bottle she¡¯s holding. Where did she get her ha- you know what I¡¯m not gonna question it. ¡°Haha, hey.¡± I greeted, awkwardly waving at Marley. ¡°And you know what? Those damned *gulp* bastards, commin ere, calling *gulp* OUR kilts SKIRTS! Maddening I tell ya!¡± A Scotswoman said, while taking swigs from her bottle. ¡°Aye it grates on *hic* me nerves.¡± Another Scotswoman replied. Why they¡¯re sure having fun, and Isabella is passed out drunk by the front entrance, though she¡¯s sporting a huge smile. ¡°Well everyone here is having fun.¡± I said, smiling gently. ¡°I shall be going.¡± Marley then got uncomfortably close and grabbed a hold of me, ¡°Wah, don¡¯t go, come stay *hic* the lassies on the first floor were *hic* kind enough to grace us with all this food and alcohol! In fact you *hic* here take a big ol swig!¡± She then held her bottle in my face, to which I gently pushed. I¡¯m not even gonna comment on the fact that one of my own creatures has offered me alcohol¡­ ¡°I really should be going, but do enjoy yourselves, I think you¡¯ve earned it!¡± Marley pouted, then dejectedly walked away, turning to gaze at me with sad puppy-dog eyes, before continuing. I was about to snap my fingers, when a thought struck me. Huh where¡¯s Annabelle? Oh there she is, and she¡¯s engaged in a drinking competition with a couple of the girls. In total I counted one hundred empty bottles in total. Good on them! I¡¯m glad they¡¯re enjoying themselves. Time to check on Macy, the pirate crew, Jackie, Rosey, then ending it off with Mayna. I snapped my fingers and I found myself onboard the Queen Anne¡¯s Revenge, except there¡¯s barely any crew here that it¡¯s essentially a skeleton crew¡­uhh okay so Captain Muriel Godfrey isn¡¯t on here, moving onto Macy a-and she¡¯s not in the town either¡­ except a couple of marines sitting together by one of the coastal batteries, playing some kind of card game. What about Jackie? I teleport myself to her bar, and it¡¯s empty with a sign on the bar¡¯s door that said ¡®sorry we¡¯re closed¡¯, however I did find Jackie who¡¯s by the counter reading a newspaper. My entry did not go unnoticed, as she looked up, smiling upon seeing me, ¡°Oh hey mom! If you''re wondering, mostly everyone is in the underwater dome right now.¡± Huh, well that makes my job of finding them easy, I suppose. ¡°Anything interesting going on?¡± Jackie shook her head, ¡°Business has calmed down significantly ever since the first day I opened, oh but I did get my hands on this newspaper.¡± She said, showing me the newspaper, ¡°There¡¯s some stuff on here that I think you¡¯d find interesting.¡± Let¡¯s see, the headline reads ¡®The Vonesmy Chronicles: Dragdville Dungeon Shattering Failed! An attempt on shattering the Union¡¯s second Dungeon had been thwarted thanks in no part to the quick response of Commander Lucious Pelt of the Union Guard, and the dungeon¡¯s very own creatures, who¡¯ve taken it upon himself to conduct a thorough investigation behind the identities of the perpetrators¡­ Wow! Look mom, I''m on the news! Let¡¯s see what other articles they¡¯ve written. Oh what¡¯s this? One of the side headlines reads: Abercellian Civil War Resumes After Two Decades of Ceasefire: As many readers were aware thirty years ago in 1290 FE, our biggest trading partner who felt no need to adhere to the combined Laziran-Ergonese embargoes had split and erupted a deadly civil war between the Eastern and Western portions of the empire which ended in a ceasefire ten years after the war ending in a ceasefire with a twenty-kilometre dmz between the two states¡­ Okay, I¡¯m gonna stop reading there, is there one about the country my dungeon is in? Oh yeah there¡¯s one. The Republic of Ergon has, in a surprising twist of fate, ended all sanctions and embargoes upon the Union citing ¡°Civil Unrest¡± as the reason. In any case Kurzians all over the nation have erupted into spontaneous celebrations upon receiving this news. The Laziran Empire have protested this decision with their foreign minister being quoted saying ¡°This decision by them [The Ergonese] will have serious consequences throughout the region and will allow the Kurzian Revolutionaries more leeway in destabilizing the region¡­¡± Whatever the reason is, the Union will be able to breathe once more and we shall eagerly await the day that the Lazirans end their sanctions and embargoes. ¡°That¡¯s some nice stories.¡± I said, ¡°But I gotta move, enjoy the rest of your evening!¡± ¡°I will, thanks for visiting mom!¡± Jackie said waving me goodbye, as I stepped outside. Now, time to visit the dome. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Meanwhile with the adventuring party, floor three. The party of four had reached the town hall after ferociously fighting through the streets. ¡°Ready the cannon, the cannibals will be back!¡± An Austrian soldier exclaimed. ¡°If only we had a sapper, this would make the defense easier.¡± Another Austrian soldier groaned. The party had positioned themselves in front of the town hall entrance, after repelling the first wave. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± The Knight said, readying his now bloodied heather shield, then equipped a javelin. ¡°Ok here¡¯s the new plan.¡± The Rogue started, ¡°I¡¯ll go and kill any of those bloated, and axe wielding undead, as they pose the most threat. William save your rage for when there¡¯s a large group. Mary, continue healing if you can.¡± Both William and Mary responded with a nod and a grunt respectively. Suddenly, a large horde of undead appeared, eliciting a multitude of exclamations from various soldiers. ¡°They¡¯re coming, help us!¡± ¡°The Cannibals are coming!¡± An Ottoman soldier was heard saying some prayers. William equipped his great axe, and charged headlong into the growing horde. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: I checked in with Mayna, and it seems like she¡¯s busy entertaining the guests inside the dome, so I just left her to her own devices. Maybe I should add more underwater flora and fauna. Now I am back in my core room, and huh Jeannette isn¡¯t he- oh right the four adventurers on floor three. Maybe I have recovered enough mana to summon what I¡¯m gonna call my Core Guard. Let¡¯s see, status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 48,908/67,547 Level 16 Mana: 165/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 4/12 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Sweet, I have exactly 165 mana for the summoning. I navigated over to the creatures tab.
Creatures: Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Blunderbuss Gunner: 10 Mana Kalthoff Gunner: 95 Mana Belton Gunner: 90 Mana Wilson Lorenzoni Gunner: 90 Mana Militia: Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana Bavarian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana US State Militia: 15 Mana Danish National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry: British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch): 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1: 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34: 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment: 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment: 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry: 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers): 55 Mana Ottoman Janissary: 50 Mana (British) Brunswick Leib Battalion: 80 Mana French 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment ¡°The Irish Legion¡±: 55 Mana Italian 3rd Line Infantry Regiment (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Italian Royal Battalion of Istria (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Elite Infantry: French Old Guard: 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier: 50 Mana French Young Guard: 100 Mana French Dutch Guard: 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier: 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard: 120 Mana Russian Pavlovsky Life Regiment: 160 Mana 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment/Dungeon Grenadier Regiment: 165 Mana Skirmisher: Prussian Silesian Schuetzen: 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles): 45 Mana Cavalry: Russian Cossacks: 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment: 60 Mana British Royal Scots Grey: 65 Mana French 1st Cuirassier Regiment: 65 Mana Marines: US Marine Corps: 65 British Royal Marines: 65 French Imperial Guard Marines: 65 Spanish Marines: 65 Irregular: Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana Russian Partisans: 20 Mana Melee Infantry: Ottoman Janissary: 50 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders.)
Time to expend 165 mana for my new custom regiment! A set of fourteen soldiers, and hey one of them is a flag bearer! The Officer herself, who I shall name Kaylin Aeberos, is wearing a bicorne side-to-side. She stepped forward, ¡°Madame, you needn¡¯t fret for we shall protect the core with our very lives!¡± Kaylin proclaimed, earning a rousing cheer from her unit. I feel very safe and secure, knowing that there''s at least one last barrier between my core and everything that wants me dead! ¡°I have no doubt that you will!¡± I replied, earning a nod from Kaylin, who ordered everyone to run drills around my new and improved core room. Now all that¡¯s left is to resume spectating my very own alt history Battle of Waterloo! Y¡¯know cause I was RUDELY interrupted last time I tried to watch. Seriously the nerve of some people, I¡¯m shaking my head right now. Oh and I can''t forget about my promised chicken soup! Chapter 15: Alternate Battle of Waterloo Oh no! Napoleon¡¯s right flank had been routed by a combined Prussian and Austrian assault! Meanwhile Hougoumont is being heavily contested, with the farmstead changing hands between the combined forces of the Italian and Polish forces against the Russians, so far the compound has changed hands five times and currently the Russians have control, but for how long? Now La Haye Sainte on the other hand has remained firmly under British control, repelling every attempt made by the Bavarians at capturing the farmhouse. Oooo I¡¯m so giddy! It¡¯s like being inside a match of NTW! Except I¡¯m watching from the sidelines munching on my popcorn, and occasionally dodging a roundshot or two. And heyo looks like those four have survived the fourth floor! Ohohoho they¡¯ll be in for a treat! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª With the party: The group of four which consisted of a Rogue, a Barbarian, a Knight and a Cleric, had stepped inside the fifth floor after narrowly avoiding being captured by the patrolling ships in the fourth floor, had found themselves flabbergasted upon the sight they¡¯re witnessing. ¡°Wow, never seen a floor like this inside a dungeon before.¡± The Knight remarked. His companions responded with nods of agreement. Then a couple of seconds later, they observed a small group of Russian cossacks pursuing an unfortunate Italian. ¡°So what are we supposed to do?¡± The Cleric questioned, clutching her staff tightly. ¡°I mean there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll survive fighting everyone here¡­¡± As if responding to her question, a floating sign appeared in front of everyone, which read:
Your goal is to reach the otherside and enter the core room entrance located just on the other end of the battlefield without getting caught in the crossfire. How it is achieved is up to you. Good luck :) -Amelia Yokakko
¡°Well at least we don¡¯t have to fight every dungeon creature here.¡± The Knight said, letting out an awkward chuckle. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: And off they go! The rogue had to immediately dodge a stray roundshot after the sign disappeared. Look at them, they''re already off to a great start! They¡¯re approaching Hougoumont which the combined Italian and Polish forces had just wrestled control out of the Russians. You know what¡¯s interesting? The struggle over Hougoumont has resulted in far more casualties for both sides, not even the clash between Napoleon and Wellington at the center paled in comparison. Oh and update on the French right flank, the Bavarians had ceased attacking La Haye Sainte and swiftly moved to plug the gap before the Austrians and Prussians could take advantage of the opening. Seems like Napoleon is trusting hi *cough* her right flank completely to her Bavarian allies. The French has so far Ignored both Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte and are just pushing the center, even though La Haye Sainte is closer to the center. Who knows, we''ll see. It seems like the fighting has ceased at the center, neither side breaking through, wow even the Hougoumont battle silenced, it seems like the Polish and Italian garrison are rushing to repair the any damages inflicted upon the farm. The four adventurers are walking through a field of corpses, they encountered two Italian line infantry soldiers after a couple seconds of trudging trough a field of Russian, Polish, and Italian corpses. The two soldiers are frantically beckoning them inside the farm. ¡°I don¡¯t know who the four of you are but get inside quick! Before the Russians return!¡± A-and just like that those for have been taken inside the farm against their wills, just in time to as the Russians have decided to mount another attack on Hougoumont, and it looks like they¡¯re joined by a small contingent of British infantry. Fighting in the center has resumed between the French and the British. A band of Austrian cavalry has engaged with another band of Bavarian cavalry, and all along the right flank there''s small skirmishes between Austrian and Prussian forces and Bavarian forces, with neither side committing to a full scale offensive. Napoleon has deployed his achem her elite regiment of guards which shall not be named¡­ You know what I¡¯m just gonna get a closeup of the furious battle at Hougoumont! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Hougoumont, the four adventurers, Mary Linsworth (The Cleric) PoV ¡°Hold the gate!¡± Chaos engulfed the walled farm as explosions echoed around me, and the agonizing cries of the wounded filled the air. I kept reminding myself that these women were only dungeon creatures, but it all felt too real. I hoped my fellow adventurers shared this thought... it was the only thing keeping me steady amidst this cruel battlefield. I was trying desperately to heal the wounded, but these injuries¡­ they were beyond my current magical capabilities, bullet holes yes that''s easy, every cleric and healer for that matter, even those just starting out, are taught the basics of tending to bullet wounds, that was my first lesson at the temple of Theraelis, those lessons included punctured internal organs as a result of bullets wounds, but missing limbs? Almost everyone here had a missing limb, there''s nothing I can do as only Clerics and healers gifted with divine powers have been said to regrow limbs, but they are few and far between. All I could offer was comfort, a moment of relief as I watched the light fade from their eyes as they succumbed to their wounds. Moving to another soldier, I found her wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, clutching her stomach, staring into my eyes in silent, desperate plea. Never in my entire life have I been so helpless... Calm down, Mary. They¡¯re dungeon creatures, they¡¯ll come back... right? My thoughts shattered as a soldier in a white coat gripped my hands. Fear and despair were etched on her face, and as I looked closer, I saw that she was missing a leg. Tears streaked her face as she cried out to me in a language I couldn¡¯t understand. Oh, Theraelis Goddess of Life, what shall I do? I couldn¡¯t take much more of this¡­ Before I could respond to her anguish, a deafening crash pulled my attention to the gate. The heavy wooden doors had burst open¡ªno, they¡¯d been chopped apart and kicked in. The soldiers who had tried to hold them shut now lay lifeless, and a wave of green-coated soldiers surged in, launching into brutal combat. I stood, clutching my staff, when a voice called my name. Turning, I saw Sir Henry, the knight in our group, watching the battle with a worried gaze. ¡°Galerius found a way out undetected,¡± he said. ¡°William¡¯s already with him. I came to find you.¡± ¡°Lead the way!¡± I replied. I stopped running for a moment, and surveyed the battle occurring around the courtyard, watching soldiers fall to ground, pools of blood forming beneath them. I now understand why my father a veteran of the first Abercellian Civil War, had been so adamant in dissuading me from joining the military... I continued following after Henry. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: Hot damn this Russian sapper is going crazy! Armed only with one axe and a dream she''s decimating every opponent she comes across, speaking of, I see those four have found a way to escape undetected, too bad they¡¯ll be immediately spotted by British artillery¡­ Well regardless I¡¯ll be rooting for them, although that cleric girl seemed to have desperately attempted to heal the wounded Polish and Italian soldiers, practically all of the wounded had missing limbs, she was able to heal every bullet holes, couldn''t do anything about missing limbs, I''m not gonna comment on it. It looked like she wasn¡¯t coping with the situation very well, I mean honestly from her perspective it all looked so gruesome and very traumatizing to anyone that''s not been trained, that''s not even mentioning the fact that gunfire and artillery explosions are occurring everywhere. It doesn¡¯t help that they¡¯re all dungeon creatures who look and act like sentient people, who''ll respawn once the battle fully concludes. Honestly speaking I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she walks out with some form of PTSD upon witnessing this chaos, I would too, I''m not even gonna lie nor sugarcoat it. I imagine the barbarian and the knight have seen their fare share of death. Gonna have to do something extra for her just to make up for traumatizing her. Anyways moving on from this subject matter, the entrance to my core room is a good distance behind the British camp. It looks like the British artillery aren¡¯t interested in them, not surprising considering they have more important targets, though the same couldn¡¯t be said for the band of Cossacks heading their direction. That barbarian fellow leapt high into the air and did a downward slash with his greataxe, causing a massive shock wave to occur, killing two Cossacks and stunned the rest, some had been bucked off their horses. Now a portion of the British artillery and the Russian artillery are now honing in on our merry band of four adventurers. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Guys we gotta haul ass to the core room entrance we¡¯re not gonna survive here!¡± The Rogue frantically said, ¡°Especially now that the shock wave has bought us time, but they¡¯ll be onto us pretty so- HENRY WATCH OUT!¡± The Rogue shoved the Knight and he took a roundshot to the chest, which he somehow survived¡­ oh nevermind there''s a pile of empty potion bottles, man must¡¯ve chugged them instantly and shoved his friend out of the way. His party crowded around him as he¡¯s clutching his stomach and writhed around the ground. ¡°G-guys go o-n without me, I-I¡¯ll stay and h-hoold them off.¡± The Rouge strained, as both the Cleric and Barbarian helped him stand. ¡°B-but.¡± Before the Cleric could continue, the Rogue interrupted her. ¡°GO NOW! Before the potions wear off. I¡¯ll be seeing you outside the dungeon¡± The Rogue declared, brandishing two daggers, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. All three of his companions nodded before running off, then the Rogue slowly walked, or rather stumbled forward upon a regiment of Russian Pavlovsky Grenadiers Regiment. Their mitre caps are SO much cooler than a certain French guard regiment¡¯s bearskin, hmph. And yes I am crossing my arms. The regiment stopped marching, and aimed their muskets at the Rouge, sensing that he¡¯s essentially about to die, he threw two daggers, killing two soldiers with well aimed headshots. The regiment returned fire with a volley, and the Rouge fell to his knees, the only thing keeping him alive is the potions. For his last and final act, I don¡¯t know, he must''ve activated a spell or a skill, either way somehow appeared right in front of a soldier piercing her heart with another dagger, killing her instantly. Before falling to the ground and succumbing to his wounds. The Pavlovsky Grenadiers continued marching onto Hougoumont. While that Rouge certainly didn¡¯t do much damage, he did certainly buy time for the Polish and Italians defending the farm. Time to check on those three, and it looks like they¡¯re being chased by a band of British Dragoons, said Dragoons were shortly intercepted by French Cuirassiers. Yeah they¡¯re doing alright. Time to see what¡¯s going on at, what I¡¯ve dubbed as the La Haye Sainte front. The Austrians have decided to launch a daring frontal assault on entrenched Bavarian positions on the right. Ah I see now they¡¯re doing it to coincide with the British frontal assault in the center, and to alleviate pressure off of the Russians assaulting the Hougoumont and the left flank. I have no idea what the Prussians are doing, considering how the Austrians are getting battered by Bavarian Artillery, they seem to be cooking something as they''ve split their force into - Oh I see what they¡¯re doing! They are banking on the fact that the French forces would be too busy dealing with what¡¯s in front of them that they won¡¯t notice the Prussians sneaking around and hitting them from the sides. Let''s see if it works! The one exception is their cavalry which is assisting the frontal assaults undertaken by the Coalition. The Prussians forces sneaking to the left side of the battlefield are led by none other than a female Gebhard Von Blucher, and they¡¯re just about to cross paths with the three remaining adventurers. Oh they made contact, and those are frozen in place, staring at Gebhard Von Blucher him err herself, I will say that angled face combined with her long white hair tied into a ponytail is kinda h- WHOA WHOA! No bad Amelia, bad bad bad, just because these historical figures have been reincarnated into cute girls does not mean you can go thirst after them! B- ¡°NO! Perish the thoughts, Cease and Desist, I will waste precious mana and send you to horni jail!¡± ¡°Did somebody hear that?¡± A Prussian soldier said, frantically scanning her surroundings, ¡°I swear I heard something.¡± ¡°Must¡¯ve been the wind.¡± Chimed another. Oops, I must¡¯ve said that out loud, hehe. Achem moving on, Blucher has decided to let the three go, her reasoning was that she couldn¡¯t risk alerting the French of their location if an altercation were to occur. And with that said the two groups went on their merry way, just a couple more kilometers and those three should reach the entrance to my core room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Mary Linsworth PoV: We¡¯d just stopped right in front of the core room entrance, with me collapsing to the ground and leaning against the wall, hoping to catch a break from all that running we did. It seems like I¡¯m not the only one who needs a breather, as my other two party members were panting just as heavily as I was. I thought we¡¯d be done for when those dark-blue coated soldiers caught us¡­ it was fortunate that the white haired lady wearing that visored cloth cap had spared us. We all sat, in relative silence before Sir Henry, recovering first, took off his helmet then stared at me with a look of concern. ¡°Madame Mary are you alright? You¡¯ve been out of it ever since we escaped that walled farmhouse.¡± I nodded, ¡°Yes I¡¯m okay now, thanks for asking.¡± I lied in a vain attempt to reassure him. In all honesty, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s convinced, though he¡¯s not showing it. Sir Henry nodded, ¡°Alright then, I won¡¯t push any further. Just know if something is bothering you please don¡¯t hesitate to come talk to us, we¡¯ll always lend you an ear.¡± He said. I smiled and replied ¡°Thanks, and yeah I will.¡± He turned his attention to a door with some symbols and engravings that I¡¯ve never seen before. ¡°Well if that note is to be believed then this should be the Core Room.¡± I got up, and pushed open the door, and we were greeted with beautiful scenery, wide open plains as far as the eye can see and the sun shining down on my face. William on the other hand approached a patch of primrose flowers, knelt down and plucked one off the ground, ¡°My mother will like this.¡± He said, stashing the flower away in his inventory. ¡°Hey there''s a pavilion up ahead!¡± Henry said, pointing to the pavilion in question, ¡°And there''s a pedestal with a blue orb levitating above it.¡± He then turns his attention to William and I, ¡°Now normally we would¡¯ve received a notification by now and us getting teleported back to the entrance, but I¡¯m guessing the Dungeon wants us to admire this scenery. So everybody remember your dungeon manners.¡± He explained, then equipped his helmet back on. Just then two high elves, one with gold hair, the other with blue hair, wearing deep royal blue coats and light gray trousers and a type of visored cap made out of bearskin¡­? It''s also got a gold plate just above the visor. Um well anyways they approached us, their firearms on their shoulders. One of them is happily waving to us. Then as they got closer, the woman on the left greeted us, ¡°Hello! And welcome to Great Mother Amelia¡¯s Core Room, please enjoy the scenery oh and bec - ACK!¡± Before she could finish, the woman on the right smacked the back of her head. ¡°You were about to tell them and ruin the secret.¡± She chastised, then the woman on the right continued ¡°And to add to what this knucklehead to my left said, go have fun and explore the Core Room, it''s HUGE! You have ten minutes before you get teleported away so make the most of it.¡± The woman on the left, who was previously pouting, and was rubbing the back of her head suddenly smiled, ¡°Oh yes! Definitely, just don¡¯t go to the barracks it''s off limits.¡± I''ve just taken a good look at two, and wow, high elves as dungeon creatures... just wait till those stuck up pricks in the far north hear about this. They''ll never be able to live this down. ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but what are your names?¡± I asked, ¡°I mean I don¡¯t want to keep referring to the two of you as ¡®woman on the left/right¡¯. I¡¯m Mary, this fellow to my right is knight Sir Henry, and the barbarian who¡¯s busy plucking flowers is William.¡± The two looked at each other then back at us, then the woman on the right introduced herself first ¡°I am Lianala, and this knucklehead to my left is Thurana, we both are enlisted in the 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment, and our regiment serve as guardians of the Core.¡± Thurana flashed us a goofy smile. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV Those two devils are trying to convince these guys to run into a wall, THERE''S absolutely no way they¡¯ll fall for it right? Wait, that Barbarian guy, William was it? He¡¯s finished plucking flowers, and told the group that he is going to explore my Core Room. Oh my god he¡¯s walking straight west, there''s no way. I can see devious smirks forming on the faces of the two devils, aaaand he bumped into a wall, he¡¯s fallen onto the ground¡­ That took about three minutes and forty seven seconds, I can hear laughter ringing from somewhere, probably someone hiding themself, and those two rapscallions are trying and failing to contain their laughter. Man that¡¯s really foul, I feel so bad for that barbarian. If that was me I¡¯d permanently shut myself in only going out for work and necessities. The humiliation would be too much for me bear. The Knight, Sir Henry I think his name was, well anyway he ran to William, and helped the poor guy up, who¡¯s still disoriented from walking into a solid wall. William rapidly shook his head three times, frantically poking and prodding at the wall, but alas all he found was just a solid wall. Upon this realization, this buff macho barbarian, curled up into a ball and, wait is that a tear streak? Oh my god he¡¯s crying, Henry sat next to him, trying to comfort him. Thurana finally broke, and began openly laughing , much to the chagrin of both Henry and I think Mary? Yeah Mary, who marched right up to Thurana¡¯s face, it looks like she¡¯s fuming with anger. ¡°Oi! This isn¡¯t funny, look at what you¡¯ve done to Henry!¡± Mary yelled, ¡°He¡¯s bawling his eyes out, and don¡¯t think you''re off the hook either Miss Lianala.¡± Lianala shrugged her shoulders, ¡°Look, ain''t my fault he fell for such an obvious bait.¡± She explained, ¡°If it makes him feel better then I was planning on giving him something extra for getting tricked into running into a wall.¡± Thurana calmed down, and chimed in, ¡°Mhm, Lianala and I planned on handing out some extra personalized goodies to outsiders that we tricked. Plus it''s funny.¡± Mary doesn¡¯t look convinced and raises an eyebrow in response. ¡°You don¡¯t look convinced. Well then watch.¡± Lianala stated, then snapped her fingers, within seconds a bag materialized within William¡¯s hands. He stopped crying and inspected the contents of the bag, inside was a wide array of different flowers and seeds to grow said flowers. The barbarian who had just been crying, stopped then as if a rainbow appeared overhead, he smiled wide. William turned to look at the Knight, ¡°My mother will be ecstatic when I give this to her!¡± Well that sorted itself out, honestly I was gonna give a sapper¡¯s axe to make up for the prank. Anyways the two stood and reunited with Mary, Thurana and Lianala. ¡°So, how much time do we have left?¡± Henry asked. ¡°About three minutes and twenty-seven seconds of me saying this.¡± Lianala replied, ¡°Still plenty of time, mind you.¡± ¡°That''s okay, besides we¡¯ve kept our teammate waiting for too long.¡± Henry said, getting nods of agreements from William and Mary. ¡°Alright buh-bye, come again soon!¡± Thurana cheerfully exclaimed, waving at the three as they began to slowly de-materialize. I¡¯m glad that everything conveniently worked out in the end! Oh shoot I forgot to give that Cleric a message! Fortunately they¡¯re still teleporting, so I can write up something quick - aaand send. Hopefully she reads it¡­ Anyways, time to finish spectating the battle - and OH COME ON I missed the climax, did anyone even win? Oh the fighting seems to have paused, I technically didn''t miss the climax. Um let¡¯s see, Hougoumont is a complete mess with the Russians coming out on top, La Haye Sainte has been captured by the Bavarians, a total surprise considering how dug in the British were, oh wait I see now the French had assisted the Bavarians in assaulting the farm, cause I see some French soldiers alongside Bavarians. I guess the Prussian sneak attack, well it sort of worked since I see a combined Russian and Prussian garrison on Hougoumont, yet it completely failed on the left flank, that is to say Wellington''s left flank. From the looks of it the French seemed to have assisted the Bavarians on the right flank which I''m guessing relieved pressure off of them. Damn I haven¡¯t even checked the number of soldiers present, I¡¯ll uh take a look after the battle concludes, anyways off to floor three! Chapter 16: Zombie Survival on floor 3 (An Extraordinarily Late Halloween Special) Amelia PoV: Before I get started with what I¡¯m planning on doing, let¡¯s get to summoning sappers! Because this floor desperately needs them. First off, I¡¯m gonna summon an Austrian sapper at the townhall, and it looks like the Austro-Ottoman force is hastily rebuilding their barricades, but it could be so much better, with a sapper. Uhh let¡¯s see, creature limit.
Floors->Floor 3 Theme: Small Urban City Special Feature Active: Undead Outbreak Capacity: 64/64 Sappers: 0/2
Interesting, but I don¡¯t see them in the creature list, maybe I just gotta think about them? Wait before I do so, I gotta check how much mana I¡¯ve got. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 50,735/67,547 Level 16 Mana: 320/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 5/12 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Nice I gained xp and my mana is full, hopefully I can afford two sappers, alright here we go, one sapper please! Specifically an Austrian Sapper. A figure began to materialize in front of the Town Hall steps, she wore a white coat with blue lapels and cuffs and white trousers tucked inside knee length black boots, alongside a brown chest height apron, to top it off she¡¯s wearing the same helmet that the Infantry Regiment Nr.1 wore. Lastly she wore white gloves. Hmm yeah she¡¯s great, especially with that axe she¡¯s currently wielding, but before I unleash her, I¡¯m gonna add one extra piece of equipment to her kit. On her backpack, or knapsack if we¡¯re gonna be technical, I¡¯m gonna attach a shovel on the left, this should help with creating earthworks. I¡¯m gonna call her Franziska. And with that done, the final cost is around 125 mana, oh yeah I¡¯ve got plenty of mana left for a second sapper. Anyways Franziska was released from her stasis, in which she scanned her surroundings, and sprung into action bellowing out a mighty warcry and chopped the heads of two zombies clean off, freeing an Ottoman soldier who was previously grappled by them. Heading to the barracks courtyard, I¡¯m gonna copy paste my custom regiment and create a Moon Elf sapper, except she will have a gray apron as part of her attire. After paying 125 mana, a Moon Elf girl materialized in the middle of the courtyard wielding an axe, unmoving. Hmm, what shall I call her? Oh I know! I¡¯ll call her Yrneha, and release! Just like with Franziska, she scanned her surroundings, before making a mad dash toward the gate, specifically the weakening barricade. Alright I¡¯ve finished what I wanted to do, now what? Speaking of, I believe Halloween is right around the corner, I should do something special when the day comes. Do people in this universe even celebrate Halloween? Or is there like an Halloween adjacent tradition that people celebrate her? Huh well regardless I¡¯m gonna celebrate it in my own way, maybe not putting decorations, good lord that¡¯s gonna be mana intensive. I mean I AM on a zombie themed floor, so why not celebrate it here by surviving as many waves as I can, yeah and just to make it more challenging I¡¯ll do it by the town hall, you know cause there''s no perimeter walls like the barracks. This is gonna be so much fun, I¡¯m feeling very giddy right now and I haven¡¯t even started! Oh perfect timing Karland sent me a message, I had just finished a very simple endless system, I¡¯ll work on refining it later, but for right now it¡¯ll do. I Pulled up my menu screen, oh I didn¡¯t even notice the bell icon at the top right. Pressing it, and I¡¯m taken to the chat interface. Kar_87: I¡¯m outside with some friends met them a week after I met you! anyways where you at? Amelia Yokakko: *edited* Hey that''s graete great! Happy that you made more firnds friends and yes I¡¯m on my third floor why? Kar_87: Yup oh and Hang on I''m gonna add you to a group chat with my friends talk to you there Wait what, man I didn¡¯t know group chats existed, this just proves how lacking I am in the social media department. Oh I see a new tab conveniently labeled ¡®Group Chats¡¯ I press and the first gc I see Is titled ¡®Deep Sea Merkin Where?!?!?!?!¡¯ With five people in it, one of them being me Uhh was the sole reason for this gc¡¯s creation just to talk about Mayna? That¡¯s kinda weird not gonna lie¡­ Well, let¡¯s go see what they say. Sockpuppet: So this her? @Kar_87? Kar_87: Yep! Realtor51: So remind me again why are we talking on this group chat when we¡¯re all outside physically together? Kar_87: So that we can talk to @Amelia Yokakko Welp I¡¯ve been pinged looks like now is as good as time to chime in. Amelia Yokakko: err hi um why are ya¡¯ll outside my dungeon? Sockpuppet: Cmon spill the beans where''s that Merkin you allegedly have! Amelia Yokakko: omg, fine here Sent picture of Mayna Yes I renamed the file, just for me to easily locate it as opposed to something generic. Sockpuppet: WHOA no way man I wouldn¡¯t have believed this if it didn¡¯t come from a dungeon! I wanna see her!!! Amelia Yokakko: Oh hell no not if you''re just gonna bother her endlessly then I¡¯m not letting you near her Sockpuppet: What WHY Guardian: Ember just give it up this is Amelia¡¯s dungeon and besides we already got what we came for Sockpuppet: ;( Guardian: Amelia I am sorry about our friend here she can be a little excitable when it comes to topics she¡¯s interested in Kar_87: Agreed, well it''s time for us to head back I just wanted to show my friends about that Deep Sea Merkin Amelia Yokakko: WAIT! Don¡¯t go just yet come inside I¡¯ll teleport ya¡¯ll to my third floor I was just about to set up a challenge and it¡¯ll be better with friends! Kar_87: Ooooooo, well guys let¡¯s head inside and see what my friend is cooking! I smiled, as I felt the presence of four dungeon avatars entering the first floor, I floated over to the town hall, manifested my avatar, startling an unfortunate Austrian who witnessed me materialize in front of her. Fortunately I didn¡¯t get hit, um anyways I snapped my fingers and four figures appeared in front of me. Nobody got startled this time. So the four people standing in front of me, forming a , uhh let¡¯s see, Karland hasn¡¯t changed since the last time I saw her. ¡°Hey, I assume that all of you know my name but may you introduce yourselves?¡± A man with short brown hair and handlebar mustache, wearing this clean black and white checkered tuxedo with a similarly patterned top hat. He stepped forward, removed his tophat and curtsied, before putting it back on. ¡°Mortals have referred to me as the Oblivion Guardian Dungeon, but please call me Guardian.¡± A girl with blue and red eyes as well as silver hair styled into twin pigtails stood before me, wearing half a black shirt that revealed her midriff or something like that. She also paired it with a short leather jacket and a black pleated leather skirt. Completing her look were thigh-high stockings and gold heels. ¡°Hi! My name is Ember Crucible I go by Sockpuppet on the group chat, but please call me Ember. Oh my gosh it¡¯s SO nice to finally meet you! Karland talked about you, a lot.¡± Eek! I didn¡¯t even fully register what she said, cause she said it all so fast, and the fact that she zoomed right up to my face. She¡¯s smiling, unnaturally wide, and I swear I could see stars forming in her eyes. ¡°Whoa, too close - ack!¡± I was engulfed in a very tight hug, I struggled feebly to escape but her grip is just too strong! Next thing I know is Ember is encased in a dark-blue and she¡¯s lifted into air as she flails around, in a vain attempt to break free. ¡°Hey! Let me go, I did nothing wrong¡­ at least not this time.¡± The perpetrator in question doesn¡¯t look, um how do I say this? Is that they don¡¯t look uh fleshy? More like a tall humanoid rock person. Man what''s the word, It¡¯s somewhere in my brain, ah! A lithoid, that¡¯s right that person looks like a lithoid from that space game my younger sister loves to play so much. ¡°Hold on wait a minute, Ember, what do you mean by ¡®not this time¡¯?¡± I asked, narrowing my eyes as I probed the girl for answers. Ember stops flailing around, begins to look nervous ¡°Um well uhh you see.¡± ¡°Basically what happened was that five days ago, Ember over here burnt down the forest surrounding her dungeon which spread to a nearby town.¡± The Lithoid person interjected. Oh my god this girl¡¯s a liability! And not just a liability but an arsonist! I fear for the people residing in the settlement that¡¯s literally right outside my door¡­ their mental health that is. Ember¡¯s face went bright red, ¡°It was an accident!¡± She snapped back. ¡°And will you put me down!¡± Well no sooner after she said that, the embarrassed girl was placed right back on the ground right next to the Lithoid person. ¡°If I may add,¡± Guardian said joining in the conversation, ¡°She had this look of pure bliss and ecstasy while the blazing inferno was raging, it¡¯s truly a miracle that nobody got hurt, not that anyone was gonna get hurt anyways, well asides from that poor adventurer party that had just entered her dungeon right when the fire started, they were unlucky enough to be immediately burnt to a crisp upon entry. Fortunately nothing bad happened to the forest and everyone else in the town and inside the forest when flames began. Well nothing that¡¯s physical at least.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I remember now, yeah after that incident the locals of that town nicknamed her quote ¡®the Dungeon of Arsonism¡¯ which honestly is pretty funny.¡± Karland added. Oh wow now even Karland is joining in, aaand the girl¡¯s already red face, became even more brighter. And man that is so devious and straight foul, man I hope I get such an equally foul nickname! ¡°I swear I¡¯m a normal dungeon! I just love fire, that''s all!¡± Ember shouted, desperate to clear her name, but all she received was a mix of disapproving glances and a giggle from Karland. ¡°Okay guys we¡¯re getting sidetracked here.¡± I said, attempting to redirect the conversation back to the original topic. ¡°Now if our dear friend next to Ember can introduce themself, then we can continue with what I¡¯ve got planned!¡± Then the Lithoid stepped forward much to Ember¡¯s relief ¡°Right, my name is Solitude, I go by Realtor in the dungeon chat, it''s a pleasure to meet you in person. And yes my appearance is that of a Stone Golem.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s a pleasure to meet all of you!¡± I said, I was about to continue when I received a tap on my left shoulder. Turning to face the, well the tapper, I find that it¡¯s an Austrian soldier, staring at me with a stern face. She saluted, then spoke. ¡°Ma¡¯am the defenses are ready, I suggest you and your companions come to the town hall before the cannibals arrive.¡± After the girl relayed that bit of information to me, she saluted and sprinted back towards town hall. I turned back to see shocked expressions from all three, minus Solitude. Why is Karland shocked? She literally interacted with two of my creatures! Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, I am truly puzzled, I mean yeah sure I don¡¯t have the standard fantasy dungeon monsters, but like everyone is so surprised when they come here for the first time. Ember zipped right onto my face, grabbing hold of my coat, and she began violently shaking me,¡°What¡¯s wrong? WHAT''S WRONG?! WHY DO YOU HAVE HUMANS AS DUNGEON CREATURES! DEEP SEA MERKINS IS ONE THING, BUT HUMANS HOW!¡± First of all, ouch my ears, holy smokes, second of all, ugh I think I¡¯m gonna puke¡­ fortunately she let go of me, causing me to stumble for a bit, but I very quickly corrected my balance. ¡°I don¡¯t understand? I mean sure my arsenal is a bit unorthodox but I seriously don¡¯t think it¡¯s such a big deal.¡± I responded. Karland recovered from her stupor ¡°Wow I honestly should¡¯ve known that Jeannette and Earalyn were your dungeon creatures, the signs were all there, I even felt dungeon magic radiating off of them.¡± She said, ¡°I guess it had slipped my mind, due to me being overly excited at the prospect of meeting my first friend.¡± Guardian approached hands behind his back as Ember was forcefully levitated away as she screamed curses and profanities that I¡¯d rather not divulge, I¡¯m sure another PoV will provide a detailed account of the things Ember said¡­ What was I saying? Oh right Guardian is speaking, I should focus on listening. ¡°Yes indeed the prospects of having sapients as dungeon creatures, is an incredible rarity among dungeons, which is to say, only limited to monsters that can attain sapience¡± Guardian explained, ¡°But Humans as dungeon creatures? Nope practically unheard of.¡± So what I¡¯m hearing is that I¡¯m unique? That''s I mean yeah, I understand that part, are there any other dungeons that have musket wielding enemy encounters? Nope I don¡¯t think so! I was about to continue speaking when in the sky I saw an interface that said ¡®WAVE: 1¡¯ oh snap, the initial grace period ended and the wave had started. It seemed like I wasn¡¯t the only one that saw it, as everyone was staring at the skies. ¡°Guys, no time to explain! I¡¯ve invited you guys to see how long we can last against an increasing wave of undead or as I like to call them cannibals an- KARLAND BEHIND YOU!¡± My frantic explanation was cut off as three my saber at a shambling cannibal about to strike Karland. Uhh I missed it entirely, but fortunately Karland whipped behind her just in time to dropkick the cannibal. And my saber reappeared inside the scabbard. Ember beamed at two cannibals slowly approaching her, ¡°Ooooooo I¡¯ll cremate the already undead dead!¡± Uhh I don¡¯t like that deranged smile Ember has, and she incinerated both cannibals all while laughing maniacally¡­ With those two gone, wave one ends and there¡¯s a twenty second cool down before the next wave. ¡°Guys follow me to the town hall NOW, we¡¯re completely sitting ducks and it¡¯ll only get harder from here.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: Wave four just ended with relative ease, though I suspect a new type will appear at wave five and the difficulty spiking at wave ten, so far the defenses are holding and by now my four guests have understood the objective and have taken positions around the town hall, with me and my musket holding the town hall entrance as the cannon crew worked round-the-clock in loading and firing the cannon, of course I specifically instructed them to strictly use canistershot. At one point I had to tackle a charging Ottoman out of the way as she would¡¯ve been incinerated alongside the cannibals by Ember who¡¯s going around recklessly using her fire spells. Both Guardian and Solitude are holding the western side of the courtyard. Guardian¡¯s sharp throwing cards sliced through shamblers with ease, while Solitude''s spikes were very good for crowd control. Karland is located on the eastern side of the courtyard, she¡¯s demolishing cannibals with incredible ease dual wielding short swords and occasionally firing a spell or two. All in all we haven¡¯t lost anyone. Oh yep here comes the runners, and they tackled the Nr.1¡¯s flag bearer, and she¡¯s done for as another runner joined, and are hidden behind a crowd of shamblers. They were all burnt as I heard deranged and gleeful giggles coming out of Ember as everyone hit burnt to literal ash. She also unintentionally burnt two soldiers who were rushing to save the flag bearer. MY GOD EMBER IS UNHINGED! SHE¡¯S WAY MORE DANGEROUS TO US THAN SHE IS TO THE ZOMBIES!!!! Fortunately the wave ended, giving me the breathing room I needed to scold that arsonist for team killing, even if one of them was most likely a goner. I inhaled a mouthful of air then screamed at the top of my lungs ¡°EMBER, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!¡± Which earned a yelp from Ember and within seconds rushed over to me. ¡°Um Yes Ma¡¯am!¡± Ember stiffened, and offered a salute. I walked right up close to her face, she offered me a nervous smile, ¡°WATCH WHERE YOU THROW YOUR FIRE SPELLS YOU JUST KILLED TWO OF MY GUYS!¡± ¡°Hehe oops?¡± Ember faltered, looking more fearful for her life with each passing second and throwing on a strained smile. I facepalmed, ¡°Look just don¡¯t hit one my guys again, or I¡¯m gonna enjoy watching you survive on your own.¡± ¡°Eep!¡± And there she goes sprinting away, as wave six has starts, welp time to get ready, I¡¯m pretty sure the difficulty will spike from here on out. Man where¡¯s that artillery support? I heard a massive explosion and bore witness to Karland¡¯s lifeless body land just a few meters away from the cannon, and omg ew there''s some decayed guts next to her. ¡°Bloaters Incoming!¡± I heard another explosion and this time chunks of solid rock flew everywhere, and I wasn¡¯t paying attention so I got hit in the stomach. On a second note, I was hoping we wouldn¡¯t meet bloaters till much later, since I made the spawning of new zombie types random after runners were introduced, naturally there¡¯s also a chance that nobody new shows up. Owch¡­ man this is getting ridiculous, ¡°Everyone fall back to the cannon and for god¡¯s sake STOP MELEEING THE BLOATERS!¡± Simultaneously both Karland and Solitude appeared in the air encased in an invisible box, granting them a great view of the, well I suppose the play area, both have the number five above their heads, wow there''s even a leaderboard floating next alongside them. Well time to kill some zeds! I mean cannibals, I mean- you know what just forget it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: A couple more bloater explosions later and two more waves later, and the zombie sappers being introduced in the last wave. Guys it¡¯s not looking good, half our team is down, partially due to the fault of ACHEM, a certain someone. Franziska being the only Sapper is struggling to build new barricades as they get instantly destroyed by bloaters, if not them then a huge horde. Chat are we cooked? Man I didn¡¯t expect the difficulty to get THIS hard, especially at such an early wave, yeah after this I¡¯m going to have to make tweaks cause the amount of zombies spawning this early is frankly ridiculous. Okay so side tangent this is a lot of fun, and I¡¯m one hundred percent replacing my current alternative to this one. But right now I¡¯ve got more important things to worry about, as I see cannibals approaching, wave nine has begun. ¡°Everyone retreat inside the town hall! We¡¯re not gonna last long outside.¡± I ordered, ¡°I¡¯ll hold them off, buy enough time for Franziska to construct barricades inside, oh and Ember try not burn down the town hall!¡± I slung my musket over my shoulder and unsheathed my saber, I charged at a huge horde of zombies, sliced one in half and kicked another, knocking them on the ground. Then the group of cannibals was pushed to the sides and in the middle stood an undead French sapper¡­ Its uniform was torn and tattered with blood soaking Its previously white gloves and on Its apron. Raising Its equally blood soaked axe, the cannibal swung, and I barely managed to parry the strike. I countered by lunging forward, and I managed to slash it on its left thigh. Tch, no good I¡¯m gonna need to cause more damage before It goes down, but I have to be careful as one strike and I¡¯m as good as dead. The zombie sapper let out a roar, as more zombies closed in on me, well lads surviving till wave eight, not bad for a newbie attempt, though I would¡¯ve preferred to survive long- why am I hearing giggling? Soon after I heard the giggle a literal tsunami of fire appeared, engulfing the growing horde and disappearing just as quickly as it appeared, leaving nothing but ash in the aftermath. Suddenly Ember revealed herself next to me, smirking smoke emitted from her hands.. I turned to Ember, hands on her hips. ¡°Thanks, I thought that I would¡¯ve been a goner.¡± I said, flashing her a grateful smile. ¡°No way I would¡¯ve been able to take on that horde and a sapper by myself.¡± Huh no more zombies are spawning guess the wave ended, ¡°Has everyone retreated inside?¡± I asked. Ember gave an affirmative nod, ¡°mhm, everyone but you and me, Guardian is on the second floor, in one of the rooms with that tiny cannon pointing out. It¡¯s unfortunate that we lost three teammates.¡± ¡°I see¡­ well let¡¯s not stay out, those runners are really nasty with the surprises.¡± I said, picking up my saber and sprinting inside the town hall, Ember not far behind me. And just in time too, I heard growling behind us marking the start of wave ten. The moment we entered, an Ottoman soldier, yatagan sword in hand, shut the door, as two Austrians pushed an empty wine cabinet. ¡°Milady and Ember, the second floor this cabinet won¡¯t hold forever.¡± The first Austrian soldier strained holding the cabinet as the pounding on the door gets stronger and louder. ¡°Right.¡± I responded with a swift nod, before making my way up the stairs, and right on cue I heard heavy pounding on the door and- OH MY GOD THERE''S AN AXE HEAD THROUGH THE DOOR. The door smashed open, knocking the cabinet down, and a horde of cannibals rushed inside, a cannibal grabbed hold of the second Austrian soldier¡¯s left leg, knocking her to ground before she could set foot on the stairs. Seconds later the poor girl was dragged screaming outside. Yep she¡¯s dead. By now the four of us had reached the second floor with the cannibals not too far behind us. ¡°Guh they¡¯re still behind us open fire.¡± Greta appeared, at the top of the stairs ¡°You four get down now!¡± I obliged and hit the floor, not a moment to soon as something fell on top of the stairs and rolled down, followed by crunching noises. BOOM! The building shook from the shockwave, as whatever exploded caused a chain reaction of what I presume to be bloater explosions that was fortunate enough to be in the blast radius. I stood up, dusted my trousers, ¡°What was that?¡± I asked while I approached Greta. The officer saluted, ¡°Powder barrel with a lit fuse, but ma¡¯am don¡¯t celebrate just yet there¡¯s more approaching, soon.¡± ¡°Oh well, that¡¯s nice, where¡¯s Ceyiz? Haven¡¯t seen her in a while.¡± ¡°She¡¯s guarding the cellar, or some call it the basement.¡± Greta responded, she was about to continue when the Nr.1¡¯s fifer frantically arrived. ¡°Ma¡¯am¡¯s more cannibals approaching and fast!¡± She said in between breaths. Greta drew her pistol, as I unsheathed my saber. ¡°Franziska¡¯s barricade won''t last long, paired with the fact that she perished outside. And while the stairwell makes a good choke point we¡¯re too few in numbers to effectively hold it, fortunately there¡¯s a room with two swivel guns inside. There we can make our last stand.¡± She plainly stated. ¡°I agree.¡± I said, then turning behind me to face Ember, who¡¯s been quiet this whole time. ¡°Ember you coming?¡± She shook her head before giving this erm smile¡­ I don¡¯t know how to describe it except that it''s unsettling and way too gleeful¡­ ¡°No, I¡¯ve got undead to fry~¡± The arsonist responded, that smile unfaltering. I think that the Austrian soldier behind her is visibly shaking like a leaf when she caught a glimpse of that smile... I think, it could be the combination of both her and the zombies cannibals. I don¡¯t even know what to say in response. ¡°Uhh yeah sure just try not to burn the building.¡± ¡°Hehe, no promises~¡± She giggled, "Now shoo, you four get into that room now!" Good lord, I¡¯m actually starting to feel so very bad for the cannibals right now¡­ Anyways three of us hurried ourselves into said room and shut the door behind us, while the fifer stayed and another soldier stayed behind and assist Ember. I can now hear what sounds like a flamethrower and her devious laughter. ¡°How many of us are here?¡± I asked, turning to Greta. "Also where''s Franziska?" ¡°About eleven excluding myself, and you, three of which are out on the balcony including that strange gentleman with the suit of black and white. And Franziska is in the Basement with Ceyiz" Greta answered, all while Ember was in the background laughing maniacally accompanied by again the sound of a flamethrower. Then it stopped abruptly. YO WHY IS IT SILENT ALL OF A SUDDEN! ¡°EVERYONE STAY AWAY FROM THE DOOR!¡± I shouted, to which everyone frantically overturned whatever piece of furniture around and hid behind them. I quickly rushed to an overturned table on the left side of the room alongside an Ottoman who¡¯s missing her Fez cap and hid behind it. The room was silent save for the firing of the swivel gun which was positioned by the window facing outside and the crackle of musket fire by soldiers on the balcony. An hour passes without a hint of sound beyond the door. I took a peek at the wave counter and my eyes almost popped out when I saw that we¡¯ve reached wave seventeen, man Ember is doing work that I barely even register the grace period between each wave¡­ The fact that it¡¯s silent out there means that Ember perished at some point in the last wave. I turn to my companion sitting beside me, I can tell that she¡¯s nervous, she''s even shaking just a tiny bit. ¡°Hey, I can see that you''re scared, I am too, we all are.¡± She turns to face, with a look of fear in her eyes, ¡°Forgive me great Sultana, for I am fearful of my life, as I¡¯ve never seen the cannibals this ruthless.¡± She frowns, ¡°The longest I¡¯ve fought against them is thirty minutes.¡± I lay a hand on her shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s gonna be alright, we¡¯ll make it through, and if not? Well at least we¡¯ve killed hundreds, maybe even thousands before we perished.¡± I smiled, trying to reassure the girl, who still looks uncertain, but at least she¡¯s no longer shaking like a leaf! Boom! The door flung open, forcing everyone to duck behind cover, as a horde came pouring inside, ¡°Everyone, fire at will!¡± Greta ordered, as we fired a volley, alongside the swivel gun loaded with canister shot fired, and we shredding the oncoming horde. However it was a futile effort as more kept pouring in, eventually getting to the point where nobody had the time to reload and had devolved into an intense melee. By now I decided to ditch my musket and unsheathed my saber as I locked eyes with an oncoming French Cuirassier... It''s a zombie cannibal Cuirassier to um be more specific, but anyways the walking rotting corpse vaulted over the table, but I effortlessly chopped off it''s head and it went down like a uhh sack? Okay nevermind... ¡°Bloater incoming!¡± Oh no, exactly the type I don¡¯t want to fight! Especially in a small crowded enclosed space such as this room. Uhh this is really bad and- The Bloater exploded the moment it made contact with a splinter from what was once the door. Fortunately it was still the entrance, unfortunately the explosion damaged the swivel gun and Franziska isn¡¯t here to repair it. Nobody here is using a Blunderbuss, not even a Nockgun, alright lads we¡¯re not making it past this round, gg well played RNGsus. Just to rub even more salt on an already large gash, another bloater arrived. Causing the few of us still alive to back, as I aimed my musket at the approaching bloater. I pressed the trigger and fired at the bloater now halfway in the room, killing it and also destroying our cover in the process. At least it killed all the other cannibals nearby. By now Guardian and the other two from the balcony had finally entered, ¡°Hey guys, y''all just missed the party!¡± I said. Our talk was cut short as a mass of cannibals ran into the room and- and oh snap! It¡¯s a horde of runners sprinting full speed towards us. I think about one or two of us reacted fast enough to shoot. Soon I found myself outside the town hall, alongside everyone and the map also reset. ¡°Yippeee! That was fun, let''s do it again sometime!¡± Ember exclaimed. I swear I could see stars in the girl¡¯s eye. ¡°I admit those, how shall I say¡­ fat zombies caught me by surprise when they exploded next to me.¡± Solitude said, wincing or whatever the equivalent of a wince is that a Stone Golem could make. I nodded, ¡°yep, those are no joke, and I designed them to be insta kills, so far nobody has survived a bloater explosion. ¡°You know Amelia, despite this rather unorthodox floor, I admit killing undead is strangely¡­ therapeutic?¡± Guardian said, ¡°Yes that''s right, therapeutic, especially if I picture them as annoying outsiders who are just insufferable.¡± The other three let out a collective groan, ¡°Um what? I asked, clearly I would like context please, I mean yeah there¡¯s always those people who are gonna be rude no matter what¡­ well, aside from those literally trying to kill me that is. ¡°Oh you sweet sweet summerchild Amelia you, so innocent ignorance is truly a bliss.¡± Karland said, walking up to me then wrapped an arm around my shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ll know when you meet them, and I¡¯m not talking about those people trying kill you, no they¡¯re far worse.¡± ¡°Uhhhh, o-kay.¡± I responded, with a hint of confusion, which earned a chuckle from Karland, as she separated herself from me and rejoined with the other three. ¡°Well guys, I had a lot of fun, thank you see you around sometime in the future!¡± I smiled, waving them goodbye, as one by one they teleported leaving Ember for last. ¡°Oh by the way if you find yourself in Ergon, then swing by in the southwestern part of the country near the town of Ponsca which is near the Laziran border town of Okarin, you¡¯ll find Guardian, and I nearby while Solitude is a bit further away near the town of Brecherton just north of Ponsca.¡± Ember said, smiling. ¡°Alright, will do!¡± She waved, before snapping her fingers and teleported away. Now my next order of business is tweaking endless and especially finding out why there was no artillery support. Chapter 17: The "Hero" Appears Amelia PoV: It¡¯s been a week since Karland and her friends visited, and to be honest not much has happened since. I mean yeah there were a couple of adventurers that entered which resulted in me gaining a nice amount of xp, I am SO close to leveling up! Also I found out why the artillery wasn¡¯t firing and well I¡¯m gonna be honest here and say that I forgot to enable it, that was pretty dumb huh? Well the mistake has since been rectified¡­ I hope so. Anyways I decided to go out and visit the city, you know since it¡¯s been a while, and oh man the city has changed drastically, gone are the tents replaced with actual buildings, it¡¯s like I¡¯ve been taken to a medieval fantasy city. Oh and I¡¯m somewhat of a local celebrity here, yeah I don¡¯t know how I should feel about that. Anyways, I am currently sitting at this nice little cafe just two blocks from my dungeon. I think the place is called ¡®The Cozy Brew¡¯, and boy let me tell you their coffee is amazing. Too bad caffeine doesn¡¯t affect me, which is a shame. Sitting beside me are Jeannette and Keamaris, the former did not hesitate to volunteer when I asked for a second volunteer to accompany me, while the latter was um voluntold? Yeah that¡¯s right Kaylin approached me with the girl in tow saying that she ¡°volunteered¡± to join. And you know I was initially worried but uh looks like the Elf girl has thus far enjoyed our little outing. Jeannette is currently deep into reading a book that we bought from a book store, actually she has a stack of books and would occasionally either take a bite out of her sandwich and or take a sip of coffee. Keamaris on the other hand is deeply enjoying the cafe¡¯s turkey sandwich, this is her third one thus far. Things were quiet. I like the calm vibes here. I like the floral wallpaper and the view overlooking the street. The staff is nice and their menu is great too. I¡¯m going to be a regular here, that is a fact! The door swings open and a tall dark red skinned muscular man with a set of black horns protruding from his forehead and on his back is I think some kind of big bat wings alongside a heart tipped tail and his outfit consists of the standard leather armor, really nothing special. He walks in, approaches the front counter and I think he¡¯s eyeing up the male barista at the back. Alright that¡¯s enough of that moving on. My gaze lands outside where I spot a group of individuals. I''d say about eight with seven girls and one guy with said guy walking at the front, I¡¯m going to guess based on a random whim that this guy is the leader, I don¡¯t know it¡¯s just a hunch. It¡¯s something about his appearance that is familiar¡­ I mean jet black hair with noticeable bangs, almost messy in an organized way, he¡¯s sporting basic leather armor, and he has a large sword on his back, and to top it all off the dude looks like he¡¯s a highschooler, probably a senior. But eh it¡¯s probably nothing. Um anyways all together they were nothing special except maybe the two of the seven girls sporting some big assets, but other than that no not really. Until a short girl wearing some kind of priest robes wielding a staff that has a star at the end suddenly stares at the muscular man still talking to the cashier lady. Alright, something tells me that things are gonna go down, ¡°Hey Jeannette, Keamaris, stay alert and prepare, a fight MAY occur, in particular that red man and the group standing outside.¡± Keamaris swallows her sandwich before glancing at both the man and the group, before grabbing her musket that was propped up beside the table. Jeannette on the other hand continued to be engrossed in her book and gave a thumbs up in response. The red man now holding a paper bag, waved at the cashier with a smile on his face, turned around only to be met with the guy now with his sword pointing at the man¡¯s neck, behind him is his entourage of girls all with weapons drawn. ¡°So a demon? Out in the open with no disguise, how very brave¡­ or perhaps stupid.¡± The Guy said, locking eyes with the red man who has visible sweat dripping down the sides of his head. He put on a smile, albeit an awkward one, ¡°Hey now let¡¯s not get too hasty here, I ain''t done nothin besides buy my boyfriend a coffee with extra milk and a ham sandwich, and yeah I¡¯m a demon, so what? I¡¯m not ashamed to admit it.¡± ¡°A likely story since you''re a demon, and hah! He even openly admitted it! Now release these people from whatever mind tricks you placed!¡± The Highschooler looking guy said, squinting his eyes all while pressing his sword to the Red man¡¯s chest. Alright man, this is getting ridiculous. I''m gonna intervene at this blatant harassment towards an innocent man! Just as I was about to get up, a gruff old man dressed pretty similarly to a merchant in the Renaissance. ¡°Alright what¡¯s this commotion about?¡± The man said in an irritated tone, as he approached the group arms crossed. ¡°Eh, who are you?¡± The familiar boy said. His appearance and general aura is so very familiar that I swear I¡¯ve seen him before. I just can¡¯t place it, you know. It¡¯s in the back of my head I just can¡¯t recall. ¡°I¡¯m the owner of this establishment, and from what I see here you''re harassing and threatening a customer, so either you stop right here right now or I¡¯ll call the guard.¡± The gruff old who revealed himself as the owner sternly responded. Oh boy he looks really angry after hearing that response, he was about to open his mouth when one of the girls finally stepped and whispered something in his ear, and the guy huffed sheathed his sword and motioned for his entourage to follow him as he left. The owner apologized and bowed to the Red man. ¡°Man those punks showing up killed the mood of this place.¡± I sighed and got up followed by Jeannette closing her book. ¡°Oh oh! Can I get another turkey sandwich? Please!¡± Keamaris asked, staring at me expectantly, hands clasped together. ¡°Sure.¡± I replied. ¡°Yay!¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The PoV of the dude who just got kicked out of ¡®Cozy Brew¡¯ Tch, I can¡¯t believe the owner threatened to call the guard on me! That guy was an Incubus, a DEMON honestly speaking, if that was anywhere else I would¡¯ve cut him down, but alas he must¡¯ve put a spell on him otherwise he would¡¯ve definitely sided with me! But what can you do? They¡¯ll eventually learn about the dangers they pose¡­ I look up into the great blue sky. It¡¯s been four months since my class and I got summoned, back then I was just a high school student in Japan. I remember now, we were summoned by the Methyr Theocracy and all of us were given a divine mission to save this world from the cruel reign of the Demon Lord and stop the expansion of their demonic empire! And it is a mission I shall fulfill by ridding this world of demons! And it seems the fears of the Theocracy¡¯s bishops rang true, the influence of demons has seeped so deeply into this country to the point where some are brazenly walking the streets without any fear, but before I make my report, where¡¯s the local dungeon? I must continue to increase my strength and to see what the fuss is about with this dungeon. Wait a minute, why do those outfits that those three girls are wearing look familiar? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: Yeah so the three of us are walking the crowded streets, occasionally we were approached by people, especially children, who all wanted autographs, so of course I accepted, man it feels good seeing them walk away with bright smiles. Another thing, apparently Keamaris has placed all of Jeannette¡¯s borrowed books into a pocket dimension of some kind, which actually explains how she got so many books. But uhh that¡¯s not the only thing, lately as in for the past minute or so I¡¯ve been noticing that someone or something is how shall I say this, following us? No stalking us, yes one hundred percent. Everytime I turn behind me this sensation of being watched vanishes instantly, it¡¯s kinda unnerving, I even relayed this to both Jeannette and Keamaris who¡¯ve got their muskets on hand and have been intensely scanning our surroundings. But still this feeling hasn¡¯t gone away! And it¡¯s freaking me out, Keamaris suggested that we make a report to the guard, and I agreed with her suggestion, though I have no idea how much help they¡¯ll be. So after asking for directions we¡¯re off to the guard HQ which is that big stone brick building with a tower attached to its left. ¡°You see anything Keamaris?¡± I asked, turning to the Elf girl. ¡°She shook her head, ¡°No. Other than that group that¡¯s been trailing behind us, otherwise I haven¡¯t seen any suspicious individuals.¡± Speaking of that group, it¡¯s odd how that group from the cafe has been following behind us for a while now. I initially thought that they just so happen to be going in the same direction as us, but maybe they¡¯re the one stalking us? Best keep a distance and continue onwards to the guard HQ. Suddenly a short blonde haired girl wearing a black clok ran past us, stopping just in front of us, she was clearly out of breath. I of course ignored and walked past her while my two companions eyed her like a hawk. ¡°WAIT MISS DON''T GO!.¡± She cried out. I stopped and turned behind me to face that girl. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Um, my party leader wants to chat with you!¡± She said, even going as far as doing the dogeza. ¡°Uhh sorry but I have to report an incident of stalking to the city guard. Maybe after I talk to the guard.¡± I plainly stated, look I''m a dungeon, and there''s people that want to kill me, so of course I¡¯m not going to take any risks, and so I motioned for my companions to continue walking. By now the group had caught up to us, and that familiar looking boy who was at the front approached us. ARRGGHH! Stupid brain! Why can¡¯t I recall who this guy is! Ugh whatever. ¡°Miss If I may ask, what are you and your companions wearing?¡± He asked, giving me a serious expression. Err, this is the first time anyone has asked us that but uhhhh sure I''ll answer. ¡°My entire outfit is basically an, let¡¯s say an officer¡¯s uniform and the hat I¡¯m wearing is called a bicorne. Now my two lovely companions to summarize they¡¯re wearing trousers and coats or if we¡¯re being technical here, then coatees with crossbelts. As for their head headgear, well they¡¯re wearing a shako and the other a bearskin.¡± Suffice to say I had to catch myself from exposing the names of my companions, I don¡¯t trust these guys and like what if he¡¯s carrying a notebook that kills people by writing their name. Or something like that I dunno. I smiled, ¡°I am sorry for being rude, but the three of us must get going, I have something that I need to report to the guard.¡± ¡°R-right, sure yeah s-sorry for bothering you miss, we¡¯ll get going.¡± He stammered. God this guy is giving me the wrong vibes, gulp why are those seven girls suddenly staring daggers at me, like I¡¯m directly competing for something? Oh whatever, it''s not like I care. And we went our own separate ways. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV one hour later. We¡¯re now chilling at the park after visiting the guard HQ and making that report, they told me that they¡¯ll increase patrols for the rest of the week just in case. Good, I actually feel safer now knowing that the presence of guards has increased. But you know what¡¯s interesting, the feeling of being stalked disappeared as soon as I got talking to those guys earlier. Surely that can¡¯t be a coincidence right? RIGHT!? Anyways I digress, moving on we stayed about an hour or two at a park, Jeannette accidentally spilt the remains of her coffee on the book she was reading, um rather unfortunate, but she just shrugged and closed the coffee stained book. Currently I am now back inside my dungeon specifically in my first floor, I overhauled the whatchamacallit? The bulletin area? Okay well I removed all the signs, enlarged the bulletin, and moved all the contents from the signs into the board, I replaced the sign informing adventurers of my alternative with a new one stating they must survive at least wave twenty or higher in order to beat my dungeon. I even added a scoreboard to the right for waves! Right now I¡¯m just adding more decoration to liven up the place, especially since this is the first area people are gonna be visiting. Fufufu I can¡¯t wait to see people compete to survive the longest and - WHAT IS THAT COMMOTION OUTSIDE IT''S SO LOUD THAT I CAN HEAR IT INSIDE MY DUNGEON!!! I angrily stomp outside, ¡°Alright, what¡¯s -¡± I ducked below narrowly avoiding a fire bolt which left a scorch mark on the marble door behind me. Wait since when did the entrance door turn into sapphire? Oh my god Amelia now is not the time! I¡¯ll question it later. Ahh I see the culprits, standing not too far in front of me was that group I ran into earlier and they all have their weapons drawn¡­ out in the middle of the street mind you. They¡¯re engaging with a group of two guys, who might I add don¡¯t even fit the stereotypical demon look. I have no idea how a group of eight just fails to defeat two guys wearing monk robes. Great now the two groups are engaged in a shouting match. ¡°Those old farts at the Theocracy are just mad that they didn¡¯t bring down the ¡®Demon¡¯ Empire of Azrathal which for your information collapsed as a result of internal conflicts and rebellions, because running an empire the size of an entire continent is difficult, Azrathal only controls their northern ancestral lands, which is small compared to some of the other much larger nations they share the continent with.¡± ¡°Hah vile demon supporters, that''s what they MAKE you think, I guarantee you now that they''re amassing an army big enough to conquer not just their continent but also Maryura, NAY the whole planet!¡± ¡°Uhh, I don¡¯t think they''re in the position to make anymore conquests beyond their lands, and certainly both the Demon Lord and her husband have certainly learned their lesson. Plus the nations of Clauvara are more powerful today than they were a thousand years ago. Did you know the reign of Azrathal only lasted for a measly two years? The Abercellian Empire which once controlled all of Maryura two thousand years ago have only slowly declined, and the territory they still control, and yes I¡¯m counting both empires here, essentially splits the continent in half, a complete far cry of what they used to be. Though perhaps the eight of you should open a history book. And I¡¯m just gonna tune them out, I am actually losing brain cells just by listening to their shouting match. I then turned to the two guards beside me, ¡°Oi why aren¡¯t you two stopping them!¡± I demanded. The guard on my left scratched the back of his head, ¡°Well ma¡¯am as you can see it¡¯s just the two of us, ain''t no way we can handle those ten hooligans on our own. Plus we¡¯ve called for backup so they should arrive any minute now with heavy firepower.¡± I opened my mouth briefly, before closing. Damn he makes a good point, especially considering that they¡¯re just recklessly hurling spells, yeah I¡¯d do the same thing as these guys. Well in any case I¡¯m gonna put a stop to this madness before they actually hurt someone, ¡°guys stop!¡± Tch, their screaming drowns out my own scream. I¡¯ll have to increase my volume, ¡°GUYS STOP!¡± No use, they still can¡¯t hear me. That''s it, I didn''t wanna do this, but I¡¯m left with no other choice. I equipped my flintlock pistol, took two steps forward, pointing the pistol high into the air, and I fired. The resulting gunshot put a halt to whatever it is they¡¯re doing as all ten were now focused on me. ¡°CAN ALL OF YOU JUST CEASE YOUR ACT-¡± Just then numerous guards on horseback arrived on scene. A guard without a helmet dismounts from his horse, examines the scene, which also includes the abundant amount of scorch marks that litter the area. ¡°You know what, EVERYBODY TO THE STATION NOW!¡± Erm, officer I can explain! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: We¡¯re at a nearby guard station, we¡¯re sitting in this large spacious room all separated in three different sections, I¡¯m sitting alone on the left, those two guys are at the middle, and that group of eight are sitting on the right looking pretty cramped, clearly the space isn¡¯t big enough for eight people. Just up ahead is a man with a burly mustache standing beside a desk, in half plate hands behind his back. He doesn¡¯t look angry, or rather he has a disappointed look on his face. Nobody has said a word, not even when we were being escorted here, well aside from our escort telling us that we¡¯re under arrest for quote ¡®disturbing the peace, assault, discharge of a firearm within residential buildings, damage to public, private, and personal property¡¯ etc which was followed by reading us what was essentially our Miranda Rights. Stolen novel; please report. Then the boy stood up and opened his mouth to speak, but the officer glared at him. ¡°Save it for the judge boy.¡± The officer barked, then he turned to the two monks, ¡°Now then I¡¯ll start with you two. What¡¯s your defense? Actually I don¡¯t care, it''s not my job, I¡¯m here to tell all of you that you''re all placed under surveillance until your trial, which is next week. Failure to appear in court will result in one week jail time followed by one week of community service. Or alternatively you can pay the fine, we¡¯re still evaluating the damages and cost of repairs, but we will send you the fine tomorrow. Other than that all of you are free to leave.¡± Monk One stood up, glared at the group of eight, ¡°Ah screw the fine, we¡¯re taking those bastards to court!¡± Then the two monks walked out. ¡°Right back at you!¡± The boy said following them, until it''s just me and the officer left, he turned his attention toward me. ¡°Ma¡¯am you are free to leave, just that you¡¯ll be monitored.¡± He states. ¡°Oh I know that, but uhh you see what if I told you that I live in a dungeon.¡± I said, smiling awkwardly. ¡°Huh? What do you-¡± His eyes widened and almost popped out of their sockets, then he slammed his hands against his desk. ¡°You''re the avatar of the dungeon aren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Yep, that''s me!¡± I said, forming the V hand gesture on my hands. ¡°Also I would like the charges against me to be dropped, since I fired my gun to stop them from escalating. Those two guards posted at my dungeon entrance can vouch for me!¡± ¡°Hmm, well regardless that is for the judge to decide, but since the only charge against you is the discharge of a firearm within residential buildings. Which totals to thirty five gold coins, and that is the highest.¡± He explained. Darn it! But, I mean eh, I¡¯ll just convert the shillings into gold coins, on the other hand I feel I was justified, no you know what? I¡¯m taking this to court. ¡°Do you know of any lawyers?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, you could try asking at the adventurers guild. Good lord adventurers always find themselves in legal trouble, seriously you¡¯d be surprised. But if you can¡¯t find one, then one will be provided for you.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Dragdville Adventurers Guild, Receptionist Anna PoV: It¡¯s been pretty busy today at the guild, ever since the so called ¡®Hero¡¯ Party arrived, there¡¯s no shortage of foreigners or more specifically tourists. Not that it¡¯s a bad thing mind you, I just wish they didn¡¯t just come here to only see the newest ¡®Hero¡¯ Party that the Methyr Theocracy summoned. There¡¯s more to this country than just someone who calls himself a hero! Uwaaah, my anger slipped through at the end, anyways the front door opens and! It¡¯s the dungeon avatar eeeeeeeeee! Okay Anna don¡¯t panic, just smile, and wave. She sprinted to my counter. ¡°Please, I need your help!¡± ¡°M-my help?¡± Huh? What does a dungeon even need? In fact, how can a mere mortal such as I help a dungeon! She looked me straight into my eyes as if she was staring at my soul, ¡°Do you know any lawyers?I don¡¯t care about the cost that¡¯s trivial to me, I just don¡¯t trust the public defenders!¡± Eh, EH! I. I. I. I am utterly speechless right now, I¡¯ve never heard of ANY dungeon in my entire life abiding by any laws let alone hire a lawyer! ¡°U-u-um lawyer firms usually post advertisements at every adventurer¡¯s guild, d-due to how often and easy it is for them to get clients.¡± I stammered, ¡°The adverts are right by the quest board.¡± The Avatar sprinted towards the quest board, almost knocking someone over, took a piece of paper ¡°Alright, thanks bye!¡± She said in a gleeful tone, before running out. Whatever the case may be, this will be the most interesting and weirdest court case to have ever occurred in the history of the Union, maybe even the whole world. I''ll uhh keep an eye out in the local paper¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª (Back inside her dungeon, Core room) Amelia PoV: Alright score! Let''s see here, oh wow there¡¯s a lot of different advertisements from a lot of businesses, guess adventurers must make them a lot of money. Oh yeah I gotta remind myself to remove the scorch mark. Westerton Clothing Emporium, nope. Periwinkle Chariot and Horse Race, might be worth a watch but nope. Wait hold on Maxies Bros, and they¡¯re a circus! Oh I¡¯ve gotta watch them when I get the chance, still nope. Ah here it is, good gracious there¡¯s a lot of firms listed, ahah! Here¡¯s one that caught my eye ¡®Goodwinson & Whitaker¡¯. Let''s see contact info, uhh how am I gonna contact them? Oh it says so at the bottom of their page. Ah okay so basically tap the firm¡¯s seal twice, then um a box? Will project itself over the seal and I just fill in the blanks and it¡¯ll appear to them as a written letter. Oh so it¡¯s like a fax machine if I¡¯m not mistaken, well let¡¯s see, First Name Amelia, Middle Name NA, Last Name Yokakko, Occupation Dungeon Core¡­ Aaand done, whew that was rather quick, now I¡¯ll just wait for a response, and oh? Some challengers enter, and eight of them no less! Oh lord please don¡¯t tell me, if they¡¯re who I think they are, please let them be a different group of eight¡­ Avatar unmanifest! Time to go see. And oh my god it''s those same eight hooligans! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THEM, THEY¡¯RE REASON WHY I¡¯M GOING TO COURT NEXT WEEK! Looks like they''re being followed by some city guards. I''ll instruct my creatures not to attack them since they¡¯re just doing their jobs. And wait a minute that boy, I remember now he looks like a generic anime isekai protagonist, no wonder why he looked so familiar, this means that he is just like me and he¡¯s also from Earth, except I¡¯m a dungeon and he¡¯s someone summoned to allegedly ¡®save the world¡¯. I think I understand what Guardian meant now, just by my interactions with him outside. Those girls following him aren¡¯t his party members, but actually his harem¡­ ¡°Alright let''s just see what makes this dungeon so special that everybody in this city seemed to nonstop fawn over.¡± Isekai Protag said. ¡°Can¡¯t believe we¡¯re dragged to court! We¡¯re the Legendary Hero Party for crying out loud!¡± Uh okay not sure what he meant there with that comment, but still that was kinda rude. Second, you were literally harassing random people on the street, and oh my god did he really just say ¡®Hero Party¡¯? Man I¡¯m dying here¡­ from laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Takano we¡¯ll make it through!¡± ¡°Yeah they¡¯ll see that we¡¯re in the right, we have the goddess watching over us!¡± And there goes his harem telling him what he wants to hear, dude just get this over with quickly, and if the first floor militias kill you then good! Also his name is Takano. If I didn¡¯t piece together the fact that he¡¯s from Earth I would have assumed he¡¯s from the Hoyashi Shogunate and not Japan, yes I¡¯ve been studying this world¡¯s history and geography in my downtime¡­ I¡¯m still gonna call him Isekai Protag. Oh, oh, they¡¯re finally moving, I almost thought that they were just gonna stand there, okay they see the Prussian Landwehr forming a line. They really did skip the ¡®puzzle¡¯, honestly they¡¯re actually the first group to skip it, my second puzzle on the second floor from what I¡¯ve seen has a fifty-fifty split of people skipping it or making an attempt to solve it. They fired a volley, which really didn¡¯t do much since somebody erected a protective barrier over them. Darn it, one of them would¡¯ve died. The group continued to advance, albeit slowly. My guess is they can¡¯t shoot back while the barrier is active, but they¡¯re doing so under the hail of gunfire, come on that barrier is gonna break at some poi- Oh speak of the devil the barrier broke after the third volley and Protag ordered a frontal assault right into a fourth volley, while Ellen ordered a counter charge. Soon the two sides met, bayonets clashed against swords and I saw spears in the mix. Wait, is one of the shall I say girls with big ¡®assets¡¯ wielding what looks like a naginata? And why is she dressed in what¡¯s essentially a bikini made of steel? Scratch all eight girls are scantily clad in some form. How did I NOT notice this earlier? Ah whatever, I don¡¯t care though I am pretty that they got me in trouble with law, and taking them down in court is gonna be so satisfying! Yo one of the Landwehr girls looked like she¡¯s drooling¡­ she is staring at the toned abs of a bow wielding Wood Elf girl. FOCUS ON THE FIGHT DAMN YOU OR IT''S OFF TO HORNY JAIL! And she died when an arrow hit her in the head when said elf shot her. Other than achem her, the Landwehr hasn¡¯t suffered any casualties, in fact the only person actually doing damage was Isekai Protag himself the only reason why he hasn¡¯t killed anyone is because he¡¯s fighting multiple opponents at once without support, and none of his harem has died because he¡¯s actively covering for them. This is so odd considering everyone thus far had breezed through the first floor. It¡¯s almost like he¡¯s the only powerful one while his teammates are so pathetically weak. I¡¯ve seen, no joke, a team of level one adventurers sporting only the cheapest equipment do better, granted they would only reach the bridge before dying, but still. Oh? Oh? Isekai Protag is glowing, and he just killed everyone with one swing, great so bro had to use his ¡®cheat¡¯ skill against what¡¯s essentially a citizen militia. I-I-I-I- I¡¯m at a loss of words, my god man I¡¯d hate to see their performance against the Young Guard and my Grenadier Regiment, my two elite units currently deployed. Actually scratch that I¡¯d hate to see their performance against the 42nd Regiment of Foot, actual trained soldiers. ¡°Tanaka-kun are you okay? You¡¯re awfully quiet.¡± Human Harem Girl One said. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ those black uniforms, and those guns they were using¡­ it feels as though I¡¯ve seen them before.¡± Isekai Protag responded, kneeling down to pick up a musket. If we¡¯re being specific here it¡¯s a Potsdam 1809 Musket. ¡°Those firearms look similar, yet not at the same time, I mean jeez guns that can fire without magic crystals! What kind of sorcery is that?¡± Wood Elf Harem One observed, intensely staring at the musket that Protag is holding. Isekai Protag shook his head, then dropped the musket. ¡°Whatever, let''s just continue on.¡± You know what I¡¯m gonna manifest my avatar and wait for them at the floor two entrance door with the National Guard, why? Cause I want to tell him that his hare- I mean his party members are weak. ¡°Ah madame, it''s a surprise to see you with us!¡± Emile exclaimed, when I appeared out of thin air. Of course I gave them the heads up before I showed up. Man I don¡¯t want to get shot at because I startled some folks! ¡° I don¡¯t normally show myself to adventurers in my dungeon, unless I requested something from them.¡± I explained, getting some nods from the assembled guardswomen. ¡°I¡¯m here because I want to tell those eight, specifically those seven girls that they¡¯re weak and that they should permanently quit being adventurers.¡± Emile winced at my words, ¡°Yeah, watching that fight against Ellen¡¯s Landwehr was really bad, and it only ended because one of them pulled some kind of ability. Still ouch. Speaking of which, are they really adventurers? Those seven are practically naked, while the only one who''s wearing armor is that boy.¡± I raised my hands. ¡°I¡¯m only saying the cold hard truth. Speaking of which, here they come.¡± ¡°Defensive positions! After the first volley then fire at will!¡± Emile ordered as everyone formed a line behind their dirt breastwork. While I stood to the side, arms crossed. Welp they have no barrier to protect themselves and a girl wearing the skimpiest leotard I have ever seen, had died, she received three bullet holes. Oh yep they¡¯re sprinting, that boy is ten times faster than them, he¡¯s gonna reach here by the time the National Guard has finished reloading, but the thing is he really gonna fight thirteen people while his party catches up with him? Oh my god he is. He very quickly found out that taking on thirteen people at once was a bad idea. There''s almost ten bayonets poking and prodding at every opportunity ensuring that he can¡¯t counter attack in any way whatsoever. ¡°Hey dude go back with your party, stop acting like the main character and do a 1 v 13 this ain''t a video game!¡± I hollered, he stared at me with a shocked look on his face. Bet he wasn¡¯t expecting anyone else to mention video games. Well guess you¡¯re not the only one who''s been reincarnated here! This proved to be a mistake as a bayonet pierced his armor and stabbed him in the back, and he responded by backflipping a couple of meters back, and was soon joined by his har- his party. ¡°Quick! FIRE!¡± Emile, as the guardswomen hastily fired a volley at point blank range at about FIVE METERS. Oof man, this is just devastating to Protag¡¯s party, as three dropped to the floor dead and survivors hid behind Protag as the bullets just bounced off him. Now this isn¡¯t really Napoleonic Wars, but the Swedish Caroleans would only discharge their muskets at ranges between fifty to twenty metres, later on during the Great Northern War, the distance was shortened to between twenty and fifteen metres! A musket volley is devastating at those close ranges. Oh my god I¡¯m getting ahead of myself achem. So now the four of them have attacked, no casualties sustained on my side, it¡¯s even gotten to the point where some of my girls had taken pity on them and stepped back¡­ They¡¯re not really seeing it, but I¡¯m facepalming right now. This lack of coordination and cohesion from them is making me question how they even became adventurers. I mean look at this, I¡¯ve seen teams of three reach the fifth floor. Oh, it seems like Isekai Protag¡¯s cheat skill has recharged, is he gonna use it? The answer is yes, because his sword is glowing a radiant white glow and one swing from his sword and all thirteen guardswomen are dead¡­ does his har- I mean party even receive any xp for participating? Or is it just him? Because technically speaking none of the girls did anything. ¡°Hold it right there buckos, and before you do anything, I¡¯m the avatar of this dungeon.¡± I said walking to the floor two entrance doors, as I received curious looks from them. ¡°Takano or whatever your name is I¡¯m gonna be addressing your hare- party members so disregard what I¡¯m about to say. Y''ALL ARE GARBAGE ADVENTURERS, I mean look at this you¡¯re like piggy backing off of Tekena here, making him do all the WORK, the only person who got a kill so far is that bow lady and that was because my creature was DISTRACTED. Seriously man I¡¯ve seen level one parties with the cheapest gear breeze through this first floor with ease-¡± I could feel heat rising from within me as I continued my tirade, ¡°- And frankly speaking y''all should just quit being adventurers permanently and find a different job, this was a pathetic display, zero teamwork, zero cohesion, did such a piss poor job at fighting TWO regiments of citizen militias who are essentially part time soldiers, yes your boy over here had to use his skill just to defeat part time soldiers let that sink in, and I¡¯m gonna say it one last time, these guys are PART TIME SOLDIERS. Because beyond this door past floor one, you will be exclusively facing professionally trained full time regular career soldiers. And judging from what I¡¯ve witnessed, the regiment guarding the bridge may as well be a full on boss fight that¡¯ll require Takana¡¯s skill. In fact, a Dungeon Core can be a better adventure than y¡¯all! And I¡¯m not even that good at fighting.¡± I then turn to Isekai Protag and my gaze softens, of course I¡¯m not gonna say that to his face, ¡°And you, ditch these girls, they¡¯re holding you back from your TRUE potential. If you want to ¡®save¡¯ the world, start by ditching your current party and join a better party. I can point you towards the Manarias Party, they¡¯re a really good party, now granted they died at the second floor, but that was because it was their first time at my dungeon, now they can reach floor five easily. Hey if they don¡¯t allow you to join their party but maybe they can point you to others, but right now you ain¡¯t ¡®saving¡¯ the world at this rate.¡± Was I too harsh? Of course I was, they needed to hear this and nobody¡¯s gonna tell them because let¡¯s be real here who¡¯s gonna try and piss off the so called ¡®Hero Party¡¯ by saying what I¡¯ve just said. Nobody, that''s who. Isekai Protag just glares at me as if I¡¯ve just insulted his mother along with insulting three generations of his family. ¡°Listen here lady! I don¡¯t care who or what you are BUT I¡¯m NOT gonna abandon my friends who¡¯ve been with me ever since I was summoned. You made Sofia cry, you will apologize right now!¡± Isekai Protag spat in my face, as he glared at me. ¡°Okay and? They all needed to hear it. Either get better and stop relying on you to do everything or rely on you and stagnate.¡± I responded, staring him down. ¡°You know what, I''m not gonna argue anymore, I¡¯ll be waiting on floor three.¡± I said, snapping fingers and I appeared at the camp, god man that whole interaction wouldn¡¯t have happened if I wasn¡¯t previously pissed off that I¡¯m dragged to court because of them. Now I could just easily pay the fine, but I¡¯m gonna be very petty and take them on in court. I walk around camp as everyone is running around me preparing for the party to arrive, and my gaze lands on a cannon and suddenly an idea forms in my head. I rub my hands as I could feel a devious smile forming in my head. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Tanaka PoV: ¡°Hey it¡¯s okay Sofia don¡¯t listen to what that avatar said. We¡¯ll get the justice that we deserve as the Legendary Hero Party, they¡¯ll all see!¡± I said, in a vain attempt at calming the poor girl, she¡¯s a mess. ¡°Grr HOW DARE THAT GIRL CALL US GARBAGE!!! It¡¯s her fault for deploying strong creatures on the first floor no less. THAT''S IT I¡¯M GOING IN!¡± Anya said with vitriolic rage, clutching her spear she opened the door and rushed. ¡°Hey Wait! Damn it Girls after her!¡± I desperately ran after her, we¡¯ve entered what appears to be a heavily forested area, there¡¯s a dirt path that goes straight. ¡°Eyes on the trees, there could be monsters that¡¯ll ambush us.¡± I said, urging my teammates caution, I turned to Marigold, a priestess assigned to me by the Theocracy, ¡°you see anything on your monster tracker?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Alright let''s continue slowly, we can¡¯t afford to lose anyone, seriously I want to teach that girl a lesson.¡± I said, muttering the last part to myself. After about an hour of walking we happened upon a clearing on the side of the road. Sofia really wanted to check it, but I advised against it. We can¡¯t stay here any longer. Seriously this dungeon weirds me out, like how did muskets end up here? Furthermore those girls at the floor two entrance were definitely French dressed in military clothing of the Napoleonic Wars. Yeah I learned that in my world history class. Those bicornes of the era are unmistakable, even that girl who calls herself the ¡®dungeon core¡¯ wore a bicorne. Actually now that I think about it, those girls wearing the black uniforms look German, or maybe Prussian is a more apt description. My musings were interrupted when Marigold suddenly placed a hand on my chest, forcing me to dramatically stop. Before I could say she pointed at what looked to be a corpse - Oh my lord it¡¯s Anya! Then, I heard gunshots and two bodies dropping, I unsheath my sword, and frantically turned behind me, but as soon as I did so, something hit me in the back of my head and darkness soon overtook me. ¡°Uhh ma¡¯am I don¡¯t think the cannon is big enough¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense! Just take the ramrod and force him down the barrel and besides we¡¯re already halfway there.¡± Wha¡­? Voices¡­ I hear voices... ¡°Yes ma¡¯am¡± ¡°Is the gunpowder already loaded? I¡¯d hate to lose all this progress¡­¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, the gunpowder is loaded.¡± What are they talking about? I opened my eyes halfway only to find the end of some kind of stick pushing down on my forehead!? I am instantly awake, and found that not only am I tied up, but half of my body is inside a cannon!? ¡°He¡¯s awake, hold him down!¡± I feel two pairs of hands grab hold of me thus preventing me from struggling anymore. ¡°Ma¡¯am I think this is as far as we can go.¡± Then the stick that was previously pushing on my forehead was removed and in front of me stood that same girl who insulted my teammates, and by extension me, suddenly rage began to fill. ¡°Hey let me go!¡± I screamed, to which I was met with a smug smirk from her. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re finally awake, got caught in that guerrilla ambush, same us and uhh, that thief over there?¡± The girl said, ¡°Achem, sorry about that, and no I¡¯m letting you go, considering that you''re in no position to make demands.¡± Damnit, ¡°Why are you doing this!¡± She placed a hand on her chin for a moment and shrugged, ¡°I dunno because I can and also, see you in court. Alright that¡¯s enough stalling, girls light em up!¡± She proceeded to step aside as I heard something sizzling behind me. ¡°Hey wai- AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.¡± The next thing I knew I was launched way up high in the air before blacking out. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia. Yeowch, he definitely hit the ceiling, and oh, looks the law firm has sent me a reply, just in time to! Let¡¯s see, it read: Dear Miss Yokakko, this is Paul Goodwinson writing to you on behalf of Goodwinson & Whitaker, as soon as our secretary received the application, and once we had the magic residue confirmed to have come from a dungeon. We were in complete shock that a Dungeon Core of all people were looking to hire us, as such I left my office and rushed straight over to your dungeon as soon as possible. We¡¯ll discuss the details of the case when we meet. Sincerely - Paul Goodwinson Oh wow, hey that¡¯s great I don¡¯t have to wait weeks for a reply! Oh crap I gotta meet him now! ¡°Uhh excuse me ladies but I gotta go okayseeyabye!¡± I snapped my fingers and I appeared, startled a group of adventurers at my sudden appearance, I quickly apologized and rushed outside. To meet a man with short black hair combed to the back, wearing a three piece suit and holding a briefcase. Also he looks out of breath. He straightened out his waistcoat and smiled, ¡°Are you perchance, Miss Amelia Yokakko?¡± He asked and offered a hand. I nodded, ¡°Indeed I am nice to meet you, Paul Goodwinson.¡± I replied as I firmly shook his hand, afterwards I opened the door and gestured for him to come inside. ¡°Please come inside, I know a perfect spot where we can talk.¡± ¡°Thank you, oh and before you ask, don¡¯t worry about the payment, the bragging rights of my firm having represented a Dungeon Core is all the payment we want.¡± Chapter 18: Legendary "Hero" Party V Monks+Amelia 12/08/1320 11:00 AM Day 1 District Court Courtroom No.2 Amelia PoV: Hi, it¡¯s me again! It''s the date of my appearance in court, hurray! I¡¯m currently sitting with those two monks at the plaintiff¡¯s table, while those eight bozos are going to have to defend themselves. Oh yeah before I forget, my Dungeon is closed for today, though I don¡¯t think I can ¡®lock¡¯ my Dungeon. The best I did is put a sign on the door. I don¡¯t think that sign is gonna stop anyone from barging in so I told the two guards outside to stop anyone from entering, at least until I return. Oh man I¡¯m so nervous right now, all I¡¯ve done for the past days up to now just talking with my lawyer about the case. We even talked to those two monks, whose names were ¡®Pham¡¯ and ¡®Lao¡¯, I dunno, they said to refer to them by their nicknames and they also revealed to be from a far eastern country. Our lawyers agreed to file a joint lawsuit while also trying to remove the charges against us. So Paul Goodwinson, my lawyer, is going to represent us, while the monk¡¯s lawyer is to act as our legal counsel. Jesus this courtroom is packed, there is even a crowd outside, I can see them through the door that¡¯s partially open. I scan the courtroom, it¡¯s looking like your standard American district court, except it has a mix of renaissance and medieval look. Wow there''s even a boxed-in area with twelve seats to the left for the jury, that¡¯s also filled. ¡°Hey, you think we¡¯re gonna win this? I admit I am unfamiliar with the laws and customs of western countries, I only know history.¡± Pham asked, turning to me. I shrugged, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, I hope so, I mean we¡¯re clearly in the right here! We just let Paul Goodwinson do all the talking for us and hope he pulls through.¡± I replied. ¡°Indeed leave it to me and my colleague. The three of you are in good hands.¡± Robert Grayson chimed in, oh yeah he¡¯s the lawyer the two monks hired. I snuck a glance at the defendant¡¯s table and I spotted some religious guy who looks very important like a bishop, and a lawyer from this country. Of course their table is completely packed with ten of them sitting there. The Judge, who is an old man I¡¯d say somewhere around his late fifties and early sixties, he¡¯s wearing a gray robe, um he¡¯s also bald with a long grey beard an- Hey wait a minute! Achem moving on¡­ the Judge strikes his gavel on the sound block and signals for everyone to quiet down, as soon as the room becomes quiet he continues speaking. ¡°Now I want preface this by addressing the elephant in the room, by announcing the presence of this city¡¯s very own Dungeon Core -¡± Guys I can feel everyone staring straight at me, making me even MORE nervous than I previously was! So I just gave an awkward wave in response. ¡°- Which is the first time in history that a Dungeon Core has appeared in any court of law which truly marks this case as historical, no matter how trivial the case may be. Now with that out of the way I would like to remind everyone present that we are trying out a new experimental recording system that our Court Chronicler will be utilizing. So I ask everyone to speak clearly and concisely, do I make myself clear?¡± A chorus of ¡®yes your honor¡¯ was let out in response, to which the Judge nodded, turning to our table ¡°Good, then the court is now in session. Is the prosecution ready?¡± Paul Goodwinson stood up from his seat, ¡°Ready, your honor.¡± He nodded, turning to face the defendant¡¯s table, ¡°Is the defense ready?¡± Their Defense Attorney stood up, ¡°Ready, your honor.¡± ¡°We can proceed, the Plaintiffs, Pham and Lao, have filed a lawsuit against the Defendant who are the Hero Party of Methyr, for ¡®Assault¡¯ and ¡®Harassment¡¯ ending in a violent altercation outside the Dungeon, the two Plaintiffs are joined by the city¡¯s Dungeon Core. This is in addition to all charges levied against both the Plaintiffs and the Defendant. Moving on, I have with me the written report from the arresting guard, I shall read it now. ¡®At precisely 12:01 PM, the station received a request for reinforcements near the Dungeon, by the two stationed Dungeon guards, because a group of ten hooligans were shouting and recklessly discharging spells. We immediately got on our horses and rushed to the scene as fast as we could. On our way we heard the unmistakable sound of a firearm having been discharged and we had to double time it to the scene before any more firearms could be discharged, when our contingent arrived on scene. We found scorch marks that littered the street, sidewalks, buildings, and even one on the Dungeon entrance. It was then that I made the decision to arrest everyone present, including one woman in an unusual outfit who I later learned to be the Dungeon Avatar who claimed to have recklessly discharged her pistol in order to prevent the ten hooligans from causing any more damage. It is a miracle that nobody got hurt. Now after reading the report, would the Defense and or the Prosecution have anything to add to their opening statement?¡± It was then that Paul Goodwinson stood up, ¡°Yes I would like to state that the evidence gathered thus far will conclude that my clients are innocent and in the case of two of my clients claim self-defense. Furthermore I have several key witnesses will testify under oath further proving the innocence of my clients, all of whom should be provided to you, as is customary within the Union -¡± ¡°Yes, I do have a list of every witness from the prosecution, as well as from the defense. Please continue.¡± ¡°Now here are the facts, it is true that my client and the defendants engaged in a dangerous street fight. Yes it is also true that our resident Dungeon Avatar, Amelia Yokakko did discharge her pistol at which point the altercation ended, that is all your honor.¡± And Paul sat down after making his statement. In hindsight I probably shouldn¡¯t have drawn my pistol, but god dammit they were pissing me off! ¡°Would the defense have anything to add?¡± The Defense Attorney stood up, ¡°Yes your honor, I will not state out the facts of what occurred as the prosecution has laid them out, only that my clients who have claimed to be heading inside the Dungeon for adventuring prior to the braw, were attacked by the plaintiffs, and are therefore innocent. I believe that the evidence, contrary to what the prosecution stated, will conclude that my clients are innocent, and I have key witnesses that shall testify under oath to prove my case. That is all your honor.¡± ¡°Both parties have made their opening statement-¡± I know nothing about the law, this is actually my second time being in a courtroom, the first time I attended court was watching my dad do Jury duty in America, that was pretty cool to watch. I don¡¯t remember what the case was about to be honest. ¡°-I¡¯ll start with hearing from the defense.¡± The Hero Party¡¯s Attorney, stood up, ¡°Certainly, as you are aware, the Legendary Hero Party from the Methyr Theocracy, would certainly have never so blatantly attacked innocent men and women out in the street, for they have a reputation to uphold, and as such would go against the very notion of them being heroes. In fact the defense would like to call a passerby at the scene, Ms Anne Godbergson, to the stand.¡± A woman, with short curly blonde hair, appeared on the stand and the Clerk approached, book in hand. He set it down on the stand as the woman placed her right hand on said book and raised her left hand. ¡°Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?¡± The Clerk asked. ¡°I do.¡± The woman calmly responds, looking nonchalant, err at least that''s how I can tell. The Attorney approached her, after the Clerk left. ¡°Now tell me, Ms Goldbergson, where were you on the date of the incident?¡± She pondered for a moment, ¡°Well from what I can remember, it was just a regular ol day in Dragdville, till I heard a commotion by the dungeon, so I left my apartment, and when I got outside, I saw those monks and the Hero party were shouting at each other! And then, just when things couldn¡¯t get worse, the monks attacked the Hero Party! I saw the whole thing from start to finish clear as day. That is all sir.¡± ¡°Is there anything else you noticed?¡± The woman shook her head. As the Attorney was about to continue speaking, Paul stood up, and interjected. ¡°Your honor, may I ask the witness a question?¡± The Judge nodded, ¡°Granted.¡± ¡°Ms Anne Godbergson, if I may ask, which floor, and what number is your apartment?¡± Paul asked, staring straight into the woman¡¯s eyes. Anne suddenly looked nervous, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, as her eyes darted around the room as she was silent. After five minutes of total silence, the Judge grew impatient, ¡°Answer the question or I will have you in contempt of court.¡± He demanded, with growing frustration. She continued to be silent for another two minutes as she became more distressed. ¡°That¡¯s it, Bailiff, arrest and escort her out of this court!¡± The Judge ordered, hitting his gavel on the sound block. A tall woman wearing a morion helmet with a black plume and a chestplate, grabbed the witness¡¯s hands, dragging her to a side door as she was screaming and flailing about. About two minutes later the Bailiff returned. The Attorney was silent throughout the ordeal, and made a wise decision to sit back down, one look closer and his eyes told a different story. Though what¡¯s really interesting is that Catholic Bishop looking guy glared at their Attorney, though it doesn¡¯t seem like he noticed or cared. If I was that bishop guy, I would not be glaring at my Defense Attorney, that''s just not gonna help my case. ¡°Achem, we¡¯ve heard from the defense, now I want to hear what the prosecution has to say.¡± Paul stood up, straightened his waistcoat, ¡°Your honor, if I may, with your permission of course. The prosecution would like to call our resident Dungeon Core Miss Yokakko to the witness stand. I know this is a break of regular protocol, but I believe hearing from a Dungeon Core is most beneficial to the case I¡¯m bringing forward.¡± Eh! Me? To the witness stand! Aren¡¯t I the one part of the case? And also why does the Judge look scared?Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°G-granted.¡± I stood up, walked to the witness stand, and after making my oath Paul asked me a question. ¡°Now then Ms Yokakko, what were you doing on the date of the incident?¡± ¡°Let me see¡­ Right! I was on my first floor making renovations to what I¡¯ve called the ¡®bulletin area¡¯ . It was all good till I heard such really, and I mean really loud screaming. So I went outside and BAM! I was almost hit by a stray lightning bolt, which BARELY missed my head. By that point I was getting really angry and I could feel my blood boiling.-¡± why did everyone in the room, except those eight bozos and that bishop, briefly look terrified, like a giant monster has broken in and is killing everybody? Anyways I continued speaking. ¡°-I asked the two guards, quote ¡®Oi why aren¡¯t you two stopping them.¡¯ They told me that it was just the two of them against ten which I mean fair enough, afterwards I took matters into my own hands, I tried to get them to stop by screaming, twice in fact. Nobody heard me, so I fired my pistol into the sky and sure enough it stopped them alright, and that''s when the guards arrived.¡± Paul nodded, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Was there anything else? Oh yeah there was, ¡°To me it looked like Pham and Lao were defending themselves, but I¡¯m not 110% sure as I was blinded by rage by that point. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Thank you for speaking Miss Yokakko, you can take a seat.¡± Awesome! Feels like I am going to die of nervousness the longer I stand by the witness stand! ¡°HOLD IT!¡± Oh drats! Just when I thought I¡¯d be leaving the stand! The Attorney stood, gazing into my eyes, ¡°Ms Yokakko, Are you certain that what you saw was exactly as you say? I mean after all, you weren¡¯t there from the start.¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m stating that what I saw when I went outside, in fact call the two guards to the stand!¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s enough.¡± Did I just hear the Judge swallow a lump? Seriously, I am not terrifying! I can¡¯t even hurt a fly¡­ without a musket in my hands that is. ¡°Return to your seat.¡± I never stood up and walked so fast in my life jeez man I hope that I never enter court ever again! Paul coughed, bringing the court¡¯s attention back to him. ¡°Your honor, the prosecution would also like to call the two guards, stationed outside of Ms Yokakko¡¯s dungeon at the time of the incident, Gerald Hanefored and or Winston Matterston to the stand.¡± A man wearing a simple white tunic and grey trousers stepped onto the stand, oh hey! It¡¯s that same guy I talked to. ¡°If I were to speak the truth, I would be restating what my partner and I wrote in the incident report verbatim. This incident report is required by law to document incidents regarding dungeons inside and outside.¡± The Judge stroked his beard, ¡°Hmm, do you have this report?¡± ¡°Your honor, I gave a copy to the prosecutor prior to the trial. However I brought a copy with me just in case, and I shall read it you now achem; Today at 11:02 AM a fight occurred outside the Dungeon, between a group of eight and two monks. At first it was a simple shouting match. Nothing that we couldn¡¯t handle by ourselves. We observed for ten or so minutes, till my partner decided to confront them and hopefully put an end to this public disturbance when the boy unsheathed his sword, raised it at one of the monk¡¯s neck to which said monk parried the sword away with a staff and the threatened monk retreated five paces backwards. That''s when things turned bad for as soon as the monk back pedalled away, one of the girls in what I presumed was part of the boy¡¯s party. One wearing a witch hat hurled a lighting bolt at the monk. Then more and more of the girls began firing spells, at which point my partner wisely backed off considering how neither of us knew any spells to counter, so we made the decision to sit tight and call for reinforcements. About an hour or so has passed, the Dungeon Avatar appeared inquiring about the commotion. We explained to her that there¡¯s a fight across the dungeon and how my partner and I are unable to put a stop to the increasingly violent altercation, to which she yelled for them to stop, twice. When it appeared to fall on deaf¡¯s ears the Avatar fired her pistol in the air thus ending the altercation. This was written right after our shift en-¡± ¡°OBJECTION!¡± The Bozo¡¯s Attorney Interjected, followed by slamming his hands on the table. ¡°This proves absolutely nothing! The plaintiffs could¡¯ve said something to provoke such an attack. This report never explicitly stated what was said during the shouting match.¡± ¡°HOLD IT!¡± Paul countered, as he wagged a finger, ¡°Not so fast as I have other evidence that supports the guard¡¯s incident report. Bailiff, could you please bring out the evidence.¡± She disappeared into the same sideroom that she dragged the witness into, before reappearing carrying a box, and sat it down on our table. Paul opened said box revealing a piece of parchment, and a dagger. ¡°What¡¯s curious is that I went back to the scene of the crime and I had some local mages analyze the scene for traces of magic, here is the report they finished yesterday, I will read it to you now. After a deep and thorough Analysis of the mana residue left behind at the scene. We at the Dragdville Mage Association have determined the majority of the magic used is of the ¡®holy¡¯ variant and small traces of lightning can be found, but no other variants have been found. Now in the Union only priests and priestesses and what not, are the only ones that can cast holy magic, no one else can, and we all know that there were no holy figures at that sight. Which then leaves the next suspects to be none other than the ¡®Hero¡¯ Party from the Methyr Theocracy. Furthermore Ms Yokakko stated earlier that she was almost hit by a stray lightning bolt, and clearly monks weren¡¯t the ones casting any spells, which only leaves one possible culprit. The Hero Party.¡± The courtroom erupted into a loud uproar, which was brought to an end by the Judge hitting his gavel and threatening to end the session for today and continue tomorrow. ¡°OBJECTION!¡± ¡°Overruled, I want to continue listening to this.¡± Paul continued speaking once the uproar subsided, and certainly after the Attorney¡¯s attempted objection, ¡°But wait there''s more.¡± He equipped a pair of gloves and took a throwing knife out the box, and the eyes of the Harem Girl wearing the robes grew wide. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen of the court, this throwing knife, commonly used by rogues everywhere, was found at the scene. However, there was only one rogue present. And I wanted to confirm who the owner of the knife was before I made any accusations, so I ordered a forensics analysis again from the same group of mages, and what did their findings reveal? Well why tell you when I can show it.¡± At that moment a tall man with a white beard, wearing a blue robe with gold trims alongside an equally matching wizard hat, carrying a large staff with a blue crystal ball at the end. He entered the courtroom after wading through the large crowd outside. Once he was in front of the Judge¡¯s stand, the wizard kneeled down and then stood up and turned to address everyone in the courtroom. ¡°What I am about to reveal to the court will shock many of you, as it has shocked me. But I tell you now what I am about to show is the truth and nothing but the truth, I swear to Okania the patron saint of mages within the Union.¡± He gripped his staff with two hands closing his eyes and the crystal ball began emitting a soft blue glow, he aimed the staff at the floor and a fully 3D recreation of the robe wearing Harem Girl wielding that very same throwing knife. The room immediately erupted into chaos once again, clearly nobody here is accepting the fact that the ¡®Hero Party¡¯ and I am saying that with heavy air quotes, just committed a crime. Whoa man I am impressed that they were able to create an exact illusionary replica of said harem girl based on what I assume to be just finger prints on that dagger. ¡°Order! Order! There will be order in this court!¡± The Judge said, hitting his gavel with full force. Once the chaos subsided, I glanced at the Bozos table and all of them looked shocked, well except for their Attorney who¡¯s giving Paul this ¡®well played¡¯ look. Paul continued to speak, ¡°Clearly what the two monks did was self defense, as they utilized no other weapons besides the wooden staff they carried were used, and no magic could be traced back to them. Your honor, that is all.¡± ¡°And how will the defense respond?¡± The Judge said, staring expectantly at the Attorney. But of course no matter how much the Attorney wants to quit, especially against such overwhelming evidence against his client, still he is a Defense Attorney of the Union and he still has the responsibility and the obligation to defend his client till the very end. The Attorney stood up from his seat, took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, ¡°Your honor, this could¡¯ve simply been fabricated by the Dragdville Mage Association.¡± He calmly stated. The Mage standing in the middle of the courtroom didn¡¯t look angry or offended. Far from it, he gave a respectful nod to the Attorney, knowing that any defense he makes is a futile endeavour. ¡°I have heard enough, Now what is the Jury¡¯s final verdict?¡± All twelve Jurors stood up and huddled together, which went on for twelve agonisingly long minutes, seriously it felt like an hour had passed. When one of them a man stepped forward, ¡°The twelve of us has unanimously agreed to give the defendants a guilty verdict on all charges which includes but aren¡¯t limited to; disturbing the peace, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, damage to public, private, and personal property¡¯ furthermore we absolve the Plaintiffs Pham and Lao of any wrongdoing and that any crime they may or have committed at the time of the incident was committed for reasons of self defense.¡± Then the Juror¡¯s gaze fixed onto me. ¡°As for Dungeon Core Amelia Yokakko, we shall absolve her crime of quote ¡®discharge of a firearm within residential buildings¡¯ as it was committed under the pretext of ending a violent altercation.¡± And the Juror sat back down on his seat. The Judge nodded, ¡°I agree, with the Jury¡¯s assessment and verdict. Now normally for any citizen of the Union the sentence could be upwards of life in prison with the minimum being thirty years, plus a maximum fine of twenty-five thousand gold coins, plus another three thousand in restitution for harassment stemming from the lawsuit. However the eight of you are foreign citizens with no ties to the Union as such you eight are hereby banished from this country, and you shall pay the fine, while accompanied by Justiciars of Avdar. They are Paladins in service of Avdar, God of Law and Justice. They are to ensure that the eight of you pay the fine and will depart as soon as the fine has been paid off. You have exactly ten days to pack up your things and leave the country.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he hit his gavel one last time marking the end of today¡¯s court session. Good god man it felt like we''ve been here forever, people have begun to pile on out of here. I gazed at those eight one last time and hahaha look at the look on their faces! Not so smug now eh? Deserved, turns out harassing random people was such a bad idea who could¡¯ve guessed? Certainly not me! Oh wow now I¡¯m the smug one here. Welp, I said goodbye to both Pham and Lao, shook Paul¡¯s and Robert¡¯s hand, even if the latter ultimately did nothing in the end. I still appreciate the two of them you know. Anyways man this was such a long week, can¡¯t wait to lay down on a patch of grass in my Core Room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Tanaka PoV: DAMMIT, DAMMIT ALL! HOW could we have lost that case! Clearly the ¡®Jury¡¯ and the Judge were influenced by demons! Yeah that¡¯s it, that makes perfect sense, this country is ROTTEN to the core. There was ABSOLUTELY no way as to how I the main character could¡¯ve lost that stupid ¡®case¡¯ it makes me so angry! ¡°AHHHHHHH THIS STUPID GHOSTLY PAINS IS DRIVING ME INSANE!¡± I screamed into the air, clutching my head. That goddamn dungeon shoving me inside a cannon! Just you wait I will have my revenge! GAAAAAAHHHHHHH THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I FAILED A DUNGEON! You know what it was the demons that did this, yes there¡¯s no possible explanation other than demons acting and actively sabotaging me, I bet you demons influenced that dungeon! Maybe that¡¯s why I failed! But first this country must be purged, it must be CLEANSED of DEMONS in every corner of this country. Yes that is the only for this nation to gain atonement for I AM THE MAIN PROTAGONIST OF THIS WORLD ALL MY CLASSMATES CAN SUCK IT. Okay deep breath¡¯s Tanaka, deep breaths. The demons time will come in due time, but for now gotta pack up and leave this damned country. ¡°Bishop Andronikos, I hope you''re documenting everything?¡± I asked as I turned to the Bishop. The Bishop nodded, ¡°Indeed I am, once the church has received word of this transgression, then divine retribution from the Goddess will be swift and brutal, upon these demons! For we must free these lost souls under the yoke of demons!¡± As soon as we neared the Inn, Bishop Andronikos parted ways, eventually though we got back to our shared room, I simply ignored all the snickering from people gathered at the lobby. All the while four city guards accompanied us, my girls gave the two male guards the stink eye. Good these perverts are gonna watch them undress! Well not our watch. ¡°Are you seriously giving us the eye? You do know we have permission to outright force the eight of you out of this city AND seize your belongings?¡± One of the male guards said, ¡°And besides, how is the presence of my colleague and I any different to that boy sharing the same room with the seven of you? If anything that just raises more questions on my part, but if it bothers you that much, our female colleagues will enter. Either way you have no choice in the matter, be lucky that I¡¯m even considering this concession.¡± Goddamnit I didn¡¯t want any of the guards inside! They¡¯re gonna find out! The eight of us, plus the two female guards entered the shared bedroom. Almost immediately, the two female guards spotted our planning table located at the far end of the room. And one of them is approaching it, I need to do something quick! Before I could unsheathe my sword the door opened behind us, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± I turn around and I¡¯m met face to face with a paladin with a blind folded Herculean build, holding golden scales engraved on his chestplate. ¡°Future Methyr demon exorcism plan for southern Maryura, starting with the Union of Kurz then the Laziran Empire ending with the Ergonese Republic. Once the invasions have concluded, then the real work shall begin.¡± She stared at us then back at the table then us. She clutched her halberd tightly, ¡°That¡¯s it the Eight of you! Get out of this country NOW, before I have you arrested as foreign agents!¡± ¡°You heard her go, or by Avdar¡¯s might I will cut you down right here right now.¡± Yep okay, okay. I could definitely kill everyone here with my cheat skill but I don¡¯t want to have an angry god after me. Damn the invasion plans were found out this early, I¡¯ll never hear the end of it from the High Theocrat. But for now there is nothing we can do as demons have irreversibly influenced and corrupted this beautiful country. Chapter 19: FINALLY A NEW FLOOR Amelia Yokakko PoV: Ahh, this is the life! I am inside the tavern on my fourth floor drinking¡­ non-alcoholic beverages. Achem, this is especially after my victory in court. I came here after I admittedly fell asleep laying on the grass in my Core Room, and I may or may not have punched one of my grenadiers in the stomach¡­ look in my defense she was leaning over my face when I woke up, and it startled me, and I reacted on instinct yada yada yada. I also heard snickering coming from a nearby bush¡­ Anyways man this place is packed! The last time this tavern was packed was when it first opened some time ago, I also see some of the ¡®civilians¡¯ of the settlement are employed here. Jackie does appreciate the help. Speaking of which here she comes, ¡°Hey mom, here¡¯s a recent newspaper from the latest shipment, I figured you¡¯d take interest in them.¡± Jackie said, dropping a newspaper in front of me before walking off. Hold on since when did- you know what not gonna question it. I take a sip of hot chocolate, and this paper is from ¡®Voice of Kurz¡¯ the main headline reads ¡®Hero Party of Methyr Loses Historic Case Against Two Foreign Monks and A Dungeon Core¡¯ oh wow, man they¡¯re quick it¡¯s barely been four hours after the trial ended! Oh what¡¯s this to the side? Grand Council, Lazir, Ergon Outraged at Methyr Theocracy! In a shocking turn of events, the Dragdville city guards sent to accompany the Hero Party have discovered what at first glance is a future invasion plan by the Theocracy of not just us here in the Union but also on Lazir and Ergon. The plan in question goes into shocking detail, starting with what they have wrote on those plans as quote ¡®Demon exorcism plan for Southern Maryura¡¯ we here at the Voice of Kurz aren¡¯t born yesterday, clearly this ¡®Demon exorcism¡¯ is just a euphemism for invading not just us but also our hated enemy in Lazir, and our somewhat enemies in Ergon. They sent their so-called ¡®Hero¡¯ Party to scout us out taking advantage of their renown as ¡®Heroes¡¯ and ¡®Saviours¡¯ to be able to operate within our lands without scrutiny. Which let us remind our readers that our HATED enemy in Lazir would never stoop this low. Now we¡¯ve read the documents and they planned to turn us into another Mythraeraeia! And to that we say come! We dare you¡­ Moving on, If you want to read the full document for yourself the full document will be published at the end of this article. Trust us you¡¯ll be shocked when you read their future plan for us. In light of this revelation, the Grand Council has convened an emergency session to discuss and decide on a course of action in regards to the Theocracy, as of now we¡¯re still waiting for the Grand Council¡¯s decision. Alongside this, the Laziran and Egonese ambassadors have expressed similar outrage at this discovery, with the Ergonese ambassador going as far to say quote ¡®If they [Methyr Theocracy] decide to invade the Union of Kurz, then the Ergonese Republic will intervene and aid the Union¡¯ end quote, there''s some rumors that Lazir is considering ending their unjust embargo on our nation, which if true then it¡¯s magnificent we wish that it didn¡¯t take a threat of war from an outsider. Well regardless¡­ Damn, now this is a surprise, didn¡¯t know those bozos were secretly here to plot against the country that I¡¯m living in! I need to catch up on the news man, especially on this world¡¯s geopolitics! But now I¡¯m really curious, they said that they published- Ah, here it is the document in question, it¡¯s at the bottom of the article let¡¯s see¡­ Oh wow, oh my. They¡¯re not even doing a great job at hiding the fact that they want to invade these countries! I¡¯ll um leave it at that. What would that mean for me? You know I like the people here, ah well hopefully it doesn¡¯t come to a full scale war. Oh well no use in fretting over the future, anyways I¡¯ve been neglecting my dungeon for it yearns, nay it begs, PLEADS for a sixth a floor, and I shall answer by adding a sixth floor. Why did I suddenly become so dramatic? Anyways, time to start digging out the new floor! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV two hours later: Whew I coughed up twice the mana to expand my sixth floor beyond its initial size. Actually I paid twenty mana for the size expansion. Oh another thing that happened is I received a huge flood of adventurers and as a result well, I AM ONE XP AWAY FROM LEVELING UP AHHHHHHHHHH! Here I¡¯ll show you! Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 67,546/67,547 Level 16 Mana: 300/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 5/12 Traps: 2 Puzzles: 2 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Achem excuse me, um anyways I have with me is a very big gray room. A rubber ro- time to change it by selecting a theme!
Select a Theme for floor 6: Plains Desert Tundra Star Fort Countryside Villages Taiga Mountain Special Themes: RTS
Hmm, I pick the plains theme, cause you know I haven¡¯t been fair to the cavalry you know? It¡¯s about time that I show them some love! And also by extension the skirmishers/light infantry and yes I am grouping them together sue me! I selected the Plains theme, and the floor has changed to a bright sunny, well uh grassy flat plains? Well, relatively flat as there¡¯s some small hills sprinkled about, and yes I am using the word hill very loosely. First things first, build a military camp outside my Core Room door, and a smaller camp right outside the sixth floor entrance, this is going to serve as a safe space for adventurers, cause lord knows the cavalry will be swarming the moment they set foot in here! This also means that anyone in this camp can¡¯t attack anyone outside. Both camps cost me about a hundred and twenty mana. Oh you know what this floor is perfect to set up traps and also add another puzzle! So traps, oh that¡¯s very easy gonna choose the classic pitfall trap, place like maybe five or six, spread them out evenly, so this cost me sixty mana total, yeah I placed six. Now for the puzzle? Alright so here''s my idea, I find the highest hill, and I don¡¯t know, make people do a jigsaw puzzle? Look man technically it''s a puzzle okay! So this jigsaw puzzle piece will depict scenes from various battles that Napoleon himself took part in, the number of pieces and size will change depending on the depicted scene. Reward, hmm randomized loot with a very small chance of gaining something unique for each individual. Funnily enough the highest ¡°hill¡± is located at the center of the floor, and with a snap of my fingers a 4x4 table with two chairs on all sides appeared. Oh, would you look at that it''s a puzzle table with drawers on all sides, pretty neat huh, should probably set up a sign explaining what a jigsaw puzzle is, just on the off chance that jigsaw puzzles didn''t exist in this world. This set up costs forty-five mana. Which if my math is correct leaves me at about one ninety-five mana left to spare. Should be enough to get one or two regiments, maybe three.
Creatures:Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Nockgunner: 10 Mana Axe-Gunner: 25 Mana Hand Mortar Crew: 35 Mana Blunderbuss Gunner: 10 Mana Kalthoff Gunner: 90 Mana Belton Gunner: 95 Mana Militia: Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana Bavarian Landwehr: 15 Mana British Fencibles: 15 Mana Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana French National Guard: 15 Mana US State Militia: 15 Mana Danish National Guard: 15 Mana Line Infantry: British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch): 35 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1: 25 Mana Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.34: 65 Mana Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment: 25 Mana Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment: 45 Mana Ottoman Nizam-I Cedid Infantry: 50 Mana British 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers): 55 Mana Ottoman Janissaries: 50 Mana (British) Brunswick Leib Battalion: 80 Mana French 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment ¡°The Irish Legion¡±: 55 Mana Italian 3rd Line Infantry Regiment (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Italian Royal Battalion of Istria (Kingdom of Italy): 65 Mana Elite Infantry: French Old Guard: 650 Mana French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier: 50 Mana French Young Guard: 100 Mana French Dutch Guard: 100 Mana Austrian-Hungarian Grenadier: 110 Mana British Coldstream Guard: 120 Mana Russian Pavlovsky Life Regiment: 160 Mana 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment/Dungeon Grenadier Regiment: 165 Mana Skirmisher: Prussian Silesian Schuetzen: 25 Mana British 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles): 45 Mana Cavalry: Russian Cossacks: 60 Mana French 4th Hussar Regiment: 60 Mana British Royal Scots Grey: 65 Mana French 1st Cuirassier Regiment: 65 Mana Marines: US Marine Corps: 65 British Royal Marines: 65 French Imperial Guard Marines: 65 Spanish Marines: 65 Irregular: Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana Russian Partisans: 20 Mana Melee Infantry: Ottoman Janissaries: 50 Mana (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won¡¯t count for the creature capacity, however they won¡¯t attack outsiders.)
Well first off I¡¯m gonna summon cavalry before anything else, um let¡¯s see here I¡¯ve got four choices, Cossacks are perfect, let¡¯s see if they have a description. It¡¯s been too long since I¡¯ve read one. Yay they have one let¡¯s go! The Cossacks are a nomadic group of peoples that originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe of Ukraine and southern Russia. These nomads would serve the various militaries of Eastern European states in exchange for a great degree of self-governance. During the Napoleonic Wars, and especially during the French Invasion of Russia in 1812 the Russian soldiers most feared by Grande Armee were the Cossacks, with Napoleon himself stating ¡°Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them.¡± Cossack cavalry units would take part in the partisan war deep inside Russian territory, they along with Russian light cavalry plus other units, such as civilian partisans would carry out attacks against supply lines and communications. Short and sweet, though I will preface this by saying that there were many different Cossack hosts and regiments at the time, not sure which Cossack host will appear since the system didn¡¯t name a specific regiment or host. Alright enough talk, time to summon! After I teleport myself to the camp, err the one that''s outside my Core Room. Before I do so, I just want to check the capacity.
Floors->Floor 6 Theme: Plains Capacity: 0/84 Sappers: 0/2
That is a fairly generous amount for a floor capacity. Achem, I snapped my fingers, and as usual twelve girls appeared, this time they¡¯re on horseback. All of them were wearing what I think is a dark-blue coat with red collars and cuffs and equally dark-blue trousers with I think a red stripe on each side. They have donned on a dark-blue cloth cap with a red band and a visor. Lastly they all have a black leather belt with a pistol strapped on they¡¯re all carrying lances. One of the girls approached me, dismounted from her horse, and bowed to me, she must be the officer. ¡°Call me Asya, lady Tsarina Yokakko, for the Cossacks are ready to serve!¡± Well that saves me from trying to come up with a fitting name. ¡°Yeah, make me proud!¡± Asya remounted her horse as the rest of the girls cheered, raising their lances high into the air. There they go riding off into the distance. Now then time to summon the 95th Rifles! But first let''s read their description. The 95th Regiment of Foot was first formed in January 1800 known at the time as the Experimental Corps of Riflemen and which were to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the Rifle Corps. In January 1803 the Rifle Corps became an established regular regiment and they were titled the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles). In 1816 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars the regiment name was changed to the Rifle Brigade. Another one that''s short and sweet, though I would like to add that the 95th Rifles weren¡¯t just deployed in Europe. They were deployed to the Spanish colonies of South America in 1806, which Spain at that time was still allied to France. The 95th was to be part of a second invasion force which were designed as the reinforcements to the first invasion force against Buenos Aires, which was launched earlier in 1806 by Sir Home Popham, without the knowledge of the government. They took part in the siege of Montevideo which was captured on February 3rd 1807, they saw action at Colonia against a Spanish force which had crossed from Buenos Aires. After that expedition, which ended in a disaster, in South America the 95th would fight in Spain for the near entirety of the Peninsular War. Also side note Sir Home Popham and John Whitlocke who was also part of the expedition, the two of them were court-martialed, with Popham being reprimanded and Whitlocke dismissed from the army. Oh my god calm down Amelia, let¡¯s uh just continue with the summoning. I want to see the Pattern 1800 Infantry rifle, aka the Baker rifle in action against fantasy! A set of twelve girls appeared, all of them wore what I can describe as dark green coats, with the exception of the officer as she¡¯s wearing a dark green Hussar jacket only through the right sleeve. I forget what those Hussar jackets are called. I think they¡¯re called pelisse¡¯s, I don¡¯t remember. The officer stepped forward, and gave a salute ¡°Ma¡¯am, Rifle regiment is ready, point us to a target and we¡¯ll sort it out in no time.¡± Man the British accent is HEAVY, not that I mind, I mean I can listen to her for hours and not get tired. ¡°At ease, Everly Rose, I have no doubt of your regiments'' skill. For now though just relax at the camp and wait till any outsider arrives. You¡¯ll know when you meet them.¡± She nodded, and ordered everyone to relax inside the camp, as everyone scattered around the camp. Oh what''s this smell? It smells so good, someone is cooking something at the camp. HOLD IT right there Amelia now¡¯s not the time to eat food! Anyways, how much mana do I have left? Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 67,546/67,547 Level 16 Mana: 90/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 6/12 Traps: 8 Puzzles: 3 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
I still have enough for one or maybe two more regiments, how am I doing on capacity?
Floors->Floor 6 Theme: Plains Capacity: 24/84 Sappers: 0/2
Oh I¡¯ve still got plenty of capacity left, yeah I¡¯ll add one more regiment, then call it good for now. I¡¯m thinking of adding another cavalry, man it sucks that I don¡¯t have any dragoons, I¡¯m gonna pick the 1st Cuirassier Regiment from France. NO I AM NOT READING THEIR DESCRIPTION I REFUSE TO LET THE HISTORY NERD OUT ONCE AGAIN!!!! Achem, moving on with the actual summoning. A set of twelve girls on horseback appeared, eleven of them wearing chest plates and blue coats with red collars beneath. Alongside what I can presume to be either desert tan or khaki colored trousers. Can''t forget the helmet! The horsehair going down back looks nice, and they¡¯ve red plumes on the right side. While the bugler is wearing a red coat without a chest plate and a white and red plume on her helmet. Lastly they¡¯re all wearing white gloves and knee length black boots. One of the girls, the officer I presumed, approached me ¡°Madame, it is with great honour that the 1st Cuirassier Regiment can serve by your side.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s a pleasure to have such loyal soldiers fighting alongside me, nice to meet you Eugenie!¡± I said, ¡°Oh please feel free to relax at the camp for now.¡± Eugenie nodded, and motioned for everyone to dismount. As everyone got off their horses, Eugenie included, they led their horses to a stable located to the right side of the camp. Glad to know that I don¡¯t have to spend mana creating stables for my cavalry. Now off to go questing, if I am being completely honest here I wasn¡¯t planning on adventuring for quite a while, but now? Well I gotta prove that ¡®Hero¡¯ who¡¯s better at being adventurers. Yes I am that petty. Well time to go find Earalyn and Jeannett. Interlude: New Heroes Are Summoned A figure of a woman with long hair tied into a bun wearing a laurel wreath around her head alongside a white toga with gold trims entered a clearing within a dense forest with an orange circle in middle of said clearing. She approached the circle knelt in front it. "Third attempt, I hope this works." The woman said, as she clasped her hands together and began chanting as the circle begins emitting a bright orange glow, however just as soon as the circle began emitting light it quickly died down. Disappointed the woman stood up and let out a heavy sigh, "A failure, oh well, guess I''ll have to find another way to-" Suddenly the room exploded in a bright orange light as the woman recoiled back in shock, shielding her eyes from the bright light alongside this light a flock of white doves could be seen in the distance frantically flying away. The blinding light continued for twelve more seconds before finally dying down. She uncovered her eyes and to her great surprise a man and a woman no more than their late twenties and early thirties appeared standing in the middle of said circle. The woman has shoulder length hair tied into a ponytail, she wore a black shirt and a type of blue pants and green apron with what appeared to look a mermaid wearing a crown. While the man has short black hair, he wore a black dress pants alongside a white collared shirt with a black necktie. The two newcomers scanned their new environments with confused looks on their faces. Finally their gazes locked onto the woman wearing a toga who shook herself out of her stupor. "Achem, I am Kristina goddess of nature the first and only deity within the revived Aethulian pantheon. Welcome to my domain otherworlders." Kristina greeted the otherworlders with a huge smile. Suddenly almost out of nowhere the Goddess of Nature fell the ground. "Help me please! There''s this group of insane cultists using my name for their dirty deeds! Committing horrific crimes and sullying my good name!" Kristina cried out, tears falling from her eyes. "I''ve tried EVERYTHING! From smiting them, t-t-to enacting all forms of divine punishments I can come up with. NOTHING worked, instead they have doubled down used my punishments to ''do better'' or ''appease me'' it''s SO frustrating, I wish I could descend down and entangle EVERY LAST ONE of them in thorny vines, but alas I''m not powerful enough to even descend. So I''ve sought advice from my fellow deities and they''ve all told me that once in a while extremely fundamentalist cults will appear from time to time especially when a new deity has been birthed and that best one could is wait them out."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The goddess stood up facing the two otherworlders, "But I don''t want to wait them out, not while they are tarnishing my name. Fortunately they referred to me as the ''True Goddess'' but it''s only a matter of time before they learn my real name. As of now my name is being indirectly tarnished, this is my LAST chance, so please from the bottom of my heart hear my pleas. I''ll grant you powerful boon of your choosing if it''s within my power." The man stepped forward "I''ll do it. In fact I''ll go as far as worshiping and spreading your name!" The man eagerly proclaimed, "As for my boon, I want an infinite supply of cheesecake and nothing else." "Eh?" Kristina said, dumbfounded at the man''s choice for a boon, "Are you sure? You know I can grant you power over nature? "Yes," The man replied resolutely. The woman next to him gawked at him with wide eyes, "Why are you accepting this?! Don''t you have people waiting for you back home?" He stared at the woman next to him with a pained expression, "Look man, the only people in my life that mattered were my parents and grandparents, and they''ve all peacefully passed away." He said fighting back tears, "I''ve got nothing left, my wife left me with our kids, and I''m stuck doing a dead end desk job with a shitty boss and no future. The only thing that kept me going is a slice of cheesecake." The woman looked horrified at his revelation, "I-I''m sorry." "Don''t be," The man stated, raising a hand. To which the woman nodded and moved on to face Kristina"Um, Ms Kristina will I be able to go back after I help you out?" The goddess nods, "Yes, once the cult has been eliminated in it''s entirety you''ll be immediately sent back to your last location with time resuming. almost like you never disappeared." "Uh, Okay then!" The woman said with a bright and cheery smile, "I''ll help ya out! And I don''t care what my boon is, as long as it''ll help." Kristina smiled widely, "Great, oh wait almost forgot to ask for your names." "Roger Winkleton, yes my shitty boss never let my last name go." "Evelyn Dorset Baxter, but my friends just call me Dorset!" Kristina nods, "Nice to meet you Mr Winkleton and Ms Baxter. Now I''ll drop both of you off at a camp operated by the 13th Legion, they''ll be able to explain more than me. Plus they''ve been trying to summon their own otherworlders for some time now. With that out of the way, I wish the two you luck and I''ll be watching over you" She snapped her fingers and the two otherworlders disappeared in a flash of light. "Here''s hopping..." Chapter 20: Karnetsias Web Part 1 Guild Receptionist Anna: I sat behind the counter organizing paperwork, since I had nothing better to do and the guild has been empty lately. Not that it¡¯s a bad thing in the first place, it¡¯s just some days I want peace and quiet from dealing with rowdy adventurers that have had one too many pints, and quite frankly I¡¯m gonna enjoy this while it lasts. ¡°Been quiet lately hasn¡¯t it.¡± A voice spoke to my left, turning to my left, It was none other than Guildmaster Bartalas with a coffee cup in hand. I shrugged, ¡°Well if anything it was probably because of the case yesterday.¡± I responded as I cast aside a stack of paper. ¡°Oh yeah, that was huge, everybody was talking about it. Even at the guild meetings with fellow guildmasters .¡± Bartalas said, pausing to take a sip from his cup, ¡°I still find it hard to believe that the ¡®Hero¡¯ Party were actually spies for the Theocracy.¡± I nodded, ¡°I try to keep out of politics, but even for me this was such a shocker you¡¯d never expect it.¡± Suddenly the door opens admitting in three indiv- Oh no it''s the avatar and her creatures that came with her! She approached my desk, ¡°Wow, this place sure is empty.¡± The Avatar commented, ¡°Actually never mind that, I want to know if it¡¯s possible to change party names, so can I?¡± I quickly grab the correct paperwork, ¡°Yes, you can. What would you like to change it to?¡± ¡°The REAL and 100% Legitimate Hero Party.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: Goal one of today accomplished, change the party name now we¡¯re at the quest board, huh? That¡¯s strange, there¡¯s nothing on there. I turned to the receptionist lady. ¡°Hey uhh why¡¯s the quest board?¡± ¡°Oh they¡¯ve all been completed already, nobody has posted a quest for the past day which is odd, cause we usually receive a lot of quests.¡± The receptionist explained. Well darn, guess we gotta look elsewhere, maybe try Dungeoneering? Dungeon Exploring? Or whatever it¡¯s called. Man what a pity I really wanted to do a main quest then get absolutely sidetracked by doing one bajillion side quests. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s one.¡± A tall man with black hair and a beard, wearing what is considered stereotypical fantasy adventuring gear, standing next to the receptionist. ¡°In the town of Karnetsia has recently reported sightings of strange arachnid-like creatures wandering in the edges of the town. Two days ago, I sent a team to investigate the rumors, but they never came back. I fear that the worst has come to pass. If the three of you are willing, then I¡¯ll add you onto the second team that¡¯s gathered in the southern gate ready to leave.¡± ¡°Is there anything else I should know?¡± I asked, beast slaying should be very simple. The man shook his head with a frown, ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s not much I can tell you, we received a carrier pigeon just now from that town. Here I can give it to you.¡± He reached into his side pouch and pulled a small note, handing it to me. ¡°Be warned that this letter is kind¡¯ve erratic.¡± Let¡¯s see, it reads: Requesting assistance, Town overrunned, strange spiders. Okay so whoever wrote this was clearly in a hurry. Pocketing the note, I looked towards my companions, Jeannette and Earalyn who both just shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll accept.¡± ¡°Excellent, hold one before you go, I¡¯ll hand you a map of Dragdville and the surrounding settlements that connect to the city.¡± The man disappeared into a backroom behind the receptionist. It wasn¡¯t long before the man reappears carrying a folded map. He hands the map to me and I deposit it in my erm pocket dimension? Anyways he continues on, ¡°Here this should help, especially when you, for whatever reason, separate from the second team. Speaking of which, the three of you should hurry as they¡¯ll be leaving soon on a guild wagon which bears the guild¡¯s logo on the sides.¡± ¡°Well in that case we better catch up quick!¡± I bolted out of the guild, followed by my two companions. Alright we¡¯re in the streets and which should we go? There¡¯s a right and left turn! Which one leads to the southern gate? ¡°Excuse me sir, which way is the southern gate?¡± I asked, tapping the shoulders of a top hat wearing gentleman. He turned to face, ¡°Why yes madam, to reach the southern gate from here, first you must take a¡­¡± Whew, thanks to that kind gentleman¡¯s directions it took us no time to reach the southern gate, just in the nick of time too! As a covered wagon bearing the guild¡¯s logo on the side was just about to leave. Actually scratch what I said they¡¯re moving. Okay no worries I¡¯ll just hire a stagecoach, and would you look at that there¡¯s a sign that says ¡®Coach Service¡¯ directly to the left of the gatehouse. Oof there¡¯s only one coach leeeee- nevermind, someone got inside, and now the coach is going. ¡°Fellas look like we¡¯re walking toooo-¡± I pulled out the map that guy back in the guild gave and pointed to the town of, ¡°-oooo Karnetsia, huh it''s not as far as I though.¡± I turn to my companions, ¡°You two don¡¯t mind walking right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll march till the end of this world with you, my Empress!¡± Jeannette proclaimed. While Earalyn said nothing. Whoa, I mean okay, I¡¯m just gonna move on, but oh man this is going to be a long walk¡­ man if only we had a fifer and a drummer marching with us, it would really make this long march bearable. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: four hours later. We¡¯ve been walking for who knows how long, and we¡¯re only halfway to the first village oh and we lost sight of those guys from the guild ages ago. The sun set about an hour ago, yeah I¡¯m starting to get tired, which kinda fascinates me, seeing as I never needed to sleep in my dungeon. I guess it¡¯s one of those quirks of being an avatar in an area avatars aren¡¯t supposed to be. ¡°Hey gals, I think now¡¯s a good spot to rest for the night.¡± I said, ¡°Let¡¯s try to find somewhere nice and preferably away from the main road.¡± My two companions nodded, as Jeannette yawned loudly, rubbing her droopy eyes. I think we¡¯re all tired, Earalyn came to an abrupt halt, causing both Jeannette and I to come to a stop as well. Earalyn pointed in the distance to our right. ¡°Look, a cabin. Maybe we can hunker there for the night?¡± Hey yeah there¡¯s a rundown cabin hidden behind trees and bushes, looks like it has vegetation growing on the walls, I can¡¯t really Tell. but I uh don¡¯t know about this one. Place looks sketchy as heck. Best case scenario it¡¯s empty, worst case scenario it¡¯s got inhabitants¡­ yeah inhabitants that MAY want us gone. ¡°Let''s skip that cabin and find somewhere else, we¡¯ll check it out when we come back after this quest.¡± I said, watching Earalyn shrug in response. Oh look at that, there''s a nice spot to our left with trees and shrubbery to help conceal our tents, perfect to set up camp. ¡°Let¡¯s say we camp there, I bet we can conceal our tents more if we shuffle around a few bushes.¡± Soon after we arrived at the spot just off to the side of the road. We began setting up three wedge tents, I ended up bringing my very own knapsack alongside a blanket roll, but uh suffice to say I had to receive help from my two companions as I completely and utterly messed up mine¡­ anyways once the tents were up I moved some shrubbery and leaves around to I guess better hide our camp. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll really need it, but it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. By the time we finished, the moon was fully visible in the starry skies. I told both Jeannette and Earalyn to keep their muskets close just in case, so I went inside my tent, laid on the ground and began drifting off to sleep. I awoke feeling rested, how¡¯s that even possible for an avatar? Well whatever, I got out, met up with Earalyn and Jeannette, made a campfire, cooked and ate breakfast, before packing everything up and we continued our journey to that town¡­ What was that place¡¯s name again? Karnetsia yeah that''s it. Suffice to say our continued march was pretty uneventful all things considered. I mean yeah we occasionally passed a soldier patrol or two, even other travelers using the same road as us, and a platoon of Dragdville city guards on horseback rushing past us. At one point we met this merchant that sold us snake oil! Talk about being a snake oil salesman amirite? Ok I¡¯ll see myself out. Anyways, I got a look at the bottle and it was snake oil alright, and the surprising thing is that the guy didn¡¯t advertise it as ¡®medicine¡¯ he just approached us asking if we wanted to buy snake oil. I mean I got exactly what he advertised, which was snake oil. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m gonna use it for but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be useful in the future! Oh yeah he had a super flashy wagon just thought to add that here. But other than that it¡¯s been quiet. After some time, after I wanna say five to six hours of walking, it was midday when we arrived at the town of Karnetsia, and whoa why is the place almost empty with barely few people out and about. No sign of that guild wagon to be found. Probably went to a village and not this town. The three of us approached a middle aged woman ploughing a field. She¡¯s the only one there,¡°Hey excuse me ma¡¯am- Whoa oh my god!¡± I recoiled in shock when she turned to face me only to find staring back was a pair of bloodshot eyes and heavy bags under her eyes. ¡°Were you sent from Dragdville?¡± She asked as she zoomed right over to my face, all while having what I can only describe as having this deranged look, like a cultist about to summon one of the Great Old Ones. ¡°Uhhhhh, yeahhh. You could say that¡± I replied, attempting to back away. She collapses on her knees laughing hysterically. Once the laughter died, she raised her hands high into the sky, ¡°Oh thank the divines our prayers have answered!¡± The woman proclaimed. She stood back up, ¡°PLEASE! You have to help US! Our town has been HIT with an infestation of SPIDERS!¡± Said, practically screaming certain words, ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in four days¡­¡± she then collapses on the ground muttering something about spiders, and spider gods and something about ¡®taken¡¯ . I don''t know what to make of it. Why does this feel like the scenario hook of a DnD adventure or actually better yet a CoC scenario hook. I mean think about it: a group gets hired to go to a location to investigate a rumor or a strange report/sighting .Group arrives at the location, discovers something bigger going on. Ie some rando who has gone mad is screaming about ancient gods and whatnot. Group investigates, then stops a cult from, oh I don¡¯t know, summoning Yog-Sothoth or something. Jeannette, Earalyn and I are exactly that group and in CoC you absolutely don¡¯t want to find out what you¡¯re investigating but you are already in too deep to go back. Fun fact, my sister HATES CoC, she voices her opinion clearly to me at the end of each session, but she does play every time I run a scenario pre written or not with my group. She also tries to deny the fact that she¡¯s almost always the most engaged in the scenario. Personally, I was never into DnD, I dunno it¡¯s just the game never clicked for me when my sister first invited me to join her group and play her campaign. I still join in every time she asks me to. Just like she always joins my CoC games. I still remember walking into the local comic store with my sister as she split off to join her group at the table they usually play. I remember looking around for something to buy, cause ya know I always feel guilty walking out of local mom and pop shops without buying anything. Anyways I spotted a small shelf surrounded by DnD books and supplements, with a sign above it depicting a white dragon with the words ¡®Chaosium Inc¡¯ in white on a black background. Located specifically at the bottom row, was a book. What drew me to this book was the front cover depicting night time had like a giant creature with an octopus head, overlooking what looked like a tiny sailboat. So I grabbed that book and went to the register, and from then on CoC became my number one TTRPG. Sidenote: the guy running the register talked me into buying more of Chaosium¡¯s books and supplements, and half of my scenarios took place during the Napoleonic Wars! Oh my god I¡¯m getting absolutely sidetracked, by the time I refocused to what is in front of me, the woman is still on the ground still muttering gibberish. Good lord, I hope I don¡¯t encounter Atlach-Nacha or one of its daughters! I turn to my companions, ¡°So let''s head into town and uh see what''s up.¡± They both gave silent nods muskets on their shoulders. We walk inside the town and the place is pretty deserted, the only people out and about are armored guards diligently patrolling the streets, except they¡¯re monitoring the ground- oh right spiders. ¡°Excuse me sir.¡± I say, waving at one of the guards as he approaches. I got a good look at his face, worn eyes with large bags underneath, black in coloration almost like a bruise. ¡°What¡¯s going on here exactly?¡± I asked, as I scanned around the town, finding boarded up buildings, an occasional open shop, and missing posters on walls, and some on the ground¡­ there¡¯s a lot of missing posters. The guard yawned, ¡°About four days ago in the forest surrounding Karnetsia there was an unexplainable boom in the spider population of an unknown species, and on the same day the Head Speaker of the Karnetsia Town Council was found dead in his office at the town hall, autopsy revealed that spider venom was the cause of death. And just this morning, we found our rep for the Dragdville City Council dead inside his coach. He was set to leave yesterday. Spider venom was also the cause.¡± The man replied. Oh wow, just wow, ¡°That¡¯s such a strange murder weapon, is there anything else?¡± He shook his head, ¡°No, though there have been reports of Large spiders abducting people, so please be careful ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Okay, maybe I can help? Where''s the guard station?¡± I asked, and he pointed at a stone building just at the end of the street, afterwards he rejoined his squad who continued their patrol. I nodded, and continued down the street, towards the guard station. Man, this place is really depressing. Huh?! Through the cracks in between the boards from some buildings I can see cobwebs, and they¡¯re glowing a radiant faint blue! Oh dearie me, just what the hell is going on here? As we got closer to the guard station, a crowd of people gathered around a young man no older than his twenties, wearing white shirt and black waistcoat complete with black trousers. He¡¯s standing atop a wooden platform. ¡°Now people, I know you''re just as tired as I am of these SPIDERS terrorising this fine town so vote for me, Alderson Gray for Speaker, and together we shall ERADICATE these vile arachnids!¡± A chorus of cheers erupted from amongst the crowd, and some even began chanting ¡®Gray¡¯. I got closer, ¡°What will you use to ¡®eradicate¡¯ these spiders?¡± I called, and he looked at me with a smirk. ¡°Good question, now instead of telling you. Why don¡¯t I show you instead.¡± He hopped off, crouched and reached beneath the podium till he procured a musket, no not the ones I use, but the type that denizens of the world use. I¡¯m still calling it a musket. Alderson stood up and raised the musket high into the sky, ¡°This, my fellow Karnetsians Is what we¡¯ll use to drive these spiders off our town!¡± He proclaimed, and the cheering from the crowd grew louder.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Once the cheers died down, I asked another follow up question, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we try to find the source? What would happen if they come back, say next week?¡± People in the crowd began to mutter and chat amongst themselves, ¡°That is something we¡¯ll worry about in the future! After these immediate problems!¡± ¡°That lady with the strange outfit is right!¡± A voice chimed in, he stepped forward and revealed himself, he looks to be in his mid fifties, he¡¯s wearing this stereotypical french nobleman outfit. Oh and he has a monocle on his left eye. ¡°What if they come back after they¡¯ve been killed, what then?¡± The crowd muttered amongst themselves once more with some saying ¡®she¡¯s right¡¯. ¡°Oh okay then do you have a better suggestion? Cause if not then go and stay in your lumber mill, the ONLY place without any cobwebs, huh.¡± Alderson walked up to him getting close in his face as the two began glaring daggers at each other. Then the two were separated, by a third newcomer, one dressed in the typical guard uniform from this country. He has a handlebar mustache and some wicked sideburns. ¡°Gentlemen please, let¡¯s try and keep things civi-¡± The guard was interrupted as everyone, and I do mean everyone, including those two yelled for him to ¡®shut the hell up¡¯ followed by someone from the crowd snapping back saying and I quote, ¡®you¡¯re the only one here that¡¯s been getting a good night¡¯s rest, I haven¡¯t slept in four days!¡¯ End quote. Wait a minute everyone here has heavy dark bags and or bloodshot eyes, or a combo of the two. The only one who has none of those is the Guard who recoiled in shock. HAS NOBODY BEEN GETTING ANY SLEEP IN THIS TOWN! Good lord man, just how BAD IS this infestation? Surely the missing posters aren¡¯t connected right? RIGHT? The guard raises his hands, ¡°Hey now, let¡¯s not get too hasty here.¡± He nervously said, rightfully so, ¡°Why don¡¯t we relocate to somewhere more appropriate, yeah?¡± The two men who were previously staring each other down clicked their tongues and walked away in separate directions. Soon after the crowd dissipated, leaving only Jeannette, Earalyn, and I, along with that guard. ¡°Soooo, just what exactly is going on here?¡± I asked, breaking the awkward silence that¡¯s formed. The guard took his helmet off, ¡°We¡¯ll, as you can see this town is in a bit of a rough spot, I¡¯m Commander Donaghue by the way nice to meet you. But going back, this all started when the town¡¯s Head Speaker of our council Joshua Hues, was found dead inside his office in the town hall, autopsy reported high dosage of spider venom¡­ and that''s when the infestation began. Not to mention an increasing number of missing person¡¯s reports increasing by the day. Which coincidentally began occurring after the Speaker was found dead. The whole town¡¯s on edge right now.¡± Okay so he¡¯s basically told me the same info as that guard from earlier said, AND those missing posters were related. Hoo boy, what did I get myself into? This is FAR more than just a simple ¡®rumour¡¯. ¡°Listen sir,¡± I said, walking up to him and laid a hand on his left shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll help you, I and my two companions were sent from the Adventurers Guild, to investigate this ¡®arachnid-like¡¯ sightings that the guildmaster informed me about, and also those ¡®Strange Spiders¡¯ mentioned in a letter from a carrier pigeon the guild received.¡± He looked apprehensive for a moment. ¡°They got my letter?¡± he asked, to which I nodded in response. The Commander beamed a wide smile, and tears of joy began streaming out, ¡°Ever since the last group from the guild arrived and vanished without a trace we were beginning to lose hope!¡± He wipes away the tears ¡°Listen, ma¡¯am you can help us! Start by searching the town hall, maybe we missed something? Who knows, we searched that place and found no break-ins, and by extension try to find the missing adventurers sent by the guild.¡± ¡°Great, we¡¯ll start there now!¡± I said, placing my hands to my hips, ¡°Where¡¯s the town hall?¡± ¡°Alright so from here take a left then¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia: PoV We arrived outside a two story brick building with a domed roof, standing just off to the side was a guard who introduced himself as Private Arnold Griggs who graciously opened the double-doors for us. I asked him about the current situation, he told me that the town hall has been closed ever since the Head Speaker died. He also added his own anecdote. So according to him, last night he awoke to loud skittering, and there standing outside his bedroom was twelve spiders! Fortunately he fought them off using a chair! He finished saying that he¡¯ll be and I quote ¡°Sleeping with a sword beside me for the rest of my life.¡± Yikes. Inside the reception room, behind the receptionist desk is a staircase that leads up and a door to the left labeled ¡®basement¡¯. So far there¡¯s nothing out of the ordi- I stand corrected, there''s cobwebs on the ceiling, glowing a faint blue. ¡°Alright so from what Commander Donaghue said, the Speaker¡¯s office is on the second floor, first door on the left.¡± I state, ¡°Now Jeannette keep watch of the stairs while Earalyn and I search the Speaker¡¯s office.¡± Jeannette saluted, and stood by the stairs as Earalyn and I continued up, and once we got there, we happened upon a corridor and sure enough the first door on the left had a plaque that read ¡®Karnetsian Speaker of the Council¡¯s Office. I slowly opened the door, saber in hand with Earalyn¡¯s musket over my shoulder pointing towards the door. I peeked my head inside and the room was a complete mess, the chairs on both sides of the desk turned to the side, papers scattered everywhere, but the most peculiar thing of all is that the desk is covered in cobwebs. Okay so unrelated, but there''s two flags flanking the desk, and its design is a blue, white and green horizontal tricolor flag, with a red canton that has a gold flag on a pole. That¡¯s the best way I can describe it, which oddly enough this is the first time I¡¯ve seen this country¡¯s flag. Okay back to being on topic. ¡°Earalyn I¡¯ll check the desk, try to see if there¡¯s anything hidden around the room.¡± The response I received was a brief ¡®yes ma¡¯am¡¯ and walked off to a table with vases and plants on top. Now the desk itself isn¡¯t very special, it¡¯s your typical standard wood desk with two drawers. I absolutely can¡¯t read what''s on the papers as they¡¯re covered in cobwebs and hnghhh, good god these cobwebs just will not budge¡­ alright I¡¯m gonna stop before I break or potentially ruin any extra evidence that the guards failed to collect. How about the drawers? Nope covered in cobwe- Wait! There¡¯s a compartment next to the left drawer. Damn, the handle has a padlock, ¡°Hey Earalyn could you lend me a hand here?¡± Earalyn who¡¯d just finished rearranging the vases and pots on top of the table. And came over beside me, ¡°Well I found some kind of hidden compartment next to the left drawer, but it¡¯s locked tight.¡± ¡°Perhaps this may be of help?¡± Earalyn said, and she had glowed a faint electric-blue hue which also engulfed said padlock, soon after I heard a ¡®click¡¯ and the padlock fell on the floor. So inside the compartment, there¡¯s a note of some kind, although some words have been scribbled over. From what I can legibly read, it says: Chesterton¡¯s¡­ strange behavior. Late-night trips to the forest. Reports of glowing lights. No direct evidence, but something is happening. Townsfolk say they hear whispering near the abandoned church north of town. Must investigate further. If I disappear, look at him¡­ So who the hell is Chesterton? Then suddenly I heard a thump coming from downstairs, ¡°Oh crap something must¡¯ve happened to Jeannette!¡± I ran out the door saber in hand as fast as I could with Earalyn frantically following close behind. Though when Earalyn and I reached the ground floor, much to our relief Jeannette was worryingly staring at the basement door, clutching her musket tight. She turned to face me after hearing frantic footsteps coming from Earalyn and I, ¡°S-so you heard that too r-right.¡± I gulped, and nodded, ¡°Yeah.¡± Then I slowly walked towards the door with my saber pointing towards, I can guarantee you, something is gonna jump out at me. Man, I''m ready for a jumpscare! Once the door was fully open, nothing jumped out. Well that was pretty anticlimactic¡­ Although the basement is completely pitch dark. Fortunately Earalyn stepped forward and provided us with a light source in the form of a glowing blue orb floating on one hand. This does mean that she won¡¯t be using her musket. ¡°So who wants to go first?¡± I ask, staring into the dark abyss that is the basement, of course no one said anything. ¡°Alright guess I¡¯m going down first watch my back.¡± Inside the basement, from what I can see are stacks of dusty boxes. What¡¯s curious is that some of them look as if someone shoved or moved them. There¡¯s a box that lay shattered on the floor which explained the loud thud from earlier. That¡¯s odd¡­ Commander Donaghue said that the town hall has been closed off ever since the Head Speaker, Joshua Hues died. Heck even the guard posted outside further corroborated this and said that nobody¡¯s been inside ever since his death. Which oh god I¡¯m getting this sinking feeling inside my stomach almost like butterflies are fluttering about¡­ ¡°Uh guys-¡± I was interrupted when this massive black spider with a strange red symbol on its abdomen, the size of a Great Dane, fell from the ceiling and hissed at us baring its razor sharp fangs. Then it lunged at me. ¡°AHHHH SHOOT IT KILL IT!¡± I screamed at the top of my lungs as I flailed my saber around hoping to hit it mid-flight, fortunately for me a loud bang erupted behind me and the spider died mid-flight. Once it fell harmlessly to the ground I poked it with the tip of my saber, confirming that it is indeed quite dead. ¡°Um, l-look i-i-in f-front.¡± I heard Jeannette stammer out, I looked in front of me and OH JESUS THERE''S MORE. In the darkness I see multiple blue and red eyes staring back at us, and it keeps increasing. ¡°LET''S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE PRONTO!¡± And I ran up the stairs, my girls not needing to be told twice followed suit, once we got back up I shut the basement door and locked , good thing too as a mixture of scratching and banging on the door was heard. ¡°You two, find something ANYTHING, and block this door, I¡¯ll try to keep it shut in a hurry!¡± I ordered, both Earalyn and Jeannette ran off without saying anything, while I leaned my body against the door. Oh dear everything that is sacred and holy! The pounding is just getting louder and louder. A spider leg pierced through the door and appeared right in between my legs. EARALYN AND JEANNETTE HURRY UP! Another spider leg pierced through the door this time appearing next to my head. Oh please I don¡¯t wanna die like this! Being eaten by spiders. If anything I¡¯d rather die being eaten by an Arachne! Cause at least I¡¯d get to stare at their cute faces and ¡®assets¡¯ as she consumes me. I violently shake my head. NO Amelia STOP IT, now¡¯s not the time to be fantasizing! Just then Jeannette appeared carrying a stack of three chairs, and began propping them up against the door. I appreciate the effort, but I¡¯m afraid these measly chairs won¡¯t hold! Earalyn appeared immediately right after Jeannette telekinetically carried a whole bunch of furniture. From tables to a whole Couch! I jumped away from the door and watched a whole lot of furniture just be piled up and reinforced. ¡°That should hold them for a while.¡± Earalyn states. True enough the pounding ceased soon after. I took a large breath and exhaled. We got outside, and there was Private Griggs, still vigilantly scanning the deserted streets. He turned to us, ¡°So find anything?¡± Oh we did alright, plus more. ¡°So we found a note hidden inside the Speaker¡¯s desk. Apparently he was writing about this ¡®Chesterton¡¯ guy. Know anything about him?¡± Griggs contemplated for a moment, before nodding. ¡°Oh Chesterton, yeah I know him. Practically everyone in this town knows him, and his uhh strange interests. He¡¯s our only biologist and assists our town doctor. Oh, and he¡¯s also running to be the next Head Speaker alongside Martin Rourke and Alderson Gray. Why? What did the Speaker write about him?¡± ¡°Something about his strange behavior, late-night trips to forests and whatnot. Yeah that note was just a jumbled mess.¡± Suddenly his eyes narrowed, he looked left, then right, almost as if he¡¯s checking for something¡­ or someone. He got closer right after. ¡°Hey so you didn¡¯t hear this from me.¡± Griggs whispered, ¡°But two days ago I saw him walk into the forest, and he came out some three hours later.¡± And the rabbit hole just got deeper. ¡°I see, oh and before I go. Might wanna deal with the basement. There''s a lot of giant spiders there.¡± His eyes widened, growing as big as a golf ball. I jest but seriously his eyes have grown. ¡°GIANT SPIDERS!¡± He just collapses onto the ground and laughs hysterically. Occasionally interrupted by him saying ¡®as if this can¡¯t get any worse¡¯. Okay now my guy is now muttering incoherently¡­ We walked away, ¡°Well that was something¡­¡± my two companions silently nodded. Where should we- wait, hold on! I have a system notification.
You took 1 Sanity damage.
Hubdhahduslfk, excuse me what? WHAT?! There¡¯s no way. Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 67,546/67,547 Level: 16 Sanity: Infinite Mythos Rating: NA Mana: 320/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 6/12 Traps: 8 Puzzles: 3 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Oh nah, oh nah, oh nah, there''s no way. No way, absolutely no way. Status!
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 67,546/67,547 Level: 16 Sanity: Infinite Mythos Rating: NA Mana: 320/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 6/12 Traps: 8 Puzzles: 3 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Hehehe hahahaha, this must be a joke, you know a goof, a gaff, a funny haha. So please stop playing with me! Status.
Name: Amelia Yokakko Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary) Exp Req: 67,546/67,547 Level: 16 Sanity: Infinite Mythos Rating: NA Mana: 320/320 Mana Regen: 65 per hour Floors: 6/12 Traps: 8 Puzzles: 3 Titles: Early Survivor Avatar: Off Avatar Editor.
Oh. My. God. Not only do I have a Sanity stat, but also a MYTHOS RATING stat as well¡­ This isn¡¯t a joke, nor is it a goof. Guys this is serious, somehow H.P. Lovecraft¡¯s Cthulhu Mythos has not only infiltrated this world, but also has begun to infest it, because I know exactly what this ¡®Mythos Rating¡¯ stat is referring to! Nah man you can¡¯t fool me! Wait, hold on, I need to test something real quick. I stared intently at Jeannette who suddenly began to look very self-conscious. Status on Jeannette. Name: Jeannette-Dubois Seyrais Adventurer Level: 1 Class: Elite Line Infantry Race: Human (Dungeon Creature) Gender: Female Sanity: Infinite Mythos Rating: NA HP: 250 MP: 0 Upon staring wide-eyed at Jeannette¡¯s stats which bore no difference to what is printed on her guild card, save for the inclusion of two extra stats. I stare up to the heavens. Those assassins sent to kill me are annoying as they already are, that ¡®hero¡¯ was extremely annoying. Oh my god these cultists worshiping the ¡®Great Old Ones¡¯ are somehow gonna be even more annoying than the previous two. Is it still possible for me to dip out and leave Karnetsia for the next vic-I mean Investigators? Oh who am I kidding, I¡¯m already in too deep. So should I go searching for this Chesterton guy? Or should I go talk to Rourke and or Gray? Decisions, decisions. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Meanwhile elsewhere The 13th Legion was on the move after months of preparation, their march spurred into action by the arrival of two heroes summoned at their forest camp hidden deep within the Methyr wilderness. Among the soldiers, the mood was mixed. The veterans of the Legion were eager to face the enemy, while the fresh recruits carried an air of uncertainty, still grappling with their resolve. The two newest heroes sat at the back of a wagon, trailing alongside the marching 13th Legion. Their mission: to relieve the beleaguered defenders of Convaeltica, the sole city that had refused to bow to the Cult''s rule. This act of defiance had drawn the ire of the newly established Theocracy, which laid siege on the city as an act of so called "divine punishment." The siege had persisted ever since the Cult rose to power and the Theocracy was proclaimed. The two heroes now clad in segmented armor and a red tunic for padding underneath. Though in the case for Evelyn her tunic is longer with her leather pteruges also extended to match the length. Their helmets coincidentally called ¡®galea¡¯ sport golden colored horsehair. Roger Winkleton, one of the Legion¡¯s heroes, jokingly referred to the equipment as ¡®Roman Legionnaire fit¡¯. Of course nobody got the joke, not even Evelyn understood the joke leaving poor Roger to sulk for the rest of the day. ¡°So, Roger, I never got the chance.¡± Evelyn asked, gaining the attention of the man previously sharpening his blade. ¡°But where are you from? I''m from Boston, Massachusetts!¡± Roger perked up, ¡°Really! What a coincidence I¡¯m also from Massachusetts!¡± ¡°Oh cool! Which part?¡± Now Evelyn is really excited at the prospect of meeting another Massachusettsan. ¡°I¡¯m from Arkham. Arkham Massachusetts. The strangest city in the USA, but I still love it either way!¡± Roger jumped up hitting his head on the wagon, causing a yelp of pain as he sat back down rubbing his head. Evelyn tilted her head in confusion. Clearly she¡¯s never heard of Arkham THE BEST CI- Achem, ¡°Hey so uhh, I¡¯ve visited every place in Massachusetts, never heard of a city named Arkham¡­ and I¡¯ve lived in the state for all my life.¡± ¡°WHAT!¡± And thus a can of worms has been unleashed upon Evelyn. Chapter 20: Karnetsias Web Part 2 :Ailmea VOP I ended up visiting Rourke''s lumber mill in the hopes that I could talk to Martin Rourke at his mill just south of town. Yeah I figured that if I searched for Chesterton, then it''s gonna end very quickly and I want to milk this situation for as long as I can conduct an ¡®Investigation¡¯. When my crew of invest¡ªadventurers and I arrived at the lumber mill, the front entrance was an archway. There¡¯s a sign that reads: Rourke¡¯s Lumber LLC. What¡¯s interesting is looking around the mill, I¡¯ve noticed two things. One there''s no cobwebs anywhere, and two every single machine is turned on, despite the fact that all the workers are just standing around staring at the forest. I saw a worker hauling a wheelbarrow filled with chopped wood pass by the archway. I ran up to him, ¡°Hey!¡± I called out, causing him to jump in fright. I gave an awkward, and scratched the back of my head, ¡°Sorry! Uh anyways, what do you know about the current situation?¡± He frantically looked around, then turned his attention to me, ¡°Look aint know nothin, cept for the infestation. Me an the boys noticed none o¡¯em spiders creepin on the ole mill while the machines runnin. So we kept em runnin all day an¡¯we keep one runnin at noight at the spot quarters. But ah, recently we noticed them big spiders prowling the forests, the biggest I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Then his eyes narrowed, ¡°You¡¯ve heard of Chesterton eh?¡± I nodded. The man continues, ¡°Well I saw him walk into ta forest at noight carryin jars of some glowin liquid and candals, doin lord knows what. Rourke¡¯s ben mighty suspicious telling us that the hysteria is getting to us, and that, and that Chesterton¡¯s done notthin wrong! But I know better. I got the keys to his office, it''s that little hut oe¡¯r there.¡± He hands me a blue key, and points me to a small thatched roofed hut on the far side of the mill, and he continues hauling the wheelbarrow. Well then time for some breaking and entering! Unlocking the wooden doors revealed a minimalist office room. Seriously there¡¯s nothing here except a desk with a ledger and stacks of paperwork, two chairs and an almost overflowing trash bin filled with crumpled paper. Alright Mr Martin Rourke what secrets are you hiding? ¡°Gals search the room, make sure everything is exactly as it was when you''re done.¡± Right after I gave the order, the three of us fanned out. Let¡¯s see what ya got in your ledger? I was severely disappointed that all I found in his ledger were financial losses over the years. Oh wait, what''s this? Last page of the ledger, my man¡¯s been dealing in shady business dealings with a crime syndicate! Ooooooo, this just got interesting~ Time to check the drawers, what¡¯s inside of drawer number one? Nothing, how about number two? Also nothing. ¡°Ma¡¯am I found something interesting in the trash bin!¡± Jeannette said, showing me a crumpled piece of parchment paper. I take it of her hands, uncrumpling it and read: Rourke. Your debts are piling up, and my patience is wearing thin. Win that election and make sure our ¡®arrangement¡¯ stays intact. Fail, and you¡¯ll be the next one we find in a pine box. Time is running out. Signed,Benedict ¡°Benny¡± Morrelli This may not incriminate the local lumber magnate, in the infestation plaguing the town. Yeah it¡¯s still pretty incriminating nonetheless. It¡¯d be a shame if, you know this and ledger were to ¡®leak¡¯ to the guard, a real shame. I pocket the parchment, and the ledger. While Earalyn magically created a perfect replica, he won¡¯t even know the original is missing. ¡°Alright I think we¡¯re done here, let¡¯s ask around some more.¡± We exited the office and questioned the other workers, suffice to say we didn¡¯t learn anything new. What¡¯s interesting is that all of their testimonies include this Chesterton guy in some fashion. They told me the location of his house. It¡¯s a one story log cabin, with a roof painted red located on the eastern edge of the town. It took about an hour of us walking, till we were in front of the house that match the description that the mill workers gave. Before we could walk in Earalyn took me aside. ¡°Great Mother, please listen to what I am about to say.¡± Earalyn cautioned, ¡°The magic residue emanating from that abode, is¡­ off.¡± Oh I know exactly where this is going and I don¡¯t like it one bit. Still I motioned for her to continue. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know how to describe it¡­ it feels wrong, unnatural, foreign, sinister even. In ways that not even dark magic evokes.¡± Earalyn shuddered, ¡°Just thread carefully.¡± That pretty much describes Mythos magic in a nutshell, although there''s more to it than that. Yeah man I¡¯d say Mythos magic is more dangerous than actual fantasy dark magic. Because dabbling in Mythos magic you are essentially asking the malevolent deities of Lovecraft¡¯s Mythos to give mind-shattering spells and are always dangerous not just to the user but also to everyone else. Yes, even the most beneficial spells Mythos spells one can cast are dangerous. All Mythos spells always have an associated cost other than losing your mind, which varies from depending on the various Mythos Deities. What worries me is that if this Chesterton guy is dabbling in Mythos magic, then I shudder to think of the catastrophe that¡¯ll befall upon this town should this Chesterton succeed¡­ There is a silver lining, any hallucinations caused by dabbling in the Mythos can be very easily explained as just being ¡®illusion magic¡¯ not sure about any freaky nightmares and dreams. ¡°Earalyn, what you¡¯ve described, and if it¡¯s exactly what I think it is, then you¡¯ve described Mythos magic. A type of magic that is more dangerous than dark magic. That¡¯s saying something.¡± I state, causing the girl¡¯s head to tilt in confusion. ¡°I¡¯ll elaborate as to what Mythos magic is, at least my understanding of it when we get back to the Dungeon.¡± She nodded, actually more relieved than she was previously. After which we entered, sidenote the front door was unlocked, and searched the house top to bottom and honestly there¡¯s really not much I can tell you. It¡¯s just a regular house and not a single cobweb in sight. There is however a greenhouse in the backyard filled with all sorts of plants, what¡¯s really interesting is that there¡¯s spiders encased in glass tubes filled with some kind of green viscous liquid. Some were unnaturally large by Earth standards, however these could be local fantasy fauna like those spiders found in this certain game that a certain company never stops releasing. Still I wouldn¡¯t rule anything out. Other than that no, we found nothing. We¡¯ve really hit a dead en- ¡°Hey I found something in the master bedroom!¡± Jeannette exclaimed. Earalyn and I rushed inside the master bedroom, finding Jeannette standing over a hatch with the rug tossed aside. I unsheathed my saber, ¡°Gals, before we go in. We need to have one of us guard the hatch just in case.¡± I then turned to Earalyn, ¡°Listen, if you don¡¯t want to come. Then I understand.¡± Earalyn shook her head in response, ¡°No. I¡¯ll go.¡± I nodded, ¡°Alright then, Jeannette stand by and keep watch, alert us if something happens. Jeannette saluted as I opened the hatch and descended down the hatch, Earalyn following closely behind. What we found is a basement is a chaotic mess of lab equipment, books, papers haphazardly strewn about. But more importantly more spiders of varying sizes encased in glass tubes, again filled with that same viscous liquid from the greenhouse. Earalyn tapped my shoulder and pointed at a leatherbound book sitting on top of a counter right next to some lab equipment, ¡°I¡¯m sensing¡­ heavy amounts of sinister aura emanating from that book¡­¡± I approached said book, which looks like it was recently written. The front cover depicts some kind of arachnoid with twelve red eyes and a large open jaw, displaying razor sharp fangs. The title of the book is called ¡®The Silken Scriptures Of The Eternal Weaver¡¯¡­ I spoke too soon with my earlier comment didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m almost too scared to see what¡¯s inside but I might as well. Who knows, maybe there¡¯s something that might put an end to the spider infestation. Um, let''s see¡­ Most of this is written in some language that I can¡¯t understand, alongside notes haphazardly strewn about on every page, occasional freaky illustrations of spiders and other arachnoid-like things and diagrams, actually a lot of diagrams. Nothing so- oh wait, here''s a translated page, albeit it¡¯s partially translated¡­ okay so from what I can understand there¡¯s some kind of ritual that¡¯s performed and that it requires an anchor, a focus or a location, and sacrifices to appease something. I can¡¯t understand the rest. Gonna have to thoroughly read through this book, to fully grasp its contents. In the meantime, I¡¯m gonna keep this book, it¡¯s too dangerous to leave it out here. I¡¯ll even go as far as locking it away inside my dungeon or maybe if possible, destroy it¡­ I stored it away inside my coat, might need it later. Oh what¡¯s this? Pages that look to be torn from some kind of journal? Let''s take a read shall we, page one reads: The specimens respond well to the serum. Growth and aggression exceed expectations. Spiders are the perfect beings: industrious, adaptable, and lethal. I must test and refine the serum further.¡± O-kay so bro is doing some experiments on poor spiders that didn¡¯t deserve nor asked to be experimented on. I just glanced at the next page and this is where the writing starts to get erratic, it reads: I have found it. The Silken Scripture of the Eternal Weaver. The Eternal Weaver spoke to me through the threads. Its power can secure my victory, protect this town¡­ but the cost is high, even so the cost will be worth it. This guy ain¡¯t protecting squat! Anyways next page and whoa, this is completely erratic and incoherent, but I can try to understand what some of it says: forest altar ready. Veil will thin. Eternal Weaver will come. My destiny awaits. Damn that last one was hard to read! Shaking my head, I turned and glanced at Earalyn behind me, who¡¯s quivering in her boots behind. ¡°Come on let¡¯s go, we¡¯re done here.¡± I state, causing the girl to nod vigorously, she¡¯s just as eager as I was to leave this house. ¡°We¡¯re going back to the lumber mill and inquire more about those spiders prowling the forests¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia POV: So after asking around at the lumber mill for more information about these giant spiders, they pointed me to an area of the forest northwest of the mill, and one guy told me quote ¡®Them¡¯s creatures be prowlin those woods at night everytime I go on patrol!¡¯. ¡°Ladies, keep your eyes peeled, we¡¯re threading unknown grounds here.¡± I plainly stated. The two girls offered silent nods in response, clutching their muskets tight as we ventured into the forest. The moment we entered the forest, I noticed something unsettling¡ªit was eerily silent. Not a single sound could be heard, not even the rustling of the wind. The only noises were the crunch of our footsteps and the faint hum of the mill''s machinery, growing fainter with each passing minute. We¡¯ve walked for fifteen minutes now and we''ve encountered nothing thus far. Then I noticed something shiny poking out from the ground, just up ahead. Looks like somebody tried to bury whatever that is. I motioned for my companions to stop, causing the two to curiously eye at the object. Crouching down, I dug the object out of the ground, wiping the dirt an¡ªOMG THAT¡¯S A MORION HELMET! SPECIFICALLY A CITY GUARD VARIANT! I was taken aback by my discovery, which caused me to drop the helmet, landing with a loud thud. Then I heard the leaves and branches rustle above. I stared up, only to find in horror¡­ a body suspended upside down on a branch, wrapped in a silk cocoon. His skin extremely pale, his face frozen in fear, not only that but he¡¯s wearing a guard uniform. Whatever was keeping the body suspended, snapped and it fell right in front of me with an audible thud, ¡°L-let''s just continue.¡± I stammered. As we continued to cautiously trek through the forest, we began to notice more bodies suspended on tree branches along with webbing stretching between the trees. As we trekked deeper, even the ground became blanketed in this silk-like substance, at one point the tree canopy became engulfed completely in silk blocking out the sun. It¡¯s like we entered a cave made of silk. Our only source of light is Earalyn¡¯s blue orb that she conjured up. This is really freaky, and I don¡¯t like it. All around us we find belongings laying on the ground and a mixture of human remains and desiccated animals line the walls of the web-covered trees. Wait, what is that shining badge? I move closer, bending down to pick it up, netting me a clear view of the badge and it depicts the guild¡¯s logo¡­ there''s some good and bad news. good news I found out exactly what happened to the first team, bad news I found out exactly what happened to the first team¡­ yeaaaahhhh let¡¯s continue on. Keeping the badge though to turn it to the guild and deliver the bad news. Eventually we came across what looked to be a clearing, with a stone slab in the middle, before I could approach it. Earalyn placed a hand on my chest, stopping me in my tracks. ¡°I sense a great and foreign evil emanating from that slab, allow me to handle it.¡± Earalyn stated, handing the orb to me, and approached the stone slab and began to cast magic upon it. Immediately however I heard skittering from behind us, I instantly turned only to face two giant spiders making a beeline towards Earalyn! I drew my pistol and fired, hitting the abdomen of the spider to my left. It turned its attention to me. I blinked, and that¡¯s when it decided to jump at me with a hiss, I dodged and drew my saber, inadvertently dropping my pistol as I countered by stabbing one of its eyes. Causing the spider to step back- skitter back? Anyways it opened its mouth and before I could react, it shot a web at me. It wrapped itself around my torso, constricting my arms. I somehow kept my balance, my one saving grace is that my legs are still free. In An act of revenge, I ran towards that goddamn spider that shot a web at me and I delivered a mighty kick to its face. Which did absolutely nothing except anger it even more. Okay in hindsight that was pretty dumb huh. Then I felt its sharp fangs dig into my left ankle delivering a jolt of pain throughout my body. I TAKE IT BACK IT WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA! With my other free leg, I desperately kicked the spider¡¯s head in a vain attempt to free my ankle from its fangs, and certainly before it began injecting its venom into my bloodstream. Jeannette appeared and pierced the spider¡¯s head with her bayonet, killing it instantly. She cut the webs holding me tight. I stood up wincing in pain as I did so. Fortunately Earalyn finished whatever spell she¡¯s casting and stared at my ankle with a worried expression. ¡°Let me heal it.¡± She said in a stern voice. This is not the best place to heal right now, ¡°Wait hold on-¡± Earalyn shook her head, ¡°You are in no position to run in case we get chased, let me heal your wounds.¡± As if to prove her point, I winced at any pressure placed on my ankle. ¡°Jeannette keep watch while I heal, this¡¯ll only take a moment.¡± Jeannette nodded, and stood guard, while Earalyn crouched down placing her hands on my ankle as a golden glow emitted from her hands, and I could feel the burning sensation begin to die down and the bleeding to stop. She stood up, ¡°There that should hold for now, at least until you receive proper treatment. You should be able to run to some capacity, but not at a full sprint.¡± I nodded, feeling grateful. ¡°Thanks Earalyn¡­ I-I, thank you.¡± She offered a smile in return. ¡°We have to alert the town of this¡­ nest and they¡¯ll get it sorted.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I shake my head, ¡°While I agree to alerting the town, this will not end until the root cause has been dealt with. And for that we¡¯re going to need to confront the perpetrator head on.¡± So far all the evidence gathered thus far, minus the blackmail material against Rourke, points at this Chesterton person. And I don¡¯t even know what he looks like! Nor has he shown his mug. Still I¡¯d like to conduct more investigation, more knowledge couldn¡¯t hurt. Especially against the entities of the Mythos. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia pOv: It took us three hours of trekking through the forest back to town. Much longer than it took walking to whatever that place was, purely because of my leg injury. Along the way Earalyn explained to us that the slab back inside that nest was recently used, and that it''s connected to some kind of ritual, which for one reason or another that ritual site has been abandoned for whatever reason, but it''s linked to another ritual site. She reckoned that with enough focus, the foreign magic could be traced to its partner. At least from what I can understand, as she used a lot of buzzwords, jargon, and all manner of fancy words that reminded me of all those tech bros explaining tech to someone clueless. Basically what I¡¯m trying to say is that a majority of what Earalyn said, went in one ear and right out the other. Anyways we entered town, and the first I noticed was an increased guard presence. Actually some of them I recognize are from Dragdville, can¡¯t blame the town for requesting reinforcements from nearby settlements considering that the local guards struggled to maintain the peace. I even talked to some of them who explained to me that they were urgently deployed after receiving a carrier pigeon delivering a letter detailing Karnetsia¡¯s plight. Which is great that this town hasn¡¯t been cut off. Another thing I noticed is that there¡¯s an increase in missing persons posters. As we walked through the town, passing four sometimes five man patrols, with some of the guards from Dragdville recognizing me! I noticed a sign posted on a lamp post that read: Urgent Council Meeting! Where? Karnetsia Wellness Center, 112 E Dartley St. Time? 2:30 PM. It''s understandable that people are too scared to hold a meeting inside the town hall considering the literal army of spiders hiding in the basement. After asking for directions, plus a couple of minutes. We found the street and a building that looks like a gym, a pretty big one at that. We stepped inside, checked in with the receptionist who directed us to a set of double doors past the hallway behind the desk. We entered a giant room, the size of a football field, with a set of five row bleachers on each side. At the far end of the room there''s a makeshift stage with a podium. Whoa man this place is packed! A man dressed in work clothes stepped off the stage as Alderson Gray took his place. Suddenly I could feel someone, a disheveled old man frantically pushed past Jeannette and Earalyn, ¡°HEY Y¡¯ALL I SAW CHESTERTON TALKING TO THE SPIDERS AND PERFORMING SOME NASTY EVIL GOD WORSHIP!¡± All eyes were on him, as the crowd whispered amongst themselves. Alderson shook his head in disapproval, ¡°Now that¡¯s just some nonsense, clearly the mass hysteria that has gripped this town has gotten. In fact it has gotten to me! Clearly this is nothing more than the spider population growing too quickly and must be quelled, lest they get even more out of control and spread to other towns!¡± ¡°B-but you have to-¡± The man¡¯s plea was cut off by Alderson slamming his fist onto the podium. He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, ¡°No buts! There will be no such slander of the town¡¯s resident biologist and assistant to Doctor Willward! Guards throw him out.¡± Alderson stated, as a pair of guards dragged the man away who began screaming. Alright, these guys are completely useless. Probably should talk to that guy, see if he¡¯s got more to say. I signalled for Jeannette and Earalyn to move out. Exiting the building, we immediately spotted that same disheveled man lying to his side, knees against his chest akin to a fetal position. muttering stuff beneath his breath. Crouching down so that I could be at eye level with him, I snapped fingers in front of his eyes as his head snapped to face me. ¡°So mind telling me what¡¯s up with this Chesterton person?¡± ¡°I- I saw him! In the forest just now, h-he-he-he was doing something with a circle, and and I swear, I swear. I saw him speaking with those blasted spiders, as if he was having a normal conversation!¡± He stammered, still in his fetal position. ¡°Then I f-followed him to an abandoned church! I saw g-glowing light coming from the windows! Please, you have to believe me!¡± ¡°Hey, hey it¡¯s alright. I believe you.¡± I replied, ¡°I just want to ask, can you describe to me what he looks like? You know his outfit, hair, etc. And the location of this church as well.¡± He stood up, ¡°When I saw him just now, he was wearing some kind of robe that has this giant black spider that¡¯s got some weird symbol etched on its abdomen on the front and back. He¡¯s of average height, has short brown hair and he wears a pair of bronze spectacles, his face was uncovered so I know it¡¯s him. Last I saw him was by the church, I dunno what he¡¯s doing there but I¡¯m telling he¡¯s up to no good! Conducting some strange evil god worship!¡± The man paused, taking a deep breath, ¡°The location of said church is on the northern edge of town!¡± Oh dang! If this guy is there, then we¡¯ve got to stop him before he completes this ritual. ¡°Um okay listen, I don¡¯t have time to explain, but uhh.¡± I search around my pockets for something to give him. I found nothing so I ended up requesting Earalyn for an Illusionary copy of my guild card. ¡°This is a copy of my card from the Adventurers Guild, this illusion will expire in twenty-fours. Use this to alert the Guard Commander so that they may rally the town guard and assault the church, hurry!¡± I handed him the copy and he nodded then ran off, while we ran to the northern edge of town, true to his words there lay a rundown church with vines growing along the exterior, the only building on this side of town, with the nearest being a farmhouse. This solitude is the perfect location to hide a ritual. That is if the farmers nearby don¡¯t catch wind of it. As we inched closer, clutching our weapons tightly, I had to resummon a new saber and pistol because I left them back at that freaky web cave. Another detail I noticed is the windows are covered in cobwebs making it outright impossible to peek inside, save for a faint blue light emitting from the tiny cracks. Earalyn also informed that the partner is located inside that church. My hand reached the door, taking a deep breath in and exhaled out. I gazed at my companions, Jeannette nervously clutching her musket, while Earalyn showed a look of determination. I slowly opened the door and crept inside. The interior is completely covered in webbing, all around even tethered to the ceiling are large eggs the size of a bobcat. And in the center is a circle drawn in blood emitting an almost blinding blue glow and a man kneeling in front of it arms raised up to the air. I can¡¯t make out what he¡¯s saying if any at all, cause all I hear is a mixture of chittering and hissing from his mouth. ¡°Hey You! Chesterton, or whoever you are!¡± I yelled hoping to get his attention. He turned around alarmed, and stood up. Yep this guy matches the description that disheveled man gave ¡°Whatever you''re doing is a bad idea and you should cease it right this instant.¡± The man broke it in a fit of maddening laughter, ¡°The man you speak Chesterton. Is. No. More! For I have been reborn to serve something GREATER than myself!¡± The man or rather Chesterton cackled. ¡°You are so naive you think you can stop me? You are merely delaying the inevitable! The Eternal Weaver will arrive and It¡¯ll bring about a new age for this godforsaken planet! Nothing and I MEAN nothing will dare stop it!¡± Oh my god this guy has completely lost it. ¡°By doing this, you¡¯re putting this town in jeopardy! People have died!¡± ¡°I did them a favor! It was so clear to me now, ever since I stumbled upon my master¡¯s tome in the forest. it began whispering to me. And everything became clearer, those ¡®gods¡¯ we worship are nothing more than false gods! I¡¯ve been a fool to worship Casellia, the so-called Kurzian ¡®Goddess of Medicine, and Vitality.¡¯ But now the wool has been lifted from my eyes and I know the truth! The Eternal Weaver brings salvation.¡± He declared, with a deranged smile that¡¯s threatening to tear his face. I cannot believe what this guy is saying, the worst part is that this ¡®Eternal Weaver¡¯ is absolutely bad! And is most definitely a Mythos deity and they¡¯re leagues worse than evil gods native to this world, in fact I¡¯d even go as far to say that evil gods pale in comparison to this ¡®Eternal Weaver¡¯ and its peers! I shake my head in disappointment, this guy long far gone. There¡¯s nothing we can do, ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to do this¡­ but you leave us no choice.¡± I replied, ¡°Girls light em up!¡± Jeannette and Earalyn wasted no time in firing their muskets, as ¡®Chesterton¡¯ dove behind an egg. He poked his head out and let out an ear piercing screech. Forcing me to cover my ears. Once the screeching died down all of the opened as smaller versions of those large spiders crawled out. ¡®Chesterton¡¯ pointed to us, ¡°Drive these non-believers out of this sacred sanctum!¡± All at once they bared their fangs and hissed, the closest ones began jumping at us. Fortunately these guys were easy to deal with since they¡¯re all freshly hatched, the same could not be said for Chesterton who retreated behind the podium and hurled webs and a viscous green liquid at us. I can only assume that this liquid is a type of venom. ¡°Gah these damned spiders are endless!¡± Jeannette exclaimed, as she impaled one right in between its head and abdomen. ¡°Keep up the pressure.¡± I said, knocking a spider mid jump, while simultaneously sidestepping to the right, narrowly avoiding a web, which sailed past my side. Earalyn shot a lightning bolt at ¡®Chesterton¡¯ hitting him square in the chest, specifically right in the heart and he soon fell down convulsing, killing him instantly. The spider assault momentarily halted, before all the spiders keeled over and died. Wow that was eas- ¡®Chesterton¡¯s¡¯ body began to glow a mix of black and blue as his body levitated in the air causing it to contort as legs began growing on his sides. Blood spurting out, his arms folded turning into pedipalps and razor sharp fangs, his torso began growing and soon a large abdomen burst, spraying blood. His legs, much like his arms twisted and folded until they disappeared merging and eventually turning into some kind of stinger. In place of his human head now sits that of a spider. I won¡¯t elaborate as for what the noises it made during this¡­ transformation, just know that it involved the sounds of flesh tearing and bones cracking. It kept growing, and grew large enough to demolish half of the church, which wasn¡¯t tall to begin with. It stopped growing once it reached the size of an African Savannah Elephant. Why can¡¯t this just be easy? I want to go home! ¡°Good lord, look at the size of that thing!¡± And behind the giant spider was a crowd of guards and townsfolk all armed to the teeth. The Chesterton-spider let out a bellowing hiss and charged at me! Jeannette, Earalyn and I scrambled to dodge its attack. We narrowly avoided getting impaled by one of its legs. This leg injury that I sustained, is not making this any easier. We had managed to exit the church in time. Its charge left the remainder of the church destroyed, as we found ourselves surrounded on all sides by guards and towns folks. I turned to address the crowd of bewildered bystanders, ¡°DON''T JUST STAND THERE KILL THIS THING NOW!¡± My yell whipped the bystanders into action as they began attacking Chesterton-Spider. All these are in vain as our attacks, melee or ranged harmlessly bounced off its chitin. Even spells weren¡¯t doing anything. ¡°Keep it busy, I¡¯ll request reinforcements from the military!¡± The familiar voice of Commander Donaghue shouted, from amongst the crowd. Chesterton-Spider roared in rage, and shot a blue liquid hitting an unfortunate guard melting him instantly as everyone around him scrambled to get away. I clicked my tongue in frustration. If its body is armored and nothing is penetrating it then how can we damage it? That was then it hit me, if its main body is well protected, then- eureka! That means its underside is less protected and wait, if loud noises were enough to deter those spiders from entering the lumber mill then¡­ A smile formed on my face, I might¡¯ve figured out how to defeat this monstrosity! ¡°Everyone!¡± I yelled, somehow drowning out the sounds of chaos and battle as I dodged a leg strike, ¡°We have to lure this monstrosity to the lumber mill! Then attack its less armored underside!¡± I received a chorus of ¡®yes ma¡¯am¡¯s¡¯ in response, we set out to work slowly but surely luring this monstrosity, as it demolished buildings it¡¯s path, and along the way we suffered losses, as well a whole lot of near misses, but eventually after three hours of slogging it out with the creature we reached the lumber mill south of the town. There waiting for us were the mill workers armed with axes and- yo no way it''s the guild wagon from the second team! I honestly thought these guys died! There¡¯s seven individuals who I presume to be adventurers standing alongside the mill workers. ¡°Hit it!¡± As the order was given, the mill workers rushed to turn every single machine on, and we watched the monster recoil at the sudden noise. I nodded, ¡°Everyone hit it with everything you got!¡± I aimed my pistol at its underbelly and fired. I can see a bullet hole, but dang it¡¯s not enough! An axe thrown by one of the mill workers managed to lodge itself by the base of one of its legs. The creature let out a mighty roar that sent shockwaves causing everyone to stumble and fall. It turned its attention to the lumber mill, and began a slow and steady approach towards the mill. It''s going to try and disable the equipment! However the loud noises emitting from the machines nearly made it impossible for the spider to move. It then launched a web at a sawmill, engulfing it webbing, however the blades easily tore through the webbing like it was made of butter and continued operations as normal. It sprayed its venom falling just flat. I stood up, and watched as the townsfolk around me began to lose morale at the sight of this monster still relatively unscathed with only superficial damage on its underside. Our only saving grace thus far has been the lumber mill essentially stun-locking the creature. Oh no this continues and this creature somehow breaks free then¡­ I shudder at the thought of what is to come. ¡°Everyone listen up! Our current weapons and spells aren¡¯t working. We need more firepower, something big. Explosives.¡± Rallying the townsfolk around me, ¡°I need a team to stay with me and distract that monster, everyone else start fashioning explosives out of whatever, MOVE!¡± At my command the townsfolk scrambled, while the guards and the mill workers stayed, ¡°Everyone else use ranged, ditch any melee weapons you have. If you find yourself running out of ammunition, retreat, rearm, regroup. For everyone else, fire and dodge.¡± The mill workers retreated and began crafting makeshift bows, using that monster¡¯s web, while the few guards armed with crossbows and crystal muskets, aimed and fired. Good, that monster¡¯s attention is back onto us. I turned and ran towards Earalyn who¡¯s with Jeannette hiding behind a boulder. ¡°Earalyn do you have anything that can help?¡± She shook her head, ¡°I am afraid not, my proficiencies in water and lightning magic contain no spell that¡¯ll aid us in this fight.¡± Drats, well it was worth a shot. ¡°Just keep peppering it with lightning, remember if you''re running low on mana retreat and rest.¡± ¡°Madame, I am running low on cartridges and gunpowder.¡± Jeannette now voiced her concern. I offered her my gunpowder flask and musket cartridge pouch, ¡°Here take them. I didn¡¯t bring my musket, but fortunately I had the foresight to bring them.¡± Jeannette takes the aforementioned items, ¡°I wish you gals luck, I¡¯ll be out on the field.¡± I stepped back out onto the field and witnessed a guard get impaled by one of the monster¡¯s legs. Yikes, if we¡¯re going to lose this war of attrition if we keep taking loses. It was then that I noticed a stack of barrels and what looked to be fireworks slowly being piled behind the spider, by the townsfolk. Bingo if this doesn¡¯t kill it, then at least injure it enough to where it¡¯ll be permanently immobilized. I swiftly reloaded my pistol, almost dropping my ramrod in the process and fired at it. I must¡¯ve hit something vital cause now it¡¯s staring right at me! It sprayed venom at me, and I managed to dive out of the way, though not unscathed. As due to my leg injury I wasn¡¯t fast enough to avoid little droplets landing on my legs. Which yeowch has dissolved through my clothing, and further dissolving down to the dermis. Suffice to say I am feeling extreme pain despite there only being little droplets. It''s basically like being hit with acid. As if sensing my vulnerability the spider readied to spray venom at me when a loud explosion erupted behind it causing the spider to roar once more as its back legs were torn cleanly off. Now immobile it frantically swiped with its remaining legs. Anyone who had the misfortune of being in range was cut cleanly in half by its sharp legs. That thing is still alive, but we have more breathing room now, seeing that there''s nowhere for it to run, the mill workers began shutting off the machines one by one. And as a bonus, parts of its abdomen are completely exposed! Just then Donaghue arrived on horseback with an ecstatic expression, ¡°The military is here!¡± The guard commander exclaimed, which was then followed by the trumpets blaring in the distance. A unit of soldiers on horseback arrived lugging behind cannons, horse artillery to be specific. The soldiers, wearing half-plates with a cannon and crossbuck ramrods engraved on the chestplate along with shin guards, and Morion with black feathers. Dismounted and began setting up the cannons. Followed by more soldiers arriving on horseback, also with an image of a horse engraved on their chestplate, and instead of Morion helmets, they wore those English Civil War versions of the lobster pot helmet. And all carried what I presume to be carbines, they too dismounted and aimed at the spider. Once the cannon crews finished setting and loading the twelve light cannons on scene. The cavalry fired a volley, which expectedly didn¡¯t do much save for grazing the chitin. However the followup volley from the cannons delivered the killing blow as the creature roared for the last time before collapsing to the ground as a puddle of green ichor formed beneath. Cheers erupted from the beleaguered townsfolk. Me? I¡¯m just glad this whole ordeal is over. I¡¯ll blackmail Martin Rourke some other time, I need to sleep! I regrouped with Jeannette and Earalyn. The latter proceeded to apply first aid to my acid venom wounds, which helped a lot. I doubt this town is ready to treat my wounds, I think it¡¯s much better to seek treatment In Dragdville. Either that or bite the bullet and wait for my avatar to regen back in the dungeon. I also grabbed this freaky book out of my coat and tried to light it on fire. Of course it didn¡¯t work, cause why would it. I grumbled to myself as I stored the book back inside. Oh, I see Commander Donaghue flanked by two guards approach us. ¡°Ladies¡­ if it weren¡¯t for you showing up and inadvertently saving this town¡­ from the bottom of my heart, thank you.¡± The man bowed and expressed his gratitude, ¡°Is there any way that the town can repay you?¡± Hmm, this is a tough one. I don¡¯t need nor do I want anything since I can literally create what I want in the dungeon. I shrugged, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡± The Commander shook his head, ¡°No, no please I insist. Plus some citizens will have my head for not rewarding the saviour.¡± I nodded, ¡°I see well, in that case you can reward me by¡­ sending someone or a team over to try my dungeon?¡± I finished, flashing a very awkward smile. He recoiled in shock, shaking his head rapidly, ¡°Wait Dungeon?!¡± Raising an eyebrow, I gave a slow nod, ¡°Yeeees¡­ is that not what I said? Look, I can prove it.¡± I took out my guild card and raised it to his face. The Commander narrowed his eyes before suddenly growing wide. ¡°So old man Dave wasn¡¯t lying, you really are a D-D-D-D-D.¡± Commander Donaghue suddenly passes out as the two guards flanking him swiftly catch him before the man could hit the ground. ¡°Is he gonna be okay?¡± I asked, the two guards nodded. ¡°He¡¯ll be alright. It¡¯s been a long week for all of us.¡± One of the guards replied with a solemn expression, ¡°Man, to think that Mason Chesterton was the one behind this, I never would¡¯ve imagined the sweet biologist would be so¡­ yeah¡­¡± The other nodded with a frown, ¡°I had a couple of beers with him.¡± I don¡¯t know who this guy was before this whole mess, so I won''t comment. Oh right it¡¯s probably a good idea to alert them of this freaky web forest, ¡°Oh right before I forget. Somewhere northwest of the mill is this large chunk of the forest covered in what I assume is spider webs. In that forest, but anyway there¡¯s a lot of bodies encased in cocoons there.¡± The two guards stared at each other with grim expressions. ¡°I see, thank you for informing us of¡­ this, we¡¯ll send a squad out right away.¡± One of the guards replied. I nodded, ¡°Well if either of you or the Commander wants to talk to me, you can find me at the ¡®Yokkako Dungeon¡¯ name still pending, in Dragdville. Now without further ado we¡¯ll get going and report this to the Adventurers Guild. So goodbye for now.¡± I motioned for Earalyn and Jeannette to follow me as the two guards waved me goodbye with their free hands. Oh man I can¡¯t wait to crash on the grass inside my Core Room. You know I¡¯m never going out in the foreseeable future, not even to prove a point. The only exception being something dire occurs requiring my attention. Until then I¡¯m gonna brace my dungeon for deranged Mythos worshiping cultists to start appearing. That¡¯s gonna be so fun. Interlude: Meeting of the Gods Somewhere high above in the heavens, within what appears to be an open-roofed chamber reminiscent of senate chambers and parliaments found across the world, lies a grand assembly space. Arranged in a semicircle are marble seats, facing another row of marble benches designed to accommodate no more than twelve people. Behind this row, on a raised platform made of marble, stands an elaborately adorned throne. Seated upon it is a man of immense, Herculean stature, holding a jade scepter with an air of authority. He is referred to as the Chief God. The Chief God who¡¯s normally content to sit in the background and observe his planet over the centuries of its growth and development. Never interfering in the affairs of mortals nor the affairs his creations. The chamber itself is packed to the brim with deities from every corner of the world, organized into three distinct sections. To the right sits the evil deities, in the center sit the neutral deities, and to the left are the benevolent/ good deities, each group further divided into subsections based on their country of origin and or the cultures that worship them. Just to the right of the assembly, a unique enclosed area crafted from an array of lush plants stands apart. This space is reserved exclusively for the nature deities. Seated in the bench area facing the assembly are the only eleven of the twelve eldest deities created directly by the Chief God himself, during the creation era, these twelve are responsible for maintaining the world¡¯s established orders that govern mortals. Yet, the oldest among all the gathered deities is undoubtedly the Herculean figure enthroned atop the elevated platform. He is said to be an ancient outer god who, whether out of boredom or some other inscrutable motive, ventured to a secluded corner of the galaxy and forged this very planet. One thing for sure is that this deity deeply cherishes the world he created. As the assorted gods and goddesses converse amongst themselves, curious as to why the Chief God would call an Assembly of The Heavens. The last time such the Chief God had called for an assembly was during the War in Heaven occurring right after the Creation Era twenty-five million years ago. A war that devastated the planet and left it a barren wasteland the aftermath of which became the reason why nature deities were born. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Once the Chief God confirmed that everyone was assembled. He stood up and with a booming voice said. ¡°I have ordered this assembly to inform those present of a discovery I made.¡± He paused, scanning the assembly and noting some concerned and perplexed faces amongst the gathered deities, ¡°Lately, I have noticed that my System has been tampered with!¡± As soon as this revelation was made, the deities erupted into a frenzy of frantic conversation. Their voices grew louder and more chaotic, filling the chamber with a cacophony of sound. But the clamor was abruptly silenced when the Chief God raised his scepter and brought it down onto the marble floor with a thunderous boom. The impact echoed through the chamber, instantly hushing every voice and restoring order. After which he nodded and continued speaking. ¡°Not only have I noticed such tamperings but I have noticed an increase in foreign magic-¡± Worried faces from the deities whose sole domain governs magic flashed as the Chief God Continued. ¡°-Which has over the course of forty-eight hours has wreaked havoc all across the world.¡± His gaze hardened as he clutched his scepter tighter. ¡°Furthermore cults have begun to appear worshipping what they call the ¡®Great Old Ones¡¯ and the ¡®Outer Gods¡¯ respectively.¡± Kristina stood up from her rose and jungle vine seat and raised her hand. Before she could say anything the Chief God replied, ¡°No Kristina, the cult worshipping you is native to my planet.¡± After which Kristan sat back down with a frown. ¡°I have my suspicion as to who these ¡®Great Old Ones¡¯ and ¡®Outer Gods¡¯ who dares trespass on my domain. Make no mistake, if they are who I think they are, then this is a serious threat that could jeopardise the very existence of this world.¡± Then his gaze softened just a tiny bit. ¡°I request from each and every one of you to root out this corruption. Have your followers hunt down these cultists, and if need be purify the foreign magic. I have already instructed Avdar of this; hence why he is missing from the assembly.¡± His gaze hardened once again, ¡°These cultists must not in any way shape or form succeed in their plans, and above all stay vigilant.¡± He stated, ¡°I shall be uncovering the identities of these interlopers and they will be swiftly dealt with. Dismissed.¡± The assembled deities without saying a word all stood up at the Chief God¡¯s dismissal and one by one began to exit the chamber until all that¡¯s left is the Chief God with a heavy sigh slumped down on his throne rubbing his temples. ¡°This is going to be a long day¡­¡± He muttered to himself. Chapter 21: Amelias Lazy day Amelia POV: Ahhhhh, nothing beats laying on the grass, along with the sun shining down your face. Especially after the ordeal at Kartnetsia yesterday. Speaking of, I skimmed through the system notifications, which there were a lot of and I am pleased to say that I levelled up! I¡¯m now at 17 so that was pretty nice, at least I gained something out of that, it was painful being one away from leveling up. I also built a large steel vault in my Core Room where I chucked this freaky book I got from Chesterton¡¯s house after which I peppered both the inside and outside perimeter of the vault with traps, and instructed my grenadier regiment to keep a very close eye on the vault. Lastly I added a warning sign in front of the vault. Essentially I spent all of my mana on this vault which will house any artifacts of the Cthulhu Mythos for the foreseeable future. Well those that can¡¯t be destroyed in any way whatsoever. I¡¯d also like to add that the two grenadiers charged with safeguarding the vault doors look way too uneasy. Better safe than accidentally unleashing some eldritch horror because somebody dabbled in matters they can¡¯t understand¡­ I¡¯m gonna move on. Oh yeah, can¡¯t forget about the blackmail material on Martin Rourke! Yes I fully intend to benefit from that whole ordeal, just not right now. Achem, moving on. I gained three new themes, being the Jungle and Swamp, and also Paris for some reason. Still it¡¯s nice to have access to new themes, uh let¡¯s see¡­ oh yeah! I also gained five new regiments, which are the: French Demi-Brigade and its light infantry variant, French Chouans, French Sans-Culottes, and lastly the Polish Winged Hussars. The last four explains why I have Paris as a theme, and I already have an Idea for my next floor because of it! No idea what I¡¯m gonna do with the Winged Hussars, I think I¡¯ll just add them to my sixth floor alongside the other cavalry. I''m gonna step aside for a minute here and just ask. How did I get the Polish Winged Hussars when they were disbanded in 1776? The last four made sense, cause it''s related to the French Revolution and what not. But you know what, I''m not gonna turn away such a nice gift, besides their uniform is sick! The Revolutionary Infantry is going to be interesting, at least the light infantry variant is going to have some cohesion in the uniforms. You know what I¡¯m laying down basking in the sun, even if it¡¯s artificial, and I¡¯m in the mood for description reading! I¡¯m gonna start with the Sans-Culottes. It read: The Sans-Culottes were the common urban working class of France who were militant supporters of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the Bourbon Dynasty. The term Sans-Culottes translates to ¡®without breeches¡¯ which refers to their clothing being trousers instead of the silk knee-breeches commonly worn by the upper and middle class. They were judged as too ¡°radical¡± by other revolutionaries for their advocacy of direct-democracy without any intermediaries. They were poorly equipped and organized receiving little or no support from the upper and middle class. However they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army, and were responsible for the many executions during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars. Due to their revolutionary fervour and zeal, they were a key instrument used by Maximilien Robespierre¡¯s Reign of Terror and committee leaders used speeches to gain their support. Pretty nice if I say so myself. Now if I were to describe the Sans-Culottes is that they were basically an angry mob carrying a wide array of weapons, including guns, that were out for blood. Also the term Sans-Culottes could mean a whole array of different things, it could mean ¡®without pants¡¯ or ¡®without underwear¡¯ etc. Now obviously these guys weren¡¯t running around carrying heads mounted atop pikes without wearing any pants. Alright moving on before the topic gets weird, time to read the French Demi-Brigade description: The French army during the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars was characterized by their revolutionary fervour, poor equipment and training, as well as its great numbers. However by the mid-1790s and due to the constant state of war that the newly formed French Republic engaged itself in, the army had become well-experienced and organized thus enabling the army to comfortably fight their enemies. After the dissolution of the Ancien Regime, the Republic abandoned the use of named regiments, instead organizing the new army into a series of numbered demi-brigades as an attempt to avoid the feudal connotations of the term regiment. By mid-1793 the revolutionary army had a total of 196 infantry demi-brigades. After the dismal performance of the volunteer battalions, Lazare Carnot ordered that each demi-brigade was to be organized into one regular (Ex-Royal Army soldiers), and two federe(Volunteer) battalions. The new formation was intended to combine the discipline and training of the old army with the enthusiasm and fervour of the newer volunteers. The new demi-brigades proved themselves successful at the Battle of Valmy 1792 and was later universally adopted in 1794. The Revolutionary Army was formed from a hodgepodge of different units and thus had no cohesion on the equipment used. Royal Army veterans dressed in white uniforms and tarleton helmets, National Guardsman volunteers in their blue jackets and federe¡¯s dressed in civilian clothes and a red phrygian cap, Due to poor supplies, any worn out uniform was replaced with civilian clothing.. The only semblance of cohesion was that all soldiers wore a red white and blue tricolor cockade. As the wars progressed, several demi-brigades were issued a specific coloured jacket. The Revolutionary Armee d¡¯Orient which arrived in Egypt 1798 was issued pink, purple, green, red, orange and blue jackets. Similarly the light infantry demi-brigades also lacked cohesion in their equipment. Seeing these guys in action would be interesting to say the least, furthermore I¡¯d like to add what the description left out was that revolutionary army also suffered from the lack of weapons and ammunition, an example was after the Battle of Montenotte in 1796, 1,000 French troops that were sent to battle unarmed were later equipped with captured Austrian muskets. Also during the early days of the French Revolutionary Wars soldiers really did wear civilian clothing to battle due to supply shortages, rapid expansion of the army, and the instability caused by the French Revolution. However as time wore on the military uniform became more standardized. In my heart I hope their uniforms are randomized. Now time for the Chouans, I can already guess who these guys are, but I¡¯ll read their description anyway. The Chouans, named after the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau better known as Jean Chouan, who led anti-revolutionary revolts in Bas-Maine. Participants in this revolt and to the wider royalist counter-revolutions occurring in the western region in France, particularly in Brittany, Maine, and parts of Normandy became known as The Chouannerie 1794-1800. The Chouans (Breton for Screeching Owl) were mostly peasants, emigres, smugglers, and salt dealers, who engaged the Republic in guerrilla warfare by ambushing military detachments and disrupting government operations. The rebels operated in small mobile groups as well as utilizing local knowledge, which in turn allowed them to outmaneuver larger Republican forces. Not all Chouans were royalists, some were enraged by the government¡¯s attempt at nationalizing the clergy in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790), others at the mass conscription undertaken by the Republic (Levee en masse). And in the case of salt dealers, the abolishment of the gabelle (The gabelle was an unpopular salt tax established during the mid-14th century which was repealed by the National Assembly in 1790, and was then reinstated by Napoleon in 1806). What the description didn¡¯t mention was that any anti-revolutionaries was to some extent referred to as Chouan, even the rebels in the Vendee region during the War in the Vendee 1793-1796 were called Chouans, though they were mostly referred to as Vendeans. I¡¯m not gonna comment any further, so I¡¯m just gonna move on. I think I¡¯m gonna end my description reading for now, I¡¯ll read the Winged Hussars description some other time. I can¡¯t wait to see all these new units in action! Especially the Winged Hussars and the Demi-Brigade, the latter purely because I wanna see the reaction of outsiders who got used to seeing uniformed soldiers and guerrillas as separate units until they encounter a regiment- excuse me a demi-brigade filled with a hodgepodge of soldiers with different uniforms and some just straight up wearing civilian clothing. Hopefully I get the early versions and not the later more uniformed versions. Man, I want to get up, but I am just too lazy. This grass is just too comfortable! I can feel my body healing-err metaphorically speaking, in short my mind is telling me to get up but my body is saying no. You know what? I¡¯m just gonna close my eyes and slee- An explosion rang out from the core room entrance which startled me. What the devil is going on?! I stand up, and see two guys wearing tattered hide armor and very bloodied might I add, standing or in the case of the other guy sitting on the ground clutching his right arm. ¡°That was close, Shasvaska.¡± The man who¡¯s still standing said. Wow I¡¯m impressed these two are the first people to make it past floor six, not even the Manarias Party has managed such a feat! Shasvaska, if the guy still standing is to be believed, spat out blood after coughing fit. ¡°Man the guild never said anything about going up against cavalry.¡± He coughed some more, ¡°Used up my last bomb, which also got me good.¡± Well to be fair to the guys at the guild this floor is relatively recent so cut them slack, besides they¡¯ve got more important things to focus on than little ol me. ¡°Come on.¡± The man knelt down, gently lifted Shasvaska to his feet, with the man using him as a crutch. ¡°Core should be here somewhere, we reach it and we¡¯ll be on our way home in no time.¡± That¡¯s when I revealed myself to them, ¡°Actually you don¡¯t have to go that far, besides the two of you look like you''re gonna crumble at the slightest shove.¡± The two men tensed and stared at me with wide eyes, ¡°Oh heavens no, it''s the Dungeon Avatar! Please ma¡¯am we¡¯re in no condition to fight.¡± Shasvaska begged, wincing in pain. I raised my hands in a mock surrender, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do anything, besides I would hope that my girls would have the decency to not attack anyone who¡¯s injured and obviously can¡¯t fight back. RIGHT!¡± The bushes to my left rustled revealing two uniformed high elves, one of them chuckled as she nervously met my stern gaze, the other innocently whistled all the while making a terrible attempt at avoiding making eye contact with me. I facepalmed, seriously these girls¡­ then I returned to face the two men still standing in front of me, ¡°You two are free to leave, your rewards will be with you momentarily.¡± Without waiting for a response, I snapped my fingers and the two men disappeared. I redirected to face my mischievous Grenadier elves, ¡°Anyways I¡¯m gonna head out to the first floor, you two¡­ just try not to cause any unnecessary trouble.¡± ¡°No promises ma¡¯am~¡± You know what that¡¯s good enough. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: When I arrived at my first floor, the strange thing was that there''s a crowd of people gathered at the Shrine to Utar. At the front of the crowd is Cerelia behind a makeshift altar, dressed in what looks to be a Catholic nun¡¯s habit, reciting a prayer. This is the first time I''ve seen the shrine have a large crowd gathered around it. Prior to this there¡¯d be only one or two that would pray there at a time. Speaking of the shrine, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever spoken to Cerelia the Shrine¡¯s Priestess. Well I mean she looks very busy maybe later, I guess. Well uhh now what do I do? This day has been slow going, or could it be that I am just so lazy today¡­ How about hearing some gossip and the latest news at the tavern? That does sound nice especially since I need to be keeping up with the latest events. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Alright it¡¯s settled, time to pay a visit to Jackie! I snapped my fingers and I suddenly found myself inside my dungeon¡¯s tavern. I immediately spot Jackie by the counter wiping a mug. She looked up and smiled as I approached her. ¡°Hey mom! How can I help?¡± I sat down on a stool, ¡°Eh, kinda lazy right now. I just wanna see if the papers have anything interesting.¡± The girl nodded, ¡°I understand we all have those lazy days inside the dungeon, even Ellen has them. They all come here to relax.¡± She set the mug with the cloth rag still inside, then disappeared into the backroom. Wow Ellen and the word lazy, that''s a combination that I never would¡¯ve expected to hear in the same sentence. Considering just how hard she drills her Landwehr. Jackie reappears carrying a newspaper, ¡°Here ya go this was printed yesterday.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I said, as I took the paper off her hands, as the girl continued to wipe the mug. Okay, let¡¯s see¡­ wait hold on, the headline reads ¡®Incident at Karnetsia¡¯, man the papers were fast! Gonna skip that one since I was there. Alright second page, oh what¡¯s this? 13th Legion lifts century-long siege on Convaeltica! If you¡¯ve read your history books, then you will know of General Marcus Avenarius Octavius leading the Abercellian 13th Legion to conquer the young breakaway Kingdom of Mythaeraeia and return it under the control of the empire. His short reign and the subsequent rise of the Methyr Theocracy. Well beginning in 1182 after the General fled Dorminicum, the city of Convaeltica rejected the new government and rose up in rebellion. The High Theocrat at the time Laenas, ordered her zealots to surround the city and completely starve the residents, and cut off access on land and by sea. Over the years prior to the 13th Legion¡¯s relieving of the city there had been small-scale skirmishes on both sides. Frankly it is a complete miracle that Convaeltica held out for this long, and there are many factors that contributed to the city holding out for a century. Below are some of the major factors. 1: Lack of manpower; When the order by High Theocrat Laenas to siege down the city, the zealots who arrived lacked the manpower necessary to completely encircle the city, thus allowing gaps that were exploited by the residents to deliver critical supplies, to skirmish with the zealots wherever possible, and bring in reinforcements from neighboring regions. 2: Overstretched Military; Before the proclamation of the Methyr Theocracy, the newly conquered province of Mythraeia was garrisoned solely by the 13th Legion, serving to maintain the Empire¡¯s control over the province. As a result, the Theocracy had to build its military from the ground up especially since the High Theocrat rejected the use of the already existent town militias as part of her policy of ¡°De-Imperialization¡±. The newly formed military initially relied on untrained religious zealots. Over time, the military was gradually professionalized. However, despite these efforts, the Theocracy¡¯s military faced not only the highly disciplined and battle-hardened Legion but also widespread rural uprisings across the country. These internal conflicts prevented the Theocracy from fully committing to the siege as the forces were spread thin, despite the wishes of the High Theocrat who wanted, quote ¡°Swift Divine Justice¡± upon the city. Even now with the inclusion of the Theocracy¡¯s otherworlders fighting for them, the military is still spread thin across the country. 3: Underground Network; Along with exploiting gaps in the siege, residents utilized the city¡¯s sewer system to ferry supplies in and out of the city, even going as far as to construct new tunnels for use alongside the sewers. This forced the already outstretched zealots besieging the city to play a sort of cat and mouse game in the underground tunnels. 4: International Aid; Many nations around the world sent aid towards the city, such as the Griffin Riders of Lazir airdropping supplies, supplies to disguised Succubi from Azrathal charming their way past the siegeworks carrying supplies. We here in the Union sent supply wagons utilizing the aforementioned gaps in the siegeworks. Even now the Grand Council are considering an increase in aid to the Legion as well as to the various uprisings in the Theocracy after the scandal occurring in Dragdville with their otherworlders. 5: Last but not least, Constant Skirmishes; Residents of the city over the years sallied forth and engaged their besiegers in small scale skirmishes designed to disrupt the Theocracy¡¯s siege efforts including the construction of siege towers and engines, as well as destroying Theocrat camps. Of course the factors listed above, as we previously stated, weren¡¯t the only ones involved and there were many others at play, but all of the factors combined with High Theocrat Victoria Laenas continued insistence on conducting the siege against Convaeltica an act followed by all future High Theocrats of the Theocracy had resulted in the longest siege in recorded history, overtaking the 38 year long Siege of Eguard between one of the many wars between the Kingdoms of Earthia and Grire in one of their many wars. General Maximus, the 187th commander of the 13th Legion, has resolved to take a bold and desperate gamble following a string of crushing defeats at the hands of the Theocracy¡¯s so-called ¡°Heroes.¡± His objectives are one, to strike a decisive blow against the Theocracy, and two to send a clear message to the rest of the nation that the 13th Legion is far from being, as he put it, ¡°defeated.¡± After six hours of brutal fighting from both the Legion and the Theocracy with no results from both sides. The city¡¯s beleaguered defenders launched a daring sally out catc-¡® Skipping that section, ah here the second to the last paragraphs of the article. As the Legion triumphantly marched through the city greeted by cheering crowds, one individual among the Legionnaires, who eyewitnesses claim to have an ¡®Otherworldly¡¯ and ¡®Divine Aura¡¯ around them was claimed to have been magically handing out cheesecakes to the masses, with some residents jokingly refer to him as the ¡®Cheesecake Legionnaire¡¯. Unfortunately dear readers we were unable to verify the veracity of the claims. I stopped reading the article there, what¡¯s with this ¡®Cheesecake Legionnaire¡¯, this absolutely sounds like propaganda produced by the 13th Legion. I mean seriously magically handing out cheesecake? Even the guys who wrote the article couldn¡¯t verify the claim. Then again I am in a fantasy world with achem, extra elements, so there¡¯s a real possibility that this is legit and not made up. Also the fact that the siege has been going for a century is mind boggling. I cannot even comprehend what the people trapped in that city had to go through. Entire generations were born and raised under siege. If the siege started in 1182, then hold on¡­ what¡¯s the exact date of this paper¡¯s print? Ah it says so at the bottom. The date is 12/10/1320, and the siege started in 1182. That would mean that the siege has been going on for around 130+ Years! The longest siege that I¡¯ve ever read up on is the Siege of Candia which lasted for about 21 years! Wow I agree with the writers. It is a miracle that the city has lasted for so long, then again it sounded like this ¡®Methyr Theocracy¡¯ conducted some really sloppy siege work. I mean seriously why continue to commit to a siege if you don¡¯t have enough troops to fully encircle and prevent supplies from reaching the city. I shrugged, ¡°Wow that paper sure was a doozy. Anyways I gotta get going, see ya later.¡± I waved the girl goodbye, as I snapped my fingers and I found myself back at the first floor. I Immediately made my way to the shrine and yep the crowd was still gathered there, it had shrinked in size. It seems like Cerelia is finished with her recital. The priestess flashed a radiant smile, ¡°Ah welcome Child of the Goddess. How can this humble servant assist you?¡± ¡°Child of the Goddess?¡± I briefly asked, before shaking my head. ¡°Wait nevermind, I came by to y¡¯know check in.¡± She bowed, ¡°I am doing very well myself, thank you.¡± She replied. I gestured to the crowd, ¡°I noticed these guys around the shrine, if it''s no trouble. May I ask who these guys are by any chance?¡± Her once radiant smile was then replied with that of sadness, ¡°These poor souls have wandered far from home seeking guidance and forgiveness from the gods.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I said with a nod, ¡°Well I¡¯ll uh let you be I guess. See ya.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s no mind, what was that sinister aura that I detected when you returned yesterday?¡± Cerelia asked, before I could turn around and leave, then she continued. ¡°I must say it¡¯s completely different from dark magic.¡± Right forgot, priestess equals divine magic, and can in turn sense magic just like my elven regiments. She¡¯s referring to that book I brought with me. ¡°Uhh yeah about that. Look I¡¯m gonna be real with you, what you sensed is a dangerous book completely out of this world that will unleash untold horrors. So if you sense something similar please do not hesitate to either destroy or toss it into my vault located in my Core room.¡± She frowned, ¡°I-I see, I suppose I¡¯ll have to keep a vigilant eye for the same sinister aura as that ¡®book¡¯ you describe.¡± ¡°Anyways I¡¯m gonna go. I¡¯ll pop right back when the shrine is less busy.¡± I said, waving her goodbye. Huh, maybe I could improve the shrine? I¡¯ll have to discuss with Cerelia on that front. And now I suddenly find myself with nothing to do¡­ okay that¡¯s a lie there''s absolutely a lot I can do especially around the dungeon, but I¡¯m hit with this wave of laziness, even now I could feel my posture slouching. How about relaxing on the beach on my fourth? Hold on, that sounds rather nice actually! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Amelia PoV: Two hours later. This is the dream folks, me sitting on the beach, sun shining down on my face, listening to the gentle waves hit the shore, while sipping on coconut water. Yep nothing can ruin this! I asked some of the settlers if they wanted to join, but they all declined. What a pity I suppose. I suddenly heard an explosion behind me, as bells began ringing and the loud shouts of Macy barking out orders. I lifted up my sunglasses and scanned around me, oh I see why. The pirate ship is docked in the harbor. What? Ships floating close to shore, and cannon balls flying overhead? They¡¯re absolutely part of the relaxation experience! Here comes a rowboat filled with British Marines beach itself on the shore- scratch that, somebody cast magic on the rowboat killing the marines along with destroying the rowboat. One of the frigates, I think it was the Nuestra Senora Gabriella, got lit up in a fiery explosion. Lucky hit on the ammunition storage. Fortunately for her surviving crew the Jeune fille arrived to rescue anyone lucky enough to have survived. Honestly pretty solid entertainment, well that was until I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I found Jackie Blunderbuss in hand. ¡°Hey mom, somebody from the outside wants to talk to you.¡± Well shucks, the battle was starting to get good, surprised that the Kraken hasn¡¯t shown itself¡­ Yet, alright time to see what this person wants. I got up from my lawn chair, and asked. ¡°So any ideas on what this person wants?¡± Jackie shrugged in response, ¡°I don¡¯t know, he was really cryptic, wore shiny plate armor and his chestplate has this blind folded guy holding a scale engraved on it.¡± I can make some guesses as to what that engraving represents, but I¡¯ll see for myself. ¡°Hold on, we don''t have to walk back there and risk getting caught in the crossfire.¡± I said, causing Jackie to stop in her tracks, before I held Jackie close to me and I snapped my fingers. Jackie and I soon found ourselves back inside the tavern. Poor girl clinging onto my waist like her life depended on it. And true to her word, there was indeed a tall man, I¡¯d say in his mid fifties, he had a long scar on his face with a long white beard, and wore plate armor with a blind folded man holding golden scales. He was leaning on the bar counter. Jackie had calmed down enough for her to let go of me, as the man noticed our presence, and approached us. ¡°You must be the Dungeon Core¡¯s avatar, correct?¡± I nodded in response to the man¡¯s questions, as he offered a slight nod, ¡°Then I will cut straight to the chase. I am Sir Artos Danyau The Unassailable, and a Justiciar of Avdar, the God of Law and Justice.¡± Artos declared, ¡°It has come to Avdar¡¯s attention madam that you possess a dangerous otherworldly artifact, a scripture to be specific. Usually what I¡¯d do is confiscate it by force and deliver the artifact to him. However you being a Dungeon Core complicates things a bit. So I would like you to kindly ask to relinquish it. If you do not comply, well there¡¯s really nothing I can do as Dungeons are out of our domain, and a certain goddess will get angry if she inevitably finds out.¡± ¡°Normally I¡¯d say yes, I don¡¯t want that book here. But there¡¯s just too many variables, too many ¡®what if''s¡¯.¡± I replied, a frown forming on my face, ¡°What if on your way to hand it over you get ambushed on the road? Or it gets stolen why you¡¯re fast asleep? Etc. Now, unless your god Avdar comes to pick it up himself, then I¡¯m afraid the risks are just too great for me to hand it to you, it¡¯s safer with me. Don''t ever underestimate the lengths deranged cultists will go in order to obtain an item or to achieve their goals.¡± After I finished speaking, Artos sternly stared at me and after what seemed like forever, he sighed and opened his mouth to speak, before suddenly he clutched his head tight, like he received a really bad headache. Then after a couple of seconds or so, he rapidly shook his head and he returned to face me after nearly falling over. ¡°Apologies for the display, my patron god sent me a message. Avdar has agreed to allow you to store dangerous otherworldly artifacts as you present a solid case as to why you refuse to hand your artifact to the custody of his Justiciars.¡± Artos said, ¡°Furthermore he will assign a small squad of disguised Justiciars to monitor the dungeon entrance. Regarding the suggestion to arrive himself and collect the artifact, he will need to ask permission from the Goddess of Dungeons.¡± I felt a great wave of relief. I really don¡¯t want to have beef with a god, especially one whose domain is law and justice. Also wait, there¡¯s a deity for us dungeons? Well that certainly explains a lot of things, like the sudden options I received for my floor themes, and Cerelia referring to me as a ¡®Child of the Goddess¡¯. If I had known that earlier, I would¡¯ve dedicated that shrine to her¡­ wait, hold on! Why does he need to ask her for permission just to enter my dungeon? God politics maybe? I¡¯ll have to ask Cerelia later. Oh my god, Amelia focus! Now¡¯s not the time to get sidetracked! ¡°That sure eases my heart, and yeah that book being here does place a target on my back if and when cultists discover it. Even so, it¡¯s much safer here than outside.¡± I replied, earning a nod from Artos. ¡°Well Madam Yokakko, I¡¯ll be out of your hair now, enjoy the rest of your day.¡± I nodded, ¡°Yeah you too.¡± Artos said nothing in response and walked out the door, vanishing. Well now that''s sorted, time to resume spectating the battle. I teleported myself back to my lawn chair, aw man the battle is over. At least there¡¯s some peace and quiet now, aside from the waves hitting the beach coupled with the smoldering wrecks of the ships. Good news is that the adventurers have survived and are now braving Waterloo. Meanwhile I continue relaxing on my impromptu beach vacation, minus the extra entertainment.