《Rise of the Goblin Dungeon》 Prolog ¡°You have repelled the intruders!¡± was the pompous message that conveyed my victory. With a yawn i leaned back into my chair and looked at the big writing that stretched across my monitor. I had played the Dungeon Lord game now for a while. It was still one of my favorite games but it slowly offered no new things anymore. As every game it had its limits. It just lacked the feeling of being an evil Overlord. Leading monsters was all good and well but the most evil thing you did in there was imprison or kill adventurers. ¡°Well i guess it is time to get a new one. ¡± I said with a sigh and wanted to get up as suddenly there popped up a blue window on my screenUnauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
Would you like to become a real Dungeon Lord? Y/N
Huh? After looking at the message for a few moments i decided it was simply an advertisement thing and maybe the company brought out a sequel. With mild interest i moved the mouse and clicked on the confirmation.
Confirmation received Beginning with soul transmigration
That was the last thing i saw before suddenly everything became dark. I could vaguely feel my body fall and then it was all over. Chapter 1: God gave me a Tutorial Since i got such a nice response from Talius i decided to post the first chapter today already ! For a lot of people it might seem slow. But that is how i will most likely be doing it. In other stories i often got annyoed at sudden jumps of power that made the MC leap into OP-ness too quickly. It takes time to build up a Dungeon, recruit and breed your little minions and whatever else i will find for him to do. This does not mean there won¡ät be any time jumps where it makes sense(if we are just waiting for things to grow, that would be boring). With that i hope you enjoy :)
I slowly woke up sometime later. My vision was completely black and I felt disoriented. I couldn''t feel my body move at all and panicked for a moment, until something happened.
Welcome to the Dungeon System The last steps to your initialization are being completed right now. Meanwhile the tutorial for Dungeon Lords can be taken . Would you like to begin ? Y/N
My mind drew a blank at first and i could only keep on staring at the blue window. This just can''t be happening ¡­.. a fucking Tutorial ? Really ?
To make transition easier for summoned beings the King of Gods devised this in accordance to what he saw in your World.
God ripped of our game companies! that''s a copyright issue ! Though who could sue a god. Anyway I decided it was a good idea to take that Tutorial and tried to move my hand to touch the Y but realized that right now nothing seemed to work. So instead i tried to think yes and positive thoughts. My work was rewarded promptly.
You have chose to follow the Tutorial You will receive a reward at the end
My vision suddenly warped into a whirling of thousands of colors until it settled down again. What had reformed before me was a endlessly stretching grassy plain. Holy shit what''s going on here? Where am i now?
For the purpose of the Tutorial you have been transferred to a secondary space dimension. Nothing you do here will have effects on the primary space and actions will have no costs as they are not real.
Well that is pretty convenient and to be kinda expected of a tutorial. So how do i start anyway?
As dungeon you have the dungeon system to support you You can access its menus by thinking one of the following commands Status Build Skills Evolution Map Servants In the course of your live you may unlock additional menus other than these standard ones. Just as you did the confirmation by thinking the matching word or intention to enter the menu it will appear.
Well that much seems easy enough, so let''s start with ¡®Status¡¯
Name: None Rank: F
Mana: - Mana recovery: -
Level: -
Until you are in the primary space you have neither Mana nor an actual physical dungeon
That made sense in a way, as much as anything right now could make sense. Then i guess i should just take a look at the menus other than build first. ¡®Skills¡¯
Spawn insects - Spawn plants - Growth lvl 1 Universal language max Spawn Ore vein lvl 1
Well those are kinda plain, why can¡ät i spawn something more interesting ?
Dungeons can only create beings without soul which include low level insects, plants and inanimate objects such as ore. More intelligent beings have to be recruited and bred.
So you say but what am i actually to do If i can¡ät spawn anything useful ?
A dungeon serves as a Monster species home in Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. a symbiotic relation. The dungeon let''s the monsters prosper while they protect the core, your body.
Gah so in other words i am a babysitter? Just great. Well on another view a King needs his subjects to live. So how am i supposed to take care of whatever if i cannot move?
By thinking how you want to move you can move your vision.
As that was mentioned I focused hard and managed to slowly move as the screen instructed, a bit forward and turning around i saw a mound of crystal on the grass. It looked like it would be able to reach my hip if i still had my body but it was hard to estimate like this. The nearly transparent crystal structure was glowing with slowly shifting lights of varying color. Kinda small ? Shouldn¡ät this be something that feels more epic? like a room full of giant crystals and stuff?
The size of your crystal body increases with rank and the size of your territory claimed. Bigger territory will also mean a stronger influx of environmental mana that is absorbed from the space around you.
So the bigger i am the stronger i am ?
¡­ Simply said yes.
Well that is simple enough. Though by now i was getting a feeling as if the darn window had a personality of itself ? Nah must be my imagination. As long as it works properly i don''t care where my Mana comes from. Wait, Mana ? Does that mean i can cast spells later on too and stuff?
After your level increases can choose your first Avatar. Only through your Avatar you can cast spells as decreed by the God King¡äs rules. Thus you are limited to the capabilites of your body in order to keep the balance of strength in the world.
Oh sweet so i will get some body at least later down the line ! Having clarified that i looked around for a moment. But since there really was only grass here as far as the eye could reach I went on. For now it seemed to be the most interesting to take a closer look at the skills.
Spawn Insect This magic spawns for every 3 mana points invested one non sentient insect that can either be randomly chosen or selected specifically. Currently available insects Meatsnails 2M Flourbug 2 M Cavespider 3 M Any low level insect that enters your territory will be listed here afterwards
Spawn Plant This magic spawns non sentient plants randomly according to the invested mana. Some plants may need more mana than others. Currently available plants Moss 10 M/m^2 Luminous mushroom 2 M Any low level plant that is brought into your dungeon will be listed here afterwards
Growth lvl 1 Accelerates Growth of infant and young beings. Simpler beings will go through growth faster than more complex ones. Will not affect fully grown beings or incorporeal ones. Beings affected by this will have a reduced lifespan. You can select which beings are affected and which are not. Activating Growth in a room will cost a certain amount of mana continuously supplied according to the rooms size.
Universal Language MAX You are able to understand every being that has sentience.
Spawn Ore Vein lvl 1 Morphs a certain amount of stone into a Ore vein, the more Mana used the purer and/or larger the ore can be. Currently available ores Tin Copper Higher levels of this skill enables higher value ore veins to be spawned and the mana costs for the ores below the current level are halved.
Hmm well those sound pretty useful, though the growth one does have a mean downside to it. Nothing comes without a cost. I pondered as i looked over the skill texts, after a while i tried out spawning plants and insects. I could just select a spawn point for the insects and they would appear directly molded out of the mana. For the plants i could choose an area and they would begin to sprout from there. Along with growth you could actually watch them grow slowly right in front of you.
Spawned creatures can gain a soul after they accumulated mana either through killing other beings or existing for a certain amount of time. After that they can evolve, by reaching their max level or by meeting certain other conditions, like all other beings.
Hmmh that meant i could rear up some insects from scratch. Would most likely take some time but may be worth it. Next i wanted to take a look into evolution and servants but both were simply empty.
Evolutions for yourself and bonuses can be bought after raising your level and/or acquiring evolution points. Servants displays beings that swore allegiance to you. After a servant has unlocked a certain class you can award others with the same. This requires Mana according to how close or far they are from the requirements in skills.
Which means if i have someone that already is rather good in fighting it will cost less to turn him into a warrior then someone who is just a weak guy that never fought?
Correct Some classes may be available to more species than others.
Then what use is it anyway to give them a class?
Owning a class increases the aptitude with the responding skills and offers some bonuses.
Last I tried my hand a building, which was pretty simple all over. I could construct rooms and make a cave into the ground or tunnels just as i imagined them. Though it seems i had a boundary which was my current dungeon area. Corresponding to what i build my map was altered right away and it was actually a 3D Map which made, building more than one Floor, quite simple. Besides that there were also predefined structures and elements it seems.
Currently available structures: tiny well 3 M/h small well 9 M/h More complex structures will be unlocked by experimenting, races joining your dungeons or are granted by other beings. Materials other than stone have to be harvested by your servants before beings used for building.
Another simple to use thing. That Godking really did a good job on this. Ah just a moment ! How am i supposed to make sure my guys don¡ät suffocate later on if i dig my dungeon deeper?
Part of the subconscious actions a dungeon takes is to purify a part of the air. This does not apply in case of sudden drastic oxygen consumption. Neither are poisons or particles such as smoke cleared out.
Hmmh well that seems like a good deal. After all i might want to use poison myself later on. Then it would be troublesome if i ruined it myself. For a while i still played around with some of the building and skills to get a better feeling for it. After some trial and error I found out that i could move my view outside my area for about a 100m which could be a bit useful to scout. Apparently i needed to use my Avatar to move outside further than that.
The Tutorial is now completed The reward for this are : Free spawn insects and plants, each up to a of worth 1000 Mana 1 Evolution point Shadow Grass added to your plants list Proceeding with transfer of the soul to the dungeon crystal
With that my mind went hazy and i lost consciousness again as soon as i had read the text. Chapter 2: A dance of goblins and snails...... So since i had a bit of time at my hand today and already a part of this written already i decided to put out another XD Weekend be praised.
As soon as i came to again i found myself inside a cave that was about was roughly 10x10x2 m though of course not perfectly like that and uneven as it would be for a natural cave. ¡°We succeeded! with this we have a chance for survival!¡± Suddenly I heard¡­. words? No I just understood what it meant but what filled this cave was some screeching and gi gi sounds. Well that was not what i expected. I moved my view around to take a closer look at the noisy beings that were chattering among each other now. I made up my mind about them pretty quickly. Goblins ! It had to be goblins¡­.. Shit i really drew the bottom lottery here huh? They were small, about as tall as a 8 year old child. They had green skin and looked like they had starved for a good time as they were mostly skin and bones. The head structure was a bit similar to humans. They had bigger noses and ears that resembled a bit a bat''s ear. As for natural weapons it looked like they had somewhat useful claws and teeth for fighting. Most of them looked like beggars right now as they knelt before the crystal in a semi circle formation and looked somewhat exhausted. They were clothed mostly in dirty pelts and leather as clothing. If you could even call it clothing. If you wanted to be very generous they could be called coats and skirts on the women, vests and fur kilts for the men. Everything they had gave a very ragged impression and looked like it had been patched up over and over again. Some of them seemed to be wearing basic stone tools or weapons quite the cavemen i got there. The one with the most ¡°luxurious¡± clothing was a old goblin whose face looked like it had been made of old leather. He wore a somewhat clean brown robe and a old gnarly staff with some clumsy looking runes scratched into it. It seemed like he was the leader as he inspected slowly pulsing crystal body. ¡°So you are the ones that summoned me ?¡± I zoomed back towards my body and faced the goblin leader. He looked startled at first before he had a delighted expression. ¡°Yes oh great one ! We humble goblins pray that you will take care of us in the future¡±(Goblin) Gah ! this screeching and stuff will really need some getting used to. Taking care of these guys sounds like a lot of trouble, but guess i have no choice on the matter. But that was a strange reaction. Aren''t they the ones that summoned me ? ¡°Why did you look that surprised ? ¡±(Me) The goblin pondered for a moment before he responded ¡°Well my lord, normally dungeons do not have an ego until they reach a higher level. I have never heard of one having a personality right at the beginning¡±(old goblin) That was an interesting fact, so it seems dungeons were not always people from another world. It made sense that he was happy about a smart dungeon if their survival depended on it. ¡°It seems like i am a special dungeon then. Now tell me more about your situation. It doesn''t seem to go all too well around here¡±(Me) The goblin eagerly followed my words. He introduced himself as Gobar the shaman and current leader of this goblin tribe. Wait, Gobar ? Seriously ? They use that silly Go-something for their names?
The speech is translated for you in a manner that is easy to understand. Since there is no equivalent for the goblin language in yours everything is translated along the meaning and replaced with something familiar where it cannot be done.
Ahh that makes sense, guess screeching and stuff doesn''t really translate proper names. So guess me reading all those novels is at fault here for the naming. Well let''s listen to the rest. From what understood Gobar led them all here into a mountain range, far from their previous home. Their old home place was raided by humans before and most of their population had been wiped out. Which really explains their ragged state. Good job surviving this far with those old bones of your¡äs ! ¡°So for how long have you been here now ?¡±(Me) ¡°We found this cave after a month of wandering, then it took us another month to prepare your Crystal, Lord¡± (Gobar)Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°I see well then i will take some time now to get used to this place and look over what is needed ¡± (Me) As I dismissed the goblins, they went back to chores or whatever goblins did and left the cave except for Gobar. Well then let''s have a look at what i have to work with here now ¡®Status¡¯
Name: Goblin Cave Rank: F
Mana: 10.000 Mana recovery: 3000 Mana/h
Level: 1
What the fuck ! My name is Goblin Cave?! That will have to change soon.
Your name changes according to what you are perceived on. Though you can of course have your servants call you by another name.
Meh well for now that will have to do, once i have a body of my own that will be a better fit. Besides i like being called Lord. For now the numbers in the status didn''t tell me a lot as I had no idea how much I would need to deal with everything. Next was the map and found that i had a small cave system as my dungeon area so far. Beginning at the entrance was one small entrance cave from which two short tunnels led to different caves. The left one was a dead end cave about half the size of the one my core was in. The other one was about double the size but still just about 2 m high. From this led another slightly longer tunnel to the core room. Both caves seemed to be cramped with goblins. The crystal cave was all the way in the back just as it should be for the most important room. With quick glance outside i saw some shabby fence construct made of mostly branches and some more Goblins were outside as well that seemed to be busy as far as i could tell. Hmm how many goblins do i actually have? ¡®Servants¡¯
Which servant race do you want to be informed about? Currently owned servants: Goblin
Of course ¡®goblin¡¯ seems that screen thing is not too smart after all in some situations.
Goblin population: 36 adults 10 children Classes in population: 1 Shaman 2 apprentice shaman 1 apprentice builder Gender Ratio: 26 male 20 female
Well that does not seem like a lot. Won¡ät they suffer from degeneration a few generations down the line unless i get some new blood somewhere?
Goblins are very resilient to genetic degeneration.
Well that''s useful information, good job screen ! But i wonder on what basis i get information like this. I waited for a few hopeful moments but i didn''t get an answer. So figured I would need to find that one out over time. For now I looked around to see what was needed. What I found out was that they were basically in need of everything. They had some stone tools such as sharp stone knifes but very little in way of food which explained the state they were in. The upside was that they seemed to not be picky at all in what they ate. One of them even snatched a butterfly and ate it as it flew over. That was when i remembered the reward from the tutorial. Hmm so how do i go about using it. Well let''s get some input from the old guy. I zoomed back over to the crystal room. The old goblin had gotten a bit more comfortable meanwhile on some pelts probably awaiting my return. ¡°Well Gobar it seems we need to quickly do something about food. I can spawn Meatsnails, Flourbugs and Cavespiders. What would be better for you goblins?¡± (Me) The goblin twitched slightly at my sudden voice but caught himself quickly as he pondered my words over. ¡°Lord, the snails could be eaten raw or by roasting them over the fire. Same goes with flour bugs except they can be dried and grinded to make bread. The spiders offer not much in terms of food.¡±(Gobar) I considered his words for a moment as i got an idea ¡°What do Meatsnails and Flourbugs eat?¡±(Me) ¡°They eat any vegetation as long as it is not poisonous.¡±(Gobar) Perfect ! Time to build an insect farm. I parted from the old goblin in a hurry and went into building. Right now i had about 100x100x10m to work with on dungeon area. Some of it was outside and ended at the fence. I guess my starting dungeon was simply the size of space the goblins had claimed. I moved to the small cave and dug a tunnel into the back. Just big enough for a crawling goblin to get through. After a few meters I switched to making another cave. I made it just high enough for a goblin to stand and the floor was sinking down towards the middle to give it a bowl like shape, though i made it purposely not a smooth curve. At the end it was around the size of the linked cave. At the right side i planted a tiny well and let it fill the bowl a little.Then i planted all of the remaining cave floor with moss, activated growth and watched how the plant sprouted rapidly there. Good, now for the buffets ingredients! I begun spawning snails until i had 200. The spawned insects weren''t fully grown adults so i watched them a little bit as they went about feeding on the moss and steadily growing.
A object was added to your constructs: small nursery Construction needs 50 M For operation it needs 53M/h You have 600 points left for insects You have 950 points left for Plants
Huh well that was quick but pretty useful as addition. Anyway now I need a shepherd for the slimy food. Swiftly I got back to goblin grandpa and told him to get a female goblin with him to the small cave. For a guy like him he got there surprisingly quick, but if he wasn''t at least like that he would have not been able to get his people out of the human raid. With him he had a female goblin that looked to be still rather young but fit enough to do a good job. ¡°Very good Gobar ! What''s the name of this one?¡±(Me) Both goblins bowed quickly towards me, i guess they simply did that towards where my voice was coming from. Then the old goblin nudged the female a bit forward for her to introduce herself. ¡°My name is Gorin, Lord!¡±(Gorin) ¡°Good Gorin, you will be in charge of watching the snails behind this tunnel. Harvest the fully grown snails and distribute them first among the females and children, then among the males. ¡± Gobrin seemed to be delighted, it seemed she understood what privilege i had just given her by putting her in charge of the best food source of her tribe. With that I went back to planning my next steps. Chapter 3: The kitty and the dumb goblin Sadly there will be no chatpers for tomorrow and the day after. Maybe on thrusday i will have enough time to write the next chapter. Hope until then this will be a interesting addition.
Well this is going to be a problem. The first night had passed by now. Gorin had been a zealous manager of the snail pit and collected every snail as soon as it had grown adult. She had only left a few of them behind that had already laid a few batches of eggs now. Luckily it seemed growth also affected reproductive cycles and such so that the numbers of snails did not go down too much. Thanks to that the goblins had the first good meal since a while. But another thing happened as well, one goblin was lost. Apparently a Mountainstalker had snuck up on a goblin that was posted outside to keep watch. Another goblin had only seen how the beast had jumped him, broke his neck with a single bite and pulled him away. From what i was told that thing should be a big cat with short, brownish fur. ¡°So what are we going to do about this? ¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, I think it will return soon. It should also be responsible for some of our peoples disappearances during the time we were fleeing. ¡± (Gobar) We both remained in the cave and pondered for a while. Simply said this was a really bad situation. The Mountainstalker was alone but the goblins were not really on par with it. They would still need some time to recover from the days of starving. Even then a single goblin as they were now wouldn''t be able to kill a beast like that. They may be able to see in the night relatively good and hear better than humans as well but the beast was better. One idea would have been that i keep watch. But as i learned even a Dungeon Lord seems to need sleep. So that was not an option in the long run either. Well sitting here won''t help. So i went towards building once more. First up it was important to get some more food in. I went to the snail pit and made a branch in the connecting tunnel that led to another small nursery and filled it with 200 of the smiley meals. Next i should make sure that the goblins replenish their numbers. It was time to build a room for the small goblins to grow up as well. From what i understood they would need longer than insects since their bodies were bigger and more complex. So i build a nursery to the side of the big cave and expanded it to double the size. They could use the moss as beds at least. Ah let''s see how my status is like now
Name: Goblin Cave Rank: F
Mana: 39370 Mana recovery: 2788 M/h
Level: 1 10%
Well nothing surprising on the mana part. But why did i get percents on my level ?
Since there were a lot of snails killed you gained some. Once you rank up once insects and other unranked beings will no longer provide any exp for you. From then on only beings of the same, higher or at most one rank beneath you will have an effect on you.
Well that was something at least, then we would not stagnate forever here at least. Now back to that damn beast, what should I do about that guy. Now that i had taken care of everything that needed immediate attention i returned to the crystal core and informed Gobar that he should take the hoblin children to the new nursery. I simply assumed that Gorin would see the tunnel and extend her duties since she was such a hard worker. Hmmm that reminds me did I not get a plant at the end of the Tutorial ? Gotta take a look at that maybe it¡äs something useful
Shadow Grass 3 M Common grass that contains a weak neurotoxin. Sometimes used by the poor as a drug. Causes in a high dose confusion, paralyzation and hallucinations.
Well that could be useful.... Wait a moment that might be an idea. How do goblins get skills.
Any being can acquire skills by fulfilling certain conditions. Active ones by reaching a certain mastery in the basics. Passive ones by being exposed to and surviving outside influences, the stronger the influence the stronger the gain.
Hmm wait are those then simply numerical values on how far you are ?
Once a skill is learned, skill points can be invested. This advances skills faster than just through normal work. Further, by upgrading an active skill, basic knowledge of the corresponding level will be transferred to the individual. In case of passive skills the body will be altered. Skills are divided by rank : Legend Master Expert Practitioner Novice Advanced Middle Low
Ahh well that is useful¡­ Now i think i might have an idea about how to deal with the fucking predator out there. ¡°Gobar ! Get in here quickly !¡± (Me) Why i do not go to the old goblin ? because i am the Lord here. Simple as that. I waited a bit as i heard the goblins outside transmitting my call and soon after the old goblin came rushed inside accompanied by the clanking of his staff. ¡°You called, Lord?¡±(Gobar) ¡°Yes, what skills do you have as shaman ? ¡±(Me) The old goblin settled down on the furs once again while he replied. ¡°Well, Lord, I have learned nature, earth and water magic to the middle level ¡±(Gobar) ¡°Is among one of those a magic to cure poison ? Do your apprentices have the same skills ?¡±(Me) ¡°Yes, Lord, both nature and water magic offer certain spells to cure various poisons and yes since they are learning from me they learned the same. Though they are mostly still in the low area. ¡±(Gobar) Jackpot ! Now i can give this a try. ¡°Get the least useful male goblin we currently have and wait with him and with your apprentices here¡± I left as soon as i instructed Gobar and went to the second nursery to plant some of the shadow grass in the back of it. Unlike normal grass it had one central root from which green blades of grass would grow upwards and the roots down. But for some reason it would not grow at all. Huh? what is going on here?
Shadow Grass needs light to grow unlike the moss you have planted previously.
Light?..... yeah right i am in a cave so how do i even see anything ?
As Dungeon Lord you see everything if it was under light. Even goblins need some light which is why they plant luminous mushrooms. Duh
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Ohh ok, makes sense¡­. and is pretty useful. Also... did the screen just get back at me ? The matter about the screen had to be put aside for now. A quick look around told me that there were indeed those mushrooms in certain places. Gobrin had even planted some of them into the nurseries. After some thought i simply left the cave and went to the entrance. I raised a square wall just high enough to border the goblins hips and was delighted to see that it was recognized as its own room. I planted the Shadowgrass here and activated growth. It sprouted just like i had wanted. Perfect ! now for a gardener¡­.. ¡°Hey you goblin ! you with the runny nose ! ¡±(Me) The goblins present looked startled and everyone tried to see who was meant before they all focused on one of them that had snot flowing out of his nose. ¡°Y-y-yes Lord? ¡±¡ä(snot goblin) ¡°Get over here to the plot and water these plants. Once they grow halfway to your shin harvest them and bring them posthaste to the crystal room¡±(Me) The goblin went at it right away, running into the cave to get water from the nursery. I meanwhile returned to the crystal room where gobar and his apprentices waited with another goblin for my return. ¡°Gobar who is this one ?¡±(Me) ¡°This is Gob my Lord¡­. he fits your criteria. But he is a good goblin that will follow any command given.¡±(Gobar) Well that for sure. That guy looks dumb even for a goblin ! I guess he would just obey and do what he is told. Which is perfect for my plans! The one in question had indeed a slightly absent expression on his face and with his big glassy eyes he looked silly at best. Well for his task he didn¡ät need to be the sharpest tool in the box. ¡°Gob i have an important mission for you this night. For this you will need to go through some¡­ experiments.¡±(Me) ¡°...¡±(Gob) I waited for a few moments but he didn''t seem to have any intention to respond at all. There wasn''t even a change in his expression. ¡°Hey, Gobar is that one just dumb or brain dead?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, your sentence was too complicated. I think he doesn¡ät realize you are speaking with him. It would be best if you give him very short and precise instructions.¡±(Gobar) The heck¡­ sounds more like a zombie. But who cares. Let''s see how useful he can become. I waited then for a while longer and talked about Gobar about other things. I did learn some about their old home place, which seemed to be a ¡°peaceful¡± Village. ¡°Peaceful¡± because apparently they were too weak and cowardly to pick a fight with any of their neighbours. Finally the snot goblin came running in with a primitive basket that had been filled to the brim with Shadowgrass. He set it down and i immediately dismissed him to get more. ¡°Lord what do we need those for?¡±(Gobar) The old goblin was eyeing the basket and picked up a blade of the grass. He was obviously in doubt about how we would use this to battle the beast. ¡°If the Lord¡äs plan is to put out poisoned bait i am afraid the Mountainstalker will smell it.¡±(Gobar) ¡°Ahh but we will put out a very special bait. Give the basket to Gob and let him eat it ¡±(Me) The old goblin''s eyes widened in shock and he looked very uneasy. ¡°Lord, even if the poison is within a goblin the beast will not eat a corpse.¡±(Gobar) ¡°You idiot i am not telling you to kill Gob, let the poison do its work on him for a bit and then cure him! Now less questions more work¡±(Me) The goblin grandpa and his apprentices seemed confused, but did as i had told them anyway. They gave the basket to the idiot goblin and had him eat more and more of it. There was some fascination to it to watch how the poison took effect on the goblin. His face became partially paralyzed and he seemed to be hallucinating. That was until Gobar made a cut in his arm and activated his spell. ¡°[Blood purification] !¡± (Gobar) I watched in wonder as the spell pulled a blackish liquid out of the wound. It seemed to be the poison that remained in his bloodstream.
A goblin has acquired: low neurotoxin resistance. Skill was added to your list.
Nice ! it works ! ¡°Gobar catch that poison you are pulling out of Gob. We will use it later.¡±(Me) ¡°Lord ! we will need a bowl for that or it will affect us too if it seeps into our skin.¡±(Gobar) ¡°Good then get one. Repeat this process and feed him the stronger poison with the grass later. ¡± It gets in through skin even ? That''s more than i had wanted. I watched how they fed and detoxed the poor Gob over and over again. They took turns in using the spells so that the others had time to recover their mana. At some point i even grew bored of watching it because Gob just smiled dumbly, nodded and did as he was told. I went outside to get some other goblins move towards the nearest trees and organize some long sticks. They were supposed to make them into makeshift spears. After half of the day had passed finally the message came.
A goblin has acquired: middle neurotoxin resistance low poison body Skills were added to your list.
Ahahaha ! perfect there even was a skill for that ! I had read in the past about how you can build resistance to certain things. Just how an alcoholic could have a immense blood alcohol concentration that would knock other people out cold. The good Gob now had poison in his blood. Hmmm now that i think of it what list were those skills added to ? My own ?
Any skills your servants learn can be granted to others for a certain amount of mana. The individual has to be compatible with the skill. The list can be found under the servants menu.
Ahh well good to know. Maybe i''ll have some others learn those as well but not now. Give me the infos on the poison body skill !
Poison body(passive) Depending on what is eaten, poison will gather in the body. This is especially so for bodily fluid like spit, blood etc. Higher ranks of this allow a higher concentration and different kinds of poison to be stored. Cannot exceed poison resistance.
Nice ! now let''s see if that gets any higher I leisurely returned to the crystal and saw that Gobar had a few bowls of the poison standing around. They had fed Gob some snails and water as well to replenish him from the constant draining. ¡°Seems it is going as planned. Do you think we can get his poison body higher, Gobar?¡±(Me) ¡°Gob learned the poison body skill ?!¡± (Gobar) The old goblin was thoroughly astonished and seemed to ponder for a while. He then pondered for a while before he begun to insistently prattle on to Gob. Our poisonous idiot looked confused at Gobar for at least half an hour if not more before he suddenly smiled brightly and nodded repeatedly with such vigour that his ears sways back and forth.
A goblin has acquired : Middle poison body Skill was added to your list.
How did that happen ? ¡°Gobar?¡±(Me) ¡°Yes ! Lord, i had Gob use his skill points for this. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°hahaha ! good, but why did he¡­ no he is simply too stupid to do it by himself?¡±(Me) ¡°Yes and we didn''t want him to have any dangerous skills so we never told him to do it before.¡±(Gobar) Perfect ! now for the rest of the plan¡­ we just need to wait till night. Night the same day: This damn kitty cat show up here soon or i''ll really get some anger problems here. I was grumbling to myself as i waited outside. The whole space in front of the dungeon was void of goblins except for Gob who stood close to the fence with one of the wooden spears in hand like a sentry. Though no sentry would look as absentminded as he. Well he is just bait¡­ but i somehow i am split on whether to wish for his survival or his death. Like this it went on for a good while longer. Suddenly i realized something was slowly edging closer to the goblin from his blind angle. Holy shit ! even i nearly didn''t notice that thing. How can a cat as big as that be so silent and stealthy. In this moment i was seriously glad that i had NO body. That cat was bigger than a wolf at least. I zoomed closer even to take a closer look and marveled at the predatory impression this beast gave off. That was until it got ready to pounce. Uh oh nearly forgot the plan ! I flew back to Gob and just as the cat run towards the goblin and jumped I shouted into his ear ¡°Gob to your left ! Defend !¡±(Me) The goblin turned just in time to see the giant cat leap at him. With a panicked screech he pulled up his hands instinctively to protect himself. Hmm guess even idiots recognize mortal danger ! ¡­ Damn this whole Dungeon Lord business makes you cold. I marveled just for a moment at my cold calculations before the fight drew my attention back. The cat had been surprised by my voice it seems. It was distracted for a moment and didn''t see the goblin raise his hands. Most likely he didn''t even realize that it brought the spear''s tip towards the cat. It only managed to make a bloody scratch in its shoulder but it was enough to enrage the beast. It attacked Gob mercilessly and got his forearm between its teeth. Gob was screaming all the while and struggling fiercely but of course it was amounting to not much. The goblin''s blood leaked from the beast''s maw as it ripped through flesh. But after some moment it''s eyes widened and it let go, spitting and retching harshly. Yeah now you are in deep shit kitty ! ¡°Gobar now !¡±(Me) On my command several goblins burst out of the dungeon¡äs entrance. 5 of them armed with the other wooden spears and the three mages. ¡°[Natures binding !]¡±(apprentices) ¡°[Swamp¡äs embrace!]¡±(Gobar) The effect was not really dramatic but it did its purpose. The grass around the beast''s legs wrapped around it and held it in place while Gobar¡äs spell let the cat sink down like it was in quicksand. Hah ! got you now. The other goblins approached the cat cautiously with the spears directed at it. The predator that had now become prey itself was in a pretty confused state right now. The bitter and burning sensation its mouth and throat, it''s trapped limbs and the approaching goblins drove it into a violent struggle but to no avail. The hissing and snarling made the spearmen back of a little, but the mages recast their spells a few times to incapacitate the feline further and the poison soon enough weakened its thinking and movement. Once it was sure that the cat had no way to escape one of the apprentices hurried over to Gob and begun treating his wounds, careful to not come into direct contact with his blood himself. Good, time for the next stage ! ¡°Hey kitty, do you understand me ? ¡±(Me) At my words the cat hissed angrily and i felt something like a negative emotion, apparently it did not like to be called that. I wonder what it meant in cat language. Wait why is it not translated to anything ?
Beasts like this especially lone predators do not have much in terms of actual expressions since they do not need them. You will get a vague feeling of their meaning.
Hmmh guess not everything is possible to be put in words. ¡°Anyway i''ll make it easy. Submit, or die !¡±(Me) The cat looked at the goblins and down at its trapped legs for a while, growling and snarling but at the end it seemed to settle down.
Congratulations you have a new species Mountainstalker For your first subduing of a being and acquiring a new species your recieved a level up You recieved titles for your actions: Using your own subjects as bait without a second thought or remorse [Cruel Overlord] Using your own subjects as experimental testobjects and delighting in their pains [Sadistic researcher]
Chapter 4: Expand your dungeon, train your minions. The duties of a Dungeon Lord So, didn¡ät make it on thrusday sadly. But today it worked out fine ! Hope you will enjoy the chapter. Between this an the next one will be a little Time skip !
After we had subdued the Mountainstalker it was time to take care of things. Gob had taken some serious wounds so he was taken under the care of the apprentices. Kitty still looked reluctant but went with the goblins as they headed to the dungeon and settled somewhere a bit away from the little greens. The goblins in turn made sure to stay far out of reach, they respected the hell out of the furball. Anyway, after they settled in for the night i finally had time to take a look at what i had gotten out of the night''s haul.
[Cruel Overlord] A title that only cruel rulers receive. Your subjects will fear you a lot more as they learn your cruel methods. Your Avatar will receive the trait Intimidating [Sadistic Researcher] A title for those that delight in the pain or their test subjects. Skills unlocked Appraisal
Well those are mean titles! Though i can''t deny they are true. Well then next was the level up?
You reached level 2 You gained: 3 Skill points 1 Evolution point Unlocked function Area expansion Skills available Appraisal Dungeon radar
Neat ! Let''s take a look at the skills first.
Spawn insects - Spawn plants - Growth lvl 1 Universal language max Spawn Ore vein lvl 1 Appraisal lvl 0 Dungeon Radar lvl 0
Hmm well I will of course need Appraisal. I HAVE to confirm if it is as much a cheat skill as those novels made it seem. Growth is likely also a good choice. But ore vein is useless at the moment. The goblins neither have the know how to make a oven nor a smith or do they? Guess i''ll take the radar instead. As far as the goblins were concerned I had to admit that I had underestimated them. After the screen had mentioned them plant the mushrooms around for light I paid closer attention. They actually kept the caves clean of excrements and even used some of them to fertilize the snail nursery¡äs. They didn''t make a fire inside the caves because they knew they would suffocate if it was too much. Of course they had no idea why that happened. But they also made sure to only use fire outside during the day to not draw attention to them during the night. Which was smart because if something stronger than the Stalker noticed them now they were as good as dead. I would have to take a look at their skills later on. For now 1 point in Appraisal, Growth and Radar. ¡­ ARGH! What the fuck ! Suddenly a piercing pain went through me. It felt like a severe headache just without head.
Appraisal lvl 1 was activated Dungeon Radar lvl 1 activated Map contains now extended information. Knowledge about servants was extended. Influx of too much information caused momentary painspike
Momentary !? Fuck you screen I was dying here! It took a time to calm down again after that and some phantom pain remained as well for a good time. But the curiosity was stronger and I took a look on the map. *Whistle* Screen really didn''t lie that is some detailed information. The 3d map now had different modes. The first one was the one with the radar integrated. I could actually see small green figures that represented my little minions with a little name tag attached to them. The next one was probably created from appraisal. It showed me all the ores that were already present in the stone of my dungeon. After playing around with the new functions for a bit i caught myself again and went on. Right there still was the evolution stuff. Now what is that going to be about.
Evolutions: Evolutions are changes to your dungeon and yourself. Choosing some of them may prevent other evolution paths. The range of Evolutions are dependent on what you do with your Dungeon and what level you are. 2 Points Evolutions currently available Mana crystallization: Let¡äs mana crystallize in your dungeon Earth affinity: Strengthens your affinity with the element earth Goblin Dungeon: offers bonuses for your servants Nursery Dungeon: unlocks certain building options Insect Dungeon: offers bonuses for your servants
Hmmm well how about some more info on those options? .... Ok guess i''ll have to buy a blind bargain¡­ Give me Mana crystallization and Goblin dungeon.
Evolutions Selected If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. entering suspended state for changes to being
Huh? oh not this again ! And with my yell i faded to blackness once again.
The next morning:
Evolutions finished Added effects Random crystallization Added construction options Crystal geode small Crystal geode medium Crystal geode Large Sun Crystal Goblin Home small Goblin Home medium Goblin Home large
Well that is a pretty impressive haul! Those will be interesting to look through. Right as I woke up I got a heap of text in my view. But for now i put them aside. There were more pressing matters to take care of right now. A look through the cave let me know the Goblins had woken up already and i called Gobar to the crystal cave. ¡°Gobar, i want you to send out 10 male goblins along with one of your apprentices. They are to bring back every insect and plant as they scout the vicinity, or course they are to be alive or respectively with roots. Tell the Kitty that it is to accompany them as well and guard them.¡±(Me) The old goblin nodded as he listened to my orders and bowed ¡°As you wish Lord, anything else ?¡±(Gobar ) ¡°Yes we need more tools as well. Do we have someone that can do that ?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, Gobuto our novice builder can make simple tools. What shall i have him make?¡±(Gobar) ¡°Spears and other weaponry. If he can some easy to handle clubs, knives whatever. Also i will be doing some constructions so don''t be too surprised.¡±(Me) The old goblin went to organize the things i had told him right away. MEanwhile i turned my attention to the latest addition in functions ¡®Area expansion¡¯. What came into vew was my map with. On each side glowed a mark where i could extend my area by the 100x100x10 sized blocks. Each one cost 20.000 Mana. Woa that is some cost but I didn''t really spend any so far. Give me the 3 plots that are inside the stone. Outside would be too defenseless. What came now was a really strange sensation. I had never used that much mana before and really felt how something was leaking out of me. But at the same time i also could feel myself growing larger. Whoa that was strange ! Gotta see how I am standing right now.
Name: Goblin Cave Rank: F
Mana: 46.186 Mana recovery: 5784 Mana/h
Level: 2
Hmmm seems it is 1000 per block that i get in mana recovery. Good to know. Now then time to build ! Looking at the map i begun to plan the layout for the future cave Well then what we need is a place for the gobs and some where i can let some of the insects evolve. Those will make some fine disposable minions i bet, especially the spiders. I could not help myself as i went from the crystal cave to the right. I had decided to keep the general layout and make the right wing into a insect domain while the left would become the goblins home. For now I simply dug a huge cave into the new territory. I made it in the center with roughly a third of the available space. It had various pillars, hills and other things strewn about to give it a more natural feeling. Now then let''s see, give me info on the Sun Crystal.
Sun Crystal Creates a crystal that emulates the outside sun. As the sun rises and falls the crystal will shine stronger or weaker. Helps in growing plants. 100M 20 M/h
Awesome ! now i can just let everything grow in here. Hmmm but this huge would consume too much mana if i put everything under Growth. Show me the new level info on Growth.
Growth lvl 2 Accelerates Growth of infant and young beings. Simpler beings will go through growth faster than more complex ones. Will not affect fully grown beings or incorporeal ones. Beings affected by this will have reduced i lifespan. You can select which beings are affected and which are not. Activating Growth in a room will cost a certain amount of mana continuously supplied according to the rooms size. lvl 2 Can now target specific species to reduce the cost of upkeep
Ahh perfekt ! it paid off to invest in that skill. With that information i planted a crystal in the ceiling and the whole room came alight right away. Though there were of course still plenty of shadows with all the obstacles. Next i used most of the points i had left for free plants to plant patches of moss all over as well as some of the shadowgrass and luminous mushrooms. Then i activated Growth just for the moss, grass and mushrooms. Hmm i should let the plants grow first. But let''s move the snail nurseries. With that I took the two snail rooms and moved them behind the huge cave, connecting them with two short tunnels. Then i placed another 3 nurseries next to them, 2 for flour bugs and 1 for cavespiders. Of course on each one I spawned 200 of the insects. In the spiders case it was just 100 spiders and 100 flour bugs. One of the useful things i had found out previously with the snail farms was that they would obey roughly what i wanted. Such as not leaving their caves. Now i set it so that they would only leave the cave after maturing. For the finishing touch i took the tunnel that previously led to the nurseries and made it bigger before connecting it to the giant cave. Now there will be enough for food and leftovers to have them evolve into whatever they evolve to. It''s the gobs turn now ! I zoomed over to the other side and simply selected the large goblin home from the menu. This time it was like placing down a building in a strategy game. I had to do it over the map to select where i would place it. That thing is huge ! I couldn''t help but but be impressed by the sheer size. It was even a bit bigger then the insect cave. It was roughly circular and went down towards the center in 5 ring like steps. Each steps was its own level of caves that would serve as a home for goblins and the rings were connected by 4 stairways in the north,south,east and west.. It really felt like a old tribal settlement. At the lowest a large flat surface. Which could most likely host meetings, markets and any other kind of event. That was when i noticed that there was one, bigger cave at the end of the western stair. Hah the tribe leaders cave ! That is gonna be mine. After checking the Mana Pool, I realized that this thing cost a whopping 3000 mana, but it was worth it along the time I saved to not make this by hand. The last feature then it is ! Show me the crystal geode stuff.
Crystal geode A hollow stone structure. It will serve as a more directed way to crystallize mana. Will yield better quality and larger crystals depending on the size of the geode. Uses a large amount of mana Large 600 M/h 3 days Medium 300/h 2 days Small 100 M/h 1 day
Woa ! that is indeed a lot of mana right there¡­. but i guess that would be worth it over time. Should use them to decorate my place for now. I placed 2 large geodes right and left of my future cave''s entrance. Each one was as tall as a normal human so they were indeed large. Then i went to connect the new goblin home with the old cave where most of them had spent their time. As well as redirecting the tunnel that led to my crystal cave. Now any attackers would have to go through the goblin village first before the got to me. Hmm how much time did I actually spend on this now ? I went to check and saw that the day was slowly nearing its end already. So I went back to the goblins that remained here and directed them to the new home so they could begin to settle down. After a while finally the other goblins returned as well and i was assaulted once more.
Your scouting force has successfully returned Map was updated with scout information Scouts subdued following species: Dark tailed Scorpio Blood Butterfly Fly Mosquito Screecher Scouts have brought back following plants: Bladed Grass Moon¡äs Love Death¡äs Claw Ankle Ripper Mountain Flower Plants and insects were added to you spawn skills.
Well well they sure made a good haul! Now it''s time to announce some new rules for my minions ! I swiftly called all the goblins into the home and waited for them to settle in the center part. ¡°Goblins ! from today on there will be new rules in place. We are currently lacking in many things but most of all we need a force to fight with. ¡±(Me) As is spoke these words a murmur went through the goblins. ¡°Yes ! we will train hard to become warriors !¡±(Goblin 1#) I did a mental sigh at the little screamer and spoke back harshly. ¡°No you moron you won¡ät become warriors.¡±(Me) At that the goblins seemed to become confused. So i went on to clarify. ¡°You are goblins, you are too weak and small to be warriors that can fight against others. This is why from today on you will train to become assassins.¡±(Me) ¡°Assassins, Lord?¡±(Gobar) The old goblin seemed to be confused as well for a moment. ¡°Yes Gobar, you goblins are a small and swift species, your eyes can see in darkness well and your sense of smell is also better than mosts. So far you didn''t make too much an advantage of that but that will change now! ¡±(Me) ¡°Hear my decree goblins ! First ! From now on every goblins is to train their stealth skills. Sneak up on each other, try to find each other before you are snuck up on. Second ! Every male goblin will from now on join a combat training in this center place. You are to learn and train brawling and knife fighting. Third ! the females are to learn from Gobuto from now on and develop their skills in any craft they can and have talent in. Fourth ! From today on there is to be added a bit of poison for every meal to develop your poison resistance. ¡± After i declared the rules the goblins were chattering between them. Besides those rules i also had them organize a regular scouting and patrolling shift that would accompany our Mountainstalker outside to hunt, train and survey the area for resources. Quite pleased with myself I went back to my cave intent on looking through the spoils that the first scouting mission had brought me. Not a Chapter Next Chapter will most likely come tomorrow. For now there is a little thing on which i am wrecking my brain :D Most likely i will soon make the avatar for the Dungeon Lord. I already decided to make him a caster type of class. But i am not sure yet on what kind of magic he will practice. So if you have something you want on him, now is your chance to suggest it ! I make no promises that i will take it though, since i have to consider his character and future developement into consideration too. For example a strong healing affiliation will be very unlikely since... well a healing oriented, evil Overlord? Nah thats too much comedy.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Chapter 5: Progress, a surprising change and the madness of this world. Well then ! a bit late today but as prmoised a time skip and some more Infmormation about the world! Hope it isn¡ät too confusing but it is intended to be a bit vague. On another note, thank you to everyone that took part in the discussion about the avatar! I was glad to see that people are taking an interest in my little story and appreciate the input.
You gotta be shitting me¡­ This world continued to surprise me without any limits. But first I should probably recount what happened over the last 2 weeks. First, the spoils that were brought back from the first day proved to be rather interesting. For the insects I made new nurseries. One for each of them as I had no idea how useful they would actually be, especially the mosquitos and flies. Over the two weeks there also were the first evolutions among our crawling and slimey friends!
Acidic Snail F A snail that can spew acid from its mouth. Not many try to get even close to this abomination. Oil Snail F A snail that constantly secretes an oily substances from its body. Soldier Bug F A bug that has strong mandible and a hard exoskeleton. Silverthread Weaver F A spider whose nets are known to be hard to escape from. Poison rainbow Butterfly F A butterfly that can disperse poison from its wings.
The poisonous insects had skills similar to Gob, while the others had some equivalent like acidic body. The most useful of those evolutions was without a doubt the spiders. Their thread was since then used by the goblina for sewing and weaving cloth.I also set down some of the new plants inside the insect cave but not to too many. For them I made a new cave to the north of the goblin home. It was a big cave that had different plant beds and left some space for future addition. After i added the sun crystal and a watering system through canals i got a new addition to my construction menu.
Added to construction options Small Greenhouse Medium Greenhouse
After that was that the crystal geodes finished maturing after 3 days. At some point they suddenly stopped absorbing mana and a huge crack appeared in the middle, all along its length and then split in half. At that moment I was still playing with my newest project and was distracted by the noise that the goblins were making so i returned to the home. ¡°What is all the noise about ?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord ! the crystals are ready for harvest !¡±(Gobar) The old goblin seemed overly delighted so i went to check and was quite amazed by what i saw. Each geode was mostly composed of 2 types of crystals. While the left one had mostly bluish and brownish glowing crystals inside with some completely transparent and shining ones mixed in, the right one had reddish and purplish as the main component with some that seemed to be strangely dark. Each one was quite a beautiful sight to behold, like a small valley of treasures. ¡°Hey, Gobar what''s going on? Why are they so different there?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, the geodes have absorbed mana. The one on the left drew mainly the earth elemental mana to itself and with it came the water element as those are supportive of each other. The right one was then filled with the fire and wind mana as they were in a higher quantity. The other crystals are a more rare kind of crystal, respectively light and darkness!¡± I did a mental nod at the explanation of the goblin. It made sense, if you absorb the opposing elements a lot of the other will be left over. But now there was a big question left. ¡°So what exactly do we do with those things except have them look pretty?¡±(Me) I will be very annoyed if they only have monetary value¡­. but that should not be the case right? Gobar edged slightly closer to the gems and i could nearly see the greed pour out of his eyes right there. ¡°The crystal have many uses, from what i see their weak colors indicate that they are mostly of low quality. But even so we can use the fire crystals by injecting mana into them to generate heat. It is a great possibility to heat our caves and cook our meals without falling to the cave poison. Earth crystals can be used to help plants grow while the water and wind crystals can be used the same way to purify the respective thing. They can also be used to learn the basics of magic or they can be used to create magic items of various kinds. ¡± So the basic idea is, in an unrefined state as long as you pour mana into them they will do something. For now i had them put the light and dark crystal as well as the best quality ones into my cave to set them aside. The others i left the distribute freely. Actually they took one half of the fire geode and put it into the center of the goblin homes space. It was from then on used like a central oven where they would dry, roast and cook their meals. Since they seemed to have so many uses i right away planted new geodes and kept that all up during the two weeks. After that was the goblins themselves. The rules i had set in place had at first seemed slightly reluctant. What made them accept it quicker were actually the kids. They loved to sneak up on the older goblins and played pranks on them nonstop. Soon all the goblins joined in and it became their favorite way to kill time. I even had to enforce a ban against it during sleep times! The same was the case for the combat training. I had them do basic strength, agility and endurance training followed by the older goblins teaching the younger ones some combat tricks. Followed by that was a lot of sparring. Of course there were some wounded here and there but that was an opportunity for the apprentices to practice their magic and non magic healing skills. So everything was good. Speaking of it, the goblin children grew up quickly and joined the ranks of the adults soon enough. After all they had been pretty grown already before. Meanwhile some of the female goblin got pregnant and i realized that even the duration of pregnancy was affected by the growth skill! Putting those things aside for now, that leads us to the project I was talking about before the crystal matter. I had actually bought another plot of land to the south of the goblin home. I turned the whole thing into one rather large cave and a winding tunnel system all around it like a maze. The cave had various training opportunities for climbing and such while the tunnel system¡­ The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Dare i say it? YES! Parkour ! ¡°(Me) The goblins were of course more than confused my be sudden emotional outburst but i simply left them with that before i explained them what i wanted them to do here. It needed some time until I had explained them the concept. The female goblins had taken rather quickly to the new rules. They were quickly learning the skills to craft things from Gobuto. They even begun to think up some proper things to cook to mask the poison in their meals. Thanks to that the goblins had a steadily increasing supply and quality of their equipment. It was a big help that with the Kitty¡äs support in hunting we got some new pelts, bones and other such things. Thanks to that there were a shitload of skills unlocked and upgraded.
Goblins unlocked the following skills up to the grades: Middle Endurance Middle Climbing Middle Movement High Stealth Middle Detection Middle Unarmed Combat Middle Knife Handling Middle Spear Handling Middle Sewing Middle Gardening Middle Stone Processing Middle Wood Processing Middle Taming Middle Weaving Middle Pottery Middle Tracking Middle Construction
Of course that didn''t mean that every goblin was on the highest available skill or that every goblin had each skill. Just that some of them had reached it. The taming skill that Gorin got was especially handy since it allowed her to start training the insects to serve as battle companions to the scouts. It was interesting to watch how the goblins got acquaintance with their new pets of sorts. Inside the dungeon I could tell the Insects what they had to do, but i coul not follow them outside yet. So that was a convenient addition. This leads us to the point where i had been before. One morning i was suddenly greeted by this screen. You gotta be shitting me¡­
Your goblin Gob has evolved Variant Poison Goblin Birth defect was corrected through evolution Your goblin Gob has been awarded the following titles Zealous Minion Masochistic Servant Willing Test Subject
SERIOUSLY ?! WHAT THE FUCK! I zoomed in towards Gob first. He was still waking up inside his cave. He really has changed ! Appraisal !
Name: Gob Rank: E Species: Variant Goblin
Level: 30 Class: -
Mana: 130 Mana recovery: 3 M/s
Skills : High Poison Body (racial) High Poison Resistance (Racial) Middle Sneak Middle Unarmed Combat Mutations: Poison Claws Injector Teeth Titles: Zealous Minion Masochistic Servant Willing Test Subject
After I read through the screen I took a look at the goblin more thoroughly. His skin had grown a shade deeper in green. His eyes even were of a almost glowing poisonous green color and were slitted like a snakes. His teeth were a lot sharper and gave a spike like impression that would be sure to puncture normal skin easily. The claws got longer as well and were of a slick sheen that indicated they were covered in something. Damn¡­. Who would have thought it would come to this. Over the course of time i had the goblin eat the spiders and the death claw flower which was a good bit more poisonous than the Shadowgrass. I did indeed notice that he seemed to mainly eat poisonous stuff soon after but i didn''t think too much of it. I also had the Shamans bleed and refine the blood into poison for the other goblins. Guess the titles should not come that much as a surprise. Give me more info on them.
Zealous Minion For some reason this being is your zealous follower. He will not disobey even in the face of death. Masochistic Servant Your cruel practices have awakened something inside. This being will be delighted over any cruel orders you might give. Maybe you should have been more careful¡­ Willing Test Subject This being loves to be experimented on. Any experiments you do on him will awaken skills and Evolutions faster than on others.
¡­ Well i simply have no idea what to say to that. For now i decided to not put too much thought into Gob¡äs change. What surprised me and the goblins was that after the evolutions it seems he actually gained a measure of intelligence and a gluttony for anything containing poison actually but that''s another story... Actually during this time I also decided to get more informations about this world and called Gobar to the crystal room one night. ¡°Gobar, tell me about the outside world. What is the state out there ? ¡±(Me) The old goblin nodded and sat down on his seat. Gobuto had actually crafted to hold guy a pillow made of pelt and some grass as stuffing so he would be more comfortable inside this room. ¡°Lord, the knowledge we have is mostly hearsay and what was conveyed by our forefathers. But i will gladly tell you what i know. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°That will do plenty. Anything is more than knowing nothing¡±(Me) ¡°As you wish. This world is currently on the path to a slow recovery. Around a hundred years ago there was a war that spanned this world and even the realms beyond it were involved. ¡±(Gobar) Wait realms beyond? Oh well questions later. ¡°But to understand how it happened you need to know a few more things. There are three pantheons to which the gods belong. As the lowly mortals that we are, we cannot pronounce their true names. So we call them by the names Pantheon of the rising Sun, of the myriad Stars and of the dark Moon. The gods that joined the Pantheon of the rising Sun are mainly attributed to the light element. Those of the dark Moon are the opposite, they are patrons of the dark races. The myriad Star Pantheon meanwhile has been the domain of many gods that are more¡­ chaotic than the others. Some do not protect races and have chosen a craft and their practitioners. Above them all stands only the king of all gods as the supreme ruler of all, the eternal void. ¡° (Gobar) Well that sounds mystical, but for legends that is normal I guess. ¡°More than a millennia ago the war begun. The spark that set it all ablaze begun in the human kingdom Arlen. It had grown to a size that no one before had ever done, they were paragons of the rising Sun Pantheon. They fought against the dark races wherever they found them. But with all the glory came conceited. They adopted a policy of absolute human supremacy and preached that their patron gods were the mightiest and noblest of all. As their chosen children of course they should rule everyone else. They started to enslave every race they came across or kill them if they did not submit. Even other humans, of kingdoms that did not share their views, were eradicated.¡±(Gobar) Ah shit, guess humans will be humans in every world. ¡°Many gods grew enraged at the bearing of the humans and their patron gods as those simply watched delightedly how their servants grew in power. But it was a mistake. Many races begun to forge alliances. The orcs of the north allied with the mountain giants and wyverns. They pushed back violently against the Arlen invasion with many other tribes joining them in their efforts. The kingdoms in the desert to the south saw this as a chance to get more fertile lands and advanced as well. Elves, Fairies, Dwarves and many others, long since targets of the humans for their ethereal beauty and resources, lashed out as well. Dark races had hated the Arlens already since a long time and used it to attack them and sow discord everywhere they could. The wars on all fronts grew more and more intense. Some gods even sent guidance or miracles at some point in the years that came to pass. In their desperation the Arlen kingdom deployed any method they could and that begun to strengthen the hatred against humanity itself. Many wanted to erase them forever and everywhere. Like this some peaceful human kingdoms were attacked out of pure hatred. They and their allies fought back and this let the confusion grow. Some begun to call for help and even the lands across the sea to east and west became involved. ¡±(Gobar) Woa, world war fantasy style. ¡°The conflict finally drew even the eyes of mighty beings as demons, angels, dragons and even the elemental Lords begun to get involved because their brethren were getting involved in the conflicts. Many countries and whole stripes of the land are still bearing the signs of devastation or are only inhabited by the undead now, knowledge was lost and many lost their lives. Even some gods fell under the conflict as they fought against each other. Currently there is a fragile peace in place. All sides were exhausted after the long war and it slowly died down. ¡±(Gobar) It seemed like he had finished his tale as he sat there deep in thought. ¡±With whom did the goblins fight?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, our races kingdom was one of the first to fall. We lost everything and were forced to serve whoever we could find. Goblins had never gotten a patron god for themselves as many others that perished completely. ¡±(Gobar) Gobar looked dejected and deeply sad as he said those words. I guessed that his people indeed didn¡ät have it easy. Most likely they should be complemented that they didn''t go extinct in those times. For that night i had enough and sent the old goblin to rest. Chapter 6: Approaching crawlies So was dragged off for a halloween party yesterday sooner than I had thought that i would be ! I also had to go through some more thoughts on how to develop the storyprogress. But might just be able to put out another chapter today if all goes well. Enjoy the crawlies.
A new day a new beginning ! As I woke up I begun to miss the feeling of having a body. The sensations of stretching your muscles and feeling all the sensations. Well then how shall I make the little greenskins grow in the future. I did a leisure morning round, zooming through the dungeon to inspect the happenings that were going on. The goblins were already busily going about their duties. Training, working and the group for the daily hunt was organising themselves with the kitten laying at the dungeon entrance. Most of the goblins were now armed with proper stone tools for combat. Sadly the process for new clothing would still need a while. I had ordered the shamans to help out with their magic to speed up the process as far as they could. But they were still experimenting with how to do it properly. Hmmm which reminds me, the goblinas should be getting done with their project. I went back to the goblin home for now and went towards the area that the women had claimed as their workspace as soon as the males had done their training. ¡°Well then girls how is it going ?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, we think we have successfully completed the thing you asked us to do.¡±(Goblina 1) ¡°Hmm hmm let me see. ¡±(Me) I carefully inspected what the goblina held in her hands. It was a thicker thread of a silvery quality. I had instructed them to try and see if they could make some good ropes out of the Silverthread Spiders strings. At first they only used them for sewing. But after some trial and error they apparently found ways to make it work as i had wanted. They had entwined several threads to make a proper rope. ¡°Very good, it also seems to not stretch too much. You did a excellent job. With this we can make slings. Get to it right away ! ¡±(Me) ¡°Yes, Lord!¡±(Goblinas) Very good now we will have some better ranged weapons. But I bet during training with those there will be some accidents. I could already imagine the goblins giving those new weapons a try and the stones sailing through the entire cave during the process. The shamans would become busy with healing that is for sure. After that I went to the insects pit, Gorin was busily selecting some of the adult insects to be used for meals. The big Cave had become a lot more busy now. The various species were buzzing, crawling and flying around, devouring plants and each other. The ones that had evolved were of course in a big vantage point. Hmm i will had to extend this cave soon. But for now it''s better that they fight. Should bring them towards evolving again and it brings in exp for me ! With my tour done there was one last thing to do. That was inspecting the map. Each time my goblins returned the map got an update. Of course the outside was not as detailed as it was for the dungeon itself. But i got a general outlay. I had taken a few looks outside of course. But it was rather boring. The dungeon was located towards the upper part of a mountain. There were the woods were already beginning to grow smaller and thinner. It seems there were also less dangerous beings up here then in the thick forest down below. Anyway as far as I could see there were just trees that bordered the mountain range and I could not see anything of interest. The map had been expanded in a roughly circular manner as the goblins explored the surrounding more thoroughly. But it was only as far as they could make a way back to the dungeon before night fell. Well then the problem is¡­ what shall I do now. Over those two weeks I got a lot of mana but no good way to spend it . ¡®Status¡¯
Name: Goblin Cave Rank: F
Mana: 1.569.960 Mana recovery: 4610 M/h
Level: 2 40%
Meh i was always a hoarder towards resources. I really need to get some better options on where to spend the mana. Most likely i will need to make a huge investment in ores once i have a smith. So it is good to keep some reserves. I had made sure not to reduce my incoming mana too much and saved up on the points. Currently there was enough space and resources that were needed. The mana crystals were used a bit fast but with the two pillars always replaced as soon as they were done accumulating mana we still managed to increase our stockpile steadily. Just i was thinking along where to spend some mana¡­ The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Your scouts have returned No new map data. No spoils.
Alert a challenger is approaching your dungeon!
Huh?! I was startled at the sudden message. But soon enough my brain kicked my ass towards the entrance of the dungeon. Right away i spotted the group of scouts that were breathing hard and drenched in sweat. ¡°What is going on ?! Did you lead enemies here?! ¡±(Me) ¡°We would never do that Lord! There is a huge amount of spiders approaching the dungeon. It seems they are led by a much bigger one and they came straight there. We killed some and tried to lure them away but as soon as we were no longer attacking them or blocking their way, they marched on. ¡±(Goblin scout 1#) ¡°Damn it ! Well done anyway. How long will it take until they arrive.¡±(Me) ¡°The smaller spiders would be here soon, but they are guarding the bigger one and approach very slow like that. I think it will take them around half an hour.¡±(Goblin scout 1#) ¡°Shit! One goblin stay here to keep watch. All others get to the cave ! We need to plan. Seems we have some bad guests coming. Take anyone you meet along with you on the way¡±(Me) As soon as i had given out instructions, I rushed back into the dungeon and alarmed the ones working in the insect cave as well as Gobar. Word spread quickly and within minutes all goblins were seated in the center of the goblin home. ¡°Ok, for now are there any more informations we have on the approaching enemy?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, by the words of the scouts I assume it would be a spider horde and its mother. Though we have no idea why they would target this dungeon so straightforward.¡±(Gobar) ¡°So what does it mean if it is one of those? The reason why can be sought after later on. ¡±(Me) ¡°A Horde Mother would be a E ranked creature by itself. They have a very strong bite but they are also slow which makes them less dangerous. The true threat is that it continuously births new spiders as long as it has nourishment saved up inside its body. Those spiders are zealous protectors of their mother and will not hesitate to die for it. This is also why a decently big horde is considered as a D rank threat and can exterminate whole villages if caught off guard. ¡±(Gobar) Well that much is clear, a whole army of spiders would simply overrun the enemy not caring about their own losses. ¡°Spears and won''t do much against spiders. Especially it will be harder to hit them. Get clubs and prepare bigger stones to throw near the entrance. Gorin I am sending the evolved insects there as well. Take command of them as good as you can, they will be the first defensive line. Gobar, you and your apprentices are our aces. Keep your magic until it is critical, other than that only use it to heal in emergencies. Use all the magic crystals you need. We cannot be stingy right now with our resources. The pregnant goblins are to remain inside the nursery. I will pull that room to the north of this place. ¡±(Me) As the goblins scrambled to follow my orders I moved as well. First I ordered all the Soldier Bugs, Silverthread Weavers, Acidic and Oil Snails. I left the butterflies because they had no offensive capabilities besides their poison. After that I quickly moved the goblin nursery to the place i had said. Stupid of me to have left that one there, should be basic knowledge to move those rooms into a secure position. I scolded myself as I went through those motions. As soon as I was done I moved to the entrance as well and called in the goblin keeping watch. I would be able to do so without danger. I swiftly surveyed the defensive measures that the goblins had arranged meanwhile and was pretty pleased. Nice, it seems they used their heads. Gorin who had worked for a while now with those insects had deployed them in a pretty orderly fashion. With the level of tamin she had there would be no coordinated tactics but it looked good for a start. This was when i noticed another error on my part. I made the goblins move back into the larger cave. I cut the small tunnel that led to the small cave and the insect cave. I reconnected that to the big cave as well. Like this there was only one entrance tunnel to defend. The males and kitty waited in front with their clubs and claws ready. The females were behind, ready to throw stones at the invaders. At the very back the shamans waited with some pots that contained the magic crystals. That is as much as we can do for now. I moved my view outside the dungeon after the inspection. It had taken around 20 minutes to set everything up and for now it was still calm outside. After approximately another 15 minutes. Saw the first signs. It was a slightly unsettling sight. The approaching mass of spiders came in like a wave, blanketing the earth and parts of the tree in darkness. Gah all those legs make it sure look creepy. Appraisal
Bladeleg Spider Known for its characteristical forelegs that consist of two natural blades. You are not strong enough to see more information on this enemy. Poisonspitter Spider Known to attack its prey with a spurt of poison from its fangs. You are not strong enough to see more information on this enemy.
It seemed like the horde mainly consisted of those two spider types. Both were around the size of my Silverthread spiders. The Bladeleg was a black spider with some white patterns on it and had indeed the two foremost legs shaped into blades of chitin. The Poisonspitter meanwhile had a greenish tone to its exoskeleton and besides that didn''t look very different. After a while I could finally spot a larger shadow approach. Wow that is one big ass spider. Its black body alone was as long as the kitty and the legs were probably somewhere around one meter long. It was no wonder though that the horde was slow. While all other spiders gave a lean impression this spider was simply¡­ Fat! The legs moved slowly and were much thicker then i would have thought for a spider in proportion. But that was topped by its body''s size. While it was as long as kitty it was also around three times as broad. The back part was partially translucent and i could even see some spiders growing inside of her. At the top the Mother had a bright red pattern that nearly shone in the sunlight. On its head, it had of course 8 quite big eyes and the mouth sported 2 pretty big teeth that made no doubt that IF you got caught then it would hurt a lot. Hmmm i wonder if I can negotiate with that thing. I waited until the horde was close enough. Since i couldn''t even appraise the children properly I was sure i couldn''t do it with the mother either. The first spiders already crawling under and over the little fence towards the dungeon.
Multiple challengers entered the dungeon area. Building options are partially restricted.
Huh? why that now? Kitty never triggered that alert.
The Mountainstalker never intended to conquer the dungeon.
Ah damn so they are hostile to me directly. Anyway time to speak up. ¡°Halt! Why are you approaching my home!¡±(Me) At my words the whole horde halted for a moment before a terrible sounding hissing came from the fat spider. ¡°This place will be conquered for our Master! We will eat your servants and destroy your crystal. Advance my children !¡±(Fatty spider) So much for talking! Shit, shit shit. This better not be my end! At their mother''s command the spiders charged towards the dungeon entrance without hesitation and the first war for my dungeon begun. Chapter 7: Mashed, roasted, melted a hundred ways to prepare a spider buffet And the second chapter :D Simply had to push it out today ^^
Bugs can be pretty vicious! As soon as the Horde Mother had declared the attack I moved into the entrance cave. The first thing i noticed was, that apparently Goring had made the Silverthread spiders make some loose nets over the entrance before ordering them back again while I had waited outside. Soon the first enemies came rushing in and some of them got tangled between the strings, catching their legs or whole bodies in the sticky embrace. Of course a lot of the bladed spiders simply cut themselves free but they didn''t seem to want to help each other. Some of them tried to go along the walls, but thanks to the Oil Snails there were not many spaces left free of the slick substance and made most of the spiders tumble down. Meanwhile the first invaders met with the Acidic Snails. Eww just good that i do not have a stomach. Right now I think I would get kinda sick. The snails waited till the spiders came into range before they shot spurts of acidic puke towards the approaching enemies. Any spider that was unfortunate enough to get hit let out a high pitched hiss and thrashed around wildly in pain and panic. No wonder, I would most likely have the same reaction if my face and body were melting¡­ This made for even more chaos on the attacker''s side and they even killed each other sometimes. The snails shot out as much as they could like that and the puddles that formed presented another obstacle but soon enough the spiders reached them. Uh oh that is gonna hurt. Which was not as much the case as i had thought. One of the snails let out a screech as if it had been hit with salt and from behind a whistling sound came. At once the Soldier bugs plunged themselves in front of the snails and attacked the spiders with their strong shears. Huh that must have been Gorin. She is a lot better at this than I thought. The melee fight was brutal to watch, the strong exoskeleton of the bugs made them into pretty hard enemies for the spiders and those shears made for fearsome weapons, although on a small scale. There was one problem though. The snails still continued to shoot out their puke and hit the bugs sometimes as well. Hmmm no that is not good. Seems her control is still lacking, or she simply can''t see enough from the other cave. Anyway let''s pull those back. I ordered the snails to slowly retreat into the first tunnel and recover their strength to meet the next charge along with the Silverthreads. Like this the battle raged on without pause, new spiders rushing in to replace the ones that died. Slowly the Soldier bugs were pushed back and would soon be overwhelmed. Most of them already had deep scratches all over and some were covered in the poison spit of the other spiders. Just good that they do not have a proper strategy. The ranged ones are completely mixed in with the melee spiders. I took this moment to look outside. There were still a lot more spiders waiting outside and the Mother had placed herself around 5m away from the dungeon entrance. There were regularly dropping new spiders out of her backend, luckily not swift enough to completely replace the dying spiders. Hmm I have to get some of my spiders to involve into one of those. That sure looks useful to have. It¡äs like a aircraft carrier just that it also produced them. A spidercraft carrier ! Hah! Well back to business. I returned back inside the dungeon. The Soldier Bugs situation was getting desperate. So I ordered all the lost cases, that had sustained too many wounds as well as those that were sluggish from the poison, to remain and stall while the relatively healthy ones retreated. As soon as the spiders had killed the remaining bugs they rushed forward and were once more greeted by a full broadside of the snails acid puke. Though it looked a lot less dramatic this time. It seemed like they were not able to keep up producing enough. That was it for the snails as well, time to get the goblins involved. I ordered the remaining bugs and the spiders to retreat to the cave where the goblins waited. They positioned themselves along the walls around the tunnels exit so none of the invaders could easily get around the goblins. After a while the first spiders came and were greeted by the stones and clubs that the goblin wielded. ¡°Time to show those guys who this place belongs to, goblins ! Squash each and every one of them.¡±(Me) ¡°YES!¡±(Goblins) That was the moment when it happened. With a wild screech Gob charged the spiders in reckless abandon. He slammed his club down, stomped and even bit some of the spiders to death. His slitted eyes were abnormally large and there was a glimmer of pure hatred and bloodlust in them. ¡°Gob what are you doing !?¡±(Me) ¡°Enemies !! Enemies of the Lord must be squashed ! AHAHAHA die die die !!¡± (Gob) The fuck is wrong with him ?
The title Zealous Minion was triggered.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Seeing enemies attack his Lord and getting the order to eliminate them has sent him into a frenzy.
Hey hey, I didnt read anything about that in the description!
Special functions of titles are not revealed until triggered at least once.
Gah ! You gotta be kidding me with this hide and seek play. Somehow your whole system seems jumbled in strange places. Anyway let''s hope he doesn''t get killed it seems he won''t back off anymore. I watched in awe how the goblin fought at the forefront all the while. Luckily a lot of the bladed spiders had been killed in the entrance cave. So he suffered less slash wounds than expected. But he still looked like a bloody mess soon enough. It even forced the shamans to cast some healing spells on him. ¡°Gobar start using the crystals. No use in holding back right now.¡±(Me) The old goblin nodded and took one of the pots that held fire crystals. He took one that fit well in his hand and looked at it for a moment. Soon the crystal lit up like a magnesium torch and the goblin threw it quickly inside the tunnel. Barbeque incoming ! The glowing thing vanished inside the tunnel before it was suddenly lit up violently. The old goblin had destabilized the mana inside the crystal which made it burst soon and set free all the fire energy stored inside it. Apparently this was a common way to use the lower quality stones in combat. Though it was also a pretty expensive way to use them like this. After this the shamans continued to throw the crystals inside the tunnel when there was a larger amount of spiders rushing in. Though we had to be careful about the oxygen so they used some wind crystals to purify the air. Finally after it had been going on like this for a good amount of time, the stream of spiders begun to steadily lessened. ¡°Seems like they are running out of soldiers! Push outwards now and crush that fat spider ! Let''s roast that fat thing tonight !¡±(Me) At my order the goblins and remaining insects rushed into the tunnel, Gob in front of them all like the zealot berserker he had become. Holy shit, that guy really got crazy in the head ! I''ll need some more of his kind later on. Watching how my forces killed their way out I moved outside first to get a look at the situation there just in case. The horde had thinned out dramatically. But what fascinated me was that the fat spider had gotten a little less fat. Ahh yes, nourishment was it? Guess she need to consume her reserves to make those spiders grow quicker. well we should finish her before she uses up too much. Who knows if she doesn''t get too agile after she uses up all the fat. Soon enough my insects and the goblins came out of the dungeons. The startled Horde Mother hissed in hate at the sight of approaching forces. ¡°Impossible ! how could you have killed all my children so quickly!¡±(Horde Mother) Haha stupid spider, you just sent them in and didn''t even check if they were making progress. You didn''t even leave enough here to guard you. For now I wanted to see how well the goblins would deal with the big spider and simply hovered above them to watch. That was when Gob surprised everyone once again. With a mad scream he ran around the Horde mother, completely ignoring the spiders that attacked him. Confused the big spider did not know what to do and moved slowly, uncertain who she should keep her eyes on. ¡°Spread out! Circle around and finish off the little spiders first! ¡±(Gobar) Gobar took command at once and the forces spread out. Between the teamwork of goblins and insects the remaining spiders were eradicated quickly. ¡°My children ! You worms dare !¡±(Horde Mother) Seeing her children get slaughtered so quickly the spider got enraged and wanted to attack the goblins as well. But that was when Gob found his chance. Having run around her he got in a spot directly behind her and with reckless abandon jumped onto the behind of the spider. With a mad laugh he slammed his hands down, piercing his claws into the soft flesh. The Mother hissed in pain and tried to shake the goblin of, but with her body she simply could not move roughly enough to shake off the goblin. Still laughing the goblin begun to bite the spider with his sharp teeth, ripping out pieces of flesh left and right. ¡°Chance ! Attack from the sides ! ¡±(Gobar) At Gobar¡äs order some goblins from the side charged in, slamming their clubs into the spider''s legs roughly. It was a strange sound to hear the wood collide with the thick chitin armor. One of them got lucky and a joint broke under his club. The Spider was by now in a complete panic and thrashed around as good as she could but it was obviously to no avail. I really don''t envy that one. Attackers from every side and a madman ripping pieces out of your ass! HAHAHA this is too awesome. I will have to reward Gob well after this. Gobar repeated the same strategy a few times and had his apprentices shoot some rock bullets at the spider''s eyes which let some of them pop like water balloons. After a few more attacks the other legs began to cave in as well at various joints and the chitin splintered in various places. Well that is a sorry sight, but if you attack someone you have to be prepared for retaliation. I leisurely mused from my observation spot. The spiders strength soon left her body and she sunk down to the floor as an exhausted mess. The fleshy behind was bleeding profusely and i think i even saw some of the inner organs that had been ripped up by Gob. ¡°Give Gob a club and let him finish the spider. He did some outstanding work today. ¡±(Me) One of the goblins threw his club to Gob once he stood on the spider''s body, it was still twitching in a futile struggle but there was no hope now. With a gleeful smile the goblin stood over its head from behind. ¡°O great Lord ! For you !¡±(Gob) With brutal moves Gob slammed down his weapon again and again directly on the eyes and head. The chitin soon was smashed completely and everything below it as well as the goblin did his best to completely eradicate the enemy. The body twitched for a while still before it finally went completely still. The roughly breathing Gob stepped down and suddenly toppled over, planting his face into the grassy ground. ¡°Hey hey is he ok ?¡±(Me) One of the apprentices went to him right away and checked the fallen Gob out thoroughly ¡°Yes, Lord he is simply exhausted and needs rest as well as his wounds tended to.¡±(Apprentice #1) After that there were a few leftover spiders that were cleaned up.
Congratulations you eliminated the intruders Over the course of this battle the following skills were unlocked up to the grades: Middle Mace Handling Middle Nature magic Middle Earth magic Over the course of this battle the following classes were unlocked: Apprentice Berserker For fighting off an enemy above your rank you receive more exp. You reached level 3 You gained: 3 Skill points 1 Evolution point 1 Expansion range increase Unlocked function: Avatar creation
Chapter 8: The calm after the spiderstorm and a huge feast. A slightly shorter chapter since there is more of a recovery phase than anything else and i had to test out skyrim SE :D Might just give me some better ideas for this story as well. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far and don¡ät hesitate to leave comments :)
Yes !! It came ! Soon i will have a body again. I cannot wait to eat something no matter what. To feel the sun again. Even if it''s something like a goblin. Well beggars can''t be choosers. The goblins were still cheering around the Horde Mother''s corpse. They were in extremely high spirits about having beat such a threat without losing a single one of their own. For the time being I put the matter about skill points and evolution for later to give out instructions. There was a lot to do after all. ¡°Good good, it''s over now. Those seem to have been the last spiders. Get Gob inside, tend to the wounded and some of you put away the corpses. Eat what you want and the rest throw into the insects cave so they have something to munch on. ¡±(Me) The insects were my greatest concern for now. That battle had diminished their numbers greatly all over. Will need some more breeding caves for them i think. They were great cannon fodder but there are too few now. Speaking of which I should really expand this dungeon. What was that about expansion range increase before ?
Your dungeon can only sustain Level + 1 rows Level + 1 column of Dungeon blocks This might be changed by other influences to some extend. Currently you can at most have a 4 x 4 block sized dungeon. Your servants can extend the terrain beyond this but your mana will not keep those regions stable.
Ah so to say if they dig tunnels outside my range they could collapse while everything inside of my area is supported and kept in shape by myself. Are the increases in size evenly distributed or can i choose in which way I want to go ?
As soon as you buy one block towards north, south, west or east a column respectively row will be added.
That was something at least. Then there is no sense in waiting to buy those blocks. I dont have to use them right away after all. Oh right, what about going lower or higher? We are in the mountains here after all.
Certain conditions have to be met in order to unlock new floors this includes but is not limited to the Dungeon Lords level.
Returning to the vague information style huh? Well no matter. Buy i want to extend the dungeon towards west and south. Of course with the dungeon entrance counting as north. Get me all available blocks.
You are about to buy 11 blocks of area. This will cost 220.000 M It will increase your mana recovery by 11.000 M/h Are you sure you want to proceed?
Yes gimme that. After that I felt a sudden drain in strength. I had never before invested that much mana in one go before so it was a really uncomfortable feeling. The same was with the growing. It felt as if my body was getting stretched before growing and being stretched again. Ugh being a dungeon has its downsides as well. Now then how should i go about using the new blocks. So far i only used 4 for the useful stuff. Since i could not decide right about about the layout and with my minions running all over the place it was a bad moment to reconstruct the dungeon anyway. So i decided to settle in the crystal cave and take a look at the avatar creation.
Avatar creation Enables the Dungeon Lord to create a body for himself. The avatar can only be produced in form of one of servant races owned by the dungeon. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Currently available: Goblins Mountainstalker Insect It costs 1 Million M each time to create a Avatar. You can only have one Avatar. Before you create a new the old one has to die. Do you want to create one right now? Y/N
Holy shit ! that thing costs a load of mana. Just good I continued to save up or i would be screwed. This will nearly eliminate all the mana from the two previous weeks. I hesitated a little but i still wanted to have a body so I confirmed and waited what would happen. There was suddenly a rumbling heard inside my cave and the floor in the middle of it cracked open. From it emerged slowly a single crystal pillar that grew in size.
Please choose a race for your Avatar Currently available: Goblins Mountainstalker Insect
Hmmm all of them would be interesting in some way but i''ll go with Goblin. Thumbs are just too awesome to not have them.
Goblin was selected You have a variant available Poison goblin Would you like to change your avatar? Y/N
Nah thanks, I want a plain goblin for now.
Goblin was selected beginning growth process. It will take a day for the Avatar to be ready.
Meh ! still have to wait. Well let''s take care of the skill points then. Put one into radar and appraisal each. The last one i''ll keep for now as well as the evolution point. Who knows if i won¡ät need one in the future.
Appraisal lvl2 Displays basic information of beings and objects. Detail of information is determined by your level, level of the skill and hostility or friendliness of the target. lvl 2 More detailed information available, level difference between you and target is slightly mitigated.
Dungeon Radar lvl2 Scans the inside of your dungeon to display friendly and enemy units on your map. Weak hiding skills are ignored by this skill. lvl 2 Radar scans outside of the dungeon for enemies that target your dungeon directly. Range is up to one km but accuracy diminishes with distance. Weak hiding skills are ignored by this skill. Increases sensitivity of radar inside the dungeon to detect mid level sneaking hiding skills.
Hmm pretty decent. So I guess since I can only wait for the Avatar to grow for now I should plan and build on my dungeon for now. I leisurely moved through the dungeon for a bit to look over the goblins taking care of the aftermath. Some of them had been bitten a bit too many times so that they showed poisoning symptoms even through the resistance skill. The apprentices were taking care of them while old man Gobar supervised the disposal of the spider corpses. Hmmm everything seems to be going smoothly. Hey screen, I can move rooms around but can i just swap around whole blocks as well ?
This is possible. Just like with the room imagine the whole block moving where you want it to. Condition for this is that the receiving block must be empty.
Awesome! That will make things easier. Hmm i guess the goblins home and my crystal cave should go to the very back¡­ Though maybe something could dig through the earth? this is a fantasy world after all. For now I moved my crystal cave to the south of the goblin home. So they were in the same block. Then i went and built a copy of the insects cave in the block south of the original one, with the difference that there would only be evolved insects in that one. This way the small ones have more chance to evolve and the big insects have to fight serious enemies to survive. Natural selection is awesome after all ! The caves on the side that were nurseries had been turned into exclusive breeding caves for each evolved species. Also by my order it was a no kill zone to prevent the youngs from being killed. While i was at it i made a tunnel that led directly from the goblins home to the first insect cave and extended the entrance block over a few more rooms and tunnels behind the first ones where the previous battle had taken place. After all the sentence, never change a working system, exists for a reason. Like this a little labyrinth with branching and tunnels and some dead ends were formed to give the defending troops an advantage over the attacking ones. While I was working at it the goblins finished a rough cleanup. The insects had dragged a lot of corpses to their caves for a meal and the rest had been turned into fertilizer or meals for the goblins as well. I watched a little as they dragged the Horde Mother''s corpse into the goblin home to roast the whole corpse over the fire crystals. ¡°Well well seems you are enjoying yourselves there. But make sure to rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day as well.¡±(Me) ¡°We will attack the bastards that sent the spider !¡±(Random goblin) ¡°Can someone slap that idiot ? ¡±(Me) ¡°Why ?! We won the last battle by far ! ¡±(Random goblin) One of the goblins actually did what i asked and slapped the yeller roughly over the head from behind. For a moment I looked over the gathered goblins to see how many understood the meaning. Some of the older goblins had a grim expression while the younger ones still looked somewhat confused. ¡°Well then, for everyone that has no idea what is going on yet. Let me enlighten you. In the last battle not only did the insects bear a large brunt of the initial enemy force but we also had the position advantage. Our enemy also was not coordinated in any way and simply rushed into our defenses. The Mother was also not the brightest and settled right at our entrance. This is why we won. Now we do not know who this spider was sent by, or what defenses and troops they have, not to speak about their potential resources. If we do not want to end up the same as them, the first thing we will do tomorrow is trace the spiders path down to the source, carefully to not get spotted and see who we are dealing with. Gobar for tomorrow gather the best scouts and appoint a leader. Kitty will accompany them. ¡±(Me) I ignored the angry hiss from the side and went back to some more preparations while i left the goblins to their celebration that had taken a little dampener at my words but nonetheless was a merry round. Hmmm guess i''ll have to think of a proper name for Kitty soon or she might end up really hating me. Ah and I should set up some more crystals, those were life savers during the battle. Since goblins and insects were now in their respective home I was able to begin the moving of blocks. I moved the goblin home and the parkour training field south of the entrance block for now. Like this the left half was left empty for future project. Then i placed some crystal geodes in the insect areas and inside my crystal caves. So the layout looked like this for now with plent of spare space to grow later on.
E I1
G I2
P
Maybe they can get some evolutions by interacting with the crystals later on. Might be fun to watch. Oh right i should better take a look at the class that Gob unlocked.
Apprentice Berserker Fearsome warriors that charge into the thickest battles without regard for themselves. They are war loving battle machines. Requirements: Survive a battle against multiple opponents while in bloodrage. 1 Armed combat skill Unarmed combat skill Bonuses: Bloodrage skill Strengthened Combat skills Faster regeneration
Well i guess that one will work well with that idiot. He would be challenged with the finer works of any assassin or anything else for that matter. Anyway time to go to sleep! Tomorrow i can test drive my new body ! Chapter 9: A different view, being kingly, a foodgasm and the enemies face. So i got my first review which was awesome ! Many thanks for that. But it also seems someone put a 0,5 in the ratings. If you do that at least have the balls to give a reason why my story is that bad. Or i guess it could be just a griever, no idea. For the others that do enjoy my sotry so far have fun reading !
Creation of the Avatar is completed You can now enter the Avatar by using ¡®Avatar¡¯
Finally damn it ! As soon as I awoke from my slumber i was greeted by the screen with a delightful message. Right away I turned to look at the crystal that had emerged previously. Well that thing has gotten huge ! The crystal had grown into a large tank. The transparent material let me take a gaze at my new body. For now it seemed to float inside the crystal until i realized that it really was floating. Ah the inside must be liquid to grow the body. An artificial womb so to say. Quite impressive what you can do with magic. It should be magic right? Oh who cares right now ! Body ! Zooming in closer I was able to make out some more details though they were distorted through the crystal. It looked like a normal male goblins, well fed but not overweight and there seemed to be plenty of muscles. All in all a pretty neutral body build that could become anything. I was pretty satisfied with that. I had no intention of becoming a frontline fighter but having no endurance at all would be annoying as hell. The face was a bit rough looking, intimidating even. Slightly looks like a neanderthal? Not quite a mix of neanderthal and early humans if my memory of history books does not betray me. Anyway time to start this thing up ! ¡®Avatar¡¯ It was a strange sensation. I didn''t not black out like i had expected. It was more as if my consciousness was sucked into a drain by strong current. I felt disoriented and hazy, my sight blurred completely. This took a while before the transition was completely done. I blinked reflexively and twitched which sent a rush of euphoria down my spine. Hell yeah ! I can blink, I never thought I would miss blinking so much! So how do i get out of this thing ? The liquid itself did not hinder my breathing which was a really creepy sensation. It took a moment but then a loud crack shook the crystal and me, the whole thing seemed to split right upwards along the edges and the liquid drained out from the openings. Here we go ! I was eager to start, but the beginning was not as pleasant. Once the liquid was low enough for me to take a first breath i was wrecked with a coughing fit. My lungs needed to be cleaned out and that was by no means a nice experience. God damn that is how heavy smokers must feel, why do they put up with this ?! Once everything was over I was on all fours on a small crystal platform, the split halves lay neatly on the floor and seemed like they could close up again without problem.
Transition to avatar complete. Dungeon functions are limited for the time being. You can switch back at any time but it is highly advised to store the avatar body inside the tank during longer absence.
Yeah yeah I thought as much but that is not important right now. I want food ! Sun! I carefully raised myself. I was still quite wobbly on my feet as I was not used to having a body and not at all a goblin body. Everything looks so huge ! I looked around the crystal cave. It was a lot darker then when i was seeing it out of the dungeons perspective but i had been told about that. This cave was only illuminated by the shifting colors of my core, which gave ti quite the mysterious aura. But i didn''t want to spend too much time here. I turned around and started to go towards the exit with slightly unsure steps. But it turned better and better with every step. Now that i think about it how can i even walk this thing? I think usually i would need to get acclimated to it first.
Basic motor functions are directly transmitted to your subconsciousness.
Ah that explains. Guess it would be rather useless without it otherwise. I slowly walked through the tunnel. It was lit only by some sparse mushrooms but it was enough for me. Which made me realize that goblins indeed had a good night vision. If i still had my human body i would be helplessly stumbling about right now. I finally reached the end of the tunnel and emerged into the goblin home. ¡°Huh? who are you and how did you get in there ?!¡±(Goblin) A startled goblin looked suspiciously at me with his stone knife in hand. It seems they had posted sentries in here by themselves which was quite commendable in the effort. ¡°Why would your Lord not be inside his own cave?¡±(Me) The goblin''s eyes grew round at my words and he immediately fell to his knees. ¡°I apologize for my rudeness, Lord!¡±(Goblin) I waved off in leisure and took a look around the dimly lit cavern. There were some goblins already preparing for the day while some others were still in the process of waking up. ¡°Spread the word that I am here with my new body now. Also get me some clothing.¡±(Me) The goblin nodded and sprinted off, screeching for the goblins to wake up and what was going on. I chuckled at his enthusiasm and paced towards the geode half in the center of the cave. It was comfortably warm there and I sat down right next to it. The goblins meanwhile gathered up in a frenzy, sitting or kneeling down in a half circle before me. Some looked scared, others had a revering gaze and some didn''t even dare to look up which was pretty amusing all in all. Finally i could hear the familiar clanking of Gobar¡äs staff coming closer. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You took your time getting here Gobar¡±(Me) ¡°My deepest apology, Lord. I came as quickly as I could.¡±(Gobar) ¡°Well no matter, come here and sit down. We should care of the pressing matters before I can explore this new body to its fullest.¡±(Me) I patted the place to my right and with a delighted smile the old goblin took his place there while his apprentices went to the other goblins. It was obvious like that that i intended to keep the old goblin in a high position. After all he done good services and had a good head on his shoulders. ¡°Now then were the scouts chosen that will find our enemy ?¡±(Me) ¡°Yes, Lord. Come forth you 5¡±(Gobar) On his call 5 people stepped out and came closer before the kneeled down again and remained silent. ¡°Those 5 are currently the best in stealth and detection. Gobtar Was the one to unlock high stealth. ¡±(Gobar) The old goblin had pointed at the goblin that was kneeling in the middle of the group and I nodded pleased. ¡°Very good, take whatever you need. Your dispatch has absolute priority over anything else. Head out as soon are done with the preparations. Get to it right away.¡±(Me) ¡°Yes Lord!¡±(Goblin x5 ) The five of them raised at once and left to do as they were told. Meanwhile i gazed over the other goblins and nodded. ¡°As for the rest of you, go back to your usual duties. Those on sentry duty are to remain twice as vigilant for the time being. Anyone that is caught slacking off on this will be punished. Thoroughly.¡±(Me) I made sure that my voice was as stern and intimidating as possible. Which was probably not all too much but there was still a shiver running through the gathered goblins and they looked quite determined to do as told. Hey I might be better at this whole king and dungeon lord thing then i thought. Even while naked. ¡°All of you may leave now, i have things to discuss with Gobar and someone bring me food !¡±(Me) There was a little commotion as the goblins got up and swiftly returned to their duties. Though there were of course a lot of curious gaze towards the two of us. ¡°Well then Gobar, how do you assess our current situation. Tell me your thoughts without holding back.¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, it is a little precarious. As you already told the younger ones we have too few informations. The insects and magic crystals will hopefully soon be refilled but it depends on the enemy''s forces how much use that will be. If we are hit by even more or better coordinated troops we will be in danger.¡±(Gobar) I nodded slightly and scratched my chin as i listened to the old goblins musings. ¡°Yes that is so, i do hope that the scouts do not bring back bad news. While we wait make preparations. I didn''t like that the crystals were transported in pottery. That is too fragile if someone trips you have no chance to pick everything up again without losing a lot of time. ¡±(Me) ¡°I have already ordered the goblinas to make pouches with the new threads as well as weaving pouches from grasses.¡±(Gobar) I could not help myself but laugh pleased at his answer. The old goblin certainly was useful in many ways. It was no wonder how he survived this long. Which actually made me doubt well up inside. ¡°There was one thing I am curious about, why have you not evolved yet? When i looked at your status in the past you were already at 99¡±(Me) Gobar sighed sadly and shook his head. ¡°That is not so easy, Lord. We do not know exactly how it works but it is much harder for beings to evolve without a dungeon to help their growth. Even then it is a challenge because one of us needs to get through the evolution first. This is also why the numbers of evolving insects shot up after the first one got through. It is also the reason why they keep evolving in the same direction.¡±(Gobar) Huh? Hey screen didn''t you say they need just max level ?
Max level is the basic requirement for a upgrading evolution. The other conditions are classified and not to be shared. The conditions will indeed be lighter for dungeon creatures who have had one of their own already evolve.
Hmpf, well i guess a tutorial cannot tell you every single thing. ¡°I see, well hopefully that will be the case soon. I think I should take my time for now to get used to this body. How about you help me along with the important parts. ¡°(Me) ¡°Of course, then you should start with the status. ¡±(Gobar) True enough. Let''s see what I got there. ¡®Status¡¯
Name: - Rank: F Species: Avatar Goblin
Level: 1 Class: -
Mana: 100 Mana recovery: 3 M/s
Trait: Intimidating Titles: Cruel Overlord Sadistic Researcher
Mmmh well as expected, no skills and the trait that came with the title. ¡°Looks pretty empty so far. So what is first? Get some skills and level up ?¡±(Me) Gobar frowned at that and shook his head before he answered with a very serious tone. ¡°That is not a good decision, Lord. The skills you can buy for yourself and us are the same as those bought by skill points and they are a dangerous commodity. But i think you should experience it for yourself once. How about you invest in some skills that you do not intend to use much ?¡±(Gobar) Hmm ? What is he on about. Well let''s try that out. What skill should i get. Hmmm low sewing it will be.
You are in the process to buy low sewing for yourself It will cost 100 M Y/N
Huh? It is that cheap ? Even for a low skill that is not much. ¡®Y¡¯ After I confirmed the purchase I felt a little prick of pain in the head but nothing else changed. Just to be sure it worked I checked the status screen once more but the skill was there properly displayed. ¡°I bought low sewing. But is kind of strange.¡±(Me) ¡°That was a good choice Lord, we should call for some leather and thread to be brought here then. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°Speaking of which I wonder when my clothing will arrive. ¡±(Me) Gobar called out to one of the goblins and ordered some materials to be brought to us. After a while one of the goblins came and delivered not only a small piece of leather but also a Bone needle, thread and my clothing! It was made mostly from some of the new leather that had been procured on the hunts and the spiders threads. There was a simple vest, one of those kilt like things and a short cloak with food that was made from woven grass. The goblina waited nervously as I tried them on but I simply thanked her and she was dismissed again. Of course the clothes didn''t fit perfectly and the feel was pretty rough, but there was nothing else expected. ¡°Well then let''s see, try to sew something with that, Lord¡±(Gobar) ¡°You can drop the Lord while it is just the two of us. But do not let that get to your head.¡±(Me) The old goblin smiled slightly while I grabbed the materials. My hands moved almost by themselves, putting the thread through the needle''s hole and then beginning to sew the folded leather¡äs edges together. After a while it suddenly dawned on me. Ah shit, this¡­ my hands really move by themselves more or less. It''s almost like an automated process. Those bought skills come as a blackbox. ¡°This¡­ they hinder development more than they do good, don''t they?¡±(Me) ¡°Haha, yes. I was sure you would see the hook soon. Skills advance by practice and understanding the process. A bought skill makes it harder to reach it¡äs higher levels and they are normally weaker than those that were gained through work. Especially for those beyond the High phase because those need additional things. But sadly very few of our goblins have reached that part yet in any area. It is advised to progress the skills, that you focus on, by putting work into it. ¡±(Gobar) Crap, this is really a downside. Saying it plainly you get handed a blackbox when you buy a skill. Not only is that skill weaker because you only have basic knowledge but you also have to reverse-engineer the black box that you were handed if you want to progress to the better things. This will really only be useful if I need some skills really quick without looking at the quality. I was pretty bummed out by those news. I had hoped to simply buy the magics skills that were unlocked so far. But that would likely not work out well. Just that moment one of the goblinas arrived with various foods. There were a lot of insects but also some dried meat from the previous hunts. For now we took a break and talked between us about various things that needed attention and¡­. gossip. Surprisingly the old goblin was very informed about gossip and chatted with the cook while i was surprised that there even WAS gossip here. Then the food was finally done. Hesitant at first I grabbed and ate without holding back. Oh god ! I totally forgot how good things taste. Even those snails and other things. Good god I am nearly getting a foodgasm here. The overwhelming sensation of finally tasting something cooked again was overwhelming and i totally overate myself so that any other progress had to be put on hold. A few hours later:
Your scouts have returned Map data updated No spoils Another dungeon was discovered It is hostile against you
Chapter 10: Plans, Smoke and Mana ! So, didn¡ät have time to finish my chapter yesterday. Sometimes life is a bitch. But here we go and I hope you guys enjoy. Speaking of which you people are awesome! Hope I will be able to continue to provide you with an interesting story as thanks.
Your scouts have returned Map data updated No spoils A dungeon was discovered It is hostile against you
So it was a dungeon ! I right away opened the map and took a look. There was indeed a new added portion and a red field was visible. Hey that radar skill really pays off. Can i appraise this thing?
Name: Spiders Den Rank: F Level:2
It¡äs actually below me in level ! This actually opened up a whole new set of possibilities to my thinking. I informed Gobar roughly of the new information and we both waited for the scouts to come rushing back into the goblin home. Wow they really seem to have put in an effort. The scouts were completely drenched in sweat and panted roughly in exhaustion. I motioned them to sit down and catch their breaths and instructed some of the other goblins to bring food and water for the hard workers. ¡°Well then what did you find ?¡±(Me) ¡°Lord, we have found the entrance to another dungeon. It is without a doubt the place where the horde came from. All the trees surrounding the entrance were filled with spiderwebs but they are almost completely vacated. ¡±(Gobtar) I nodded in leisure and considered the chances. Gobar had said that dungeons developed ego¡äs normally much later on. Which meant that this dungeon could be simply a infant dungeon. ¡°Was there any sign of a dungeon being around before ?¡±(Me) ¡°No at least we would have not noticed so as we travelled up the mountain, Lord. Especially since it is level 2 there is a high chance it has been born not too long ago. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°I see, was there any other things you noticed, Gobtar?¡±(Me) ¡°Once we had approached the dungeon closer the spiders all retreated back inside. We killed a few of them but we didn''t chase them inside the cave. So we do not have much more information.¡±(Gobtar) ¡°Well done, you and the other scouts can take a rest now. ¡±(Me) After i dismissed them i started to ponder about what to do now. I could not allow the dungeon to grow since it was hostile. But i also had to make sure not to lose too much of my battle force. There surely would be other obstacles in the future and if we took too long to regain our strength it could be fatal. Time for some meaner tactics. ¡°Gobar instruct the goblins to harvest every single strange of the poisonous plants. Let the goblins prepare for a march tomorrow. We will attack the Spiders Den at dawn.¡±(Me) ¡°Is that not a bit hasty. You yourself said we have to be cautious in our approach. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°Haha oh, we will be cautious. But if they depleted a lot of their strength in the previous attack then this will be the best chance. ¡±(Me) The old goblin reluctantly nodded and got up to relay my instructions. Meanwhile I swiftly returned to the crystal cave and stored my body back inside the tank. I looked over the insects I had and saw that we regained some numbers but it was still far from the previous. For the time being i forbade the evolved insects to battle each other and let them feast on the lower insects to make sure we had every bit of additional strength we could have. After looking over the preparations the goblins did and adding some additional instructions I went to sleep myself. Tomorrow would be a big day after all. The next day at dawn: I took a deep breath outside the dungeon for the first time. It was a glorious moment to watch the sun rise in the distance and listen to the slowly awaking nature. But after all we did not have a lot of time for now. Time to get rid of some vermin. ¡°Follow the scouts! Do not dawdle and stay together but proceed in a reasonable pace. We do not want to arrive there exhausted.¡±(Me) Measuring only by pure distance it was not too far of a march. Especially downhill. The problem was, nature in its untamed form is a bitch. There were of course no neat paths to follow or any such things. The best we met were some animal paths but even those were not very passable. Going down the mountain made some parts into some slippery traps as well. Well mostly for me and Gobar. The other goblins were mostly used to it from scouting. Like this it took us a few good hours to arrive there. Especially since I let the goblins take frequent breaks when they showed signs of tiring. But there was one big surprise waiting for me as we approached the other dungeon. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
You have entered a hostile dungeon¡äs Territory.
¡°It is extending outside?!¡±(Me) I called out in surprise and Gobar who was next to me nodded thoughtfully. ¡°This is very likely. A natural born, infant dungeon has to extend outside if it wants to get additional races. Since it has not many intelligent beings at its disposal. It is instinct.¡±(Gobar) Hmm I guess I would have done something similar if I had not had the goblins from the start. Most likely it got some of the spiders like that. After that we continued on carefully to the dungeon''s entrance. It was a simple cave entrance just like mine was. It seems this time the spiders had already retreated inside the cave or had remained inside since the scouts last visit. Just to be sure I spread out our insects around us and in front of the cave. ¡°Goblins! Gather stones, earth, wood and grass. Make sure there is plenty dry wood and fresh wood. As much as you can and place them close to the entrance.¡±(Me) The goblins looked somewhat unsure and confused at my orders but did as they were told. Meanwhile it let some Soldier Bugs walk into the dungeon. It seems unlike my dungeon there was a tunnel first before it joined to the first cave. The tunnel itself was empty but in the cave were some spiders apparently as the bugs came right back. I had told them to return once they met an enemy. Hmm so they remain on the defense as well ? Very good. That is just perfect for me. For now we simply waited. The goblins gathered and gathered until I thought it would be enough to begin the first step of the plan. ¡°Excellent. Now my dear goblins we will start our battle !¡±(Me) The goblins stared at me even more in doubt now but i forgave them for that. Out of their perspective it must have looked like a lunatic''s order. ¡°Throw all the grass and the poisonous herbs inside the tunnel, start to build a wall of stone and earth at the entrance until it is almost closed up. We will smoke those bastards out and lessen their numbers! ¡±(Me) I could almost hear the hamsters run in their imaginary wheel inside some of the goblins heads. Slowly the dots connected and they chuckled in a delighted way. As soon as they had understood the purpose they went to work very eagerly. The plants were thrown in and all goblins that could not help on the construction of the makeshift wall went to collect grass and more wood. ¡°Like that it could work, Lord. A very devious way of fighting.¡±(Gobar) Hah aren''t you a little sadist as well you old man ? The goblin stood there grinning from ear to ear and instructed his apprentices on how to strengthen the earth with their spells a bit. They made the earth, that was between the stones, stick together stronger. Meanwhile I sat down in leisure under one of the trees nearby. Actually Gob joined me and zealously kept watching around as a guard. I guess those titles are there for a reason. After a few hours of me enjoying leisure life the preparations were done. The entrance was almost closed up and the inside was filled pretty well with all the stuff we had thrown in. Just for safe measure i had posted three Soldier Bugs and Acid Snails inside which i now ordered to come back out. ¡°Very good work. With this it should all be going pretty well.¡±(Me) I approached the wall and inspected it for a moment. The exterior was now completely looked like a wall made of pure earth and would surely keep the smoke inside. ¡°Gobar, if you would kindly light the flames? I am growing hungry for some smoked spiders.¡±(Me) ¡°Of course, Lord, we live to please.¡±(Gobar) I guess their depiction as little monsters were not all too far fetched. But who am I to judge? The goblins laughed unisono. It was obvious that they were delighting in what was to come. Was it because they were already like that or did I spread some sadism culture? Who cares, after all it was better that way. The old goblin and his apprentices approached the wall and begun to throw in some of the fire crystals. Soon little bursts of light could be seen from the hole until around 10 crystals had been thrown in. Then Gobuta and his helpers quickly closed up the hole to not let too much of the produced smoke, escape. ¡°Very good, keep watching in shifts and rest well. This will take a while to work properly. ¡±(Me) Most of the goblins sat down somewhere in little groups and begun to eat the brought rations or take little naps. Gobar joined me and Gob under the tree as well and we begun to chat leisurely. Though gob was not the most fascinating conversational partner yet, he had begun to be able to join small banter. Well then I wonder how much the dungeon will be able to deal with this. I guess it did not even understand the purpose of all this before we lit up everything. Since so far nothing much was happening i decided to put the time to some better use. ¡°Gobar, since we are just sitting around for now how about you teach me some things about magic ?¡±(Me) ¡°Ah you intend to become a magic user, Lord ? A shaman ?¡±(Gobar) ¡°No i do not think i will turn to the shaman class. I will leave that to you and your disciples. We need some more diversity.¡±(Me) The old goblin looked slightly disappointed but then nodded and carried on. ¡°In this case I will most likely only be able to teach the Lord in regards to the basics of magic. Each school has its own things that must be understood in order to progress.¡±(Gobar) ¡°Speaking of which who was your teacher? Did he or she die in the raid?¡±(Me) At my words the old goblin smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°No I did not have a teacher. People with the talent to go towards magic are much rarer than other talents. I had to research and learn everything by myself. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°Huh i see. Well then let us begin. ¡±(Me) For the next few hours Gobar was teaching me about basic magics and for the first time i realized... This guy is on the genius level ! Damn with him explaining all of the stuff it sounds logical but how did he even work out all these things. It was hard to find a comparison. Imagine you knew nothing about magic except that it exists. Now imagine you have to invent the numerical system and the pythagorean theorem. To understand it is not hard, but developing it from scratch? that needs some serious brain juices. Only now i realized that the goblins seriously were not as dumb as I thought. They had potential but because of the war it was all ruined. Their country destroyed and constantly having to fight they had simply no chance to pass on their knowledge and skills properly so it was all lost ! That really makes me want to see what a developed goblin society will look like. I guess i''ll have to put more time into teaching and establishing some kind of culture. Maybe go for a feudal system ? Since I am not gonna hand over my throne to anyone else. Well that is for later to think about. As for the knowledge that the goblin explained to me was about the basic laws and properties of mana as well as spell casting. Though there was still a lot of mysticism worked in it had some basic logic. It seems like the part that actually processes magic is your subconscious mind. The conscious part simply does not have the processing powers to deal with all that. Actually all the funny incantations are just ways to help your subconscious to work better and know what you want. Just like the pink elephant thing, a certain image will pop up in your mind. The more often you used a spell the easier and faster it would be processed by your mind, just like training your subconsciousness to do high math calculations for you. As for the mana part, normal beings process the environmental mana to a more diluted kind of mana. So me as dungeon works with plutonium while the magic caster me would work with coal. Though you could strengthen your mana over time, apparently you didn''t gain much mana from level ups but had to meditate and strengthen your mana pool through that way. ¡°So I learn skills by understanding their basis and expanding from that. Does that you can learn every magic that there is?¡±(Me) That will be awesome, slinging around magic left and right! But Gobar looked slightly conflicted on that notion. ¡°Well¡­ yes and no, Lord. Certain magic can be cast with any kind of magic but most will convert your inner mana to certain element. For example my main element is earth. Because nature and Water are easily agreeable with earth i was able to learn them with not too much difficulty. But through that I also have traces of those elements within me so wind and fire magics will be nearly entirely out of question unless i use props like the mana crystals to do basic things.¡±(Gobar) Aww shit guess it''s not as easy as I thought. ¡°You will also find your¡­ you called it subconsciousness ? Will have a harder time to work with them and you will be much, much slower than someone that uses mainly those elements. There are ways to prevent your mana from taking an element but that will make the higher realms of most spell schools impossible to reach as they need purer mana to work.¡±(Gobar) ¡°So that means I can, either learn many different magics on a inferior level or, I can learn a few and have those to the highest.¡±(Me) ¡°That is right, Lord. As said there are some that are neutral to elements but most also work better with certain kinds of properties. ¡±(Gobar) Meh I am not going to be some jack of all trades and Master of nothing. Besides I am an Overlord, I got minions that I can tell to learn something that I cannot do. Gotta delegate those things and not do them myself. Guess i''ll look for some crazy, fun magic to learn. After that Gobar instructed me on some basic exercises to learn and control mana, which was really not easy to start with. But we were in no hurry anyway. While we were doing that the other goblin had taken it upon themselves to keep the fire burning without me even having to tell them. They continued to collect whatever burnable things they could find and added the most smoke producing and poisonous things to it. Then they occasionally opened up the walls top and threw it all in followed by a mana crystal if needed. After all I had told them to not be stingy with those things right now. Like this we progressed on until night came and grew deeper. The sunset was actually pretty fantastic to watch! Chapter 11: Smoked spider is served ! Well then todays chapter ! hope you will enjoy even though it is not the usual high tension conclusion as would most likely be in other stories. But its practically two baby¡äs battling... to the death... but you get what I mean hopefully. XD As for the newest reviews, as i pointed out already I am not a native speaker. So if i make errors in grammar or such feel free to point them out. By myself i will most likely not find them since if I knew that certain things were wrong I would not be making the mistakes :D Still a great thank you for the reviews, messages and comments so far ! They give quite a motivation to continue one with what I am doing.
¡°Well then time to take a look how well we did with the smoking!¡±(Me) Night was already upon us now and the Moon high on the sky. Yeah this world also had a moon, though it was a good bit bigger than the good old one from earth. But anyway, i let them slowly take down the wall, making sure that not all of the remaining smoke drained out in one huge bout. After all who knows what could be attracted by that. Well well, that looks pretty horrible. The tunnel was slightly lit up by the remaining embers of our fire. But with a goblin''s eye it was enough to make out some details. The whole tunnel was of course blackened by the long exposure to flame and smoke. There were some insects corpses strewn about within that the dungeon had probably wanted to send out. But they either died in the flames or suffocated with the smoke. Most likely some of them got too much poison as well. Poison resistance is one thing. But even gob isn''t totally immune against it and breathing in poisonous smoke... Well good that I am not them heh. I instructed the goblins to stay away and not go into the dungeon just yet, apart from carefully extinguishing and smoke sources that were left. After all the fire should have consumed a good bit of oxygen and I was not quite sure that the poison would not get to them a bit either. So we waited for a time. ¡°Once we go in let the soldier bugs be in front and on the walls. No one rushes ahead, there might still be spiders lying in wait to ambush from above or the side somewhere. ¡±(Me) I won''t put up with losing any goblins or too many insects now after using so many resources to cut our manpower losses, While we waited I instructed my people and had them check their things again. The first to go in would be the insects followed by small groups of goblins. The mages and me would follow with a larger group. Finally it seemed like it would be safe to walk in and we begun our approach. Ahhhha somehow this is turning out to be more anticlimactic than I thought. Did we really exhaust most of it''s troops already? And it really stinks, next time i''ll need to have a better smelling tactic. The whole dungeon seemed to be filled with the stench of smoke. The entrance tunnel branched off not too far into the mountain. We sent some people ahead and found that the right one led to a smaller dead ended cave. There were a good many spider corpses there. Apparently the dungeon itself had not known how to deal with such a kind of attack and who could blame an a few days old baby for that. The spiders instincts most likely had told them to get away from the fire and not to approach it. Which was a really bad decision while in such a position. I did not remain long there as the smell quite stung in my and the other goblins noses so we continued on deep into the dungeon. Occasionally there would be a a few remaining spiders but they were no enemy for the numbers we brought with us. The bugs alone swarmed each spider at least 3 to 1 so that they were taken care of swiftly. Should i be more paranoid ? Or is it really this simple ? The goblins seemed to be already in a festive mood but I quickly suppressed that notion. ¡°I''ll tell you all this now, if i catch someone being off guard or slacking somewhere i will have gob bite off your family jewels. For the females i am sure i will also find some appropriate punishment.¡±(Me) ¡°Will bite !¡±(Gob) ¡°Y-Y-Yes LORD !¡±(Goblins) That threat seemed to work wonder, supported by gob audibly closing his mouth with a noise that left no doubt. From then on they were keenly spying into every place that we came across for the slightest sign of a spider. I was pretty sure now they would find even the most miniscule form of a spider ambush. Since i could relax now more I looked around more thoroughly and discovered that some of the caves looked quite intriguing. There many structures that looked like they were made to have a spider net in them. Small arches and even some honeycomb-like structures. ¡°Guess this dungeon picked the insect dungeon evolution¡±(Me) ¡°It indeed seems so, Lord¡±(Gobar) The old goblin joined me in my observation and we found some more things that we were sure would be for insects but we could not really make out it¡äs uses. Besides that there was of course the obligatory moss that nourished the food insects and some of the glowing mushrooms. Since there seemed to be no other thing of particular interest, we simply proceeded on. Carefully each tunnel and cave was secured as we pressed on. Of course there were some losses on our side as well during the small battles with the remaining spiders but those were all among our own insects. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Bah for the next time I need some skills myself. Just watching while being in an actual body is more than just annoying. After a seemingly endless time of boredom we finally came to a large cave. It was at least as big as the goblin home but much more irregular. Just like a natural cave it was deformed in particular ways. There was even one larger basin filled with water in the middle. The most important thing though was in the very back. Ahh there it is the dungeon crystal. Oh and the last stand will happen here it seems. ¡°Seems the dungeon has panicked huh ?¡±(Me) ¡°Indeed, Lord. How shall we proceed?¡±(Gobar) How indeed. In front of the glimmering crystal were the last defenders. A rather big batch of spiders. I was not scared that we would lose. The biggest problems of them all would be that Horde mother that was in the middle of the spiders. ¡°Not one of those again. Well I guess there is no need to hold back anymore. Spread out in defensive lines. Gobar and the other mages focus your spells on the big one. Go all out on them.¡± (Me) My orders were followed swiftly and the mages begun their chanting. Before they had only used the lowest spells. But now they could show off their skills to the fullest. While they mumbled something I kept watch of the enemies that got riled up by our presence. The Horde Mother hissed in anger but they did not dare to approach us. Are they scared of us ? Or do they not want to part from the dungeon crystal ? But it is time to end this little farce. Soon the mages were done and the first stone missiles shot forth. One hit the mother directly and created a satisfying cracking sound followed by a painful hiss. Ouch that hurt ! So is she gonna come or not? The other two were dodged, but they still landed in the crowd of spider and smashed some of them up well. After that the mother seemed to be thoroughly enraged and gave orders. ¡°Kill them ! Kill them all ! We must kill them to protect our home !¡±(Horde Mother) ¡°Should have thought about that first dumb spider. It was yours that came to us first. ¡±(Me) Thank god they did. This dungeon could have been a scary enemy later down the line if the got more diversity. The spiders begun their charge again. They used the irregular cave for cover, though the mother was far too big to do so and simply rushed forward. This one was a lot thinner and more agile than the one before which was quite a scary sight. ¡°Spear Goblins! Keep the mother, aim for her eyes and don''t take any risks. Let the mages kill her.¡±(Me) 5 Goblins stepped forward, they were armed with the sturdiest spears we had. It seemed like the victories up so far had greatly enhanced the goblins morale as they placed themselves forward, prepared to meet the charging spider and stop her. Though to my surprise something else stopped her. The Mother was only a few meters away as suddenly some stone knifes came flying from some of the goblins and hit the charging spider. ¡°Woah! Not bad.¡±(Me) I looked for the throwers, spotting that is was Gobtar and some of his scout buddies. They had aimed pretty well and though 3 of them just were deflected by the chitin, the last 2 managed to hit one eye straight on and graze another. The charge faltered as the spider flinched and hissed in pain. But the other goblins didn''t let her have a chance to easily recover. The spear wielders jumped forward, two of them thrust directly into the mouth section and buried the stone tips deep inside. The other ones aimed for some of the gaps in the side but were not quite as successful except for one who actually managed to thrust his spear through the crack created by the mages. By now the mother was a screeching and hissing mess like this and flailed wildly to make the goblins back off from her. The spear in her cracked chitin stayed stuck there though and the goblin retreated completely to join with his club on the other fights. Well this is going smoother than i would believe. I''ll have to prepare some good reward for all of them when we get back. But that mother is as dumb as the other, it rushed ahead like a fool. By now the smaller spiders were arriving as well and were met by the Soldier Bugs head on. Since the goblins armed with clubs helped there was no reason to worry about them for now. What caught my eye was that Gob actually drooled and looked at the spiders in a strange mix of bloodlust and hunger. ¡°Go and break a leg Gob. It seems unlikely that anything will happen to me here and there are still the mages. ¡±(Me) ¡°Then gob will go to eat now !¡±(Gob) A delightfully simple fellow he is. As i watched how gob rushed forward the mages shot their next stone missiles and the distracted spider was hit directly with another few cracking sounds. We would be really having troubles with that chitin armor if not for the mages. There was now a certain rhythm to the fight with the mother. The spear wielders would poke at her eyes and the few weak spots to distract her while the mages charged their magic. But they didn''t shoot right away. The apprentices always waited until the spider tried to focus her attacks on one of the goblins to shoot theirs and disrupt the spiders attack. Only gobar shot each time as soon as he had done his preparations. Pretty good cooperations. I guess they did some training as well. I marveled at their teamwork. It was not perfect or up to an armies standard in its coordination but still pretty good. Meanwhile the bugs worked hard to keep the small spiders from interfering with the mother''s battle. What about my spiders and slugs you might ask? Well they were spread out on the walls behind me and the ceiling above me. They kept the space there save and clean so that spider would be able to sneak in an attack out of a blind spot. Of course the Acidic slugs were directed outside the defensive lines. Would not be good if our own troops were hit by acid from above! Meh just being a general is totally boring. I need some badass magic skills soon. Speaking of which what should i actually learn?... Being in thoughts i just observed absentmindedly what was going on. The fight with the mother ended abruptly as one of the mages stone attacks hit an already cracked part of the chitin armor and pierced deep inside her body. With a weak hiss she collapsed and the goblins pulled back. ¡°No¡­ home.. protect...¡±(Horde Mother) ¡°Too bad for you, shouldn''t have put a hand¡­. ah¡­ leg? On my dungeon.¡±(Me) After the fight with the mother ended the other spiders were no problem anymore. The mages fired some of their stones into thicker gatherings of spiders, but the most work did the club wielding goblins now. After a little more of just standing around we were finally done and could approach the dungeons crystal now. ¡°So and what do we do with this now? Just smash it?¡±(Me) ¡°Well, Lord...¡±(Gobar) ¡°Ah no worries I am getting the answer¡±(Me)
You successfully subdued another dungeon The other side does not submit Beginning absorption process
Oh absorption huh?... sometimes i would appreciate some heads up about what will happen you know? As usual I got no direct response to me question. Besides for now i was intrigued what was happening with the dungeon and watched in awe as the crystal structure begun to glow and slowly vanished. Once everything was over I turned around to the goblins and announced. ¡°We are done here boys and girls ! It is time to go home and i will think about what I will reward you guys with for this excellent work today ! Oh yes cut up the horde mother and take the parts along. I have some ideas for that thing.¡± The goblins were cheering and delighting over this great victory and went to work quickly. It seems they were eager to return home and so we reached there faster than we had found our way here even in the dark. Chapter 12: Yay... Guests This was a long day at work. They really suck at organizing the tasks they want me to deal with >_<. Might need to take a break for a few days depending on how it proceeds from here. But we will see. Hope you will enjoy the little twist today!
A cold edge was pressing against the side of my neck, it had cut just slightly into my skin and I felt some drops of blood begin to slide down along my throat. Oh shit I am so dead. But let''s start at the beginning of the day. After we had returned to the dungeon I let the goblins return to their caves and rest while i parked the avatar in its tank. A quick glance over my area told me nothing was wrong so far and I went to rest myself since it had been a long day. On the next day I was welcomed by a new screen.
Absorption of the dungeon core completed You the following evolution was integrated: Insect dungeon You gained the following evolutions for your servants: Horde Mother Bladed Spider Poisonspitter Spider Mother Spider You leveled reached level 4 You gained: 3 Skill points 1 Evolution point 1 Expansion range increase 1 Additional Floor Skills available: Spawn earth''s resources Added construction options Insect Home small Insect Home medium Insect Home large
Woa! That is some addition! Seems it paid off plenty to go through all those bothersome events. I went through the various informations curiously and the first things I got hung up on were the evolutions. Wait so i get all of the conquered dungeon¡äs evolutions?
You can only absorb evolutions that do not conflict with your already present ones
Makes sense otherwise it would be a cheat bug. Anyway what''s the new skill about?
Spawn earth''s resources lvl 0 Morphs a certain area of your dungeon to contain a certain resource. You have not yet invested in this skill, nothing is available. Higher levels of this skill enables higher value resources to be spawned.
Huh so it is the turn for things like coals and such to take the field? maybe i''ll even get some gems and stuff. Would be awesome but not very useful. Show me the current skills.
Spawn insects - Spawn plants - Growth lvl 2 Universal language max Spawn Ore vein lvl 1 Appraisal lvl 2 Dungeon Radar lvl 2 Spawn earth''s resources lvl 0 Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. 4 Remaining skill points
Right, I had the one from before still left over. Well i guess i should still keep it this way. Invest one in earth¡äs resources and growth each. Show me the details afterwards.
Spawn earth''s resources lvl 1 Morphs a certain area of your dungeon to contain a certain resource. Currently available resources: Coal Low Gems
Growth lvl 3 Accelerates Growth of infant and young beings. Simpler beings will go through growth faster than more complex ones. Will not affect fully grown beings or incorporeal ones. Beings affected by this will have reduced i lifespan. You can select which beings are affected and which are not. Activating Growth in a room will cost a certain amount of mana continuously supplied according to the rooms size. lvl 2 Can now target specific species to reduce the cost of upkeep lvl 3 Increased effectiveness on more complex organisms
Hmph seems the resources skill will also be useless until we somehow get better mining tools. But the addition to Growth is awesome. Hopefully it will help the insects to regain their numbers soon. Let¡äs see the status now.
Name: Goblin Cave Rank: F
Mana: 878400 M Mana recovery: 8870 M/h
Level: 4
Well well the mana is coming along nicely. I guess i can build some more growing areas. Especially with me opening the new floor. But before that I have to take some organizational matters. Satisfied with my changes I switched back over to my Avatar. I had deposited my clothing close by to the tank last night and swiftly got dressed before walking out of the cave. ¡°Lord!¡±(Gob) Holy! That surprised me¡­ It seemed like gob had waited next to the entrance already and jumped out as soon as he spotted me leaving. How bowed in a slightly clumsy way but after getting over my startled heart i could not help but to smile at the silly goblin. Besides it was pretty convenient to have him here. ¡°Gob I have a little mission for you. Find me Gobar, Gorin, Gobuta, and Gobtar. Bring them to the firecrystal oven there¡± (Me) ¡°Yes Lord! Gob will bring!¡±(Gob) Gob waddled off right away and i had a moment of doubt if he could do it. But then again it would not hurt this time if something went wrong. So i shrugged and went to the center of the goblin home and sat down next to the warm oven where some goblinas were busily preparing food for the other waking goblins. Of course they hurriedly prepared my share which I ate in all leisure. There were still too few spices, but that was not important right now. One after another the goblins I had called for came and finally Gobar was accompanied here by Gob. ¡°Well done Gob, stay close by I might need to relay orders again later on.¡±(Me) Gob was smiling from ear to ear and settled down a little bit further, but close enough to be able to react to any order. He really was a zealous minion alright. ¡°How can we serve, Lord?¡±(Gobar) The old goblin and the others were looking at me curiously right now and I smiled slightly before I answered. ¡°All of you present have contributed in his or her own special way to this dungeon. In the future there will be many more goblins hopefully and I will need leaders to keep everything in order. As such I intend to promote each of you into a special position.¡±(Me) On my words their expressions changed from curiously to a sparkling excitement and I nearly had to laugh out loud. But i kept myself together and continued on. ¡°Gobtar, you will from now on be the leader of the scouts. You will organize the scouting mission everyday and take part yourself. Rotate the goblins through and find the best scouts among them to give them special training. ¡±(Me) ¡°It shall happen as you wish, Lord!¡±(Gotar) I nodded, as I hoped, in a graceful manner and proceeded on with the next ones. ¡°Gorin, you will be in charge of the insects as it was until now. Recruit some of the more adept goblinas to help you out and show them how to train the insects to partners. Gobuta, you will be in charge of everything that concerns production of tools and constructions. For now you will also delegate the cooking until i see fit to appoint a separate leader for that.¡±(Me) ¡°I shall do my best !¡±(Gorin) ¡°There will be no problem with this, Lord¡±(Gobuta) With a pleased smile I turned my attention to the last but probably most important one. ¡°Gobar, you will of course be in charge of the mages. But from now on I also want you to teach more goblins about mana and your wisdom. Also you will be declared as my representative. The only one that is to give you orders am I myself. ¡±(Me) ¡°It is an honor, Lord. I shall work these old bones to dust for you and my brethren. ¡±(Gobar) ¡°This may seem like a strange thing to do as it more or less has always been like this since my birth. But from now on it is official and if anyone disobeys you, punish them or report to me in grave cases and i will decide their punishment myself. Do not make a mistake though, you also bear a greater responsibility from now on. ¡±(Me) The goblins were still looking at me with an almost worshipping expression and nodded their heads repeatedly while assuring me that they would do their best. I had of course said these things for the younger ones as Gobar had been doing his job for a long time already. ¡°Well then you can leave now. There are still some matters to take care of and I will need to build some things.¡±(Me) ¡°Oh, if you would please remain for a while longer. There are some matters that I would discuss with you and your new leaders.¡±(???) At those words we all were startled. I especially because I realized that this had not been spoken in the goblin language. Just as we all started to get up and look around in alarm i felt a sharp pain at my neck and looked down just to see a black blade pressed against my flesh. Cold terror seeped at once through my whole body and I could not move at all. ¡°Lord! ¡±(Goblins) The goblins noticed what was happening and I could even see their eyes widen in fright. Other goblins noticed what was happening which caused a series of calls to echo through the cave. I even heard an angry screech from close by, which I was sure would be Gob, but something black suddenly shot out from behind the recently appointed leaders and the screeching stopped abruptly. ¡°Well then, Sir Dungeon Lord. If you would please instruct your vassals to not make a fuss and sit down again we can talk in a more appropriate way. It would be a pity if your Avatar lost it''s head as it is still so new no ?¡±(???) I could now make out that the voice was coming from the place where the black thing had come from. I just hoped it had not killed the poor Gob whatever this new threat was. ¡°Sit down all of you, it seems whoever this is wants to talk.¡±(Me) Reluctantly the other goblins sat down again and Gobar motioned for all the other goblins in the surroundings to stay down as well. Right after things had calmed down there was a sudden shift in the light at the place that the voice had come from. I looked almost like the flickering air above a flame. Slowly a dark figure came into view. From it''s body it looked like a human. But i could not tell for sure as the whole body was clad in black leather armor. That armor looked to be of very good quality and hugged the figure of our unwelcome guest very tightly. There was a similar sword hanging from his hip as was currently pressing into my neck as well as an impressive bow and quiver on his back. From the voice and the now seen figure i judged it had to be either a very masculine woman or a rather athletically thin man. Even from here i could see the muscles under the tight leather. Oh shit I am so dead. Was the only thought that i could muster right now. This guy looked like a very dangerous assassin. His bearing alone made me feel small but he also emitted a certain aura of threat that made my hair stand on end. Even I could tell that he was no pretender and I was pretty sure he alone would suffice to kill everyone here.
Alert, detected intruders inside the dungeon.
Seriously ?! You are saying that now ?! I nearly yelled my thoughts out but I managed to keep my tongue in check barely. Now was not the time to get emotional. ¡°You have my thanks, it would be unpleasant to have to slaughter your servants. Now then if i may introduce myself. I am Gulagh Aleanth and I am here to have a talk with you about absorbing our spider dungeon.¡±(Gulagh) Chapter 13: Friends ? I guess? as long as they bring some sparklies with them... Early chapter today! Some matter were resolved and i was in a good mood.
¡°You have my thanks, it would be unpleasant to have to slaughter your servants. Now then if i may introduce myself. I am Gulagh Aleanth and I am here to have a talk with you about absorbing our spider dungeon.¡±(Gulagh) Oh¡­ not good. SHIT! At his words i felt cold sweat running down my back and most likely my expression gave away my thoughts because Gulagh had a good laugh from it. ¡°Well, let us start at the most important point. Who helped you to conquer the dungeon?¡±(Gulagh) The switch from an amused laugh to dead serious was slightly startling. But his words still caused me to be startled. Huh? Why should we have have had help? ¡°No one helped us. Well we lost a good many Soldier Bugs¡­.¡±(Me) As i spoke i suddenly felt the edge of the sword dig a slight bit deeper and I went silent right away. ¡°Please do not take me for a fool, there is no way you could have beaten two Horde Mothers in a straight up fight in their own dungeon¡±(Gulagh) The tone of his voice had gained a thorough cold edge as he responded. But his words stirred something inside me. Glancing at their equipment once more the imaginary light bulb switched on above my head. They put the spiders in there! No wonder that the baby dungeon managed to get two horde mothers so quickly. This point had already bothered me for a while. How could a younger dungeon without a starting race like me already have such highly evolved monsters. I thought that simply was because it had focused on spiders. But now I understood that it was these people that had pushed the dungeon in their direction. Like this it all made sense. Especially since after closer inspection I recognized part of their equipment to be made from chitin. They had the same idea as I had. But then it''s no wonder that they are angry, we ruined their resources. ¡°That is not the case, one of the Horde Mothers attacked us here with a large amount of her spiderlings. After that we attacked them to get rid of a threat. We had no idea it was someone''s resources center.¡±(Me) At my carefully chosen words the other tilted his head slightly in surprise and remained silent for a moment. ¡°Hmmm that seems more plausible. With three mages and your other forces they could be subdued one by one like that¡­ Those morons ¡±(Gulagh) He sighed and waved his hand in a dismissive way after which the edge was finally taken from my neck. I let out an audible breath of relieve and watched as the one from behind me walked to Gulagh¡äs side. Another one appeared just as he had done before and they were obviously female. If it was not such a dire situation i might have admired their well formed bodies. After all the tight leather did not much to hide their curves at all. Though i did look them over once more and noticed that not only their swords but also their arm guards and boots were reinforced with the chitin material, also the chest plate was made from it. Seems you can really craft a whole armor from those spiders... ¡°Did you stare enough?¡±(Gulagh) I twitched slightly and could not help myself but smile wryly. At least he was back to his amused tone. ¡°I apologize for that it was not my intention to stare too much¡­¡±(Me) ¡°Well, our women are said to be pretty mesmerizing after all. But enough of that, there is the fact still that you did harm our resources and we will have to talk about that. ¡±(Gulagh) Oh shit, what to do now ? This does not sound too good. ¡°Indeed, it seems that way.¡±(Me) Do i already fall into slavery now ? Shit, shit ... ¡°Well since the other dungeon attacked you first there was no way you could have left it alone. So how about you just ally yourself with us?¡±(Gulagh) ¡°Huh?!¡±(Me) I stared dumbfounded at the other party and he had another good laugh at my expenses before he went on to elaborate his words.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Well basically you have not many choices right now. Either ally yourself with us or you will most likely perish soon anyway without us having to lift a single finger. ¡±(Gulagh) I frowned confused at the words that were directed at me. Huh? they will not do anything? Wait what is going on ? I don¡ät get it. ¡°Why would we perish soon?¡±(Me) The masked man lifted his hand with a stretched out index finger like a teacher that was about to explain something to a rather stupid schoolboy. Which in some way annoyed me. ¡°It is simple. The Elves down in the Giant Forest will eliminate you. Do you understand what I am implying?¡±(Gulagh) Elves¡­ so those are down there. I guess they would not be happy to have a dungeon next to their home. But something seems off here. It would be easier to simply exploit me with their forces. Why would they want me as ally? ¡°So, the Elves are your enemies? But¡­ why would you want me as your ally?¡±(Me) Most likely my expression gave my suspicions away as he chuckled again and nodded slowly. He suddenly reached up to the hood and face mask that was covering him almost completely before taking them down. His two followers did the same as him right away. The fuck ? Aren''t they Elves themselves? They look¡­ strange, a kind of pretty, strange? They looked indeed like Elves had been described in my world. For the most part at least. Their facial features were indeed as if a god had descended and made their features to be alluring. All the edges and curves were sharp where they needed to be and soft where it was pleasant to look at. But there was a heavy contrast to it. Their skin was completely white. Not in a ¡®i haven''t seen the sun in a while¡¯ but more in a ¡® i am a freaking blood drained corpse¡¯ of white. It was of such a degree that i could see the blue blood vessels as pale shadows. Their hair was the same and their eyes were of a deep crimson color. If it had not been for the long and spear tipped ears I would have assumed them to be vampires. ¡°Drows!¡±(Gobar) My head turned around sharply to look at the old goblin when he spoke that word before I gazed back at our guests quickly. Huh wait aren''t drows supposed to have this blue¡­ purplish color ? What is going on here? ¡°It seems your representative knows of us a bit. We belong to the drows of the iron mountains. A pleasure to meet you, Dungeon Lord.¡±(Gulagh) ¡°Wait, aren''t Drows supposed to be a of a darkish color?¡±(Me) I could not help myself but blurt this out. My curiosity simply overtook me, but luckily it seems like he was more surprised than offended. ¡°A strange thing you say, legends have it that this was the case for our ancestors indeed. But we were driven into the underground at the beginning of the war. After that we became like this. But i think we should focus on more important things right now, no? ¡±(Gulagh) Hmmm¡­ a thousand years of living underground. I guess that would make a race develop a bit of strong albinism. But he is right I should focus more on the important matter. ¡°Yes you are indeed right. So¡­ the conflict with the elven people is true?¡±(Me) ¡°Indeed, we have been at war with them for longer than any of us can remember. Around 700 years ago it started once again. As for your earlier question there are some very simple reasons why we want you as ally. ¡±(Gulagh) The drow¡äs voice had a slight edge to it when he spoke of the Elves. They really must hate each other. I wonder how our authors were able to portray it that well. But for now let''s listen to his explanation. ¡°First of we need resources. The war with the Elves is draining us. It is not critical yet but it will be soon. For now we are in a deadlock, we cannot enter the forest too deep but the Elves are also unable to enter our mountains carelessly. But as you said, for that it would be a simple matter to turn you into a slave through force.¡±(Gulagh.) The smile he had on his last words gave of a more threatening feeling then the conversation till now had let on. ¡°But there is another matter. We intended to use the spiders from the other dungeon as cannon fodder to pressure their flank so they have to divert their forces. ¡±(Me) As he spoke he drew a rough map on the floor with his finger. I knew we were in the east of the forest since we were on the west side of the mountain. In the center of his drawing was a marked area which i assumed were the Elves and to the north was the Drows territory. ¡°With you as a Dungeon Lord that already has a ego it will be much easier to coordinate such a thing instead of having to tame the spiders and make them do our bidding. ¡±(Gulagh) I nodded slightly, this was of course true but also did not tell me why I would be an ally and not some pet that they used as they pleased. ¡°This still is no real answer, only your goals.¡±(Me) At my words it seemed almost as if Gulagh was delighted. ¡°That is true, but there is another matter. across the mountains to the east are two human kingdoms. They are allied now and growing ever stronger. In a few years to a decade they might consider invading the mountains and the forests. In the other directions it does not look too good either. So you could say we share a mutual interest to get rid of the Elves and establish good relations between us.¡±(Gulagh) Hmmm well he is pretty much right there. But I still am not quite sure¡­ ¡°So basically it would be a military aid pact. But there is still the matter about resources. If I understand this right you are increasingly lacking resources and if it goes on your dead lock with the elves will break in their favor. Which would be bad for me. But what do i get from that ?¡±(Me) ¡°Ah i am glad that you understand this much without me telling you. Yes it is true, we can gather some resources, but our mountains and tunnels are not easy to manage with everything that is going on. We expend more energy and manpower on resources gathering than we can afford. You could solve this problem to some extend and of course as allies we will trade you those resources and the future services of your troops. I am sure you are in dire need of tools, knowledge, up to date information and maybe some slaves to work for you ? Besides if the deadlock truly is broken then the elves will be able to spread out their influence again and will surely discover your dungeon. That would be a death sentence as you are now.¡±(Gulagh) Gah, he really knows his stuff¡­ Nothing of this is to my disadvantage. But even the trading is in his favor. He wants to make us strong enough to battle the elves with them and then serve as a shield against the human kingdom to the east and he is playing it friendly because it would be a bother to suppress someone that you want to be strong enough to do all those things. I pondered this for a while and it did not sit well with me. But on the other hand the deal itself was good enough. There most likely would not even be a need for territory dispute. It would be a long time until I even claimed this mountain and theoretically it made no difference for me whether I extend myself into the mountains behind me or the forest in front. ¡°What tells you that I might not simply ally myself with the elves?¡±(Me) This was still a central issue in my view. They wouldn''t be really able to trust me and vice versa. But I was answered with an amused smile. ¡°Oh that is simple, the Elves would never ally with you. They hate beings like goblins and even more so dungeons. They would surely kill you if you tried that. ¡±(Gulagh) Hmmm well that might be true as well. Besides I never liked Elves. They always seem that arrogant and holier than you. It might just be really fun to drag those guys from their high horses. Besides¡­. some elven slaves sound really tempting, i hope there are some with big tits as well. Guess it will be war with the Elves then ! ¡°This deal seems fine for me. But i still have one question. If your situation is that dire, why didn''t you use the dungeon for yourself ? Would it not be better to have more drows instead of the spiders?¡±(Me) ¡°That is impossible. We would have to forgo our god¡äs blessing in order to do such. only the gods of the myriad Star Pantheon accept that their followers could join a dungeon and ever there not all of them do unless you as dungeon pledge yourself to them. ¡±(Gulagh) Hmmm I see! That is good to know. Well then let''s get to the core of the matter. What can I get out of those guys! ¡°Well then my dear ally. Let us get to the most important point now. What would you be in need of?¡±(Me) Chapter 14: Hurray for more space and a lot of work. Well it seems the opinions about me bringing in the Drow is causing a lot of split opinions. But I will just say wait and see if it really develops as you think it will. As many seem to think i have just replaced adventurers with Drow. Still I wish everyone a good time reading!
¡°Well then my dear ally, what would you be in need of?¡±(Me) Gulagh laughed at my question and seemed to ponder for a little while before he nodded and responded. ¡°Yes, the most dire would be Food. We expend too many resources to get enough of that since we have to grow it through magical means. Which, if one is not a dungeon, brings quite a lot of problems with it.¡±(Gulagh) Food huh? Well I can indeed see where the problem must be there. Without growth¡­ Though for that I will have to make a thorough expansion. ¡°hmmm, for that I will have to make some bigger changes first. I also need to let the goblins find some plants more suited for consumption. Unless you like Meat Snails. How will we be paid for the food?¡±(Me) ¡°Once we know how much you can produce in a stable manner we will be able to tell. Any preferences for our considerations?¡±(Gulagh) ¡°Tools. Axes, spades, pickaxes, wood and stone working tools. Besides that I am interested in herbal and alchemistic as well as magical knowledge.¡±(Me) Gulagh looked at me with a an arched brow while I listed what would be of interest to me then laughed and shook his head. ¡°Well you surely are not hesitant to voice your wishes. But those sound reasonable. We will keep some of those things prepared and depending on the amount you deliver you will get paid with those things.¡±(Gulagh) Seems we have reached an agreement. Excellent. ¡°Good, then you are of course welcome to stay, but I guess you will need to make arrangements as well ? ¡±(Me) Not that I disliked the guys¡­ But I prefer to stay with goblins for now. Gulagh raised himself for a moment, then looked at the two women with him before he nodded at the right one. ¡°That is true, but I would prefer to leave one of my attendants here. It would be very much a problem if something got rid of you. Besides that she has some knowledge about magic. She will answer you to some extend. ¡±(Gulagh) I couldn''t help but twitch an eye at his words. Leaving a watchdog here huh ? Well whatever. It will be indeed safer with her and I am curious to see how much her knowledge will differ with Gobar¡äs. ¡°One thing before you leave. How did you know I was the avatar and not simply the goblins leader?¡±(Me) This had actually bothered me for a while now. How had he known ? Gulagh looked at me with an amused smile and tilted his head. ¡°I knew because I understood you even though you were speaking goblin. You will need to control that skill better. Until next time, Dungeon Lord.¡±(Gulagh ) As he finished his sentence he and the other drow vanished just as they had appeared before. Meanwhile the one that would remain here simply put her mask and hood back on and stood there like a statue. I was actually grinding my teeth. How could I have forgotten such a thing? I will need to take care of that matter later. I turned my attention back to the goblins and noticed that they were still wearing disturbed expressions mixed with fear in them. Of course, they only have heard my part of the conversation. ¡°Well this is pretty useful. The Drows that were here before were patrons of the spiders dungeon. For now I agreed to trade with them. So if any Drow comes along lead them here and inform me. ¡±(Me) ¡°Trade, Lord? Are you sure this will work out ?¡±(Gobar) The old goblin was still gripping his staff nervously as he looked between me and the remaining Drow woman. ¡°It will, at least for now. Right now we must focus on getting stronger, it seems the forest is the home of Elves which are in conflict with the Drows. Are they really that opposed to Dungeons?¡±(Me) When i mentioned elves it was as if i had told them that the world was going to end. Each of them went almost entirely white and i was already worrying about some of them going faint. ¡°That¡­ that is indeed the case. Not just dungeons, they hate any of the so called dark races. They have slain innumerable amounts of our brethren in the great war.¡±(Gobar) Huh so he was speaking in the truth in this matter at least. ¡°Then it is even more important to keep up the trade arrangement. Gobtar, head out as soon as possible. We neglected the collection of resources too long. Bring me any plant you can find and branches of trees that bear fruit. Ignore any wildlife unless it poses a threat. Leave right away, Gobar will inform you about any other matter that will come up later.¡±(Me) ¡°Yes, Lord!¡±(Gobtar) The fresh leader of the scouts sprinted off in a hurry as soon as I had dismissed him and i went straight on with the other goblins. ¡°Gobuta carry on as you have until now. Gorin i will expand the dungeon soon. Keep an eye on the insects. Gobar please calm down the other goblins and relay my orders about the Drows. Especially no one is to do anything stupid towards our guest here. She will remain here for now. ¡±(Me) As the goblin leaders excused themselves one after another my eyes fell on the black package that was most likely gob. Ah shit, over all that i completely forgot him. ¡°Will that black stuff dissapear soon ? Or can you help Gob out of there?¡±(Me) ¡°It will end soon, do not worry. ¡±(???) ¡°Hmmh ok, in that case what is your name?¡±(Me) ¡°I am called Vierna Xiltyn¡±(Vierna)If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡±Hope to get along with you then Vierna. For now excuse me, I will need to make preparations. Currently we have not much to offer but if you need anything do tell me.¡±(Me) The drow nodded her head before she sat down somewhere out of the way, in a lotus seat and remained there completely silently. I for my part called over a goblin and told him to make sure that Gob would be checked out and told not to do anything stupid towards the guest. After that I hurried back into the crystal cave to park my Avatar. Well then, explain to me how the floor expansion works, dear screen.
You unlocked the first floor. You can open it for 300.000 M The next floor can open up the same number of blocks as your main one.
Oh wow this is going to be a hell of an expense. Ok fuck it. Give me the new floor and open up all new blocks on the main floor. Go towards my west and south.
You are about to buy 11 blocks of area and a new floor. This will cost 480.000 M It will increase your mana recovery by 9.000 M/h Are you sure you want to proceed?
Yes I am sure i want to proceed. Also give me as many blocks in the new floor as you can. expand it exactly underneath the main floor.
You are about to buy 19 blocks of area and a new floor. This will cost 380.000 M It will increase your mana recovery by 11.000 M/h Are you sure you want to proceed? Warning your Mana reserves will be very low.
Yes I want to proceed. I would like to say it felt like the previous times. Just that it did not. This time it felt as if a whole piece was ripped out of me and my vision grew dim. Ho¡­. ly¡­. shit¡­ If I was still in my avatar body I am sure i would have keeled over as if I had been shot. This feeling of power gushing out of me was horrible and i vowed to never again do such a reckless thing. I needed quite a few moments to get back on my mental feet and took a look at my new map. Woa this really is huge! How much Mana do I have actually left over ? ¡®Status¡¯
Name: Goblin Rank: F
Mana: 18.400 Mana recovery: 28.870 Mana/h
Level: 4
Damn¡­ My Mana hasn''t been this low in a long time. But this Mana recovery is just out of this world. Well though I will need to put a lot of that to good use soon. But still. For little bit I marveled at the number, but then i focused myself on the task at hand again. I realized i had been much too relaxed so far. I need much more resources and personnel. I should have widened the dungeon by a lot more. My bad hoarding and what if habit again. I begun with taking a look at the new constructions that i had gotten from the insect home. It Looked almost the same as the big cave of the spiders dungeon. The large one filled out one block pretty well though of course in an irregular formation. To test it I placed it in one of the many free spaces. Wait¡­ something seems strange? Why is there a sun crystal here? That other dungeon didn''t have that.
The standard constructions will be modified according to what other evolutions you unlock.
Ah pretty neat. That will make it a lot easier. It costs 3000 to build just like the goblin home and it also has growth for the plants activated. Hmm, guess I should wait to build more of these until I have some mana reserves. Then let''s make a defense meanwhile. So the construction begun. I decided that the first two rows of the main floor would become a labyrinth. The first changes I made were in the locks to the side where nothing yet was constructed. I made many branches, small and large tunnels with varying sizes of caves strewn all about. I especially made a tunnel system which would be big enough for goblins to crawl through. This one would bring them to hidden points above cave entrances and from here they could either snipe or jump onto possible intruders from behind. Unless they were extremely cautious and brought light sources with them it would be hard to spot these. Learning from my own lessons I also created various tubes and smaller entrances to the caves that lay close to the surface. After being done with those parts were the blocks that housed the goblin home and the insect caves so far. Those were pushed further back so I could go on with the construction. Towards the end I had another idea and added 3 larger caves directly inside the Labyrinth where plants could grow and of course needed to be illuminated. Phew this took ages! But it''s well worth it. Now then. allow the insects to get into the new areas. They can live and defend there right away. It had taken a few hours to build all this and the huge Mana income i currently had boosted my reserves up plenty again to take the next steps. With the new mana I begun to add a few more Insect homes behind the Labyrinth, connected right to it. I actually did not bother to fill the caves myself with population and plants and instead told Gorin to organize that. Hah they must be having a hard time with all those changes. Well the sooner they accustomed to it the better. Thinking like that I moved the goblin home to the new floor along with the parkour course. The most important blocks would be made here after all. In order to not lock them in or out i connected this part directly with the insect homes. Hmmm I guess i''ll wait with the farming area until i see what my scouts bring back. For now it is time to make the goblins reward come true. During all that construction work I had paid very close attention to the flow of mana like Gobar had taught me before. Especially to the naturally forming crystals that were strewn throughout my area. Like this, with my mind linked back directly to the crystal body, I was actually able to feel it a lot more clearly and even manipulate it to some extend. Now then, let''s see if this works. I moved to the block north of the goblin home and created a small cave there. Here I spawned a Sun crystal and observed it thoroughly. Well then, this thing emits light and a bit of heat, just like a sun. Let''s see if i can get it to only emit heat. I actually had to try around for a good while and smashed a load of crystals in the process but finally my effort paid off !
Unlocked new option for crystal construction Heat crystal Creates a crystal that emits a steady amount of heat. 100 M 20 M/h
Yes ! Now we are talking. As soon as I got that message I begun to widen the cave up to use nearly the whole block. Towards the north the floor got higher than the south where the entrance would be. Then I made a series of deep basins into the floor and made small connections to the ones above them. Finally I placed a on a ledge above the highest basin a few wells and made them extend the mana consumption to have a lot more water rush out in a small waterfall. Baths are open now ! I waved off the screen that told me about a new well and a large bath addition since that was just expected. I watched for a little while as the water filled up the basin and the water pouring from this one to the next, lower row of basins. Then I placed a heap of heat crystals inside the first one and less in the ones around it. Like there were basins with differing temperatures of water. This will also take care of the goblins smell to some extend. They do stink a good bit. Pleased with my creation I linked it up with the home cave and just in time as a few minutes later the scouts finally returned.
Your scouts have successfully returned. No new map data Scouts have brought back the following plants. The Fool¡äs berry Naka tree Serdana tree Wild Wheat Pineberry Whitecap mushroom Plants were added to your spawn skill
Good good seems they found something decent this time. I switched over to the entrance and looked over the scout. It had indeed worked for them to bring back just a few branches from trees to unlock them. Since I could spawn them now they didn''t have to carry everything back to the home and could just leave it out here. Now I can make some farming blocks. Returning back to the lower floor i picked out the four blocks to the left of the goblin home and begun constructing. This was much easier as I simply turned two of them into large halls and spawned some tree seedlings in rows along the whole length of the blocks. Of course i also had to add sun crystals and growth to it. Next were the remaining two chosen blocks. Here I got a little more creative and actually made three floors into it 2 which were 2 m in height and one that was 1,5 m. For the first two I added sun crystals and growth before adding the pineberry and wild wheat. While the last one remained mostly dark with some glowing mushrooms on the walls and this one served as growing area for the whitecap mushrooms.
Added constructions Large Orchard Large layered Farm
Very good! This should be enough fiddling for now. Ah before i forget it, they will need someone to do the pollination i guess. Definitely have to find some bees. Hopefully they even exist here. So I added a small nursery to them for some butterfly¡äs as well.
I was requested for a rough map and I see where they are coming from so ill try again with a simple layout of the block structure.
L L L L L
L L L L L
I I I
I I I
B
A A G
A A P
N
N N N N N
L = Labyrinth ??? P = Parkour I = Insect home??A = Agricultural area B = Bath??????N = not bought yet G =Goblin home Hope this gives a rough understanding for now. If more is needed do tell so. Not a Chapter (Question to the readers) So I was curious about one thing. So far I tried to calculate the Mana etc correctly. But is it even of interest for you readers how much Mana is spent on what and so on or is that just unneccesary thought work on my part?This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Should I keep doing that or switch to a more abstract mana system. Cause it is getting a real bit of work to keep that all up to date and if it is not of interest to the readers then I might drop it out to focus on other things progressing. So write me your opinion about what you think on that matter. Chapter 15: Knowledge is power So today it is again a slightly shorter chapter since the next one will be a timeskip chapter again! It is time for some well dosed progress. Since i am mentioning the next Chapter it will most likely take until monday before i post. For one I need to rethink the mana spending thing and for the other i will be celebrating a very important persons birthday on saturday. So yeah gonna be busy on all sorts of things. :) Though i will still peek in here and there to take a loot at the comments. So I wish to all of you a good weekend!
Another day in farmville ! Or not¡­ Well at least they are growing properly. The day after my whole reroll of the dungeon came and I inspected the new fields. As expected the trees would take a while to fully grow and bear the first few. The wheat was growing well, but it was already obvious that they would not be as good as the one i knew from my old world. Well of course, we humans did a long time of selective raising for the best crop. I will have to do the same. Luckily at this growth rate it seems we will have many harvests a year so we can speed up the process. It was the same for the berry bushes on the other level. The mushrooms grew just as expected. After the realization about the crops i set up another greenhouse and planted the wheat there. Here we would always select the plants that grew the most and the biggest seeds. Speaking of which, Goga became the new leader of the future farming division. Who Goga is? Oh right he was the one i called snot goblin. The one i had selected as gardener a while ago. Another joyous thing to happen was that a few of the goblinas gave birth. We had 2 twins and even one triplet. It seems single births are just as rare for goblins as it is the reverse case for humans to bear more than one at a time. Explains why they are seen as the fastest multiplying race. Meanwhile another few got pregnant again since they were already showing signs. It seems the females have started to do most of the work inside the nursery to have their children be born faster. Well then, let''s expand the farming area a bit more. I grabbed another 4 blocks to the right of the goblin home and mirrored them with what I built yesterday. This would most likely produce enough for goblins and leave plenty over to trade with the Drow. Speaking of which, I should go check in on Vierna. Switching over to my avatar I went right away to the remaining Drow. I found her sitting in the Goblin Home still in her statue like position. ¡°Good day, I hope the place is not too uncomfortable so far? You did not stay here all night right?¡±(Me) ¡°No the goblins have shown me to a cave for my own use. Though it is not the most pleasing thing to live in it will do.¡±(Vierna) Hmmh not impolite but she doesn''t pull her punches either. ¡°I was thinking of getting your opinion on some of the things I built recently. After all I do not know what your people prefer. Would you come along?¡±(Me) At my words the Drow raised herself in a fluid motion. It was a sight to behold how the leather stretched over her body on every move of her lithe figure and made it was really hard to not stare at her like an idiot. ¡°As you wish. Where to?¡±(Vierna) ¡°Ah, this way. ¡±(Me) We leisurely walked out of the home towards the west and we toured the new farming area where the various plants were already growing nicely. ¡°You made this all yesterday?¡±(Vierna) ¡°Of course, there is no time to waste right?¡±(Me) We were standing at the entrance to one of the wheat fields and she regarded it silently for a while. It actually made me feel a slight bit nervous since I could not read her face under the mask. ¡°Is something wrong? Don''t tell me you cannot eat this wheat?¡±(Me) On my words the Drow actually twitched slightly, which was amusing in its own way. She then turned to me and shook her head. ¡°No¡­ I just did not expect there to be this much. This will greatly help my people. ¡±(Vierna) Hmmm ? Her tone changed? Ahh now i get it.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°You did not think that I would be of much help huh?¡±(Me) I was very amused amused by her sudden change in attitude and she actually let her head bow slightly as she answered. ¡°I indeed doubted it. Normally Dungeons operate by instinct. It should have been that you simply let the plants grow everywhere and it would be a chaotic collection at best. But this is¡­ an actual farm. ¡±(Vierna) Ahh shit¡­I am totally an out of norm case huh? Guess I should keep back a little on the smarts or they will consider me a threat? ¡°Well it just seemed logical that I would need a big room where I could grow a lot at the same time. Besides the insects would eat it if I did not make a separate part. ¡±(Me) At those words she nodded simply and seemed to accept my answer. But I still wanted to switch the topic quickly. ¡°Speaking of which, Gulagh said something about you knowing magic. What do you specialize in?¡±(Me) ¡°Mmm, I am a Nightblade and as such I have various manipulation skills and some darkness magic.¡±(Vierna) Huh? Manipulation ? ¡°What do you mean with manipulation skills?¡±(Me) After that Vierna regarded me for a while and then sighed audibly. ¡°I guess the knowledge of your goblins is indeed very limited. I shall assist you with that a little.¡±(Vierna) We left the farm again and returned to the Goblin Home where we retreated to my personal cave for now and begun a very long talk about mana and magic. It seems a lot of what Gobar knew was incomplete or in some places even wrong. Not that I blame the old guy, after all he had to explore everything by himself. It seems to be true that not everyone can learn magic skills. But as good as everyone can learn elemental manipulation skills as they are practically the easy and simple version of it. They even had to learn them to improve other skills. From what Vierna told me to reach any physical skill above the high grade you will need to support it with a manipulation skill to empower it. Either to boost yourself or boost the skill directly. Vierna for example showed me how she manipulated wind mana to erase all sounds that her body made while moving. No wonder the goblins did not progress beyond the high stealth level. Apparently there is a easy way to learn manipulation of a certain element if you have a magic crystal. Simply direct your mana through it and gain a feel for the resulting change. Damn I will have to put up more geodes again. Our consumption will skyrocket once the other goblins learn this as well. The same went for most magic skills. She explained it by the example of fire magic, which most often was combined with wind magic to boost its output. Which made a lot of sense even if they had not either quite understood the theory behind it why it was that way. There were exceptions to this rule but those were more obscure skills apparently. She also went through the manipulation exercises that Gobar had shown me and corrected some mistakes there as well with a pretty good result.
You have learned Mana Manipulation low The basics of all magic is to manipulate Mana. From now on you can learn other magic skills. Skill was added to the Dungeons list of servant skills.
¡°Huh that was unexpectedly fast.¡±(Me) ¡°You being a Dungeon Lord assists your growth in such areas as well. Since you manipulate Mana nearly all the time you just needed to learn to do it consciously. Progressing further though will need more effort. ¡±(Vierna) ¡°Hmm I see¡­ Well this is important information. If you excuse me I will have to relate this with my mages. ¡±(Me) ¡°Of course, it is important that you strengthen your forces quickly. After all even if we Drow and Elves are in a deadlock there is no saying if they might not spot this place on some chance. ¡±(Vierna) After bidding her goodbye I quickly went to Gobar and sat down with him to relay all the new knowledge I had obtained. At first he looked reluctant, no wonder after all his effort. But after listening for a while his researcher spirit was ignited and he greedily absorbed every bit of information I could tell him. He was absolutely excited on the prospect of advancing further in his studies and as soon as I was dry of new information he hurried to gather his apprentices to get to work. I also told him to spread the improved knowledge of mana manipulation so we could get it distributed quickly among all goblins. Oh man¡­ the amount of things they need to learn is more and more growing in size. This is good but I will need to think of a way to relay it properly. I sighed mentally at the upcoming problems and went to eat something before touring the dungeon in person. Most of the goblins were still a bit adapting to sudden huge change that happened to their home and were very busy with their daily tasks to be fulfilled. Especially Gorin was tasked with a heavy workload as she managed all the Insect Homes. Actually since the new spider evolutions had unlocked it seems that the first had already begun to evolve into the new versions up to the mother level. Any spider could change to that since it was basically just a bigger version of it that simply laid a lot of eggs. Which made the spider population boom in growth. Hmmm i''ll have to control this a bit¡­Don''t want them to ruin the balance. After a bit of thinking I allowed the smaller spiders to head outside, though they were ordered to stay inside my dungeon radar. With that it should be a lot easier to keep security up as well. My last stop on the tour were the baths. The goblin had taken very well to it and enjoyed it on a near daily basis. Though they did so more because it was pleasant and relaxing rather than the hygienic reasons. I permitted myself to take a relaxing dip as well before I continued on to my crystal cave. I wanted to widen my mana pool a bit and ponder about what I wanted to actually expand on with this avatar. Should i even make a decision already? There is so much I still do not know. But on the other hand letting it go to waste would also be really annoying. Luckily the procedure to widen the mana pool was not that intensely complicated. It was basically drawing mana out of the pool and waiting until it regenerated a bit before stuffing everything back in and letting it expand slowly. Of course you had to give it a bit time afterwards to regain its stability or else really bad things could happen. But that was also a good thing since I was able to ponder about a few things. Hmmm no there is no use in spending wasted effort. I will focus on the Drow bringing in new information before I decide on what to learn. Meanwhile I can train my mana pool and the manipulation skill. For the rest of the day I stayed inside the cave and simply progressed on those two things. Then it was time for the dinner and I called all goblins to come to the central place. After the meal I had another announcement to make. ¡°Well then, as likely all of you have noticed the dungeon expanded. But not only that our knowledge expanded as well. As such none of you will head outside the dungeon for the next few days. You will stay here and undergo a new time of training. ¡±(Me) That was the answer I had come up with. Right now we needed to expand internally instead of external. We had the necessary things to not need to go outside for now. For now the most important thing was that we were severally lacking in quality of skill. The slings had to be mastered, mana manipulation and the elemental versions needed to be taught as well. Then they would need to match those with their own skills and talents to progress. Not only that soon we would need a lot of hands to harvest the various crops and tend to them a bit as well. It would likely also be quite useful to get us a millstone set up for the soon to be wheat. The goblins grew a bit noisy at my words but it was more out of excitement than anything else. Yes it is time that I enhance the goblins themselves. We have enough potential. It is time now to develop this potential to it¡äs fullest. Chapter 16: Renewed passion and a weeks time can change a lot I apologize for the delay. Work, University and other stuff just kept popping up and I was too tired to do serious writing. The good thing about it is that the chapter got a lot better through some inspiration than it would have been in the original draft. Also a good bit longer as well. So I hope you guys can enjoy yourself. Also just to let you guys know, I will need to focus on some exams that are coming this week so I will most likely be unable to post a chapter every day. I will see how good it works out. But work and study simply need to have the first place in priority! Still there is no need to worry I won¡ät drop this story any time soon. If anything I got even more motivated to continue it!
To think I was trapped by my own self¡­ It has been a very interesting week. Important even on so many levels of development and realization. But let us start at the very beginning. I will most likely never forget the first day where the goblins practiced with the slings. Stones flew through the whole practice area. Everything but the targets was hit. It was especially fun to watch them hit each other by mistake and the the mages hurrying over to patch them up again or check for serious injuries. Once they were done with the slings they all gathered with Gobar and were instructed on the simple matters of mana manipulations. Of course it wasn''t easy for the goblins to get this straight so it took a few days for the first ones to actually be able to do it. But more of that later. After 2 hours of such lectures they were to take care of all the other matters that needed to be taken care of such as tending the fields, cooking, crafting, etc. I myself had taken a leisure seating on some furrs in the goblin home. I was still focusing mostly on my mana pool extension but here and there i gave some orders to the goblins as well. I actually had a companion of surprising nature in doing so. Vierna had taken up her usual stoic sitting next to me. It seems after she had seen the fields her opinion about the importance of this cave to her race has been of a unsure kind. Most of the time she remained silent and simply watched the goblins go about their business. But sometimes I managed to involve her in some unimportant banter or get some hints of knowledge from her. Though at some point we came to a rather interesting topic. ¡°So why are you always wearing that mask ? ¡±(Me) It had always made me curious since the first time meeting them. On my words Vierna actually started for a moment before she looked at me in a, as I presume, thoughtful manner. That mask made it really impossible to read her expressions. I had already assumed that she would just ignore my question. ¡°Because we need to outside and we do not like the change that came over us when we were exiled.¡±(Vierna) Wait exiled? Apparently I had looked at her in such a puzzled way that she sighed and began explaining. ¡°It is not really a secret. We Drow were just like the other elves in the past. But we were betrayed.¡±(Vierna) I could actually hear the leather creaking as she balled her hand to a fist in anger. Which was the only thing that gave away her deep rage. Her voice and posture remained exactly the same calm manner as usual. ¡°Before we were just two tribes of the same race. But during the great war our tribe turned towards the elven god Elwraek for protection and guidance for he was our god of war. This displeased the others who were still believers of Elzeiros as their highest god. Through the blessing of Elwraek our tribe became strong in the arts of war and we were so focused on battling the enemies of our race that we did not see the blade pointed at our backs. As soon as it seemed there were no mighty enemy focused on our kind anymore they struck. All the elders of the high elven tribe, as they call themselves now, came together and put a curse on our tribe. With the assistance of Elzeiros it would have been a curse strong enough to wipe us out. But our god did not leave us alone. He acted up against his brother in rage and so the curse was only partly successful.¡±(Vierna) At this time she took off her mask and hood, stroking slowly over the blueish veins that spread all over her skin. I had previously thought that it was just because they were so pale. Heck that cannot be, they are too thick to be there on her face. I had not noticed this previously because I was too distracted by other things but now i realized it. ¡°So what exactly did the curse do then ?¡±(Me) On my question the red eyes that were staring at me nearly seemed to catch fire with the intensity of hate that was within them. ¡°It struck like an illness. Many of our weaker people died on the spot or later on after a long time of suffering. We had no choice but to withdraw into the nearly abandoned dwarven ruins and try to survive there. The others did not expect us to survive at all and were too slow to follow up with a decisive strike to eliminate us right away they also had lost a significant amount of power so they could not finish us off after we took defensive positions. After we recovered we found that our bodies had changed and we could no longer wander under the sun. From then on we could only go outside covered like this and the time spent in eternal darkness did its own to change us until we became like this. We are only a shadow of what we once were and this is why we will never forgive the elves. ¡±(Vierna) Woah¡­. no wonder they want to kill them. Those guys seem to live long enough to have plenty people that suffered through that. Guess they are confronted with their hatred each time they look at each other like a constant reminder. After that we sat for a little while in silence. That was until Gob arrived. Hmm I had already wondered where he had gone. He was a lot more clingy before. The poisonous goblin approached slowly before he kneeled down. ¡°Gob wishes to ask Lord for a favor¡±(Gob) I tilted my head slightly in surprise as I had not expected such a thing to happen with the little zealot. Speaking of which since when was he all about such behavior? Someone must have taught him oh well. ¡±Raise your head Gob. What do you need? ¡±(Me) By now I was rather curious about what he would want. But then again he had earned some reward. ¡°Gob wishes for the masked woman to train Gob. Gob wishes to be stronger! The masked ones are strong. So Gob wishes to train with her¡±(Gob) Somewhere along his speech he had raised his head and switched his look between me and Vierna. There was a burning kind of passion in his eyes and something about it unsettled me ¡°What for do you wish to become strong for ?¡±(Me) ¡°To be of use to the Lord ! It is Gob''s purpose !¡±(Gob) .... I turned towards Vierna at this point and told her what Gob wanted. ¡°Think you could help out him and maybe some other Goblins?¡±(Me) Vierna regarded the still kneeling goblin for a while before she nodded. ¡°I will do so. With your fields this place will become an important place for my people soon enough. The better you can defend yourself the less we need to worry. Though the things i can teach will be limited with the language so we will see how much use it is. ¡±(Vierna) ¡°Many thanks. ¡±(Me) After telling Gob the result and waving of his extremely excited thanks I paced towards my crystal cave. I gave the goblins at the entrance a firm order that no one was to disturb me unless it was a matter of life and death for the dungeon itself. To think I was trapped by my own self¡­ My thoughts were slow right now as I realized something vital. I reached the cave and placed myself in front of my crystal body. There was a rough reflection of myself on the glowing crystal structure and I stood there for a while in absolute silence. ¡­ ¡°Hahahahaha! I am an Idiot! Hahahahah!¡±(Me) I suddenly could not hold onto myself any longer and burst out laughing over and over while i looked at the goblin me in the reflection and the crystal body of mine behind it. ¡°I was numb all this time since I got here. I didn''t play it like a game but I also didn''t take it as seriously as real life. ¡±(Me) I had realized it after seeing Gob back there. Ever since coming here I had done everything half assed. I had not pushed forward like I would do usually in a game. I also was so far detached from living because of it feeling unreal all the time. I didn''t have a body at first and even then I hadn''t felt alive all this time because I knew that was just a shell for myself. ¡°All beings a driven forward by their needs¡­ living needs food, warmth and other things but as a dungeon I had lacked needs for myself.¡±(Me) I have been without purpose. As a dungeon I survive on mana alone. I need no food. My body is a crystal that does not care about heat or cold. I need no shelter. I need nothing. So as being what is my purpose? ¡° From magic to even the taking care of the goblins was half assed. A half assed game I played, they were just a distraction on the side to not think too much about my situation. ¡±(Me) I kept on laughing and laughing until I fell to the floor and had to breath roughly. Is this madness? Oh well who cares. I am no longer human. I have been pulled to another world, to another body that has no needs at all. In my previous life I had no significant power and lived a dull, common life. But now.... now it is different. I have power. So I shall not live to fulfill my needs. I shall live to fulfill my every want. ¡°With pride I shall rule! With envy I shall covet!The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. With greed I shall take! With gluttony I shall devour! With wrath I shall strike! With lust I shall screw! With sloth I shall rest!¡± (Me) I yelled those things out and heard them hollering back at me from the cave''s walls. I had been ignited from my half assed state into one of immense excitement. In my past life i had always been fascinated by the 7 deadly sins as they are called. But are they sins? or deadly? Not really. They are like medicine. You need to take as much of them as you need, but also not too much or they will turn to poison. Rule them, do not be ruled by them. But only the fewest have the necessary power or resources to act on their desires. But now I could build up both. This unstable world was perfect for it and I would use that. That was my decision. ¡°It''s time I shape up and take care of matters seriously. ¡±(Me) I transferred myself over to the crystal again and begun to think over what i had done so far and what I should have done actually. The result was that I had found a lot of things i did not know and had not investigated so far. Hmmh I won''t be able to expand the farms for now. With the manpower of goblins that I have so far they they would most likely collapse from exhaustion if they had to keep up the training, working and farming all at once. There are children and pregnant ones but they will need more time. For now they need more training facilities. I went and made one of the remaining free blocks to the right of the bath into a new shooting range. There the shooters would be separated by thin walls so they do not hit each other. There was still a danger of the stones rebounding if they were thrown to the side on mistake but that was negligible in this situation. After that I also modified the block to the left of the baths and made it into an a primitive arena. There they would be able to practice better and the home area would not be as much disturbed. For the rest of the day then I went over the labyrinth part and refined it carefully. Making sure I did all that I could to improve and make it to our advantage. I paid a lot of attention and extended the smaller tunnel network and made sure that the entrances lay deep in shadows and niches where one would not look normally. Especially if the ones walking through the labyrinth did not have night vision as the goblins had. I found so many errors I had previously made that I wanted to slap my past self. On this night I fell asleep with a deeply satisfied feeling inside.
Your goblin Gobar has evolved Variant Arcane Hobgoblin (Earth) Standard Hobgoblin and Variant were added to your servants evolutions.
Hah! It finally happened. The old goblin evolved !
A more advanced evolution has been unlocked Do you want to evolve your avatar? Y/N Warning you will not get any skill points of the lost levels.
Hmpf screw skill points. Why did they even bother with them for a avatar body? I guess there are also some things not thought through in god''s work? Yes give me the evolution.
Evolution process for avatar begins Avatar will have to remain in the tank for 3 days.
Hey! You should have told me about that beforehand. Oh well fuck it. Right after the screen had announced its annoying message I went to find Gobar. I found the old guy outside his cave, apparently still inspecting his new body thoroughly with an amazed expression. Well It really was quite the change. His height was now somewhere between a Goblin and a Human adult. But that was the least eye catching change. His skin had taken on a more brownish tone. He also had become a good bit younger and looked now as if he was in his late 50s instead of late 80s. The most prominent change though was for sure the crystalline horn that had grown out of his forehead. It was about an index finger in length and a bit thicker with a slight curve upwards. ¡°You did it Gobar !¡±(Me) I enthusiastically yelled at the Hobgoblin that was slowly touching the new horn and he was so startled by my sudden voice that he pulled away his hand and cut himself on the sharp tip in the process. With a loud yelp he stuck his cut finger into her mouth and looked around a bit disgruntled. ¡°You could really try not to scare this old man out of his wit¡­ Lord¡±(Gobar) ¡°Well at least it is now unlikely that you will die of a heart attack ¡±(Me) ¡°Ineed! It really is a heavenly feeling to regain a portion of one¡äs body¡äs ability. To think this old goblin would still manage to evolve¡­ It is all thanks to living under your rule now. ¡±(Gobar) The old goblin seemed truly delighted and grateful to have managed to evolve. I exchange some more teasing and banter with the hyped goblin before I left. I went to inspect the other goblins, after all it seemed Gobar needed some time to adjust to his own new body and I knew what that was like. Upon inspection I saw that indeed some of the older generation goblins had evolved to hobgoblins as well. With this there was a lot of commotion amongst the goblins throughout the whole day. All those that did not manage yet to evolve were much more motivated to do all they could to do it as well. That brings us towards the second thing to happen today. The first time to harvest wheat had come! I was baffled by how quick it had been. But I already noticed that there would not be as much as I had hoped. The wild plant did not bear that many seeds. Still after the harvest and separating the seeds from the stalk, we had a good amount of them stashed away inside some of the grass woven bags that the goblinas produced. I had them put away one part and let them use the other for themselves. After replanting the fields I went to check up on the trees and saw that they had also grown pretty well but were not quite ready yet. I also spotted that Vierna was now actively training the goblins, which most of the time consisted of showing them certain motions or beating the crap out of them in a sparring fight where she showed them their openings with her hits. Especially Gob and Gobtar were really motivated to follow Verna¡äs training to the utmost. Ouch that looks really painful. Good thing I am not going to be a melee fighter, fuck that ! But the new evolution had actually slammed my head against another issue I had not explored yet. So being in a dungeon actually makes evolving easier. But how does that work exactly ? I begun to make some little experiments. It was obvious that it had to do with my dungeon mana. But how it exactly worked I had no idea. Hmmm do they just absorb it ? Maybe that''s the point. I took myself to one of the free blocks next to the insect homes and made a small cave to experiment on it. I spawned a new insect and took a closer look to it. It said that those things I spawn have no soul but they develop it over time? I begun an intense observation of the purely instinctively acting insect. After a while i tried to feel the mana around it and focused on it for a long time until i actually managed to notice that indeed the insect absorbed a miniscule amount of the surrounding mana. It wasn''t even noticeable unless i focused all of my attention on it as i had never done before. Speaking of which¡­ I see in a different way as a Dungeon Lord. Why should I not be able to see mana as well? So far novels have given some good hints, why not try it out. Once I had that idea i tried messing around with the mana, make it more dense and look for differences. It went on and on until I finally was rewarded.
A new feature was unlocked for you and your avatar Mana Sight You can now switch to a vision that makes mana visible.
Hah ! I knew it. But now back to the experimentation. I tried it out right away of course, but was blinded at first. It was simply overwhelming because it was similar to suddenly see everything in thermal view. There were a ton of flowing colors everywhere. It was dizzying but i pulled through. After some experiments i saw that it was a lot easier to manipulate mana once you properly saw it. So far my dungeon mana was a simply light bluish color. I guessed that this was the neutral mana color. After some tries it really got a lot easier to manipulate mana now that I could see it. After I took a look at the insect i saw that it seemed somehow hollow. There was only a small amount of a very strange color inside of it towards which the outside mana flowed in very small bits and pieces. Almost like sand dribbling down an hourglass. So I tried to push in a little more and got a ¡­ disturbing reaction. *Sizzle* ... *Splat* Eww! Thats kinda gross. It seemed that the insect wasn''t able to tolerate a larger amount of the dungeons mana. It first started to cook and then exploded. Pretty distasteful sight to behold. So i guess it''s the same as putting too much current on a electric cable, it just burns through. After some more, rather dissatisfying experimentation I went back to other things. I guessed that I just did not have enough control yet over my mana to make such delicate operations. As for how it worked, from what i understood the bodies naturally absorbed mana of the higher purity in very little doses until it could adapt to it better. Days passed and the goblins were kept pretty busy. First the pineberries were ready to be harvested as well, though it turned out they were a bit bothersome. Those bushes bore a really strange berry. It had an outer hull that was hard and had sharp thorns. You first had to open that layer and then there were a few smaller berries inside it with. The goblins had quite a hard time with the harvest and processing of those things. The following day it was the trees turn to be taken. There I was finally surprised in a very pleasant way. The Naka tree¡äs fruit actually resembled an apple and had a really sour taste. But they had only a single, big seed like a peach. I already knew I would dislike them. On the other hand the Serdana tree had a really peculiar fruit. It was a soft, purple fruit the size of a fist. The outer skin was easily broken and when that happened the purple jelly inside flowed out. The jelly was filled with seeds but it was heavenly sweet. For a sweet tooth guy like me it was heaven and hell at the same time. For one I knew there was something sweet and for the other there was still a day left until i could eat them. Even the ever so stoic Vierna had a delightful expression on her face when she saw those fruits and took part in the feast that happened among the goblins. Apparently we wouldn''t be able to preserve those for too long though, as the skin burst open by itself after some time and would spoil if not eaten within a few days. Well guess we will at least need barrels. But this will be something for us to keep here. The Drow still haven''t returned and they were travelling light so they surely wouldn''t be able to go around carrying barrels. Other than that there were another few births in those days. The goblins kept diligently increasing bit by bit and i was looking forward to have more manpower at my disposal. Finally, the next day my Avatar was ready as well again. This time when I emerged i took a look at myself as good as it was possible in my crystal body¡äs reflection. Not much had changed, my height was now finally more to my liking. It looked like it was a littler more than the other hobgoblins so far. The facial features were also a bit more human like though the ears were still a lot bigger and pointier. Of course the first thing i had to do was get myself a good meal of the sweet fruits and I gorged myself on them until I nearly passed out. Mmmh now that this was taken care of. What shall I do. Over the past days I had continued to ponder about how I should approach my magic training. I was not sure about the direction I wanted to take. From what Verina had told me there was a lot more magic schools then just basic elemental magic. There were also more elements but since she did not concern herself too much about it she had not studied those. After a while I had come to a decision. I will learn nature magic from gobar. It seems to be the least conflicting type of mana that we know about. So i went to the old goblin and got him to teach me further. I simply had enough of sticking to just mana pool increasing. It turned out to be a good idea. As long as I did not refine my mana too much it would not get a elemental property yet and I could switch to another branch of magic without problems. So for now I was being introduced to the basics of how to construct a spell and how it was different from just manipulating mana. After that we returned to a regular day business. The trees and bushes were regularly growing their fruits out in a more or less 2 day rhythm and towards the the end of the week we had another wheat harvest. Hmmm did I forget something ? OH YES! I of course unlocked all the remaining blocks that i had not done so previously over the course of the week. The other was the insects. This week we finally had a few of them go through their first evolutions like the others and some of the old ones got new evolutions.
Armored Screecher A evolved screecher, its exoskeleton is extremely durable and thick Flare Butterfly A butterfly that is know to be around place with a lot of fire mana. It is known to use fire on its enemies. Moondancer Butterfly A beautiful butterfly that mainly feeds on Moon¡äs Love. The dust it can emit are known to cause pleasant hallucinations. Stone Scorpion A dangerous insect that has adapted to fit in perfectly on a rocky surface. It waits there until it¡äs prey is within reach before striking with it¡äs strong shears and poisonous stinger. Trap door Spider It burrows small pits in which it hides and attacks once prey comes closer Small hercules bug A very strong bug with a single horn that it uses to ram and pierce any attacker
We actually have the first magic using insect ! I took a closer look at the new evolutions. Most of them remained at the F rank still. The most interesting was probably the Flare Butterfly. It caused indeed some sparks to fall here and there and I saw one of them even slightly roast an attacking spider before flying away. Hmm I definitely have to get those things stronger. I observed them for a while longer before I switched my attention to the other evolutions. The armored screecher was pretty plain. Basically a armored and very large version of a centipede. That really lived up to it''s name and screeched horrifyingly loud when it was attacked. As for the stone scorpion, even I had a moment of trouble to find one of them. Their camouflage was unbelievably good. As long as they did not move they were nearly indiscernible from normal stone with the naked eye. The Moondancer Butterfly meanwhile was very easy to find. Their wings were of a beautiful black and silver pattern that even reflected light, while the body itself was black as well. Whenever something came close to it it bat it¡äs wings and released a silvery dust cloud. Every other insect that came into that seemed to sway and loose its orientation completely while the butterfly simply left. Not very impressive but it did what it needed to. During this time we got a pretty impressive haul on skills again.
The following skills were unlocked up to the grades: High Earth Magic Middle Water Magic Middle Fire Mana manipulation Middle Sling Handling High Climbing High Detection High Mana Manipulation Low Fire Manipulation Middle Farming High Gardening High Stone Processing High Wood Processing High Taming High Weaving High Pottery
At the end of the week there was the biggest event so far. A troop of Drow had come to the dungeon finally. Leading them was Gulagh together with a robed figure. Chapter 17: A interesting ambassador This week is total hell in university O_o practicals and exams coming up one after another. So the speed is still going to be slow. Still look forward to more ! I hope the quality of the chapters do not suffer too much under it, but maybe I will look over them again later. Let me know what you think.
The drows had arrived. As soon as I got that message and switched over to my Dungeon Lord perspective and zoomed outside to take a look. This time they approached in an openly visible and unhurried way. This gave me the time to make out some details. The group consisted of 10 people. 9 of them were clothed like the three in the past, tight leather armor with chitin plates on on arms, legs and chest. Some of them had bows while others carried supplies on their backs. But all of them had swords and some daggers. Seems like that is their uniform military equipment? I mused in silence before taking a close look at the tenth person. From the figure I assumed it would be a male. Unlike the others he wore a robe though also black in color. But not one of those bulky things. It was simple, nearly without any decorations except some on his shoulders. His only weapon seemed to be a slender staff also of black color with blue runes that had been carved and painted on. Besides that he only wore something that resembled a knapsack. Hmmh they do not look as if they were carrying goods for trade. It did worry me a bit that they were only approaching with people and no wares. But for now there was no use to worry. I instructed one of the more intelligent spiders to guide the new guests through the labyrinth and to the goblin home. ¡°Goblins! The drow are paying us a visit so make sure to behave. Call the other goblin leaders. It is better to meet them with everyone. ¡±(Me) Not that they could do anything as long as they don''t understand their language but maybe i''ll have tasks or questions for them. I watched as the goblins went into preparations and I got myself seated in a better position with more space. The goblin leaders were pretty swift to gather and we awaited the drow like this. Soon enough they were led in by the spider and approached our group. ¡°I was pretty surprised! To think your dungeon grew this much while we were on our way. Most splendid.¡±(Gulagh) The drow seemed to be delighted at this new development. We quickly had some obligatory polite phrases before we sat down again. It seemed like they were just as eager as I was to get down to business. Of course they also greeted Vierna but that was more of the silent acknowledgement type. ¡°I should give you a little explanation. I returned to one of our outposts that is the closes to this place and reported to my superiors. They sent the honorable Kalannar Khalazza as the one that will be in charge of negotiation from now on. ¡±(Gulagh) On his words the robed figure bowed his head slightly and actually took of his mask before he spoke. His features were much more rough than what I had seen in the other Drow so far. The edges were a lot shaper and gave his whole face a predatory feeling that was even reinforced by the veins of the curse and the red eyes. There were also a lot of scars visible. He must have seen plenty of battle. ¡°As Gulagh has described it correctly, I am Kalannar Khalazza, elder of the inner circle and chosen to be an ambassador of kind for now. That is until we have reached an understanding. ¡±(Kalannar ) At his words I tilted my head slightly and scratched my chin as I pondered the best reply for a moment. ¡°I thought we had talked about the important things already? From what I was told you desire resources and war potential, while we need tools and knowledge. ¡±(Me) On my words the drow smiled and nodded slightly before he went on. ¡°Oh it seems I phrased my words slightly wrong. What I meant was that after listening to Gulagh¡äs report i had a feeling that the elders were underestimating the potential of your persona. They wanted to establish a simple monthly trade route to reach here. ¡±(Kalannar) ¡°And you think otherwise?¡±(Me) I could not help myself but feel amused, I was not sure if this was internal Drow politics or just normal procedure but for now that was not important either. ¡°Indeed so and it seems I was right. Comparing the reports to the actual place shows a large improvement. May i inquire about the specific arrangements?¡±(Kalannar ) So we took some time to talk through the new additions of fields and what we were harvesting so far. Here and there Vierna put in an additional remark about some things that had not seemed important to me but it seemed Kalannar was very interested in her words as well. ¡°Yes it was indeed as I thought. A dungeon with an actual ego operates much faster than one without. With a normal monthly trade route we would have been unable to properly receive the resources you provide.¡±(Kalannar ) He elaborated on the specifics and from what I understood the so called normal trade routes were more the kind of covert operations that transported not a lot of goods. It seems they really did think that it would take a long time until I actually produced enough to warrant some extensive transportation methods. ¡°Well then, now that this is clear how do you wish to proceed?¡±(Me) Over the course of the talk I had grown quite interested in the Drow as it seemed like he had some plan already formulated and he did indeed not disappoint me. ¡°Since it has come to this the risk I took was well worth it.¡±(Kalannar ) On his words he took down his knapsack and pulled out 5 objects that were wrapped in cushioning. Once those wraps were taken of I could actually feel a strong concentrations of mana emanate from the revealed content. Woa¡­ what are those things? They were crystals. Mana crystals, but very unlike the ones my dungeon had produced so far. The concentration of mana inside them was far higher and felt very strange. It was no element I had felt so far. Kalannar had actually observed my reaction and seemed amused by my curiousity. ¡°These are high quality spatial mana crystals. This will be the first proposal and trade proposal from my side actually.¡±(Kalannar ) ¡°You want to give me those ?¡±(Me) On my words Kalannar laughed out loud and shook his head upon my doubtful question. ¡°No that is indeed out of question for now. Spatial crystals of this quality are rare and an important war asset. No what I propose is to set up a transportation circle inside your dungeon. Through this we will be able to move a lot more wares and if needed personnel.¡±(Kalannar ) Hoh! Teleportation huh? That is indeed some neat stuff. No wonder that he was so cautious about it. Well then where will this go to. ¡°The only complication of this is, that to make set up an array that with enough size to make it interesting will require your help. The first activation of such a teleportation seal needs an enormous amount of mana. Also each use as well needs a high amount from a non dungeon perspective. Since we are profiting both from this but it is a lot easier for you to provide the mana I propose that your side will provide the mana and we will reimburse this through material objects of your choosing as long as the value is comparable. ¡°(Kalannar ) Hmmm well that sounds like a reasonable request. It will reduce the risk of trade routes being observed and followed by enemies. Currently I have still a good few of empty blocks that simply provide mana. Over the past week I also saved up plenty of mana. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°That sounds acceptable for me. How much mana will the first activation require?¡±(Me) ¡°About that I am not sure how much it is in dungeon mana. We will have to see about it once the seal is completed.¡±(Kalannar ) ¡°Hmm well that is understandable as well. It sounds fine so far. Then before we go on how about we conclude this first deal and set up this thing? Otherwise if complications arise we will have negotiated for nothing.¡±(Me) We both agreed on this matter and I quickly went to set up a block of its own for this. It would be the one in the lower right corner of the second floor to keep a bit of distance from each other. I made a large room which would be the transportation area, from this place i made some tunnels branch out that led to store rooms and personal ones. Another one led to the goblin home directly. I had the goblin leaders guide the Drow to this place and they went right about inspecting the place while Kalannar with two others went about carefully engraving a complex pattern into the floor. It was a spell circle that surrounded a free space of around 10m in diameter, but with too many intricate designs which I was not able to make heads or tails of. After I was done with some more adjustments I switched back to my avatar and walked into the newly made cave. ¡°Will this suite your purposes?¡±(Me) On my arrival the goblins bowed again and even. Gulagh returned just then from one of the tunnels. ¡°This Is perfect for a beginning. With some materials from our place it will be comfortable as well!¡±(Gulagh) He seemed to be somewhat hyped up right now and laughed heartily while Kalannar sighed and retorted him. ¡°We can¡ät use the teleportation magic for something as trivial as that. Unless you find a way to pay for the mana cost yourself. ¡±(Kalannar) Those words seemed to slump Gulagh a slight bit but he caught himself quickly, seemingly already pondering over what he should do about that. After that Kalannar focused for a while longer on the circle before he returned to us. ¡°With this we are ready for a try.¡±(Kalannar) ¡°It is already done ?¡±(Me) I could not help myself but as in a doubting tone as I looked towards the complex circle. It had taken some time but it seemed to be kind of short for such a important thing. ¡°There should be no problem. After all I have been acting on this profession for 200 years now¡±(Kalannar) For some reason those words annoy me to the bone! For now I gave a noncommittal grunt and waited to see what was going to happen as the Drow begun to activate the seal. They were talking in some kind of cryptic code which I could not make any sense of and simply watched what was happening. The engravings on the floor begun to glow. It spread out slowly along the lines in response to their muttered phrases and soon it was pulsating rhythmically.
There is an attempt to open a spatial corridor inside your territory. You can prevent it or allow it.
Yeah for now allow it.
The creator of the seal is requesting your assistance. If you wish you can supplement the needed mana. This will cost you 100.000 Mana For the first time and 10.000 Mana on each further use
Woa, that is a hefty price. Now wonder that they are careful about how they go on using those teleports. Guess without a dungeon on one end of the line they would use it rarely. Yeah support it. Right away I felt the drain on my mana reserves. Even now for that much mana I would need to have a block collect it for 100 hours. Well this better be worth it. Ah they seem to be done. The circle gave of a last, intense glow which I assumed was my mana rushing in before it settled down again and the assistants slumped to the floor seemingly quite tired. In complete contrast to that was Kalannar. ¡°Hmpf, you guys still have a long way to go. Well then with that out of the way it is time now to talk about the completion of the trade. How much of your Mana are we actually expending here? It is quite hard to assess a dungeons capacities. ¡±(Kalannar) I told him about the rough outline on what it took and he slowly nodded in thought. ¡°Well it is expensive even for a dungeon it seems. But it was a great help. Now aside from the trades we can do now. There is still the matter of compensation for the Mana. IF i may, I think I have an interesting proposal for you. ¡±(Kalannar ) ¡°Oh? Well then let me hear about that.¡±(Me) ¡°From what i heard on your request in trade it seems you are lacking in knowledge and skills. I currently hold a few Grimoires in my personal asset. I propose to offer you my Grimoire of alchemy. ¡±(Kalannar ) On his word the other drow that had been silently conversing amongst themselves seemed to be actually stunned. Which made me rather curious about this matter. ¡°I have never heard of such things. What is it good for ?¡±(Me) ¡°Basically it will transfer all the knowledge inside it into your mind. This particular Grimoire was made by an expert of our race and contains many valuable informations. ¡±(Kalannar) ¡°That sounds a lot like a skill purchase. Those didn''t seem to be that useful.¡±(Me) Kalannar laughed at my words and nodded repeatedly as he elaborated. ¡°Yes it seems you understood the problem with skill purchases. But Girmoires are this valuable because they actually give you the memory of the maker as if you had found everything out by yourself. Another reason is that it will work only one time and even the best experts need a year at least to create one like that. This is why I would opt to compensate the initial mana and¡­ 10 further uses. ¡±(Kalannar) I felt my sight shift to the drow that had found their composure again. From what I had seen on their reactions it seemed to be worth much more than that. Is this the carrot then dangling in front of me? Well not that I am going to reject the proposal but this is somewhat bothering me. I looked at Kalannar as if I was pondering about it before I pointed towards the prepared caves. ¡°An interesting proposal indeed, how about we elaborate on it a bit more in private. There is also the matter of the other wares to be traded so we have plenty to talk about. ¡±(Me) Kalannar the Drow seemed slightly surprised at my answer but still agreed to it. I instructed the goblins meanwhile to have all the saved up resources be brought over to this place. Once that was taken care of the two of us settled into one of the more isolated caves where we would not be overheard easily. ¡°Well then, I detest political fooling around. How about you tell me straight up where the catch in this lies for you.¡±(Me) Kalannar tilted his head slightly startled at my words and after a moment folded his arms in front of his chest¡ä. He gave me a thoughtful look before sighed and answered. ¡°It seems your ego is indeed well developed. I guess it will be more beneficial to us both if we cooperate to the fullest.¡±(Kalannar ) The air grew suddenly tense between us. His whole posture changed to a sharper one, straight like an arrow and his eyes had a certain glint to them that showed a strong determination. ¡°I would appreciate it. ¡± (Me) ¡°Before we start though, what tipped you off?¡±(Kalannar ) ¡°A couple of things, for one that your rank ¡®elder of the inner circle¡¯ sounds a bit too important to be made into an ambassador for a yound dungeon. You also offered a precious item that will let us produce interesting items. You want this place to grow quicker, even on your own expense. ¡±(Me) I summarized what had bothered me about it and he paid close attention to it. Though he seemed to be a bit relieved about it which only made me even more curious about it. ¡°It is good to see that your intelligence is indeed as well progressed as Gulagh has reported. I had hoped for it because what I need now is a partner. Preferably one that will soon play a central role for my people. ¡±(Kalannar ) I felt my frown grow deeper at those words. This better not pull me into any internal problems. ¡°Ah¡­ games of influence is it?¡±(Me) ¡°Haha you could say it that way. My family has recently taken a great loss of influence. The whole plan to invest into dungeons was also my idea and your elimination of our Horde Mothers gave it a great slap. Though from what I see here it was a lot better for you to grow like this. As you phrased it before, my ¡®catch¡¯ is for you to become an important provider of resources for us. The other elders did not believe in this chance but once people realize that they were entirely wrong about it my own standing will rise. ¡±(Kalannar ) So he basically needs to earn merits. If the idea, that was dismissed as useless by the other elders, actually bears fruit well beyond even the most optimistic estimates then his standing will rise while the others judgement will be scrutinized. ¡°Won''t the other elders try to sabotage this place then if your popularity rises too high? Or try to replace you as ambassador? Something like that ?¡±(Me) That is the biggest issue. If I become a thorn in someone''s side they might want to dispose of me. At those questions Kalannar actually gave a bitter laugh. ¡°No, to your advantage we are currently indeed in a very dire position. Even if they wanted to mess with this place it would be impossible. After all if this place truly becomes a major fountain of resources, any messing with it would be like cutting our own throats. We all know that. As for your other question. They could indeed replace me if the dungeon becomes a place of high importance. But this is where I hope for a relation of mutual benefit for us both.¡±(Kalannar ) Their situation must be indeed a lot more intense than I had thought so far. ¡°Hooh? That means you want us to form a personal alliance? Alliances are always built on mutual benefit. So what would be mine? Also do not think I have not seen your plan with the alchemy Grimoire. If we produce such things here and ship them over ready for use to you it will be to your benefit.¡±(Me) ¡°Of course you are right about that. Though it is still an attractive offer is it not?¡±(Kalannar ) I can¡ät stand that smug smile of his. But he is right, if alchemy is as useful as i hope it would be a major boon. Still not enough. ¡°Yes it is plenty for the fee of transport as you proposed. But you must have something else in mind. ¡±(Me) ¡°Haha indeed¡­ For one I will personally teach you in whatever magic¡äs you desire. In that point it was a relieve to see you so eager to gain knowledge in these areas. My class is Wizard. As such I am well versed in many schools. Apart from that I will make sure that you receive fitting compensation for your wares and I will arrange for any way that is within my power to help you grow in size and strength. ¡±(Kalannar ) Hmm that sounds good, not that others could not offer similar things. But it will be better to have an ally with someone who relies on me than one that came in later. For a while we talked about the matters. What was interesting is that his class is one of the jack of all trades classes. He knows a whole bunch of magics from simple elemental ones to more obscure types. The downside was that he has to change his mana composition repeatedly for their uses so the quality of each magic skill suffers a bit. But that was just perfect for the role as a teacher anyway. Some of the skills he mentioned had me drooling right away. It seems a very long live does indeed have a lot of merits to it. From what I understood he was already a wizard before the war with the High Elves. After we were done with that we negotiated for a while about the trade on resources this time as well and finally came to an agreement. He even mentioned he had some surprises for me in celebration of our alliance. Chapter 18: A trade completed and a new toy gained Well then another little chapter! The second part will come in 18.5 this has some reasons. Well by the end of this chapter it will be clear in what direction 18.5 will go. But I do warn readers again, the MC is evil. The tags are not there without reasons, though I admit it has been tame so far. But it will get gradually more towards where I want to have him. Don¡ät know yet when the next part will come as I still have plenty to do but its getting better slowly. Specially since it is going towards christmas holidays finally ! *-* On another note, steam sales are the work of the devil. Sweet, sweet temptation. Who knows what I mean with that XD
We had come to an agreement. Kalannar seemed very pleased with the outcome and though I still remained cautious to some extend there was no downside for me so far either. We returned to the main hall of the Drow quarters for now. He used the circle for a small scale spell over which he sent a small parcel back to their home to have the resources prepared. Since it would take some time we decided to have a meal in the meantime. I actually got to know more about their capital which was basically the old capital of the dwarves that they had taken over. Those were the last enemies they had fought before that whole curse thing went down. So the reason that the dwarven ruins were ruins was their fault actually. Ironic in some ways that the destroyers of the place had to live in it afterwards. After around two hours finally one of the Drow came over hurriedly and informed us that the transfer was ready to begin. Of course we got up right away and headed over. ¡°Haha you are looking much too curiously at their work Gobar. ¡±(Me) ¡°Ah, well there is so many new things to see and learn, Lord. How could this old man not be interested in it?¡±(Gobar) I had to laugh at that and observed how the old goblin kept on keeping a close look on the proceeding preparations to have the transport done. It still much to everyone''s bother that I was the only one that fluently understood both the goblins and the Drow. But it seems there were ways to get the language as a skill as well and once that was the case I could just give them to the goblins for mana. I was quite looking forward to that. Finally everything that would be transported was put into the spell circle and the drow got ready to start. Just like last time they begun to cast their spells and the circle responded to it. As the glow grew more intense there was a subtle difference to the first activation. It seemed as if a glass half sphere had been laid over the circle. There were slight distortions around it and for a very peculiar sight until finally there was another bright flash. ¡°Gah that really is a bit annoying¡±(Me) ¡°Haha indeed but one gets used to it. Now if you would like to inspect the wares?¡±(Kalannar ) I was still rubbing at my eyes as the wizard spoke and slowly things came into focus once more. ¡°Well now that seems to be different than what we agreed on.¡±(Me) There were plenty of things within the circle. There were bags and crates containing, partly visible, the various tools that we would soon need. Axes, pickaxes, sickles and much more were there. But there was a rather large surprise. Within the circle were also a few other things. Or I should say beings. ¡°Indeed, but you could say these are a part of my gift to you.¡±(Kalannar ) The so called gift consisted of 20 people in ragged clothing mostly. They were kneeling in the center of the circle. Some of them looking around fearfully at their new surroundings while others were simply staring into nothingness with eyes that seemed to be more fitting for a dead fish. From what I saw some of them should be dwarves, judging by their height. But there were also some humans mixed in. Apart from being dirty and quite ragged looking they also did not give the most healthy look. Well guess it is normal that during a resource crisis that the slaves are off worse. As I approached them I saw that each of them had a similar iron collar around their necks with a few runes engraved into them. I assumed that it was what kept them in check. After all this was a magical world so you would need more to keep someone obedient. Hmmm I guess i really have distanced myself from being a human myself. I guess inhabiting a crystal body does quite a number on one''s moral views. Seeing as i can look at this so calmly. Then again I always was a deviant of kind. ¡°Well they will prove to be a good addition to the field and most likely mining later on. ¡±(Me) ¡°Oh not only that. You may not know that, since you haven''t had any non goblin women yet, but goblins procreate much better with any humanoid. With those you will get at least 3 to 5 goblins per pregnancy.¡±(Kalannar) At his words I arched a brow and looked again, there were indeed some women among the slaves. 5 out of the 20 and all of them seemed to be human. At least on the first look. ¡°Wait that one¡­ what exactly?...¡±(Me) Kalannar who came over and saw who I looked at nodded ¡°Yes that one is actually a high elf, sort of. I thought you might want to get a first taste of what spoils you can get in this war.¡±(Kalannar ) A taste you say¡­ well I guess that is indeed true in some ways. I focused on the one in question again. At a closer look she was indeed a woman, but her appearance was easily the most miserable out of the whole bunch. Hence me not recognizing her as one right away. There was not much flesh remaining on her, clearly attributed to long periods of malnourishment or even outright starvation. The grayish skin stretched over her bones wherever I could see it. She was so thin that I was practically looking at a skeleton, stuck in a shredded bag. But the most¡­ interesting details¡­? Were found on her head. The left side of her face bore a mark. From the look of it I actually surmised that it had been branded into her with a hot iron. Besides that her hair was shaved completely bald with just some stubble remaining but that was the case for the other slaves as well. The detail that slightly disturbed me was that the characteristic long, pointy ears of elves had been cut off as well which made it look like a slightly grotesque shaped human ear. I think there is no need to mention that she was one of the people that had those eyes that were devoid of life. ¡°Holy, you really did a number on her.¡±(Me)The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°That was not our work. ¡±(Kalannar ) To my slightly unsure comment Kalannar answered with a dry answer. It was clear that he held no sympathy for the elf at all. So I was slightly surprised at the content. ¡°Huh wait then who did this ?¡±(Me) ¡°Who else but the other High Elves? They do this to the¡­ impure within their tribe.¡± (Kalannar) Woa woa seriously? My picture of elves is getting a bit destroyed here. ¡°In what way is she impure?¡±(Me) ¡°Well you mentioned you already have appraisal? Why don''t you give it a try. You should be able to see her information easily. ¡±(Kalannar) Ho? he sounds rather sure of himself. But why not let''s give it a try
Name:Quimoira Rank:- Species: Elf(tained)
Level: (locked) Class: (locked)
Mana:(locked) Mana recovery: (locked)
Skills: (locked) Traits: Demonic heritage Sealed abilities Titles: (locked)
Hmm I guess the important things are the traits? Show me the info on those two
Demonic heritage This being has been born as child of one demon parent. Within it slumbers the seed for a demonic being. Should it accept the heritage it will mutate with unknown consequences. Such beings are often viewed as bringers of calamity. Sealed abilities An item blocks this being''s abilities.
Oho now this is something¡­ a demon child. Just awesome! Oh she will be mine for sure. Still gotta not let him see me being too happy about it. The sight of those screens sparked my curiosity all over. Just like it had been with the experiments on Gob in the past. ¡°Hoh? A demon¡äs child I see? But why do that to her? They could just as well have cut her throat and be done with it.¡±(Me) ¡°They sent her in our direction. It could be they wanted to say that we were the same to them as this half demon scum. Many of us took it like that and almost charged in a stupid attempt towards them. Other than that, maybe they hoped that the thing about helf demons bringing calamity was true and will harm us.¡±(Kalannar) ¡°Then why did you keep her?¡±(Me) ¡°To have an even more visual reminder of what the elves are like. I can assure you the boost in morale was quite a bit. But recently some of the more anxious voices have gotten stronger. So I thought it was a good time to move her elsewhere.¡±(Kalannar) Huh, poor girl. Used and used over and over again in a petty game. But still¡­ this is interesting. ¡°I want her, that should be no problem?¡±(Me) At my words Kalannar gave me a doubtful look and reluctantly nodded. ¡°That should be no problem¡­ anyway. Let me show you quickly the rest of the things. I think those will be to your liking.¡±(Kalannar) Most likely he was slightly put off that I would be interested in a half demon mutt. We continued on, a quick inspection of the tools at hand before we went on. He had one of the crates opened. It was filled with grass as cushioning for plenty of glass materials. ¡°It would be hard to put the Grimoire to use without the proper tools no? I have arranged for the book in question to be packed with the tools as well. ¡±(Kalannar) ¡°Ahh indeed, this is a very pleasing surprise. I guess I will have to get to the production then soon. ¡±(Me) ¡°Oh indeed and there is one last thing you need to have a look at.¡±(Kalannar) On those words he went towards a smaller crate and opened it carefully, pulling out a single jar from it and showed it of. ¡°This is...¡±(Me) ¡°A Goldendew bee. We managed to get our hands on her when we raided one of the Elves settlements in the past. You will find her very useful. Especially the honey they produce. They are already at rank F but still on the lower end like your other insects.¡±(Kalannar) ¡°And the honey will also be a very welcome trade item no?¡±(Me) At my retort Kalannar simply smiled and shrugged. But still he was right, that was just a perfect addition to our dungeon. I approached the jar and looked at the bee queen inside. The being itself was of a size that she could easily fill my palm. She looked to be mostly the same as bee¡äs on earth with the difference that this one was covered all over with fluffy looking golden hair that gave the impression of a soft fur. The being had a bit of intelligence at least as she met my gaze while I looked her over... at least I think she did. ¡°Submit to me and you will be free within my dungeon as one of my people. ¡±(Me) At first nothing happened but then I finally got the desired message.
Congratulations you have a new species Goldendew Bee
¡°You can let her out now¡±(Me) The drow quickly opened the jar and the bee flew out of it right away. Curiously enough she didn''t go far and simply settled down on my shoulder. After that we finished our rounds and we made a quick completion of the deal so we could move on with the things to do. I ordered the goblins to bring our things over to the crafters except for the Elf and the crate of alchemistic supplies which I told them to bring into my own cave. ¡°Get the slaves some food first. You don''t need to give them anything fancy but I want them to regain their strength. Do not touch the women until they have recovered a good bit. If anyone does I will cut of his cock and feed it to the spiders understood? This is especially so for my Elf.¡±(Me) The drow themselves also went to work. Some of this shipment had been for them to set up their new home base with the basic necessities.Before I went to work I gave some additional instruction for the elf to Gobar, after all I would soon take a look at her inprivate. Then it was time for work. First off I moved the butterflies out of the orchard and instead let the queen bee settle down in the small nursery adjacent to it. I also made it clear for every being inside the dungeons that bees were off limits for hunts right now. Surprisingly enough the bee didn''t seem to part from me that easily. But at the end she busily went towards making a nest. Before leaving I made sure to plant some more flowers inside the orchard as well. The next stop on the list were the crafters. With all the new tools they would be able to make a lot more now. ¡°Gobuta, how is it with the tools. Everything to your liking?¡±(Me) I had called over the busily working goblin for a moment to get an update. He actually looked very delighted as he tested out the new things we had gotten. ¡°Yes, Lord. The tools are of good quality. Is there anything you wish for me to prioritize?¡±(Gobuta) ¡°Hmmm for now make sure we get some proper beds and tables as well as storage containers for the transportation and storing of the things we make. I also want you to start planning a proper palisade in front of the main dungeon entrance.¡±(Me) ¡°As you wish.¡±(Gobuta) After dismissing the goblin I watched their work for a while longer. It was amusing to watch the goblins scurry around in haste to do all the work that was piling up right now. I had one of the goblins call out Gobtar for me who hurriedly came ran over after some time. ¡°You called for me Lord?¡±(Gobtar) ¡°Yes, we need to build traps soon. Also those that allow us to catch live prey to widen the dungeons population. Preferably animals that yield good meat and pelts. Talk with the crafters about it once they are a bit less busy. Have them teach you some construction techniques. ¡±(Me) ¡°We will so so, Lord.¡±(Gobtar) I also got myself a report on how the others were doing with their training. Apparently Vierna would continue on training the goblins. So far she had helped them fix their basics just like she helped me with the mana related things. ¡°Well then I''ll take my time with alchemy tomorrow. I think it is time I pay a visit to my new toy huh?¡± Grabbing some of the food from the goblinas I walked towards my cave. Chapter 18,5: Break and rebuild your toy piece by piece So I have weathered through most of the storm of practicals, exams and work madness. Some things are still remaining to be done but I will be able to write a lot more frequntly again until christmas. Around that day I will visit my home and be most likely too stuffed with food to move a single finger just so you guys know in advance.XD This chapter was a prety strong challange for myself as it went much deeper into a character then I had done until now. I hope you people will be satisfied by the result as well. Once again be aware that it might be a little edgy for some but it¡äs still somewhat ok. IT is also shorter since it actually belongs as part of chapter 18.
Now this is going to be fun. I leisurely approached my personal cave. Two goblinas were following after me, carrying some of the crude tableware that the goblins had made out of clay. One carried a plate with freshly roasted meat and a mug with diluted serdana juice. The other had a bowl with a mix of the available fruits in it. We walked right in and I headed to the makeshift bed that the goblins had made for me. It was simply a heap of grass with some pelts over it but it made for a semi comfortable place to lounge in. Reminded me somewhat of a beany bag of the old world. ¡°Just put the things down here, then you may leave. I have some things to do.¡±(Me) The goblinas quickly did as told, though I saw that they stole some curious glances towards the elf that had been brought here. Once they were gone I took a closer look myself as well. On my orders, the goblins had brought her here and taken of that ragged thing she had worn before. Gobar, most likely, had turned some stone of the wall into an eyelet a bit above her head and tied her hands to them so she had to stand straight up with no way to conceal her body. Though she more or less simply let herself hang of the rope like a bag. I know I ordered it¡­ but how did they actually get that rope all the way up there. Oh well¡­ It looked like they had also crudely cleaned her with some water because her skin was a lot cleaner now. Without anything to cover her anymore I actually saw a lot more signs of what abuse she had gone through in her life. There were scars that had to come from whippings, some more burn scars, plenty of bruises in various shades. She herself was still looking at nothing in particular with those dead fish eyes. While i was looking her over like this i grabbed one of the fruits from the bowl and begun to eat it while sprawling myself out in a comfortable way. Well then¡­ let''s see if I can get her somewhat riled up. A puppet is all nice and well but pretty boring. ¡°Tell me little elf, why are you even still alive?¡±(Me) I shot her that question in a mildly curious tone between two bites. The response was a slightly delayed but her eyes seemed to focus slightly on me. I kept my eyes fixed on hers and waited for a little while. ¡°Well? From what I have seen they didn''t cut out your tongue. So tell me, why are you still alive?¡±(Me) As I finished the fruit I stood up and walked over to her, stopping once I was directly in front of her. I took a relaxed posture and waited a bit to see her expression turn into one of not understanding what I was talking about. I had completely caught her off guard with that. ¡°You went through all of this...¡±(Me) She actually flinched when I raised my hand and slowly stroked over her naked body. Tracing some of the many scars that she had on that starved body, while I spoke. ¡°Abused, beaten, used and surely they let you feel plenty of humiliation to show their disdain for you. But you still live. You can¡ät be believing that there is anyone coming to save a half blood like you? So why not just end your miserable trash of a life?¡±(Me) I made sure to let her feel the taunting in my tone¡­ and it showed a pretty intense impact. Her face distorted into a grimace of pain and some tears found their way from her eyes. For a slight moment I was shocked at how¡­ exciting this felt. I was getting under her skin and soon I would get into her head with some work. This was in its own way a rush of adrenalin like I had never felt it before. She begun to squirm under my touch, her mouth slowly opening and closing as if she was trying to talk but the words would not come out. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Seems like she still needs a bit more of a push. ¡°Ah, of course. A coward, too afraid to act up but also too afraid to end your misery.¡±(Me) ¡°Wh¡­ what... do you know about me you monster! You... know nothing about what i went through...¡±(Quimoira) I couldn''t help myself but chuckle at her words, finally a reaction even though it was nearly drowned out by her sobs. Her mind was returning to reality again. So I leaned closer and whispered into her ear, sentence seeping with pure mockery. ¡°Hoh? I know plenty about you just looking at this body of yours. I guess they found out about your tainted being when you were still fairly young. From that moment on, you were the freak in their midst. Oh I bet they did all those ¡®punishments¡¯ that I see engraved on your body in pretty public places, yes? ¡°(Me) To underline my words I traced a particularly large whipping mark on her side with my index finger and pressed the nail of it rather painfully into her skin. ¡°After all, why go through all this bother to torment someone who has nothing useful to say or conceal. No, things like these are done for a reason and in your case it was to make you a public example. Yes they made you into the filth of their people. Trash that everyone can feel better after looking at. Did they make you into a show? Where they laughed louder the more you screamed in pain? Yes you must have been nothing more than a punching bag for those Elves. Hmm I wonder whether they raped you or whether you were seen as too filthy to even be touched in such a way.¡±(Me) I had really hit the nails head. Her body shivered as if she was freezing, tears streaming down over her face like rivers and it made for a even more pitiful sight. But there was a much more interesting change in her face. It was still distorted in a complete grimace, in her eyes though.... I could nearly see her mind break slowly and give way to madness. ¡°And when you grew boring to them they dumped you to the Drows, telling them through the pure act of throwing you at them that they were the same as you. I heard the Drow were fuming with rage when they understood that the High Elves wanted to tell them that they were the same as a half demon scum. Nobody wanted to have you. Yet here you are, still an Elf, still alive. You didn''t even try to take a demon''s power for you to take revenge.¡±(Me) That was when the dam finally broke. Suddenly a mix of mad laughter and sobbing spilled forth from her as she began to babble. ¡°What should I have done against it ?! No matter what I would have never been able to free myself. Demon or not they would have been stronger than I. Do you think I did not want to be free?! To have a place to call home?! But what then, no one wants a half demon trash in their midst. Not even demons! After they sent me over to the Drow I hoped, I prayed that maybe one day I would be accepted among outcasts. But even they ¡­ there is no hope¡±(Quimoira) She was now tugging madly against the ropes and spewing some more confusing babble that was not understandable. Before she suddenly sagged down like a puppet which had its strings cut and chuckled. The despair in it was nearly thick enough to grab with my hand. Now was the time to act. ¡°And yet, through all of this you clung onto being an Elf. You held onto this small, withered seed of hope that you would one day be accepted as long as you bore some resemblance to them. You thought at some point, someone would take pity on you. You clung to their morale and values in despair.¡±(Me) I changed my voice to a whisper and cupped her chin to make her look up into my eyes. She didn''t even have the strength to avert them anymore. I had broken the last pieces of her mind and made her face the endless despair she was in. Suddenly I smiled. ¡°But¡­that was wrong. ¡±(Me) I reached up and undid the the rope from her wrist. She let out a confused sound as she fell, but I caught her over my shoulder and carried her over to the bed. I let her drop down on the pelts in a rather rough manner and she simply lay there with a resigned expression in her face. But she most likely did not expect what happened next. I leisurely took my time with her. I began with teasing, stroking and caressing her all over. There was no violence in it as she most likely had expected and it threw her off completely. I used this moment, bringing one hand to her chest to toy with that modest chest of hers and placing the other between her legs. As I took up a more firm way of caressing her she actually let out a gasp and her face reddened a good bit much to my delight and her confusion grew ever more as i progressed. Seems I was right. The Elves and Drows never thought the ¡®filthy¡¯ her. She isn''t used to this. ¡°Those elvish values are shit. They are just something they thought up to put them above others. But, now I will give you the opportunity that you never had. I will allow you to choose. ¡±(Me) At my words she was stunned and petrified, she just looked at me like a lost deer. Her mind most likely on complete halt which let me instead make her body react to my touches and I made her even moan out in surprise and pleasure. Some things you just can''t suppress. Especially with your mind in such a state. ¡°You can from now on either remain as you are now. A pitiful heap of sorrow and pain that is everyone''s playball. Then I will just hand you over to the goblins and they can use your womb to plant your seed over and over again. ¡±(Me) All the while I had talked her eyes were glued to my lips. I had her full attention down to a level that people rarely were ever giving their attention to. ¡°Or you can finally let go of those moronic things you held onto. If you do that¡­ I will make you into one of mine. You will belong to me completely and no one here will dare to touch or look down on you. Become mine and spread your wings for me¡­ then you will have a place in this world to call yours. Or stay as what you are now until the moment you take your last breath. It is your choice¡±(Me) I smirked again and suddenly pulled myself away from her completely. Standing up and pointing at the food i had brought over before. ¡°Eat and think. You will soon have to give your answer. Make sure it is what you want.¡±(Me) With those words I left my cave and walked outside. There were some goblin guards before the entrance. They looked slightly scared but didn''t dare to say anything. ¡°Good work men, make sure my little Elf is not touched by anyone else as long as she stays in there.¡±(Me) With another laugh I turned away and walked towards the drow quarters. I was in dire need of a quick deal. Chapter 19: The fate of every leader... meetings and organizing. Here we go again! I hope that you guys had a more pleasant start into the new year. I sadly had some health issues since the last post which kept me down in bed with antibioitics and a whole range of other meds for 2 weeks and I am still not quite completely restored T_T. Missing out on most of the christmas and new years fun did quite dampen my motivation to do anything which is hopefully a bit understandable. Anyway ! As a boon I tried to do as much as possible now. I did some changes to my style as well Which i hope will meet some of you peoples likes. I havent really gone over it for correction yet so don¡ät look at it too closely. XD 2 chapters today !
The next day turned into a quite work heavy one. Right after my own breakfast I went to the elf and brought her a portion of it as well. In the old world I had read once an article about how captives could come to build a positive relation with the one holding them by providing for their needs and relieve. So I wanted to put this to test on Quimoira. After making sure that the food was of a decent quality I brought it personally to her. As I stepped into my cave and looked around I saw that she was still resting on my makeshift bed. Realizing that I had entered the cave she rose her body slowly from the furs before she noticed that she wasn''t wearing much and sunk back down again to cover herself up. Her eyes never left me as I walked further in and I could almost see that, what happened last night, had shaken her mind to the very core. The language of her body still spoke of fear, keeping it as small as possible like a threatened animal. But the expression on her face was one of confusion. Most likely the food I had given her and the rest on this pile of a bed was more kindness than she had been shown for years. After a moment her eyes fell on the food that I was holding on the plate and I could actually hear a hungry growl coming from her stomach. Well the food last night wasn''t that much after all. I chuckled amused and just put down the plate somewhere near the bed right on the floor. Then I called one of the guarding goblins to carry out the plate and bowl that had been used last night. It seems after I left she had eaten every last bit of the food, it even looked as if the plate had even been licked clean. Turning back to Quimoira I saw that she was eying the plate on the floor greedily but it seemed like she didn''t dare yet to touch it. I suddenly had a thought and approached the elf with leisure steps. Her eyes right away turned to me as I came close and she actually sunk back into the furrs a new fear creeping over her face. With a smile on my face I reached out and stroked over her head. (Me): ¡±Eat your fill my little pet, you will soon need your strength.¡± Quimoira had actually closed her eyes shut when I reached for her but when she felt the touch being a soft one she actually leaned against it for a moment. The completely startled expression on her face was greatly amusing. Deep down she is craving for a kind touch. Well, who would not in her situation. (Quimoira): ¡°P...Pet?!¡± After realization had sunk into her mind what I had done she backed away from me again. With a laugh I withdrew from the elf and walked towards the entrance, looked back at her once before I stepped out and left her with some words. (Me): ¡°Slave, pet, property¡­. it''s all the same in the end. It just depends on the difference in treatment. ¡± After speaking those words I stepped out and was wanting to walk towards the Drow quarters. I had told Kalannar that I would visit him to speak about our plans for the immediate future before I went to play with the Grimoire and the things he had given me in the trade. (Gobar): ¡°Lord, if you would spare me a moment.¡± But I was actually called out to as soon as I had taken a few steps. The old goblin looked at me with a very serious expression which made me actually feel quite curious. (Me): ¡°Should you not be preparing for the training session Gobar?¡± (Gobar): ¡°It is fine, Lord. My disciples are there in case that some goblins come to the magic lessons earlier. ¡± Since he put it like that I nodded and wanted to listen but Gobar actually bowed and lead the way to his own cave. It seemed like he wanted to speak in private. Well this is quite interesting. Let¡äs see what the good guy wants. Once there we both settled down on the floor and he regarded me silently for a few moments, seemingly contemplating what he was about to say. (Gobar): ¡°Lord, I hope you will permit my boldness. What are your plans for the half blood ? ¡± I tilted my head slightly as I observed how serious Gobar was. His hands were even tightly holding onto his trusted staff with enough strength to make the old wood let out some creaking sounds. Though I did not quite understand why he was so interested in this now. From what I saw the goblins have no qualms at all about using slaves for labour and breeding. So what is he getting at? (Me): ¡°She is mine now and a project to work on. I think I will be able to make her an obedient pet. Maybe she will even turn out to be something useful. But what does it matter to you Gobar? Your people seemed quite eager to get to the other females that were brought over and I don''t think they are shy about using violence on the weaker. ¡± My words seemed to relieve him a slight bit and he nodded in contemplation. (Gobar): ¡±Of course it is up to you to take any number of slaves. That is the right of a king. The guards were surprised at the¡­ way you handled the elf. It seemed quite different for your usual conduct. But you are right there are not many that are concerned about your methods, admittedly not many understand what you are doing with the elf.¡± It seemed like the exchange had him relaxed enough that he slipped back into the more informal way that we had been using mostly until now. (Gobar): ¡°On this matter I would only like to caution you once that trying to stir the madness within a being is a dangerous path to walk. But it is not within my right to tell you what to do.¡± Hah the old guy understands what is going on. I laughed and nodded but at the same time remained silent. This was my fun and I would not let anyone meddle in it. Apparently Gobar understood this as well and went on. (Gobar): ¡°The thing that had a lot of us, me included, worried is not what you plan to do with her as an individual. No, it is the fact that she is the first mate you have picked. It caused the fear that we would be maybe replaced since her race might make her into a more promising servant. There were a good many cases where the descendants of a stronger races within a dungeon replaced the original ones.¡± Ah so that was it. I thought over the goblins words and had to admit that they were not baseless fears from their perspective. Until now I had treated the goblins good, in my opinion at least, but I had not shown as strong an interest for an individual goblin as I had for Quimoira and of course the goblinas until now had not been exactly meeting my sense of womanly aesthetics that had carried over from my precious live. I will have to make sure that I dissipate those fears some way or another... (Me): ¡°I understand your concerns. But I have no intention to replace your people. You can tell your people that you will remain as the core in this dungeon. The gratitude for your efforts in making me will remain forever.¡± (Gobar): ¡°I am most grateful to hear this. It might be a good idea to choose a mate from among the goblinas or the evolved hobgoblinas. ¡± Gobar had bowed his head as he conveyed his thanks and suggested the obvious solution but so far I had not seen any of the goblin kin that had taken my fancy. The goblinas simply looked too much like children. As for the hobgoblinas, well they were at least of a size that put them among possible interest. But they were still rather rough on the eye if one was to apply the humans standard. The green skin was not really a problem, but their features themselves so far had no real appeal to me. Maybe that will get better, after all on the female side there were only few so far that had evolved. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. (Me): ¡°Well I shall see about that. Speaking of which, until now I didn''t really have the impression that taking a mate was such a serious business for goblins. Why is it now of such importance?¡± It did look to me as if they just went down whenever and with whomever they wanted. Surprisingly there are no fights among the male goblins for females either. (Gobar): ¡°Ah, how neglectful of me. It is true that such things were not explained yet.¡± Gobar had a rueful look on his face as he started to explain some of the goblin tradition. (Gobar):¡± It is true that common goblins do not take a specific mate. This is because usually any normal goblin does not have the capability to support a female or a full family by himself. Especially since, as you know by now, our kind tends to procreate quickly. So normally the whole clan cares for the offsprings and the mating is a loosely organized matter. This is not the case for the king of the clan and sometimes, in large clans, the appointed leaders. Only the smartest or strongest are in that those position and as such can sustain one or more females. Also there is a lot expected from those individual offsprings and as such raised with great care to continue the promising bloodlines. ¡± Ahhh well makes sense. It seems they know how to take advantage of their traits. The average quality goblins are pooling their resources to sustain as many individuals as possible while the good quality is nurtured to an elite within the clan. After some more questioning and hearing the explanations about the mating and courting of goblins I really had to leave for the meeting with the Drow. So I left a relieved Gobar who promised to right away get to the matter of settling the fears of the other goblins before he would continue with the matter of teaching. With swift steps I went towards the quarters of our pointy eared guests and was greeted by guards there who right away led me on towards the ambassador¡äs cave. Well, they certainly got settled quickly. The Drow almost made the impression as if they had always lived here. Torches had been fixed onto the walls in regular distances with guards being posted or patrolling carefully. The most heavily guarded area was without a doubt the teleportation circle. Well not that I would really trust a dungeon and a bunch of goblins either but that seems bit excessive. We finally reached the place and I found a quite surprising scene before my eyes. The cave actually looked decent. There was a table, chairs, bed and an actual freaking carpet on the stone floor. (Kalannar):¡±Hahaha that look alone is worth bringing these things over. But please take a seat honored Dungeon Lord. ¡± The Drow stood just somewhat to the side, apparently fiddling with something inside a bag, but I had been too surprised at first to spot him right away. With an annoyed grunt I went over to the table and sat down. The chairs were surprisingly comfortable for simple wooden ones. (Me): ¡°How did you even get all this stuff here. Don¡ät tell me all the things you got over were for you alone and some torches for the walls ?¡± (Kalannar): ¡°You will see a part of how we did it when you open your crates. But no I did not bring over goods only for myself. Still being a highly ranked official does have its clear advantages.¡± Somehow I could not help but be impressed at his smug attitude and grin with which he admitted that he had used his position of power to the utmost for his comfort. (Me): ¡°Anyway, I assume we both have plenty to do. So what exactly did you want to talk about. You were rather vague yesterday.¡± The drow nodded and finally seemed to finished with his bag as he approached the table as well and sat down in front of me with a much more serious expression now. (Kalannar):¡±There are some plans that we need to speak about. Also about how to progress from now on. ¡± I did not quite like those words and apparently it showed on my face as he gave a slight smile and actually poured us both something to drink before he went on. (Kalannar):¡±You do not need to look so grim. This is to our both benefit. The first part is about a possibility to give the elves a steady beating to their supply of food, as well as fighting force. The second part that I mentioned is that we are of course very interested in the way that you are planning your own future and I think we can give you some very important informations on that point.¡± (Me): ¡°For our both benefit is easily said. But I am listening, go ahead. ¡± I could not help myself but let some sarcasm flow into the words. It was indeed easy to say that it would be good for both of us. But if that was indeed the case still needed to be seen. The Drow nodded at my words and stepped away for a moment to get a pile of scrolls and put them on the table. Then he took one of the larger ones and carefully spread out over the table. Gulagh had given me a rough shape, with his drawing back, to understand the general layout then. Of course that was nothing compared to the detailed map which I had now in front of me. It was a quite interesting shape to behold. The forest in which the Elves lived was actually situated in a humongous basin and surrounded by two mountain ranges. They joined in the east and west which gave the whole thing the rough appearance of an eye. From this basin countless valleys spread out like veins. It actually looked as if this had been a lake once and the water had eroded its way outside. The really interesting thing though was that there were two marked areas. One which was, as I presumed, the elven territory. It was marked by a red line that circled some parts of the center forest as well as a large portion of the north. Meanwhile the northern mountain range was surrounded by a blue line and most likely displayed the Drow territory which was a good bit smaller in total size then the elven part and was broader in the west. Kalannar let me have some time to take a close look at all of this before he went on. (Kalannar):¡±Now about the plans to diminish the elven resources. A lot of their resources actually come from small tribes of demihumans or beastkin spread out within the forest. They also recruit many of their soldiers from them that are sent to the very frontlines. Some of those tribes or clans are within their territory but most are to the south and east.¡± Seeing how the territory is aligned here that makes sense. (Me): ¡°I assume you took out all the tribes on the west side. But how are we supposed to do anything to the tribes? If it was that easy you would have done it yourself a long time ago already.¡± (Kalannar):¡±That is true, but you have a distinctive advantage. The elves deploy a magic field that detects Drows and beings above a certain stage of power. There are ways to bypass this but it has more drawbacks than advantages so we were unable to execute them. Your goblins will fall under neither category..¡± (Me):¡±That may be, but won¡ät the elves come to look for a threat if their people die?¡± At my words Kalannar actually grinned wryly as if I had made a bad joke. (Kalannar):¡± I think you still do not quite have a clear understanding of the elves mentality on this point. The tribes are not ¡®their¡¯ people. They see themselves as the absolute rulers and nobility of the forest dwellers. I think even the goblins have heard about how the high elves only consume vegetables and fruits. But there is no way that any Elf would actually do such mundane work as to plow a field or collect fruits. No they have the tribes pay tribute to them in form of food and people. The biggest part of the ¡®recruited¡¯ people are then sent as cannon fodder to the frontlines nothing more then that. In their arrogance they hold the tribes with no regards and even wiped a few of them out when they refused to pay. The only real measure to protect the ones that are paying, is the detection field. Even this measure is only taken since they are slightly afraid that they might face slight inconvenience if we actually succeed in wiping out all tribes. A few deaths within the tribes won¡ät be noticed right away and when they do it will be too late.¡± I tilted my head as I listened. Kalannar continued his explanation it seemed like they had employed spies to check the tribes out sometimes. Basically the tribes were slaves. Some of the recruited tribesman would be trained and brainwashed into believing that they were the chosen ones of the Elves. This gave them a certain amount of power and they were tasked to keep their own people in line. Apparently beyond collecting information it was too dangerous for the spies to perform any serious moves to damage the supply lines significantly. (Me): ¡°How does this detection field actually work ? If they detect Drow how did your spies get anywhere near close enough? Could they not just keep track of everything if they have something like that?¡± Kalannar chuckled amused and shook his head at my question, apparently it amused him greatly that I had as many questions. (Kalannar):¡±Of course a dungeon such as you would ask that. But you have an analyzing skill. Do you still remember the flood of information that you got when you used that skill the first time? I imagine it was not comfortable. Well for normal beings they are unable to process so much at once. In the worst cases they could suffer permanent damage to their mind, so the magic has to be limited in what informations it actually collects. As for why our spies came close enough, well basically the field picks up the mana signatures of the beings that step into it. It feels different between the various kinds of beings. But it can be hidden by completely suppressing the mana itself much like we do it with slaves to keep them relatively harmless. But this also keeps them from using any mana related skill. It is also not that easy to use and the skill bought with skill points is not reliable enough.¡± Well that makes sense¡­ I guess it would be like a computer that gets an overload in its memory. Or worse than that. Damn¡­. good that I am a dungeon. With those restrictions it is understandable that they didn''t get to do anything to the more protected tribes this yet. (Me):¡±So you want me to use my servants to kill the tribes ? ¡± (Kalannar):¡±Not quite as drastic. If it is too abrupt the elves might realize that something is amiss and send some troops to check out what is going on. No it would be better to employ more gradual methods of making their numbers dwindle. You luckily had your goblins train intensively in stealth, if my troops help them out they will soon be above and beyond in those areas for the average tribesman. Since Vierna is already doing a good job I will put two attendants at her side to make the training go a bit smoother ahead.¡± (Me):¡±I see your point. So basically ambush smaller groups of them, making sure that no one witnesses it and such. ¡± (Kalannar): ¡°Exactly, it would be even better if you could make it look like it were some of the natural predators of the woods. If you keep switching between the tribes they will most likely paint it up to an unlucky year. It would also be fine if you captured them to add to your own workforce. We will help you with the enslaving part of course to make sure that they are unable to flee. But of course your goblins have to do that in a way that it is not noticed. Beyond that I think that an occasional assassination of a central figure inside a tribe would help to destabilize their situation as a whole. ¡± (Me):¡±Won''t they be actually more cautioned if someone kills their leaders? I like the idea of getting more slaves though. I hope you have many collars stuffed away for that. ¡± (Kalannar):¡±That should be no problem. With your knowledge from the grimoire I am sure you will be able to soon make poisons will look like a natural death without a deeper examination. Also such actions will be necessary to unlock the assassin class. I think you would be interested in that.¡± Ah damn¡­ I am an idiot. I should have long ago realized that it was that. I had long since been wondering why the goblins had not yet gotten that class. In my eyes they had all the needed skills but of course they had not done an assassination until now. Well they killed plenty, but an assassination is after all the elimination of a specific target. (Me):¡±This sounds like a good plan. What else have you got ?¡± (Kalannar):¡±Well once that plan progressed further it will be a huge help to use. Beyond that we need to raise your defensive forces in case that you are discovered. ¡± (Me):¡±How would we do that? I think I already am employing the breeding quite extensively to get more servants. ¡± (Kalannar):¡±That is true, but you need some better guardians. Golems would be a very good choice for this matter. With your crystal evolution you will have no problem to get enough earth crystals. Though until you reach your next stage you will not have the quality needed for the better golems. Still even weak golems are a formidable thing within a dungeon and an expendable force.¡± (Me): ¡°Golems ! Well that sounds good. But what did you mean with next stage?¡± (Kalannar):¡±I will tell you about that in more detail later on. Since both topics are quite detailed let''s not get them mixed up.¡± As he said that he took another scroll and handed it over to me. Since he gave the indication to go ahead I opened it up and took a look through what was written and drawn there. It was a short description of what was needed to make golems. Apparently you needed a certain affinity for the earth element, a magic crystal of the earth element at least of the mid class and a skill in summoning. The process in itself sounded simple enough. Summon a spirit, make a contract with it and let it possess the crystal or forcibly bind it to the sparkly thing. Depending on the skill of the caster, the willingness of the spirit and the quality of the crystal it would then be a stronger or weaker golem. This would also influence what material the golems body could be made from. (Kalannar):¡±I do know that you have druids that are capable of earth magic. But since we are on this topic already¡­. let us discuss what magics you would like to learn for yourself as well.¡± Ah now that is an interesting topic. I think it will be fun. Chapter 20: Magic, dungeons and the laboratory. As prmoised the second chapter today XD Yeah as sadi still not fully recovered so dont scrutinize it too closely. There will certainly be mistakes in grammar and maybe some logical ones too. I am as always open for suggestions.
Ah now that is an interesting topic. I think it will be fun. (Me):¡±True as well. I have been thinking hard about what magics I want to learn. But I think i do not have enough information yet on all the possibilities.¡± On my words Kalannar had me tell him all that I knew about mana, spells and everything else related to magic. From the the deepening frown between the Drow¡äs eyebrows I could tell that it was quite insufficient for his tastes. (Kalannar):¡±Well I do have to admit that, for having found out most of this by himself, your druid is quite impressive. But it has many flaws in it. Well let me give you basic explanation for now. Your goblin has a certain understanding of the Worldly Elements as we call them. Those include Fire, Wind, Water and Earth as well as Light and Darkness. Then there are the Primordial Elements, those are a good bit more abstract and would be Nature, Spirit, Spatial and Chaos. Lastly we have the Mythical Elements, Abyssal and Heavenly ¡± I listened attentively as Kalannar went into the detail of what made them separate into those three categories. Apparently those were the most basic parts that mana could be refined into. The first part represented the mana that responded to the phenomenon that could be observed in the natural world. Primordial were already harder to define and a lot harder to comprehend in its working and principles. Then Lastly were the Mythical ones. Those were apparently not even really types of mana but rather the intent that was fuelled into the energies by the user. A healer that would stand behind his healing spell with all his heart and mind set on helping and doing good for the sake of good would apparently influence his spells to lean towards the heavenly inclination. Someone that instead put all the negative emotions and intent into his spells would attract the abyssal inclination. At least that is how the Drow understood its workings. While the relations between the worldly elements was quite easy to understand with the attractions and rejections it was not nearly as clean or even definitive on the other parts. Not to mention that there were apparently types of mana that were a mix of different kinds of the basic ones or extreme refinement towards a particular use. (Kalannar):¡±Well once you start practising actual magics you will see how things work out. For a Dungeon Lord it is much easier to operate mana after all.¡± I nodded and contemplated for a while about all the information I had received. While I was pondering about a few things Kalannar took some of the scrolls and quickly glanced over them. Here and there nodding his head before sorting them out according to some logic in his head. (Me):¡±So how do all these types of mana then work with magic skills? After all I heard that some of them worked without a set type of mana.¡± (Kalannar):¡±Very good, yes¡­. let us take summoning magic as example since we have already mentioned this before. Magic itself is basically a instruction according to which the mana is then formed and used. In some cases the effect of the spell varies according to the type of mana or what combination is used. Most types of magic will need a combination of certain types to reach the highest levels of use. In the case of summoning, if you use earth mana, a earth elemental would appear. The same for the other elements. Of course the spell itself would also have to be adjusted a bit to suit the needs but the basic spell would remain the same.¡± If he says it like that¡­. then what about alchemy? (Me):¡±If all that works out, won''t I learn some things about magic through the Grimoire as well ? I imagine something as complex as that would need a few tricks.¡± (Kalannar):¡±Yes that is indeed the case. You will get a few mana manipulation skills. I think, Fire, Water and Wind. Since you need to Keep these under control. Whether you actually use your own mana or from the crystals is not really important since you have as many as you like at your disposal. As for magic itself the most important one would be Nature.¡± (Me):¡±Well the mana makes sense I guess. But why is Nature magic that important?¡± (Kalannar):¡±Simple actually¡­ to get the most out of the various plants and fluids or material from other beings, you will need to manipulate it with nature magic. Higher quality potions and poisons actually have magic infused into them as well. This of course will mean that you will get some basics of the enchantment skill as well.¡± Hmmm well makes sense. I guess that will leave me no other choice but to do learn that stuff¡­.even though I really do not like being a healer. Though¡­ wait a moment. If nature magic can manipulate those things¡­. that is worth some thoughts. Well lets hear some more advice from the Pro and see where it leads. (Me):¡±What would you say would be helpful for me to learn. Also what can you actually teach me ?¡± The Drow made a thoughtful humm at my question and seemed to consider this for a while. (Kalannar):¡±Well, as Dungeon Lord it will have a rather large influence on your dungeon. Since what you learn is one of the factors that influences which evolutions your dungeon can unlock. But i would advise to learn things that you can do from the back. It is unwise to put the avatar into a place where it could get into danger. As for what I can teach you. This would include most of the pure Worldly elemental magic and some of their combinations, spatial and summoning magic of course, mind magic and enchantment. ¡± Well he did explain that he had a lot of different magics. But that is more than expected. Though I wonder to what level he actually learned all that. There really are a few interesting ones that he knows. (Me):¡±I would have expected there to be curses in your repertoire. But there are quite some interesting ones that you know. ¡± At my words he gave me a wry smile and shook his head. (Kalannar):¡±That thought is just nonsense. Curses and blessings are just enchantments onto a being itself. One with good effects and one with bad ones. So did anything of these take your fancy?¡± (Me):¡±Actually¡­ yes. Mind magic sounds quite tempting, I think outside of my alchemy studies I would like to focus on this one. Summoning and Spatial magic sound interesting as well. As for other things I will still consider it.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He seemed to be fine with those decisions and wrote some things down quickly while he talked me through some exercises. He also warned me that Mind magic was a versatile and useful, but very hard to master skill. It would also be of very limited use in any battle situation. (Kalannar):¡±Now that we are through this part I think we should get back to our interest in what you are planning for your future. This will also lead us to the thing I mentioned earlier about stages.¡± I had to take a moment and think back, he had indeed mentioned something about stages but we had then taken our time on golems and magic. (Me):¡±Right, you did mention something like that. So what are those stages? Or did you mean levels?¡± On this Kalannar shook his head and sighed almost tiredly. But then he reached for the drinks that he had been continually pouring for us and took a big gulp before he went on. (Kalannar):¡±No, we know that dungeons have a similar level concept as all other beings do have. But while we have evolutions the dungeons have stages. Since there was never that much contact between Dungeon Lords and other races we only know things from indirect methods and from contact with some of the races living within the dungeons themselves.¡± He the reached for the heap of scrolls on the side and pulled out a much smaller one. (Kalannar):¡±From what we know is, that at certain moments in a dungeons growth they will enter different stages. You are in the first one, the infant stage as it is generally known. There are others that we call the adult and the elder stages. Those steps have a strong influence on the way you expand your dungeon and on it¡äs theme.¡± On the last part I was puzzled. I had not not gotten any informations of such a thing through the dungeon system yet. But then again it was quite stingy with information about events that are still further off. (Me):¡±What exactly do you mean with theme there? ¡± (Kalannar):¡±Well as you surely know, your dungeon¡äs name is influenced by the way you are seen from the outside. But that is in turn influenced by how you are presented in- and outside. Well let''s look at the current elder dungeons that are known in our lands. Gate of Hell, Deserts Mirage, Ice Maze, Ocean Serpent, Ancient woods, Tomb of heroes and the Spatial Ghost dungeon. These Dungeons are the most famous ones that survived the great war. Each of them has a quite unique affinity and look to them. Beginning with the Gate of Hell we estimate that it has a earth, fire and darkness affinity as well as a strong inclination to the abyssal. It is basically a gigantic crater of malice. It is positioned within the north eastern region where once a quite big kingdom had its territory. Sadly for that kingdom it was a quite vicious dungeon. It is assumed that the demons helped make it in secret just like the goblins helped you. The outcome was that scores of demons flooded the kingdom and utterly destroyed it. This happens still today in random intervals which is quite the plague on its surroundings.¡± Afterwards he told me about the other Dungeons as well. They all sounded quite amazing and it was no wonder that they were not destroyed yet. It seemed like that would take a monumental effort. The ones that fascinated me the most, were the Ocean Serpent and Spatial Ghost dungeon. Both were able to travel. One through the oceans and the other was by now within something like its own dimension with some entrances popping up and disappearing all over the world. (Kalannar):¡±We do know that once you enter the adult stage, the expansion of the dungeon will become easier. Since that is the point where most dungeons grow significantly. The further you progress the more your evolutions will come to bear fruits. For example since you obviously have the crystal evolution you will get a strong jump in quality and in range of what crystals you can make and appear by themselves.¡± So it really is just like the levels and evolutions of the normal races. The stages mean a big jump in power and quality. We then continued to talk about some evolutions and what known benefits there were. But I wasn''t too keen on letting them have a say on my path in that area. Obviously Kalannar wasn''t too happy about that. But it seemed to be within what he expected. We had spent now a good portion of the day on all this talking and we were both getting tired as well as hungry. So I bid him farewell for now and returned to the goblins to take a meal to myself before I turned my attention to the other matter that I wanted to get done. There was of course plenty to take care of right now with all the new things I had at hand. For better worse the slaves were still in a bad shape. It was obvious that they would need more time to regain their strengths so the field extensions and mining works would still have to wait. Of course I ¡°could¡± make them work right away. But I was pretty sure they would not last long in that state. This left me with some time to turn my attention to other matters. Let''s see what that Grimoire really can do. I headed over to my crystal room with the book. I instructed the goblins that no one was allowed inside until I was done. They had their standing orders to follow anyway. So once there I sat down and opened the book. Kalannar had given me a brief rundown on how to use this thing previously. The book was divided into three parts. Apparently the knowledge contained was too much to be imprinted in one go and I would have to learn various skills, as well as practise the imprinted things properly to get the most out of this thing. Quite different from what I expected but quite reasonable. On the first page was actually a large spell circle which had a free space in the middle that roughly resembled a hand. A drop of blood was it right? I took a stone knife I had taken with me and made a little cut in the center of my palm before I pressed my hand down on the rough parchment. Holy fuuu... As soons as my palm touched the primitive paper it begun. The spell circle lit up and begun to pule. Meanwhile I felt the informations rush into my head like a flood. It was not as bad as back then when I had gotten appraisal and the other dungeon skills but still rough enough. It was a very particular feeling. There is just no way to describe the sensations of actual memories streaming into your mind like a rapid stream.
Unlocked skills up to the level: Alchemy high Fire mana manipulation high Water mana manipulation high Wind mana manipulation high Nature mana manipulation high Herbalism high Enchantment low
This is really awesome ! I couldn''t help the sudden rush of elation that spread through me. The feeling was completely different from when I had bought a skill. I actually knew and understood every bit of information that had been transferred. I understood how I would need the fire mana to regulate temperatures, the water mana to move liquids at precisions that would not be possible without modern equipment of my old world and the wind mana to keep the gasses in check and other such things. I fucking know 30 different uses for those mountain flowers now ! Holy¡­ I bet Kalannar wants me to get hooked on him with this gift! Well I sure owe him for that. I took my time for a while to skim through those new memories and realized that I would still have to practise a lot. Even though I had the knowledge now to do stuff, I would still need to get my actual skills up to shape. Seems it is time to set up a laboratory of sorts huh ? For now I went and prepared a new room close to the greenhouse I had made a while ago. I made it spacious and well lit. Then I had the goblins carry in the crates related to alchemy and made them leave again to get a bunch of all the plants we currently had. I carefully went about to open the crates and extract the contents one by one. It was a large collection of glass tubes, bottles and other specialized equipment. I carefully set everything up since they had been so kind to supply me with some foldable tables as well. So that is how he got all that stuff over. It seems they are quite adept at making things that can be quickly built up and taken apart again. I guess they really want me to get started on the potion production if they supply me with all of this. Well not that I don''t understand their point. After looking over the setup I spawned a few heat crystals and set them below the equipment that needed them. The fire mana manipulation let me set their temperature output to specific levels which would really make this whole thing a lot easier. The last addition was a small well at the side to draw fresh water from. Hmmm now that I look at it, I seem to not quite have enough herbs and such. I will need to get Gobtar and his goblins out and about again. Since that was the case I decided to put this off for a bit and instead give the other things a thorough look for now. I inspected the slaves and the progress on training as well as out production of necessities and was quite pleased with the overall result. A surprising thing was that the bee queen had been quite zealous and on a inspection she had already laid a good many eggs. If it went on like that we would soon have an increase in their population which was just perfect for me. Later I got over Gobtar and instructed him to take his goblin troops out tomorrow. They were supposed to catch as many animals as they could and set up traps. Of course they also had the order to search for herbs and to get this done smoother I bought them the skills with mana. There was after all, no need for them to have this skill at its best. Chapter 21: Scheming against a Schemer 101 always prepare a plan B So, another chapter out. The slow release this time has been due to me overthinking things. That always makes things turn for the worse in my case. I know there is a lot of boring stuff right now. But as said I love a steady progress. I guess I will have to look for someone to discuss my ideas with in the future. But we will see how it works out. On another note there is another .5 chapter coming up. This one is going to be... bloody and yeah read at your own discretion. PS. I was messaged by Trebeh recently. I apologize that I did not answer but every try to respond to the message was met with a error message from this site.
Ugh so much to do. At this point in time, it slowly dawned on me how much work it actually was to be a King. All of the organizing, issuing mundane orders and making plans became increasingly difficult to keep track of. Bah¡­ If I wasn''t a Dungeon with plenty of resources growing right out of my ass it would be an insane task to handle. I need paper and a secretary soon! Wait¡­the goblins can''t even write yet !! Fuck¡­ I would have never thought to be actually craving for paperwork. It has been a week now since the talk with Kalannar. The progress over this time has been going quite well but many things are now additionally requiring my attention. For one of course there are the matters that have been talked about with Kalannar. Not just the actual plans but also the hidden implications. (Gobar):¡±The plans seem to be quite sound from what you have told me so far. It would be in our best interest to follow them¡­ to some point. ¡± I was sitting in the crystal room together with Gobar right the next day after the daily lessons were over. I had just finished retelling everything that had been spoken about and the old goblin was nodding thoughtfully, yet keeping his eyes narrowed. I loved how he hinted at the hidden intentions behind the Drow¡¯s words. (Me):¡±So you realized it too. Good that means I am not just paranoid. ¡± Gobar huffed at my words and made a dismissive gesture to my words before he gazed around the room slowly for a moment. (Gobar):¡±As if you were really doubting your suspicions at all. Isn''t that why we are holding this meeting explicitly in the most guarded room? You are even limiting your language skill.¡± Sharp little fellow. The eldest goblin was indeed right with that. Since the moment I was made to realized that, unless the language skill is controlled properly, everyone understands what I say perfectly, I had made sure to pay more attention to and train the use of this skill. So right now only someone that spoke fluent goblin would actually understand either part of the conversation. No matter how good the Drow are, I cannot imagine them to be this quick to learn a language even if it is goblin. The reason for this was of course that I was constantly thinking about how easily the first Drows had slipped into our cave and pressed a blade to my neck. I was of course seriously doubting that they were not paying close attention to our moves. (Me):¡±Then let''s see if our thoughts align on the various points or if one has noticed something that the other did not. Starting with the plan to take out the tribes. Basically what they are saying is that they will help us reach a certain level of strength to take out and/or enslave the tribes that serve the elves. But this also implies that we cannot get too strong or we will be noticed by the field sooner or later. They will most likely use this as pretense to limit our advancement. Though speaking of which what are your thoughts on that search field. ¡± (Gobar):¡±Yes that is my thought as well. Even if we take slaves from those clans and tribes there will not be any warriors of significant strength or skill, since the Elves would have recruited those to fight on their behalf. At best we will be able to gain some decent hunters. About the search field itself¡­ I doubt that it is as much of a threat as the drow make it out to be.¡± I listened attentively to the old goblins words before arching a brow slightly. (Me):¡±Well I wonder. If it was not the case why would they not target the tribes ?¡± (Gobar):¡±Such a huge field as the Drow describe it would consume enormous amounts of mana. Even if they are Elves and even if the description of the Drow about the weakness of this field is accurate, it would be too amazing. In my opinion the ability of this field to detect beings according to their race and power should be rather vague. Most likely they would get a rough idea that maybe there is something that could meet their criteria within a certain area. But not more¡­ As for their reasons on not attacking, that would be that they need their talented personal on the frontlines and are vary of actually using important soldiers on uncertain missions. Most likely they were already in the process of formulating a long term plan to deal with the tribes but now see the opportunity to use us. If we lose soldiers it is of no consequence to them or even of advantage. ¡± (Me):¡±Yeah, I imagine that will also be the way for things to go in the real war later on. They will most likely try to maneuver us into things that will cost us a lot of soldiers. So that afterwards they are able to dispatch us much easier if they deem the need for it.¡± Gobar agreed to this as well and started drawing some things on the floor by using a stone to make the white lines. They actually looked like things about provisions and other things related to the domestic interest. Hah.. some food for the theoretical spies. I leaned over and acted as if the doodles actually made any sense while talking. (Gobar):¡±Even the plan for Golems is geared towards that. If one is prepared for them as enemies it is quite easy to deal with them unless they have a high level to support them. The same goes of course for magic. By teaching us, not only do they control what we learn, they also get knowledge about our skills and weaknesses. We need to prepare some trump cards. But for now we need to play along and prove ourselves useful to the Drow or else we have no chance.¡± I will not be the one to lift a hand against them first. But if they plot against me and my little servants then I want to have a way to fight back. After that we still discussed some ideas but it was nothing concrete yet so we switched over to actual organizational matters. We also agreed that we should keep our thoughts to ourselves, since some Goblins would surely be unable keep their animosity in check. As for the rest of that day I started with the exercises that Kalannar had explain to me. Apparently he would need to catch up on the reports that had been sent to him about the war situation since his departing. So we would begin with my training the next day. I would have loved to start on alchemy as well but I still lacked some plants. Luckily it wasn''t that hard to get a hold of this new skill just after a few hours I was rewarded.
You unlocked the skill: Spirit mana manipulation lowThe author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Well that was fast, guess the other manipulation skills helped to get this one easier. Though spirit mana really feels particular. I had tried out the new skills that I received from the Grimoire. The elements felt kind of substantial and it was a lot easier to move as I wanted. With the Spirit mana it was actually hard to even make it leave my body. When it actually did leave it dissipated much too quickly. This won''t be easy to learn and it seems to be really the only element that has to be within my body. After that I continued on to play with my manipulation skills and did all kind of things. After all I needed to get acquainted with my skills in a practical manner. To not have my mana take a change I mainly used elemental crystals as a source. What about Spirit mana you ask ? Well basically every being has Spirit mana inside itself. It is basically a part of your soul or something like that, Kalannar wasn''t clear on this topic. I had the feeling he didn''t quite understand it himself. The rest of this day mostly continued on with the only exception being that I ate and fed my little pet. That was until Gobtar returned.
Your scouts have successfully returned Map was updated with scout information Scouts brought back the following plants: Traveler¡äs Salvation Wolfshat Demon¡äs Spit Regisherb Merlax¡äs Breath Maiden¡äs Tear Morning Dew Honeypot Dream Fluxroot Eodivel Bearberry Ghost Toothwort Chirpanor Fangnettle .... Plants were added to your spawn skill.
Woa they seriously did some searching there. I went to check but they really had carried over a buttload of plants over. The list was quite long and further down there were also some more mushrooms and some more tree seeds. With this I had more than enough plants to go at my alchemy career. After complimenting and promising them the slave women¡äs first time as reward I went to my lab, leaving behind some quite happy scouting troops. Hmmm now how should I do this. After pondering a bit I decided it was time for a more extensive greenhouse with all of that. I carefully moved the farms and orchards south by one black and then spawned another layered farm above them. The first thing to do was that I took a quarter of this farm and joined the floors into one room with an entrance on each of the three layers. Into this I moved my laboratory. I then quickly built little separations into it just like in the previous greenhouses. Once that was done I spawned into each separation a different one of the new and old plants before also adding a good many into the labyrinth and the insect homes. Since the goblins had brought some live plants at well I had them carry the stuff down and into the laboratory. Here I started right away to use the samples to test out my own and the equipment''s capabilities. The end products were a few potions and poisons that were infused with some nature mana. In their effectiveness the poisons would barely be better than the stuff that I could get out of gobs veins. The potions most likely somewhat around the lowest level of actual healing spells. Well for a first try and with limited ingredients¡­ not bad. Of course this part of my Dungeon was now a big time eater over the week but it was important after all. Starting the second day I had actual lessons with Kalannar. They proved to be quite interesting as we did not just stay on the topic of magic but he also shared some information on the war situation. But to learn real magic proved to be a good bit harder than just the manipulation of mana. Actually the hardest part was to get my conscious mind in contact with the subconscious one. As human back in the old world I had no concept for this at all and never attempted such things as communicating with my inner self. I was not of the spiritual or esoteric kind of guy. After each lesson I felt as if I had a knot in my mind which was a quite unnerving feeling. This went on through all the week and this drowish teacher from hell insisted on pounding his magic teaching into me with all the persistence of a sledgehammer. But in the end it was quite worth it. Once I had gotten over the step of picking up communication it actually progressed quite quickly.
Unlocked the skill: Mind magic low
This was my personal highlight for the week. Of course the degree of effects I could cause with the low ranked magic was very limited. It mostly consisted of magic¡äs such as the ¡®Calming Touch¡¯ or other such minor effects. But it gave me actually a much greater reward. Namely I understood how magic was constructed. It was not unlike programming something on a computer just using my unconscious mind as the calculating hardware. Especially it cleared up some things that I had learned from the enchantment skill before. Anyway, still on the second day the scouts returned with a few new additions to our home.
Your scouts have successfully returned Map was updated with scout information Scouts subdued the species: Giant mountain Rabbit Scouts unlocked the skill up to the level: Trapping mid Sling handling high Scouts unlocked the class: Apprentice Hunter
Well well they sure worked hard again. Rabbits huh? Perfect. I hope they do multiply as quickly as the ones on Earth. The name pretty much gave away everything that there was to know about the beasts. It was huge. The goblins actually were carrying one each and as such they had brought back 6 of them. Luckily it was a ratio of 4 females to 2 males. Of course I right away went about to make a new home for these fellas next to the farms. It was basically just like any other home block just that it consisted completely of grassy floors and some hills. They seemed to be happy enough with that. As for the unlocked class, it was actually quite useful.
Apprentice Hunter The most common providers of food in a tribe. Requirements: Hunt a prey for food Trapping skill 1 ranged combat skill Stealth skill Detection skill Bonuses: Heightened Senses Strengthened Hunter skills
That description is kind of mean¡­Well I guess it is true that hunters are a pretty common thing. Still¡­ I was slightly stumped by it but then again the effects of the class seemed to be pretty useful. Some of the goblins asked to be allowed to take that class after it was unlocked and I agreed. After all it seemed like they would offer useful abilities on the plan to get the tribes. The rest of the week I did my best to get the production of potions and other goods flowing towards the trade with the Drow and they seemed quite happy with how things were going. They even brought over several large glass flasks for transportation of the liquid goods I was producing. Not that the quality was actually that good, but ever potion could help in their war efforts to get more soldiers treated and back on their feet. Speaking of soldiers there was one more thing I built for my troops training regime. (Me):¡±Well then Gobtar, Vierna¡­What do you think ?¡± The two people were looking around curiously and inspected my new creation. I had taken 4 blocks and converted them into a wood area. It was made to resemble what I had seen outside. Plenty of trees and all sorts of plants were put out randomly and accelerated in their growth until they had reached an acceptable degree of height and development. Of course there were also sources of water sprinkled across the area. I will have to put some of the rabbits in here later when there are plenty of them. (Vierna):¡±It seems a bit excessive. But I guess it serve well as a training area to train actual combat situation between army forces.¡± I nodded pleased since Gobtar nodded agreeingly as well. I was no military genius as such, but I knew at least that conventional strategies were of little use in a real wood area. Why? Because you cannot use formations or for that matter really march inside a forest as primal as this one. It was imperative to train ambushes and detecting enemy ones. (Me):¡±I will let some rabbits take residence within the forest as well. The younger goblins can get a feeling for the hunting then.¡± The two of them offered some suggestions as well as we strolled through the wood. They also reported various things to me. (Me):¡±So the goblins are far enough to start the attacks on the tribes?¡± (Vierna):¡±Yes they are. Gobtar¡äs unit especially has grown quite proficient in the use of wind elemental mana to reduce their sounds to almost nothing. They also learned how to hide their smell which will be crucial on most beast type clans. At least a trial run should be initiated with some of our soldiers accompanying them. There should be a couple of tribes that send their members out of the detection field far enough for us to be of assistance and to prevent the worst case. ¡± That sounded good enough to me and I approved for them to start planning the first expedition. Though the condition was added for them to bring back as many tribesman as possible alive. The slaves that we had so far had begun to do simple work in the farms, but they still looked more dead than alive. I guess my pet has recovered the best out of them all since I have taken personal care of her. My elf seemed to slowly get comfortable in her position. Over the course of the week I had spent some time with her each day bringing her meals and treating her in a manner befitting of her status. She still seemed reluctant, but since it was leagues better than what she had experienced before she actually begun to warm up to me. With her it was also that the last major event of this week took place. A Messenger came to me from the Drows. (Messenger):¡±The Ambassador wishes to inform you that the special packet arrived according to your specific wishes. ¡± Wonderful ! Now this will become real good entertainment. Chapter 21.5: The first sin, Lust Well then, it took me a while to complete this chapter partly because of personal reasons but also due to rewriting parts of this a couple of times. It¡äs my first time actually writing out such a scene, but I hope I sufficiently conveyed everything that I wanted to. If it goes right I might release the next chapter today as well. Anyway enjoy ! Warning: Sexual, Violence, Blood
My special package had arrived. This was what I had been looking forward to all week long. When I received the message I headed over to the Drow quarters. The goblins were already busy with the newly arrived goods, but that was of no interest for me at all right now. Arriving at the spell circle I saw that Kalannar was standing at the side with my package at his side which was flanked by two other drow. (Me):¡±I see you have it ! Very good.¡± The Drow ambassador regarded me for a while before he nodded and I was handed over the leash attached to a woman¡äs iron collar. (Kalannar):¡±Yes, it wasn''t easy but the potions opened some doors. Just to be sure¡­ I will have Vierna accompany you. If this one actually escaped it would spell out a lot of trouble for all of us. ¡± Oh yes you heard right. The package was a woman. She was dressed in the same ragged and baglike clothing as the slaves I had gotten previously. The difference was that as much as I could see, she was in a much better state than the others. Not that I was completely sure about it, since her head was hidden under a bag as well, but I had given Kalannar some specific demands for this one. With a rough yank on the chain leash I made the new slave walk with me and Vierna followed right behind. Specially for this I had a room prepared inside one of the unused blocks to the south. Far enough off from the other places so that there would be no one really overhearing what was going on. It was a simple build, really. Flat stone walls and floors with the room having enough place to be around 10 meters in diameter. The only noticeable thing was a stone pillar in the center that was as thick as a tree. I had Vierna tie the woman against the pillar with her back pressed on the cold surface. (Me):¡±Well then let''s see who we have here.¡± With those words I roughly yanked the bag off her head. What came into view was a really beautiful face. Sharp edges, soft mouth, large blue eyes and all of it framed by cascades of a light blond hair. Of course the long and pointed ears did not do anything to diminish that either. The only thing that was a bit off putting was the fact that a cloth gag was stuffed and secured in her mouth with a rope, as well as the pure hate in her eyes. Without doubt she wanted me to drop dead right this moment. Simply perfect... (Me):¡±I love her. Get the bitch naked and that gag out of her mouth if you''d please. I will get the other actor of this story. ¡± Vierna seemed to be quite confused at this but she still went towards the Elf to do my bidding. Just as I was stepping out of the cave , the gag got out of her mouth¡­ oh the profanities. Elves really have that thing with insulting one''s ancestors going. With quick steps I went towards my cave and rushed in, which startled my pet a bit. But after all she was now used to my presence. I had spoken to her a couple of times, shared stories of the past and such to build a bit more of a relation. (Quimoira):¡±What''s going on?¡± She still was not quite comfortable with being naked around so she was still trying to conceal her body some with her arms and legs. But not as fervently as she had done so in the beginning. My¡­ care, had helped her body recover some. The food had put some flesh on her bones which was sorely needed. Of course just one week was far from enough to actually make her recover completely. But it was a good beginning. I will have to see if Gobar can do something about those scars though¡­ well that is for another time, (Me):¡±Come with me. It is time to make your choice¡± Her eyes widened at my words but she got up and did follow me out. The goblins of course all looked at us with curiosity, but I had made sure no one would interrupt us on the way. I led Quimoira towards the cave where the newest guest was residing. Vierna was actually standing at the entrance and just gave a nod as we went in. (Me):¡±Well then Quimoira, I think it has been a while since you saw someone like this. ¡± As I said that and she saw who was standing at the pillar she actually froze. At my words the other Elf of course noticed us as well and her hate seemed to be even intensifying. (Elf):¡±A dirty mongrel and a monster. What a fitting pair !¡± Those words made Quimoira actually twitch as if she had been hit. It was obvious that she was relieving the trauma she had gone through at the hands of the Elves in the past. I left my pet where she was standing and slowly paced through the room as if I was taking a closer look at her naked body. (Me):¡±Hoh so you know my pet?¡± (Elf):¡±Who hasn''t seen her! She was paraded around the capital plenty of times. Pet¡­ oh I bet she has been waving her holes around for you plenty of times. A mongrel will stay a mongrel forever.¡± Holy shit¡­ does that arrogant bitch even get what situation she is in ? Those words were then actually followed by an arrogant sneer that she threw towards the shivering mess, that was my pet. (Elf):¡±So you made a deal with the Drow to get something better than her huh? You monsters all want the same thing after all. Don¡ät think you can make me bow to you like that whore over there !¡± Nope¡­ What is even going on in her head? Ah she most likely thinks that she is some kind of hotly sought after price that I obtained painstakingly from the drow¡­Well she is not wrong. But I bet she did not think that this would be what should would be used for. The attitude of the Elf surprised me beyond anything I had encountered yet. She was in this kind of situation and still showed no restraint at all. But I had heard enough of her anyways. With some rough movements I stuffed the gag back into her mouth.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. (Me):¡±It is time Quimoira.¡± I turned around to her and stepped aways from the bound Elf. I approached the still shivering pet and put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes, that had been fixed onto the floor, snapped back to me when I touched her. (Me):¡±I told you that you would have to make a decision. Now that moment has come. ¡± She let out a sad laugh at my words and shook her head. (Quimoira):¡±So what choice do I even have?! Be your pet or a breeding toy for your whole goblin tribe? What choice is that ! I have no freedom either way. ¡± In response to her words I pulled out a blade from behind. It was one a black chitin dagger from the drows. The curve of the sharp edge gleamed slightly in the light as I held it up into her view. Her reaction was fear at first before changing into wonder as I turned the weapon over to her with the handle first. (Me):¡±I will tell you what your choices are. Either you stay a victim forever¡­ or you choose to make a place for yourself in this world. One that will not be taken so easily from you again.¡± I pushed the handle of the blade into her hand as I spoke and she gripped it tightly on reflex. She looked at me with a face that expressed all of her confusion quite strongly. So I pointed towards the Elf. (Me):¡±Look at her eyes, that is the way people will always look at you¡­ a half blood¡­ the child of a whore for the demons.¡± Oh my words hurt her deeply as she gazed at the woman. I did not even need to look that way to know that the arrogant bitch was still glaring at us with that arrogant malice in her eyes. But that would do just fine for me. I suddenly reached up and grabbed Quimoira¡äs chin to make her focus back on me. (Me):¡±Outside that is¡­ in here, as my pet. You will have a home. You will have power because you belong to me then. As my pet you have a place, a family and someone that will take care of you. All you have to do is to give me everything. Every drop of your blood, every strand of your hair and your very soul. Give me yourself and I shall give you a place, power and revenge.¡± The stunned look on her face was quite delightful.After I had finished my little speech I stepped to the side and gave her a slight push towards the Elf. Her movements were now just like those of a sleepwalkers until she stood right in front of the other woman. Of course the Elf saw and heard what was going on. If looks could kill we all would be dead by thunder right now. The gag muffled most of her words but there was no doubt that she was cursing us over and over. Quimoira meanwhile simply stood there, clutching both hands around the dagger''s handle as she stared with eyes wide open onto the Elf. (Me):¡±I will return in an hour. By then¡­ well I want to see your answer on the Elf. What you do with her is your decision. But if I don''t see a treatment on her befitting of an enemy, I will take it as you rejecting my offer. ¡± I left behind the two women walking in a leisure pace until the muffled protests faded out. I was already quite looking forward to how this experiment would turn out. (Vierna):¡±What do you actually plan to do with her? She is broken and this will only break her even more. ¡± I smiled and gave the Drow an amused look. (Me):¡±Why, of course exactly what I said. But on one thing you are wrong. If she makes the right decision it will make her whole. In a different way, but still whole and she will have a place to call home. If you are curious, keep a watch on her.¡± Well then, time for a quick meal. I went to the cooking place right away and had the goblins whip something up for me real quick. I spent my time in leisure, giving some orders out to the goblins here and there. I even did a quick inspection on the progress of the crafting team before I went back towards the cave. Oh? Vierna did go in to watch then huh ? I came to an empty entrance and passed leisurely through the tunnel. What I found on the other side¡­ to be honest even startled me for a moment. (Vierna):¡±Was this what you were hoping for?¡± A dry question came from the side but I paid no attention to her right now. With slow steps I walked towards the pillar and took in the sight before me with something akin to awe. It was like a bizarre scene of a martyr''s death. There was crimson everywhere. It was splattered all over the pale body kneeling on the stone floor. It drew lines all over her skin and pooled beneath her victim, the blade I had given her lying discarded in a puddle between them. Her lips were twisted in a grin and her eyes fixed on the bound Elf. I approached until there were only a few steps between me and them. (Me):¡±It seems you enjoyed yourself with her.¡± I was surprised at my own tone. It was completely calm and neutral. Just then I realized that I was indeed surveying the entire scene as if it was a scene of art. My words were answered with a giggle that actually sent a shiver down my spine. Oh no I was not scared¡­ I was thrilled. (Quimoira):¡±Yes, Master¡­ I guess I should call you that now? or not? Right I don¡ät know your decision yet. Maybe you will discard me like everyone else after using me for your entertainment? ¡± As she spoke she reached forward and grabbed the blade, letting the sharp tip slide up along the other woman¡äs leg. It actually incited a pitiful whimper of fear from the previously so arrogant bitch. (Quimoira):¡± I didn''t know what to do at first¡­ so I took out her gag. She was all that what High Elves always are¡­ arrogant¡­big mouthed¡­ she looked down on me even now. It made me angry¡­ so very angry.¡± She sliced a few times across the Elf¡äs body, adding a few more lines to the ones that had been carved into the flesh before. (Quimoira):¡±Then it all came out¡­ the rage.. the hurt.. I wanted her to suffer, to suffer like I had at their hands¡­ and she did.¡± Oh she indeed had. I took a closer look at the Elf. There were countless slice wounds all over her body, none of them deep enough to be a real danger. But surely painful. This seemed like a side note though with what had happened to her face. It was beaten to a bruised pulp and even there were traces of the blade left behind. The ears had holes in them, the hair looked as if it had been pulled out with brute force. From what I saw right now there were bruises forming on her chest and stomach as well as between her legs. She had not held back at all. With a sudden motion Quimoira twirled around and looked over her own body, taking in her own bloodsoaked self before she raised her gaze again and I could see that there were actually streaks of tears mixed in with all the drying blood. She had broken, she was right on the edge of insanity. (Me):¡±Why did you not kill her ?¡± I asked her a single question as I stepped closer, fixing my gaze onto her eyes. She dropped the blade and pressed her palms against my chest as if to steady herself before she answered. (Quimoira):¡±Because she has not suffered enough yet¡­ none of them have for what they did. I am sure you will have some good uses for her. I want to see her suffer more... ¡± Her voice changed into a high pitched tone and her grip tightened up on my clothing as she spoke. I was surprised at the strength that she could actually put into those slender fingers. (Quimoira):¡±So what now ?! Was it just a fun game for you ? Will you throw me away now that you had your fun?! Now that I am broken and bloody? When I threw away everything ! TELL...¡± She was despairing, her expression derailed completely. She feared that even after she let herself this far she would not have a place again. I didn''t let her finish. With a deep grin I pulled her to me, a soft sound of surprisal spilled from her lips right a moment before I sealed them with my own in a deep kiss. I no longer held myself back. I let my lust run wild as we shared this kiss that tasted like iron. with a rough motion I grabbed her and pulled her closer to me. (Me):¡±Oh it was fun my pet¡­ and it will be much more fun in the future. I like your answer, I accept you. You are mine. ¡± After that there was no more talking for a long time. There was wonder at first in her eyes. Then she suddenly threw herself against me with crazed fervor. I had made myself her anchor and she wanted me. A primal lust had ignited in us both. Her mouth sought mine and as I permitted her kiss after kiss for a while I let my hands explore and play with her slippery body for a bit. A sudden sting of pain brought me a bit back. The little bitch had bitten my lip ! With a deep growl I grabbed her at the back of her neck and pulled her off me, pushing her down to her knees first before pressing her further down until her cheek was pressed against the stone beneath us. She struggled a few moments before she went still with soft mewling sounds spilling from her, the curves of her raised ass swaying slowly in an enticing way. Oh this bitch totally went into heat. I licked the rest of the blood from my lips and suddenly brought my free hand between her legs. She was dripping wet already and the soft sounds grew much more agitated as I teased her to my liking. She grinded herself against every motion I made on her, spurring me on to take her with a teasing smile on her lips. I still remember, being surprised that she struggled against my grip only to submit again as soon as I pushed her down. I flipped her onto her back, my hand now holding her throat, just above the collar. I could feel the rapid beat of her pulse under my fingers and hear the gasps as she struggled for air. But her eyes were focused and clear, even inviting and daring me and they had changed to a deep crimson color with a snake like pupil. Now look at that¡­ my pet is showing her true colors. I felt my lips split into a gleeful grin and she responded in kind, arching her body up in a ¡®come get me¡¯ motion. Not that I needed an invitation, but who could say no to such a thing. I raked my nails across her body and delighted in the mix of pained and pleased sighs i elicited from her mouth. The feeling of her feverish skin under my fingers as I ravaged her body and the way she pressed against my touches was exhilarating. Soon I lost all control over myself. Everything became a blur of raw pleasure and violence. There was only a mix of sensations and impressions as we went at each other like animals. The sound of bodies colliding, moans and growls both in pain and utter thrill laden lust. I have no idea how long we spent together in this cave. It was my first time to fully enjoying myself in such a way and it felt as if every safety in my mind had come loose. Something was driving me on and on to take out all of my carnal desires right now on this pet of mine and I did so over and over again. At some points there were some blue windows popping up, but I simply waved them off or completely ignored them. There was no rational thinking anymore in this mess of growling and moaning. I think it only ended when we had expended our bodies so completely that we dropped unconscious against each other, everything fading to a blissful darkness. Chapter 21.6: Those in the shadow and those in the light (???):¡±This concludes the report on the activities within the dungeon.¡± After reading the contents of the scroll in his hands a drow soldier saluted and left the large hall. This gigantic construct was entirely made of stone with large pillars supporting its ceiling. The whole thing had a kind of rough elegance to it, though it had clearly seen better days. There were signs or ruination all around the, once in the past surely impressive looking, building. Right now it looked somewhat bleak with just some magical crystals that sparsely lit the large wooden table in the center. The deep brown table was a masterly crafted piece had a mirror like polished surface and reflected the light onto the people gathered. There were seated around 20 figure. Each one wore a luxurious robe of a uniformly cut robe in black color. The only visible difference between their clothing was that the decorations were of different style. The embroidery of those at the tail end was made of silvery thread while there was increasingly more golden color and more complex patterns the closer it got to the head end. The one that presided over the table finally had a luxurious golden dragon that coiled graciously all over the robe. All of them had their hoods pulled deep in their faces, not really to hide their identity from each other but it had simply become a custom to do so since the time after the curse. (Hooded figure 1):¡±Are we sure that we should let this go on as it has? We should keep in mind that this dungeon could present a possible danger in the future. It''s also not good to leave it in the hands of one responsible. He clearly wants to use the dungeon for his own purposes and for that let¡äs it grow recklessly. Even a grimoire was handed to it ! A more level headed and careful person should be put in charge...¡± A deep but feminine voice spoke out after a moment of silence. The words were laced with a cold edge, were spoken by the person to the right of the head end. Even through the heavy cloth of the robe one could see the curves of a female body beneath it that sat in perfect upright posture upon the simple wooden chair. But she was opposed right away by the one opposite of her. (Hooded figure 2):¡±Oh give me a break you coward. You are just all pissed about Kalannar succeeding and your brothers plan backfiring on him. I say we should be happy the bigger that thing gets ! Hell it already started pumping out a nice amount of food for our troops ! ¡± The one that spoke up was a complete opposite to the previous speaker. A massive frame that spoke with a rough tone with which he sneered at the woman. (Hooded figure 1):¡±My brothers project has nothing to do with this. It is a real threat to our future if the dungeon gets out of hand. Admittedly we are in dire need of resources, but we can still tolerate some loss¡­.¡± The woman''s tone had changed to an even frostier tone as she spoke back but was interrupted in the middle by the man suddenly jumping from his seat and slamming a huge fist down on the table with enough force to make it creak in protest. (Hooded figure 2):¡±I dare you say a word more you bitch! Tolerable losses huh?! How about you switch out my troops on the frontline and see how fun it is to see them die one after another because they aren''t getting enough supplies! We all know that dungeons are not almighty! It will take a long time before it is any real threat to us.¡± The boiling anger of the man sent a wave of feelable pressure all through the hall, but it seemed like the people here were already used to such exchanges as they seemed to not be startled in the slightest. Just some silent exchanges took place between the present ones. Suddenly the person in the dragon robe held a hand up and everyone went quiet at once. (Dragon Robe):¡± Both sides have a truth to it. But there will be no progress if the two High Elders continue with their conflict. High Elder Zilvarra, if your brothers project had succeeded we would have more leeway in which methods we can employ. But for now we need the dungeon, losses to our troops are not acceptable. As such we will not take measures to block its growth for now. On the other hand High Elder Ilztrar should keep in mind that this is indeed a possibly dangerous existence and as such we need to use prudence in every action that we undertake with it. You will send a few more soldiers to reinforce the troops stationed there.¡± The massive body of High Elder Ilztrar sat back onto the chair as the calm but commanding words were spoken with an androgynous voice that, in combination with the robes made it hard to determine whether this person was male or female. It was obvious that both parties were not happy with the conclusion but it seemed that they did not dare to oppose this person even in the slightest. After this there were some other issues presented and decisions were made after some discussions, but none made for any outbursts as the matter of the dungeon. (Dragon Robe):¡±With this the Elder Council is completed. Everyone should return to their posts and fulfill their duties. We still have a long way ahead before us to get rid of the elves and regain peace for our people.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. All of the elders stood up on those words and bowed before they turned for one of the various exits that connected the large hall to the tunnel system that had once belonged to the dwarves. High Elder Ilztrar walked with a brisk pace and passed through a smaller side entrance behind which was already a drow, dressed in the usual soldier gear waiting for him. As Ilztrar passed by he followed closely behind him in silence until they were further away from the hall. (Ilztrar):¡±That bitch is surely going to do something stupid. Make sure that everyone that gets sent to the dungeon is checked thoroughly for anything suspicious and make sure that some people keep watch on her and her closest aids.¡± The soldier nodded in understanding and as a branch appeared in the tunnel he changed course and jogged off to get the orders to the needed people. Ilztrar meanwhile continued on straight and grumbled to himself. (Ilztrar):¡±Idiots all of them, the stalemate made them relax too much just because they dont directly experience any hardships. Now they only think about increasing their own standing. If a bitch like that is left to run wild we will tear us up from the inside. ¡± He had been suspicious of Zilvarra ever since they first met. Her competitors often had ended up in unfortunate events and he had no doubt that she used any means necessary to pull anyone into her camp that she deemed important enough. But there had never been any proof that he could have used to throttle her rise to the seat of a High Elder. With his thoughts focused on the problem that this woman presented to him he vanished into the darkness of the deeper tunnels. At around the same time in a totally different place Laughter and bickering was heard. The entire place was filled with the aromas of various extravagant meals and drinks filled the air. From above the sun fell through the slowly swaying leaves and fell upon a scenery that reminded of a festival. Everywhere you looked people enjoyed their life to the fullest. They had all reason to of course. After all they were in the heart of the elven Kingdom. The Green Lounge, a place for the high and mighty. Atop the greatest tree inside the forests heart was a large space, protected and surrounded by the strong branches and covered in soft moss. The people here lay, danced, ate and did whatever else they pleased clothed in vibrantly colored togas and adorned by precious jewelry. There was even a small lake in the center where the High Elves could enjoy a bath. The only people that were not relishing all of life''s pleasure were the slaves of various races that had to scurry between to refill the plates and goblets of their masters. Upon a flowery decorated platform close to the lake was a richly carved throne with two slightly less imposing chairs right next to it. On this throne sat the ruler of all elves. Clothed in a toga of pure crimson and snow white, that displayed a lean body with a slightly tanned body. A golden crown, inlaid with various gems, was placed on atop the smooth, emerald colored hair which was the unique trait of the royal house. Right now the king was leaned slightly to the side, the clean cut lines of his face showed a look of contemplation as the green eyes were locked on a young woman that sat on the seat to his left. (Princess):¡±And so I was thinking that I want to try and crossbreed some of the slaves. Maybe that will make them a bit more pleasing to the eyes. Would you gift me with some young ones from every tribe please?¡± This request, which was brought forth in a childlike manner, caused the king to laugh amused and stroke his daughter''s hair. Out of all his children she resembled him the most in appearance and personality. She was hailed as the most beautiful of the High Elves as she had inherited an impeccable, slender body and a pure white skin. Just like her father she wore mainly crimson and some golden accessories. (King):¡±Of course, I will have a troop of soldiers go out and collect from those barbarians. ¡± Right away he called over an attendant and relayed his orders but he was interrupted as someone called out. (???):¡±Lord Father! We cannot take even more from the tribes. If this goes on they will collapse under the weight what we demand for them.¡± With a sigh the elven sovereign turned towards the quickly approaching figure of a different elven woman. In contrast to all the other people she wore a simple cut toga, though it was still of crimson color and there were no accessories at all. The biggest difference to the people on the thrones though were surely that her hair was by far less intensive colored. (King):¡±Nyna, you sweet child. You resemble your Mother too much. You should really learn from your sister a bit on how to enjoy life. Those pests can be happy that we even take notice of them. We bring order and culture into their lives. If they have to work a bit harder and part with some things in exchange it is surely worth it for them.¡± (Princess):¡±You hear that sis ? You should listen to father and stop dabbling into my fun if you don''t want to join in.¡± A cheer broke out under the closer Elves that heard the king''s words and they begun to toast to his health and rule. Nyna¡äs heart shaped face darkened as she frowned and shot her gleeful sister a angry look. It had always been difficult between the two girls and conflict arose wherever they came across each other. (Nyna):¡±Father haven''t you listened to the general Magran? The Drow are growing more active again. If the war breaks out again it will be too much for the tribes to support even that. A more prudent approach might be fitting.¡± (King):¡±Those pests are in their last throes! They are cut off from most resources. They can''t trade with the human and they have no more allies. You both are worrying too much. Why do you even listen to that old fossil? If it weren''t for his house''s heritage i would have long since sent him into retirement. ¡° A dismissive wave of the king''s hand and some bored sounding words were all that the daughter earned from her father. She tried to argue a few more times but was shot down each and every time. She had to watch as the instructions were passed on to the attendants and knew that soon a troop of elf soldiers would move out and take from the tribes once more. In the end she sat down on the other side of her father and observed all the decadence of her brethren. She was one of the few High Elves that had not fallen to the temptation of their position. She had even made some friends under the tribes people and hated to seem their families get exploited by her own kind. But right now there was not much she could do. Almost all the old houses were firmly behind the King and enjoyed all the benefits that came with his rule. But she was still determined to not leave things as they are now. Chapter 22: A pet reborn and a headache ensuing Oh fuck my head is killing me. I woke up the next day with a pounding headache. With a deep groan I opened my eyes and wanted to get up. But as soon as I actually tried to move, it became very obvious that this was not the only thing hurting. Owww¡­Ok note to myself¡­fucking and sleeping on a stone floor is not the best of all ideas. It took some time before I had gotten over my dazed state to actually begin and move my body slowly. With careful movements I sat up and begun to orient myself. The first thing I noted was that the elf was still tied to the pillar. Since she seemed to still breath I assumed she fainted. Her body was covered by the blood from last night. It had formed crusts all over and made for quite the ghastly sight. (Quimoira):¡±Good morning, Master¡± If I had not been in such a state I would have most likely jumped at the sudden greeting. I recognized the voice of course but something about it had changed completely. Whenever I had heard the pet speak before there had been some fear or hesitation in it. Now it was a like a melody with a hint of teasing in it. Isn''t that a bit too much change for one night ? With such a thought I wanted to turn around but I was grabbed firmly at the shoulders by smooth, slender fingers. (Quimoira):¡±Your pet would appreciate it if you gave it a moment before you take a look at me, Master. ¡± It took a moment for me to process what was going on. But it must have been answer enough for Quimoira since her fingers right away began to slide over my back and caressed it in a manner that sent pleasant shivers all over me. Just like a professional masseuse she worked on the hardened muscles that were plaguing me with pain while she spoke. (Quimoira):¡±Master should probably take a look at what he missed last night. It was the same with his pet. Lost in the ¡­moment.¡± At her words I arched a brow but then remembered that there were indeed some blue windows that I had wiped away in the¡­fun of last night. As soon as I thought of them they sprang up in my vision again as if they had impatiently waited for their turn. Oh well¡­. let''s see what we got this time.
You pleased Goddess Sutara the demonic Goddess of corruption. As reward she bestows on you the title: Corrupter
(Me):¡±Huh¡­ damn seems we got the attention of a dangerous sounding Lady.¡± I said so with an annoyed tone. I knew that in such a world I would surely sooner or later come in contact with some godly people. But who knew it would be this soon. Apparently this had been enough for Quimoira since she begun to move. Her hands left me as she stood up. After a few moments I could hear the soft steps of bare foot on the stone floor as she walked around me and finally came into view. I could only stare in wonder at the first moment. I had seen the goblins go through big and small changes during their evolutions. But Quimoira certainly had the most impressive one so far. The first thing to catch the eye was the bloody crimson color that her hair had changed into. The stubble, that had grown over her time in the dungeon, changed into a hand length. Of course it was all messed up which gave her a pretty wild impression. From beneath that fiery storm I could actually see two elf ears. They had actually regrown! Though they were not the usual kind. They seemed somewhat sharper around the edges and the tip had a blackish coloring. Realizing what that would mean I looked her over quickly. Indeed, all the scars and blemishes that the elves had inflicted on her had similarly vanished with the only exception being that she still was too thin. All that I saw now was pure, white skin that stretched over a teasingly posing and shifting body, she seemed to enjoy herself as I took in the sight. The only place where her skin was not white was her hands. The nails of her fingers were of a similar crimson as her hair and ended in pretty sharp looking tips. Meanwhile the skin there had changed to a deep black that extended up towards her forearms where it slowly dissipated in smoke like tendrils which went up to her shoulders. (Quimoira):¡±Does it please the Master to see his new pet?¡± My observations were suddenly interrupted with her question. My gaze moved back up and this was the part that astounded me the most. I had always been sure that she could be a thoroughly beautiful woman if not for her past. But now I was proven right. What I saw now was a cute, heart shaped face. Deep red lips curled into a smile as that seemingly lit up her whole being and her nearly ice blue eyes were locked onto me firmly. The whole change in look and personality was simply overwhelming. Can someone really change that much with one evolution ? I asked myself this, but as I kept on looking I soon realized that it was not really the case. Her movements, although teasing and showing off, still went stiff at certain moments. The expression in her face shadowed with flickers of uncertainness as I remained still, though she did a good job to hide most of it. Ahh that is it¡­.. it¡äs just like a skill... her nature of a demon. I was pretty sure that I had hit the nail when I came to that conclusion. At that point I tried to use my skill to have a look at her status but I was suddenly hit by a firm headache and crouched for a moment while holding onto my head with a grown. I was startled by this and quickly cancelled the skill. My pet as well, as she saw me go down like that hurried over. (Quimoira):¡±Master? What is wrong ?¡± (Me):¡±Ah nothing, it seems I am a little bit too tired still. ¡± I answered her and waved off, which was when I saw a new mark on the back of my hand. It looked like a thorn circle. Confused I kept staring at it and slowly turned my hand until I heard a chuckle from Quimoira. (Quimoira):¡±It seems Master did not quite finish with everything new? Your pet was told that everything would be explained. ¡± I shot her a glance and saw that she was pointing at her throat, where two similar black thornvine marks formed a circle much like a tattooed collar. Huh wait ? Where did the slave collar go ! It seemed that there was still much more so I quickly went to the next blue window.
For your deed of corrupting an half elf you are rewarded by Goddess Sutara The Demonic Elf Quimoira joins your dungeon. The Demonic Elf Quimoira has agreed to become a divine vow bound slave.
I was slightly confused at the whole thing. But there was one part that I was most concerned about. (Me):¡±So what does it mean that you are now a divine vow whatever? Also it seems you know some things. Explain.¡± At my remark she smiled slightly and stroked over her throat, the fingertips caressing along the lines of her imprinted mark. (Quimoira):¡±After my evolution the Goddess appeared in my dream. She talked with me about various things. She mentioned that you, Master, had aroused her interest. She does not like the elven gods and seemed fit to give a little boon to your actions. This mark is basically a divine version of the collar and locked onto you personally. You should be able to control it much like a spell but it cannot be transferred, broken or traded unless another god steps in forcefully. With this my life lays in your hands.¡± I listened to her explanation attentively. At the end she knelt in front of me and bowed her head down. Well to have a naked woman like that kneel in front of you is pretty stimulating¡­ but.. Oh damn¡­. a demonic goddess is interested in what I do. Well I already assumed so from the title but... Why do I not like the sound of that? Oh well as long as she does not interfere too much it should be fine. There were still some things to ask and some blue windows left it seems but I suddenly let out a huge sneeze and shivered. Only then I realized how cold it felt right now. It would be better to get going and warm up some.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. (Me):¡±Let''s move, I need a hot bath to go over the other stuff. Besides someone should take some care of the elf before she dies.¡± Quimoira quickly stood up and helped me on the way out With my muscles still being stiff and sore I most likely did not make all that of an impressive figure to the goblin guards that were waiting outside. Surely Gobar, the old busybody, had told them to stay there in case that anything happened that required help. The two goblins stared wide eyed at my pet, but soon enough realized that they were in front of their lord and bowed in greeting. Well let''s not have his kindness go unused. (Me):¡±One of you tell the ones cooking to bring two portions of food to the baths. The other get some help and carry the elf inside there to the laboratory. No need to be too particular about her. Just make sure she doesn''t die and such. Ask Gobar for direction on that.¡± After issuing my orders to the goblins we right away paced towards the bath, ignoring of course all the open stares that were coming from the sides. I really wanted that bath and without much ado we barged in and I right away zoomed in on my pool. I kind of regretted now that I had made it the highest one. But a King has to uphold some appearance and all that. (Me):¡±Ahh¡­. hot shit, this is what I need after that night...¡± Well health before appearance had always been a good motto. With such words and a relieved sigh I settled into the steaming pool and stretched out. A soft laugh came from the side and with another splash Quimoira got inside as well, placing herself right besides myself. A light purr spilled from her lips as she leaned her head on my shoulder and pulled one leg across my midsection. As such I had the most pleasing bath time in my life. After satisfyingly ogling the treat I was given it was time to look through the rest of my messages.
Congratulations you have a new species Demonic Elf You have more than one species with differing language Common Language unlocked
Hmmm well that is quite handy. I suppose it would be really an organizational problem. Pretty handy this stuff. Though how does this Common language thing work ?
The Common Language was bestowed upon the world by the God King. Every race with a patron God or that is part of a dungeon will be able to speak it.
Truly a useful thing. I guess that fucks the poor sops that do not have either of those options even more. No wonder the Goblins were looked down upon. This language must be like a badge of the VIP club. By the way.... aren¡ät you a bit arbitrary with the information you give out? Well no matter¡­ let¡äs go on.
You reached level 5 You gained: 3 Skill points 1 Evolution point
You reached level 5 Evaluation process is beginning All dungeon activities are restrained. Calculating¡­. You still have 5 Skill points 3 Evolution points available. Calculation is stopped until all points are spent.
Gah¡­What''s that ? Evaluation? What the hell is that supposed to be? Oh well seems I will have to get to that. But I should first make sure the goblins are taken care off. Who knows how long i''ll be sleeping this time. With that in mind I returned to enjoy the bath. Soon enough a few goblins marched in with plenty of food being carried between them. At the mere sight of it my stomach already begun to growl. The best part of it all was that we didn''t even have to get out of the water. Although the goblins seemed to be somewhat apprehensive of my pet they still dutifully served us both with meals and drinks until we had enough. Thoroughly stuffed and with the warmth of the water I soon began to get drowsy. Sadly a certain someone came with work now. (Gobar):¡±It gladdens me to see that the Lord is enjoying himself, but there are pressing matters to take care of. ¡± On the slightly sharp tone of the old crook I sighed and looked at him. I hadn''t even heard his staff on the stone floor. But of course I had been a bit too distracted. (Me):¡±Well that is right indeed. Did anything happen meanwhile ?¡± (Gobar):¡±The preparations for the first subjugation have concluded. Vierna has helped us with the organization and together with Gobtar she has selected the best scouts we have at disposal.¡± Ah¡­ right there was something.. I couldn''t help but cringe slightly at the mention of the Drow. I had not seen her when I woke up and I had no idea how much she had seen. But seems she left soon enough to help. I decided to just gloss over this and go on. (Me):¡±Good good, with kitty in tow they should be quite a force for an ambush.¡± (Gobar):¡±Lord¡­ the kitty is not within the dungeon currently. She left due to the beginning mating season a while ago. I had assumed you knew. Females of her species will around this time of the year invade various territories of their male counterparts and challenge them in combat until they find a satisfying partner. ¡± So that''s why I had not seen her around¡­ right I didn''t even notice with everything going on. I really have to step up my game. Just hope she comes back fine. Sounds like a pretty crazy mating season though. (Me):¡±I see¡­ in that case it should be fine to begin the expedition tomorrow. Make sure that they have everything they need. I might be sleeping for a while. Some kind of evaluation seems to take place after the last level up.¡± Gobar frowned slightly as he heard that but nodded. It seems like he didn''t know anything about this either. So we went on with other topics. (Gobar):¡±The elf has been taken care off and left within the laboratory. She was cleaned, fed and the most serious wounds were treated to maintain her life.¡± (Me):¡±Very good Gobar, I will shortly after the bath go there. I have a lot of things to do anyway before I go through the evaluation thing. Anything that needs my attention should be brought up before I tun in for the night.¡± The old guy remained silent for a while before he turned his look to Quimoira. It was obvious that he was thinking about how to phrase his words. (Me):¡±Out with it Gobar, you are curious about the pet aren''t you? She has opened up to her darker ancestry.¡± I actually saw a twitch on his eyebrow when I spoke those words. It was obvious that he seemed to fear the demonic part. But as always he had a rather good poker face about it. All the opposite to Quimoira. She actually grasped my shoulder firmer and it was obvious that the question brought some anxiety to her mind. (Gobar):¡±That much is obvious, Lord. But how do you wish proceed with her¡­ and how should she be treated from now on. As your Lady? ¡± I let out a deep sigh at this and shook my head. (Me):¡±Gobar, I already told you she is my pet. She will not be giving out any orders. Well not unless some certain things happen in the future¡­Anyway, for now have some clothes made for her. Also make sure she will be taught in the same way the goblins are currently taught. Combat and magic, if she wants to learn anything else or specific make sure she gets that lessons as well.¡± Well the expressions on both of their faces were priceless at that moment. Did they think I would just have her sit around all day and be a pretty bird in a cage? (Me):¡±I promised you power didn¡ät I ? Learn, grow, train. We will battle in the future and you might want to kill some elves as well. Besides as my pet you should know some useful tricks to entertain me.¡± I laughed heartily after that. We exchanged some more minor informations and I issued some orders. For one The female slaves were to be given to the scouts before they went out. They should have enough strength now to be somewhat entertaining and not die under our fingers. I still put out a stern warning though to not use too much force. It would be a waste after all. After that we enjoyed the bath just until some new makeshift clothes came for Quimoira and we finally got out. The clothes she got were of course better than that rag she had as a slave. But it still looked rather misshapen. Basically just a rough one piece dress made from pelts with some sandals. But now was not the point to be picky. It was time to get some work done. Leisurely we went towards the laboratory. After all I had to take a look at the state of my new guinea pig. Inside the said cave we indeed found the elf. What a sorry state she was in. The goblins had dumped her on a bed of simple grass with some spider silk ropes to bind her limbs. Not that this would be needed with the collar, but precaution is always prudent. She had been roughly cleaned and it seemed like one of the goblin mages had tended to her since the scabbed wounds had turned to scars. Of course our arrival had not gone by unnoticed either. The elf stared at us with wide open eyes that told of her terror. Most likely the past night had been one of the most if not the most frightening thing for this haughty princess. My pet stared at the elf as well but in her face I could actually read a sadistic glee over the others fright and a evil smile spread her lips. (Quimoira):¡±So what has Master planned for the bitch ?¡± As she asked that she actually paced over to her, looking her over much like a cat that was about to play with a mouse. It seemed that I truly had awoken her dark side thoroughly that night. (Me):¡±Experiments, lots of experiments. I have to try out healing magic, mind magic, poisons and potions. You can play with her but don¡ät break her too much.It would be a pain to replace her.¡± She laughed silently at that, apparently imagining what was to come for the elf. I bet she had pinned all her hate for the elves on this single female right now. (Quimoira):¡±Will Master not need to do some of those things with the Goblins as well? There were some that looked at me with rather¡­ discontent eyes. ¡± The grin on her face at that moment was full blown psycho. I tilted my head for a moment and studied her before I channeled a wave of mana through the mark on my hand. At once she let out a pained, gurgling sound as she clutched towards her throat where the thron mark grew a note darker and bigger. (Me):¡±I will make this clear now. What I need is a pet. Not a rabid beast. You will have toys to play with as you like. But the goblins are off limits. Of course you may defend yourself. But do not go wild on me. After all your deeds reflect on me as the owner.¡± I kept the effect up a little while longer to make a point before I released it and waved her to come closer. She was breathing hard from the punishment, but there was a somewhat satisfied smile on her lips. Creepy, but hell that made me like her even more. She actually crawled over on all fours then and nuzzled against my thigh with a slight purr. Those demon genes sure knew how to make a tempting appeal and I reached down to stroke her leisurely. After some time I pulled away and moved over to where my alchemy equipment lay. (Me):¡±We will continue the rest later¡­ For now get up and come here. I have something for you.¡± She promptly stood up on my order and moved closer to take a look at what I was putting on the table. I had stored away some of what I was producing in a clay pot and lifted that one now up onto a, more or less, free table. Taking of the lid off this thing let an intense smell of herbs and fat emerge from it. My pet actually pulled away a few steps and stopped to look at the thing with a doubting expression. (Me):¡±That is a rather strong supplement for your body, it contains plenty of fat from the meat snails as well as various ingredients such as fruit and herbal extracts. You will take a bit every morning before you join the training. It should help your body to grow at a rapid pace¡­. though if you get lazy it will cause you to grow fat so be diligent.¡± Basically it was a super protein and vitamin shake. Just even better through some nature mana being pumped in. That would make the body absorb it even better than normal. Sadly it had to be consumed quickly at my current level of skill since the mana would only hold within for a few days to a week. She quite openly was not all too happy about it but still nodded obediently. After that I spent a good few hours inside the lab. I mixed together the usual batch of potion for the trade with the Drow and after that were some poisons. Of course those were meant for the scouts, so I mostly made some with paralyzing or knockout effects. The only problem was that a headache begun to grow stronger and stronger. It seemed like the Evaluation was not taking my dilling nicely. So I called in for an early night. I had the pet return to my cave for now and went to place my body back inside its crystal container. It¡äs always an interesting feeling to get sucked in and out of a body. Well then let¡äs see what I get to pick from this time. Show me the Evolution options! Chapter 23: A blushing ninja and the Dungeon Lords grade Show me the Evolution options!
Evolutions: Evolutions are changes to your dungeon and yourself. Choosing some of them may prevent other evolution paths. The range of Evolutions are dependent on what you do with your Dungeon and what level you are. 3 Points Evolutions currently available Earth affinity: Strengthens your affinity with the element Earth Nature affinity: Strengthens your affinity with the element Nature Spirit affinity: Strengthens your affinity with the element Spirit Water affinity: Strengthens your affinity with the element Water Mountainstalker Dungeon: offers bonuses for your servants Demonic Elf Dungeon: offers bonuses for your servants Animal dungeon: offers bonuses for your servants Plant Dungeon: offers bonuses for your servants Nursery Dungeon: unlocks certain building options
Hmm that is some quite interesting choices. I studied the list intensely, after all it is a quite important step each time. The race evolutions had not really shown an overly strong effect until now. But there was no new race that had a high enough headcount to really make a evolution for them viable. Though I was wondering on what basis these evolutions were unlocked precisely. Why did I not have the Mountainstalker before? What''s the difference to the Animal Dungeon? As usual I waited for a bit with my thoughts in the hope that the blue screen would pop up with an answer to my question. But it seemed like I did not meet the condition for it to speak up this time around. I guess I should go for some affinities and the plants. After all those are the biggest resource at disposal right now. Let¡äs see¡­Earth should be useful for the golems later on. Spirit for myself and it should be helpful for summoning as well. Hopefully¡­anyway! Give me the Earth and Spirit affinity as well as the Plant Dungeon.
Acknowledged Evolutions will progress after the Evaluation Please use your remaining Skill points
Ok ok, how annoying. Well it is time that i upgrade some of them anyway. Show me the skills.
Remaining Skill Points: 5 Spawn insects - Spawn plants - Growth lvl 3 Universal language max Spawn Ore vein lvl 1 Appraisal lvl 2 Dungeon Radar lvl 2 Spawn earth''s resources lvl 1
Hmmm ok that''s trickier. I guess I should spend those points bit for bit. Considering that we should get more slaves some ores might work well. But on the other hand information is crucial with the threat of someone finding the dungeon. I continued on to consider the pros and cons of each skill for a time. Meanwhile I kept drifting through the dungeon absentmindedly. I checked how the fields were doing and what the goblins were up to. Also another inspection of the slaves was in order and I saw that they had regained a bit liveliness. I guess stable food supplies and some normal work can look like heaven. The situation must have been quite dire for slaves under the Drows thumb. All together the situation of the dungeon was rapidly improving and I felt quite pleased by that. After a bit more of drifting around I came to a conclusion. Fine, put one point into the radar and show me the changes.
Dungeon Radar lvl3 Scans the inside of your dungeon to display friendly and enemy units on your map. Weak hiding skills are ignored by this skill. lvl 2 Radar scans outside of the dungeon for enemies that target your dungeon directly. Range is up to one km but accuracy diminishes with distance. Weak hiding skills are ignored by this skill. Increases sensitivity of radar inside the dungeon to detect mid level sneaking hiding skills. lvl 3Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Scouted areas will be easier to keep observed. The range of the Radar can now be changed. The smaller the range the better the scanning quality and higher hiding skills are needed to evade detection. Uncamouflaged mana usage triggers detection.
Oho well that is a neat I will have to put that to good use. Good then next put one into each of the ore vein and earth¡äs resources spawn skills.
Spawn earth''s resources lvl 2 Morphs a certain area of your dungeon to contain a certain resource. Currently available resources: Coal Low Gems Salt
Spawn Ore Vein lvl 2 Morphs a certain amount of stone into a Ore vein, the more Mana used the purer and/or larger the ore can be. Currently available ores: Tin Copper Lead Iron
Ok, not too bad 2 points left. I guess i''ll just put it into those things again. I have to test the radar first to know how much improvement it will need immediately. Put a point each into the same skills again.
Spawn earth''s resources lvl 3 Morphs a certain area of your dungeon to contain a certain resource. Currently available resources: Coal Low Gems Salt Minerals
Spawn Ore Vein lvl 3 Morphs a certain amount of stone into a Ore vein, the more Mana used the purer and/or larger the ore can be. Currently available ores Tin Copper Lead Iron Silver Nickel
Silver! Nice.... Well as long as it is similarly a valuable metal over here as well. Who knows. Now how everything should be out of the way
All points were used Evaluation beginning now Calculating¡­
At first I was quite excited to see what this would be about and kept staring at the blue screen. But as the time passed I realized that, whatever the blue screen was calculating, would take a bit longer. The screen didn''t even have the decency to be removable, it simply hovered in the middle of my view. Stupid blue screen. Cursing the blue thing over and over I navigated once more through the dungeon until I found the goblin I had been looking for. (Me):¡±Gobtar, I heard from Gobar that the preparations are through. How are the Goblins doing ?¡± He was one of the few Goblins that had already gotten used to my voice coming out of nowhere. So instead of jolting and looking around he simply turned to where the sound was coming from and bowed. (Gobtar):¡±Everything is in order and the morale is high. Being the first ones to get a turn with the women elated them in more than one way. They are now the envy of all the other male goblins. They will surely strive to do their best in the missions.¡± (Me):¡±That is good, as long as you keep them in check. Being too eager can just be as destructive as not putting enough into it. Do not let the Drow see a shameful display.¡± (Gobtar):¡±Of course, Lord.¡± (Me):¡±Will you be able to make good use of the Poisons that I sent you?¡± (Gobtar):¡±This will be hard to tell. It will depend on what species we meet on the mission. For now we coated some daggers with the paralyzing poison. We will also put some onto the spears.¡± (Me):¡±Good work, is there anything you yourself would like as reward? As the one in charge you should receive something more.¡± That actually sent him pondering for a time. It seemed like he was contemplating hard about whether or not to voice his wish. Hmm either it is some really big or they are still not sure how much they can ask from me without raising ire from my side. This will be interesting. (Gobtar):¡±There is one thing that I would wish for. It might be outrageous but would it be possible to acquire a necklace from the drow? They should have such things. I wish to present it to a possible mate. ¡± Oh look at that! Who would have thought that the always stoic Gobtar has a sweetheart. A ninja with a heart. Wait is he actually getting deeper green on the cheeks? Is that a Goblin blush ?! (Me):¡±Hah, worry not. I will talk with the ambassador. If you show excellent results with the mission I will make sure that it is of the finest quality that we can get through our trade.¡±
Calculation concluded Return to the crystal to begin procedure
Ehhh¡­. blue screen you really have fucking bad timing. (Me):¡±Gobtar I¡äll have to leave now. If I have not awoken by the next morning tell the goblins that I wish all of you the best luck.¡± (Gobtar):¡±Your wish is our command, Lord. We will succeed or die trying.¡± I really hoped that they would not do that either. Success is good, but losing the troops completely would hurt more than a botched try. Still after he bowed again I left him at that and swiftly returned to my crystal body. Ok hit me ! Let''s see what this thing is all about.
Evaluation concluded Time to reach the first evaluation point was extremely short Subject has acquired multiple Species and Evolutions Population of the dungeon has grown excellently Another dungeon was successfully conquered and absorbed An alliance with an outside race was made Analysis of dungeon shows slightly complex defensive structures Intelligent members of the dungeon were encouraged to grow Titles and Skills on the Avatar plenty developed Result The Newborn Dungeon has shown brilliant success Grade: SSS Award: 1 Avatar Trait Summon 1 random creature of Rank E to D Additional Floor Unlocked A sufficient understanding for Mana has been detected Numerical display deactivated switching to purity based display Count and Quality of the resident species is excellent Rank of the Dungeon is elevated to D Evolution bonuses have been unlocked Further evolutions are unlocked Award : 2 Evolution points Congratulations on mastering the first hurdle
I carefully studied the whole list over and over again. There were some really interesting things written in there that left me baffled and of course delighted with the rewards. For a SSS rank reward it seemed a bit small of a reward. But then again it was just the first evaluation. This thing seems to keep notice of everything I am doing. Well I guess it is not surprising that I got high the highest mark. I am basically counted as toddler. I was just recently ¡®born¡¯ as dungeon. I''ll have to take advantage of that. After all who knows how high the standards for the later evaluations will be. After reading it over and over again I finally put it at rest and dismissed the blue window. Just to be greeted by a familiar feeling of faintness. The evolutions were kicking in and it was time for some sleep. Chapter 24: Enjoying the gifts of a good grade I awoke as if lightning had struck me. But not in a painful way, I was simply awake and with an extremely refreshed feeling. In all the days I had now spent in this world I had never felt this good before. It was as if the very essence of life was boosting me. Wow what''s going on. Oh right! I had that evaluation thing happen last time. Must be something with that. I wonder how much time passed. Just as I wanted to hurry into my body and get the news from the goblins, I noticed something else was different. Something about the whole placed seemed different. I began to scrutinize the place and was quite surprised. The crystal which was my body had increased in size. It had at least increased by a third though it could have been more than that. But that was not the only thing. Upon closer inspection with my mana sight I could see that the mana around the crystal and within the room was by far denser than before. Huh¡­ if I see things right it is quite strongly inclined towards earth and there is also some spirit type within it. But still how did it get this dense?
With the increased rank and level the dungeon core now refines and gathers mana more efficiently. Area closer to the core will profit stronger from the changes.
Blue screen once more came up with a random tidbit of information for me. But it did prove true when I checked my map. The second floor and in specific the goblin home showed a rather dense amount of mana while the first floor and outer blocks only got a slight increase. Hmmm right, I heard something about bonuses from the evolutions. Hey blue screen show me my evolutions!
Goblin Dungeon The Dungeon has evolved to suit the goblin species. Overwrites less effective species evolutions of the Dungeon. Highly increased skill acquiring Highly increased chance for evolution and variant evolution Mitigation of decreased lifespan through growth skill by 25% Unlocked building options
Plant Dungeon The dungeon has evolved to support all plants and related higher related species. Increased skill acquiring Increased chance for evolution and variant evolution Mitigation of decreased lifespan through growth skill by 15% Unlocked building options
Insect Dungeon The dungeon has evolved to support all Insects and related higher related species. Increased skill acquiring Increased chance for evolution and variant evolution Mitigation of decreased lifespan through growth skill by 15% Unlocked building options
Mana crystallization Through this evolution the Dungeon begins now to crystallize mana randomly and in focused areas. Unlocked building options Increased chance for evolution and variant evolution
Earth affinity Mana within the dungeon inclines naturally towards the earth element. Will affect other evolutions of the dungeon. Increased skill acquiring Increased chance for evolution and variant evolution Unlocked building options Decreases cost of dungeon skills and building options of the related elements
Spirit affinity Mana within the dungeon inclines naturally towards the spirit element. Will affect other evolutions of the dungeon. Increased skill acquiring Increased chance for evolution and variant evolution Unlocked building options Decreases cost of dungeon skills and building options of the related elements Sentience is reached faster
Oook that''s a shit ton of stuff. Well this makes the evolutions a whole lot more interesting. I wonder why that wasn''t unlocked at the beginning already. Let¡äs see what those things actually did. I quickly took a look over all the stuff that had been mentioned and noticed that indeed a good many things had changed. A lot of additional preset building stuff came in and the ones I already had got either more refined in the way it looks and its utility or it got different versions of it unlocked. Hmm the affinities really did unlock some interesting stuff. Magic stonegate, spiritual monolith¡­nice! It seems they do not only affect the normal evolutions, the affinities combine as well. I was totally excited and could not wait to test out all of it. The evolutions for species were of course highly interesting. I would have to choose the species that I would support carefully and stuff as many different types of the general evolutions into the dungeon to get the most out of it.
Name: Spiritual Goblin Cave Rank: D
Mana Quality: E-F Mana Density: D-F
Level: 5 Progress: 3%
So they really did change the display. Hmm it seems the core still needs some time to purify the mana. But at least the density is quite good. I was satisfied with the results, but for now it was time to get to my duties and pleasantries as a Dungeon Lord. I quickly dived into my body to get to it. By now I was quite fast in getting the whole watery stuff out of my respiratory system. First thing after that I noted the windows informing me of the still available trait selection and summoning process. But I decided I would do those later when I had more leisure time to consider these things thoroughly. Luckily these windows were dismissable so waved them away and went on to get out of the cave. Drying myself off and getting dressed before I went towards the larger cave. Upon entering the hall like structure I saw the busy activities of the goblins. Taking a moment to observe them in the middle of lunch as I presumed before walking over to where I spotted Gobar. (Me):¡±How is the meal today Gobar? ¡± (Gobar):¡±Haha, it is quite pleasant. The meat soup is excellent with the herbs.¡± The goblins were even more hectic than usual. But nearly at the same time as I sat down close to the old guy, I also had a wooden bowl full of the said soup. I motioned the ones serving that I would not need any more for now and focused on the conversation. Of course not all the goblins had such a meal. Meat was still a luxury for now until the rabbits would have a high enough population. (Me):¡±So how long was I out and what happened meanwhile?¡± (Gobar):¡±You only slept through the night, my lord. The only things you missed were the departure of the scouting group as well as the usual training and working of a usual day. There is no problem of any kind so far. ¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I nodded pleased with the situation and over having not lost too much time to the evaluation. After that we leisurely enjoyed the meals as I brought Gobar up to date with the things that had changed. He had already noticed some things but he was quite elated after knowing the full extend. In turn he informed me that my pet had joined in eagerly on the training as soon as the day started. Though she was wary of the Drow she didn''t hesitate to learn from them and seemed to be an eager student on everything. Of course the now unlocked common language made it a lot easier for everyone to teach and learn. Of course it would take some time until the goblins actually accepted her, but that was a natural course of things so I was not too worried on this account yet. (Me):¡±So the Drow showed no signs of anything unusual ?¡± (Gobar):¡±They must have noticed that something changed in the Dungeon. But they seem to be preoccupied with something else. From what they told us the Ambassador actually was ordered to come back with the last shipment. Most likely he will return this evening.Since most of them wear those leather masks all nearly all the time it is hard to guess anything in specific.¡± Of course Vierna must have reported what happened in the cave with the elf. It is suspicious that they have not been wanting to talk to me at all. I hope they are not planning anything extreme. (Me):¡±Since he is not here anyway I should do something useful in the meantime. I will be at the laboratory. ¡± Gobar nodded and we both finished up our meal after that. After all we had enough to do. I did take a moment though to gaze over the cave though. It had changed quite a bit. The goblins had made themselves homely by now, decorations on the walls and simple grass curtains before the entrances. With the ever increasing population it became a bustling place, conversations, arguments, even some small time trades were made here and there. Good, they are getting there slowly. But still they need to reach a higher point in development. While Pondering over what I could do to let the goblins advance faster, I soon reached my Lab. The elf was of course where she had been left on the grass bed. She seemed to be in quite the depressed mood. Well I guess if someone tests poisons and antidotes on you that would be natural. But she was of no interest at this point. I went over to the side of the cave where the gathered herbs were stored in baskets and were given a quick inspection that left no bad impression on me. The goblins had thoroughly completed their tasks and since I was absent for a while the amount was much higher than usual. With a slight sigh I went to work. After all there was a highly needed transaction ahead, so good trading materials were needed. I worked on the process for a good time without much of a break. The whole lab cave was filled with constant bubbling and hissing sounds as I operated the various tools to extract, mix and all the other needed processes. The only slight interruption was one of the goblin shamans that came in to take a look on the elf. After all, being bound tightly all the time was not too good on the limbs. Hmm i''ll have to make a cell or something for her tonight. I observed the goblin in his workings for a while. He had actually managed to raise his class so he was now the same as gobar. Though still he was still considered a student as he had much less experience than his teacher. The goblin in question actually noticed that I was observing his doings and he seemed to get pretty nervous. He made sure to not touch the elf anywhere unneeded and even began to sweat profusely. Ah crap¡­ they must think I have a thing for elves. You would of course get nervous while touching your lords presumed toy. I should put his mind at ease. (Me):¡±Don''t be so tense. The elf over there is just a testing tool. No need to mind all too much how you treat her as long as she stays in a somewhat good condition. ¡± The way the goblin twitched as I directed my word to him actually made me chuckle. But an even louder hiss from the apparatuses behind me reminded me that I should focus and give up on observing. There were still plenty of things to be made. More and more barrels were filled with the weak wound healing potions, light sickness medicines, some poisons and some other things. More and more time passed, the work was not hard but needed concentration and the continuous heating which was needed on some instruments had me bathed in sweat plenty of times over. I only made breaks to drink or eat some snacks before I went back to it. (Quimoira):¡±Ah, Master is still working hard ?¡± A cheerful voice came from the entrance. Looking up I saw my pet leaning against the wall next to the caves entrance. A somewhat tired but satisfied smile on her lips. She seemed to be fresh out of bath as her red hair was still plastered against her skin which had a rosy hue to it. (Me):¡±I am just about done. It seems you had a good training session?¡± (Quimoira):¡±It was marvelous Master! To move so freely is pure pleasure. My body is as energetic as never before.¡± I finally closed the last barrels lid and stretched my back with a deep sigh. Motioning Quimoira to come closer. With a deepening smile in which I could see a hint of tease she walked over until she was a few steps away, then she sunk to her knees and covered the missing distance with a quite tempting sway to her movements. As soon as she was close enough she began rubbing her head against my thighs like a playful cat. (Me):¡±Well now, isn''t someone eager to please?¡± I reached down to stroke through the still damp tresses of her hair which she answere with a pleased purr, leaning fully into the touch for a bit before she gazed up at me. (Quimoira):¡°Of course I am Master. Isn''t that what a good pet should be like. ¡± She had a cheeky grin at her words, making me laugh in a pleasant manner. The pet really was getting comfortable in her role. Hmm thinking about it.... I should have earned a little break. I let my hand slide down until it reached her neck and grasped it firmly. A soft growl answered the sudden change, but she was still looking up at me with a teasing smile and even licked over her red lips like a true temptress, giving them a glossy sheen that was simply too inviting. Of course I was not one to let such invitations go unanswered. *** A good while later I fell back into a rough chairlike wooden thing. Ragged breathing was still quite audible in the cave and our clothes were all over the place. My pet was still bent over the table in front of me, naked. The white skin almost shining like polished alabaster under the light. Her legs were still spread wide and trembling slightly as she rested for a moment. (Me):¡±It seems your exercises still need to go on for a while my pet, if that is already enough to make you weak on the feet like a newborn deer.¡± (Quimoira):¡±If Master continues to stay cooped up in this place as much as today than it will soon be the other way around.¡± With the amused retort she lifted her body from the table and slinked over, settling down in front of me to her knees and letting her head sink against my thigh. Like this we both calmed and recovered a little. I still had a lot to do so I sent her back to my cave before I headed back to my crystal body and changed into the Dungeon Lord mode. First thing I did was of course to claim the new blocks on the first and second floor. There was a lot of saved up mana to use. It was strange now, I realized that I actually felt how much mana something would need. The numerical display was not really accurate enough by comparison since the mana had different densities and qualities so that by directly manipulating it I could actually save a good bit of what would normally be wasted. Now then¡­ what should I do about the additional floor. If I extend further down I would get a wider field as the mountain gets broader of course. But if I go up I could actually turn this into something akin to a castle. After all if they have any means to deploy troops through the air They could attack us from two sides in the war. Considering such things for awhile I decided that I would go up for now instead of down. I liked the idea of turning the upper part of the mountain into a stronghold over time. After unlocking everything I felt quite drained and a look at my Status told me what I already knew that I was barely having a mana density of E in the closest blocks. I still had to be careful but it was worth it, after all the larger I was the more mana I would get as well. The first thing I did was of course to move everything one floor higher so that the goblins home and everything was in the middle. The only exception being the small part where the Drows were. Since if the transportation circle was moved we would have to recast it. Hmm what''s that?... As I moved the blocks around I realized that in the new blocks that were the furthest inside the mountain, on the upper floor was actually a part of a small cave system. Of course I inspected it right away. Something like that could not be left alone. There were a lot of small caves joined together mostly by small tunnels, through which many runlets were flowing towards the opposite side. The that nourished this continuous stream was raining down from hundreds of small stalactites in each cave, pooling together in puddles and small ponds. Hmmm¡­. interesting. This might be of some use later on. Since there was no immediate need for the water to be used it was left alone. Who knew whose attention I would draw if the water stopped flowing. Having satisfied my curiosity I went back to my Dungeon arrangements. With the current manpower there is no sense in opening any new farms. The goblins won''t be able to tend to them properly yet so let''s leave that aside. It will soon be time to get the ore business going, but it is the same problem there. I will need some more dwarves. They should know how that stuff works. Then it''s time for the new building stuff. There was of course plenty now, but a lot of it not usable yet or was already built. It would have made no sense to tear stuff at that moment so I focused completely on a few core things. Hmm the most valuable and affordable ones seem to be for now the crystal room, and the spiritual monolith. I quickly built one of these inside the goblin home. It was a solid rock with the height of two grown man and around three times the diameter. It was carved up with runes and depictions of goblins all over. It had not instant effect, but I could actually feel the spirit mana gather around that part slowly with which I was happy enough. The next one was the crystal room which I just put into one of the free blocks of the same floor. From what I understood it would have continuously growing mana crystals all around. Though it wasn''t all too big. It was the size of a normal room mostly shaped like a sphere. On the ceilings center it had a single sun crystal that provided some light. After that I just tested the magic stonegate. Which proved to be a solid stone plate that could barricade a tunnel. I used some of them to cover the goblin tunnels inside labyrinth. The only downside to those seemed to be that any good earth magician would be able to open them as well. Alright, I shouldn''t spend more mana than that now. Guess the last thing for today will be the summon then. I returned to my crystal body and read through the blue window again. It seemed to really be a completely random summoning. Well¡­ then let''s begin.
Summoning process has been started
At first not much happened. But suddenly a glowing and intricate spell circle appeared in front of my crystal body. It was a shocking sight, it was infinitely more detailed and intricate than the one I had seen the Drow make. The glow grew stronger and stronger, but soon something else pulled my attention to it. A bit above in the center of the spell circle, space itself began to warp. At first it was simply a blurry patch, but it soon got more and more extreme with a darkening center that seemed to swallow everything. Holy shit¡­ that''s kinda looking like a fucking black hole ! I was nearly freaking out that moment but just a heartbeat later everything was bathed in light as if the black hole had been replaced with a sun instead. Once my view was clearing up I had just one thought. What the hell is that supposed to be. Anouncement !! First off ! Sorry for the wait guys. To give you the short version, life has been very turbulent. It ended up with having to move to a new place, lost job and still looking for a new one. But at least most of the other things have settled down. So I¡äll have time to write again. The good news is, I am confident to make the story a whole step better. Be it story or writing. For that I am considering to make a complete rewrite. This would include a complete exclusion of the game aspect because it felt mostly cumbersome and unnatural, for my purposes in this story, when I reread it. What do you guys think about that? The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Characters will stay a lot the same and the rehaul I have in mind lines up quite well with the previous one except that it will have a more fleshed out goal and other things. The biggest change will likely be that the MC gets a very different origin story. So all in all glad to be back and hope people will enjoy the renewed Goblin Dungeon. With kind regards to everyone ! First poll for the new Story So, since beginning to write I came upon a rather interesting choice. So I will give this polling thing a try(hopefully it will work as intended XD). The choice in question is the familiar that the MC will get. This is a rather important thing. Because, depending on the chosen familiar, it will influence a number of things. This includes but is not limited to: Fighting style, abilities, etc... I will of course not explain what each animal will bring with it, that would kill the fun.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. If people think I missed a very important Animal that anough peole show interest in I might add it to the poll later on which is another reason why I made this post so early on. LIMITATION : The only animals that will join in are non magical animals from tiny to the size of a bear. (magical evolutions and such things will come later in the story depending on the course it takes.) Hope you guys enjoy the polling and have fun! \[T]/ praise be Prologue (Rewritten) There I was, stranded in a cold cell. Wrists bound with heavy manacles on which bluish glowing sigils were engraved. The only illumination I had. It seems they were of the opinion that I did not deserve any form of courtesy, even if it was a simple torch. But then again¡­ I had cost them dearly. The chains that held my bindings to the wall were barely long enough that I could rest on the thin layer of hay they had given me. Not out of concern for my health of course. They just did not want a greyed old man to die from the cold. They had better plans for my death. That I still had my tattered robe was most likely also owed to that fact. I had no idea how long I had been here now. Time starts to grow vague in such a place. The irregular and meager meal times were no big help either. After all they only needed to barely keep me alive till the execution and not well fed. The first change in what felt like an eternity was a couple of heavily armored boots slamming on stone and the rattling of heavy armor. They approached steadily and soon enough the door was unlocked, the sudden glare of light making me squint and I could only make out shadows at first. Apparently my visitors had not quite been prepared as I heard a retching sound from one of them. Not being able to clean oneself comes with certain odors over the course of days. ¡°What a fitting state for a bastard like you.¡± said a familiar voice and even in my sorry state I answered with a dry laugh. ¡°How is your boy, Marten ?¡± I said. ¡° Did he like the gifts I left behind? ¡± I barely finished speaking before one armored boot slammed against my stomach with brutal force. As I slumped down coughing and wheezing from the pain the room was filled the sound of armors rattling and angry grunts as some people held the man back.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Your Lordship please ! You know the decree !¡± the others called out over and over again until he had composed himself once more. ¡°You might want to know that I was appointed to execute the judgement. ¡± Marten said in a cold voice. ¡°Give me the antidotes for my men and I might lop your head of in one go with my sword. At least your death will then be honorable.¡± ¡°Ironic how a traitor speaks of honor! You are nothing but a scam, Marten, you and your entire order! ¡± I said and spat out towards the entrance. ¡°My only regret is that it was your son that was afflicted and not you.¡± That answer elicited some mutters from the other people present but were promptly shut up again. ¡°We will see, I have called specialists. They will be sure to make your last hours a spectacle for the masses,¡± he said with a vengeful glee in his tone. ¡°Maybe then you will be more willing to talk.¡± Abruptly he turned around, the door being slammed shut and locked before I could hear them walk away just as they had come, leaving me behind in my dim and cold cell. Though I was alone not for long as a dull laughter filled the cell, as quiet as a whisper but still echoing in a bizarre fashion. It sounded as if it was composed by many different voices at once. A peculiarity I was familiar with as I had clashed with its owner a few times already in the past. ¡°They do hate you quite a lot, Keeper. ¡± said the voice in a whisper. ¡°Get it all out, Otarr,¡± I shot back in an annoyed tone. ¡°And then leave me in peace. I have no patience for your antics today.¡± ¡°Ah but maybe you should have the patience,¡± he said in an amused tone. ¡°That is if you wish to be free once more.¡± This answer stumped me to silence for a moment. This was something I had expected the least from him. ¡°How? ¡± I asked suspiciously. ¡°That you will find out if you accept.¡± ¡°What''s the hook?¡± I asked ¡°You will convert to my following and vanquish those who fell my sister.¡± I did not need to think long about it and even felt a smile spread on my face as I said, ¡°Sounds good enough. That is a deal I can take.¡± The last thing I saw was the darkness itself warped into a clawed hand. It slammed into my chest and pulled something out as everything turned black. The end of one story is the beginning of another.