《Alistair’s Great and Powerful Startup Dungeon》 Prologue – Once Upon a Time ¡°Once upon a time I was a great Golden Hero. Oh yes! I was a ranked SS Adventurer and set out to the grand Labyrinth of Morack to defeat and purge the Kingdom of Lorithal of its great evil. Once completed, I would have been given the Adventurer Rank SSS and a small kingdom by going into the dungeon land and conquering one. There I could live in peace with my five wives and harem of mistresses. I would give all my loyal companions noble rights and lands and we could even expand the kingdom by killing a few more dungeons. Ah yes, I was going to be a great King! Rich from dungeon wealth, powerful from monster experience, and beloved by my people. Yeah, that was the dream. Stupid, Minotaur!¡± Grey dim soul mist spoke to the crowd of bright colored souls. ¡°See I was the Great Hero Thorian the Fair! What you never heard of me?! Come now, I was the premier hero in six kingdoms. I killed the Hydra of Shamin! Fine, so you haven¡¯t heard of me¡­ probably because you are a souls like me waiting for rebirth, you have forgotten all of this. Anyway, there I was marching across the kingdom of Lorithal, my golden banners of lions whipping in the air. I was bringing a thousand conscripted adventurers to follow me into the Labyrinth. Oh we were a sight to see. Mages throwing fireballs into the air, knights like myself in golden enchanted armor, priests of various faiths chanting, even our gnome henchmen carrying our supplies were resplendent. Sure, I cut through fields of vegetables and wheat to make better time to the labyrinth, but the kingdom would owed me for destroying this great evil. So what were a few dozen peasant fields?¡± ¡°Anyway, we camped outside of the dungeon town, Morack. In I went and told the town council I had come to destroy the labyrinth! Oh they argued about how it helped with the kingdom¡¯s enchantments and even created wealth for the low ranking adventurers. You know the same old argument from every dungeon town. Didn¡¯t they understand that once I destroyed their dungeon I could become a king? Besides, the wealth that I brought out of the dungeon could be used to help them resettle in real towns and villages, instead of making wealth off of monster components.¡± ¡°No, I decided I would hear no more of their silly arguments and went to claim my destiny! I sent wave after wave of adventurers into the labyrinth to start mapping the easier levels. Sure many of them died!" A bright blue soul mist seemed to pulse with light. "Oh you were a F ranked adventurer? Don¡¯t worry, I understand your pain, I spent several weeks there myself until destiny stepped in and gave me my first magical sword off a common Kobold Worker. No it wasn¡¯t just some lucky random drop! I was destine for greatness from the start! Listen, I started telling you my story don¡¯t interrupt me about dungeon mechanics and loot tables! It was destiny!¡± Several brightly colored souls started wondering off from the little dim grey one. ¡°Anyway, sure we lost a few hundred low ranking Adventurers, but we had mapped and cleared the first twenty floors. So in we went, and set up camp inside the labyrinth. Weeks went by as more adventures and myself went down more and more floors. By the time I had reached level 980, the camp was no more then my main core group of S companions. Each level became more dangerous than the next as we faced creatures of legend, but as we made it to floor 994 it was populated by a clan of Minotaurs. Stupid creatures had changed the entire level into some kind of great maze with multiple level changes and moving walls and sections. Not to mention the clan had breed mages and gladiators, so they had enchanted armor and weapons along with their filthy mental magics. I lost six of my oldest companions to the brutes before I finally broke through to their champion.¡± ¡°Ah he was a magnificent monster. Nearly ten feet tall with enchanted tattoos covering his body. Back and forth we battled as my priests cast healing spells on me and Joseph. Joseph was the fighter who was in charge of fighting the summoning circle Minotaurs that would pop up to try and repopulate the floor. Joseph was doing a wonderful job as I fought the Minotaur to his frenzy point, and then it happened. See I had a friend Leeroy Jaykins; great thief who could disarm any trap or perform a critical hit from hiding better than any person I have seen. Well the enrage Minotaur hits him across the left arm with his axe. Of course, it literary disarms him, anyhow he starts freaking out. I mean come on Leeroy, the priests healing spells will stop the bleeding and after the fight we can put the arm back on. But no, Leeroy freaks out and starts running around screaming for ¡°HOTs¡±. What is a HOT? By the Gods, you really were an F ranked Adventurer, it¡¯s Heals Over Time. Anyway, Leeroy blocks the healers line of sight from Joseph and one of the summoned Minotaurs gets a critical, making Joseph¡¯s head look like cherry pie. Yeesh, well at least I won¡¯t have to remember that now!¡± ¡°So there I am fighting this Beast of a Minotaur, sword blocking every swing of its axe. It¡¯s damage aura of Maze Mirror opening my flesh in a growing pattern of a maze. Healers are dying quickly as my mages and other warriors are trying to get the summoning circle under control. I faint left and then right. Seeing the opening I have been waiting for and thrust my sword deep within the Monsters ribcage. I know I have won, its red glowing eyes are fading and all I have to do is wait for it to dissolve from bleeding damage. Then the mystic blue mana light begins to dissolve the beast and condense itself into a loot box the size of a wagon. Smiling, I turn around and BAMN! An axe comes down on my head! A Freaking Common Monster from the summoning circle kills me! Can you believe it?! A stupid sneak attack and I am dead! Life and Death are just so unfair, anyway I feel the tug of the Gods. Sorry I can¡¯t stay and listen to all of your stores, but let¡¯s face it, it would have never beaten mine.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The little grey soul orb started moving away from the colorful crowd of souls with a self-assurance that it had done a great job of brightening their afterlife with his storytelling. The soul orb traveled and traveled finally coming to a grand marble room where it sat on a large pedestal. The little grey ball started to brighten at the thought of its great reward, after all he had spent his life killing mana monsters and helping people from the horrible evil that were dungeons. Soon a giant being came in through a misty gateway, its bright golden skin and beautiful radiance told the orb that the being was a god that had come to judge him. A large grand wooden desk polished to a golden brown shine appeared and the God pulled out the magnificent chair behind it. ¡°Greetings Thorian, I am sorry that the Goddess Illastra couldn¡¯t make your judgement, but she flat out refused to.¡± The little grey soul dimmed, he had prayed to Illastra all of its previous life. He had been faithful to her tenets and did his best to follow the Battle Maidens faith. ¡°Now, now, Thorian. You shouldn¡¯t take it personally. She said that she couldn¡¯t tolerate your previous life¡¯s personality. See I am sure that all the good work will allow me to place you back on the world and you can try again.¡± As the God dug in the drawers for something. Thorian¡¯s soul was in a state of shock and anger. What did the God mean that he shouldn¡¯t take the Goddess dismissal of him personally. After all he had devoted his life to her and just because of some type of personality conflict he wasn¡¯t going to get a heavenly reward?! The God pulled out a large canvas bag with Thorian¡¯s name on it and a large alchemy balance. ¡°Alright, Thorian the bag contains all the good and bad deeds you did in your life as black and white stones. I will pull out a stone and read the deed to you, placing it on the scale to weigh where you will go in the next life.¡± The God reached into the bag and pulled out the first stone, it was white and about the size of his little finger. ¡°Ah see a good deed. Killing of the Hydra of Shamin, by doing so you stopped the monster related deaths to the local fisherman and the fish.¡± The God placed the stone on the right side of the scale and then reached back in for another one. A black stone one tenth the size of the white came out. ¡°Oh it¡¯s a bad deed. Let¡¯s see. Led Andy Miller to his death fighting the Hydra of Shamin. Andy Miller was fated to another ten years prior to you conscripting him as part of your adventurer team. Well don¡¯t worry, since he decided to follow you, your bad decision to have him test dangerous waters in armor is not quite as bad as murder, just on the scale of bad choices.¡± The grey orb began to shake, if Thorian remembered correctly twenty people had died under the attack against the Hydra. Not counting the ten that lose their lives to the swamp before finding the hydra. Black stone came after black stone, every person that he had led to their deaths because of his bad decisions were weighed against the good he had done. As the scale quickly tip towards bad deeds, Thorian became more and more worried about where he was going. In fact even the God began shaking his head as the scale for his bad decisions and evil deeds began to overfill. Finally the God stopped and just looked into the bag, shaking his head he simply placed the bag on the black stone side and let the scale hit the desktop with a thud. ¡°Thorian, I am not going to say you were evil. Most of your sins were due to your arrogance and lack of leadership. However, your arrogance is so bad that I can¡¯t even use my standard, ¡®You will reincarnate as a mana monster for the next thirty lives and then be cleansed as a soul.¡¯ So I am going to have to reincarnate you into a Dungeon Demon. You must live at least a thousand years as a Dungeon Demon starting when your dungeon level reaches 500! So speaks the will of Salurin!¡± Boom, Salurin¡¯s voice echoed in the room like a thunderclap and Thorin''s soul was thrown from the pedestal with great speed heading to the world below. Chapter 1.0 – Choosing a new home The grey dull soul orb was dropping to the world below feeling its previous life experiences go away. It was like the memories were slowly fading away into the fog of his mind. His memories of his wives, friends, warm nights by the fire slowly became hazy and then disappeared. While his pleasant memories were disappearing, he still remembered common things, like how he could summon his soul page, or how to read and write. The memories of killing mana monsters and the deaths of all the people stayed with him. Yet, Salurin¡¯s justice made little to no sense for him. If his crime has a person was to needless cause death to adventurers, why was it ok for him to purposely do so? After all a thousand years controlling a Dungeon, he would end up killing hundreds of thousands of Adventurers. He knew the layouts, traps, monster combinations for a hundred¡­ well maybe ten¡­ no more like two¡­ and then the knowledge was gone as he fell through the dirt and stone towards the core of the world. As the soul settled in the blazing hot core of the world, light blinded every sense of the little orb. It wasn¡¯t till he closed his eyes that he realized he even had a body again. Heat began to leave his body as he opened his eyes to a small stone room. The only light that could be seen came from a glowing orb. Otherwise, he was in a small circular cave, half of the floor was bare, while the other half was covered in three golden circles set next to each other. The small being took a moment to look at itself. For his legs, they appeared to be covered in brown fur that was shaggy and thick, and bent like the hind legs of a goat. Upon looking at his waist, there was tied a small leather loin cloth to keep him modest. While at his hips the fur stopped and formed a soft green bare muscled chest and arms. Looking at his hands, each of his fingers formed long black claws that seemed to be as strong as steel. Carefully touching his head, he realized that he had a small goatee on his chin, along with a bald scalp that had two goat like horns as long as his forearms coming out of the top of his head. It wasn¡¯t till he noticed the whip like motion, that he realized he had a long thin prehensile tail. Bowing his head, the little demon spoke, ¡°Blessed are the Gods for they granted us the ability to see ourselves.¡± The little prayer activated the demons soul page, and wild mana formed into a blue box that could be read by any creature in the world.
Soul Page
True Name:Shedzuoxohr
Race:Dungeon Demon
Level:1
Exp till Next Level:0/1000
HP*:140Mana:100
BodySoul
STR*:10INT:10
DEX*:12WIS:7
CON*:14CHA:8
END:22LUCK:5
*If creatures are smaller or larger then you stats may change depending on size.
Skills
Skill Name:Dungeon Construction
Skill Level:0
Skill Description:Dungeon Construction allows the user to manipulate the surround mana to shape, alter, create or destroy matter in their summoning circles area of control. The summoning circle will capture or release all mana needed for changes to take effect.
Skill Name:Mana Monster Summoning
Skill Level:0
Skill Description:When a Dungeon Demon has created their first summoning circle they have the ability to Summon Mana Monsters using the stored mana of the summoning circle. If the demon has not previous fought and killed the mana monster inside of the summoning circle then they must defeat the monster before control is granted.
Spells
Spell Name:Summoning Circle Creation
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:50 mana
Spell Description:Using the casters mana, the energy burns into the ground creating a Dungeon Summoning Circle. The Circle construct is used to store mana and focus the control over the surrounding area for the demon. Should the circle be destroyed all mana will back lash through the demon and expel them from the area.
Spell Name:Summon Spell Companion
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:25 mana
Spell Description:Spell will create a mana construct that will help the demon in numerous ways as spell mastery grows. At current spell mastery level, the demon may choose the construct to help with rune research, spell construction, mana monster control, or general help. Only one spell construct is able to operate per demon at a time. If construct is destroyed or dismissed all knowledge within the construct will be lost.
The demon, Shedzuoxohr, looked over his soul page with a critical eye. From his previous life he knew the general rules. Strength, for instance was a general statistic for his whole body and controlled: how well he could climb; how much weight he could lift; and how much damage he could do with his claws or a weapon. For most people, a statistic of 10 was normal for a starting teenager, that¡¯s usually when a soul page would become visible for a person. Shedzuoxohr, knew that when the soul page first appeared Human, Elves, Dwarves, and even Gnomes all considered it a time of adulthood. There was a vague feeling of celebration and warmth from his previous life about his soul page, like he had spent many hours looking at it. ¡°So my name is Shedzuoxohr?¡± The demon said out load. As soon as he said his name, he felt throughout his whole body like he had thrown a stone into a still pond and that the ripples were stretching outward. A feeling of danger began to arise in the demon as the ripples crashed against some type of barrier and began to come back against him. When the first one hit, a wave of nausea rolled over the demon¡¯s stomach twisting it like a wet rag. Then the second wave came sending him down on his knee¡¯s with a stabbing headache. Pain, confusion, and even hallucinations plague the young demon¡¯s mind for a moment. Slowly, he got up to be greeted by an Event prompt.
Event!
The universe had heard your True Name for the first time!
All demons have a True Name. The truly smart ones have never spoken it out load. This isn¡¯t the case with you! A cosmic being has heard your True Name and may use it to aid you or hurt you at some point in your life. As a demon, your True Name may be used to summon you in a summoning circle. As a Dungeon Demon this can be stopped by establishing your first dungeon. Be quick, Young One, otherwise spend lifetimes as slave to a higher being before starting your own penance!
Realization struck, Shedzuoxoh, he would need to at least choose an alias before giving out his name ever again. Taking a step forward another Event prompt popped up before him, as three portals came into view in the center of each summoning circle. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Event!
Choose a starting location for your first dungeon!
All Dungeon Demons must start somewhere. Since this is your first dungeon you have been given the basic three choices. Should your first dungeon be destroyed, and you gain experience and skill, more choices may be given. Good luck in your choice!
Location:Location Description:
Natural Cave SystemA underground tunnel system that hosts a variety of animals. As a standard cave system Water, Air, and Food are close to the surface. However animals have taken up living in the cave. In order to start your first dungeon level you will have to hunt, kill, or bond all current animals in the cave, while not being discovered by the village 10 miles away. Natural Cave Systems on average have 5 floors before they are discovered by the world¡¯s mages and natural resistances to all magics. Difficulty: Class F
Graveyard CryptDark Cultists have prepare the Graveyard by breaking the holy protections and blessings. Once spells are established abundant undead beings for your dungeon will be available. Due to this being a place for the dead, loot table has been expanded for the dungeon. In order to establish your first dungeon level you will have to cast several additional spells to increase your influence over the undead. Since a town is near the Graveyard, your dungeon will likely be found during the creation of the first level by the world¡¯s Mages. All Undead dungeons and creatures will have decreased resistance against holy and light magic. Difficulty: Class E
Magma PoolsDeep in the bowels of an active volcano a small area has been carved out by lava tunnels and magma, creating a small area for a Dungeon. Living animals will be scarce but so will people. Multiple of spells will be needed to establish for your first dungeon level as harsh conditions exist. Magma Pools on average have 20 floors before they are discovered by the world¡¯s mages and will be weak against frost and water magics. Difficulty: Class D
The young demon looked at each of the portals and could see the environments beyond. The furthest one on the left looked to be the natural cave system. A dirt brown floor with greyish stone showed through the pool. The next portal showed the carved stone tombs and dusty floor of a Crypt. While the last Portal showed a small ledge overlooking a huge pool of magma. By the world event prompt it seemed that the natural cave system was one of the easier starter dungeons. Granted he would have to face numerous animals before starting his first dungeon level, but that didn¡¯t scare him. What scared him was the fact that he would only have a few levels created before being found. Therefore, the choice was simple, the demon walked through portal to the Magma Pools. The site that greeted Shedzuoxoh was a humbling one. Volcanic ash rose into the air, and with it came the heavy suppressing heat from the magma. Looking up, a black volcanic glass dome ceiling could be seen. At its peak was a small tunnel that acted like a chimney. Far off in the distance, the glare from the magma showed lava tubs across the great magma pool that the ledge was perched above. Turning around the demon heard the crunch of the black sand has his small hoof feet moved. In place of the portal was a black stone wall. He briefly touched the wall feeling its smoothness from the constant erosion of magma. The magma close to the ledge bubbled and a small splash came up dropping a little bit of it on the demon. The orange glowing liquid felt briefly warm and slowly started to harden on his skin. Smiling that his body was able to tolerate the extreme conditions of the magma pools. Shedzuoxoh, tried to brush the cooling magma off his forearm only to realize that it had harden to his skin. Gritting his fangs, the demon began pulling on the magma like a sticky glob of glue feeling his greenish skin pull off with it. Grunts and cursing occurred as the pain increase until finally, the now blackish rock was pulled off his forearm. A large piece of his skin had come off as well, and underneath it was a set of new scales in piece of his flesh that were as bright red as the color of blood. Seeing the flash of an event prompt brought his attention to it.
Event!
You and your dungeon are one!
Once a Dungeon Demon has chosen his dungeon location, their body will evolve in tune with its environment. Of course this doesn¡¯t happen overnight, nor is the process painless, but in the end you will become master of your domain. To start your dungeon cast your first summoning circle, and you may want to choose an Alias afterwards. As a Demon this will be the last help the universe provides. You now have all the tools to start your first level of your dungeon good luck, and watch out for arrogant Adventurers!
Shaking his head at the prompt, Shedzuoxoh, couldn¡¯t help but think that the universe had a sense of humor. Looking around, Shedzuoxoh realized that the safest place for his summoning circle was on the ledge that he was standing on. So without any more thought he closed his eyes and searched within for the knowledge of the spell. Slowly dark sounding words came to his lips, as his mind relaxed and began to feel his mana. For years as a human he had tried to awaken his talent for magic, but this innate ability to relax and channel mana had been so evasive he gave up. Now because of his race, it was like breathing. Swirls of energy began to move his hands into arcane jestures. While a grand picture in his mind began to form of a golden circle set in black glass. Then four smaller circles appeared on the outside of circle at the cardinal points of the compass. Lines with arcane script began to flow outside of the circles connecting them through mystical channels. As the spell neared completion, the demon felt the mana in the magma pool respond. The smallest drop of mana in a raging current of energy drifted into the summoning circle, allowing the circle to connect with the world around it. The spell began to slow down its tempo of energy, as the last key mystical ingredient was added. A small tether of energy broke from Shedzuoxoh¡¯s soul and connected with circle creating a mental and spiritual bond with it. The spell closed itself off and Shedzuoxoh realized that now he was connected with the Magma Pools his evolution would increase. Smiling, he opened his eyes to see a five golden circles pulsing with energy on the melted black glass floor of the ledge. The center circle was the largest and was about six inches in diameter. The four other circles were about one inch in diameter and set in place so that they were aligned with north, south, east and west. Arcane script flowed over the outside perimeters of the circles. While a single line of the script connected the circles with the main one. Bending down his little body, Shedzuoxoh, touched the golden script and felt the energy it held. Smiling, he had one more thing to do. ¡°Gods of old and new hear my plea! From now till the end of days, let all who see me call me Alistair! For I am a Dungeon Demon!¡± The Demon shouted out to the universe.
Event!
Alistair of the Magma Pools!
The Universe has heard your cry, from now on those that examine your Magma Pools will see its name as Alistair¡¯s Domain. As all location name changes a small whisper of mana has changed in the world. Any mage close to the source will be to detect the location of change. Only time will tell if you have been detected.
Thanks for the tip on the line breaks.... for some reason I had to "view source" and delete them. Anyway, Lines Removed! Hizzah! Chapter 1.1 – A whisper in the wind Location: A small island in the Archipelago Kingdom of Waponikash Gerald had been an Adventurer Water Mage Rank D for many years before coming to the Kingdom of Waponikash. His group had come here at the request of the King, when Naga¡¯s had started to infest several islands, turning the normal quiet kingdom into a warzone. As it turned out, an underwater dungeon had been found about a 100 miles off the west coast of the kingdom, bringing forth corrupting mana monsters and spawning a breeding pair of Nagas. Gerald¡¯s group of adventurers had been ten strong and guided by a Hero Mage Ellen. She had been a natural water mage couple with air minor element. Due to her high intelligence she had study as a Party Leader and understood group and monster tactics, but it was her small little ways of helping each member, understanding their strengths and weaknesses that made her and her group a great Adventurer team. They had hired a boat captain to sail as close to the Naga settlements as possible. Then Ellen and Gerald would cast Underwater Breathing on their team mates and jump into the sea fighting the Naga in the water and then on land. Weeks passed of heavy fighting and swimming from island to island. It wasn¡¯t till they reached the last Naga settlement and found a summoning circle that they knew a dungeon had spread to the surface. Using their magics they traced the source of the summoning circle to an underwater Grotto dungeon. Broken ruins and columns had littered the tunnels almost as if a large city had been buried underground by one of the area¡¯s local volcanos. Level after level they fought, some levels were relatively dry and allowed the team to rest. While other levels were submerged and they had to swim through the entire thing. The final level they had come across a large Sea Serpent the size of a ship. Venom dripped from its teeth and it glided through the water. The level had been set up as small islands with shallows between them as walkways. Ellen and Gerald worked to freeze the sea water close to the shores expanding their width so that the Sea Serpent couldn¡¯t reach them with every strike. Giant crabs that served as the Sea Serpents food would spawn from the summoning circle and charge through the landscape. It was when Ellen was battling the Sea Serpent that a Giant Crab had jumped out of the water and cut Gerald¡¯s Leg off with a claw strike. Ellen was able land the final blow just before Gerald had lost consciousness, but it had been too long to safe his leg. He woke up in a beach hut being taken care of by a beautiful island girl. Ellen had come the next day and told him that the team was willing to donate the whole dungeon haul to get a spell of regeneration for his leg. Smiling He shook his head and told Ellen that he was retiring here to be the village mage. Too many horrible memories of teeth and near death escapes had finally brought Gerald to settle down in this small peaceful place. Ten years had passed and here Gerald was tending to a small child with a fever in his shop. Sea snake venom was a slow killing agent, thankfully Gerald had learned and studied support spell casting since his retirement from Adventuring. Gerald relaxed his mind and his thoughts melted away from him. Feeling the undercurrents of the surrounding mana, Gerald allowed strings of his mana to begin to form a cleansing net. Spell casting was like fishing to Gerald, you threw out your net and if you were a good fisherman with insight to the currents you would always get something. So Gerald saw his silver lines of mana slowly overlay on the boy¡¯s Mana Aura. The dark green venom began to circulate through the net and dispel itself out into a bowl of water that Gerald had setup for the spell; while the local surrounding Mana gave life and water energy back to the child. Carefully, he opened his eyes and saw the bowl of water began to turn a light green. Smiling at the boy¡¯s mother, he almost missed the whisper of mana that came from the south. It was like a faint sent of rotten eggs, or a whisper from someone who likes to mutter as well. Looking towards the south, Gerald felt like there was an itch that he should follow. Instead Gerald turned back to his patient and waited as the spell drained the venom. The whisper faded and just like that as the mother was thanking him and paying his fee, the whisper was gone. Placing the few copper coins into his bag, Gerald wondered if he should do something about the whisper. It wasn¡¯t quite enough to send someone out there to scout, but it was something, like the birth of weak Wild Mana Monster. Deciding to be proactive Gerald would tell the chief of the village about mana whisper and hoped the message would be deemed important enough to send south.
Location: Alistair¡¯s Magma Pools Alistair had been sitting on the summoning circle for almost 14 mins when his mana pool went from 50 to 51. ¡°Well that certainly sucks! Let¡¯s see that means I will recover all my mana in¡­ carry the 1¡­ 9 hours! Wait, is that right?¡± Hitting his head, Alistair picked up pebbles off the ground to help his math. ¡°Ok, put four pebbles to represent one hour, and put out nine piles.¡± Alistair started counting the pebbles as he went and finally came up with the correct answer. ¡°36 mana in 9 hours? That means it¡¯s going to take me more than a day to recover all my mana if I go to zero? Ah come on! This is crazy! Why is it that long? Surely, there has to be something I can do? I mean I need monsters to defend the dungeon and it¡¯s going to take that long to build up mana?!¡± Alistair was shouting into the sky, hoping against hope that some God or Goddess would take mercy on his soul. Alistair starting kicking the piles of black volcanic glass pebbles out into the magma pools in anger. To him it was just so unjust that the universe was going to kick him again and again. Smashing his little fist in the only wall by the ledge caused an Event Prompt to pop up.
Event!
Toughen up Buttercup!
The Universe has heard your wails for justice and fair play! Based on your actions you have been cursed with zero mana regeneration for the next two days. Perhaps you will start planning your life instead of blaming everyone else for your mistakes¡­. Or not. Whatever you learn from this lesson is up to you, now you have been given the same tools that every dungeon demon has! Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and do something about it!
¡°WHAAAAATTTTT!¡± Alistair looked at the event prompt for a few minutes. It couldn¡¯t be true! This had to be some type of joke that the universe was having on him. Closing his eyes, he tried to sense the surround mana field and currents, only to find that his aura seemed to be crammed around some kind of shell. As he felt around the edge of the shell, he realized that it would allow mana to flow out of him and form spells, but the natural currents that slowly soaked into his being were being held behind this barrier. Sitting down Alistair felt like he was some dirt on a person¡¯s brand new shoe. ¡°Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! Hello, I have hooves!¡± Alistair started muttering as he sat down letting his hooves dangle over the edge of his small rock ledge. ¡°I mean I have two skills both at level 0 and two spells. I have already casted the Summoning Circle¡­¡± Alistair closed his eyes for a moment to think about the trouble his blind stupidity had just cause himself. Alistair called up his Soul Page and once again looked at the descriptions for skills and spells. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Skill Name:Mana Monster Summoning
Skill Description:When a Dungeon Demon has created their first summoning circle they have the ability to Summon Mana Monsters using the stored mana of the summoning circle. If the demon has not previous fought and killed the mana monster inside of the summoning circle then they must defeat the monster before control is granted.
Spell Name:Summoning Circle Creation
Spell Description:Using the casters mana, the energy burns into the ground creating a Dungeon Summoning Circle. The Circle construct is used to store mana and focus the control over the surrounding area for the demon. Should the circle be destroyed all mana will back lash through the demon and expel them from the area.
Spell Name:Summon Spell Companion
Spell Description:Spell will create a mana construct that will help the demon in numerous ways as spell mastery grows. At current spell mastery level, the demon may choose the construct to help with rune research, spell construction, mana monster control, or general help. Only one spell construct is able to operate per demon at a time. If construct is destroyed or dismissed all knowledge within the construct will be lost.
So that was what the universe meant by tools! Alistair shook his head in frustration over how stupid he had been. His Summoning Circle was storing mana and gathering it from the environment around them. He could have used the Summoning Circle to help cast his spells as he was a part of it. From the sound of his second spell, it might even teach him valuable knowledge he needed. Alistair dismissed his Soul Page and walked over to the Summoning Circle. He paused giving his next action some thought. He wanted the security of having a few monsters on his floor in case he had alerted anyone to his presence. So even though he wasn¡¯t sure what all of the choices did, he wanted to make sure the first one was Mana Monster Control. After all it made sense, you wouldn¡¯t label something Mana Monster Control and only have it work on making you breakfast. Alistair stood in the middle of the summoning circle and closed his eyes. Taking a deep cleansing breath he started performing the first steps of spell that came to his mind. Alistair began by chanting a single sound as his hand began making large sweeping motions. Within Alistair¡¯s mind, he could feel the surrounding mana being pushed aside to clear a space for his spell. Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours as Alistair cleared a mental and spiritual area for his construct. Instinct told Alistair the perfect moment, it was like a stillness had settled on him with the expectation of something perfect was about to happen. Then all of sudden his hands and hooves started making fast movements and gestures, the soft quiet sound he was making came out as harsh arcane words. The black void of his mind, showed a small point of light burst forth and began to pulse in tune with his heart beat. A mental eternity happen in his mind as the first light merely pulsed, then he pushed his will into telling it that he needed to understand Mana Monsters, and with that push one light turned into two. It didn¡¯t seem like a lot, two lights pulsing with a simple crack of lighting between them. But then two became four, and four became eight, and so on expanding in a pattern that was amazing to view. Lights pulsed in waves, sending colors down branches while other branches began to swirl mana about themselves. Alistair felt the spell complete itself as his hand came down and slapped the smooth black glass floor of the summoning circle. Opening his eyes, he saw a ball of flame hovering in front of him. ¡°Greetings, Lord Alistair. How may I be of help?¡± The ball of flame spoke with a crackling to his voice. The sound reminded Alistair of the cracking of wood in a fireplace from his previous life. Standing up from his crouching position, Alistair took a moment to look at the end result of the spell. He had never seen anything really like it. The memories of combat from his past life would have sworn the spell was simply a torch or light spell that a mage used. Instead, it was a living creature that could talk. ¡°Yes, perhaps you can tell me what kind of help you can provide?¡± Alistair said. ¡°Of course! Well the spell you used creates a spell construct that is able to gather information from the universe through the surround mana environment. Please forgive me for not being clearer, but the spell construction aspect would be able to better explain the process of the spell to you. Since my focus is on Mana Monster Control, with the use of mana I can gather Mana Monster matrixes and prepare them for summoning. As you take control of them, I can form the summoning spell and imprint it on your soul. Once imprinted, I can help you assign loot to them, evolve them, set automatic summoning, guide their actions, or even have them seek out other mana monsters that are currently in your domain. As I gain experience and history I can even improve on my advice or figure out something new!¡± The ball of flame blobbed up and down during his long speech. Alistair was a bit disappointed actually, It seemed very specific information and he was hoping for a little more help than just about Mana Monsters. ¡°And what can you tell me about your General Help aspect?¡± ¡°Hmmmm¡­.¡± The fireball lowered itself by and inch and almost seemed to be resting to ponder the question. When it was ready to talk again it floated up, ¡°Well, the General Help aspect has some of the knowledge of all of the other aspects; and additional information like dungeon tactics. I guess you could call him a scholar and me a farmer. He would know that I plow fields, plant crops and then harvest them. However, he wouldn¡¯t know how to hook up the plow or which crop to plant and few hundred other tiny things that would eventually turn a field of crops into a barren field. Now keeping up with the example, I harvest my crop or find several Mana Monster Matrixes, you battle one and take control. Well at that point I can generate a new Spell to Summon the Monster, so I have some knowledge of Spell Construction. Problem is that my spell won¡¯t be mana efficient or provide efficient loot creation, or other things I have no idea about.¡± Alistair thought about this new information. It seemed that he would have to call on the General Help aspect at some time but with the curse weighing him down he needed to push forward. ¡°Alright, do you think you can find me a Mana Monster to summon?¡± The fireball started zipping around Alistair for a moment, giving him the impression that it was examining him somehow. Finally, it flew up to hover in front of him. ¡°Ok, I have an understanding of you. I will search the Mana Aether for available Mana Monsters. Should I take 5 mana from you or the Summoning Circle to search?¡± Alistair sighed again, ¡°The Circle.¡± The Fireball hopped up as it hovered over the north circle. ¡°Alright, Lord Alistair. This might take a bit, but I will be back! Bye!¡± And with the farewell, the fireball popped out of existence like it used all of its fuel. Chapter 1.2 – A Duel to the Death! Alistair crouched inside the Summoning Circle for the better part of an hour before hiss spell construct came back. It was mind numbing the waste of time being a dungeon demon amounted to. In fact, he was beginning to think that spending a 1000 years as one would drive him insane. It was then that he realized that he hadn¡¯t even started the count down, he needed to get his dungeon up to level 500 and then he could start waiting down the clock. Picking up pebbles of volcanic glass, Alistair wondered what he could be doing more to help build his dungeon. Maybe he did need to dismiss his current aspect and restart with the General Help. ¡°Hello, my Lord Alistair, I am back!¡± the fireball spell construct appeared in an explosion of flame. What seemed to be strange was that the fireball was smoking, when originally it just seemed to be a smokeless flame. ¡°Wow! There are a lot of mana monsters waiting to be born around here! It took a real long time finding the right ones for you. I found five monsters with different difficulties for you to face. Let me just¡­¡± A small prompt came up in front of Alistair.
Mana Monster Summoning!
Name:Fire Wisp
Rank:F-
Monster Description:The Fire Wisp is a small being of light made from the elemental mana of Fire. Its simple mind is attracted to reflected surfaces as it thinks that another wisp is talking to it. Its natural instincts are to lure curious Adventurers down dangerous paths and into traps as it turns on and off its light. Normally, this mana creature will never attack someone outright, for its only protection is the small flame aura it has.
Dungeon Advantage:Monster has a 10% to led Rank F Adventurer into a Trap. Each rank above F decreases this chance by one half. Example: Rank E = 5%, Rank D = 2.5%, Rank C = 1.25%. When not in combat, Wisps will float along the natural Mana pathways and refine them. This will increase your Summoning Circle Mana Generation and will add different types of Mana to the area. Additionally, if a Wisp is undisturbed near a wall. The stone will have a chance to be converted into mana gems.
Mana Cost:2
Summon Monster?
YesNo
Name:Fire Beetle
Rank:F
Monster Description:The Fire Beetle appears to be a Beetle four inches big with a dark red carapace and bright yellow wings. Its natural instinct is to create a small nesting ground near or in magma pools to help hatch it¡¯s eggs. Should an Adventurer get close to it¡¯s nest, one beetle will signal the rest and swarm the Adventurer. Unlike most fire creatures the beetle does not have a fire aura. Instead it sprays a ball of flame from its mouth the size of it¡¯s body. When the beetle no longer has mana to fuel it¡¯s flame, it will use its mandibles to bite into the intruder. Usually the mandibles have been heated from its fire attack, in which case it has a chance of catching flammable material on fire.
Dungeon Advantage:Due to lack of flame aura, creature becomes capable of increasing the Summoning Circles Maximum Mana capacity when not in combat. Creature has a 1% chance when eating Adventurers to increase demon¡¯s or dungeon¡¯s experience.
Mana Cost:3
Summon Monster?
WARNING! Creature requires Fire Lichen to Survive. You currently do not have any placed in your dungeon, nor the spell to create any. Do you wish to still Summon Monster?
YesNo
Name:Tiny Fire Salamander
Rank:F+
Monster Description:The Fire Salamander appears to be a small salamander with bright red and orange spots. Currently, the Salamander is but a baby a mere five inches long. Its more advance offensive capabilities have yet to be developed. The salamander has a small flame aura, a tail slap, and burning bite. A fire salamander is part fire mana and animal. As such it can consume wild fire mana to stay alive, but will have no chance to grow bigger without real meat. Its natural instincts are to run and hide when facing Adventurers. If forced to fight, a swarm of them will try to climb into the Adventurers clothes and allow their fire aura and burning bite to kill the adventurer.
Dungeon Advantage:Monster has the potential to grow into a Rank A monster and can be designated as a boss for the level. Additionally, it will attack intruding animals and mana monsters in defense of the dungeon. When not in combat, Salamander will eat loose stone and create natural pathways over the Magma pools or new tunnels.
Mana Cost:5
Summon Monster?
YesNo
Name:Insignificant Magma Elemental
Rank:E+
Monster Description:The Magma Elemental appears to be a small humanoid being with solid column for legs. With time, experience, and mana this creature can become a SSS Rank Boss. However, currently you can only summon one that is a foot tall. Elementals sense the world through mana, therefore any disturbance or significant concentration of mana will summon the Elemental to it. Should the source of mana prove to be hostile like an Adventurer they will fight until the death to try and remove the threat. Its natural instincts are to follow the natural mana currents of the dungeon, making them natural guards as they will wander halls and areas reviewing the currents. During a fight the Magma Elemental has several attacks. Its only range attack is to summon a magma ball and throw it at the Adventurer. Should it hit, lava will burst out of it causing severe burns and fire damage. After throwing one to three magma balls, the elemental will charge the strongest mana concentration of the group. The elemental will then start to punch, swing a bladed appendage, grapple, or spit lava at the individual until dead or distracted. During this barrage of combat the elemental will increase its fire aura and began doing fire damage to anyone within 2 feet.
Dungeon Advantage:Monster has the potential to grow into a Rank SSS Boss monster and can be designated as a boss for the level. Additionally, it is the first worker for the dungeon. Being the first worker monster allows spells to be carried into the monster and set anywhere desired. Additionally, workers share mana with the Summoning circle increasing the Max Capacity and Mana Regeneration Rate at the same time. A worker unit may be called upon to help in any Dungeon Construction project. Lastly with the creation of your first worker, Dungeon Quests will be available.
Mana Cost:15
Summon Monster?
YesNo
Name:Hell Animal
Rank:Boss F
Monster Description:A Hell Animal possesses the skeleton remains of an animal wrapped in green flames that can burn through even metal. Currently, you can only use animal skeletons that are no bigger than three feet. Should you research this Monster with your spell construct you may increase the size of the skeleton or the powers bestowed on it. The animal will follow its natural instincts, therefore it is better if a predator skeleton is used. Magical attacks already in the current monster matrix are Medium Flame Aura, Flame Attack, Cloak of Smoke, and Smoke Attack.
Dungeon Advantage:Monster will count as Boss for a level, no more than one Hell Animal can be called per level unless a different type boss is ranked twice above what the hell animals are. Boss Hell animals increase fire damage of all creatures in its level. Dungeon Level will start producing Dark Mana.
Mana Cost:50
WARNING! Creature requires one animal bone to summon.
WARNING! Insufficient Mana, summoning not possible.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Alistair took one look at the list and started to salivate at the thought of a Hellcat as his dungeon boss. Of course, he didn¡¯t even have animal bone and already he was thinking about adventurers being mauled to death by a Hell Bobcat or even a Hell Snake. Shaking his head, he looked at the other choices, but they all seemed so dull compared to the Hell Animal. Fire wisp and Fire beetle were just¡­ boring, so he skipped reading those two and focused on the Elemental Worker and Salamander. Both had some great potential to grow and become powerful Mana Monsters, but without meat the Salamander would never grow. For a moment, he began to wonder how he could even get meat besides wayward Adventurers. Shrugging, at least the Magma Elemental would continue to grow and become more powerful. So it seemed like an obvious choice, Alistair hit the yes on the prompt for an Insignificant Magma Elemental. The Summoning Circle began to come alive as little flecks of light began to float up. ¡°Wow, My Lord! You must be really good in combat I can¡¯t wait to see you beat this elemental!¡± Alistair¡¯s grin stopped for a moment, he had completely forgotten the requirement to battle the creature. Still the construct was right. He had tons of combat experience in his previous life, how much of a difference could this combat be? The answer came to Alistair when some of his mana was stripped from his aura to complete the summoning. The Summoning Circle began to shrink Alistair and the Forming Elemental so that the circle would become a gladiator pit. A Magma Elemental twice his size appeared in front of him. Immediately the air began to shimmer from the creature¡¯s fire aura, and even though Alistair could feel his own aura try to absorb the heat, it was quickly overcome and his skin began to itch and sting. The Magic of the Summoning Circle had temporary decreased both himself and the Elemental to fit in its bounds. Still there was almost no room to maneuver as a fist of molten rock swung its way towards Alistair. The now inch tall demon, ducked quickly, feeling the intense heat of the elementals arm swung overhead. Alistair realized that the only advantage he had over the elemental was that he was faster then it. With a shout Alistair raked his claws out feeling the tips scratch at the rock skin of the elemental. His strike had done nothing, as the elemental left hand transformed into a blade like weapon. Alistair moved as quickly as his body allowed him to, the elemental used both arms to attack in a frenzy. This wasn¡¯t a fight of fine sword play or contest of fists. This was Alistair doing his best to not get hit by a wild blow. Blow and swing came on after another from the elemental. Both Alistair and the elemental began moving about the circle. Alistair was trying his best to keep the elemental at bay. While the elemental was trying to use its considerable size to crush Alistair. Alistair recognize the next attack pattern that the elemental was going to use. So as the elemental began thrusting forward with its bladed hand, while the right hand began its slower journey backwards for a haymaker. Alistair saw his chance and slowly shifted his body to the left. With all the power and precision that Alistair could make, he swung with all his might lodging his needle like claws in a glowing crack between the Elementals rock skin. A shudder immediately was felt through the elementals arm as Alistair pulled at his hand to try and dislodge his claws. Alistair looked up to see that the elemental had finally reset its swing and began the forward motion again. Alistair¡¯s hand was stuck and even though he applied all his frantic energy to dislodge the claws, they wouldn¡¯t budge. The fist swung forward and Alistair did his best to ready himself to dodge. However, instead the punch was aimed at the only stationary part of his body, his hand. The force of the blow sent pieces of rock from the elementals skin flying. Alistair felt several bones in his wrist and hand shatter. Pain wrapped around his mind as this claws acted like a crowbar and pulled out a huge rock from the elementals arm. Lava began to burst forth, large superheated droplets hit the floor and struck Alistair about the chest and legs. Screaming in pain, Alistair instinct was to back away from the monster that was causing him so much pain. He felt the circle¡¯s magic barrier spring up at his back when he neared its edge. Cradling his right hand Alistair looked. The Elemental was shrinking, apparently with the breaking of its magical rock skin had cause the lava core to lose some of its precious essence. The Rock skin was moving and reforming to stop the gap in its body, but it was taking time as the elemental kept dripping lava on the floor. Seeing the only opportunity to end the fight Alistair ran forward screaming in pain as every step sent lighting pain from his right hand through his mind. The elemental noticed Alistair¡¯s charge and with a strange sort of indifferent attitude moved its wounded bladed arm and speared him in the chest. Alistair momentum carried him further and further down the blade. Pain exploded in his chest as organs were pierce and cut. His battle cry became some kind of liquid bubbling and then the blackness came as the Elementals fist came down on his head. Alistair floated on a sea of blackness. It was calm in a way, no pain or thoughts could intrude on his solitude. Slowly, he drifted deeper and deeper. Thoughts started coming back to him: his fight with the elemental; his service as a dungeon demon; his arrogance at thinking with no training on fighting with his new body he could fight an Elemental. For the first time in a long time he was deeply ashamed. He had died because of so many reasons. Why hadn¡¯t he tried to dismiss the Mana Monster Summoning Aspect and tried the General Help Aspect as well? Why hadn¡¯t he truly looked at this skills or asked the Spell construct what would happen once he summoned the monster? Why hadn¡¯t he realized that Alistair was no longer Thorian? Alistair finally settled down from his drifting. His eyes opened and he was in a stone worked room on a bed. Getting up, he realized that he was once again human with simple clothes placed on his body. Jumping up and shouting in joy at the thought of being human once again showed him a room with four doors and what looked like a well in the middle of it. The second door on the left opened and a boy of eight came out of it. The boy had a mess of red hair, freckles were patterned all over his face and when he smiled several teeth were missing from his grin. The clothes he wore were simple fare often found on farmer peasants around the world. The child was even missing shoes and his feet was covered it black dirt. Laughing innocently, the boy spoke, ¡°My Lord Alistair! I see your soul has found its way to your dungeon pocket dimension. That sure was a good fight! When your body reforms, do you think you want to try the elemental again?¡± Chapter 1.3 – Carding isn’t just for Taverns Alistair looked at the red haired farmer boy and for a moment couldn¡¯t really wrap his mind around what the boy was. After all the Spell Construct of Monster Summoning was a ball of flame. He wasn¡¯t some red haired freckled boy that had dirt on his feet. ¡°Spell Construct, what is going on here? And where is here exactly?¡± The red haired boy¡¯s faced wrinkled about the nose and brow as it/he thought on the question. It was becoming harder and harder for Alistair not to think of his construct as some type of person. The boy used his left toe nails to scratch his right foot and then spoke. ¡°Well, you died from the fight. As such, when a normal soul loses its body it goes to the Gods and Goddesses for judgement. You, however, are a Dungeon Demon. Since you have a set lifetime requirement that must be fulfilled prior to judgement, the Gods and Goddesses created pocket dimensions in Summoning Circles. Ya¡¯ see even Mana Monsters who occasionally have trapped souls in them have to have a place to go when they die, so they all come here!¡± The boy said as he moved his hands around the stone room. Alistair had to admit that the boy¡­ spell construct was remarkably smarter than previously. ¡°Bo¡­. Spell Construct, you seemed smarter somehow¡­ how is this possible?¡± Alistair moved closer to the Spell Construct feeling like something was amiss with all this talk about Gods and Goddesses. The boy looked down at his feet, while his face became beet red. ¡°Well Lord Alistair, you have been floating in the Aether for about 3 days now. Normally, I am supposed to tend Mana Monsters while waiting for you to come back, but since the dungeon only has the wild Mana Monster roaming around, there wasn¡¯t anything to do. So¡­¡± the boy started rubbing his hands together looking guiltier every moment. ¡°I went into those other rooms. Most of the items and tools I didn¡¯t touch, but the one with the books held my interest a whole bunch. I know I am not supposed to go in other rooms and I am to keep to my farm or the main room here, but I was bored Lord Alistair!¡± Even though Alistair was a little disturbed by the idea of being dead and nowhere for three days he couldn¡¯t help but laughed at the thought of spell construct being bored and heading into the other rooms. Perhaps he just didn¡¯t want to believe that he could now come back from the dead or that he was stuck with his bad decisions, but at least this place acted as a distraction. Actually, why were there any rooms at all? If this was a pocket dimension just for his soul to go to when he died, why any of this? ¡°Spell Construct can you give me a tour and perhaps explain all of this to me?¡± The boy¡¯s face seemed to lighten up in glee as he realized he wasn¡¯t going to be in trouble. ¡°Of course Lord Alistair. Well, that bed over there is a line that tethers your soul to your dungeon; that way if you die again you can always find your way back. Yeah see this great big stone basin in the middle of the room! Well that is Summoning Circles Mana Storage. Come on over and let me show you.¡± Alistair was taken aback by what the boy was telling him. It seemed that everything in the pocket dimension represented something in the dungeon, or part of his original spells. He walked over to the basin and saw that it was a third of the way full. Then a small drip from the ceiling coming down and scattered the water in waves. From the way colors spread across the surface, Alistair thought it was almost like a drop of oil, and yet the water began to settle down and clear once more. As Alistair was about to ask his spell construct a question about the colors, a flash of red caught his eye. It was almost like a three inch long glowing red hair floating on the water. Alistair slowly cupped his hands and scooped up the water. The water seemed to soak into Alistair making him feel like a wave of power had coursed through his soul. It was then that he realized that his soul had absorbed the mana in the basin, all except the small red glowing hair. ¡°And what¡¯s this boy?¡± The boy giggled and spoke, ¡°That is a defined thread of fire mana. It seems that every now and again the Summoning Circle gets one. As such I have been putting them in the Spell Construction Room. Would you like to go there?¡± Alistair nodded and followed the boy to the first door on his left. When the boy opened the door Alistair was greeted by a sight that seemed familiar yet different. He was coming from a hand worked stone room into a wood hut that had branches lashed together and buried for walls. Light from the sun seemed to leak through the walls as the straw roof smelled slightly of mold. Eight hand baskets were arranged to the left. Bundles of red fibers where in the first basket, while brown was in the second, and the rest of the baskets were empty. The red fibers seemed to have been accumulating into several large handfuls waiting for something to be done. While the brown fibers were nothing more than half a fist worth of fibers. As Alistair walked over to the basket with the red fibers, he saw Carding Brushes, a Spinning Wheel, Needles and Pattern frames. Something in Alistair¡¯s mind tugged at him as he set the red hair like fiber down in the basket. As soon as it hit the basket, the fiber transformed into a thick tangled bundle. The boy went up to him and smiled, ¡°Yeap that happens to me all the time too. Anyway, this is the Spell Construction area. Don¡¯t know a lot about these tools, but if you look over by the wall you came through you can see the two spells you know.¡± Alistair was taken back as he turned around. Two large masterwork tapestries were hanging in the crude hut. The one to the left showed a golden circle with arcane writing in the center; from it sprung from mana monsters, a city, and even Demons. The one to the right showed an exotic and chaotic pattern in the center and around it were many people dressed in different jobs. He even saw the boy with a hay fork and bucket in his hands. Colored threads flashed and Alistair knew that it was made of mana. The boy simply shrugged and headed back out. Alistair followed him into the next room, which turned out to be a large field with a shed. The sky appeared to be gray and the field was surrounded by a dark and thick forest. The boys smile spread across his face as he turned around showing off his room. ¡°This is my room Lord Alistair. It¡¯s here that I capture mana monsters from the forest, grow foods to help with their evolutions, and with enough mana I can even give monsters different attacks and defenses by putting different harnesses and collars on them! Come on over to my shed!¡± Alistair headed over to the boy¡¯s shed and listened as he picked up each tool and gave his Lord a brief description of what it did. When he was done, the boy dragged Alistair over to the animal paddock to see the mana monsters that he had captured, and sure enough the Fire Wisp, Fire Beetle, Fire Salamander, and Hell Animal were on display. When asked about the Elemental, the boy simply said, ¡°Well sense we lost the fight, we can¡¯t get it unless we kill it with some of our monsters or until the surrounding Aether makes another one.¡± To Alistair, he was disappointed by the news. He had failed at killing the elemental and wanted another chance at fighting it. The fight had kept replaying in his mind about what he should have done or possible weapons or spells that he needed to research. As Alistair asked about researching weapons to help him out, the boy took him to the next door. Inside the door it looked like a side room to a great library as a small shelf of books; a scribe¡¯s desk with paper, quills and ink; and a small chest were in the room. Inside of it was a single copper dungeon coin. Apparently, the chest represented the loot that Alistair could attach to his monsters. The boy explained that all Demons were given one copper dungeon coin for their loot table and that the General Help spell construct was supposed to research new loot and more coins. Smiling Alistair thought of the funny look on Adventurers faces as the only loot he could have attached to the Elementals was one Copper Dungeon Coin. Apparently there had be some kind of research into coins or trade before he could multiple numbers of coins to a monster. Lastly the boy led him to a room that looked like a carpentry shop. Saws, chisels, vises, nails, lumber, and a thousand other tools were neatly in place on a rack. This was a Rune Research shop, and as Alistair walked around the room he wondered what carpentry had to do with Rune Research. Still, Alistair watched the boy go around the shop exploring. Part of him felt the stirrings of a memory, where at the age of six he sat at his mother¡¯s feet using the carding tools; while she sang and worked the spinning wheel. Alistair smiled, his mother had been a weaver, and even though the memory of her face was lost to him forever, he did have her voice in his head, and for that moment it was enough. The boy had stopped talking for a moment as the look on Lord Alistair¡¯s face surprised him. It was a type of smile that he had never seen on the demon or human¡¯s face in the short time the Spell Construct knew him. Alistair looked at the boy and spoke, ¡°You know, I have been thinking. I seems so strange to keep calling you Spell Construct or Boy. You look like a Callum to me, what about it? Are you a Callum?¡± As the boy smiled as Prompt came into being.
Secret Quest Unlocked
A Mind is a terrible thing to Waste! (I)
When the first Dungeon Demons came into being they needed help to develop their magic and take control of the dungeon they were supposed to build. So the Goddess of Knowledge, Ailnee, and the God of Magic, Prothus, developed the Spell Companion spell. Most Demons brutally change Aspects faster than most people change clothes. You currently have had an active aspect for several days and have given it a name. Spend the next several hours with your aspect teaching or experimenting in a room that isn¡¯t the aspect''s main room.
Rewards:Experience Points and bonus depending on room chosen and effort applied
Accept Quest?
YesNo
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As Alistair pressed Yes as Callum spoke, ¡°Thank you, My Lord Alistair. I won¡¯t forget this and I will work to the best of my ability for you.¡± Alistair remembered hundreds of pledges given to him by Adventurers after he paid for their services or pressed them into an Adventure as Thorian. However, this time Alistair felt something new, a sense of humbleness and perhaps a bit of unworthiness. As Thorian he had always assumed the right to command and to lead. However, after his first failure of capturing a Mana Monster and little or no actual knowledge of being a Dungeon Demon, Callum honestly chose to follow Alistair. Of course, this all could be part of the Quest or Spell, but a small spark of hope was in Alistair held the belief that maybe it was because he was starting to treat Callum as a real person. Smiling, Alistair spoke, ¡°Come Callum, there are some tools in the Spell Construction room I am familiar with.¡± Callum and Alistair went over to the Spell Construction Room and found a pair of wooden stools that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Grabbing them he placed them near the tangled baskets of fire mana threads and earth mana threads. He picked up two Carding Brushes, as Alistair looked at them they had the standard wooden handles and curved brush pads. Yet the seemed to have the tiniest nails that he had ever heard of placed in such thin rows that he knew no blacksmith made these. Still the purpose of the brushes were clear and Alistair reached into the fire mana tangle and pulled out a bunch of fibers the size of half his fist and placed it on the brush. Alistair spoke, ¡°There isn¡¯t a lot of my previous life I remember unless you count killing Mana Monsters. For some reason it feels like that was the only thing I put importance on.¡± Alistair started pulling the brushes against one another moving the tangle of Mana fiber further down into each brush. ¡°I get this vague memory as I do this. Like I have done this hundreds of times sitting on the floor by a woman¡¯s dress. I can¡¯t really remember who she is or even her face. What I do remember is black hair so shiny that in the light it was almost blue and singing. There isn¡¯t a particular song or even a memory of her voice, but I as I am sitting here carding these mana fibers I get the sense that with her singing I felt safe and loved.¡± Callum¡¯s eyes had been on the brushes the whole and with the long pause Alistair wondered if he even had heard him talk. As Alistair pulled against the brushes, he felt a small tangle give way and remembered a childhood laugh of glee. Something about this had brought him great joy before all the battling in his previous life. ¡°Perhaps she was your mother?¡± Said Callum still watching the brushes. ¡°I wish I knew what a mother and father were like. I just appeared with all my knowledge when you summoned me, and yet every day brings something new and exciting. What was it like having a mother and father?¡± Alistair stopped for a moment and tried to recall. Callum looked up at his face, watching him as Alistair tried to form an answer. ¡°Well, beside what I told you about the woman that could be my mother, I don¡¯t remember much else. As far as my father goes, I get feelings like wanting to make him proud or intense pressure to pick up a sword and practice. It¡¯s a bit of a jumble, and I can¡¯t even remember their faces¡­ but what I do remember is Carding. Now when you place a mana thread into basket we saw that it came out as a tangled mess of fibers. I remember that you want to put a little bit of the fibers on the Carding brushes and briefly pull them across each other in short bursts. This helps to push the fibers down into the brush and then once they are good and stuck in the brushes we start long strokes. These long strokes began to pull the fibers apart and arrange them in the rows of the brush. Why don¡¯t you see if you can¡¯t find a second pair of brushes and work with me?¡± Callum went off in search of another pair of brushes. As he rummaged through the small hut, Alistair continued with the brushing motion as there were more tangles to break up. Once Callum found a second pair of brushes, he sat back down and began to work on Carding the Fire Mana just like Alistair had done. For the next thirty minutes, they worked with little conversation. Alistair watched young Callum and either nodded his approval of the boys technique or gave him a suggestion now and again. It felt strange to Alistair at first giving advice and as the boys frustration rose with each suggestion he decided to try a different tactic. ¡°Tell me Callum, when my body regenerates we will have a wild mana monster loose in the dungeon. What should we do about it?¡± Alistair watched as the boy struggled against a particular hard knot in the brush. ¡°Well my Lord Alistair, truthfully the Summoning Circle will protect us against all Mana Monsters, wild or not. I suppose that we should try and summon the Fire Wisp, but I am not sure how you are going to win against it. You see the Fire Wisp is made of pure flame. So swiping your claws back and forth won¡¯t do any damage. If you had a spell, you could damage it. Heck even a high powered Fire spell would burn out the Fire Wisp, but you haven¡¯t gotten anything like that.¡± Callum pause of a moment as he finally pulled out the knot of fiber in the brushes and smiled looking up at Alistair. Alistair smiled back and nodded his approval. Callum returned to work and talking, ¡°Anyway I am sure you can kill the Fire Beetle. Sure it has a breathe weapon, but with your speed and claws you can puncture its hide. The problem is the Fire Lichen, normally it grows in the plain of Fire and survives off refined Fire mana like the wisps can produce. If we had Wisps, I am sure that the Fire Lichen would spawn in the dungeon and then we could get the Fire Beetle. I suppose there is nothing to it but to battle the salamander and hope we win. It¡¯s just¡­ the salamander is very quick and its tail slap can be very dangerous if you are not ready. Not to mention, even if we are able to kill it, we will have to spend a great deal of mana to get a large enough swarm to kill the elemental and without the Wisps feeding us more mana we are stuck. Maybe you should dismiss me, I am just not very good right now.¡± Callum said in a depressed voice. Looking at Callum, Alistair put his brushes down and spoke. ¡°Callum, we are in the Spell construction room doing the work of that Aspect. Perhaps we can figure something out, but if we can¡¯t then we can¡¯t. What you suggested isn¡¯t bad, if we can¡¯t figure out a way or create a spell to kill the Wisp. Then you and me will go over what the salamander can do and I will fight him. After preparing for the fight if I still don¡¯t win, then we come back here and figure out how to create a spell. Just because there is no immediate answer doesn¡¯t mean we give up. It¡¯s just this time around, we are going to have a plan ahead of time.¡± Alistair winked at Callum, and Callum laughed at the simple advice. Perhaps it was the laugh or doing a simple chore or maybe it was the first time that Alistair felt like there was a path forward, but he finally felt happiness in this lifetime. Time rolled on, and Alistair and Callum both discussed possible experiments for creating a new spell to help Alistair in his fight with the wisp. It seemed that needle point switching was used to create spells and one had to have a pattern in mind prior to starting. Otherwise a random switch would undo the bound mana and make it dissolve into air. When the brushes shown straight glossy fibers, Alistair showed Callum how to roll it into a large straight bundle to be put on the spinning wheel. Sadly, Alistair had no idea how to thread the wheel or even how to operate it once threaded. But as the last bit of fiber was straighten a prompt came up notifying Alistair that he had completed his quest.
Quest Complete!
A Mind is a terrible thing to Waste! (I)
Talking with Callum and showing him the basics of refining mana has increased his knowledge of Spell Construction by 10%. As a reward for your dedication to your companion, another 30% has been given to him in the area of Spell Construction. He may now use the tools: Spinning Wheel and Skeinwinder. Additionally, you have been rewarded 100 experience points for dedication to the construct and the Spell: +1 Damage. Unlike mages, a Dungeon Demon can only learn spells that can be enchanted onto items of their loot table. If you would like the spell to become permanent please select a creature and add an enchanted weapon to their loot table.
A Mind is a terrible thing to Waste! (II)
Callum has gained knowledge in a second aspect, as such it would be a horrible thing to dismiss him and waste that hard won knowledge. Keep Callum around until he gains 100% knowledge in Spell Construction.
Accept Quest?
YesNo
As Alistair pressed Yes, and then felt his presence being tugged upon. Looking up Callum, the boy said something, but no sound came out as Alistair gained tunnel vision and felt his soul being pushed into his body. Alistair woke up feeling stiff and sore. Looking around he no longer saw the rough weaver¡¯s hut that he had been in, but the Magma Pools of his dungeon. As Alistair scanned his domain out in the middle of the largest pool sat the Insignificant Magma Elemental drawing Magma up into itself.
No new chapter will be coming out tomorrow. As I will be spending the day to clean up the grammar of the prologue and chapter sections. Chapter 2.0 – A Demon with a Plan Alistair stood there looking at the Magma Elemental, and for some reason it felt like the Mana Monster was trying to taunt him. Sure the monster was just watching him move back and forth on the ledge, but knowing that Alistair had caused a Wild Mana Monster to be born made him feel as if the Elemental was his personal enemy. Callum appeared in a flash of light and the ball of fire began to speak. ¡°My lord, it was amazing I just received a flood of information about Spell Construction! I feel like I am going to burst with all this knowledge. It feels¡­ Ummmmm My Lord is everything ok?¡± Alistair turned to Callum and merely pointed to the Elemental. ¡°What is it doing, Callum?¡± Callum took a moment to stare at the monster before answering. He simply bobbed up and down once, before starting, ¡°Well my best analysis is that it is cycling magma through its being, capturing defined fire mana and growing stronger. When I first captured the mana monsters matrix, I started to absorb facts about the monster and what would be needed for its evolution. A Magma Elemental comes from the God Plane of Fire, and guards the borders against the Goddess Plane of Earth. Its best environment is a place that had defined threads of Fire and Earth mana that can be absorbed into its matrix. Its most logical instinct is to absorb those types of Mana Threads till it can grow into a boss Elemental. Once done it will began to breed and send out additional minions under its control. Now, using my new found knowledge, the Summoning Circle has a higher chance of catching defined mana threads in the environment then the Elemental. If we don¡¯t do anything, I would say that in about a month the Elemental will be able to assume its boss form and began to breed new Elementals. If we can defeat the Fire Wisp, then we can be in direct competition for mana resources against the Elemental. That will give us another month or two before it evolves. Assuming we can get the beetle and salamander, I feel confident that we can give ourselves another four months or about half a year before the Elemental evolves.¡± Alistair stayed quiet for a moment thinking over the plan. Everything that he and Callum discussed in the pocket dimension showed sound reasoning and hadn¡¯t change even with the Elemental making its home in front of Alistair. First, Alistair called up his Soul Page to look at the new spell but noticed a few other things as well.
Soul Page
Exp till Next Level:100/1000
Skills
Skill Name:Mana Monster Summoning
Skill Level:0, 20%
Spells
Spell Name:Summoning Circle Creation
Spell Mastery:0, 20%
Spell Name:Summon Spell Companion
Spell Mastery:0, 50%
Spell Name:+1 Damage
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:10 mana
Spell Description:You have learned your first Spell! As a Dungeon Demon the only spells you can learn are those on enchanted items. +1 Damage is a common enchantment that is given to weapons. The enchantment strengthens the weapon using ambient mana. First, it increases Damage output by 1.5X, the same as if the weapon had been forged using better materials for damaging edge/part. Due to the damage enhancement being magical, the spell gives the weapon a 50% change of damaging purely mana creatures. Lastly the weapon has an increase durability as the enchantments mana is used to take damage prior to the physical material being damaged. As a demon your claws will receive the bonus of casting the spell. If you wish to make this spell permanent, place it on a weapon and give it to mana monsters loot table in which it has a 33% or greater drop rate. Otherwise the spell will last ten minutes.
It seemed that not only had Alistair received the 100 Experience Points and new spell, but had increased his skill levels in Mana Monster Summoning and his two other spells. Thinking over his new spell, he spoke to Callum. ¡°Alright lad, looks like we might have a spell that can damage the Fire Wisp. The plus one damage spell will increase the damage on my claws and give me a 50% of actually damaging it. Why don¡¯t you tell me what to expect when we summon this thing.¡± Callum bobbed again and spoke, ¡°Hmmmmmm, yes, the spell should work. The fire wisp¡¯s only defense and offense is it¡¯s fire aura. Even though you have fire resistance, you have yet to fully develop into a Fire Mephit, so expect some pain. The fire wisp usually needs a large area for it to dodge. This is mainly due to its pulse or blink ability requiring several feet to work. My guess is that, sense the circle will shrink you both slightly, that the wisp will not be given it enough room to dodge. So my thoughts are get close to the wisp and start swiping your claws across it. What are your thoughts?¡± Alistair began to jump up and down and stretch out his arms and legs. Even though Callum had basically stated that this was a simple win, Alistair was refusing to take the chance of failure. ¡°Alright Callum, I agree with you. It doesn¡¯t seem like a super strong creature and with the spell active, I should have a chance of killing it. So let me cast the spell and then I will look at you, nodding at that point, to give me the prompt to summon the Fire Wisp.¡± Callum simply bobbed up and down in response and went over to north circle outside of the main one. Alistair stopped jumping around for a moment and let his heart beat calm down. Closing his eyes, Alistair focused on the spell that he just learnt. Slowly the fog of his mind cleared and an imaginary image of the weaver¡¯s hut showed a new tapestry of sword and axe in the middle. The arcane script around the tapestry slowly started making sense to him. The script was made in the universal language of runes, and each word wasn¡¯t just a sound but a movement associated with it. It was strange that his mind could understand the language when earlier it just looked like scribbles to him, but the realization came that the Runes were meant to be read when one was channeling mana. He slowly got into position for the first word. Lacing his fingers and shoving his left hoof forward allowed him to speak. The next position came and then the next. Alistair finally understood why the runic language was used to teach Spells. One, it required mana to be able to read it. Two, the image that the rune carve into Alistair mind included hooves. It was just as likely that if he was human the image would be of feet. Somehow, mana and runes acted in concert with one another to transmit the information to individuals trying to learn new spells. Unlike the other two spells Alistair had casted, he could feel the one he just learned was different. Apparently, reading the language and making the poses were two different things. He felt that small movements were just not quite perfection, and as such one of the aspects of the spell was subtlety being altered. As the mana left his body to fill in the spell matrix, Alistair felt his claws began to harden in magical density. However, he also felt how thin the spell matrix was in places. Realizing that not all magic was instinct and that he would have to practice his new spell. He examined the enchantment in his mind. It seemed that the spell had succeeded but instead of a relative fast mana recovering and decent damage absorption both were weaker then what the spell should have been. As such Alistair was fine facing the Fire Wisp, but anything else he needed to think about recasting the spell. Alistair opened his eyes and checked his claws, and the only difference he could see was blue points of light seemed to glitter within them. Alistair nodded at Callum and a prompt came up asking him if he wanted to summon a Fire Wisp. Pressing Yes, Alistair felt the drain of mana coming from his body and saw a golden light seem to burst forth from the inlayed Summoning Circle. Alistair felt the world grow bigger as he shrunk by an inch. The Fire Wisp appeared approximately three inches from him in the Summoning Circle. Stolen novel; please report. Just as the blue summoning mana faded, Alistair took a step forward and swung with all his might. His claws passed through the wisp like nothing was there, and Alistair began to feel heat upon his skin. It was like being in the desert at noon, as the sun beat down on you and the sand began to build up huge amounts of heat. Quickly, Alistair slashed again with his left hand, putting wild strength in it. Alistair stumbled once again as his claws went through nothing, and a seed of doubt began to cross his mind. What if the spell had been altered lowering his chances of successful attack? The heat blasted him and he could feel the skin of his flesh began to steam as his natural fire resistance was overloaded. With no other choice to be made Alistair swung again, he swiped at where his neck would have been on the creature carrying through to the hip. His doubt quickly dissipated, as he slowly felt his claws dig into something. The feeling was like dragging his hand through superheated water. Perhaps it was his bad luck that he didn¡¯t connect the first three times, but his next two swings also did damage to the Fire Wisp. The wisp seemed to be weak and almost on deaths door, trails of claw marks appeared through its body as harsh orange energy against the pale red light it usually emitted. His next swipe missed, but the follow up strike did enough damage that the Fire Wisp exploded in blue mana. At first the blue mana began circling around and around till finally it soaked into Alistair¡¯s body, and Event prompt came up.
Event!
You have captured your first Mana Monster!
Today you have started the long task of building your dungeon. With the capture of a Fire Wisp your spell Mana Monster Summoning Spell has been altered to show all the monsters you are able to summon. In addition, the first time battling a Mana Monster you will receive Experience Points. The Experience Points from a Fire Wisp is 1. Talk with your Spell Companion on setting the loot table for the monster prior to summoning. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 10%. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 2.
Alistair took a moment to review the prompt and then dismiss it. He was a bit tired and could feel the heat coming off of his skin like a harsh sun burn. Yet he smiled at his success, the fire wisp was his. True it wasn¡¯t a tough fight but then again he was going to wait and recast his plus one damage spell before proceeding to fight the Fire Salamander. Looking over at Callum the fire ball was bobbing up and down wildly. Yelling in joy every time the ball seemed to hop up. ¡°Callum?¡± Alistair said without getting any noticeable result from the ball. ¡°CALLUM!¡± The ball stopped bobbing and seemed to have quieted itself down. ¡°I know it¡¯s exciting that you have your first Mana Monster to play with, but I need your help now. I received a prompt about setting the creature¡¯s loot table before summoning. Why do I need to do that?¡± Having calmed down, Callum seemed to turn in his circle and another Prompt came up.
Loot Table for Fire Wisp
Total Required Summoning Mana2
Current Loot Table
0.1% Chance of dropping a Mana Stone
Additional Items
10% Chance of dropping a Single Dungeon Copper Coin
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table. Warning! Monster has less then a 1% Drop rate. Cannot be summoned without increasing loot table.
Callum came over to the prompt and began to speak. ¡°The true nature of loot and why monsters have to drop it is only known by the General Help Aspect. However, I do know some important facts. When a Mana Monster dies a part of the Mana used to create it is placed into Experience Points, another part is given back to the environment, and the rest goes into making loot. Now with Wild Mana Monsters like the Elemental over there, if only some of the mana went into experience points and nothing else, the environment could create another Elemental in a short time. Anyway, the loot table acts as a stop gap from the world creating Mana Monsters constantly. By putting the mana into an object, it becomes stable for a time and the Mana Monsters have to find another birth place. Since, the Fire Wisp is such a low mana cost, it can¡¯t even create a simple coin from the portion of mana that it gives up. So the environment absorbs the mana for a little while waiting to see if more Fire Wisps are killed. If more are, then eventually a coin drops. If none are, then the Summoning Circle gets the unused mana since the kill occurred in a dungeon. I would suggest highlighting the chance for a coin and then summoning five Fire Wisps, My Lord.¡± Alistair looked over at Callum for a moment, it was almost as if the ¡®My Lord¡¯ bit was added on at the end for his sake. Eyeballing him, Alistair tapped the chance for a coin. The prompted changed slightly, asking if he wanted to set the coint to the creatures loot table and he pressed Yes. The prompt disappeared, but Alistair wasn¡¯t complete sure about why he only needed to summon five of the Wisps. ¡°Callum, something isn¡¯t making sense. Why don¡¯t I summon twenty of the wisps, hunt them down with my claws and gain experience? It may sound boring, but Adventurers grind creatures for experience all the time to increase their level.¡± Callum shook and then spoke, ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that you are a Dungeon Demon. You only gain experience by capturing a Mana Monster. Once they are summoned and you kill them, the mana just gets absorbed back into the summoning circle. As far as summoning twenty of the Wisps¡­ well technically you could. It would generate mana in the Summoning Circle faster, but the dungeon wouldn¡¯t support it. See they can only go within 300 feet of the summoning circle, by creating a whole bunch of them, its like creating a whole bunch of rabbits in a field¡­ ok no don¡¯t get example. Alright, its like a whole bunch of Adventurers in one level of a dungeon. Now, all those Adventurers want loot and Experience Points, but there are only so many monsters. So after a while they get bored and start killing each other, until monsters start appearing again. Of course, since it takes some time for them to be summoned perhaps the adventures kill too many of themselves. So in the end, the dungeon produces more monsters that are being killed by the Adventurers¡­. My Lord are you ok?¡± Alistair shook his head a bit, realizing that dungeon management was fairly complex. As an Adventurer all he ever needed to do was swing his sword and kill a monster. Now, it seemed his life would be taken up with Management tasks. Deciding not to argue with the spell aspect, mainly because he hadn¡¯t really understood the point that Callum was trying to make. He cleared his mind and instinctively activated the spell Summon Mana Monster. As his hands and hooves moved on their own, until there came a critical point as to what monster he was going to summon. Moving his hands in the runes of Fire Wisp the creature began to take form in his summoning circle, growing larger and larger. He could hear Callum trying to talk, but the spell required his complete focus. As the small amount of mana leeched out of him, Alistair saw his first mana monster slowly rise from the summoning circle and its light fade in and out as it moved about the dungeon. Callum floated up to Alistair¡¯s right side and spoke, ¡°Ahhhh, now that you have summoned the first Fire Wisp do you want me to operate the Summoning Circle for you and set the amount of Fire Wisps?¡±
Author¡¯s note: Yeap¡­. Not a very interesting fight. I promise the Fire Salamander will be a bit more of a challenge. This was just to get things in the dungeon started. Chapter 2.1 – A Burning Tooth Ache Alistair looked at Callum for a moment. What in the grand heavens was he talking about?! ¡°Callum, I feel like I am missing part of the conversation. If you can cast the summoning spell, then why did I need to do it? And set the amount of Fire Wisps? What are you talking about it?¡± Alistair was starting to pace in the Summoning Circle. ¡°And further more we talked about how the Fire Wisps will help define the mana in my dungeon but where in the world did this 300 feet come from? Don¡¯t I control this whole Volcano? Callum, can you understand that this is all a little frustrating?! I feel like every time I complete an action, two more questions come up.¡± Alistair kicked an obsidian pebble into the magma. Alistair started to take deep breathes and for the first time in a long time, and he began to wonder where all this anger was coming from. As Thorian all he had to do was come up with a plan and people just followed it. Set up base camp here! Go map the terrain here! He was beginning to miss the simple life as an Adventurer. After all, if he needed to get stronger for a dungeon boss, he would just slaughter a bunch of mana monsters that kept regenerating from the Summoning Circle. Gain five to ten levels and then face the boss killing it. By the Gods and Goddesses, all he had to do as an Adventurer was kill stuff¡­ Alistair grew quiet for a moment. He remembered his Reincarntation trial and reason he was here. Yes, Alistair was good at killing, but that didn¡¯t mean he was good at being a leader. Slowly Alistair¡¯s thoughts turned dark. There were times he had set up a base camp too close to wandering mana monster¡¯s trails. There were times when mapping a territory had caused a ranger¡¯s death and he would send someone right out afterwards in the same direction. Clearing his throat, Alistair knew he should apologize for his outburst to the Spell Construct, but he was ashamed that he had fallen on his anger because he was a fear to ask for help. Alistair took a deep breath and summon the little natural courage he had in him. ¡°Callum, I am¡­ my outburst¡­¡± Words escaped him as he tried to grope for some way to explain the shame and confusion that plagued him. Stopping himself from walking, Alistair closed his fist and felt his nails puncture his hand. The pain cleared his mind and he tried to summon the words one more time. ¡°Callum, I am afraid of all of this. I don¡¯t know what I am doing and I have already sent a Mana Monster free. Perhaps we can go over the plan again and you tell me some more details¡­ and I am sorry about the outburst.¡± The last little bit was spoken softly, he wasn¡¯t even sure if Callum heard him, but it appeared someone else had.
Event!
Better to be thought a Fool, then open one¡¯s mouth and remove all Doubt!
The Universe has heard your foolish cry of ego and arrogance! You removed all doubt that you maybe knew what you were doing. Yet in the lowest of moments, you choose to accept your fear of your ignorance and even apologized for your childlike behavior. This act of courage and understanding has demonstrated wisdom. Perhaps not all is lost. Grow and learn about yourself and you may still find happiness.
Reward: +1 to Wisdom
Callum slowly floated up to Alistair as the Demon dismissed the prompt. ¡°I am afraid to, My Lord. I can¡¯t explain it but everything I do is new and it terrifies me. All I want to do is give you all the information I can, but I know that I am missing critical information. It terrifies me that you may decide to change my aspect and everything that I have done becomes erased. Your words scared me, because I had kept information about the Summoning Circle functions away from you till you needed it. I was afraid that you were going to erase me¡­ I don¡¯t want to forget.¡± Alistair grew cold from what Callum had said. He had made the Spell Construct fear for its own safety, and the Spell Construct wasn¡¯t complete wrong. There was a moment that Alistair thought about changing aspects and getting the needed information. It was a dark moment, when he wanted to blame someone else for his lack of knowledge. ¡°Callum, I am sorry. I can¡¯t take away that fear, because I will always have that power, but right now you are my only friend and I won¡¯t give that up for something we can figure out. So the plan¡­. We have caught a Fire Wisp!¡± Alistair laughed lightly trying to break the mood. It was ill timed and didn¡¯t express the depth of pain either one of them had acknowledged, all it did was cover it up waiting for it to burst forth again. Yet it was all Alistair had to offer, and it was just enough for Callum to continue. The Fire ball bobbed, ¡°Yes, My Lord. We have caught the Fire Wisp.¡± Callum voice still held a great deal of emotion, but this was business and the pain, fear, and hurt needed to wait for another time. ¡°When you summoned our first Fire Wisp, we set its loot table and let it follow its natural instincts. I know you were confused about our discussion on the amount of Mana Monsters one floor should have. Thinking it over, I can understand that it is a complex topic. Basically, I want to try and keep our dungeon floor balanced and most of the monsters following their natural instincts. Why?.... I can¡¯t really tell you. I know that if attempt to manage every aspect of our Monsters, many will die and we might accomplish some goals too quickly, while not having the setup right for it.¡± The fire ball shook for a moment and then seemed to brighten its light, ¡°Sorry, I realize I got off topic. Anyway, once a demon summons a Mana Monster under their control in a Summoning Circle, the Circle can learn its matrix and automatically summon them. What we would need to do is the following: You cast Summon Fire Wisp again. When the spell gets to the point of materialization, you slow down how much mana you are feeding it. When doing that I can activate the Circles Mana and inscribe runes in the circle to summon the creature automatically and up to a certain number of them to follow their own instincts. Once done, we should wait till Fire Lichen is grown in the dungeon. If we are lucky it should start growing here in a week, maybe two. If we aren¡¯t lucky, then we will need to hunt for it in the pocket dimension. I know something else that is new. Right now, we just need to focus on the next step.¡± ¡°So I set that Circle to summon five total Fire Wisps and we wait. While we wait we can summon the other two Mana Monsters to battle and gain them as well. Additionally, we can improve the Dungeon¡¯s range, surrounds, or numerous other items if I can figure out a way to pull you back into the pocket dimension.¡± Callum said. Alistair¡¯s mind started to pound in what was quickly forming as a headache. Once again, one action led to two or three more questions that he really needed answers to. Taking a deep breath Alistair spoke again, ¡°Ok summon the Fire Wisp. When the spell is ready to activate, slowly feed it mana instead of all in one go. You will do your stuff and we will have the Circle automatically summon Wisps. Two, might as well fight the other two Mana Monsters as we will need them to kill the Elemental. However, instead of summoning them right away, we need to wait till Fire Lichen starts to grow. So while we are waiting, there is the possibility of us doing something else. Is that pretty much the next steps, Callum?¡± Callum bobbed up and down and then spoke, ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡± His voice was flat and Alistair knew that something had changed but he didn¡¯t know what or what he could do to find out. Instead he made his way to the center of the summoning circle. Once again, he went through the motions of summoning a Fire Wisp. When he almost completed the spell, he started slowing down, feeling the tug that the spell had on his mana. Slowly, like only ringing a drop of water from a cloth, Alistair fed mana into the spell. It was like standing on a ledge of a cliff feeling the wind rush around you while you tried to keep your balance from falling over. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Then Alistair felt the change in the spell, the needed mana to fill the spell void started coming from the all around it. Opening his eyes, as the danger of failing to complete the spell was over, Alistair saw Summoning Circle alive with golden light. Callum hovered in his usual circle, while the other three had Golden runes hovering in them. Wondering, what Callum was doing Alistair summon mana and looked at each rune. Just like when he looked at his spells he began to gain a sense of the position of his hands and hooves, along with the sound of each rune. He wanted to take more time to study them, but the Circle began to glow brightly. More Runes began to appear surrounding the main circle. They began to rotate and with each rotation spin slightly faster. The first rune moved into the circle of light and became part of the whirlwind of color, and then the next one until finally all three were integrated into the rotating pattern. Alistair felt the Mana of the Circle flare to life and on the outside of the circle golden runes of arcane script burned themselves into a second ring. Callum¡¯s fiery body sagged to the ground for a moment and then slowly floated back up. Alistair stepped away from the circle and went over to Callum. Concern showed on his face as he realized that he couldn¡¯t even comfort the lad with a physical touch. As Alistair step out of the big circle a flash of light occurred and a Fire Wisp appeared behind him. The Summoning Circle was creating Mana Monsters without any thought by Callum or himself. ¡°Callum?¡± Alistair said in a whisper. ¡°Callum are you all right?¡± Callum slowly bobbed his body up and down for a moment prior to him speaking, ¡°Channeling the Mana in the Circle was overtaxing, My Lord. I don¡¯t suppose I could rest before we continue?¡± Alistair simply nodded at Callum and the ball disappeared. For what he could only assume was a full day Alistair waited for Callum to appear. At first he was able to watch the Fire Wisps appear and disappear about the dungeon. Even one particular Wisp seemed to stay stationary glazing at its reflection in a bit of Volcanic Glass. The Glass itself slowly started to sweat from the Fire Wisps aura, and when wisp finally wondered off, Alistair saw that it had created something close to a black glass mirror from the rock. Yet, you could only look at flashing lights so long. Alistair¡¯s thoughts kept coming back to him. What he should have said to Callum? Why he was so angry at the Elemental? Why had he caused Adventurers to die so carelessly? The thoughts haunted him, so he turned to magic. Alistair practiced his new Spell over and over again. He slowed down the incantation so that he could feel the exact placement of his hands and hooves. Yet no matter how slow he made the incantation, he would still deplete his mana and have to wait for it to recover, and in that stillness watching the Elemental slowly getting stronger, the thoughts that he tried to keep at bay came to him. It was at one of these periods of self-reflection that Callum returned. Alistair was quiet for a moment as he thought it was nothing more than a flash of light from a Wisp, and then he spoke, ¡°Callum, are you ok?¡± Callum bobbed up and down, ¡°Yes, my spell matrix has recovered from the strain of channeling the mana, My Lord. Would you like to summon the Fire Beetle next?¡± Alistair let out the breath that he was holding. In his own mind he let Callum¡¯s answer absolve him of how he acted yesterday, and not just how he was physically doing. ¡°Callum, I am glad to hear you are well. I know the Fire Beetle is next, but we can¡¯t summon him yet. So I would like to try and battle the Fire Salamander today. That way we can finish its loot table and summon a few for the dungeon while you rest again. Could you give me a few more moments before I cast my Damage Spell?¡± Callum¡¯s answer was simply to bob up and down, then move over to his usual circle. Alistair quietly thanked the Gods and Goddesses that Callum was back, and even though he had spent a whole day in silent thought, Callum stood right next to him and he wasn¡¯t worried so much about unbidden thoughts that he had been fighting. When it was time Alistair took his time and performed the Damage Spell almost flawlessly, but there was enough mana and tolerance in the spell for it to work perfectly. With Claws glittering, Alistair nodded to Callum and the prompt asking him if he wanted to summon a Fire Salamander came up. He pressed yes, and felt himself began to shrink to half his size. Blue mana began to condense into a lizard like form. The salamander had a flat head and bulging eyes, slowly red, orange and black stripes and spotting began to appear on the creature. In a flash, it moved with small legs charging Alistair. Surprised, Alistair dropped to a crouch ready to dodge to the left or right as soon as he could. The Salamander opened up his mouth and a lava tongue came out towards Alistair. Throwing himself to the right, the fiery tongue began to drip flames. Hot drops of Lava hit Alistair about the legs, and he was grateful he had thrown his body out of the way. The Fire Salamander had black teeth that looked a lot like the Volcanic Glass that surrounded them. Rolling as fast as he could to the Salamander¡¯s side Alistair was hoping to try a flank it. It was then the Salamander¡¯s tail, slapped into his side and sent him flying against the Summoning Circle¡¯s barrier. Pain exploded from the burns he had received from the tail, and the broken ribs that came from the crushing blow. As he fall to the ground he remembered from Callum that the creature could use its tail as a weapon. Alistair got back up quickly, fighting through the pain of the ribs and waiting. The Salamander quickly turned itself around and its bulging eyes fell back on Alistair. Once again it charge, and opened its mouth for an attack. Alistair unable to move as quickly, was struck on his right arm with the burning tongue. Screaming through the pain, Alistair swiped his left hand out at the tongue and tore an inch off of it. Alistair¡¯s skin was smoldering as the salamander rushed forward and used its skull to slam him into the barrier. It opened it mouth and clamped down on Alistair¡¯s leg. The sharp dagger like teeth punctured through Alistair¡¯s hide and the flaming tongue began to pour fire into his veins. Alistair was screaming in pain, swiping his claws across the Salamanders face and leaving long bloody trails across it. There comes a moment in every battle when the two combatants stare at each other in the eyes and know that the fight is over. For the Salamander, it had won. Meat was in its mouth and as its reward would be to grow bigger and stronger. For Alistair, he knew that he had lost, and so he did the only thing he could think of. Reaching down Alistair sunk his claws deeply into the Salamanders throat. Boiling blood spurted out onto the floor, as Alistair pulled with all his might making the holes turn into deep furrows in its flesh. The Salamander¡¯s response was to bite down even harder severing Alistair¡¯s leg in the process. However, Alistair had a death grip of his own and the claws finally found the major vein it was looking for. Blood came pouring out, instead of just spurting, scalding his hands as he was dragged across the circle by the Salamander. Finally, the Salamander collapsed pinning Alistair¡¯s arm under its weight. The blood had finally turned cold and the blue mist began swirling about the Summoning Circle. Alistair old instincts kicked in keeping conscious till the mana was absorbed back into his body, but as soon as it was he took one look at his missing leg and passed out. Chapter 2.2 – A Leg Up and a Way Down Alistair woke up to a great deal of pain. Sucking in a quick breathe pain laced throughout his chest, and Alistair learned that if he just laid still long enough the pain would go down to a burning ache. Alistair¡¯s heart beat raced in his ears and he recognized that Callum was trying to say something, but the fog of pain kept him from understanding. Opening his eyes to see the black and brown ceiling of the magma pools, Alistair called out, ¡°Callum! Callum! Where are you?¡± A ball of fire appeared over Alistair¡¯s head, out of reflex Alistair tried raising his right hand before his cracked ribs shouted their painful reminder against movement. ¡°I am here, My Lord! I am here!¡± Alistair felt relief at the simple presence of Callum. The little ball of flame dimmed its intensity and for some reason Alistair got the picture of a red hair boy kneeling next to him. ¡°By the Gods and Goddesses, I messed up Callum! I messed up big time! Agggghhhh!¡± Alistair rolled slightly to try and get pressure off of his ribs. It was the first time he was able to look at his injuries. His left leg was gone up to mid-thigh. His normal thick goat hide had been burned away to angry looking flesh. His right side of his torso had blisters all over it and purple bruising on the arm and ribs. ¡°I keep going into these fights thinking that as an early Adventurer I was able to handle up to D class monster when I was an F Class Adventurer. I am starting to realize that stupid sword that boosted my body stats wasn¡¯t the holy gift I thought. By the Goddess Otha, I was too lucky for my own good. Now I am facing fights without the usual equipment or support magic to properly take them on. I don¡¯t suppose you have a healing spell or regeneration spell that you created recently?¡± Alistair smiled weakly at the fire orb. Callum¡¯s voice was deadly serious as he spoke. ¡°My Lord, I haven¡¯t created such a thing yet. In addition, there is only one way for you to recover from your injuries, and you are not going to like what you have to do. Even more so, you are going to hate what I propose next, but it¡¯s the only way for you to regain your leg. You must crawl out of the circle and summon a Fire Salamander in your current state, I will try and take over the casting so I can automatically summon it for defense of the circle. The three salamanders that the Circle can support won¡¯t be much, but it will have to do. Once, I have secured the circle¡­ you will have to throw yourself over the ledge and destroy your current body.¡± Alistair had wanted to laugh at the idea of him even trying to form a spell, but it was the last bit that truly took him by surprise. Callum¡¯s plan was to have Alistair kill himself. Plain and simple, just throw your body off the ledge and be burned to death. Why not just try and claw his own throat out? At least then there would be meat for the Salamander to evolve. ¡°Ok, Callum, there must be some logic to all of this, so let¡¯s hear it.¡± Callum hovered over Alistair¡¯s missing leg like he was examining it. ¡°My Lord, I originally didn¡¯t tell you this because I didn¡¯t want you to worry, but when you fought the elemental and lost there was no defense against it destroying the Summoning Circle and taking the stored mana. I believe it didn¡¯t attack right away because the mana in the Circle was low and we hadn¡¯t started gathering define mana threads. I believe with a few salamanders, the elemental will hesitate to attack long enough for us to do additional work on the dungeon. As for the part about killing yourself¡­. While I was in recovery, I started reading a book on Summoning Circles. When the Summoning Circle is first casted it contains several spells, like the pocket dimension, but it also grabs mana from the environment slowly alters its demon¡¯s body. The spell used to move you between the pocket dimension and the here recreate''s your body back to full health.¡± Alistair was pretty sure that death by magma wasn¡¯t going to be pleasant, but then again his near constant burning pain wasn''t pleasant. At least now he was being given a choice, horrible amounts of pain for a brief moment or dull aches for weeks and months while Callum researches some type of healing spell. Still before the decision of choosing death or long wait in agony, Callum needed to have Alistair summon a salamander first. Taking a deep breath Alistair coughed and realized that he needed to take a shallow one before trying to focus on summoning a salamander. As started to organized his mind, the delayed fight prompt came up.
Event!
You have captured a Fire Salamander!
Today you have added to the list of creatures that can be summoned in your dungeon. Tiny Fire Salamander is now available for summoning. The Experience Points from a Fire Salamander is 100, you received a bonus for defeating a creature above your level of experience and equipment. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 20%. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 2. Congratulations! The Tiny Fire Salamander can turn into your first Boss Creature. By designating a Boss Creature for your dungeon level all creatures summoned on the level will receive a special ability unique to the type of boss. Additionally, the creature will evolve one rank level above the designated Dungeon level to protect your Summoning Circle.
Would you like to designate Fire Salamander as the boss for this Level?
YesNo
¡°Callum, come take a look at this.¡± Alistaiir croaked from his mouth. Alistair, was growing tried from the pain. Personally, he wanted to just press Yes and get on with the summoning, but he had thought back to all the other snap decisions he had made and decided to ask Callum before making his choice. For a moment Alistair closed his eyes and kept his body still to minimize his torment. Callum floated over the prompt reviewing it. ¡°Well that¡¯s not very helpful! Alistair, I am not sure what to do here. I know with the Hell Animal it is supposed to be a boss and not a creature of the dungeon, do you mind if I go research this for a bit?¡± Alistair nodded, because his body was asking to sleep. Not even being aware of Callum disappearance, Alistair drifted into a restless doze. His ribs constantly ached from the pain, but when he took a deep breath agony lanced his chest causing a fit of coughing that felt like someone punching him. When trying to roll to another position, his burns would rub against sharp obsidian pebbles on the ground. The pebbles would cut into the raw flesh and he would start bleeding all over again. Whenever, he opened his eyes he would see the blue prompt and once again the need to get this all over came to him. Perhaps if it wasn¡¯t for the pain that moving his arm caused him, he would have simply selected Yes and been done with it. Callum came back during one of Alistair painful bouts of sleep. He at least had the intelligence to wait till Alistair was once again awake to start talking. ¡°My Lord, I have consulted the books in the General Help room. Ironically, they were not all that helpful. They stated that the first boss chosen for a dungeon will influence its entire theme. The example was for a undead dungeon. A ghost would influence the dungeon by collecting spirit type Monsters and a low moaning would carry itself out throughout the dungeon making spell casting difficult. If an Undead creature like a Skeleton was chosen. Undead Mana Monsters would be strengthen and necromancers would start to make deals and pacts with the Undead. The final boss for a ghost dungeon was likely a Grim Reaper spirit, while the undead dungeon would produce a powerful Lich with an undead guard. It seems that we have three choices: the Hell Animal, Fire Elemental, or the Salamander. I can guess that the elemental will be a giant Elemental from the God Plane of Fire. As for the Hell Animal, eventually a demon or devil from the God and Goddess Plane of Evil. As for the salamander¡­ I don¡¯t know, maybe a great beast?¡± The disappointment in Callum¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be disguise as anything else. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Alistair looked up at Callum and perhaps it was the pain of his injuries or the fact that he didn¡¯t like either one of the options with the Hell Animal or Fire Elemental. He touched Yes on the prompt and a huge shift in the surrounding mana occurred. Another prompt came up.
Event!
Alistair¡¯s Magma Pools has chosen to ally with the Dragon and Dragonkin races!
Since the dawn of the world, dungeons have helped keep balance between the Gods, Goddesses, Mana, and the races. With the birth of a Dragonkin dungeon, you have chosen to help further their cause. Find a Great Wyrm in the Goddess Plane of Thought to gain quests as to your alliance. Wyrms, Dragons, and Dragonkin will be able to sense your dungeon and began to migrate to it as it grows in strength. Summon your first Tiny Fire Salamander for it to evolve into a boss monster. You will not be able to evolve other Tiny Fire Salamanders until you reach Spell Mastery Level 2. Your dungeon level creatures will gain the ability Fire Whip. The Summoning Circle will now have a 30% increase in finding define Earth Mana. When creatures are not in combat they will natural began to build pathways and tunnels in the dungeon level.
¡°Well, that¡¯s a surprise Callum! Seems like we have chosen to align with the ancient cause of Dragons and their children. We have to do something about our lack of knowledge¡­ and equipment¡­ and power¡­ and everything.¡± Alistair closed his eyes and simply thought that he needed to spend more time in his pocket dungeon then here in his dungeon. ¡°Well whats done is done, lets summon this Salamander and then I will roll myself into the Magma.¡± Alistair waited for Callum to move but when he didn¡¯t he looked up at the Fireball. Alistair waited till Callum was over at his usual spot and began to try and focus on summoning his newest monster. Normally, clearing his mind was instinctual, but the pain kept intruding on his thoughts. Alistair kept working on trying to focus on the tapestry of the summoning spell, but his mind kept seeing to a well-built wooden door. Finally giving up at trying to focus on the spell, Alistair opened the door in his mind. In a blur of blue mana light, Alistair was laying down on the bed in his pocket dimension. Small globes of light hung in the dim room and as he looked down on his being, he had both legs and was pain free. Callum¡¯s door opened and the red haired boy rushed in hugging Alistair. "My Lord, it seems our luck has changed for the better!" Though Callum meant it as a positive statement. Alistair felt a streak of dread come over him. Trying to shake it off, he simply hugged the boy back. Smiling, Alistair laughed as the boy''s hug tighten around him and he didn''t feel any pain. ¡°Well, I guess I know now how to get here. Just seems that I need to be in intense pain and my mind will come up with an answer. So let¡¯s see if I can get back?¡± Callum released Alistair from his hug and Alistair focused on the door he had seen in his mind. His imagination conjured the door, but for the life of him he couldn¡¯t seem to open it. It wasn¡¯t till a soft tugging at his arm broke his concertation and he looked down at Callum. ¡°What?¡± Callum simply pointed towards a wall and as Alistair looked up, he realized that it was the same door in his mind. Smiling he took a step forward and opened the door. Beyond the door was what looked like a blue fog. Taking a deep breath without any pain, Alistair step forward and awoke in the Summoning Circle. Standing up on both legs, Alistair realized that he was healthy once again. Callum appeared and they began to laugh as they took their spots. Alistair nodded at Callum and opened the Loot Table for the salamander.
Loot Table for Tiny Fire Salamander
Total Required Summoning Mana5
Current Loot Table
33.3 % Chance of dropping a Small Obsidian Tooth (Alchemy Component)
25 % Chance of dropping a Small Obsidian Claw (Alchemy Component)
Additional Items
321% Chance of dropping a Single Dungeon Copper Coin
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table. Warning! Monster does not have enough items to absorb all the free mana. Warning!A item in the loot table has greater than 100% chance of dropping. Please research Trade with your General Help Aspect. Cannot be summoned without increasing loot table.
Loot Table for Boss Fire Salamander
Total Required Summoning Mana25
Current Loot Table
300 % Chance of dropping a Obsidian Tooth (Alchemy Component)
300 % Chance of dropping a Obsidian Claw (Alchemy Component)
75 % Chance of dropping a Obsidian Dagger (Weapon Quality: Common)
Additional Items
3259.2% Chance of dropping a Single Dungeon Copper Coin
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table. Warning! Monster does not have enough items to absorb all the free mana. Warning!A item in the loot table has greater than 100% chance of dropping. Please research Trade with your General Help Aspect. Cannot be summoned without increasing loot table.
Alistair immediate felt a headache come on as he began to look at the requirements to summon the Salamanders. No matter what he seemed to do, there was always one more requirement, one more thing to do. ¡°Well Callum, we can¡¯t summon the Salamanders, come on over and take a look.¡± Callum looked over Alistair¡¯s shoulder and gave out a load groan. ¡°Well it looks like we need to get the Fire Beetles first and I have a whole bunch of reading to do. At least you can come and go from the Dimensional pocket now.¡± Callum sounded depressed at the thought of not being able to summon the salamanders or perhaps at researching something like Trade. Chapter 2.3 - Take a look, it’s in a book, a Reading Rainbow! Alistair sat down trying to think where exactly he went wrong. As an Adventurer, all he really knew was killing Mana Monsters and getting loot. Sure some dungeons had traps, maze like corridors, even curses and spells that hung in the air, but no one had told him it was going to be this hard. Why was his dungeon level no bigger than 300 feet? How in the world was he supposed to expand his loot table if the only loot came from defeating other creatures? What other uses were there for all this mana his Summoning Circle was storing? After all he wasn¡¯t using it¡¯s mana to cast spells or summon creatures. This thing had some heavy duty magic around it, and if he remembered the spell tapestry it was insanely powerful. Granted creating a new body for him was pretty great, so he wasn¡¯t going to complain, but there just seemed like so many questions. He even had questions about this whole Fire Lichen, where was it supposed to come from? Was it supposed to appear in thin air the Fire Wisps just danced around? Callum flew over to Alistair and spoke, ¡°Alright, should we try the Fire Beetle? It should not be too hard for you. Without a fire aura, the beetle only has two major weapons its fire breath and its mandibles. Now when it first appears, it¡¯s going to shoot a stream of fire from its mouth out to you. Once it does, you will need to quickly try and flank it without getting hit by the fire. If you are able to get to its side, your enchanted claws should be able to carve through its legs and then you can render it helpless. So shall we get ready?¡± Alistair paused for a moment and then quietly spoke, ¡°No.¡± Callum had already started to head to his favorite circle when he paused in mid-air. Alistair looked at Callum and spoke loudly, ¡°No, we won¡¯t be going into this fight with one spell and my skills. Callum you need to go into the General Help Room and start reading the basics about how to construct a dungeon. This has gone on long enough, and for once we are going to over the basics so we aren¡¯t messing about!¡± Callum bobbed up and down for a moment and then disappeared. Callum won¡¯t reappear for another two days. Alistair was able to occasionally go to the pocket dimension to check up on the kid, but in the end, he had to stay in the dungeon keeping an eye on the Elemental. Question after question began to rise in his head, thoughts on what he wanted to do and what kind of dungeon he wanted started to arise. His thoughts of beautiful Magma falls and puzzle chambers deadly with magical traps began to fill his head. Which in turn made him face his dark past of Adventuring. There were times in this quiet dungeon staring at the elemental that Alistair thought about all those he had lost. As a boy, he had been trained to be a melee fighter, since he had no talent for spells or the bow. When he choose the sword and shield to be his focus, many of his teachers told him about the honor of frontline and that many groups needed a hard hitting swordsmen to keep the attention of boss monsters. He had practice for hours his sword work and fighter skills. He remembered jokes and laughs as he defeated opponents and practice illusions. His thoughts would turn to first Adventuring Group that he apprenticed with. His Adventurer Mistress was a large bulky woman that had several scars about the right side of her face that her grey hair could have covered but she proudly pulled it all back into a pony tail. Small details like her nose was too big for her face and her biceps were bigger than his head came to him. As he tried to remember more details about her, tears came to him with a sadness that spoke of some type of tragedy. When the emotions became so strong he thought they would burst forth from his, he would get up and practice his damage spell or he would visit the pocket dimension for a few minutes. During his practice with magic, he learned that he could practice just one movement of the spell over and over again without wasting mana. So he would perform several of the movements making look like he was dancing in the Summoning Circle. Finally, Callum appeared during one of his practice sessions, allowing Alistair to finish his arcane hand and feet movements without breaking his concentration. Finishing his twirl of fingers with a small step forward Alistair checked his body versus the mental image of the movement in his mind. Alistair turned his head and looked at Callum, ¡°Alright I know you have been studying hard the last few days why don¡¯t you tell me what you have learned.¡± ¡°Well, I would tell you to come to the pocket dimension so I could quote the text, but without a guard for the circle we can¡¯t quite take the chance.¡± Callum said as he bobbed up and down. ¡°First off, I think you will be surprised at all the information that I have uncovered. So for the first day, I read up on basic dungeon features, creation, and strategy. The basic strategy for any starting dungeon is as follows: ¡®Find a secure location for your first Summoning Circle. It should have access to a multiple tunnels and converge into a large room. As not all creatures can fly or swim make sure that the circle is located on solid ground with access to shore or a dirt path.¡¯ Sorry it¡¯s a direct quote from the book. I think when you came here, My Lord, they assumed you had some knowledge of your needs for your Summoning Circle and the creatures that came out of it. See the Summoning Circle should sit on a confluence of Mana, that way it gains the most defined Mana Threads and increase the fastest in size. So I want you to stand in the middle of the Summoning Circle for a moment, and lookout into the Magma pits.¡± Alistair went to the middle of the Summoning Circle as Callum went over Eastern circle. As Alistair turned out to the Magma Pools, he saw a golden light began to build around the circle. Slowly, the light continued to grow, forming a dome. As the golden light faded into blue, the dome sealed itself and began to shimmer. Runes of Blue appeared in the dome and then the energy vanished leaving a world of bright threads around it. Alistair saws threads flow like water, the bright red threads below acted like waves, but in some cases the currents form a bright spike of energy reaching you of the magma pool into the air. On one of this spikes sat the Elemental a complex web of energy that sparkled as it sucked in energy and poured brown ooze out. The walls were made of brown threads structured in tight knots and bundles, but what surprised Alistair the most was a giant funnel of energy that seemed to converge itself several feet off the center of the Magma Pool. Red, Brown, White, and Yellow Energy swirled around in a great funnel almost mesmerizing Alistair with it beauty. Callum spoke, ¡°As you can see we are around 100 feet away from the central focus point of the dungeon, and there is no way for the elemental or us to get to it. I want you to think of the great outcropping of rock just underneath the Vortex of energy that you are seeing.¡± Alistair started imagining a large black outcropping of obisian, directly under the vortex. Callum¡¯s voice seemed to be telling him something, but all he could do was picture the Summoning Circle expanding onto his outcropping of rock becoming so large that the size of the circle was the same size as the Vortex. Runes began to flash infront of his eyes and Alistair could feel his body move and his voice speak each of the runes out load, when he was done with the runes he could see that he was no longer on a ledge near the wall of the Magma Pools, but was under the vortex location and that the circle had gone from six inches to Almost eight feet. Looking around, he realized that he was now three feet tall and almost laughed as an event prompt opened.
Event!
Your Summoning Circle is on a Mana Focus Point!
Mana is in everything, and flows throughout the world. By claiming a Mana Focus Point for your Dungeon Summoning Circle, it will began to gain Experience Points by how much Mana it filters. For Every 100 Mana Points the Circle Filters, the Summoning Circle will gain 1 experience point, for every 10 experience points the Summoning Circle Gains 1 will be given to you. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Your Pocket Dimension has changed. Instead of rooms, your pocket dimension has become a small settlement of seven huts. Since you Pocket Dimension is a metaphysical representation of your dungeon, by improving either one, you automatically improve the other. However, that improvement may not become readily apparent on the other plane. The natural instincts of your Fire Wisp has changed. Previous, your Fire Wisp would float from fire thread to fire thread gathering the energy and bringing it back to your circle. Now that your circle is in a focus point, your Fire Wisp will began to work on the focus point channels increasing the fire mana filtered by it. The Focus also provides Air, Life, and Earth Energy have your Mana Monster Aspect work on summoning additional types of Wisps.
Alistair jumped up and had Callum come over to look at the prompt. Callum began to laugh and when he spoke it sounded like his voice had deepen. ¡°Well done, my Lord! The book said that once I was in the Eastern Circle I could invoke several spells that dealt with Dungeon Construction. Now that we are in the Mana Focus, we can do so much more!¡± Callum started laughing again and Alistair joined him. When they quieted down Alistair spoke, ¡°So how did this happen Callum? I mean we have been sitting on that little ledge for what about a week? And now I can just move stone and magma around by some type of spell?¡± Callum coughed slightly and for a ball of flame it was interesting seeing the ash that came out of him. ¡°Well technically, the spell was always in the Circle. When I showed you the Mana Focus and told you to think of an outcropping of rock, that mental image in your mind activated the spell and started the movement. It also drained almost all the Stored Mana in the Summoning Circle. So we can make ramps, and all other kinds of stuff with that spell. Usually a Dungeon creates Workers to start the work, and the reason isn¡¯t because they can build it more efficiently, though that is one of the reasons. Workers also build deep channels for the energy to come to the focus point. Think of a Great River, that is our Mana Focus Point. Now the Wisps can create small streams to us, and that will help during a dry season and the river is low. But Workers can create deeper channels, like additional rivers that funnel more energy to us. When they create these channels, they are creating stone pathways, magma pools, air vents, and so on all to help channel mana to us.¡± Alistair looked over the edge and could see that the elemental had back away from the outcropping of rock. It¡¯s body began to move back and forth across the magma pools in agitation, and the only thought Alistair had was, just wait little elemental. Soon we will be coming for you. Feeling the elation of finally something going right, Alistair spoke, ¡°Alright Callum, what¡¯s next?¡± Alistair was smiling at the fact that something had gone well and now he wasn¡¯t just holding everything together, but he had finally gotten ahead. I made him want to jump to the next step and work till it was done. Callum laughed, and Alistair faintly saw a boy going into puberty, as he moved over to the south circle. ¡°I think you going to like this next bit, My Lord. Anyway you asked a question, what¡¯s next. Well, the book said that it was critical to start building up your loot table and spells. See without enough loot, you can¡¯t summon powerful creatures, which we learned the hard way. As for spells, well let me show you something.¡± Callum began bobbing up and down in the circle when what looked like a Soul Page prompt came up.
Summoning Circle Page
Level:1
Exp till Next Level:2/100
Stored Mana:28/300
Mana Generation per Hour:15
Links to Dungeon Levels:1
Spells Found:
Weak Fire Resistance
Progression:2%
Loot Found:
Steel Dagger(Quality: Common)
Progression:1%
Runes Found:
Pa
Progression:3%
Spell Abilities Chosen:
None
Alistair began reading the page, when Callum came over to view it. Once done Alistair looked at Callum with a questioning eye brow raised. Callum spoke up, ¡°I read that once the Summoning Circle had been placed on the Focus it begins to accumulate defined mana threads. Well these threads all have a history with them. Perhaps a fire thread was used in the creation of a sword, or in the use of a spell. Those items that are most commonly found in the world will began to be assembled in our loot, spells, and runic knowledge. Once we gain the more common items The Summoning Circle will start to find uncommon, rare, epic, and even legendary quality items that have been lost in time. Just like the loot, the Summoning Circle will start to assemble Spells and Runes for us to use. The book even said as it leveled up it would find Mana Monsters.¡± ¡°Anyway, we can speed along this process, by helping it. Here let me show you.¡± Callum went back over to the circle and began bobbing up and down again. A pale blue outline of a dagger showed up in the middle of the Summoning Circle. It wasn¡¯t anything, just a bunch of lines that showed Alistair what a child thought of a double bladed dagger. ¡°Alright, My Lord, start thinking of what the dagger should look like and the materials in it. Once you have a full image touch the dagger.¡± Alistair sighed, and began to think of his old dagger. The steel double edge blade coming to a fat but sharp point. How many hours had been spent on a wet stone making sure that if he needed it, it would go through the hide of a Mana Monster in an instant? He remembered the brass hit and pommel, and cherry polished handle. The weaponsmith had made small grooves in the handle to fit his hands and make sure it didn¡¯t slip during a fight. A faint feeling of its reassuring weight and polished wood came to his hand and he reached out towards the image. Quickly, the image began to fill itself up from the point where Alistair touched it. The steel blade took hold and began to grow into a tang. Brass hilt and pommel assembled, but became blurry as if they weren¡¯t finished. The handle instead of being made of just wood, had a core of wood on it, with leather wrapped around the handle. Slowly the handle began to take shape and a pentagon with a red and orange whirlpool image formed on the pommel. An Unknown rune sat at the center of the whirlpool image. Callum came over and spoke, ¡°Well done, My Lord! The dagger is almost finished as the circle will began to fill in the image you provided with mana until it is assembled. Should be just a day or two. As far as the image in the pommel, that is the dungeons symbol and will start appearing on all our loot.¡± Chapter 2.4 - ONE Dungeon Coin! Ha Ha Ha HA! Author¡¯s note: So its Father¡¯s day and I can hear my little girls in the kitchen trying to prepare my breakfast with my wife¡¯s help. Needless to say I will be taking off from posting tomorrow. However, I am leaving a poll up to help decide where the story should go next. Please vote for where Alistair will travel next, and sorry for the spoiler.
Alistair stared at the steel dagger in the Summoning Circle. Not but two days ago, both him and Callum were waiting for Fire Lichen or something to happen. Instead, after he asked Callum to start studying the General Help books and they were rewarded. For his part, he wondered about what else they could accomplish. ¡°Callum, so we have more loot being generated. Our circle can now give me experience and our pocket dimension is supposedly bigger. What else can we do? Can I start thinking of other weapons or armor and have the Summoning Circle work on them? Or are you going to work on the Spell: Fire Resistance? That way I have some protection against what the Fire Beetle can do?¡± Alistair started jumping around feeling the energy of a good solid win, making him itch for a fight. Callum, twisted himself to look like a large vortex of flame and then came back down. All of a sudden ten more Fire Wisps were summoned in the circle and left to perform their work. ¡°Actually, I was going to see if there was anything I could do to help the circle research the spell. Otherwise, I was going to review some more of the General Help books, while waiting for the Fire Lichen to grow.¡± Alistair stopped jumping and looked at Callum, ¡°Wait, are you telling me there is nothing more to do?¡± Callum seemed to bob up and down for a moment and then spoke, ¡°Well Alistair that is what I am exactly saying. I have adjusted the amount of Fire Wisps to generate based on the new Mana Focus. By doing so, it is my hope to speed along the Spell Research for Fire Resistance and perhaps the Steel Dagger. See in the book about Dungeon Knowledge, the very first sentence of the book was, ¡®Imagination and Mana separate thought from action. However, above all else Imagination must come first, because without thought action cannot occur.¡¯ Anyway, right now we have everything working. The Fire Wisps are starting to create channels for fire mana. The loot table research has sped up to almost completion. Now all we do is wait for mana to settle into the correct spaces and we have ourselves a dagger. Unless you can work out the form of Pa to help the Summoning Circle, there isn¡¯t much else we can do until Fire Lichen appears. Even fighting the Fire Beetle right now doesn¡¯t help because it will die in a day or two.¡± Alistair thought about all of this, and something scratched at the back of his mind. The word came to him after a moment of searching: Trade. ¡°Callum, did it say anything about researching Trade?¡± Small amounts of ash seemed to come from Callum and finally he spoke up, ¡°Well, the most basic advice about researching anything is ask the Dungeon Demon on the topic. Yes, I know this seems counter intuitive, after all I am the one who is supposed to be working on what it means, but you have history of your previous life, like the dagger to draw upon. By the Gods and Goddesses, I don¡¯t even know why we need more than one copper coin for a creature.¡± Alistair laughed at only having one copper dungeon coin for killing something like a Dragon or Minotaur. Yet when he didn¡¯t hear the laughing come from Callum, he began to realize that the spell construct had no idea about money. Quietly, Alistair thought about how to explain money to someone that had no idea. ¡°Well Callum, picture this, a farmer is three months away from bringing his crop to market. Sorry, I forgot you don¡¯t know what a market is. Ok, there is a man walking down a path and he realizes that he needs new shoes. Seeing an apple tree nearby, he picks all the ripe apples and then goes into a town. So he goes to the Cobbler and asks him if he will make him a new pair of shoes. The Cobbler says that the leather and shoe nails take a long time to make, so long that he would need several days of food for one pair of shoes. Placing down all his apples the man tries to give him several days of food. However the Cobbler hates apples and will not eat them. So the man can¡¯t get his shoes because the item he hoped to trade was useless to the Cobbler. Now a dungeon coin is special. They are always the same weight and because of the infused mana are impossible to make outside of a dungeon.¡± ¡°Going back to our story. The man goes to a Grocer and sets down his apples. The Grocer looks at him and offers the same amount of food but in different vegetable or fruit, like potatoes or oranges. So instead of trying to figure out what the Cobbler wants to eat the Grocer decides that he will accept one Dungeon Copper Coin for ten apples, or the same weight as the apples in other food. Knowing this the man takes three copper coins goes back to the Cobbler and gives him three coins for shoes, and that¡¯s why we need more than one coin for a monster. Did that make any sense Callum, or did I just confuse you more?¡± Callum hovered in the air for a little while and then spoke, ¡°Some of it did. So a Dungeon Coin can act like another item that someone wants?¡± Alistair shook his head and spoke again, ¡°Kind of, see a coin acts as placement token for other goods, and depending on how useful they are and how easily they are made you need more tokens to get it.¡± Callum and Alistair spent the next few hours talking about how an item was valued and what was a gift, a contract, and theft. As they continued to talk, Alistair realized that though he was never a merchant, he did think like one. He knew how much coins should come from a ranked monster, how much a potion of healing cost and if the fight would have been profitable. Slowly all the old lessons about accounts and numbers from the Adventurer Guild came back and Alistair starting talking about how an Adventurer could make a profit off of killing mana monsters, and how Dungeon Towns were built to help handle all the items that came out of a dungeon. In fact he even used some of the same arguments that the councilmen of Morack had told him before he went down into the Labyrinth to die. Callum was surpised by the idea of a Dungeon Town and began asking more about them. Having lived most of his life in a Dungeon Town Inn or Apartment, Alistair told Callum about how craftsmen came to buy cheap Mana Monster Components and Loot from Adventurers, and sell it where it was most needed. Before either one of them knew it, it was the next day, and Alistair was slightly excited at the thought of having a Dungeon Town all his own. Finally, as Callum said he understood why there needed to be more than one coin and how those coins played a bigger role in the world a prompt came into existence.
Event!
Your Spell Companion and Dungeon has researched Trade!
All actions have consequences, by carelessly assigning loot to monsters you can have your dungeon over hunted or not hunted at all. Finding the right amount of loot to attract Adventurers is a constant struggle and can lead to your death if not watched over. New Options are available for Loot Tables. When needing more copper coins, place two refined Earth Threads with one refined Fire Thread in the Loot chest. Congratulations! A pathway has appeared in your pocket dimension. Further exploration is needed to determine where it goes.
Alistair looked at the event prompt and smiled at the thought of finally being able to summon his salamanders, but as he read the last little bit he grew nervous. What did a pathway mean? Could creatures or other things attack him in his pocket dimension? Since it came with researching trade did that mean it was a pathway to someplace where he could trade goods with? Callum seeing Alistair hadn¡¯t closed the prompt came over and took a look at it. It didn¡¯t take him long before Callum disappeared to go to the pocket dimension. Coming back Callum began to shake and release ash, ¡°My Lord, there is indeed a pathway and another book on trade has appeared in the General Help¡¯s Aspect hut. Since, I am getting a weird feeling from this pathway, perhaps we should summon the Salamanders to protect the circle and you go exploring?¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Alistair had dismissed the prompt by the time Callum had come back. Looking at the floating orb, Alistair spoke, ¡°What do you mean, your getting a weird feeling?¡± Callum twisted form into a vortex and spoke, ¡°My Lord, I don¡¯t know if I can describe it well enough. See everything in the pocket dimension we can control; the fields, the huts, and the tools. They were all created by your spell and mind, and as such I am connected to all of them and recognize it as part of us. But this pathway, it leads somewhere that is not¡­ us, and I can¡¯t go in there to find out. Additionally, besides the fear of something that is not from us. I get the feeling like an attack could come from it, or great rewards. I guess I just feel afraid, not at something I don¡¯t know, but at something I don¡¯t know about and have no control over.¡± Alistair knew the feeling that Callum was talking about. The unknown was scary beyond all doubt, and this was quite the biggest unknown Callum had ever faced. Alistair, could only think of one thing to do. Like his father, Alistair would check out the unknown, to tell Callum it was ok. ¡°Alright, Callum add as much refined Earth Mana and Fire Mana to the loot box to generate coins for the Salamanders. When you get back, we will fix their loot table and summon them.¡± Callum disappeared for an hour and then came back. He simply said, ¡°I was able to generate around 60 coins, but didn¡¯t have any more refined Earth Mana.¡± Alistair nodded at him and they proceed to their normal spots during a summoning. Once there, Callum generated the loot table prompt.
Loot Table for Tiny Fire Salamander
Total Required Summoning Mana5
Max Free Mana Creature can have:10
Max Value of Loot Dropped:Unlimited
The Max Value cannot be set below the minimum amount of free mana the Monster will produce on death. Current minimum free Mana produce is 3. 1 Dungeon Copper = 1 Mana.
Would you like to set Max Value of Loot Dropped
YesNo
Current Loot Table
33.3 % Chance of dropping a Small Obsidian Tooth (Alchemy Component) (Value: 2 Copper)
25 % Chance of dropping a Small Obsidian Claw (Alchemy Component) (Value: 3 Copper)
Additional Items
100% Chance of dropping on average 3.2 Dungeon Copper Coins
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table. Press Percentage to increase or decrease chance of dropping loot. Should an item drop and it does not cover total amount of free mana, Dungeon Coins will be used to offset the difference.
Alistair looked at the Loot table and his new options and thought back to all the dungeons that he fought in. The better towns that had sprung around them had creatures that dropped components with a little bit of coin. Mana Monsters that just dropped coin were often over killed and camped by lazy Adventurers. So, Alistair set the maximum value at four coins and increase the percentages so that always one tooth would drop with a chance for a second one, and kept the claw percentage where it was at. Once done he added the chance for a dungeon coin to the loot table. That way it would entice Adventures to fight the Salamanders, but it wouldn¡¯t be worth too much damage to equipment if things started turning bad. It was then that he looked over his loot table for his boss monster.
Loot Table for Boss Fire Salamander
Total Required Summoning Mana25
Max Free Mana Creature can have:40
Max Value of Loot Dropped:Unlimited
The Max Value cannot be set below the minimum amount of free mana the Monster will produce on death. Current minimum free Mana produce is 25, as a Boss Creature the Summoning Mana will always be set as minimum free mana produced. 1 Dungeon Copper = 1 Mana.
Would you like to set Max Value of Loot Dropped
YesNo
Current Loot Table
300 % Chance of dropping a Obsidian Tooth (Alchemy Component) ) (Value: 3 Copper)
300 % Chance of dropping a Obsidian Claw (Alchemy Component) ) (Value: 4 Copper)
75 % Chance of dropping a Obsidian Dagger (Weapon Quality: Common) ) (Value: 5 Copper)
Additional Items
100% Chance of dropping on average 32.6 Dungeon Copper Coins
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table. Press Percentage to increase or decrease chance of dropping loot. Should an item drop and it does not cover total amount of free mana, Dungeon Coins will be used to offset the difference.
Alistair set the max value at 25, seeing that it was quite a bit of mana that his circle would have to generate and if someone was just killing the boss over and over again he would never be able to recover the mana fast enough. Sadly, he wondered why the average coin drop was so high. When he pressed the coins to add them, he found that he could adjust the average amount of coins to 10 hoping that Adventurers would feel the loot was decent for a starter level in a dungeon. If not he was going to have to adjust the table again and again till it was just right, and to Alistair that sounded like a pain to do. Deciding that Alistair was done messing around with the loot tables, he began his summoning spells. The Tiny Fire Salamander appeared looking just like the one he had fought and Callum told him that he was setting their current number to ten. Alistair nodded and began to focus on the Boss Monster he was about to summon. As he took the last step forward and raised his hand in an arcane gesture, a creature about two feet long appeared. Instead of a soft wet looking flesh, it had hard scales and a ridge line of spiked Obsidian shards. There appeared to be a large horn on the front of the boss¡¯ mouth, as well as, spikes on its tail that had grown on a large rounded bone mass at the end of it. For a moment, Alistair almost thought it was a Lizard, but then cracks appeared in its hide. Small drops of lava seem to be coming out of the cracks, when the Salamander charged forward jumping high into the air and diving down into the magma pool to begin swimming around the outcropping of rock to protect it. The other salamander taking its lead from the boss, did the same. While Alistair watched the two of them start their patrols. Looking at Callum he was surprised that there wasn¡¯t more Salamanders, and when he asked all Callum could say was, ¡°The Summoning Circle is running low on mana from the Summoning. More Salamanders will come in the next few days. Should we go to the Pocket Dimension now, My Lord?¡± Alistair nodded his head at the thought a visiting his Pocket Dimension and spending some time there. At least now the Summoning Circle was protected. So he pictured the door in his mind and opened it. Chapter 3.0 – A Walk through the Forest Alistair walked out of the doorway of his mind to find himself in a small wood hut. Just like some of the Aspect Rooms, the hut was one giant open room with a thatched roof. Light could be seen coming from long slits in the branches and trunks that had been dug into the ground to make the walls. A small wardrobe chest was placed near a straw bed, and as Alistair looked up he saw blinking flashes of light floating around the ceiling were in competition with the holes in the walls for brightness. Movement caught Alistair¡¯s eye, as small dirt cloud could be seen slowly coming from the pallet to the door. As it came closer, Alistair heard the patter of tiny feet and could almost see a salamander¡¯s foot print compacting the dirt. Squatting, he looking down at the dirt cloud as it changed direction, in its wake was a small pea size pebble that hadn¡¯t been there before. As his focus shifted to the pebble, a small sense that the salamander had changed the dirt in the floor to stone, and that if he let it be, sometime in the future he may get a stone floor. Careful not to step on the dirt cloud, Alistair went to the only other wooden door, which had been poorly fashioned from branches and without a lock, to get his first glimpse of the outside. When Alistair opened the door and saw the blue mana sky, like a misty low overhanging fog, he felt a tiny bit of wonder at what his pocket dimension had turned into. He had read his pocket dimension had turned into Settlement, and what he had pictured in his mind were stone cottages surrounded by a well with farms stretching out. Instead, the clearing had small huts all made of the same wooden branches dug into the ground to provide a foundation. In the center of settlement was nothing more than a fountain, but unlike a fountain in a major city, this one was contained by common stone and three jets of water came bubbling up to the surface shooting about six inches into the air. Hovering over each jet was some kind of mist that sparkled like a rainbow. It wasn¡¯t till he reached the third one that the rainbow had condense into a Steel Dagger, somehow suspended in the air, that Alistair realized the mists were various things being researched. The fountain flashed light across its surface and the water seemed to drain, leaving moist stones in its place. A small dirt cloud arose outside of the fountain and began to go to a one of the huts, as Alistair assumed that the Summoning Circle had recharge enough generate another Tiny Fire Salamander and that the water was the mana stored in the summoning circle. Looking at nearby bigger dirt cloud, he noticed a small ghostly image on the outside of the fountain. It appeared to be a man no more than three inches tall shoveling dirt. The creature looked like a pixie without wings, as he placed his shovel in the ground and pushed the blade with his foot. Bending and heaving with all its strength, the ghostly pixie picked up a thimble size dirt clump and threw it over his shoulder. As the dirt began to fall, it dissolved into specks of light and began to attach itself to the fountain. The Lights joined the stone smoothing the rough cut flagstone into something that was beginning to look like a well cut block of stone. Alistair took a moment to sit on the rough flagstone fountain enjoying the view of his settlement. A red haired young man perhaps just in the middle of his growth spurt came out behind a hut and smiled at Alistair. Alistair smiled back, Callum had grown from a little boy of eight or nine that he knew, into a boy about to be a man. Callum, had perhaps grown another foot, and gained a wispy beard that screamed, I am trying to be an adult by showing off my whiskers. His clothes seemed to be hanging on him like a sack of potatoes had been altered to put his arms and head through. Still Alistair felt a little more like this was home, after spending so much time in the magma pools. Picking himself up, Alistair came over to the boy and place his hand on the boy¡¯s shoulder in friendship. Alistair laughed as fuzzy memories of that time came back to him. Him fighting with a sword; staring at older men wondering when he was going to be taken seriously; talking about women, which now he could recognize as complete stupidity. He chuckled and wondered in another twenty to thirty years if he would look back and realize that he still hadn¡¯t learned anything about women. Of course, he had to know something about women he told himself, as he was married after all. Alistair had a brief image of golden hair and expensive gowns and feeling of¡­ nothing. At least with his mother he had felt safety and love, but with the fuzzy image of his wife, he wondered what nothing meant. Pushing the thought away, he gave himself the excuse that he was just stripped of his feelings for her and that was why he didn¡¯t have any. For a moment, he thanked the God and Goddess of the Hearth, that only Callum and himself were here. The last thing he needed was Callum distracted by a pretty girl and what was underneath her dress. There was a quiet moment before a small prompt came up.
Event!
God, Septra, and Goddess, Maydonas, have heard your silent prayer!
Ones Hearth is their Home. When love fills one¡¯s home, there is laughter, joy, and life. However, when only one person stokes the Hearth fires, there is no time for laughter. When only one person eats from the cooking pot, there is no joy. When only one person sleeps under the roof, there is no life. Your prayer has been heard, know that this will not always be the case! Only a fool does not prepare at the warning of a God and Goddess.
Alistair quickly dismissed the prompt, as he didn¡¯t want Callum to see and ask questions about what they had to prepare for. ¡°Come on Callum, show me this path!¡± Alistair said as he released Callum. The boy nodded with a serious look on his face and walked behind one of the huts. Alistair followed him seeing that the forest undergrowth that surrounded them came within a few feet of the huts. Bushes, small trees, vines, and dead fall were all within hands grasp. Seeing Callum pointing at something, Alistair went over to it. There seemed to be a harden dirt pathway that came through the forest to their settlement. It was large enough to accommodate two people if one stood off to the side. Forest growth hid the pathway from view after a 100 feet as it turned away from sight. As Alistair took a step onto the path, a feeling of uneasiness came over him, like he was venturing into a wild territory. Before Alistair could take another step out onto the road, Callum grasp his arm. ¡°My Lord Alistair, don¡¯t you want to take the Obsidian Dagger in case you run into any danger?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Alistair looked at him for a moment and then a thought came to him. ¡°What happens if I lose it while I am out there?¡± Callum took a deep breath, ¡°If you take the one that¡¯s in the chest and lose it or die, then it is removed from the loot table and we can¡¯t summon the Salamander boss again; but we can form one from the Summoning Circle¡¯s mana and then you would at least have a weapon.¡± Alistair took a step back from the pathway and they went back to the fountain. Callum told him to focus on the Obsidian Dagger when reaching into the fountain. Alistair did so, and had to wait for another twenty minutes before the fountain filled up to his wrist. Once again a flash of light occurred and in his hand was a black stone dagger, chipped to have a dangerously sharp edge and a handle wrapped in leather. Alistair placed the dagger in his belt, hoping that his small leather belt would not be cut by the dagger as he moved. Alistair and Callum went back out to the pathway. Giving Callum a pat on the shoulder, Alistair said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Callum, be back in a little bit, I just want to see where this path leads too. Keep the creatures working and if the elemental attacks, do your best with the monsters to defend the circle.¡± With no other advice to give Alistair headed out. The forest was strange. The foliage was dense around the path, while normally Alistair would expect the sound of birds or trees rustling in the wind. It was eerily quiet. Alistair had tried to look several times into the forest, but after a few feet blue mist began to accumulate and nothingness stared back at him. He walked on for another ten minutes before his path exited into a large dirt road. Alistair could see wagon wheel ruts in the dirt as if heavy carts came down this road often. Looking around he noticed that a sign post had been planted near the entrance to his path and Runic script pointed to his settlement. Part of him wanted to break the signpost and throw it into the forest, but freshly broken wood might tell people the wrong message. Alistair seeing no merchants on the road, decided to at least press his luck and try to find out who his neighbors are. Turning to the right Alistair picked the first direction that had come to him. Keeping to the side of the road, Alistair wanted to be sure that if something or someone was going to attack him. He could at least escape into the dense forest. It was another five minutes of walking before Alistair tripped over something. In confusion, Alistair looked at the ground wondering what he could have stumbled on and saw the stump of a sign post had been hidden by grass. Looking at it, he wondered if someone else had the same idea as him. He searched the ground and the immediate foliage before he found a dirt path that was slowly being reclaimed by the forest. Alistair wondered why the pathway was being over grown, perhaps it was because with the destruction of the sign the pathway became unused and was slowly overgrown. Curious as to where it led, Alistair started moving down the path, not thinking about the dangers that might come from the forest or a dungeon demon that didn¡¯t want to be found, he pressed on. At times it was quite a bit of work, vines had started overgrowing the path, along with several fallen trees. As he pressed on and on, the blue mist began to get thicker on the trail, while the dirt trail turned more to mud. There came a point that the blue mist became so thick that Alistair was unsure if he should continue. However, he remembered an old Adventurer trick, trusting sound of his boots squishing in the mud would let him know he was still on the trail, Alistair kept moving forward. When he would put his foot out and feel something solid, Alistair would take a moment till he felt moist ground once again. For twenty minutes Alistair went through thick blue mist, searching with his feet for the muddy trail. Then in one step the world changed. Alistair stepped out into what looked like a small plains town. Small stone, mud, and clay houses were in the middle of plain that was around mile wide. Tall golden grasses swayed in the wind, one lonely tree seemed to be planted next to a mud house with a sod roof. The house no taller than four feet had the roof caved in while the walls seemed to be crumbling. The muddy trail led to the town, and Alistair continued to walk forward. The pathway seemed to be fairing a lot better than the one outside of town, as it turned to flagstone. As he kept walking, the feeling that no one was here came over him. Looking to his right and left, houses were crumbling, inside, dishes on the table, toys on the floor, even half made clothes with sewing needles in them were lying about. It was as if everyone in the town had just stopped what they were doing and left. As he got closer to the middle of the town, a large fountain could be seen. No water seemed to be springing up from it. The expertly cut stones were broken and the mortar was crumbling. Giving the fountain his full attention, Alistair walked up, and looked down into the fountain to see a beautiful mosaic of tile on the bottom with tile pieces broken or missing. ¡°Haven¡¯t had a visitor since the last raiding group come through here. Take the dagger out from our belt and turn around.¡± A voice said. The voice sounded ancient, like gravel had been added to it just to give it some way for the person to make a sound. Yet there was a strength in it that spoke if he didn¡¯t want to do what it said the consequences would be far worse. Alistair, pulled out the dagger and softly placed it on the ground. With the upmost care and respect he turned around. In the door way of one of the better preserved buildings, stood an impossibly old woman. Wrinkles covered her entire face and hands, her right eye had turned milky white, while her complexation was so dark from endless hours out in the sun it looked like a dark mahogany hue. Even wrapped up in a shawl and bulky dress, she held a bow taught with an arrow aimed at his head. Alistair waited for a moment seeing that the ancient woman had enough strength in her to keep the bow and arrow steady while they waited for him to say something. ¡°Hello Madam, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alistair, what is yours?¡± Alistair said in the calmness voice he could manage. ¡°Well that¡¯s new. At least you have some manners, and since you are not carrying any real weapons with ya, guess you are but a pup of a traveler. Well Alistair, my name is Herma and it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± She lowered the bow, but kept the arrow knocked ready to be aimed once again if the need should arise. ¡°Welcome to the Destroyed Ziggurat of Hardune. Please come in so we can have a chat about what you are doing in my destroyed dungeon.¡± Chapter 3.1 – Won’t you be my Neighbor? Alistair¡¯s stare briefly went down to the obsidian dagger at his feet. It was his only weapon and walking away from it was a bad idea. ¡°Now, Now! Don¡¯t be thinking any bad thoughts! I will let this arrow fly a lot faster than you can go for that dagger. Now come along dearly, we can sit down and have a long chat.¡± With one last look at the dagger, Alistair started moving forward to the rotting wood entrance of the Sod Hut. Herma for her part started backing up into the hut until she seemed to disappear into the darkness. Alistair went in and the darkness receded as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Herma had sat down at a small table on a simple stool. The table had two throwing daggers on it. Alistair started to head over to the other stool and a flash of light stopping with a dagger at the location of his next step ended that thought. ¡°Nah, Alistair why don¡¯t you find a seat over there in the corner till we get to know one another better.¡± Herma said. Alistair looked around at the small hut surprised to see an old loot chest, several large tapestries rolled up, and even what looked like small casks. Rolling a small cask a few feet from the wall, Alistair sat down feeling like a child waiting for a lecture from an adult. Thinking that Herma wanted to ask questions, he sat in silence seeing her toy with the other knife on the table. Finally, as the silence dragged on Alistair began to feel the pressure to fill the air with words. Saying the first thing that came to his mind. Alistair spoke, ¡°So Herma, you are extremely fast for someone your age? How did you get to be so good with those daggers?¡± Herma laughed with a wet kind of noise that said it would turn to coughing soon. Instead of answering him, she snapped her fingers and blue light emitted from her body. Light sparkled and flashed adjusting the appearance of Herma from an old wrinkled woman, to a young athletic lady. Herma appeared with long black straight hair, her face now had high cheek bones instead of wrinkles that had lost their definition with age. Even her right milky eye change black to brown. The light continued down changing her clothes into a tighter fitting wool wrap that seemed to speak of beauty but a freedom of movement that would not hinder her in a fight. ¡°You must be a very young traveler indeed to think that appearance tells you anything. I choose to wear my death form, because I have lived long enough to be rid of such¡­ prideful needs.¡± Still Alistair grew in confusion thinking about what Herma had just said and what she had just done. ¡°Hmmm, still don¡¯t understand?¡± Herma said. ¡°Well young traveler, I am a soul that God Salurin forced me to be a mana monster. While, I have my soul and thoughts live on this plane, my body is working and performing tasks down in the destroyed dungeon.¡± Alistair sat with his mouth slightly opened at what Herma had just said. Alistair remembered his conversation with Salurin the God of Rebirth, and how he had almost become a Mana Monster himself. Alistair wasn¡¯t sure where to start, but Herma must have some answers about pocket dimensions and dungeons. ¡°Herma, that¡¯s incredible. When Salurin judge me, he said I would have to be a dungeon demon for 1000 years when...¡± Alistair stop talking. As soon as he had mentioned that he was a Dungeon Demon, Herma had jumped out of her seat in a flash and was across the room pulling on his hair to expose his throat. She held a dagger point pressed against his the vein in his neck, his heart beat forcing the point of the dagger to slightly cut the skin. Herma¡¯s expression was not hard to read. Her face was twisted in violence and anger, and Alistair stayed absolutely still afraid to talk as the dagger was likely to open up his vein and he would bleed to death. Herma with her face still twisted, stared Alistair in his eyes. It was like she was weighing his very soul and whether or not she should kill him. ¡°I am going to back off the dagger at your throat and then I want you to explain what you are doing here. If I think you are lying or are here for ill intent I will make your death last long and be very painful.¡± Slowly, the pressured of the dagger eased on his throat, and Alistair could swallow once again without worrying if all his blood would appear on the floor. ¡°My dungeon just researched Trade and a pathway from my pocket dimension opened up. My spell construct was afraid, so I went looking down the path and came across a road. I stumbled across the stump of a signpost and slowly worked my way down the path. I had no idea it would lead to a destroyed dungeon or that you would be here.¡± Alistair tried to come up with some kind of answer that wouldn¡¯t sound like he was an idiot that stumbled down a dangerous path. The dagger came up pressing against his neck, and he started breathing quickly at the thought of his impending murder. He wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if someone killed his thoughts and soul on this plane, but it couldn¡¯t be good. Slowly, Herma released Alistair¡¯s hair and removed the dagger from his throat. Shaking her head she spoke, ¡°You are a stupid demon to have tried what you did. The blue mana mist that covers the pathway is slowly dissolving path and this pocket dimension. The only reason why it hasn¡¯t done so already is that I am working the dungeon to keep it alive. Of course, the more my body does to gather mana and keep this pocket dimension from collapsing, the stronger my bonds to this place become.¡± ¡°I choose to believe you, because only a very young dungeon demon would tell a Mana Monster they are one, and from the look of confusion on your face you still have no idea why. Alistair, I am a soul trapped to a Mana Monster. You are a Demon that can summon Mana Monsters after they defeat them. Dungeon Demons raid other dungeons killing monsters so that they can summon them. If one of those monsters happen to have a soul attached to them, then they become their slaves. I use the word, slave, as they have no other choice but to serve the demon and his pocket dimension after their demon and dungeon is killed. Now, some demons allow their monsters to serve their time and leave without ever asking them to do anything. Other demons decided that we are nothing more than personal property and do what they like to us.¡± Herma had walked back to her stool and table to sit down. A thought kept going around and around in his mind, how was Herma still here? As Herma sat down and looked at Alistair a small smile came to her lips, ¡°My master was Hardune. Weasel of a man and it translated to his demon personality as well. See Hardune had several previous dungeons that he had started, but lost for various reasons. As such he choose to make a new one at an old Plains Ziggurat, as fates would have it my first incarnation as a Mana Monster was in the very same place. So Hardune set out conqueror the dungeon, he had knowledge and quickly established monsters, spells, runes, and even began creating loot. You probably don¡¯t know, but in order to start a second level you must transform and take over all mana monsters on the first. Hardune was good, I was swarmed by dozens of creatures and died quickly. Since Hardune was directing them, he captured my essence, and I became enslaved to him. Happily, he wasn¡¯t a lustful creature, all he wanted was mana. So he sent me to work on the Ziggarut, refining mana and battling stronger creatures for him. He helped evolve my form several times and put prize loot on me.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°You have to understand, Alistair, I didn¡¯t mind the work, but Hardune never allowed me to stop and rest. He could have designated me as level boss, and as such I would have been killed by adventurers and then reincarnated again. Instead, he designated me as a roaming boss, to constantly attack and build the next level.¡± Herma paused in her story, and Alistair realized that the information she was giving him was amazing. He would have never known that he could have evolved a creature and kept it from being a level boss. Of course, he didn¡¯t want to do that to another person, but perhaps one of his Tiny Fire Salamanders. Herma pulled out a golden dungeon coin that gave a soft glow. Alistair knew somehow this was different then the coins he made, but not just in metal. Something about the coin screamed that it had a spell in it. ¡°My life changed one day when this beauty was placed in the loot table. See, Hardune had reached level 80 in his dungeon and had several souls attached to mana monsters constantly battling adventurers. However it wasn¡¯t enough, his greed demanded more and faster. So instead of growing slow and building tough monsters, he decided to raid another dungeon. So he talked with his spell constructs and they figured out that loot could carry spells around the world, just as workers could do so in the dungeon. They cast Summoning Circles into Dungeon Coins, and eventually a group of Adventurers left our dungeon to go to another one with a Golden Dungeon Coins in their pockets. Well eventually one of these Adventurers dies in a Dungeon, just as Hardune had hoped. The Summoning Circle appears on the first floor of the Dungeon and Hardune starts his attack.¡± Herma seemed to grow distant as if the ghosts of the past came in this room and started talking. ¡°I was in the vanguard. Hardune had summoned me first to start killing the floor¡¯s mana monsters. It was easy. They were weak and pathetic and my body was a constant blur of motion. My mouths devouring the creatures like they were snacks. My tail struck delivering deadly posion. Level after level, I was able to conqueror and destroy their monsters. We were just about to go past level 30 when I paralyzed by a trap. Mystical mana chains bound my body and forced my body to the ground. Hardune¡¯s workers came to me, carrying counter spells with them, but all it was able to do was allow me to stand and move about the room. I was stuck and out of the fight. Soon, no more of Hardune¡¯s monsters were coming to my aid. Now levels were beginning to repopulate with creatures that we had already vanquished. The repopulation could only mean that we had been pushed back to the upper levels. Monster¡¯s attacked me in the room, and if I hadn¡¯t had such a thick hide or the dungeon hadn¡¯t been focus on attacking Hardune¡¯s main force I would have died.¡± ¡°Instead, Hardune¡¯s dungeon was taken over and the last level Summoning Circle was conquered. When that happens a portal is opened from the summoning circle to the pocket dimension and they can come in and ransack the place. Additionally, when a pocket dimension is destroyed, it sucks up all the monster mana and free mana it can, trying to repair the damage. I felt my body being torn apart for mana, then my soul drifted back through the Aether to here. When I awoke, the town had been destroyed, souls had been captured and Hardune¡¯s dungeon had been left to crumble. I had to comb through the destroyed buildings and my friends¡¯ homes to find small threads of mana that had gone unseen. I gathered them and summoned my body in one of the broken circles. Slowly, I went back to work gathering mana, killing any mortal that came into the Ziggurat. The problem was that I was just a Mana Monster and couldn¡¯t use the spells that had been left behind. That didn¡¯t stop travelers, like yourself, from coming to this destroyed pocket dimension and stealing whatever they wanted. The first time it occurred, I allowed the men to kill me hoping I would appear somewhere else. Sadly, I appeared back here with less supplies and tools then before. More raids came, this time I fought them, each time losing more and more, until there was so little left that no one cared to attack anymore.¡± Herma starting spinning the coin on the table, finally she muttered one last phrase. ¡°Hardune, built the tools of his own demise.¡± Alistair quietly waited as the coin kept spinning on the table top. He was going over Herma¡¯s story in his mind and picking out the knowledge for his dungeon. ¡°So travelers can attack a town through the pathway?¡± Herma snorted, ¡°Aye, Alistair, that is considered the polite way of doing things. Usually, a group of traders will come and see your town. When they do they assess how rich it is and how well defended. If the answer is that its more favorable to attack then keep up trading. They go back to their town and get a raiding party together to attack. After all, in time the town will repair itself and be ready for raiding again. Killing people and spell constructs here in the plane of thought, just sends their souls out to the Aether to drift back down and start again. In fact, there is a big raiding town on this branch of road, they are the ones that have attacked me three or four times.¡± Alistair just stared at his hand for a long time. What had he done by researching trade? He needed it to summon the Salamanders, which let him protect himself from the Elemental. Yet Herma, sounded like he needed to expand his dungeon first and take over the level without a boss. Clenching his fists, he began to feel like the world was punishing him again. The faster he seemed to go, the more danger he brought on himself. ¡°Is there anything I can do against them?¡± Herma nodded and smiled. A blue quest prompt appeared in front of Alistair.
Quest of Vengeance for Hardune¡¯s Ziggurat!
Recommended RankB+
Main Objective:
Build up your strength in your Dungeon and Town until you can finally take vengeance on the town that had raided Herma¡¯s home.
Objective I:
Recommended RankF to C
In order for you to become stronger, Herma will offer you a dungeon coin with a summoning circle to her destroyed dungeon. Fight through the destroyed levels claiming Wild Mana Monsters, spells, traps, and loot. Find Herma and kill her body. Based on your treatment of her, it will determine what additional help you will receive for Objective II.
Items being offered to help with Objective I:
Golden Dungeon CoinSpell: HealingSpell: +1 DefenseRune: Ho
Accept Quest?
YesNo
Chapter 3.2 – The Quest for All Things starts with pushing Yes. Alistair looked at the prompt and for the first time in a long time didn¡¯t just hit the Yes button. It wasn¡¯t that he was greedy and wanted more stuff, like whatever there was in all this stuff lying around. The real reason why, was that he was feeling hesitant and afraid. Almost every step he took forward, it felt like the Gods or Goddesses punished him for that progress. The mere fact that she was offering him spells on healing and defense was incredible as they would help his fighting ability. Still something felt off, for a person that felt like she was being sold into slavery, why would she offer him this quest? Why now? Slowly, Alistair moved his hand away from the quest prompt. He looked at Herma for a moment before he spoke. ¡°Why? You don¡¯t want to be a slave again, and you almost killed me thinking that I was going to do that to you. So why give me this quest? Why help me at all?¡± Herma smiled at him, ¡°Ah so now you choose to be cautious? Seems to me like you are learning Demon, granted very slowly. Fine, let¡¯s go over some of the drawbacks. First off, if you accept the quest you are starting down a path that will eventually raid the largest township on this branch of the road. That means you could end up owning multiple mana monsters, loot, spells, and so on. However, you will upset a major power for an alliance that you have no idea about. That¡¯s assuming you stay hidden long enough before they find you. See as a pocket dimension becomes more powerful, it influences the pathway that leads to the road. As soon as your pathway gets large enough to handle a wagon, they will likely investigate you. At that point, you have to look so tough that the thought of raid scares them. Additionally, after raiding them you will have amassed a great amount of wealth without proper support for it. So even if you win, the amount of resources that come into your pocket dimension may stretch it beyond its ability to support.¡± Herma stopped for a moment, looking at Alistair and seeing a blank stare. ¡°No, don¡¯t get it?¡± Herma put down the knife and folded her hands into her lap. Thinking for a moment she decided to give him an example, ¡°Well it¡¯s pretty simple, think of a pile of stones. Each stone isn¡¯t very heavy and can be moved easily, but load all of it on a man¡¯s back and it will crush him all the same. The same type of thing can happen to a dungeon. For this I think we should take a trip out to the fountain.¡± As Alistair stood up, the prompt minimized into to a small blue cube that floated in front of him. As they moved Alistair was glad that Herma was giving him this information, as it was sorely needed. They got to the fountain and Alistair looked down at it seeing nothing had really changed besides the fact that the small pools of water grown to be no bigger than his fist. Herma looked at him and spoke, ¡°The fountain represents your dungeons mana. Ah, it seems like this we know.¡± As Alistair rolled his eyes at her. ¡°Ok¡­ well then in order for the fountain to grow it can do so in several different ways. First, the Demon can focus the mana in the fountain and make the fountain grow deeper. This effectively adds a new level to your dungeon. I saw it once, the entire fountain had to be full and Hardune placed his hands into the fountain and made a movement like he was pushing a person away. Once done, the fountain went into the ground another few inches, but had absorbed almost all its mana in doing so. Next, as you can see on the bottom of the poll are colored tiles that form a mosaic. This occurs when the Mana monsters in the dungeons refine the natural mana channels in the mind and make them as efficient as possible. From what I have heard most demons do not bother with this as the effects are rarely noticeable. When in reality, this can help with the dungeon research and provide specific mana for new Mana Monsters to appear. Lastly you can expand the border or add statues to the fountain. I know it sounds silly and out of three its sounds like I am a little girl playing house¡­ Well I am not. By adding or refining the stone work you create a better ground for overflow of mana.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all important because when you successfully raid one dungeon, your mana fountain will over flow with power. Having a statue or rune statuette helps by containing the overflow. Example would be a statue that sprays its water into a mist. By adding a statue like that you can disperse useless mana back into your pocket dimension without harm. As for the stone foundation it will help to contain mana leaks from your pocket dimension which can contribute to creating a wild mana monster. Lastly the deeper your fountain the more mana you can have. This all helps in dealing with a large mana influx from the raid. If you don¡¯t have those three things than you would be ringing for every Adventurer in the world to come and challenge you. Trust me on that point, even those who are not sensitive to mana would feel a gentle pull to come and attack you.¡± Herma got up and started walking down the street. She pointed at several building that appeared to have a stone base but then started to become mud with a sod roof. ¡°When the dungeon was functional, these houses were stone with stucco walls and held several people. As you expand, a house can eventually cause lost souls to come to your town. The better quality the house the more powerful the soul. Hardune, didn¡¯t care too much about how strong they were, as he just believed in growing his own monsters. So he had his workers start creating basic houses. Slowly over the years souls would appear in the village, and Hardune would have me or someone else battle them. If we succeeded then by default they were added to the village. If we failed, then the great and powerful Hardune would fight them.¡± Herma snorted at the joke. Finally she stopped at the edge of the town and pointed out to the edge. Unlike Alistair¡¯s settlement, Herma¡¯s pocket dimension ended in the blue mist, not in a forest. ¡°As you can see, Hardune sent workers to expand the dungeon¡¯s area of influence by cutting back the forest. You will need to do the same before a raid. This increases how big each floor can expand to. Some dungeons have researched ways to expand beyond these natural borders. However, they usually end up getting killed. So why do you have to build all this and more? If mana overflows from your fountain because of all the loot you bring back. The Forest will reappear and eat up your land that you carved back. If you don¡¯t have basic structures to house the people you capture during the raid, they will devolve.¡± Herma looked around at the plains for a moment then spoke. ¡°Before I go on, I want you to realize that this long conversation we had was to cover one point from drawbacks of raiding. The dungeon that makes its job to raid, usually never prepares itself for the over flow. Then they spend time and resources trying to regain everything they lost, or they just go back out and raid again. At some point they never stop to realize that if they allowed themselves to spend time making their dungeon stronger, then they could keep and use more of the energy captured during a raid.¡± Herma looked at Alistair and on his face was a look of complete confusion. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Herma laughed at Alistair¡¯s confused look. ¡°I know most of this because I shared a roof with the General Help Spell Aspect. He was a nice man when Hardune kept him out, and when Hardune dismissed him, it was hard living in an empty house. However, trust my advice on this and prepare for the influx of mana instead of reacting to it. Now, if you aren¡¯t convinced that the quest is helpful, then let me ask what do you think is the most powerful item being offered?¡± Alistair thought about the four items being offered and spoke carefully, ¡°My guess would be the spell of healing. The dungeon coin is valuable loot, but it will take a while before I even have a creature strong enough to assign it to. The defense spell will help defect attacks, but once I take damage I have to travel back and forth from my pocket dimension to heal myself. With a healing spell, hopefully I can just cast it on myself, or enchant an item and put it in a loot table to have it as a constant effect.¡± Herma hid a small smile that came to her lips and then spoke, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s the Rune. A rune can be captured in a small statuette with a hexagon base. Why it has to have a hexagon base, I have no idea, but if given to a creature that creature can develop an ability that is associated with the rune. Once given, the creature cannot learn another ability from that rune, unless you bring two of the statues in front of the creature. It takes years for a fountain to research a rune, and then only the Demon can carve it. Depending on his skill, getting the carving right will take years as well. The rune of Ho, is the Rune of Life, and most creatures gain the ability to regenerate. There are other uses as well for the statuette, but your dungeon isn¡¯t advance enough to utilize them. So what do you say?¡± Alistair stood silent for a moment, there was so much information, and he realized that there was so much more he could have been doing in his dungeon that he almost felt sick. In fact, a small voice in him said he should just give up and start again. However, he had never given into that sick voice of self-defeat and maybe with Herma he could correct his mistakes. Alistair touched the blue cube to turn it back into his Quest prompt and pressed Yes. A golden light sparkled over Herma for a moment and she nodded at Alistair. For a time they walked in silence back to the broken fountain. When they got there Herma asked Alistair about his dungeon, loot, current spells and creatures. A look of shock came across her face as Alistair told her about all of it and the quest he received about Callum. ¡°Alistair, I don¡¯t begrudge you wanting to keep Callum present. So I won¡¯t tell you to dismiss him, but your dungeon isn¡¯t even close to being ready for Adventurers, let alone me. Oh well, can¡¯t be helped, I haven¡¯t seen anyone around here for forty years so your still my best bet. So this is what you should do when you get back to your dungeon. Go ask Callum for an woodman¡¯s axe, start clearing the foliage around your town. When you have enough wood, leaves and other material bring it back to the fountain and put it in. It will become mana, when the fountain is full, focus on creating loot items and placing them in your chest. The claws, teeth, daggers, and stones need to be made and dumped into the chest. Eventually when you kill your Elemental, you can have several of them create loot and clear the forest around the town. Now let¡¯s teach you how to get some experience.¡± ¡°Unlike Adventurer¡¯s you only get experience from a monster killing it once. Because a Dungeon Demon is tied to their dungeon they gain some of their experience from killing adventurers but the majority of it comes from how much mana is cycled through their dungeon. The general help aspect told me that Dungeon¡¯s were meant to channel mana for the God and Goddesses planes to their worlds, and a Demon is rewarded by doing this job. So are you full of mana?¡± Herma asked. Alistair shook his head, his mana regeneration was amazingly slow. Herma told Alistair to go ahead and step into the fountain and touch the few puddles till he felt full. As Alistair did so he wondered how this was going to help him at all. Looking up at Herma when he was done, she asked him to come over to him. ¡°Ok, I am not sure how you are supposed to do this, but I want you to look at this missing tile and put a new one in.¡± Alistair cocked an eye brow in surprise at the thought of fixing a tile in her mosaic, but started looking at it anyway. At first Alistair felt like he was just looking at a missing tile and that he had nothing to repair it. It was frustrating staring at nothing but the crumbling mortar around it. However, after five minutes, Alistair¡¯s attention began to wander. He knew that the tile should have been green, as it was in line with a large swirl of green tiles. Additionally as he cleared out the mortar, he knew that swirl went deeper. Touching the tiles next to them, he felt life energy being blocked. Like a river having been dammed by debris. His mind saw how moving this little piece of mortar here and pressing gently to hold it in place produced a tingling in his fingers and the piece would stay. Staring at the mosaic, Alistair began to place his hand over the missing tile and felt the river of energy jump into his hand and bridge the gap. Slowly he pushed down on that energy, feeling amore tingling coming from his hand until a bright light flashed and he felt the energy go down the pathway like it was supposed to. Lifting up his hand Alistair saw that a green tile had replaced the missing one. Herma clapped and an event prompt came up.
Event!
You have successfully used your Dungeon Construction Skill!
Normally, a Dungeon Demon can only create or alter dungeons under his control. However, since you are the only Dungeon Demon in this destroyed Dungeon, you have been given temporary control over the broken summoning circle. 10 experience points have been given to you for fixing first tile. Fixing additional tiles will gain 1 experience point per tile.
Even though Herma continued to clap, Alistair knew that it was going to be a long day to get his first level. Following the green swirl he went to the next broken tile and began his work. Chapter 3.3 – Movin’ on up! Alistair stayed hunch over on his hand and knees for hours, fixing each tile, stone and mortar of the fountain. When he was done, he was short 30 experience points from leveling, had a sore back and knees from bending, and his pants were damp from mana puddles. Resting his hands on his back he circled the fountain one last time checking for any missing pieces or broken bits. The fountain itself was slowly filling with mana. Small holes in the mosaic allowed the water to bubble up, so instead of small puddles the size of his fist, they were several feet in diameter and slowly growing. Clapping his hands together Alistair decided it was finally the time to say it. ¡°Herma, I think I am done with fixing the fountain!¡± Just as he completed his sentence a prompt came up.
Event!
You have fixed a broken Summoning Circle!
When a Dungeon is destroyed, the Demon is removed as Master and sent to start over again. Any monsters not destroyed by the conqueror are still active and become wild mana monsters. By fixing the mana fountain you now can take over the dungeon. Would you like to abandon the Magma Pools and take over the Plains Ziggurat?
YesNo
Alistair thought for a moment about it, if he did start over he now would have an established multi-level dungeon, Herma would be able to couch him, and he would have more advanced fountain to work with. Of course, he didn¡¯t like the idea of taking over a dungeon from someone else. It seemed like it was lazy and perhaps stupid to assume that he couldn¡¯t correct his mistakes or that Hardune had created a better dungeon then himself. He was tempted to press Yes, but in the end he pressed No because he wanted to see what Callum, Herma, and himself could build. Immediately after another prompt came up.
Event!
A Unclaimed dungeon now exists!
Now that you have fixed the Summoning Circle and rejected the idea of restarting. The Dungeon Plains Ziggurat is unclaimed. You have several opitions to choose from: Adsorb: Adsorbing dungeons slowly siphons mana, loot, monsters, runes, and so on from one dungeon to another. The Pocket Dimensions will merge territories, and once all the mana has moved from one dungeon to other, the physical manifestation of the dungeon will collapse. This process can be sped along by conquering and claiming a level. With the dungeons connected, raiding parties can attack the demon through either dungeon gateway. Current Estimation to Adsorb the Plains Zigguart: 10.3 Years. With conquering all levels: 2.8 Years Raiding(Current Setting): By selecting this option you open the dungeon and town up to Raiding. Anyone can come in and take whatever they want. The dungeon will slowly dissolve and all surviving Mana Monsters become wild. Any accumulation of mana will go to birthing new mana monsters in the dungeon. Pocket Dimension will exist until the Dungeon is complete dissolved back into free mana by the aether. Estimated time until Dungeon is dissolved: 108.5 years. With Conquering all Mana Monsters: 35.2 years. Open for New Starting Location: By choosing this option you are opening the dungeon up for the next Dungeon Demon to use. All existing levels will be changed to a raw wild state and dungeon will be closed off to outside forces until the Demon researches trade. Preexisting Loot, Building Upgrades, and Mana Monsters will be dissolved into wild mana. Estimated Time until Dungeon is a new starting location: 1 hour. Sacrifice (Unavailable): Prior to choosing this option the Demon must conqueror and claim at least one level. This option offers up the mana of the dungeon to a chosen God or Goddess. Once completed the God or Goddess can reduce the sentence the demon is currently serving prior to Reincarnation. Time till Dungeon is sacrificed: Level Dependent. What option would you like to choose for the Plains Ziggurat?
AdsorbRaidingNew Starting LocationSacrifice
Alistair pondered this prompt for a while. He was very tempted to choose Adsorb. After all, Herma said that he had been the first person to appear in forty years. Of course that also meant he had two entrances to his Dungeon he had to be careful about. Still it wasn¡¯t like they were on different roads or he was opening a portal to a distant kingdom. Alistair made excuses and reasons to choose either raiding or adsorb, until he couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He hit Adsorb, not because it was the best decision, but because he wanted to. The pocket dimension began to shake uncontrollably, throwing Alistair onto the ground and Herma coming out of her hut screaming about what was going on and what did he do. Finally the shaking stopped and Alistair stood back up to be greeted by a prompt that showed him an Adsorption Status Screen.
Plains Ziggurat Adsorption Status
Time to Completion:10.3 Years
Mana Absorb:0/458,561
Total Wild Mana Monsters:52
Current Wild Mana Monsters:7
Total Traps:30
Total Loot items:26
Total Spells:7
Total Runes:2
Unclaimed Levels:81
You may check on this status whenever you want by saying its name.
Before Alistair had a chance to dismiss the prompt, Herma came up to him and punched him in the face. ¡°You IDIOT! Couldn¡¯t just let things be! Had to be a big man! I want everything, and why should I wait?!¡± Alistair lifted himself off the ground into the sitting position. Looking at Herma, he spoke with a bit of blood coming out of his nose, ¡°What? I have to defeat your dungeon anyway. So I thought I might as well bring in your town and the plains into my pocket dimension.¡± Herma looked down at him, her stare was like looking into the sun itself. Alistair even felt the heat of the stare on his skin. ¡°You now have to make a level 81 dungeon to absorb everything. Hardune took 83 years to do the same feat, growing his dungeon nice and slowly. He had 82 different types and sizes of creatures to populate the dungeon, and over 40 different traps.¡± Running her hands through her hair, Herma began to pace. ¡°Maybe, we can focus on key growth factors and save 40 or 50 floors. Well what are you sitting around for we have work to do!¡± Herma headed back into her hut, and Alistair got back up to read the prompt and wondered how the dungeon had 7 active Mana Monsters. There weren¡¯t 7 people around here, then he thought back to his own dungeon and realized that the Fire wisps were the bright lights inside the wood huts, the tiny fire salamanders were dirt clouds, and even his boss looked no bigger than a pixie. He would need to ask Callum about how much additional mana he was going to be receiving every day and start to prepare for it. Alistair dismissed the prompt and finally the one prompt he was hoping for came up. This one was in a golden trim.
You have reached level 2!
By fixing the broken Summoning Circle and choosing to absorb it you have gain 70 experience points.
When a Dungeon Demon Levels they get the following:
Bonus Attributes to Spend:8
Bonus Skill Points to Spend:5
New Abilities Available:None
New Skills Available:2
Skill Name:Mana Monster Possession
Skill Point Cost:3
Skill Description:Allows the Dungeon Demon to take over Mana Monsters body and control it however he wants. The Mana monster must have been summoned by the Summoning Circle and under the Dungeon Demon¡¯s control. During possession the Dungeon Demon imparts some of its powers onto the monster.
Would you like to learn Mana Monster Possession for the cost of 3 skill points?
YesNo
Skill Name:Dungeon Vision
Skill Point Cost:1
Skill Description:A Dungeon Demon has the need to see what is going on in his dungeon at all times, even when he is in his own pocket dimension. As such the Summoning Circle has the ability to create a small scrying window into the Dungeon. Dungeon Vision allows for the Demon to create more than one window, set alerts and allow for greater information to be gathered from the window.
Would you like to learn Dungeon Vision for the cost of 1 skill point?
YesNo
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Alistair was still quite angry at Herma, and without Callum around to help him, Alistair¡¯s arrogance decided to come to the forefront of his mind. He was sure he knew what he was doing, he had spent a lifetime as a warrior and knew best on how to distribute his own attributes and skill points. The only difference now was that he had spells but he really couldn¡¯t use them in combat, so he didn¡¯t really need to think about spending more on Wisdom or Intelligence. Though supposedly there was some kind of relationship between them and how many skill points he got per level, he focused on what he knew and carried on with choosing. He decided to go with the old combat set up. Three into Constitution, Two into Strength, and One into Dexterity, with a spare One to go where ever he wanted; which he decided to put into Luck, after all he had been having a run of bad luck lately. With his Attributes decided, Alistair took a look at his skills and thought for a bit. He knew that purchasing a skill level, one had to pay the same cost as the new skill level. Now by fixing the fountain Dungeon Construction had gone up by 30%, but it was also his main way of getting experience points. The new skills looked impressive but how useful would they really be, Alistair asked himself. So he put three skill points into Dungeon Construction to take it up to level 2. Then he put one point into Mana Monster Summoning to have it go up to level 1, and bought the new skill Dungeon Vision, as he didn¡¯t see any use in storing the unused skill point. Hitting the Yes button on his Soul Page and the Level prompt to confirm his choices, the world slowed down for a moment new knowledge flooded into Alistair¡¯s head as he understood how to call a scying window into his pocket dimension and how get information to display on it. Additionally, with Dungeon Construction reaching level 2 the amount of mana that he could channel and alter in his dungeon increased. Ideas on how to construct better homes, roads, walls, and even a blacksmith shop came to him. He had a vague sense of what it would do in his dungeon, and apparently the blacksmith shop was needed to make traps. Finally, his new knowledge of Mana Monster Summoning came to him, and he realized that he could have tried to intimidate some of the F ranked monsters and there was a chance they would submit to him without a fight. Alistair wiped the grin from his face as Herma came out carry items in a large sack. She was muttering to herself, and when she looked up at Alistair simply shook her head. ¡°Alight, I have the quest items I promised you and some personal things for myself. Let¡¯s go find the opening to your pocket dimension and have you start improving it. I am hoping to get you up to level five to face the Elemental.¡± Alistair looked at Herma in confusion, ¡°Wait, what are you doing? Personal items? Are you moving to my pocket dimension? How is that even possible?¡± Herma pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment, ¡°You really need to spend some points on Intelligence when you level. When you choose to absorb my dungeon, you claimed both Dungeons as your own. So even though my body is in the plains Ziggurat, my soul can travel to either place. Additionally, you opened a huge path from this dimension to the other to allow mana to flow to it. So all we have to do is go to the outside of town and look for a big opening in the mist and we can walk down that path to your town. Helping to build me place to live and several other improvements should drain all the incoming mana fast enough and level you at the same time. I was thinking with the right level coaching you could take on the elemental by level five.¡± Alistair could feel blood warming up his face in anger. He wasn¡¯t some kind of idiot that didn¡¯t know what he was doing. He had leveled as a mortal plenty of times and new the in¡¯s and out¡¯s. ¡°Herma, I think I can handle my leveling just fine, and don¡¯t need any advice on the matter. After all, I was a level 80 Knight and Ranked SS with gear in my previous life and did quite fine. So you are more than welcome to come along, but I will be in charge of my leveling.¡± Herma¡¯s eyes tighten and the set in her jaw told Alistair that he was getting close to line in which they would start a physical fight. ¡°Now listen here you pup of a demon!¡± Herma said as anger oozed out of her voice, ¡°I am a Ranked A monster, and have obtained level 97. You may have been some high almighty Adventurer, but I currently can take on a group of ten, level 80 ranked A, Adventurers and kill them all. I have done it. Leveling as a monster or demon is vastly different then as an Adventurer. You think strength is going to carry you through Rank D fights? You have to get smarter, otherwise your perception won¡¯t increase and you won¡¯t see the spell coming at you, or the rogue behind you, or make the right choice and summon additional monsters for help. Dumb monsters do the same old thing and never change their attack patterns. Smart monsters, monsters that are attack monsters for other dungeons, they are widely independent and extremely dangerous. Tell you what, Mister Know-it-all, you can choose your attributes and skills for the first five levels without one word from me and if you kill your elemental worker, I will apologize for everything I said and did! Heck, I will even give you two new spells. But if you die against the elemental, then you owe me an apology and you get to listen to my advice till level ten! How about that?¡± By the end Herma was almost spitting every time a word came out of her mouth. Alistair tighten his eyes, there was no way she was right about this. ¡°You got yourself a deal! And when I win I will expect a formal written apology so that I can take it out and look at it whenever I want!¡± Herma shook, ¡°I expect the same!¡± For a moment they stood there shaking in anger ready to kill one another at perceived insults and hurts. Each one mad at the other, for the disrespect they had shown one another. Like a whisper in the wind, Callum¡¯s voice could be heard carrying over the plains. Alistair choose to start following the sound of the voice until at the edge of town the three of them met up. It was a cold introduction as Alistair was still mad at Herma, and it didn¡¯t help that Herma used a sickly sweet voice when talking to Callum. Poor Callum, had a great deal of questions for his Lord, but sadly from the look on his face he was not in the mood to talk. In silent agreement they headed back to Alistair¡¯s pocket dimension through a huge straight forest path that had appeared out of the mist. Chapter 4.0 – The Tin Man’s Axe Author¡¯s Note: SO the story is past 100 followers, and my wife texted me at work freaking out. For some reason I think she is into this more than her twitter account¡­ and I am very concerned for all of your safety if that is the case. :-) But in all seriousness, thank you all for your support and reading my story. I plan for the first book to be around 200k word count. I do have a story arc ready and it will have a dungeon crawl with the Ziggurat. This will be the last emotional rollercoaster for the MC as now I have a way to gradually make him better. My biggest concern as an author was how to show gradual improvement of the MC without making it look weird at moments (Example: The MC starts off as a moron, but by the end of the story becomes a brilliant tactician without really any change). If everyone feels that this is too much of a mood swing I will go back and edit the previous chapters. Please leave comments and if you have any other suggestions on anything else let me know.
It had been two days, since Alistair choose to absorb Hardune¡¯s dungeon. In that time, Alistair was constantly working. At first it had been easy for Alistair to use the excess mana from Hardune¡¯s dungeon. He had focused on the foundation and instead of a flag stone wall with sharp edges and large gaps of mortar, Alistair channeled the mana in the fountain and replaced the flag stone with paver stones that size of his fist. Mortar that was two inches wide in some places was replaced with a small thin line that was less than quarter of an inch everywhere. It had taken Alistair most of the day, and Herma seemed to walk off with Callum after the first hour. The boss salamander that looked like a pixie began to work around the fountain turning the hard packed earth around it into stone. Of course, since Herma was no longer around, he decided to stop work on the fountain and work on expanding his territory. He was an hour into clearing the dead fall and foliage when he realized that it was part of Herma¡¯s plan to do this very thing. He wanted to stop, but the fact was that it was giving him good experience points and when he walked up to the fountain, placing the leaves, twigs, grasses, and other foliage in it and turning his brush into liquid mana. Now with the influx of mana, Alistair started converting the thinly branched huts into log cabins as the picture came into his mind and began to build itself out in his pocket dimension. With all his work, his pocket dimension expanded, as well as, his dungeon. While Alistair was working, he liked to watch over his dungeon by using his new skill. The blue mana window allow him to zoom around the dungeon. It seemed that the small outcropping of rock that held the summoning circle had changed as well. The outcropping now had several thin bridges arcing over the magma and depositing itself on the edge of the pools. As he chopped wood with an ax found in the carpenters hut, Alistair could see the dungeon expand as he had the window display such information in text. It was also a pleasure to see that as he expanded his dungeon¡¯s perimeter, the elemental was pushed from his magma pool perch and forced by the tiny fire salamanders to the edge of the magma pools. It had been quite the battle, as soon as that imaginary line moved over the elemental, the three tiny salamanders joined together and jumped onto the elemental. Their bites were not very damaging, but their real advantage was that when one of them died the Summoning Circle would make a new one. Just as soon as the salamander appeared, it would hop off the outcropping and swim to the elemental through the magma to bite at it. It was annoying that they couldn¡¯t kill the elemental, but they did get him to move off into a tunnel. From then on, Callum adjusted the amount of salamanders and fire wisps the circle would make to help fill the enlarged space. Strangely platforms on the Obsidian walk ways began to expand as Salamanders scurried over them. Fire wisps seeing the newly formed platforms began to spend time looking at them. As a consequence Fire Mana Stones began to grown all along the edges of the platforms, like crystal outcroppings. Causing Salamanders to rest near the stones, as they absorbed the fire mana for food. As Alistair got back to work hacking at particularly nasty vine. A the golden prompt came back up. He had leveled once again from expanding his dungeon. Smiling Alistair looked down at the prompt.
You have reached level 3!
By continually working to expand your dungeon you have gained a level.
When a Dungeon Demon Levels they get the following:
Bonus Attributes to Spend:8
Bonus Skill Points to Spend:6
New Abilities Available:None
New Skills Available:1
Skill Name:Mana Monster Possession
Skill Point Cost:3
Skill Description:Allows the Dungeon Demon to take over Mana Monsters body and control it however he wants. The Mana monster must have been summoned by the Summoning Circle and under the Dungeon Demon¡¯s control. During possession the Dungeon Demon imparts some of its powers onto the monster.
Would you like to learn Mana Monster Possession for the cost of 3 skill points?
YesNo
Alistair was almost disappointed at the prompt. He knew from his previous life that every five levels usually brought something good. But since level 2 unlocked two new skills for him, he was hoping that it was different for a dungeon demon. Bringing up his soul page he looked at his current stats. He did his standard combat build, but something was feeling off about it. Herma had told him that Intelligent monsters were far more dangerous than Strength based ones. Even in his old life Alistair would devote a point to Wisdom and Intelligence every ten levels or so. Shaking his head, he placed 4 points into Intelligence and 4 points into Wisdom. Even if it was a stupid move on his part, he would at least get 2 more skill points per level. Looking at his skills he went ahead and bought the Mana Possession Skill and raised it by one level, while raising Summoning Mana Monster by one level as well. Taking one more look at his attributes, he shook his head thinking that this was a waste of points, but pressed Yes anyway. Alistair fell to his knees, as what felt like a flaming spike pierced his brain. The flame was burning some of the fog away from his mind, as his thoughts began to feel clearer and move faster. Slowly the spike withdrew to leave in its place a deep sense of guilt. Closing his eyes he began to wonder why he felt so guilty. His thoughts began to seek out that feeling and he started to realize that it was attached to Herma. His mind began to work sorting through his emotions, connections between feelings, events in the past, and how he could have handled it differently came to him. For once he realized his error and that there was a way to correct this before it got out of hand even more. Picking up his axe and small bundle of foliage, Alistair began to move to the fountain to deposit his work. He began to realize that his skills hadn¡¯t yet come to him, and as he watched his bundle dissolve into mana Alistair had the thought they were waiting till he finally acted on his new found wisdom. Going to Callum¡¯s farm, he saw Callum and Herma inspecting the small rows of freshly tilled dirt. Herma¡¯s face darken slightly as she saw Alistair, and he had enough guilt still left to look embarrassed. Herma told Callum to keep going for a moment as she walked off towards Alistair. As she approached, Herma gruffly asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± Taking a deep breath Alistair calmly spoke, ¡°I am sorry for how I reacted to your plan to help me. I just recently leveled again, and in the moment I put all my points into Intelligence and Wisdom just to spite you and say it didn¡¯t make a difference.¡± Herma began to turn around as he finished his last comment, so Alistair continued. ¡°However, it did make a difference. The extra points gave me an epiphany about what happened between us. In my past life, I was used to being the one that made decisions, though in retrospect they weren¡¯t very good ones. When you came out yelling at me, you were right about how I felt. I wanted the mana and a bigger place, and felt like I had to make that decision right then. In hindsight, I should have called you out and talked about it or kept it where it was. Instead I fell back on previous behavior and did the thing I wanted. So I choose to feel hurt and anger at what you said, and when you talked about me leveling, I choose to hear that you were trying to take over my own choices about who I am.¡± Herma turned around shocked, ¡°I would never force you to choose Attributes, and I was just trying to give you perceptive. Facing dangerous monsters means you are going to have to put Attributes into Dexterity, Wisdom, Intelligence, and even Charisma if you don¡¯t want to fight them.¡± Alistair took it as a good sign that at least she was talking to him. ¡°I know¡­ or I should say, I know that now. Herma, I know that you have probably lost trust in me...¡± Alistair said but was interrupted by Herma. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I trust you to complete the quest. Also, you haven¡¯t demanded me to do work or teach Callum. I think that was because you were angry at me, and didn¡¯t want to talk. However, you have respected my independence. Right now, I don¡¯t like you, but this apology is slowly lowering my distaste for you.¡± Herma smiled slightly and Alistair smiled back. ¡°If you have a free moment I would like you to see me battle a Fire Beetle and perhaps we can talk about what I need to improve afterwards? Otherwise, if you are busy I thought I would start on making a cabin for you. It seems that I have cleared enough space for your own cabin now.¡± As Alistair said that the guilt had finally vanished and a new prompt came up.
Event!
Everyone makes mistakes, a Wise person learns from them.
The Universe saw your fight and based on your rash actions the guilt you felt was well received. However, you have started the mending between yourself and Herma. By offering to have Herma review your fight you have shown her that you will seek out her opinion. By offering to build her a Cabin, you have shown her that you do value her presence. Though this all occurred because you have raised your Wisdom, you decided to act on it instead of hiding. This act of courage and understanding has demonstrated wisdom. Perhaps not all is lost. Grow and learn about yourself and you may still find happiness.
Reward: +1 to Intelligence
Reward: +1 to Wisdom
Reward: +1 to Luck
Laughing Alistair showed the prompt to Herma, and she laughed as well. ¡°It¡¯s right, I did feel those things. Listen, let me give you the Spells that I have promised before you fight the fire beetle.¡± Herma went off into the scholar¡¯s hut to get the spells. Alistair began to feel the new knowledge of his skills come in. Monster possession wasn¡¯t just about taking over a creature¡¯s body, he could also take a group of monsters over and have them follow basic commands; like run this direction or attack. The information that came with Summoning Mana Monster was about evolution and how mana, meat, and other environmental factors can influence evolution or he could force it. It also unlocked his ability to summon the Boss Salamander. As Alistair started review his skills it, a thought began to worm its way into his mind. Why couldn¡¯t he possess the Boss Salamander and other tiny Salamanders and attack the elemental? Herma came out of the hut carrying two folded sheets of cloth and a carved statuette. As Herma came closer, Alistair wanted to get her opinion. ¡°Herma, I just received Mana Monster Possession this last level. As I am reviewing the skill, I started thinking about how I could use the Boss Salamander and other Tiny Salamanders to attack the elemental. Of course, I could be wrong.¡± Alistair started to take the statuette from her and saw that Herma smiled. ¡°Thanks, though next time you might want to offer your help with the heavy stuff a little sooner.¡± Herma said with a wink. ¡°But, yes that was what I was going to discuss with you about your leveling. See most Dungeon Demons keep to their previous lives sins. You thought the only way to obtain a mana monster was defeating it in battle. That should be your last resort, after all you are not going to defeat me by yourself in three years. From what I have seen, Hardune believed in increasing his Charisma and Intelligence as he was a merchant in his previous life. His Intelligence helped him increase his mana reserves and understand how to do research faster. While his Charisma allowed him to intimidate monsters into submission. You were probably on the road of increasing your Strength and Constitution. Though this prolongs a fight and allows you to do more damage, we can¡¯t really do research or pick your mind on how to improve the mana channels. It¡¯s my belief that we should focus on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma for the early levels say up to 30, and then switch to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for the mid-levels.¡± Alistair held up his hand to interrupt Herma, ¡°I think I see why, is it because by increasing my mind first we can accumulate skill points faster and help with building the town quickly through use of mana. Then when we reach the mid-levels we stop and increase our martial strength for an attack?¡± Herma nodded, ¡°Not bad, those are the broad strokes of my plan. By strengthening your mind, you will be able to push mana through the monsters you possess casting spells for them, as well as, strengthening their tactics. I figured level five to face the elemental because we would have expanded the dungeon large enough to gain enough monsters for a concentrated attack. Additionally, I think you realize that by increasing your wisdom you will be making less mistakes.¡± Alistair thought about it for a moment and then spoke, ¡°Not really, Intelligence, Wisdom and a little bit of Luck plays in any plan. Hopefully as I gain in the first two I will need less of the last.¡± Herma laughed at the joke and held up the first cloth. As Alistair took it into his hand he stared at the pattern. In the center was what looked like a glass vial filled with red liquid, it was the old standard healing potion, and with his new found intelligence realized that the spell was telling him what he could enchant with it. Around the center image of a potion, runes formed arcane script showing Alistair how to performed the spell. Yet again his new found intelligence showed him that there were breaks in the script that he could add runes to later to help it increase in potency. As the thought left him, a Prompt came up.
A new Spell has been learned!
Spell Name: Healing
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:15 mana
Spell Description:You have learned a spell! As a Dungeon Demon the only spells you can learn are those on enchanted items, through your new insight you realize this spell can only be placed on Potions. This enchantment offers a onetime heal of a creature for 30 hit points. Once casted on a creature it will give the creature a passive regeneration of 2 hit points per minute. If you wish to make this passive ability permanent, place it on a potion and give it to mana monsters loot table in which it has a 33% or greater drop rate. This passive regeneration can only be gained once and will not work if a stronger bonus is active. Otherwise the spell will last one hour. If you require the heal, the spell will end automatically.
Alistair picked up the second spell and began to study it. The same feelings and thoughts came to him as he looked at the spell with a hide breast plate in the middle.
A new Spell has been learned!
Spell Name:+1 Defense
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:10 mana
Spell Description:You have learned a new Spell!. +1 Defense is a common enchantment that is given to armor of all kinds. The enchantment strengthens the armor using ambient mana and will slowly repair it over time. Due to this magical aura, damage will decrease by 10% the first time you are hit. Should a creature be lucky enough to hit you in the same place again, damage will decrease only by 5%. The magical aura will take a full day to reset itself if enchanted on armor. Because of the strange effects of the aura there is a 1% of an attack missing you, this bonus will add to your chances of dodging other attacks. As a demon your skin/hide will receive the bonus of casting the spell. If you wish to make this spell permanent, place it on a piece of armor and give it to mana monsters loot table in which it has a 33% or greater drop rate. Otherwise the spell will last for half an hour.
Alistair laughed at the joy of finally getting the spells and thinking about how much more powerful he would be in a fight. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him¡­ these spells weren¡¯t for him. They were meant to be pushed through his salamanders to fight the elemental. ¡°Herma, I was so happy at the spell, because I thought I can really put up a good fight and kill the elemental. Then I realized that these spells are for my creatures not me, and that I need to stop myself from using that old way of thinking.¡± Herma laughed and then nodded, ¡°Aye, and perhaps if you don¡¯t mind another suggestion. Instead of fighting the beetle, how about we try and force a submission from it. If it fails then you can battle it afterwards.¡± Alistair nodded and looked down at the statuette. ¡°It¡¯s for when you win.¡± Herma said with a wink. Chapter 4.1 – A Contest of Wills. ¡°So,¡± Alistair said to Herma, ¡°How do I force a mana monster into submission? It¡¯s a bug, it¡¯s not like I just challenge it to an arm wrestling contest.¡± Herma snorted at the thought of such a stupid comment. She motioned for Alistair to stand opposite of him and closed her eyes. Breathing lightly Herma felt her aura surrounding her body. Small currents of her presence began to slowly build its way up to her eyes, and like a gust of wind, when she opened her eyes to look at Alistair she felt her presence fly from her to hit him. For Alistair it was strange at first. Herma just standing there, but in the back of his mind he felt like something was watching him to see if he was food. When Herma opened her eyes, he felt his vision close in around her, shrinking his field of vision to nothing save her eyes. Slowly as time kept going on Alistair felt himself get smaller and smaller, almost as if Herma was asking for him to give up or be smashed underfoot. Then in a moment Herma shook her head and Alistair was free of her gaze. He found himself on his knees and almost felt like someone had been squeezing his entire body. Herma for her part offered Alistair a hand and he took it. ¡°Alistair a battle of wills or whatever you like to call it, is about primal presence. When a dangerous looking dog stares at you, all it is asking is if you are my pack leader or food. You lock onto their eyes and in your heart you rid yourself of all fear, because as soon as fear enters your mind you become food. What I did was a conscious use of my presence or aura. Every creature can sense a predator¡¯s focus, this comes from your aura. As you look at something, you began take all your presence and knock it out with fear. It¡¯s a dangerous technique for anyone with Charisma score less than 20, mainly because you hold a little back to make sure you aren¡¯t overwhelmed by the other person. My master exclusive battled using this technique, and when he didn¡¯t win he had enough lower level monsters that could swarm the creature that got away. Would you like to try it out on me?¡± Alistair nodded. He thought back to his previous life and hoped that maybe his arrogance would finally help him. Alistair closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, when he opened his eyes again he held disdain for Herma in them. Herma looked at Alistair and for a moment she felt the need to bend a knee. However, the reflex to punch Alistair in the face was a lot more powerful. ¡°Ummmmm¡­ well that¡¯s a different way to do it. How about this close your eyes and simply follow my instructions?¡± Alistair nodded and closed his eyes. ¡°Now I want you focus on your sense of touch. This feeling isn¡¯t your clothes or an itch, but a light pressure on the edge of all your skin, that pressure is your aura that surrounds you. Nod when you think you feel your aura.¡± Alistair went searching for his aura and after five minutes he began to sense what he thought Herma was talking about. Nodding his head to show Herma he had it, Alistair waited. ¡°Now I want you to think about gathering up that pressure around your eyes. Once you do, don¡¯t say anything. Just open your eyes and when they connect with mine release that energy outward.¡± Alistair opened his eyes and made contact with Herma¡¯s. For a split second he almost felt like he was looking deep within her and was ready to bring out her darkest secrets, and then she simply moved her head and the moment was lost. ¡°Great Alistair! That¡¯s exactly the trick to do. Now let¡¯s practice it so you can become faster.¡± They worked on his speed several times before he was able to do it within a second or two. ¡°At this point Alistair, you have the very basic technique. Just keep practicing. If you feel a break in the battle of wills, then you have lost and you should prepare to fight. Since the Fire Beetle doesn¡¯t really have a presence of its own I would suggest you go ahead and try using it. Now good luck with your fight.¡± Alistair smiled and went to his hut to travel back to his dungeon. Being in his demon from seemed strange after the long hours working in his pocket dimension. However, when he looked around his dungeon he began to see huge changes in the magma pools. The walls had changed to start glowing with Fire mana stones that looked like crystals. The rocky outcropping was twice as large and the Boss Salamander protected a large outcropping of Fire Mana crystals. Fire wisps blinked here and there throughout the cavern, and sense of magic was throughout the air. Walking over to his boss, the salamander lifted his head and Alistair gentled placed his hand on it, stroking around the horn and ridges of obsidian making sure not to touch the cracks which seeped lava. He stared at the crystals for a long moment, realizing this was part of the loot that the Adventurers would come and take if they entered his dungeon. Thoughts began to come back to him from his previous life about how natural resources would reappear with a boss. He moved his hand over to the crystals setting it on the top one. Slowly mana began to connect the boss and crystals together in a bond, empowering both of them, and the summoning circle began to glow. A prompt came up.
You are attempting to alter the summoning requirements for Monster Subtype Fire Salamander.
By using your skill Dungeon Construction you are attempting to alter the spell Summoning Mana Monster: Fire Salamander by also summoning a concentration of Fire Mana Stones with them. This will increase the mana required to summon each creature, but will also increase damage done by the fire aura when near the crystals. Currently a group of five tiny salamanders can live off of one concentration of Fire Mana Stones. The Boss Fire Salamander will require a large concentration from himself.
Do you wish to proceed with this alteration to the Mana Summoning Spell for Subtype Fire Salamanders?
YesNo
Alistair pressed Yes and the Boss Salamander seemed to hum slightly in contentment. Backing away from the crystals Alistair was glad that the Boss Salamander was tougher in a fight, but also was happy that the salamanders had a food source that would always generate with them. Hope flared in Alistair¡¯s mind at the thought that perhaps the Fire Beetle was the same way. Maybe the Fire Lichen it needed was in the summoning spell? Alistair went to the Summoning Circle and began casting his three spells. He felt like it was slightly overkill for the beetle, but if it came down to a fight he wanted to be prepared. Callum appeared as Alistair was ready and together they summoned the Fire Beetle. Alistair began to gather his presence in order to fight the fire beetle. As he opened his eyes, he saw a bright red beetle about the size of four inches looking back at him. It began to move forward and then stopped as Alistair felt his presence challenge the beetle. Slowly its carapace opened, bright yellow wings fluttered up and down, but Alistair kept his gaze on the beetle. He began to take a step forward, pushing his presence harder and harder on it, but as his foot came down the beetle shook and jumped using its wings to hover slightly. The beetle opened it¡¯s long serrated mandibles and a gout of flames came out of its mouth and hit Alistairs right side. Alistair jumped back feeling like he had rolled himself into a campfire. His skin bubbled and blistered quickly by the heat of the flames, but the intense pain that Alistair should have felt was dampened by his adrenaline. The beetle was quick for such a large bug, it began to fly around the summoning circle trying to catch Alistair unawares. Another gout of flame came from the beetle and Alistair was able to dodge out of the way. It seemed that the beetle wasn¡¯t able to maneuver very quickly when its flame was released. So Alistair made ready his move for the next time the beetle decided to shoot its flames. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The beetle flew around, at times Alistair almost lost sight of it as the red and yellow carapace blended in with the magma. Yet the loud humming of beetles wings told him where to look. Finally, the beetle seemed to prepare itself for its flame attack. Time slowed down as Alistair began moving light on his feet to sidestep the flames. The Fire Beetle opened its red hot mandibles and flame began to pour out. Alistair moved to his left letting the flames roll pass his right shoulder and took a swipe where the beetle was at with his left hand. As Alistair saw his claws slash through the delicate wing and into the fire beetles body a smile leapt to his face. However, without its left wing the fire beetle began to rotate in the air uncontrollably, and as the beetle began to turn, Alistair realized that the flame was going to hit him in the face. He tried to move his right hand upward to take the brunt of fire beetles flames, but he couldn¡¯t move fast enough. The Spinning beetles flames cut a swath of damage flesh across Alistair face down to his right side. Pain exploded across Alistair¡¯s face and body, as the beetle crashed into the summoning circle floor and began to bleed out. Alistair face was raw with burns, and every breath he took sent shooting pain into him. Animal panic was coming up in his mind and with the last little bit of will power he focused on the healing spell. A bright light that Alistair could barely see with his damaged eyes came over him, and the pain receded. Blisters showed up and then fell off, as the worst parts of the burns healed themselves in seconds. Alistair finally took a moment to breathe and the air came in without an instant of pain. Alistair felt the heat that was still coming off of him and began to cast the healing spell again as he watched the beetle. As the spell was finished the usual prompt came up.
Event!
You have captured a Fire Beetle!
Today you have added to the list of creatures that can be found in your dungeon. Fire Beetle is now available for summoning. The Experience Points from a Fire Salamander is 10. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 2%. You meet the requirements to have your creature evolve. Warning! The Fire Beetle requires Fire Lichen to survive. Some Fire Lichen has been detected in level 2. Please expand your dungeon level before summoning the fire beetle.
Alistair started to feel frustration welling up in him. Yet he took a moment to stop, and think over his options. Right now he had a total of three creatures he could summon, but he had asked Callum to get them when his dungeon was small. He had expanded his territory and in addition had refined quite a bit of mana. Also, he had leveled and in doing so gained level two over Summon Mana Monster, therefore Callum should help him with some evolutions of his creatures. He still needed to work on increasing his territory. He had a lot of things to do, and just because another creature would have helped. He wasn¡¯t going to get anything done if he reacted like a child. Alistair took another breath and still felt frustrated but it wasn¡¯t controlling him. ¡°Callum, I think I want to take a walk around my dungeon. With the walkways and ramps, I can finally move more than two feet. Care to join me, or do you want to go back to the Pocket Dimension?¡± Alistair said as he started to walk to the edge of a ramp. Callum¡¯s small little form bobbed up and down, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind floating with you, and it will give Herma a view of the dungeon as well, My Lord.¡± Alistair started down the ramp seeing salamanders moving around jumping off of the ledges and swimming around in the magma pools. They took a few minutes watching the Salamanders play, and Alistair spoke, ¡°I wonder why they jump into the magma?¡± Callum floated over to the magma and began slowly moving around, like a kid examining the ground for a coin he had lost. When he was done, Callum floated back up and spoke, ¡°Well there seems to be a Mana Monster that is waiting for enough mana to be summoned and the salamanders are swimming around it hoping it will have some meat on it.¡± Alistair felt his frustration pull on him, but as he saw to salamander roll around on the rock ramp he laughed. After all, Callum could have had an thousand and one reasons why he didn¡¯t see the Mana Monster before this. Alistair allowed his laughter to die down as the two salamanders went back to the fire mana stone outcropping and laid back down. Somehow he knew that these two were back in his pocket dimension make stone floors. Walking away from them, Alistair was able to ask his next question in a completely pleasant voice. ¡°So what was the mana monster that is waiting to be summoned?¡± Callum paused in his floating for a moment as if he was thinking and then started along again. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s a Lava Tube Centipede. From what I can tell, the Fire Salamanders and Lava Tube Centipedes naturally fight amongst one another and kill each other for food. Salamanders and Centipedes also can eat spiders and insects.¡± Alistair shivered slightly at the thought of spiders, something in his past life tugged at him when the word had been spoken. ¡°Ever since you increase your Summon Mana Monster Mastery, I have been seeing traces of monsters that want to be summoned. However, since you just leveled it up less than an hour ago, I really haven¡¯t been able to find all of them and figure out what they do. I know that there are a couple of wild mana monsters down the lava tubes in front of us.¡± Alistair stopped for a moment and looked at Callum. He couldn¡¯t be mad at him, because this was the first time he was talking to him after leveling his skill, and he was telling him important information. So he took a moment to wrestle with his internal feelings and accept the fact that Callum was doing his job to the best of his ability. ¡°Callum, why don¡¯t you tell me what wild mana monster are in the tunnels? Also, next time I level the skill, could you come and find me If you find new mana monsters.¡± Callum bobbed up and down, ¡°Of course, my lord, that seems like a great idea. Anyway, I have found traces of Lava Tube Centipedes, Fire Ants, and Fire Slugs. If we expand our territory into the lava tubes, there seems to be a large bat and rat population. Which I believe will feed the Centipedes and Salamanders, once we set up spawning sites for them. There are countless molds and fungus in the tubes feeding insects. As far as Wild Mana Monsters that I can sense; I sense a Slime, Rat Swarm, Bat Swarm, and Red Creeper Vine in the lava tubes ahead.¡± Alistair thought about it all and realized that the only thing left to do was increase his territory. ¡°Come on Callum, let¡¯s go talk with Herma and expand the territory. I get the feeling that I probably need to spend some more points on Wisdom and Intelligence.¡± Thinking of the door in his mind, Alistair opened it up to transport himself to his pocket dimension. Chapter 4.2 – The Sand of a New Shore Location: The main island in the Archipelago Kingdom of Waponikash A cool salt breeze came over the balcony of the palace. King Japash stood at the stone railing looking out to the ocean. He wore a spider silk wrap dyed in royal colors, his wife stirred on the bed and woke up finding her husband not by her side. Wrapping herself in the bedsheets she walked over her husband and hugged him from behind. ¡°Tell me, Japa, what keeps you awake tonight?¡± She finished her question with a small kiss on his shoulder blade. The king closed his eyes for a moment and spoke, ¡°My Darling Nael, I have received reports and warnings from all over the kingdom. The mages have said there is a Wild Mana Monster loose. I have called the marines to start combing the islands to west and south for the creature. Our boy, Japonilkash is with them leading the search. What if it is another great beast from the depths? I worry that our boy will perish before he can take the throne.¡± Queen Nael covered her husband with the sheets, pressing herself to him for reassurance. ¡°Then we shall pray to the Gods and Goddesses that our boy returns. We both agreed that our son needed to level and fight with the navy. If he is not at least level 30 then no one will take him seriously, and the only way to get fast experience is through combat. We could have sent him to one of the dungeons outside the kingdom, but the expense was too great and he wouldn¡¯t gain the respect of our navy. Besides, he is with a great number of mages and they will keep him safe. Now come back to bed, in the morning we will offer prayers to the Gods and Goddesses of Light.¡± The King took a moment to look out at the ocean as small dark sails of ships danced on the waves. He whispered his own prayer to the Gods and Goddesses, asking for the three things he prayed for everyday; safety of his family, additional wealth for his people and kingdom, and to make good decisions. His prayers were heard by many, but only Salurin had ever truly listen to the old soul that had been the first dungeon demon. He was supposed to never favor one soul over another, but then again Salurin believed in stacking the deck.
Location: Alistair¡¯s Magma Pools Alistair had worked hard for five days straight and had gained 2 levels. Once he had stepped back into his dungeon he had accepted the Rune of Ho from Herma. The statuette was around a foot tall made out of wood. Its base was in the form of a hexagon with the symbol of the rune carved in the bottom. Each one of the six sides contained different complex patterns, and from the based was carved the exact stance that one should have when speaking the word. When Alistair asked Herma about the complex patterns, Herma replied that you could only align other runes with matching complex patterns. The great enchanters of the world knew how to form the grand runes and their meanings, but it was the dungeon demons that formed new arcane weavings of runes, which allowed the enchanters to keep advancing in their craft. Handing the rune over to Callum to help see if he couldn¡¯t impart regeneration to the creatures, Alistair started building Herma a new home. Stone flowed out of the ground and slowly a rough paver stone house with a thatched roof came into being. He transformed his own home as well, and then went back to hacking at the wood on the outside of his territory. By the end of the five days Alistair had cleared four acres of land around his small hamlet. He wasn¡¯t sure how it could have been done so quickly. Perhaps like his creation of houses, the mana in this place responded to intent of its lord. When he was done he found that at the edge of his land to the east existed a small beach. The water tasted of salt and the sand was almost white with a just hint of yellow. Seeing the sand Alistair sat down to run his feet through it and decided to check his soul page one more time.
Soul Page
True Name:Shedzuoxohr
Alias Name:Alistair
Race:Dungeon Demon
Level:4
Exp till Next Level:8953/9000
HP*:170Mana:170
BodySoul
STR*:12INT:17
DEX*:13WIS:16
CON*:17CHA:11
END:22LUCK:7
*If creatures are smaller or larger then you stats may change depending on size.
Skills
Skill Points Unspent:1
Skill Name:Dungeon Construction
Skill Level:3, 85%
Skill Description:Dungeon Construction allows the user to manipulate the surround mana to shape, alter, create or destroy matter in their summoning circles area of control. The summoning circle will capture or release all mana needed for changes to take effect. Your current mastery of the skill allows for: Advance construction techniques for your pocket dimension and dungeon, and traps (See Blacksmith in Pocket Dimension)
Skill Name:Mana Monster Summoning
Skill Level:2
Skill Description:When a Dungeon Demon has created their first summoning circle they have the ability to Summon Mana Monsters using the stored mana of the summoning circle. If the demon has not previous fought and killed the mana monster inside of the summoning circle then they must defeat the monster before control is granted. Your current mastery of the skill allows for: Greater Sensitivity when trying to find Wild Mana Monsters and can evolve current monsters one time. (See Farm in Pocket Dimension)
Mana Monster Current Available for Summoning:Fire Wisp Fire Beetle Tiny Fire Salamander Boss Fire Salamander
Skill Name:Dungeon Vision
Skill Level:2
Skill Description:A Dungeon Demon has the need to see what is going on in his dungeon at all times, even when he is in his own pocket dimension. As such the Summoning Circle has the ability to create a small scrying window into the Dungeon. Dungeon Vision allows for the Demon to create more than one window, set alerts and allow for greater information to be gathered from the window. Your current mastery of the skill allows for: Greater amount of information displayed and a mana view.
Skill Name:Mana Monster Possession
Skill Level:3
Skill Description:Allows the Dungeon Demon to take over Mana Monsters body and control it however he wants. The Mana monster must have been summoned by the Summoning Circle and under the Dungeon Demon¡¯s control. During possession the Dungeon Demon imparts some of its powers onto the monster. Your current mastery of the skill allows for: Control over seven or fewer monsters at a time, allows you to designate roles in the possession group, and has a 2% chance of giving you experience during a fight when you possess the creature.
Spells
Spell Name:Summoning Circle Creation
Spell Mastery:0, 50%
Spell Cost:50 mana
Spell Description:Using the casters mana, the energy burns into the ground creating a Dungeon Summoning Circle. The Circle construct is used to store mana and focus the control over the surrounding area for the demon. Should the circle be destroyed all mana will back lash through the demon and expel them from the area.
Spell Name:Summon Spell Companion
Spell Mastery:0, 25%
Spell Cost:25 mana
Spell Description:Spell will create a mana construct that will help the demon in numerous ways as spell mastery grows. At current spell mastery level, the demon may choose the construct to help with rune research, spell construction, mana monster control, or general help. Only one spell construct is able to operate per demon at a time. If construct is destroyed or dismissed all knowledge within the construct will be lost.
Spell Name:+1 Damage
Spell Mastery:0, 45%
Spell Cost:10 mana
Spell Description:As a Dungeon Demon the only spells you can learn are those on enchanted items. +1 Damage is a common enchantment that is given to weapons. The enchantment strengthens the weapon using ambient mana. First, it increases Damage output by 1.5X, the same as if the weapon had been forged using better materials for damaging edge/part. Due to the damage enhancement being magical, the spell gives the weapon a 50% change of damaging purely mana creatures. Lastly the weapon has an increase durability as the enchantments mana is used to take damage prior to the physical material being damaged. As a demon your claws will receive the bonus of casting the spell. If you wish to make this spell permanent, place it on a weapon and give it to mana monsters loot table in which it has a 33% or greater drop rate. Otherwise the spell will last ten minutes.
Spell Name: Healing
Spell Mastery:0, 15%
Spell Cost:15 mana
Spell Description:As a Dungeon Demon the only spells you can learn are those on enchanted items, through your new insight you realize this spell can only be placed on Potions. This enchantment offers a onetime heal of a creature for 30 hit points. Once casted on a creature it will give the creature a passive regeneration of 2 hit points per minute. If you wish to make this passive ability permanent, place it on a potion and give it to mana monsters loot table in which it has a 33% or greater drop rate. This passive regeneration can only be gained once and will not work if a stronger bonus is active. Otherwise the spell will last one hour. If you require the heal, the spell will end automatically.
Spell Name:+1 Defense
Spell Mastery:0, 10%
Spell Cost:10 mana
Spell Description:+1 Defense is a common enchantment that is given to armor of all kinds. The enchantment strengthens the armor using ambient mana and will slowly repair it over time. Due to this magical aura, damage will decrease by 10% the first time you are hit. Should a creature be lucky enough to hit you in the same place again, damage will decrease only by 5%. The magical aura will take a full day to reset itself if enchanted on armor. Because of the strange effects of the aura there is a 1% of an attack missing you, this bonus will add to your chances of dodging other attacks. As a demon your skin/hide will receive the bonus of casting the spell. If you wish to make this spell permanent, place it on a piece of armor and give it to mana monsters loot table in which it has a 33% or greater drop rate. Otherwise the spell will last for half an hour.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Dismissing the page, Alistair felt warmth at the care that everyone had put in making this place. Small waves of water ran over his feet and he stood up to walk back to the village without any shoes. Unlike Herma, his village was located in a hill land, much like his childhood home. Occasionally, a large rock would peak its head out of the meadow grasses. Giving countryside a little bit of character, blue and red wild flowers swayed in the wind as Alistair made the climb up the hill to the village. Small dirt clouds could be seen in the now budding streets. With the expansion of the dungeon, Callum had been able to create close to fourteen groupings of salamanders in the dungeon before he could no longer place Fire Mana Stones close enough to the Magma Pools. He could have helped the salamanders do their job, but Herma told him that he needed to wait and allow the Mana to grow in his fountain to create a new level. As Alistair was coming back, he saw Herma and Callum talking at the farm. Not feeling like he needed to be anywhere Alistair headed over to farm, leaving a bent trail of grass and flowers in his wake. As he got closer the wind carried Callum¡¯s and Herma¡¯s words to him, ¡°¡­ he¡¯s ready to make an attack on some of the Wild Mana Monsters already in the dungeon. Besides you saw it yourself, he is almost to level five and we both agreed that when he chooses his ability, he has a chance to take on the Elemental, if he can pass on the ability to his monsters.¡± Herma shook her head, ¡°Callum, it¡¯s just too soon. I think he should try and get another few levels in Monster Possession and attack in force. With his increase in Intelligence and Wisdom, he is getting more skill points, and he may unlock more skills in the next couple of levels. Besides he is not ready to find out what happens when you control a wild mana monster.¡± Callum threw up his hands, ¡°And how is he supposed to get those extra levels? He needs practice and I think that no matter what he is going to find out about wild Mana Monsters, might as well be now.¡± Alistair heard what they were discussing and had a choice. He could either act on it, or leave it alone and let them talk to him in their good time. Alistair started to wave and then shouted, ¡°Hello!¡± Herma and Callum both looked down the hill towards Alistair and waved back. Herma shot Callum a look that said to keep his mouth shut, and then they turned back to him and waved. Smiling Alistair came up to the farm, since the expansion of dungeon Callum had access to different plants in the dungeon and began to cultivate them for Alchemy ingredients. It seemed that in order to evolve a creature they had to consume enough mana for their mana matrix to find new pathways and expand. By having them eat herbs and magical fungi they had a chance of developing additional abilities with the evolution. Currently, Callum was working on the Fire Wisp, hoping that with more mana channels the dungeon could grow more creatures. ¡°Well Callum, how is the Fire Wisp doing today?¡± Callum went over to a pen and looked at the small light. ¡°She is ok, I have been feeding her Blood Tongue, to increase her fire aura, but it seems like the energy is already saturated. So I was going to start her on a diet of Blue Dream Mushrooms. They are used in Intelligence Potions, and I am hoping that it triggers her evolution. So what about you, enjoy the beach again?¡± Alistair laughed and nodded, ¡°Aye. I would never have thought such a thing as the feel of sand on your feet and water running over them would be so fun. Then again, it¡¯s only the three of us so we have to make do.¡± As Alistair made his last comment a look between Herma and Callum passed. Finally, Herma spoke, ¡°Well with the dungeon expanding its territory throughout the cave systems and lava tubes, what are your plans for today?¡± ¡°Well I know that I am supposed to wait for the Mana to build up and create a new level, but I was thinking about possessing the Boss Salamander and a group of five tiny salamanders and see if I couldn¡¯t kill the Rat Swarm and Red Creeper Vine in the south tunnels.¡± Alistair said, after all it truly had been his plan to do that today, and it had nothing to do with the conversation that Callum and Herma were talking about. Callum spoke before Herma had a chance to, ¡°Sound like a great idea! Why choose those two though?¡± Alistair smiled, ¡°Well, I have been using the Dungeon Vision and it has been giving me information on the Mana Monsters. The Red Creeper Vine is a Mana Monster Plant that grows on corpses of animals and Adventures. Its main attack is a poison pollen that shoots out of its flowers, however, I can fortify the Salamanders using the healing spell. So I will have to watch the vine tendrils it uses to try and bind its opponents. It¡¯s my hope that the Salamanders will have a strong enough fire aura to burn the tendrils away.¡± ¡°As for the rat swarm, I was going to have the boss salamander as the main line and the others protect its flank. Even though the fire aura won¡¯t be enhanced by the crystal it will do enough damage by itself that that swarm will start to die in quick numbers. As far as summoning something new or try a different monster, I figure the two I picked are the best chances for success.¡± Alistair shrugged as he completed his speech. Herma was biting her lip trying to think of a reason why it wouldn¡¯t work as Alistair said. He had countered the idea of mana lost by choosing the two creatures to fight that even without spells, had a great chance to defeat them. The only reason why he shouldn¡¯t do this, was the one reason she couldn¡¯t tell him about, and yet it was going to happen. ¡°Alistair, do you remember my story about Hardune?¡± Alistair nodded. ¡°Well if you remember the part I told you that he took control over my monster form when I was young. Every Wild Mana Monster in your dungeon that has accumulated enough mana to appear without a summoning circle has a soul attached to it. If you win over these monsters, children may appear here.¡± ¡°Children?! What are you talking about Herma? The Gods and Goddesses are said to take the children that have died and reincarnate them immediately to a new family. Why would the souls of children be in monsters?¡± Alistair was offended at the thought. Surely even the Gods and Goddesses weren¡¯t that cruel. Herma stay quiet for a moment and then spoke, ¡°When souls are sent to become monsters by Salurin, they can end up here in a pocket dimension to help Dungeon Demons with their dungeon. However, just like real people they fall in love and start a family. New souls are created and when they become ready to be born they are placed in Mana Monsters. I do not know why they are placed into Mana Monsters, but they say there purpose is to gain enough mana to be reborn as a sentient individual. If they don¡¯t the souls are reborn into a natural creature like a fish or goat. By defeating their bodies, the souls will be anchor here and will be at your mercy. However, if Adventurers kill them over and over again at least then they have a hope of moving on.¡± Alistair stopped and thought about it for a moment. Something was nagging him at the back of his mind, ¡°You said that they had to gain mana in hopes of reincarnating into a sentient individual. Could we do that here? Give them enough mana to move on?¡± Herma was quiet for a moment, as it was the last question she expected from a dungeon demon. Herma had a worried look on her face. ¡°You can. You can give them just enough mana to reincarnate, but Hardune believed that keeping the souls under control was the best way to grow. I was stopped from reincarnating by him and forced to use my free mana to evolve my body. I want you to understand that you will be the first Dungeon Demon I have met that has willing chosen this. That dungeon that attacked Hardune¡¯s used an army of children and teenager souls.¡± Alistair seemed disgusted by the comment, these children deserved to move on just as much as a he did. Using them to gather more levels, loot, and mana seemed a greater wrong then anything he had ever done in his previous life. Then again if it wasn¡¯t for his increase in wisdom, he probably wouldn¡¯t have thought of just giving the children mana. ¡°Then I suppose my town will never get very big, but it seems like the right thing to do. Everyone has the right to move on, even you Herma. It¡¯s just this hasn¡¯t come up yet, at least not with you. How do I go about do this, setting it up so that I only give them just enough mana for them reincarnate?¡± Herma smiled, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try and battle them first.¡± Chapter 4.3 – A Pack Hunts, while it’s Prey should flee Authors Note: I know that this chapter is a little shorter due to my author¡¯s note. Time just wasn¡¯t on my side. I will be taking off the day tomorrow and probably work on grammar changes and the comment that Daelkyr wrote in Chapter 4.2. If I have any major changes to the Chapter I will post them, so that way it shows that the Author responded to the Daelkyr¡¯s feedback. I do want to thank everyone for their feedback. It¡¯s important to understand what the reader is responding to. If you enjoy one aspect more than another I will try and start increasing that part. As a Storyteller for my kids, I feed off their energy of the story and even change the end if they are enjoying it. Now for a little look behind the curtain. Why set up dungeons as the Mana Refinery and have souls as part of a dungeon? Spoiler : The short answer is that¡­ it¡¯s fun metaphysical adventure. The long answer is this: We have all read adventures where the hero goes on a quest and enters a tomb, cave, labyrinth, and so on to obtain a sword or powerful artifact. Some of the more litRPG books on royalroad and on amazon have a character leveling and going into dungeons for the sole reason of looting and getting more power or because it was a VRMMORPG. So I asked myself, why does a dungeon exist? Well it has a lot of power¡­ it can generate mobs, loot, and traps. It can shape itself, adding new levels and creatures. Yet where did this all come from? Did evil mages just go crazy and start making dungeons because they could? Why have treasure at all? And the answer I can up with was that Dungeons were made by the Gods/Goddesses to refine mana for their causes. Once they ascended into their different dimensions, they needed a way to keep mana coming in to effect change. Slowly, other powerful creatures began to take shape and formed alliances with the dungeons to get a piece of the mana pie. At which point a war broke out and dungeons needed guards, so Gods and Goddesses sent privilege souls to the dungeons and created guards. Occasionally, a God/Goddess will send a soul to wreak havoc on the world and that is a Wild Mana Monster. Is it just me or has the story started to pick up the pace and is including more action?(Answer includes some of the upcoming story arc and direction of the story) Spoiler : Yes it has. Alistair is slowly redeeming himself, but what he doesn¡¯t realize is that the dungeon Herma wants vengeance on is in an alliance, that has peace treaties with others. Eventually, my story will began to evolve into a metaphysical World War I story, and just like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip, Alistair¡¯s attack on the dungeon will spark a war across the metaphysical plane. The Trench warfare will began to look like Dungeon combat, and Allies and Central Powers will began to draw lines. Political upheaval will occur and decaying system that has stood in place will began to fall. How will it all go down¡­ that¡¯s a different question and I hope to write long enough to answer that. Why choose not to curse or have a harem for Alistair? Spoiler : Basically it comes down to my girls. If I ever finish a book, I intend to sell it on Amazon and put any money into college fund for my girls. So I am making a moral choice, I want the women in my stories to be real and the hero smart enough not to need to curse. I realize that it takes away from some of the gritty realism or the fantasy of some of the main readers. However, it is a dungeon and there will be blood. Still one of the smaller parts of the story is about the abuse of power. Thorian definitely abused his authority, but does that mean you back away from it completely? Or do you have to find a middle ground that you can live with? Anyway that¡¯s the emotional stuff and I hope everyone can live with it.
Alistair shook his head at Herma, he suppose this was the perfect example of Alistair counting all his chickens before they hatched. Looking at her small wiry smile, he asked, ¡°Well any tips on how to control the Mana Monsters once I possess them?¡± Callum and Herma began laughing at the comment, shaking their heads. ¡°You know it¡¯s flattering and frustrating that you think I know everything.¡± Herma said after calming down from the laugh. ¡°The truth of it is that, there is no way I can understand or even guild you in the use of Mana Monster Possession skill. You will have to go down there and try out the skill yourself. I know you will dissolve and that the monster you take over will feel the urges to do whatever you tell them, even if it means dying. Hardune never said that he felt my fear or the horror of what I did. Sometimes the monster will try and fight your orders.¡± Herma shrugged, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how to figure out if the monster has a better idea or they are just going to run away. So you are going to have to use your better combat instincts and hopefully succeed.¡± Alistair was slightly happy at the revelation that Herma in fact didn¡¯t know anything about the skill, and as he said goodbye he briefly wondered about the feeling. He knew that Herma was as close to a real tutor to a dungeon demon as one could get, and without her providing information Alistair realized that it hurt him even more. Still the small voice of arrogance and independence wanted to celebrate. The basic feeling, once he had analyzed it, was that Herma had admitted that she didn¡¯t know an answer, and Alistair wanted to show her that he could do things on his own. Alistair was finally able to put the feeling away when he thought about how Herma made sure when she imparted her advice that she told him why it was important. Once again, he needed to thank Herma for putting his points into wisdom. The self-analysis and ability to understand his feelings didn¡¯t overly help in combat. Yet when planning or talking with Callum and her, he began to feel more in tune with them. Additionally, he was starting to review some of his sins from a previous life and realizing where he went wrong. By putting all his points into combat attributes, Alistair was no more suited to lead then anyone. Additionally, his arrogance had come from the sense that he was un-killable. However, he should have been spending more points on Intelligence and Wisdom to help make tactical decisions, and eventually help lead a kingdom. Alistair stepped forth into his dungeon. New tunnels were slowly being carved out by salamanders as they sensed Mana Focus and its desire to channel more. It was an odd bond that the Mana Monsters had with the Mana Focus. Yet, as they worked on making pathways in the pocket dimension, the worked here making tunnels. Alistair could see a Tiny Fire Salamander climb the rock face and stop. Its small fire aura pulsing, while it¡¯s tiny claws worked itself into a crack. The salamander¡¯s skin which usually looked bright red and slick began to dull as small pebbles of rock began to cover it. It would probably take years for the Tiny Fire Salamander to carve out the tunnel, even with all his friends. That¡¯s why he needed the Magma Elemental. They were born of Fire and Earth Mana, and could take large chucks out of the walls faster than anything. Realizing that he was just putting off trying a new skill, Alistair started casting his three spells. He didn¡¯t know if he was going to be able to cast them when he was in control of the group, so besides the practice he saw no harm in being prepared. Once done he went over to the Boss Salamander that appeared to be asleep. Alistair carefully stroked the Salamander¡¯s skin feeling the heat of its fire aura on the back of his hand. Alistair thought about his skill Mana Monster Possession and the feeling of getting lighter slowly came over him. Looking down at his body, blue mana light began to come off him, forming a cloud over the salamander. Softly, his focus changed, at one moment he was staring down at the Boss of his dungeon level and then his vision seemed to float towards the Salamanders eyes. Finally, he knew the spell was done when it felt like his entire body was stuck to the Mana Monster. Carefully, at first Alistair moved limbs and the head. It felt like he was trying to lift his body in mud as he took his first step. It took several more minutes for Alistair to realize how to walk, or in his case belly crawl. Being stuck to the joints of his Boss wasn¡¯t as easy as he thought. Crawling over to the nearest cluster of Salamanders saw little blue dots of energy on their foreheads, and almost as if by instinct Alistair pushed forward his hand and felt tendrils of mana reach out to the blue dots. As the dots were connected, Alistair floated off the Boss Salamander to hover over the group. The dungeon surrounding him seemed to have a black fog that cut off his vision of certain areas. He knew where to go, so with a nudge from his mind the salamanders began to move down the ramp. It was then that Alistair realized that black fog existed where the salamanders couldn¡¯t see. In front of him, was clearly the dungeon and the pathway to the lava tubes, but as Alistair turned to look behind him, only blackness existed. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Alistair began to understand that he would have to use their senses in combat, and that hopefully as the skill increase, the total number of creatures and range of senses would increase as well. Yet that was for another day, instead Alistair nudge them to run, and like a man on a sled being pulled, his pack of creatures took off down the ramp. It was exciting seeing the lava tubes. Alistair looked on the gray black walls with white streaks running down them and thought of the kind of raw power it must have took for the stone to melt and fuse together. As they got further away from the Magma pools, pools of water on the floor started to appear. The fire salamanders moved around them as their fire auras began to make them steam. Alistair noted that his Mana Monsters seemed to be afraid of water. Looking around Alistair guided them down to the south tunnels. Different types of cave mold and fungus began to grow. Slowly, the pack lost speed as the dampness of the tunnel began to cool them. Alistair pushed them forward finally seeing the Red Creeper Vine. The Vine had wrapped itself around some type of animal, Alistair thought it might have been a boar at one point as their seemed to be tusks and hooves that weren¡¯t covered in a thick red vine when he had seen it through his Dungeon Vision. The skin seemed to crawl, as tendrils controlled by the Vine began to move under the skin. Black Flowers appeared all over the skin of the beast and Alistair knew that their pollen would be poisonous. Alistair checked his spells and realized that the +1 damage had dissipated while they had been running to get here. Defense and healing were still in effect, and as he tried to recast the damage he realized that without a voice and body he wouldn¡¯t be able to cast a spell. So Alistair readied his salamanders and charged the vine, placing dots of energy where he wanted the salamanders to attack. The salamanders leapt onto the carcass of the animal attacking the trunk of the vine. The Boss went for a particularly dense part trying to cut it with his obsidian teeth. Yellow Pollen burst through the air, and Alistair saw that as it touched the salamanders their limbs began to slow down and become useless. Not sure of how fast the plant could perform another pollen attack, Alistair pushed the healing spell down to his pack. Two of the salamanders fell off the boar carcass landing on the ground frozen. Two more seemed to about ready to fall down as well when the healing spell began to work. The Salamanders began to start moving again. Thankfully, their fire aura was still working as hair began to catch flame on the boar¡¯s hide. Flowers were beginning to wilt on the vine, and Alistair prepared for the tendril attack the he knew was coming, as hundreds of tendrils moved under the skin. However, instead of bursting forth and attacking the salamanders the boar began to stand up and shake the salamanders off of it. That¡¯s when Alistair noticed that the vine wasn¡¯t just on the boar, but three feet away was a large tangle of vines that had taken root in the cave wall. The dead boar rushed Alistair Boss Salamander and the two began fighting. Dead tusks scored the Bosses skin as the Bosses obsidian horn tore through its flesh and cut tendrils. Alistair had to take his focus away from the Boss Salamander to direct the rest of the pack to attack the large tangle. Quickly they scrambled away from the boar and began jumping into the tangle to cut the vines and roots at its base. The boars shivered and tried to turn away from the Boss, but the Salamander opened its jaws and reached out to bite the boar in the neck. Flame began to wash over the boars face and body as the Boss activated its burning bite. Flowers burned and as the vine controlling the body tried to move it back to its base, but in doing so it ripped off the boars head in the process. No longer worried about the boar as weapon against his salamanders he went ahead and designated thick vines for the Boss to attack. His vision quickly became less and less as the salamanders focused on their tasks. Waiting for the fight to end, Alistair felt one of the tiny salamanders lose it life to tendrils, but that had been a last desperate attempt by the plant to safe itself as the Boss Salamander cut through the last of its main branches and the tiny salamanders destroyed the root system. A blue prompt formed in Alistair vision.
Event!
You have captured a Red Creeper Vine!
Today you have added to the list of creatures that can be found in your dungeon. Red Creeper Vine is now available for summoning. The Experience Points from a Red Creeper Vine is 30. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 7%. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 4. Congratulations! The Red Creeper Vine was a Wild Mana Monster in your dungeon. By clearing your floor of one of the mana monsters your summoning circle has increased in level. Please view your summoning circle page for more information. Additionally, the Red Creeper Vine is considered a Mana Monster and a Trap due to its limited mobility. As such it does not require a loot table to summon, as the loot is generated from creatures it kills. As a reward you have claimed all the monsters loot for your loot table.
Loot earned:Boar Bones (Summoning Ingredient) Rat Tails (Alchemy Ingredient) Bat Wings (Alchemy Ingredient) Complete set of Hide Armor (Poor Quality) Rusted Rapier (Poor Quality) Bracer of Defense +1 (Magical Item)
Dungeon Bonus: Monsters receive +1 to Defense due to Bracer of Defense +1 being in a loot table. If it is removed the Dungeon Bonus will no longer apply.
Chapter 4.4 – You Dirty Rat! Alistair reviewed the prompt for the loot on the Red Creeper Vine, and was surprised to see that because the mana monster was immobile that it counted as a trap. Looking around, Alistair found the remains of a person. As he floated up to it another prompt came up.
Quest Location
Due to adventurer having died here before the start of your Dungeon, this area has been designated as a location to create Quests. Press the selection below for the type of quests that this point will generate.
Holy/Unholy ShrineTransform location into a small shrine dedicated to a God or Goddess of your choice. Mana will flow into the shrine from your dungeon and generate quest items, loot, and experience, a portion of that will be given to the God or Goddess of your choice. Based on your choice and how many quests are performed at the shrine the God or Goddess may grant you a bonus. Minions of the God or Goddess will generate the quests.
The Dire Warning!Chiseled into the walls is a cautionary tell of the horrors that lay ahead. This location will generate a quest chain to kill the last boss of your dungeon. Advantages: Adventurers will be tempted by greater experience and reward to venture further in your dungeon coming against harder and harder creatures. If they have accepted this quest and they die, their memories, skills, or general knowledge will be added to your General Help Library. Disadvantages: As the quest ask Adventurers to continue on till they kill your last boss, it is possible that they may destroy the summoning circle and destroy the dungeon.
Mini Boss LocationThe area becomes a secondary location for a mini boss. Choose a Mana Monster to become the mini Boss, the monster must have a Boss form. Upon choosing a monster, their loot table will increase to include a Magical Item and additional quest item to be placed in the summoning circle on this level. Advantages: Upon completion of the quest, a piece of knowledge from the Adventurer will be added to the General Help Library. Disadvantages: Large Mana Drain.
Ghost of the Fallen Adventurer!Over the course of many years this location was imprinted with the memories and thoughts of the Fallen Adventurer. Her main purpose for exploring was in search of alchemy ingredients. The Ghost, manifesting with your mana, will tell the Adventurers how to brew a potion from ingredients in your current Mana Monster Loot tables. Advantages: Increases foot traffic and hunting in your dungeon. Should the Adventurer have any knowledge of Alchemy and die while on this quest, there knowledge will be copied to your General Help Library. Disadvantages: Can cause over hunting of a specific Monster, making it a large mana drain. Current Potions available: Fire Resistance and Burn Healing. Currently, the memories have a total of 32 potions known, not all will be to be accessed. To increase knowledge or create new potions create a Market.
Increase the Summoning Circle¡¯s level to unlock additional quests.
Alistair realized that this was one of the vital quest points in a dungeon. Most dungeons that he could remember had the Dire Warning quest, which when cashed in had a pretty nice reward. The problem with that option was that he didn¡¯t have multiple levels and bosses for Adventurers to attack, and he didn¡¯t know when he was going to start having Adventurers. The holy shrine was nice, but then again he was in charge of casting the mana, but the God or Goddess choose how much that would be. Still having a blessing by them would be great, but wasn¡¯t certain when that would occur either. The mini boss was out of the question as he only had four monsters at the moment to summon. So as he looked at the final choice, and went over the advantages and disadvantages in his head. True, it would cause some types of his monsters to be hunted and he would spend mana regenerating them. However, he had mana to burn at the moment and it would keep Adventurers busy on the level without seeking his main boss. Selecting the Ghost option, Alistair sighed at the thought of it, a part of him wanted to press the shrine option just to see what it would have done. Oh well, he thought, maybe next time. Alistair looked over his pack of Salamanders and started heading off down the tunnels to the Rat Swarm. The Salamanders seemed to be moving quickly as they passed all manner of tunnels. Finally, Alistair could hear a small chattering or squeaking of rats, but as they got closer Alistair realized that the little squeak or chatter was coming from not one, or ten, but several hundred rats. Alistair¡¯s first time of seeing the swarm through the salamander¡¯s eyes was scary enough for him to reconsider attacking it. Hundreds of rats climbing over one another; fighting, biting, licking one another in a massive mound made Alistair uneasy. Yet when his pack was finally spotted, the swarm quieted for a moment as hundred of rats beady eyes turned and looked at the salamanders. They began to swarm forward, like a tidal wave of filthy hairy vermin. In response, Alistair had the salamanders form a line and began biting at the lead rats as they closed in. While he had, the boss Salamander began using its Tail Slap killing several in one stroke. However, the press of bodies began to overwhelm his Salamanders. Rats began falling over their dead pack mates coming forward faster and faster. Finally, the hair on the Rats began smoking as they got closer to the fire auras of the Salamanders. The Boss Salamander could no longer use its tail, so it bit and clawed at everything it could, trying to keep its head above the swarm. Three of the tiny salamanders had died in the press of vermin. The last one was under the belly of the Boss Salamander protecting its flanks by weaving under it. Fire finally started as the corpses of the rats caught on flame. The screeching intensified in terror as the vermin tried pressing against their brothers to get away from the flames, but were trampled instead. Finally as the hundreds turned to tens, a prompt popped up.
Event!
You have captured a Rat Swarm!
Today you have added to the list of creatures that can be found in your dungeon. Rat Swarm is now available for summoning. The Experience Points from the Rat Swarm is 45. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 4%. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 5. Congratulations! The Rat Swarm was a Wild Mana Monster in your dungeon. By clearing your floor of one of the mana monsters your summoning circle has gained in experience. Please view your summoning circle page for more information. Additionally, the Rat Swarm is made of natural creatures. The smallest number a Rat Swarm can be is thirty rats and at most five hundred. As the Rat Swarms patrol your tunnels, there is a chance that a rat will break off from the mana monster. When that occurs other mana monsters will take the chance to kill and eat it for experience.
Alistair dismissed the prompt and saw that the tiny salamander and boss salamander were eating the remains of the fight. Alistair took a chance and dismissed the possession spell. His body began to solidify inside the small clearing of burnt rat. The boss salamander looked up at him with its mouth full and Alistair gave it a pat on its head. The two survivors should be able to eat in peace Alistair thought. Before he could teleport back home another blue prompt came up.
You have reached level 5!
By killing the wild mana monster Rat Swarm you have gained a level.
When a Dungeon Demon Levels they get they following:
Bonus Attributes to Spend:8
Bonus Skill Points to Spend:7
New Abilities Available:3
Ability Points to Spend:1
New Skills Available:2
Ability Name:Fire Aura
Ability Point Cost:1
Ability Description:As part of your evolution into a Fire Mephit the Fire Aura provides damage to other creatures and resistance to the element of fire. Fire Mana will be attracted to your physical form and began flowing around your body purifying itself. As your body is constantly purifying the mana, it will gain resistance to fire damage. Creatures that get to close to you without Fire Resistance will burn up. Should someone attack you with fire mana it will likely heal you as your aura will absorb it. However, the aura can only absorb so much fire mana before becoming overloaded and hurting you. Lastly, since your aura is purifying fire mana, any attack using water mana will do extra damage by disrupting your aura and causing spiritual feedback.
Would you like to gain Fire Aura for the cost of 1 Ability Point?
YesNo
Ability Name:Wings
Ability Point Cost:1
Ability Description:As part of your evolution into a Fire Mephit, wings will grow from your back and will allow you to fly in a fire mana rich environment. Later on should you gain Fire Mana Control (Master), you will be able to fly in all but the harshest environments. Currently, if you manifest yourself in your magma pools you can fly above them. Your wings will catch fire mana and began to form a fire shield around you the longer you are in flight. The fire shield will protect you from fire damage, until it is destroyed. When you land the fire shield will be active for 30 mins before disappearing.
Would you like to gain Wings for the cost of 1 Ability Point?
YesNo
Ability Name:Fire Mana Control(Unskilled)
Ability Point Cost:1
Ability Description:As part of your evolution into a Fire Mephit, you will gain control over fire mana. Currently choosing this ability will allow you to cover yourself in flames during a fight or to throw a fireball. Due to the Unskilled level, you must use the refined fire mana in the air or what is trapped in your aura or shield. If none can be found you will not be able to use the ability. Additionally, you will have instinctual knowledge of the element of fire, boosting research for any item that requires the element of fire to be created.
Would you like to gain Fire Mana Control(Unskilled) for the cost of 1 Ability Point?
YesNo
Skill Name:Trap Construction
Skill Point Cost:4
Skill Description:Trap Construction allows the user to manipulate the surround mana to shape, alter, create or destroy traps in their summoning circles area of control. The summoning circle will capture or release all mana needed for changes to take effect.
Would you like to learn Trap Construction for the cost of 4 skill points?
YesNo
Skill Name:Runic Oscillation
Skill Point Cost:7
Skill Description:Runic Oscillation is one of the hardest skills a Dungeon Demon can learn and master. Before the world or gods and goddesses were created, runes existed and through their use everything came to be. By using meditation and this skill the Dungeon Demon can gain profound insight into the use of Runes. Depending on his imagination the Dungeon Demon can control or alter almost anything through the use of Runes.
Would you like to learn Runic Oscillation for the cost of 7 skill points?
YesNo
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Thankfully, Herma and Alistair had talked about his choices for level 5. He went ahead and spent 2 points on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Thankfully, a full blown headache didn¡¯t occur again like it had when he did 4 points into one attribute. With two left over points, Alistair placed them in Dexterity and Constitution. Looking at his abilities, both Herma and himself agreed that he would take the most utilitarian ability available, and at first glance that looked like Fire Mana Control. However, as his newly increase intelligence worked for him, he knew having an ability, but with nothing to power it, the ability was useless. So he selected Fire Aura, and felt a small blaze of heat began to wrap itself around him. Part of him when he got to skills looked at Runic Oscillation and wanted to learn it right away, but Herma had said that it was a skill to be used over years of study and mediation. Hardune had fallen for the same trap of all powerful skill, only to realize that the first time he used it, it took him four months to fully realize one rune. So with his extra skill point he purchased an upgrade with his Dungeon Construction and then purchase his new skill Trap Construction. Information flooded his mind on how to create a town hall, market and upgrade some of his existing buildings. Knowledge of blacksmithing came to him, as well as, riddle making. It seemed that a trap was either physical or magical. The Physical part created traps by forging them in the forge, much like iron puzzle games. Whereas the magical traps required Alistair to forge an Iron Tablet with a riddle inscribed on it. Stepping threw his doorway to the pocket dimension Alistair hear the cries of laughter from children outside of his house. Alistair opened his front door as two children ran pass him shouting at one another. The first child was a young elfish lad, green clothes tied about him in a flowing elvish style. He was apparently playing with a small dwarf girl as her feet echoed off the paved ground around the fountain. Herma appeared out of her house laughing at Alistair. ¡°Well, you wanted the wild mana monsters. Now here they are. Joshin and Helga come here!¡± She said with a shout. The two children looking to be around the age of ten came running over smiling. The boy gracefully bowed, while the dwarf girl with dirty blonde hair did an awkward curtsy. Alistair smiled and the boy brought himself back up. The boy spoke first, ¡°My lord, we fought and lost to your noble self. How may we be of service?¡± And once again a blue prompt came up.
Event!
A Soul has been Captured by You!
When you defeated the Wild Mana Monsters, you gained control over the souls that were in them. Joshin and Helga were placed here by the God of Salurin to gain enough mana and eventually obtain rebirth as an elvish and dwarf child. Now that you control their bodies their fate is in your hands. You have several options to choose from: Slavery: You gain complete control over the souls and monsters. As such you can have them evolve and go against Adventurers at a whim. The stronger the monster the greater the power your dungeon will gain. Once their monster bodies have died the amount of times set forth by Salurin, they will be freed and born into the world. Because of their enslavement, their souls will naturally seek out your dungeon to destroy it. Freedom: By selecting this option you allow the souls to leave your pocket dimension and find a different mana monster to be born into. Of course without defense or a body, any dungeon demon that stumbles across them will have the option of enslaving them. Birth (Unavailable): By selecting this option you allow the souls to leave your pocket dimension and be born into the world using your dungeons mana. This will weaken the soul as it has not built up the requested mana and had the experiences to understand the world. Each soul requires 300 mana to be born and should their bodies die before the age of five, the soul will return to you. Citizenship (Unlocked): The God Salurin heard you talking with Herma and has unlocked this option for you. The Souls of Joshin and Helga were ordered to be reborn into a Mana Monster 30 different times. By being born, dying, and reborn again prepares the souls for the trauma of living in a sentient body and then dying. Additionally, the gain the will to survive by the constant battling. By choosing to protect them, but also give them up when they choose to leave; they will gain a stronger survival instinct and respect for your dungeon. Since, they have free will in their development they can choose any Mana Monster in your dungeon to inhabit. Their souls will naturally gain the mana needed to be born in elvish or dwarven form, once they die and are ready to move on; God Salurin will provide you with new souls. When they are born into the world they will feel the draw of an Adventurer and should they choose to become Adventurers you will gain 0.1% of all free mana they gained from killing mana monsters. What option would you like to choose for Joshin and Helga?
SlaveryFreedomBirthCitizenship
With a smile on his face Alistair choose to make Joshin and Helga citizens of his pocket dimension and dungeon. Alistair saw two prompts come up before the children. With eyes wide with innocence and joy the children dismissed the prompts and went back to their play. Fourth of July Weekend Well I am sorry to say that I woke up today and my wife said... you know we have company coming over this weekend, and at that point I realized my posting was going to take a hit. So I will be try to post a chapter this weekend, but no promises. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Now for those you who would like to post ideas. The next chapter will feature the Summoning Circle leveling and Adventurers coming to the dungeon. So poll time! You control the story! Chapter 5.0 – If you stare into the Abyss, the Abyss stares back Alistair watch the children run through the dirt street for a moment. He knew he had done the right thing when he heard the children laugh without a care. As Alistair kept increasing his wisdom, he began to realize that it was these little moments in life that nurtured the soul. Taking a sideways look at Herma, he realized that she too was taking the moment to listen to the laughter. Quietly Herma spoke to him, ¡°You did a good thing today. I don¡¯t agree with all your decisions and you make choices with little or no thought, but no one can take away this.¡± Alistair nodded as the two children moved out of sight, and then a thought came to him. ¡°Where are the children going to stay, Herma?¡± Herma gave Alistair a small laugh, ¡°You decide to ask that question now?¡± Herma shook her head for a moment. ¡°The children can stay in my house for now. Perhaps you should focus some of the mana to make a few more rooms for us? I figure with the Summoning Circle leveling you can probably create a floor maybe two and have enough mana to take care of some upgrades here in the pocket dimension.¡± Alistair turned his head to look at the fountain in the middle of the circle, that the houses were placed around. The fountain had a faint golden glow coming from it and as he got closer the glow began to intensify. A blue prompt came up in front of him.
Event!
Your Summoning Circle had leveled!
Enough mana, capturing of key points within your dungeon, and quests have been done to level your Summoning Circle. By choosing to level your Summoning Circle you will be casting a Great Magical Work.
Would you like to start casting a Great Magical Work?
YesNo
Alistair looked at the prompt, and right before he pressed Yes, he stopped himself and called over Herma. They both looked at the prompt for a moment and Herma shrugged. ¡°Alistair, I don¡¯t know what to tell you. Hardune didn¡¯t tell me everything and the General Help Aspect said that there are things only a Dungeon Demon is to know. Remember, think on your decisions before making them, and don¡¯t try to rush an answer.¡± Alistair nodded at Herma and pressed Yes. Alistairs vision faded to black. He felt he was floating in eternal darkness as his heartbeat hammered in his ears. He called out for Herma only to realize that no sound came out of his mouth. Minutes began to stretch into hours or so his mind believed, and Alistair kept calling out and calling out for help, for Herma, for Callum, for anyone. His fear was starting to make him fail about. Yet with nothing to push himself against or touch, he couldn¡¯t tell if anything was happening. Alistair was pretty sure he was weeping from the feeling of helplessness when something touched him. Whatever had touched Alistair it felt cold and damp, leaving some kind of moisture on his skin where it touched him. Alistair panicked and reached out for the damp cold thing that had touched him. Yet, he had no idea where it was or what it was. For a time Alistair thought he had imagined the touch, or that some great beast was ready to kill him. His mind came up with thousands of horrors that could be coming for him, and then he saw the something in the dark void. A light the size of the head of a pin appeared. Alistair scrambled, tried swimming, and tried everything in his mind to move towards it; until a sense of falling came over him. He felt like he was moving at a tremendous speed towards the light. Faster and faster he felt like he was going as wind began to fly past him. He realized that he was afraid that the monster was at the light. However the thought of staying in the void was even more terrify as he wouldn¡¯t even be able to see it. As Alistair came hurling to the light. he saw that it was a campfire on a black sand beach. Alistair closed his eyes and started screaming as the he knew he was going to hit the sand and die. Alistair stopped screaming when he felt the cold sand on his face, hands and belly. Somehow he had survived the fall, and as he looked up an old gray haired man sat looking at him with a smile. Alistair immediately felt like a fool and out of anger snapped at the man, ¡°What are you looking at Old Man?!¡± The Old Man smirked and said, ¡°I am looking at a lie that has yet to see the truth.¡± Alistair got up and dusted off the sand that clung to him. Looking at old man, he felt small again and perhaps his riddle for an answer was appropriate. After all, he had been taught that when you were afraid of a Mana Monster, get angry at the fear and monster. For once, he knew that he had rude. ¡°Sorry sir, I didn¡¯t mean to disrespect you, the terror I felt at falling made me act without thinking. My name is Alistair, what¡¯s yours?¡± The Old Man simply nodded and then returned his gaze to the fire. Alistair looked around and saw a black log opposite of the old man¡¯s and sat down, the old man spoke again. ¡°My Name is Socrates. Your anger at being afraid is fine, but anger without focus hurts all. I feel that your greatest anger is always being thought of as a fool. So, please tell me, what is the truth of this fire?¡± Alistair looked at flame and wondered what did he mean by truth? The flame exists, it provides heat and eats up coal, wood, or cloth to continue living. Maybe he meant about the mana in it, or what does this fire have in common with fire mana? Alistair pondered a great time over the question, finally he spoke. ¡°The fire lives for a moment in time and will die when nothing is there to feed it.¡± Alistair had decided on speaking an answer that spoke to him. The truth was that all things were alive for a brief moment and then die if it no longer had anything to support it. Socrates chuckled at the comment. ¡°There is truth in your words, but not with the flame.¡± Socrates waved his wrinkled hand and the flames froze in the air. With another wave of his hand the world vanished and ribbons of mana as large as roads could be seen. ¡°The red fire mana is but one thread in a greater bundle. Look, do you see the white threads of Air and golden threads of Light? What about the small black glittering Death mana at its edges? The truth of the Fire is that its nature is violence and movement. This one thread of Fire mana breads itself with other types of mana and creates movement within them.¡± Alistair began to sense small shapes in the thread, breaking apart and releasing energy as the shapes moved quickly around in void of its own. Taking Alistair hand, the old man flew downward stopping at the base of road of mana. The sight that greeted Alistair was something altogether different. Brown Earth Mana and Green Life Mana were intermixed as the Fire mana ribbon danced on it. ¡°The logs were made of earth and life at one point, but as the fire mixes with it, the logs began to change into the white Air mana, Fire mana, Light mana and Death mana that you saw. As such the fire mana continues on, changing the air mana with violence and increasing its movement. The air breaks down giving the fire a hold on it, allowing heat to be carried, and due to this violence, Light mana is separated traveling like a tidal wave at great speed.¡± Alistair began to understand that the shaped compactly arranged on the logs broke free from them and were carried into the air mana. Then once again this shapes began to break apart and release energy. Mana was just the pathways that these shapes took. Socrates looked at Alistair, ¡°If you seek to do a great work of Magic, you must understand the forces you are working with.¡± With another wave of his hand the Socrates showed Alistair his Magma Pools. Without the Mana Focus, the pools would be have a hard shell over them, cooled enough to walk on, but still dangerously hot in the air. Poisonous gases would build under the shell and eventually it would explode moving lava along the tubes and killing everything in its wake. Instead the focus kept some of the elements in balance. Alistair¡¯s outcropping channeled Fire Mana through them instead of letting them become entangled in the rock. Due to these channels, the rock didn¡¯t melt, while the Fire mana was reinvested into the Magma keeping it bubbling and liquid. The problem was heat and the air, Alistair didn¡¯t know it but the whole chamber was flooded with such heat and poisonous air that no Adventurer could have survived getting to the circle. Slowly the knowledge came to Alistair that the only reason why he had been able to summon Fire Mana Creatures was that they were native to the plane of fire and these horrible conditions were actually a pleasant change for them. Alistair saw a Fire Salamander jump into the magma pool. The earth and fire mana liquid that made the magma up began to separate in the Fire Salamanders aura. The aura circled fire mana around its body, breaking down the earth mana quickly as the Salamander swam in an almost water like mixture. Slowly bits of earth mana clung to the salamander aura and as it hopped out of the magma, the earth mana began to form around the rock outcropping creating channels for heat to bypass them and be reinvest into the pool. The realization that the Tiny Fire Salamanders were helping the Mana Focus by moving the heat that normally would melt the stone into the air so that it acted as a barrier from losing heat in the mana pools. Quietly, a Fire Wisp floated about the summoning circle. Alistair saw that it worked just like the salamander. The Fire Wisp took fire mana from the air along with some of the earth mana and circled it around its aura. When it came close to the Fire Mana Stones, or a reflective surface the fire and earth mana would distill itself into a gemstone. The gemstone was tiny, less than a grain of sand, but as the Fire Wisp moved around mana floated from them to the seed gems that had already been started and growing them slightly. The fire wisp help purify the air slightly be taking the fire mana and earth mana out creating a Mana Stone from it. Alistair saw the Mana Focus began to create a great spider web of fire mana anchored to the gemstone to help capture the heat from escaping. Socrates tapped Alistair on the shoulder, ¡°Tell me what do you see?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Alistair looked around and spoke, ¡°I see harmony between the world and the mana monsters I have summoned. Each seems to have its purpose and helps the dungeon maintain balance. Yet, my dungeon can only support Adventurers in the outer caverns, after that gases and heat will slowly kill them.¡± Socrates nodded at what Alistair had said, and then asked, ¡°Why is it important to have Adventurers?¡± Alistair stared at the magma pools around him and thought, ¡°Because when they take loot and experience out of a dungeon, they take mana with them as well. When they pray to the Gods and Goddesses, a small amount of mana is released to Them and they can use it in miracles.¡± Alistair realized that he had no idea where that answer had come from. He knew that he had talk about with Herma and Callum, but this was perhaps the first time he had ever thought about mana and prayers. Socrates nodded once again, ¡°This is an ancient truth that is passed down to every Dungeon Demon. The choice is yours as to how you wish to serve the Gods and Goddesses. So tell me, what first great working must you do?¡± Alistair looked through his dungeon with fresh eyes and saw that the poisonous air extended a great deal further then the heat. If he was able to somehow make the air breathable then Adventurers could come down further into his dungeon, before the dangerous heat in the air stopped them. ¡°I must find a way to make the air breathable. Looking at the Air mana outside the Magma Pools it is entangled with Earth, and Death mana. I must lay down a spell on the Mana Focus to balance the air, but how?¡± Socrates smiled and changed their view to a Fire Wisp. Slowly as if cupping a baby¡¯s head Socrates brought out his left hand and the Fire Wisp landed on it. Carefully, he took his right hand and began to move it around the Wisp. Fire Mana began to be removed from the Wisps Matrix and Air Mana began to seep into its place. The red light slowly changed into a small cloud of fog and as the Old Man twisted off the last piece of Fire mana the Wisp sat transformed. Softly, the Old Man lifted the Wisp up in the air and a blue prompt appeared in front of Alistair.
Event!
One of your mana monsters has become a Variant!
Today, a Fire Wisp became an Air Wisp. As this has naturally occurred with a captured monster your spell Mana Monster Summoning Spell has been altered to allow you to summon this variant. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 2.
As you didn¡¯t battle this creature the following description has been provided.
Monster Description:The Air Wisp is a small being of Mist made from the elemental mana of Air. Its simple mind is attracted to strong wind currents as it feels like it is flying. Its natural instincts are to lure curious Adventurers down dangerous paths and into traps as it looks like a ball of smoke. Normally, this mana creature will never attack someone outright, for its only protection is the small poisonous gas aura it has.
Dungeon Advantage:Monster has a 10% to led Rank F Adventurer into a Trap. Each rank above F decreases this chance by one half. Example: Rank E = 5%, Rank D = 2.5%, Rank C = 1.25%. When not in combat, Wisps will float along the natural Mana pathways and refine them. This will increase your Summoning Circle Mana Generation and will add different types of Mana to the area. Additionally, if a Wisp is undisturbed near a small tunnel in which air currents blast through. The tunnel stone will have a chance to be converted into Air Mana Stones.
Mana Cost:2
Alistair dismissed the prompt and saw what the Air Wisp was doing. Slowly it floated up to the shaft hole in the middle of the Magma pool chamber. The bubbling air from the Magma pools rising upward to the shaft and creating a wind tunnel of dangerous flumes. As soon as the Wisp entered the head of the shaft, it shoot upward like a bird in flight. Alistair watched the Air Wisp fly upward, its aura slowly taking in the earth and death mana creating breathable hot air. Finally it reached the end of the tunnel, as it popped out into a lava tube. Floating about it seemed to be heading to a new crack in the wall. As it moved, the death mana began to fall off of it and decay the rock that it touched grit. While a stream of earth mana took root across the tunnel and started forming the start of a copper vein. Other impurities in the air started to float to the Air Wisp and then float to concentrate in other areas. Alistair realized that the Great Working he was supposed to do was to cast a spell much like the Air Wisps aura on the Mana Focus. Alistair began to look at the great Mana Focus and saw it almost like a giant tree. The trunk of the tree formed the great channel in which the mana flowed up and out into the world, on the top of the channel were branches bringing in mana to help stabilize the trunk and sending mana to the outside world. Below the trunk were roots that dug deeply into the Magma sucking up fire mana so that the magma pools would erupt. Alistair looked at the branches and had a hunch that he needed to add the aura close to there. With a wave of his hand and a half circle step, Alistair allowed his mind to feel the movement of the spell. He saw, felt, and even tasted how the fire mana in the ground melted metals, rock, and smaller minerals into a liquid. Then the fire mana began to break down even the liquid into a gas. Slowly, the gas worked its way up through the viscous liquid, forming an air pocket that would burst through the weight and strength of the surface. Alistair began to scoop with his hand as he felt his legs stretch deeper in the stance. The bubbles now began to form near his pathways, and with natural rhythm would belch hot magma onto the paths. From there Alistair began twisting the threads of the poisonous air mana into the focus. As the threads continued through the trunk of the tree, branches that carried ore in its earth mana started to grow into the stone walls throughout his dungeon. The death mana began to carry itself into the top branches, the mana began forming small holes the size of a human head, making a vast network of fast moving air chutes. The one Air Wisp now traveled throughout the dungeon through these small tunnels. Alistair knew that once all the death mana was taken out of the air, the decay of the small chutes would stop and Air Wisps could began spreading clean air everywhere. Alistair¡¯s arms were tried and his thighs were sore, yet he felt that the spell was not done. Large amounts of death mana was still in the focus and began swirling in its trunk. Alistair performed a dramatic gesture sending his hand crashing downward, as the Death Mana like an arrow began to funnel down. Magma began to cool, and form hard rocks that would float up to the dungeon floor. Some of the rocks anchored themselves together but only showed a tiny flat surface, while randomly a rock would merely float in the pathway creating a natural trap is someone would step on it. However, the pathways were not the only purpose that Alistair felt the death mana to be used for. Alistair could feel another small Mana focus off in the distance. It was deeper in the ground and as the Magma cooled into rock to be melted again, the death mana opened a small lava vent in an underground chamber. It was a hole the size of a foot and the water in the pool began to steam. Air began to push itself in to the chamber lowering the pool more until it covered a hole in the wall that slowly was feeding the pool. Alistair could feel the magic of the summoning circle work and everything began to stabilize. The lava vent shrunk till the gas that was escaping the water as was replenished by the water sweeping in. The air at the new summoning circle was hot and humid. Sudden Alistair looked around in his demon form and realized that he was in a new summoning circle in a new part of his dungeon. He looked around for Socrates but he was nowhere to be found. Finally a prompt came up.
Event!
Your dungeon now has a second level!
You have used the death mana that was found in the poisoned air of your dungeon to create a mana portal to a new level. The underground grotto is partially filled with sea water allowing all kinds of life to grow down in this level. Additionally there are several lava vents that feed hot steam into the air. The Mana Portal and Summoning Circle will began to equalize air pressure and air quality to continue with your great work of Air Purification. The Grotto has deep mana channels that you can dig up to your first floor or down several more. Congratulations!
Authors note: Well it seems like Growl predicted what I was going to do. Yes, I like to use science to help with the story, and I hope I explained the great magical working to everyone. Basically, Fire is about increasing movement and energy in matter. So Fire Mana are locations where that is occurring, gathering it up and putting it someplace else is magic. So, Alistair created a spell to strip the poison gases and metals from the air and reseed it throughout the dungeon, but was not able to strip the heat yet. I know, there can be sulfur, complex salts, all kind of chemical junk in the air that isn¡¯t a metal¡­ I tried to explain that it was being placed into the rock to form impurities. Hopefully, it all makes sense and is a good read. If not please give me a heads up on where it gets choppy. Chapter 5.1 – Here in the tunnels, dark and deep, I offer you eternal sleep Location: The Inner Sea of the Archipelago Kingdom of Waponikash Prince Japonilkash was awaken from his slumber by his second in command Lieutenant Keililposh. ¡°Captain, the on watch mage has pinpointed the disturbance in the mana aether. You need to hear his report, Sir.¡± Japon¡¯s vision of Keil blurred for a moment, as he swung his legs out of the hammock. Japon rubbed his eyes getting out the grit that seemed too accumulated around them. Getting out of his bed, Japon stumbled for a moment due to an unexpected roll of the ship. It had taken him about a week to get his sea legs, but every now and again the sea still gave them an unexpected swell. ¡°Keil, what time is it?¡± Keil grabbed a clean shirt from the Prince¡¯s foot locker and threw it to him. A marine Veteran of pirate attacks, dozens of Mana Monster hunts, and one navy battle he grabbed the prince¡¯s sword belt with scarred and callused hands. The thought came across his mind that if he had done his job with a little less fervor, then he might have been spared from being a Prince¡¯s nurse maid. ¡°An hour before you are supposed to get up. However, you need to hear the report from the night watch mage himself before he ends his shift. Besides you might want to consider that instead of making the man wait on his sleep because you wanted more for yourself, it would show him respect if you got up early instead.¡± Japon grumbled as he started getting dress. His clothes weren¡¯t as formal when they were out at sea, then when in port. He had a pair of canvas pants, a softer linen undershirt and a dyed overcoat that he was given for his normal uniform at sea. Attaching the cutlass sword belt to his waist, he made his way up to the deck to hear the mages report. Out on the deck stood a small wooden table with a compass, scrying device, and an attuned array of mana stones. As the Prince stepped out a crew member saw him immediate screamed out ¡°Officer on deck!¡± The Prince waved them to carry on, and continued to the small table, where a young man, perhaps the age of fourteen stood. It was a strange fate that magic talent didn¡¯t really show until puberty in Humans. This boy must have had a strong talent and a quick mind to have been given an apprenticeship to the marines. The adolescent boy stood up as the Prince came over. The boy wore the rank of a warrant officer, showing that he was more than just a boy to be put on latrine duty but was also only in command if everyone else died. ¡°Report Warrant Officer¡­ Jeralal.¡± It had taken a moment for the Prince to remember the boy¡¯s name, but in the end he gotten it. ¡°My Prince¡­ aaa¡­ Captain. I was on watch last night when the mana stone array lit up. Several of the crystals focused light and I recorded the readings down on the log. Using the array, as well as, my own scrying spell I was able to determine a heading on where the disturbance came from.¡± The boy turned around gather up the map and string he was using to plot its location. The Prince looked over at his second in command and wonder why he had gotten him out of bed for this. Keil knew what the prince was thinking and decided to help the young Warrant Officer along. ¡°Boy, the numbers will have to be verified by your master, tell him the other part.¡± The teenager placed the items back down and turned around to the Prince. Jeralal stood there biting his lip in concern for a moment before deciding to continue. ¡°As I said Captain, my readings from the array are in the log. However, after reviewing the spellwork tome on the array and its use; the readings I received last night were that of a dungeon level being created.¡± The Princes eyebrow twitched just for a second at the idea of a dungeon in the kingdom. The last dungeon that the kingdom had was the Ocean Dungeon of Karin and that was twenty years ago. His father had told him that the dungeon had provided a great deal of wealth to the kingdom for many years. The problem was that the mana field around the Dungeon had begun expanding outward to capture more islands. His father told him about how the mana monsters had started killing villages and destroying the land. If what Jeralal was saying was true, then this dungeon could be a source of wealth or a great danger. ¡°Thank you for your report, Jeralal. Make sure that your master has everything to confirm your work. Lieutenant a word in private please.¡± The prince walked away from prying ears as he and Kiel walked to the ships rail. ¡°Keil, is this real? Are we really going to listen to a boy that hasn¡¯t even laid with his first woman yet?¡± Keil took a moment and looked out at the clear waters. ¡°Japon, I don¡¯t say this lightly. Jeralal might not be old enough to shave, but when it comes to magic he¡¯s better than his master, Farin. The boy¡¯s on the day watch go to him for their remedies from foot rot to the unpleasant itching that comes from paying for an hour of someone¡¯s time. After his apprenticeship is done, I am hoping to get him married to some island lass and tap him for a promotion. Otherwise, he¡¯s going to go the Adventuring Guild, and will we be stuck with some half talented fool like Farin. At this point, Farin will take a day, maybe two, to confirm the readings and will probably bless Jeralal¡¯s work.¡± Japon took a moment to think about what Keil was saying. If another dungeon had been created then a great deal of questions needed answers. ¡°Keil, we will work on the idea that Jeralal¡¯s numbers are accurate. Move the three vessels towards the heading that Jeralal worked out. It¡¯s the first solid lead we have involving the mana disturbance, and if what the rest of what Jeralal is saying is true. Then we have a great deal of work ahead of us.¡± Japon and Keil nodded to each other at the last sentence, before each of them set out to begin their day. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Location: Alistair¡¯s Pocket Dimension Alistair had gone back to his pocket dimension and slowly grew Herma¡¯s house to include two new rooms. Callum was excited at the new monster in the dungeon and had even interrupted Alistair to talk to him about it. Alistair had Callum summon as many as he thought he could to help clear out the air in the dungeon, before he went back to shaping Herma¡¯s house. The mana in the fountain had changed quite a bit. With the absorption of Herma¡¯s dungeon he was receiving more Life and Air mana then before, but now looking down at the fountain Alistair saw bits of Water Mana and Death Mana in it. With the greater increase in types of mana, Alistair was able to create wooden beams inside the house; along with a polish wood floor. Feeling as if Herma and the children needed something special, Alistair created windows and shutters in the side of the house and even changed their thatched roof to wooden shingles. Herma came over to Alistair and smiled, ¡°Thank you for the upgrade to the house. How was the great working?¡± Alistair stayed quiet in thought. Something told him that he shouldn¡¯t tell Herma everything. ¡°Well, I was able to set up a spell that removed the poisons from the air and create ore deposits. I still need to remove the heat in the air and then finally Adventurers can explore the first floor.¡± Herma laughed, ¡°Seems counterproductive doesn¡¯t it? You making the dungeon safer for Adventurers!¡± Alistair laughed as well, ¡°Your right Herma! However, I am not too worried about it. My second floor is filled with dangerous pools of acid, harsh pressure and if a wall breaks the whole floor can be underwater in a heartbeat. It almost seems that the Gods and Goddess want me to make the floor safer for Adventurers to get the next one. Even now the first summoning circle is surrounded by lethal levels of heat.¡± Herma and Alistair looked at the house as Callum popped back into dimension. ¡°My Lord Alistair! Something incredible has happened to the dungeon! Look with your Dungeon Vision and I will show you.¡± Alistair opened up a blue mana window into his dungeon and had Callum direct him where to go with the window. Finally it came to a large room that Alistair had never seen before. Small pathways seemed to be in the walls leading to holes that were shaped into rooms. Rock tools and scrapes of hides were placed about in a half hazard manner. At the center of the room was several rune symbols, that once viewed by Alistair a prompt came up.
Event!
You have created a Kobold Warren!
By upgrading a house to have multiple rooms, you have created your first Worker Room in the dungeon. As your dungeon is allied with Dragonkin this room is a Kobold Warren. You must defeat the elemental worker prior to summoning Kobolds to your dungeon. As your Kobolds breed they will began to become sentient beings on their own, building deeper into your dungeon and evolving. Currently their society will be poor and salvage. Develop mana monsters, spells, and tools to help them grow.
As Alistair dismissed the prompt, he saw the elemental came into the room and stop on the runes in the floor. It seemed like it knew this was supposed to be a worker room, but it wasn¡¯t made for the elemental. Letting out a roar, the elemental started throwing fireballs about the walls and tools setting the place ablaze. Alistair screamed at the elemental through the dungeon window to stop. When Herma put a hand on Alistair¡¯s arm and he looked up at her in a cold furious gaze. ¡°You need to think clearly. If you are going to after that elemental, you will need to cast your spells and that will take time. Additionally, you don¡¯t have a monster yet to kill it, so you will be battling it, are you ready for such a thing?¡± Herma said as she stared into Alistair¡¯s eyes. Alistair nodded, he felt his blood in his temples and his face flush with anger. Alistair looked her back in the eye with murder in his heart for the Elemental. In the corner of his vision he saw the new wood shingle roof of Herma¡¯s house catch on fire. The elemental was destroying the upgrades that he had done for Herma and the children. The children ran up to the house and cried out in terror. It was then that Alistair knew in his heart that even if he died fighting the elemental he was going to take it down.
Author¡¯s note: Short chapter today. I have to confess that after the new review yesterday, I tried writing ¡°shorter¡± paragraphs for smartphones. Yet it feels like it is sucking out my creativity. However, I understand that some people look at this website through their smartphones and read each chapter that way. If that is the case then I should allow them a more ascetic read. Anyway, I posted a poll up top to see if I should try and post it in shorter paragraphs, and what is the best ¡°paragraph¡± length. In order to try and keep my inspiration at doing this. I might make a long rough draft paragraph and then chop it up in the end¡­ Just feels like I am violating grammar rules that way. Chapter 5.2 – Part Deux of A Duel to the Death! Alistair appeared in his summoning circle, white mist clouds appeared around him and began floating upward. Normally, the sight of the new Air Wisps would have calmed and amazed Alistair. Only now it was too late and his focus was on killing the elemental. Alistair performed the healing spell, his movements no longer gracefully but instead had an edge of crispness and power that his rage lent him. He wanted to rush through the casting, but he forced himself to keep his movements as perfect as possible. His mana drained from him as the final movement occurred and the spell washed over his aura. Thinking about how much time it would take to get to the Warren, Alistair delayed casting the Damage spell until he was closer to the Magma Elemental. Alistair took off down a path, his hoofs banging loudly against the rock pathway. Since the great casting the magma chamber had changed. There were still great stone arch paths passing over the magma that connected various rock outcroppings and stone islands together. Yet, as Alistair started to run, he could feel the bubbles forming all over the magma pool and when they would burst, spilling hot magma across the path. Alistair skidded to a halt as a bubble burst in front of him. Red hot liquid sizzled slowly falling off the path back in the magma pools. The superheated liquid almost overwhelmed Alistair¡¯s fire aura even though he was standing three feet from it. At least, now due to the fire aura the oppressive heat in the chamber only felt like a warm day in the sun. The last of the magma drained off the path and Alistair once again started running. Tiny fire salamanders looked up at Alistair as he passed then on an island and jumped onto a stepping stone walkway. Alistair could feel which stones were floating and which stones were anchored underneath the magma. Jumping to a half moon shaped rock he had to almost hop to stone to stone. Looking over the next tree stones he saw that the only stable one was a rock with a small dome on it He leapt into the air and as his hoof came down the slight dome of the rock made it slide to one edge. Fearing the loss of his balance, his thighs buckled on his reverse knees, dropping him precariously on the stone. Alistair quickly grabbed the edge of the stone feeling a small wave of magma burn him. He screamed in pain as he held on long enough to re-center his hooves on the stone and then jumped to a flat one. His hand appeared to be covered in black scorched flesh. He took a moment for the healing spell to begin to grow new skin as the charred skin began to fall off. Keeping his hand cradled to his chest, Alistair jumped the remaining stones to the Magma Pool edge. With a final leap, the grit and sand crunched under his hooves as Tiny Fire Salamanders looked up at him. Alistair took a moment to think about the lava tunnels before him and the best route to get to the Warren. He knew they were empty up due to the heat from the magma pools. The blazing heat kept mana monsters away, while the Salamanders didn¡¯t want to wonder from the magma pools. So the next quarter of a mile the tunnels were devoid of monsters or traps. After that the poisonous gases had kept Mana monsters from entering the Magma pools. Now, Alistair somehow felt rats beginning to breed and populate the tunnels ahead of him. They would not naturally form into rat swarms unless Alistair summoned them; and yet he felt like when the Kobold¡¯s began to create waste pits he could create a spawning point for them. Alistair¡¯s mind raced at all the things he needed to do still for his dungeon even as he ran down the tunnels to fight the elemental. He could only think that his Dungeon Construction skill was helping him as he ran in the dark lava tubes, giving him a type of dark vision as it told him where every hole, rock, and turn were at. Alistair turned left and saw flashing lights in the tunnel exit about 150 yards ahead of him. It was the elemental still throwing fireballs around the warren trying to destroy it. Alistair took a moment and began casting his damage spell. The healing spell had slowly put back together his hand, except for a few ugly blisters that were still on it. As he moved the blisters began to open and fluid started running down his hand onto the stone floor. Alistair focused on the spells movements as drops of moisture began to hit his legs. The final words of the spell left his mouth and blue mana began to condense itself around Alistair¡¯s claws, horns, and hooves. For a moment, Alistair wondered if he should spend the healing spell to recover any lost health and start it again, when a load roar came down from the head of the tunnel. The Insignificant Magma Elemental no longer looked as insignificant as before as it started moving towards Alistair. Alistair began running towards it as the object of his fury presented itself. From a distance, Alistair saw the Elemental bring up its arm. Stone from the walls of the cavern broke off around the Elemental and began forming a Magma Ball as a stream of fiery energy went from its hand to the stone ball. Once the ball had glowing red cracks around the surface of the rock, the elemental threw it towards Alistair. Seeing the magma ball coming at it, the elemental as it raised its other arm to start the progress all over. For Alistair, he was able to see the red stone ball rushing towards him, and took three steps towards his left to dodge it. The magma ball flew by his right shoulder and his fire aura crackled with energy giving him a small sense of healing energy directed at his hand. Alistair was only thirty feet away from the Magma Elemental as it threw another ball of magma. Alistair threw his body out of the way, as he only had a split second to make a decision. He felt the magic of the defense aura kick in and help deflect the ball by pushing with his fire aura. Alistair hit the stone floor feeling the grit tear small scratches into his skin; the magic from his defense aura still needing to regenerate before it could protect him again. Being a veteran Adventurer, he continued with the motion of rolling forward, till he felt his legs roll under him. With a push of his legs Alistair jumped into a stand position no more than ten feet from his prey. Alistair saw the elemental had changed its glob of a hand, into a scythe as it was moving to him. The cutting edge was tearing down on him with whip like speed as the elemental had formed a long tentacle like appendage where its right arm use to be. Alistair stepped into the swing out of the blades cutting edge and into the path of the tentacle. He reached out with his claws slicing through the elementals arm. Pain ripped through his body and mind as the severed limb turned into blobs of cooling magma which spilled across the wall and Alistair. His flesh burned and the healing spell along with his fire aura began to fuse the rock with his skin. The Magma Elemental quickly formed another hand from the right stub. However, its left hand looked like the end of a giant square sledge hammer and was swinging for Alistair¡¯s legs. Alistair lifted up his leg, so that the hammer passed underneath it and with a turn of his body kicked the Magma Elemental in the face. Globs of magma flew out the back of its head, as he felt his hoof began to heat up. Pulling the hoof back, the edge had started to smoke as it came into contact with the magma. The edge of the hoof had burned off slightly, while the tender inlay of his foot felt like it was burned. Feeling that this was the best time for it, he activated the Healing Spell, feeling the life energies surge around him. Alistair hands repair themselves. Rock still hot from the magma cooled down as his fire aura absorbed some of the fire mana and added to his healing. The elemental¡¯s second arm had transformed into a sharp pointed blade. The elemental thrusted his blade forward and Alistair felt it puncture the area above his left hip. Pain lanced his body as the smell of his burning flesh filled his nose. It was a killing blow that not even a healing spell could have helped with. So Alistair committed himself to his next course of action and began slashing the elemental back and forth. Magma began flying about the tunnel, burning holes in everything. The elemental began moving his arm through Alistair¡¯s flesh trying to find something critical as Alistair kept going. Pain clouded his vision as he felt his left hand thrust into the chest of the Magma Elemental and spear the swirling fire mana core of its being. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Another spike of pain entered Alistair¡¯s chest as the Elemental finished it¡¯s his second blade arm and struck Alistair under his ribcage into a lung. Alistair left hand was on fire in the Elemental¡¯s core, but his fire aura was still healing his hand as it was being incinerated. Alistair began to see magma dripping like rain from the Elemental as his hand and claws turned to ash. With whatever well of strength Alistair had left, he thrusted his second hand into the elemental¡¯s core. His vision began to get dark at the edges from the pain and loss of blood. It wasn¡¯t till Alistair¡¯s vision began to become fogging and dark, when he finally felt the Elemental burst in a blast of Magma. The hot liquid covered Alistair entire body, setting hair on fire and collapsing his body to the ground. There he laid dying his fire aura overwhelmed and each second a painful existence. With his last breath he spoke to the elemental, ¡°Who own you now?!¡±
Bits and pieces of memories began to patch themselves back together making up the mind of Alistair. His immortal soul was in the void once again, but this time it didn¡¯t have a mind to be afraid of it. Like small specks of light, thoughts came back began to form visions. Alistair remembered standing in the swamp with a group of Adventurers talking about what they needed to do. Alistair saw his friends laughing in the main camp, as the lower ranked Adventurer conscripts were in camps of their own. At the time he thought it was natural, but now he only thought about how the separation had given him a feeling of superiority. After all, he didn¡¯t need to talk to them or feel like they were equal enough to share his campfire. Now that he could see the scene clearly, it was a moment where deep down in his mind he had decided their lives weren¡¯t worth the same as his. Alistair¡¯s soul twisted itself in sickness at his previous thinking. Those men and women singing and drinking were people just like he had been. Some might not have had the chances that he had or the skills, but in the end they were people with families or significant others. Alistair felt himself come awake in his pocket dimension. As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was big blue eyes and dirty blonde hair belonging to the dwarf girl Helga. ¡°Hello Lord Alistair! Are you awake now?!¡± The girl¡¯s voice was a combination of hammers breaking rocks and a high pitch bird screech. Alistair lifted up his hands and slowly motioned for Helga to move away from this face. ¡°Yes dear Helga, I am awake.¡± Alistair said Helga took a few steps back and then screamed at the top of her lungs, ¡°He¡¯s awake now! Herma, he¡¯s awake!¡± Helga folded her hands in front of her as she stood looking at Alistair. Alistair sat up in bed thinking of all the ways to be woken up from death, this wasn¡¯t one of the worst ways, but it certainly could have been better. Yawning for a moment a blue prompt screen popped up in front of him.
Event!
You have captured your first Worker!
You have put everything on the line and have captured your first Dungeon Worker. Sadly, the Magma Elemental cannot be used as your primary worker. Your dungeon is currently aligned with Dragonkin. Dragons were the first race of creatures created by the Gods and Goddesses. Connected to the primal mana elements, Dragons began to understand the how to control the world around them to the same degree as the Gods and Goddesses. With this new found understanding, Dragons grew in power and began to steal from their creators to fulfill their own desires. The Gods and Goddesses feeling betrayed by their creations, began to create other races to war with them. Dragons being attacked by the new races across the land, began to enslave them by binding them in magic and blood. Hundreds of races developed and died within the eons afterwards. Finally, when the Celestial Accords were signed the creation of new races stopped with it. At the time the most basic worker for Dragons were Kobolds. Dragons used their blood and dogs to change Gnomes into Kobolds. Due to your epic battle with the elemental the following has been rewarded to you. Experience Points from an Insignificant Magma Elemental is 300. The Magma Elemental had evolved from Insignificant to Small, as such another 100 experience points have been rewarded to you. Placing your hands into the fiery mana core of the Magma Elemental has given you the ability to siphon Fire Mana with your Fire Aura. Should you come in contact with any Fire Mana your aura will absorb all of it and increase the damage done by your Fire Aura. Additionally, as your first worker is a higher rank then your allied species first worker; you have been given an evolved Kobold Worker to choose from. The evolved forms are Elemental, Metallic, and Celestial. In natural clutches of Kobold Workers one out of ten thousand eggs will hatch one of these evolved forms.
Monster Description:The Elemental Kobold Worker is a small being of two to three feet in height. Breed with the blood of elemental dragons, they will have scales in primary colors. When a Worker is waiting to be hatched, the eggs in the clutch will act as a mini Mana Nexus summoning the surrounding mana and purifying it by placing it in bodies of the unhatched Kobolds. When they are born the elemental energies will influence their personalities. All Workers will be born with a breath weapon along with basic Kobold abilities.
Dungeon Advantage:Workers will began to dig tunnels, create traps and actively hunt Adventurers. When not in combat, Elemental Kobolds will increase the mana generation of their specific element in the dungeon.
Mana Cost:25
Monster Description:The Metallic Kobold Worker is a medium being of four to five feet tall. Bred with the blood of Metallic dragons they will have scales that look to be the color of polished metals. When a Worker is waiting to be hatched, the eggs in the clutch will act as an ore seed. Upon the birth of the Kobold a corresponding ore vein of the metal will be created in your dungeon levels. The Metallic nature of the Kobold will add bonuses to their hides and will increase their desire to fight. All Workers will be born with the ability to sense metal along with basic Kobold abilities.
Dungeon Advantage:Workers will began to dig tunnels, create traps and actively hunt Adventurers. When not in combat, Metallic Kobolds will decrease the mana requirements for Loot Tables for their specific metal.
Mana Cost:35
Monster Description:The Celestial Kobold Worker is a small being of three to four feet tall and have extremely long lives. Breed with the blood of Celestial dragons, they will have black scales with white glowing spots on them. When a Worker is waiting to be hatched, the eggs in the clutch will filter experiences of the past from mana, making it easier to purify. When they are born the memories attached to the Mana will influence their personalities giving them memories of other beings and things. All Workers will be born with the talent for magic along with basic Kobold abilities.
Dungeon Advantage:Workers will began to dig tunnels, create traps and actively hunt Adventurers. When not in combat, Celestial Kobolds will increase the dungeon research speed by 0.1% per Kobold.
Mana Cost:50
What form would you like to choose?
ElementalMetallicCelestial
Chapter 5.3 – Knocking on Heavens Door Alistair looked at the prompt with a certain mix of curiosity, after all this was his first worker. The Elemental Kobolds seemed much like the Wisps in that they purified mana, and with him absorbing the other dungeon more mana wasn¡¯t that helpful. Besides what Socrates showed him, he began to figure that with the two different wisps it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to figure out how to create variants of them. The Metallic Kobolds certainly seemed like a sound choice. With tougher hides they would be a decent defense against Adventurers. He wasn¡¯t sure how powerful their metal sense was, but he had seen some monster able to dodge blades, axes, and maces with their eyes close. If the metal sense was anything like that, then they could become one of the toughest creatures on his first level. However, their advantage of decreasing mana for specific metals wasn¡¯t something that was very clear. Did it mean that the loot tables for his mana monsters would increase? Or did it mean that when a mana monster dropped a sword, additional free mana will come back to the Dungeon? Shaking his head, he looked at the last choice Celestial. He wasn¡¯t sure he understood why past memories or anything was attached to Mana, but with their ability to be born with the use of Magic and their ability to decrease research speed seemed like the best choice. As he was about to press the button for Celestial, the childlike thought of pressing all three of the choices at once came over him, he smiled thinking he had tried once as a child and knew that it wouldn¡¯t had worked, and then pressed the space for Celestial Kobold.
Event!
Your Kobold Warren has a clutch of eggs!
By defeating the Magma Elemental, you have been given a total of 5 Kobolds to inhabit your Kobold Warren and guard the first clutch of 35 eggs. The 5 Kobolds are made of 4 Kobolds workers and a Celestial Kobold. Of the clutch of 35 eggs, 30 eggs are Kobold Workers and 5 are Celestial Kobolds. Average hatching time for Kobolds Workers is 1 month, and 1 year for Celestial Kobolds. Your dungeon summoning circle has been set to summon your current population of Kobolds. In order for you to increase that amount the eggs must hatch. Should a Kobold die its soul and mind will be placed into a copy of its physical form after 1 day. When it dies of old age, a new soul will take it¡¯s place. Good luck!
All of a sudden Alistair heard barking from outside. Dismissing the prompt Alistair came out and found four puppy dogs running after Joshin down the dirt path. Additionally, a small gnome with a long grey beard and bent back was sitting on Alistair¡¯s fountain looking around confused. Seeing Alistair he carefully moved off the fountain and began a slowly walking towards Alistair. Alistair could see Herma, Callum, and Helga walking out of the farm house and turning to see Alistair and the gnome. Feeling that he didn¡¯t want to hear a scolding from Herma, Alistair headed over to the gnome. ¡°Greetings, I am Alistair. How are you today?¡± The old gnome looked up from his bushy eyebrows and wrinkled face shaking his head he spoke. ¡°Well my Lord Alistair, my knees, back, hands, and feet hurt¡­ Other than that I am well. I am Toji Stargazer,my lord, and I can tell you have recently started your dungeon. Well, there is no time like the present to start our business.¡± The old gnome waved a hand, and a prompt asking what type of status he wanted to designate Toji and the puppy dogs popped up. Pressing Citizenship, just like Joshin and Helga, Alistair dismissed the prompt. The old gnome seemed to grumble something into his beard and then with another wave of his hand another prompt came up.
Event!
Dungeon Quests!
Toji Stargazer was one of the first successful magical mutations of the dragon race in creating Kobolds. As an ancient soul Toji has served many dungeons, and has been given the power to offer you dungeon quests based on his experience. Additionally, because he has been given Citizenship, you will receive a reward bonus when you complete the quests. You currently have several quests to choose from: Build a Kennel I: The first Kobolds were a creation of Gnomes and Dogs. As such the lower castes of Kobolds have dog souls and can be housed in spiritual kennels. In his training by the Dragons, Toji has become an excellent Kennel Master. Requirements: Dungeon Construction level 5 to gain knowledge on how to build a Kennel and then construct one. Rewards: Growth Rate of Kobolds will increase. Bonus Reward: Intelligence of Kobolds will increase by +1 every time they level. Upgrade your General Knowledge House I: The General Knowledge House is an accumulation of knowledge from all souls, by entering the house and reading all the books you gain knowledge. Additionally, by entering the house and reliving your past, your knowledge is transcribed into a words and is added into the books. By having Joshin, Helga, Herma, and yourself talk about your experiences; the knowledge from each of you will be gathered and added to your book collection. As time goes on you may wish to revisit the house to update its knowledge and your own. Requirements: Own a total of twelve books and then create a book case. Rewards: Kobolds will have increase knowledge of traps when they are born. Bonus Reward: Hatching time of all Celestial Kobolds will decrease by one month. May I have some More? I: Your Kobold workers will need a food source for them to increase their population. Luckily for you when the Dragons created the Kobold they crossed them with dogs. Creating a pack mentality, loyalty, and an impressive digestive tract. Kobold¡¯s can survive on pretty much anything; rotten meat, poisonous mushrooms, Cursed Zombie flesh¡­ depending on the variety of fauna and flora in your dungeon the Kobolds will thrive or starve. Talk with Callum and see if either one of you can summon mana plants used in alchemy ingredients or evolve the rat/lizard/bat into a Dire Animal. Requirements: Plant a total of 1 acre of mana plants for Kobolds to harvest and reseed and/or evolve a vermin creature into a dire animal. Rewards: Kobolds will carve a chamber for crops if a plant is found and/or Kobolds will gain a mount if a Dire Animal is evolved. Bonus Reward: Kobolds will gain Alchemy if a crop is started. If a dire animal is evolved, 5% of the Kobold population will create a familiar bond with the dire animal. The price of Ore I: Currently Copper Ore veins are found in your dungeon. Kobold workers would like to begin to mine the veins for ore and try to create weapons and armor from it. Research a Mining Pickaxe, Shovel, and Sledge Hammer and place them in the loot table of the Kobolds. By doing so you will give the Kobolds the knowledge to create their own tools and begin mining operations. Requirements: Research Mining Pickaxe, Shovel, and Sledgehammer place them in the Kobolds loot table. As Kobolds are workers for your dungeon their loot table is compromise of everything they are carrying and your loot table as well. Rewards: All tools, weapons, and armor made by the Kobolds will automatically be updated as available items you can place in your creature loot table as well. From the mining operation, any excess Obsidian will be used to create a razor trap. Obsidian shards will burst forth from the trap and slice any exposed skin. Bonus Reward: If the research items are placed in the Celestial Kobolds loot table they will gain a mining spell to liquefy the surrounding rock into mud leaving the ore intact with less impurities. It will also be used as an attack spell against Adventurers. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Upon completion of a quest talk with Toji.
Alistair looked up from the prompt at the gnome. Toji simply raised one of the caterpillar eyebrows in response. ¡°Umm, thank you Toji, I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Alistair said, while dismissing the prompt. Toji shrugged, ¡°My Lord, the fact that you said thank you gives me hope that this won¡¯t be such a bad dungeon to work in. May I request an introduction to the others and perhaps if you would be so kind as to summon a house for me, My Lord.¡± Herma walked up with a crossed look in her eyes seeing Toji, and the dogs, Alistair was guessing that she believed that she had even more house guests with a burned down house. Alistair feeling a little embarrassed just from pressing buttons spoke up. ¡°Herma, Callum, Helga, I would like to introduce you all to Toji. His physical form is that of a Celestial Kobold. Toji, this is Herma, she is a wild mana monster from another dungeon that I am absorbing. Callum is my Mana Monster Spell Aspect, and Helga one of the rat swarms in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Pleasure to meet you all,¡± Toji said with a pleasant tone, ¡°Helga, I look forward to working with you in the dungeon below, and¡­ Callum I have only met one Spell Aspect with a name before. You must know it is very rare to be given a name, and Herma. I was just asking, Lord Alistair, if he wouldn¡¯t mind summoning me a home after he repairs yours, of course.¡± Herma was taking aback for a moment as Alistair saw that the gnome had predicted what she was angry about. ¡°Of course, Toji, it was one of the first things I thought of when I woke up.¡± Alistair lied, but at least he knew that it was a little white one, because after Toji had mentioned the repair. Alistair looked over at Herma¡¯s house and realized that is was quite damaged. He might have saved it from being destroyed, but it wasn¡¯t livable as it stood now, and Alistair was a little surprised that it was still standing. Herma looking at Toji and then back to Alistair, she nodded. ¡°Yes, well I know you have just come back from your death Alistair and am sure you have several prompts that you would like advice on.¡± She said slightly strained, as if Alistair should have done something. Alistair stood there thinking about what she was talking about, when Toji spoke up. ¡°As it happens, he has made several great choices already. However, you are right there are several things that need to be discussed with my Lord.¡± Toji looked up at him and then sat himself back down in the fountain. ¡°As your first worker with a soul, I will be the Boss of all the Kobolds. It¡¯s my job to offer quests and help the dungeon become more dangerous to Adventurers and eventually prepare it for a great dragon to nest here. Since, I am a very old soul and your worker boss, I tapped into the Mana Nexus and your Summoning Circle gathering information about the dungeon and this pocket reality as fast as I can. I can see you just completed your first Great Work and leveled your Summoning Circle. However, you have not selected an extra ability from it yet. Perhaps, we should start there?¡± Alistair wasn¡¯t sure what Toji was talking about and summoned his Summoning Circle Information.
Summoning Circle Page
Level:2
Exp till Next Level:15/300
Stored Mana:600/600
Mana Generation per Hour:30
Links to Dungeon Levels:2
Spells Found:
Weak Fire Resistance
Progression:55%
Loot Found:
Mage Robes(Quality: Common)
Progression:1%
Runes Found:
Pa
Progression:6%
Spell Abilities Chosen:
None
Spell Abilities to choose:
[Attribute Stones: Attribute Stones allow Adventures to raise their Attributes from Mana Monsters. All Monsters have a 0.0001% of dropping an Attribute Stone. Should a Attribute Stone drop in your dungeon and absorbed, you will gain the benefits of the increase as well. Currently, your dungeon will only drop +1 Attribute Stones. Ability Stones: Ability Stones allow Adventures to learn abilities from Mana Monsters. All Monsters have a 0.001% of dropping an Ability Stone. When an Ability stone is created in a monster, all monsters of that type will gain a more powerful version of that ability for one year. Loot Research through Destruction: Should an item (magical or mundane) be destroyed in your dungeon would will automatically gain the ability to place it in your loot tables. Pet Drop: If chosen focus on one of your mana monsters to create as a Pet Drop. When an Adventurer receives the pet drop and summons the pet out in the real world, it will began to absorb surrounding mana at a slow rate and transmit it to your dungeon. Depending on the actions of the pet and owner: research, loot, or experience can also be transmitted. Which one spell ability for your Summoning Circle would you like?
Attribute StonesAbility StonesLoot Research through DestructionPet Drop
Author¡¯s note: I apologize to everyone about not posting for the last couple of days. Sadly my girls got sick with a virus and I had to stay home from work to make sure they got to the doctor, took medicine, and weren¡¯t causing trouble. I truly hate the policy our daycare has that if a child is sick that can¡¯t come in. Granted I understand that it is there to protect the other children, but where do you think the illness came from! Anyway hope you enjoy the chapter, I will try and post tomorrow. Oh, Growl thanks for the proofreading I will be correcting the chapter soon. Chapter 6.0 – The Eyes that haunt you in the Darkness Location: In the waters of Boiling Bay near the island of Waponikanoo Prince Japon called out orders as Sailors and Marines began their work to sow the sails and drop the anchor. Planks were brought out along with pulleys to make ready the long boats. They were in the natural bay of the active volcanic island, Waponikanoo. Everyone was carefully looking over their shoulders at the big volcano, as the last time the volcano had erupted had been when Prince Japon was five. For a full day ash poured out of the volcano and made the day as dark as night, and the kingdom had called it the dark day. During that day lava had poured out of the volcano and created the natural bay that they were sitting in. The bay they were anchored in was called the Boiling Bay by the kingdom. Active lava vents deep in the bay turned the normal cool ocean waters in hot bubbling froth killing all sea life. Ships that ventured into the bay could not send more than a day in the waters as the ship would spring leaks and tar repairs would not hold more than three hours. The price of repair to the three ships that Prince Japon led here would not be cheap, but Farin had verified young Jeralal work and showed that a dungeon was being created on this island. The dungeon could be a boon or a curse to the kingdom and no matter the expense the Royal Family needed to know. Men were placing gear and food supplies on the long boats making them ready to be placed in the bay and rolled ashore. Keil and Japon had worked on choosing 20 men to do the initial assessment of the island and dungeon; amongst them was the young mage that found the dungeon and Keil himself. The crew of 20 would set ashore for a month and take magical readings to figure out where the dungeon started, if the dungeon was expanding outward trying to take over the precious land mass of the kingdom, and perhaps do an initial scout of its borders. Japon watched Keil and Jeralal be lowered down in the long boat with three other men and watched as the other boats did the same. The transfer of supplies would take them another couple of hours, as Japon watched the men lower the longboat down into the froth. Once the ships returned to harbor for repair, the procedure was send a fast packet ship back to the island to anchor in safe waters watching the camp. The ships only purpose was to rescue the men and report back the dire information if needed. Otherwise, it was to wait till the men had gathered enough information to make a report. With a fist of anxiety in his stomach, Japon waited for as the crew watch the men on the long boats row to shore.
Location: Alistair Pocket Dimension Herma, Callum, Helga, Alistair, and Toji read the prompt. Herma stood there looking at Alistair with an arm around Helga. Toji sat and watch Joshin run up to the fountain being chased by puppy dogs. Biting his lip Alistair looked up to Herma then Callum and said, ¡°I should choose the Research through Destruction option, right?¡± Herma nodded her head as she spoke, ¡°Yes, currently your dungeon has lots of elements to destroy objects. The Fire Salamanders, the Magma Elemental, some of the traps in the final room. Not to mention the Slime wondering the cave systems. Though the choice doesn¡¯t have a direct benefit as of right now, Adventurers are going to die more then get stones or want to get a pet. Besides there is nothing to draw Adventurers in, nor is there anything to keep them coming.¡± Toji coughed at the last statement, ¡°Actually that is not true, Herma. Since connecting with the dungeon I can tell we are in the Archipelago Kingdom of Waponikash and that metals are extremely rare. The copper veins that are growing will help the kingdom as they can make simple basic tools instead of having to import them. Of course, as the dungeon goes deeper and deeper copper veins will turn into iron, gold, maybe even mithril or platinum ore veins. Of course, that¡¯s assuming that Alistair performs a great work on the second level and closes the lava vents in the bay. Otherwise, we will be left alone until we present a danger to the kingdom or we our loot has something valuable. I would even venture that a pet like a Magma Elemental would be helpful in attracting Adventurers. I know from experience that in Undead Tombs and Ice Caverns, Adventurers will not go in there without a fire pet. Besides we can shape it into a puppy and teach it to start camp fires. If I work with Alistair on it, the pet could look like a rock element puppy with cracks of lava, that way it acts as a light source as well without burning down a forest or city. Of course, the decision is ultimately up to Alistair.¡± Alistair looked at Toji for a moment and asked him how he knew where the dungeon was located. Toji¡¯s caterpillar eyes brows seemed to dance on his forehead for a moment and then spoke. ¡°Well, since I have been helping dungeons out for many years, I have gain a skill much like a Dungeon Demon¡¯s Vision. Tell me, what is your current level in it?¡± Alistair put his eyes down and said his skill level was 2. Toji simply nodded, ¡°In about three levels, you will advance enough to see outside of the dungeon. In the more advance levels it will become a scrying device to help with research and attacking other dungeons.¡± Alistair looking at Herma and seeing her bite her lip in frustration. Alistair really thought about his options. The stones were a two edge sword; the attributes stones would help him become powerful over the thousands of years that he would be alive, but that was in the future. While the ability stones would help his creatures become more powerful, but once again he would have to wait for them to develop. Alistair loved the idea of a Pet Magma Monster, so few dungeon¡¯s dropped pets and there was small group of Adventurers that would farm a dungeon till a pet dropped to sell to the general public. There was even talk that some of the best blacksmith bought the pets to inhabit their forges allowing fire elementals to heat up the forge to specific temperatures. His heart wanted the pet so much, but his head kept telling him to choose the loot by destruction method. Knowing it was the smart choice, Alistair choose the loot by destruction and the prompt disappeared. Another prompt popped up.
Event!
Heavy is the Head that wears the Crown!
The Universe has felt your desire to have a pet for your loot tables and instead you chose to embrace the logical choice. When growing your dungeon, sometimes it¡¯s important to put aside your desires and think what is best for everyone. Know this! A leader still must live with his heart, and take its advice once in a while to find their own path in this world.
Reward: +1 to Wisdom and Intelligence
Alistair dismissing the prompt, as he looked up at everyone. ¡°I chose the Research by Destruction.¡± Herma gave him a shy smile as he continued. ¡°However, I really did want that pet, and when the circle levels again I will be getting it. I think that Toji was right, that if we had a useful loot item, we will draw people to the dungeon, but if all they do is farm for that one item, we will be spending a great deal of mana for very little return.¡± Toji nodded at Alistair. ¡°Now, I believe I promised to fix someone house and build a new one. Herma I know you are busy, but if you can find the time, please go to the General Knowledge Hut and talk about your life. I believe that is how we can gain more knowledge of dungeon making and you have helped me quite a bit.¡± Herma nodded though there was a small spark of anger in her eye at the idea of Alistair ordering her. It was calmed by the fact that Alistair had asked nicely and even ended with a bit of flattery. ¡°Callum, after I am done would you meet me at the farm.¡± Callum agreed and the meeting broke up. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Alistair stared at Herma¡¯s house and saw how much fire damage had been done. Biting his lip, he began to summon mana from his fountain and slowly walked around the building. Wooden beams began to reform, cracked stones welded themselves back together, and even dark ash burns began to disappear as Alistair continued to work. It took his several hours of concentration, but the house was put back together and cleaned of all previous damage. Helga and Joshin had decided to adopt some of the puppy dogs and were carrying them to Helga house bundled in their arms. The puppy dogs had their noses out from the two children¡¯s arms and were sniffing the world. Toji can up to him and smiled. ¡°Some things never change do they, thousands of years later and an innocent child with an innocent pup still warms the heart.¡± Alistair had to agree with the gnome. ¡°Well, My Lord, would you be as kind as to take my advice on how to build my home?¡± Alistair nodded and they sat down talking about the design of the gnome burrow. It took Alistair and Toji hours of walking back and forth from the fountain to the burrow home that Alistair built inside a hill. Toji had wanted his home like the early days of his people. Dug in the side of a hill, with wooden beams supporting the dirt above one¡¯s head. The layout and polished beam support didn¡¯t bother Alistair at all, but Toji had to describe how to make plaster walls, putting small wooden slates between the beams and then coating it with a white glue and plant fiber. The home looked amazing and Toji even asked for his living room to have an open ceiling so that he could plant a tree in it. Apparently, the elves have taught the gnomes how to work with nature and that a living room was a place to celebrate family life. As such the elves did it around a tree. Gnomes therefore dug a hole in the ceiling to the outside world and planted a tree in the dirt floor for a fruit tree. Bowing, as the last polished wood plank was paced in the floor, Toji thanked Alistair and moved into his home. Alistair walked over to the Farm see that Callum was at one of the monster pens. All Alistair wanted to do was stop and start working on one of the many quests that he had. However, he needed to talk with Callum and understand how he could evolve an animal into a dire animal or plant a crop of ingredients. Walking over, Alistair saw that the Callum was next to the pen with the Air and Fire wisps. The Fire Wisp seemed to be bloated with energy as it sparked and sputtered about. While the air wisp seemed to be cloud of mist that floated lazily in the wood pen. ¡°I know you have been working on the evolving the Fire Wisp Callum, any progress?¡± Alistair asked. Callum let out a heavy sigh, ¡°No, My Lord. If you like, please open a Dungeon Window and I will show you the problem.¡± Alistair did so and with Callum¡¯s guidance changed the Window to mana view. The window had chosen a fire wisp to hovered over that sparked and sputtered like the Wisp in front of them. When switching to the mana view, the wisp could be seen almost as a big tangle of red and brown threads. Callum pointed at the window as he talked. ¡°See how it looks like a bundle of threads. Well, normally a wisp has a great deal less mana threads inside of it, but when evolving a creature you began channeling specific mana into it. As I channel mana into it knots and tangles keep forming in its mana matrix. I told you about how I was switching over to feeding it energies from the Blue Dream Mushrooms we have in the cave. Well that seems to help untangle or unknot some of the energies but then they just get tangled up again somewhere else, here take a look for yourself.¡± What Alistair saw was two threads of mana that had red fluid racing through them, but as they neared one another the fluid would slow down and try to travel in a different direction. The threads would then began to twist and turn, trying to accommodate the new flow of the fluid, but in the end it would just entangle more and more, causing a bigger knot. Callum picked up a Blue Dream Mushroom and shook it towards the fire wisp. Purple pollen slowly floated over to the wisp, but in the window soft purple light began to surround the red threads and slowly the knot began to work itself out. When finally the knot was undone, the threads seemed to weave themselves into position. Amazed, Alistair looked around the matrix to see several other spots where this had been done. ¡°Callum, how many times have you done this?¡± Alistair asked. Callum replied that he had done two or three times. ¡°Well it seems that we might need more Blue Dream Mushroom energy. I think the purple energy coming from the mushroom is keeping the matrix from tangling up and if I shake enough energy at the wisp you can channel the greater amount of fire energy it will evolve. Besides making more mushrooms would fit with a quest that I am doing as well.¡± Excited Alistair took the time to explain the quest about feeding the Kobolds to Callum. Callum held his head down for a moment and then spoke, ¡°Lord Alistair the Blue Dream Mushroom grows only in enriched damp locations. We may have five square feet of it, to make an acre of it we would have to increase the bat population in the tunnels, and set up a massive chamber in the tunnels. It would have to have small steps and shelves for the bat droppings to accumulate and it would have to be close to the entrance as some of the bats leave at night to feed off of the local insect population outside. As for the dire animal, my lord, well we would need life and earth energies. Currently we don¡¯t have a lot of either one of those mana types in the dungeon.¡± Alistair thought about the problem for a moment and simply shrugged. ¡°Callum, we have to keep working on the dungeon, and I think the best way for us to evolve the Fire Wisp is to gather more Blue Dream Mushrooms. So if that means I have to fight the Bat Swarm and create a Giant chamber then that¡¯s what I am going to do, but I am going to fight smart. I will summon the Magma Elemental and then I am going to possess it and fight the slime and swarm. Since the Magma Elemental is stronger than either one of the mana monster, can you think of anything that would go wrong with the plan?¡± Callum was quiet for a moment and then shook his head, the only thing that could go wrong with the plan was the unexpected. Chapter 6.1 – A Road made from Good Intentions Alistair and Callum appeared in the first level summoning circle. Alistair told Callum to hold off and allow him to begin casting his spells. The healing and damage spells started to finally become easier and easier to cast. The movements of the spells and vocalization of the words felt more natural and Alistair was wondering if he was getting closer to leveling them as well. Upon feeling the mana leave him and the spells taking affect, Alistair smiled and spoke to Callum, ¡°You know Callum before I go off and kill the wild mana monsters, I should get use to battling in the Magma Elementals body. What were those creatures you could summon again?¡± The little fireball that was Callum twisted itself and a blue prompt came up.
Mana Monster Summoning!
Name:Fire Slug
Rank:F-
Monster Description:The Fire slug is a slug found in the elemental plane of fire. It is used as food for a great many creatures as its only purpose is to consume fire mana and grow. The slug will slowly make it way through cracks and small holes to find shelter while it rests. Its simple mind is attracted to especially hot locations and will consume the heat in the area. If a slug is able to grow long enough it will develop offensive capabilities. Known examples are flame tentacles, fire breathe and even a fire aura. Until a slug grows to the size of a foot the creature is merely food for other creatures.
Dungeon Advantage:Monsters that require meat to evolve or grow can eat Fire Slugs and gain the same benefit. Fire Slugs will leave trails of flammable liquids in its wake, Adventurers stumbling into a chamber of them with a torch have been known to set the entire room on fire. When a slug dies have of its stored fire mana will be given to the dungeon. Additionally, if a slug is undisturbed near a fire mana stone, the stone will increase in quality.
Mana Cost:2
Summon Monster?
YesNo
Name:Lava Tube Centipedes
Rank:F
Monster Description:The Lava Tube Centipedes appears to be a bright red and orange Centipede up to two feet long. Its natural instinct is to burrow into cracks and small holes laying eggs. Should an Adventurer get close to a location where the centipedes have nested, the centipedes will charge out of their holes and began to crawl up the Adventurers clothes. They contain a bite that injects a toxin into an Adventurer¡¯s blood stream; causing fever, profuse sweating, and hallucinations. Currently their preferred living location is that of the salamanders and they will likely fight over territory. Though in most cases the Fire Salamander would win, should the Lava Centipede win the mana stored in a Fire Salamander will make its offensive and defensive abilities stronger.
Dungeon Advantage:Lava Tube Centipedes increase the Mana Regeneration of your Summoning Circle by 0.1 mana point per day. Allowing the Summoning Circle to gain experience quicker.
Mana Cost:2
Summon Monster?
YesNo
Name:Fire Ant
Rank:D-
Monster Description:The Fire Ant appeared to be a huge ant the size of a small pony. With a hard red carapace and four legs. The Fire Ant has evolved their front legs into arm like appendages and when in the present of a Queen will develop a Hive Mind. The Fire Ant is a beast of burden in the Ant Society, and without a Queen attack anything moving without coordination or regard for their safety. The Fire variant allows the ants to possess Medium Fire Resistance. It is recommended that Mana Monster should be placed in a level by itself, or if a hive is to be created ten levels devoted to these Mana Monsters should be put in their control.
Dungeon Advantage:The lonely Fire Ant is a beast of burden, without a Hive Mind active the Fire Ant will create tunnels and carry slain foes to a central chamber. Strip them of everything and eat them. This will create a treasure room for your dungeon and allow you to add to the loot of the dungeon at will. Should a hive mind be created the Dungeon Demon will find improvements and challenges in countless different ways.
Mana Cost:60
Summon Monster?
YesNo
Alistair looked over the descriptions of the Mana Monsters and lifted his eyes in shock at the description of the Fire Ants. Not only were they rated higher than his Magma Elemental, it sounded like that was just the start of their forms. Not to mention he had the feeling that they were bad news, or could be. Alistair told Callum to go ahead and summon the loot table for the Magma Elemental so that he could summon it later.
Loot Table for Insignificant Magma Elemental
Total Required Summoning Mana15
Current Loot Table
50% Chance of dropping a Fire Mana Stone
1% Chance of dropping a Eternal Flame in a Bottle[Alchemy Component]
100% Chance of dropping on average 7.2 Dungeon Copper Coins
Additional Items
43% Chance of dropping a Copper Ore (Size 1 lbs) (Trade Good) 33% Chance of dropping a Tin Ore (Size 0.5 lbs) (Trade Good) 32% Chance of dropping an Obsidian Dagger (Weapon Quality: Common) 15% Chance of dropping a Steel Dagger (Weapon Quality: Common) 0.1% Chance of dropping a Bracer of Defense +1 (Armor Quality: Superb) (Magic Item)
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table. Warning! Cannot be summoned without increasing loot table.
Alistair went ahead and pressed the Copper and Tin Ore to add it to the loot table. Seeing that he still needed one more item, Alistair chose to pick the Bracer of Defense +1. This way he had a monster that had the bracer in its loot table, and should the vine ever lose the bracer he would always have his armor enchantment. Nodding to himself for making a good choose Alistair told Callum to summon the Magma Elemental. Stolen novel; please report. Callum began to weave back and forth, sparks coming out of ball of flame and then the little orange ball of flame burst out and Callum transformed into a ball of blue flames. Callum¡¯s voice came out in a dead kind of way. ¡°Sorry, but the summoning of your Magma Elemental cannot be completed. You have designated a lower Rank creature as your boss for this level. Only monsters Ranked E or lower are allowed to be summoned by your first level summoning circle. Have a pleasant day.¡± Callum¡¯s ball fell to the floor and Alistair ran over to his fallen friend. ¡°Callum! Come on buddy, please be ok! Callum, come on wake up!¡± Alistair was screaming at his friend to wake up as the blue ball started to get dimmer and dimmer while becoming smaller. The ball of blue energy was the size of Alistair thumb when flicker of red and orange flame leaked out. Slowly, the red and orange flames continued to get bigger and bigger. Finally a weak voice called out, ¡°Alistair?¡± Alistair broke down and started to cry a little bit as he laughed, ¡°Yes, Callum, it¡¯s me. I am here.¡± Callum floated back upwards and the flames kept slowly getting brighter and brighter. ¡°What happened?¡± Alistair happy with relief that his friend was ok, told him about the blue ball of fire and what it told him. Callum floated for a moment, ¡°Well that¡¯s a surprise. Why didn¡¯t I just have the knowledge that it wouldn¡¯t work?¡± Callum said. The question took Alistair for a bit of surprise. Callum didn¡¯t seem to care that he had just lost control of himself and spoke. Alistair looked at Callum and said, ¡°Callum are you ok? I mean you turned blue and almost vanished.¡± Callum twisted himself for a bit and as Alistair watched him in concern. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Lord Alistair. I should have known that trying to summon a monster of higher rank then the boss of the level would have failed. It feels like something, I should have remembered. Lately, I have been spending time with Herma, and while your body and soul was returning back to the pocket dimension I have been studying other volumes in the General Knowledge hut. In truth, though I have been focused on a question that Joshin asked me.¡± ¡°You see Alistair, Joshin and Helga were down by the shore and building sand mazes. They would pile up sand and make them into wall or dig a trench and let water flood into it. They asked me to play with them, and I told them that I didn¡¯t understand what they were doing. Helga laughed and said they were having fun. She sat me down and told me how her walls would confuse Adventurers and trap them. Then Joshin asked me to make one, and I a sat there trying to come up with an idea or thought. When he asked me what the matter was, I told him I don¡¯t have an imagination.¡± The tenor in Callum¡¯s voice changed. It sounded shaky, like he was hurt. Alistair took a step over to the floating ball, ¡°What do you mean, Callum?¡± Callum simply shook in place. ¡°I mean I know things. Like how to evolve a monster or refine mana threads, but I have no idea how to improve them or make the process better. I don¡¯t really dream about the future. I mean, I feel happy that I can perform tasks or fear of the unknown, but I don¡¯t think about what comes next. I don¡¯t look at shapes in the shadows and see things. I have been asking myself for a while now, that if I don¡¯t have an imagination does that mean I am even real? I was born from a spell, like the Monsters in this dungeon, but do I have a soul like Joshin or Helga? Tell me Lord Alistair, because I get the feeling I don¡¯t have one.¡± Alistair stopped for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. ¡°Callum¡­ I didn¡¯t know. Listen, you have a soul. Do you know how I know?¡± the ball of flame merely shook side to side. ¡°I know because of all the things you have said. You''re afraid, you''re confused, you''re happy; those are gifts from the Gods and Goddesses to people with souls.¡± Callum shook again, ¡°Alistair, animals feel afraid and happy. Ghosts of the undead are projections of Mana coupled with minds they had in the past. The Weeping Lady isn¡¯t weeping because she is sad, she is weeping because she thinks she is sad. It¡¯s a reflex, all they do is repeat the same cycle of violence over and over again. It takes a Dungeon Demon and enchantment to make them do new things. I don¡¯t have any imagination and I am beginning to believe that is the difference between having a soul and not.¡± Alistair stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. Finally, he had an idea. ¡°Callum, on my soul page it said that the Goddess Ailnee and the God Prothus developed the Spell Companion spell. What if when we find another quest location, we make it a shrine to one or the other? They are bound to know if you have a soul or not, and the shrine quest location said that I would be granted a boon from them. Perhaps, it will grant us information about the Spell Companion Spell and whether or not you have a soul?¡± Alistair was hoping that he could make it work that way, because it was the only idea that he had for Callum, and in truth he needed Callum more now. Herma and Toji looked to be good people, but Alistair had view Callum as his friend¡­ which he had been taking advantage of. For once without having to increase his Wisdom, Alistair realized how stupid he had been. They still had a Quest for Callum about him learning Spell Construction. Alistair had forgotten about it, thinking that Callum would just take care of it on his own. Instead, it would have been an impossible task without an imagination. Furthermore, Alistair had been hoping from one thing to another and not taking the time to really learn. Alistair felt guilt rising in his soul and he realized it was time to focus on Callum for a bit, instead of his dungeon. The ball of flame stopped shaking and merely hopped up and down. ¡°Would you do that for me, my Lord Alistair?¡± Alistair simply said yes. ¡°Of course that means, we will need to get you up to speed on the subjects like Spell Construction and General Knowledge. How about we go ahead and cast the Fire Slug and Lava Tube Centipede, before we go back and work a little on Spell Construction?¡± Alistair said, feeling he shouldn''t just waste the mana that he had spent to go out and kill the Mana Monsters. Callum spoke with happiness, ¡°Oh of course, My Lord! We can even possess the Boss and go after the slime and swarm if you like. Just knowing that we will work together afterwards is good enough for me.¡± Though Callum meant the words with perfect joy, it made Alistair feel even worse that he was taking advantage of his friendship. He made a promise that after the fire slug and lava tube centipede. He would stop and go back to the pocket dimension.
Well¡­ my dear wonderful girls gave me the flu that they were carrying. They really took that sharing talk I had with them seriously. Anyway, I am going to be down for a few days, so I put a poll up top. Next Chapter will be the introduction of our main villain(s) and you can choose the race. Also, I know that there are going to be a ton of errors in the chapter above. Sorry didn¡¯t have time to proofread before I needed to head to the store. Chapters to continue Hello my name is Nancy, and I am the writer¡¯s wife. Zac, or IronBuisinessSuit, was driving to get our daughters some more medicine and was hit by another car. Thankfully, he is alive and is healing. However, he broke both of his hands, arms, and one leg in the accident. He has another 5 weeks before the casts come off. Sadly, he really cant type very well with a pencil in his mouth, but he is working on his outline. Otherwise, he is just going stir crazy with nothing to do. Chapter 6.2 – A Library made of Memories Alistiar had Callum summoned the Fire Slug. As the blue mist condense, Alistair saw a bright red slug that 3 inches in length. It had small little antenna and round black eyes. It seemed to move slightly forward leaving a shiny trail of liquid behind it. Alistair realized just how stupid this battle would be. Even without his enchantments he could simply just step on the slug and kill it. As he stared at the Slug he began to focus his will, the killing edge of just taking one step and the battle would be over came to him. Then like a candle being blown out, the will of the slug was blown away and a blue prompt came up.
Event!
You have captured a Fire Slug!
Today you have added to the list of creatures that can be found in your dungeon. Fire Slug is now available for summoning. The Experience Points from a Fire Salamander is 1, because you decided to you your will instead of outright killing the Mana Monster, every time you summon a Slug it will be double the size you fought providing twice the meat to other mana monsters. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 2%.
Alistair laughed a little at the idea of even getting 1 experience point for battling the Fire Slug. He wondered if he just asked Callum to find a couple thousand Fire Slug monsters he would level up to ten. Shrugging at the thought of taking weeks upon weeks of time to battle small creatures wasn¡¯t that appealing so he asked Callum to bring up its loot table.
Loot Table for Fire Slug
Total Required Summoning Mana2
Current Loot Table
100% Chance of dropping 1 Slug Fillet (Trade Good) 1% Chance of dropping Recipe: Fried Spicy Slug (Skill: Cooking) 0.1% Chance of dropping Recipe: Slug Volcano Fingers (Skill: Cooking)
Additional Items
0.01% Chance of dropping a Single Dungeon Copper Coin
Press any additional items you would like to add to the loot table.
Alistair laughed and pressed the Single Dungeon Copper Coin. If an Adventurer wanted to kill ten thousand slugs to get a chance at a Copper Coin then they were welcome to it. Smiling Callum and Alistair talked for a minute before setting the summoning circle to summon a hundred slugs. What surprised Alistair was that for something as insignificant as a Fire Slug had a recipe. Recipes for cooking were a mix between alchemy and actual cooking. Unlike Alchemy, where one had to distill mana from ingredients and combine them into a potion or salve; Cooking was simple and just required a few ingredients to give someone a boost of temporary power. True skills were about using the mana to boost ones natural performance. In Alistair¡¯s previous life, he had gained a total of 15 Recipes for Swordmanship and ten for his Heavy Armor. It was rumored that for any one skill there was a grand total of a 500 recipes, but most of them were either too hard to find or weren¡¯t worth the hassle to know. Alistair began to wonder if he could have his dungeon learn his Swordmanship and Heavy Armor recipes when he got back to his pocket Dimension. Callum and Alistair talked briefly, after a bit of debate it made since to summon around one hundred slugs at random locations around the magma pools and lava tubes. The logic presented by Callum was that by seeding such a large number the salamanders would eat to their fill and then allow the summoning circle to continue to refresh them. Eventually a balance would be obtained and the oldest slugs would be able to grow. Quickly, the summoning circle began to flash like a heartbeat, summoning slugs around the dungeon. The salamanders began to react to the new food source as they started to break off from their packs and seek their prey. Slowly, the life in his dungeon was coming into harmony, Alistair hoped he had enough time to see it at peace before Adventurers started invading. Alistair watched for a few minutes as Tiny Salamanders began to catch slugs and start tearing into them with their obsidian teeth. The summoning circle would flash again as somewhere a slug was born to be hunted down. Life and death, two sides of the same coin with only the universe separating them. Alistair signaled Callum to continue with the summoning. As Alistair prepared himself, as a foot long black, with red and orange spots, centipede appeared before him. Legs, an inch long, trailed down its body as it moved with a surprising speed towards Alistair. Alistair quickly began to move to its side trying to get a better angle of attack. The centipede quickly turned towards Alistair as the demon lifted up his hoof and stomped down on the back half of the bug. A splash of bright red liquid squirted out from underneath Alistair hoof. Yet the Centipeded didn¡¯t give up as it moved the rest of its body up Alistair¡¯s leg. A burning bite from the centipede made Alistair slap the disgusting thing off of him. Alistair felt large red welts beginning to rise up in his leg as he saw the centipede slowly dying on the floor. Orange goo began to leak from the welts as Alistair moved over to the centipede and finished the thing on the floor. As soon as he did a blue prompt came up.
Event!
You have captured a Lava Tube Centipede!
Today you have added to the list of creatures that can be found in your dungeon. Lava Tube Centipede is now available for summoning. The Experience Points from a Lava Tube Centipede is 5. Talk with your Spell Companion on setting the loot table for the monster prior to summoning. Advancement of your spell mastery has increased by 2%. In order to evolve your creature you must reach Spell Mastery Level 5.
As Alistair dismissed the prompt the words began to run like water. Alistair shook his head as the violent movement made him want to vomit. Fire began to leak up his leg, as the poison began to work on his mind. Alistair spoke to Callum, ¡°You know I think I am going to lay down for a moment and keep this ground from melting.¡± Alistair began to scoop his arms trying to keep the imaginary liquid floor in one place. Slowly his arms began to still and Alistair¡¯s body began to seize up in grotesque pain. Callum floated over to Alistair and spoke, ¡°My Lord, please try and focus for a moment. The Centipedes venom is working through you. Focus on transporting yourself to the Pocket Dimension, it will destroy the venom and make you whole again. My Lord! My LORD!¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Location: Alistair¡¯s Hallucination Alistair sat naked in a hard wooden stool, his wrists tied roughly with a harsh hemp rope under the wooden seat. The cold stone floor was wet under his feet, while rusted iron manacles sliced the skin around his ankles. The dark around him seemed to go off into eternity as the only light that he could see illuminated just a few feet around him. Somewhere the drip of water echoed giving Alistair the idea that this place huge. The sensation of sharp nails gently laying themselves on his back made him jump slightly. Turning his head he saw a tall red haired woman in a black toga circling him. The woman¡¯s bright red hair seemed to cover her face as the toga did little to cover the curves of her form. As Alistair eyes began to wonder about the woman¡¯s form, her hand causally shot out and smacked his face. The slap stung so hard that his head was flung to the side and his neck muscles ached. ¡°Shame! Shame! I know your name!¡± Her long index finger wagged in front Alistair¡¯s face as he noted that her finger nails seemed to be perfectly cut into point and blood red. She turned to face Alistair in the stool and bent down to look him in the eye. Behind her perfectly combed red hair stood a face that was without blemish and eyes that chaotic whirls of color swirled in. Alistair finally understood that the figure in front of him was a Goddess. ¡°Now Alistair, what should I do to you?¡± Her perfect red lips pushed together as blood red nail started tapping them as if in silent thought. Slowly, the Goddess sat on Alistairs thighs. The manacles cut into his ankles as her weight came down, Alistair¡¯s chest came up as he tried to shift his weight. Her nails sunk into his shoulders grabbing hold of him and she spoke again. ¡°Ah, see I am already getting some use out of you. The problem is that I need you to do more than just be a handy place to sit.¡± The goddess through back her head and her hair seemed to fall back over her shoulder. She took out her left hand nails from Alistair¡¯s shoulder and briefly licked the blood off of them. ¡°So in order to make you a little more helpful let¡¯s start with introductions. I am Erissa, Goddess of Chaos and Discord, my followers are assasians, rogues and rumormongers, and you are Alistair, formerly the Great Golden Hero Thorian, and your true name is Shedzuoxohr¡­¡± Alistair felt his entire body seize up at the pronunciation of his true name. Erissa¡¯s mouth continued to talk about the only thing that crept into his mind was imagines. The first was a scene of Lizardmen holding Helga throat long black claws entered her throat as the Lizardmen laughed. The next scene came as Goblins and Orcs burst into a pocket dimension, children and townspeople began to die as gibbering laughter echoed over the chaos. The next scene came to his vision as two armies squared off in a grand field; on one side Dragons, Kobolds, Wyverns, and Lizardmen stood; on the other side stood an army of undead with great bone golems and wailing ghosts. Each side began to charge, as Alistair¡¯s mind reeled to another scene. Grand Demons, Beasts, Dragons, Titans, and other beings shouted at one another. In the meeting Alistair saw alliances and treaties being destroyed as two opposing forces began to rise. The scene changed yet again to a battlefield that had been fought over time and time again. Long Trenches had been dug as small groups of battle harden men and women huddled together. Green fog began descending over a trench and the people screamed in horror. Some of the lucky few placed leather masks over their face, inked runes glowed with eldritch magic, as they readied weapons. Orcs with similar runic masks jumped down and pinched battles began to break out in the trench. Horns blared out and mages began casting walls of fire across the battlefield, orcs began dying in their madding rush to get to the enemy trenches. Magical beasts and Minatours began reinforcing the humans, dwarves, and elves in the trenches as the tide of battle once again became stalled. The next scene showed the plane of dungeon towns, thousands of souls laid dead as dungeons began to crumble. The few remaining citadels that stood were in rebellion, as the angry citizens rioted in the streets screaming for change and peace. Alistair blinked, tears of shame and pain could be seen on his face. Erissa, licked the trails of tears on his face. ¡°Mmmmmmm taste salty and filled with pain. Now, Alistair you have heard my commands, I suggest you put those gifts I gave you to good use.¡± Erissa got up from him and walked away into the darkness. Alistair dropped to the floor, his bindings kept him from moving as he continued to lie. The horror of his visions tearing at his soul. Slowly, he began to realize that this all was just a hallucination and that none of it was real. As Alistair felt a calm come over him the world around him went dark.
Location: Alistair¡¯s Dungeon Alistair awoke on the hard black obsian stone. His Boss Fire Salamander licked his face with a gravel like black tongue. Alistair brought his hand down on the Salamanders head giving it a gentle rub about the scales as he stood up. His body felt stiff and muscles sore as he moved, finally as he stood up a blue prompt appeared in front of him.
Event!
A Scaling Item has appeared in your dungeon!
A grand happenstance has occurred. A global loot table has been created for your dungeon. The first item to appear in it is Scaling Dagger of Truth.
Item Name:Scaling Dagger of Truth
Item Rarity:Legendary
Mana Cost:2000
Item Description:The Scaling Dagger of Truth binds to the person who picks it up. Ability bonuses and damage are based on the level of the person owning the dagger. Once per day, the owner of the dagger can compel one person to speak the absolute truth for one hour. As a benefit of being in your global loot table, you can learn the true name of one person in your vision within a week of the dagger dropping. A prompt will tell you when the dagger has dropped, and how to cast its spell.
A knife of doubt came over Alistair as he thought of the dagger and Erissa¡¯s last words to him began to cut their way in his mind.
Authors Note: Thank you all for the well wishes. My wife did get the dragon software and I have been using it. I must talk with a bit of an accent as I spend half my time deleting what the software thinks I spoke, but I hope everyone stays with the story as I work through my physical therapy. Anyway, my wife will be posting when she gets a chance for me. Hopefully, the story is still strong as I shake off the rust, and please forgive the rough draft as I get a handle on the software. Chapter 6.3 – The Price of Truth Alistair dismissed the prompt with a lazy gesture, as he thought about Erissa, Goddess of Chaos and Strife. The visions that he had seen while under the influence of the centipede¡¯s poison scared him and yet could he trust them? Afterall when he first learned of the Lava Tube Centipede their poison was to cause hallucations, yet the Scaling Dagger of Truth seemed almost a gift from the Erissa and like every gift from the Goddess of Chaos and Strife it was made for one reason, to spread trouble where ever they go. The last gift that humankind had received had caused a civil war that had made a rich farmland into a barren desert. Still how could a dagger that caused a person to tell the absolute truth for an hour cause strife? Alistair thought about how it could be used as a tool for constables or a ruler could use it to root out spies and find who was loyal to them. Surely, any item that would cause people to stop lying would be a tool for good? Callum appeared in his normal spot as Alistair paced about the summoning circle. ¡°My Lord? Something has happened in the pocket dimension?¡± The ball of fire seemed to grow dull as he spoke. Alistair asked his friend what was the problem and the ball replied. ¡°A steel gate bearing words has appeared at the entrance to our pocket dimension. Written in ancient script are the following words:¡± ¡°Truth cuts to the heart. Truth scars those who are ignorant. It¡¯s a double blade that cuts ones enemies as it cuts the wielder. For those that keep the Truth stealthed, You will find that its blade will never rust, It will never dull only become sharper till it is used. Truth¡¯s Hardness is that it is unbendable. Truth¡¯s Strength is that it is pure. Truth¡¯s Weakness is that it is unchangeable. If you seek to weild Truth: Cut all the lies surrounding you, And walk its razor edge.¡± Callum spun as he spoke, ¡°My lord, Toji says that we have gained a scaling item in the dungeon. He has also checked the weavers hut and has found two grand tapestries.¡± At the mention of the two taperstries a prompt came up.
Event!
New Spells have been Created!
Spell Name:Rolling Fire Wall
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:200 mana
Spell Description:Using the combination of Air, Fire and Earth mana a wall of fire (10¡¯ x 20¡¯ x 4¡¯) will arise in front of the caster and slowly start moving forward. Due to the specific mana threads in the weave, the Wall of Fire will consume all that is in its path. Whether it be magic, toxins, or material. After 100 feet it will burn itself out, futher levels in spell mastery will increase its length, duration, and less the cost of mana.
Spell Name:Rolling Fog of Decay
Spell Mastery:0
Spell Cost:200 mana
Spell Description:Using the combination of Death, Air, and Earth mana a fog will appear in front of the caster (5¡¯ x 20¡¯ x 10¡¯). The fog will then began to spread outward from the caster, as the fog itself is toxic and heavier then air, it will continue on till it annihilates 200 Life Mana stored in ones soul.
Would you like to share these new spells with the leaders of your Alliance and Partners?
YesNo
Alistair reviewed the prompt and remembered the vision from Erissa. Out on a long desotate plain, grey like plants and dried crack dirt filled vision between two entrenched armies. Groups of humans, dwarves, elves, and golems squatting over low fires cooking on small metal pots. Horns began to sound as a green fog, a Rolling Fog of Decay, began to move forward from the enemy trench. Soldiers began equipping leather masks that Alistair could now see would better fit an orc then an elf. Runes began to glow as soldiers without masks began to scramble out of the trench to get to higher ground. Axes began flying through the air burying themselves into the backs of the fleeing soldiers as Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Undead, and Trolls began coming out of the fog. Silent and terrifying, the horde began to jump down in trenches and pitch battles began. Human and Elf mages cast Rolling Wall of Fire as large flames arose in front of them. The flames were so hot that they appeared blue as they began pushing forward. The enemies¡¯ horns sounded, as the flames began to burn off the fog and caught slow moving orcs, goblins, and undead. Their flesh and finally bones turned to ash, covering the ground with more grey ash as the army retreated. As the vision faded from his memory, Alistair saw that the prompt was only giving him one choice. Rage pumped throughout Alistair blood stream. It seemed like Erissa wanted him to share his gifts with his alliance. Alistair first tried to dismiss the prompt as if to say that he would rather make no choice then the one he was given. As the prompt was dismissed another one took its place, so instead he mashed down on the ¡®No¡¯ button doing his best to force a different choice then what he was given. Finally, after a full thirty seconds of pressing another prompt popped up to its left.
Event!
At all times Freewill must be observed!
It has come to the attention of the Gods and Goddesses that you seek to exercise your freewill. As such the opition of No has been Unlocked.
Message from Erissa: You might reget this decision, Alistiar!
Alistair dismissed the prompt and hit the ¡®No¡¯ button as soon as it lit up. The prompts went away as Alistair heard laughter echoing in his dungeon. Paranoid fear crept into his mind as he somehow thought that he had done what Erissa wanted. Turning to Callum, Alistair smiled if Erissa wanted to play Goddess who knew everything then he was sure she saw what he was going to do next. ¡°Callum go and destroy those two tapestries right now! Don¡¯t even wait for me, you go ahead and just destroy them now!¡± Callum popped out of existence as he went to carry out Alistair¡¯s command.
Location: Alistair Pocket Dimension Alistair awoke in his bed as he hopped up immediately to catch on the fire. He was going to make sure that Erissa didn¡¯t get her way. Hopping up from the bed, Alistair moved out of his house to the middle of the square where Callum and Toji were building a fire. The fire had several small broken wooden pieces, as they were catching the kindling on fire. Toji looked up from blowing on the fire and spoke, ¡°Alistair, we tried cutting them with scissors and even a knife, but for some reason we can¡¯t even make a scratch. I tried to soak them in the fountain hoping that the mana threads would dissolve back into mana, but no such luck. Right now we are trying to create a bonfire, the tapestries are so heavy that if the fire isn¡¯t roaring it will never catch.¡± A loud crash of metal echoed throughout the town, Alistair turned his head toward the road that led out of the dimension pocket. As one Alistair, Callum, and Toji started running to the road. In the distance, he saw Helga and Joshin lifting a steel bar trying to lock the doors into place. Herma was digging her heels into the hard dirt of the road as she tried to brace the doors shut. Another crash of metal happened as a reptillian arm shot out between steel doors reaching around with black claws. Helga dropped the steel bar and ran over to the arm. She began hitting and biting the arm as Alistair began shouting for Helga to get back, it was then that the hand reached around her throat. Black claws began to puncture her throat as she screamed out. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. A reptillian face poked its way through, as Alistair was within twenty feet of the gate. ¡°Open the gate now, or I kill the Dwarf!¡± Alistair skidded to a stop as he looked at Herma and Joshin. He nodded and they stepped away from the gates. Slowly a lizardman stepped out from the gate as it swung open. He appeared to be seven feet tall and heavily muscled dressed in leather armor. He lifted Helga up with one arm as blood began to run down the front of her dress. ¡°Alright boys, come on and bring in the wagon.¡± The steel doors to the gate opened and three more Lizardmen were on the wagon in armor. Behind them was a Iron Cage with various humanoids in it. The Lizardman who held Helga began to smile as his black tongue came out licking the air. The Lizardman driving the wagon sat forward on the bench and pulled on the reins to the two great velicoraptors tied to the wagon. ¡°Well Hassil what do we have here?¡± Hassil chuckled as Helga kept grabbing at his arm to keep the claws from ripping out her throat. ¡°Well Galzra, we have that new dungeon we were looking for and it seems the quest was right. I mean I don¡¯t see any lizardfolk around here.¡± Hassil waved his arm around the area. Toji snorted for a moment and then his features began to change, his nose became a long snout while his skin began to flake to reveal black scales underneath with white dots that glittered. The gnome had turned into a Celestial Kobold as he snared, yellowed aged teeth could be seen on black gums. Hassil, Galzra, and the third Lizardman began to laugh at Toji as tears came down Helga¡¯s face. Alistair took a step forward and Hassil squeezed his grip on Helga¡¯s throat, a slow whimper came from her as Alistair stopped in his tracks. ¡°What do you want?!¡± Alistair screamed at Galzra, his fist clenching. Hassil looked up at Galzra, and the Lizardman gave him a nod. Hassil put Helga on ground but didn¡¯t let up his grip from her throat. Galzra in a clear and simple voice spoke, ¡°Well since you have a Celestial Kobold with you that must mean you are allied with the Dragonkin. Guess what? We are as well! So it¡¯s your lucky day that we can by.¡± Galzra pulled his mouth back in what could only be a smile, but looked like a bloodthirsty snarl. ¡°As for what we want, it¡¯s pretty simple; One, we want that pretty new spell that you have created. Two, we want to make sure that you agreed to the laws of the land.¡± The Lizardmen started laughing once again, as Alistair grimaced. Toji snared and spoke, ¡°How could you know about the spell we created? It just appeared.¡± Galzra looked down at the Kobold with a look of disgust. ¡°Well¡­ we were two days away from here when a Quest popped up telling us that we needed to be here to receive the weave of a new spell that was created. Seems like the Gods and Goddesses just love us.¡± At that remark the gales of laughter came from all the lizardmen. ¡°Told us where to find you and make sure you hand over this spell of Death fog or something. Now why don¡¯t you run off and get that spell for us.¡± Galzra stared down at Toji. Toji looked up at Alistair as if asking him what to do. Alistair couldn¡¯t take his eyes away from Helga, her tear stained cheeks and soft whimpers burned its image into his soul. He knew that if the spell left his possession than Erissa¡¯s vision would come true. Yet what could he do? If he fought the first causality would be Helga. Herma might be able to keep her own, but Joshin and Toji would be dead or destoried. He needed something to change or create an advantage for him. He nodded to Toji as the gnome turned Kobold left. Galzra turned his head to Herma and spoke, ¡°Now, a free soul here? Why don¡¯t you be nice and turn into your monster self so that we don¡¯t have any surprises?¡± Herma didn¡¯t look at Alistair for permission but pushed Joshin behind her as she started to transform. First her body elongated and became that of a lion with a repetilian tail. Long batlike wings broke out from her back and her head split into three. The head to the right was of a horned ram, while the one to the left was that of a wyrven, and finally the one in the middle was that of a lioness. The Dragon head let out a burst of flame, as the ram bayed out a cloud of red mist. Alistair was surprised that Herma appeared to be that of a great Chimera. A magical beast that had killed many experienced Adventurer teams. ¡°Deval, go ahead and change. We shouldn¡¯t have any secrets from our allies.¡± Deval began to lengthen and grow. At first he appeared to grow taller, when his heads began to spilt into nine different necks and dragon heads. Alistair immediately knew what type of monster Deval was¡­ a Hydra. Whatever advantage they had gained from Herma being a powerful magical beast was neglected by Deval. Nine heads meant that it had at least three to four breath weapons, and several different type of poison attacks. His tail that began to gain spikes and thick scale plates meant that Deval was an old if not ancient beast. At that point Alistair knew that these Lizardmen could have taken whatever they wanted to. ¡°See, everything is now nice and in the open.¡± Galzra saw Toji bringing the tapestry in the distance as he continued to speak. ¡°Well, my friend we just have one more piece of business to conduct and once that spell is in our possession we will be on our way.¡± With a wave of Galzra¡¯s hand, Alistair saw a prompt pop up in front of him.
Laws of the Dragonkin Race
All Allies and Members of the Dragonkin Race must accept the following Laws:
Article 1 ¨C One tenth of all mana generated by a Dungeon or Individual will be taxed and given to designated Dragonkin Representative to be used to further the goals of the Race. Article 2 ¨C All souls bound in dungeons will be designated as slaves, unless recognized as belonging to one of the protected Dragonkin races. Article 3 ¨C All loot generated by a Dungeon will contain a spell that lessen damage against Dragons. All Dungeon Demons will be provided with the spell form and knowledge to create it. Article 4 ¨C If a Dungeon has less then 200 levels a Representative from the Dragonkin races will oversee the Dungeon Demon until such a time as the Dungeon Demon has been deem fit to be independent. Article 5 ¨C At any time the Dungeon will provide souls for wartime equal to one half of its population. Article 6 ¨C If a Dungeon or Individual is caught in rebellion to the Dragonkin Races all their belongings and mana will be forfeit to the Dragonkin Race.
Do you accept the terms of membership in the Dragonkin Race?
YesNo
Galzra looked at Alistair and then nodded his head to Helga. Hassin squeeze slightly more and another whimper came out of Helga as Alistair pressed accept on the terms of membership. The prompt was dismissed and they all stood in silence till Toji finally handed over the spell to Galzra. With a smug smile Galzra waved his hand and said, ¡°A Representative will be with you in the next few days.¡± Hassin let go of Helga and the girl ran to Herma as the Lizardmen began to leave.
Author''s note: I wanted to share something with you all. Someone over the last couple of days made a comment that I treated my readers like family, and in a way that is very true. Part of me wants to just write this story all day and let wonder and excitement fill my readers lives. I also want my stories to reflect knowledge and wisdom gained, so that my readers don''t have to make the same mistakes I made. I wanted to say thank you to that person and to everyone here, it got me through some rough couple of hours these past few days.