Cameron
Over the next few days, my not so welcome guests proved … interesting. Some were extremely cautious. Others recklessly charged forth with the single-minded goal of killing me. There was no in-between, or at least, there wouldn't have been if it wasn't for one particularly inept group of adventurers, the same ones I had previously used to chain achievements off of. They were more cautious than they had been the last time they entered, but the difference wasn't as drastic as it likely should have been. On the bright side, they didn't seem to have any interest in my core, so I largely ignored them.
The number of groups delving my Dungeon also increased drastically in that time. I was averaging between six and seven groups per day. It was to the point that my mana was struggling to keep it stocked with monsters. There were only two reasons I was able to manage it, if barely.
The first was that half of the groups were exercising extreme caution and not exploring past my first room. This limited the number of monsters I had to resummon. It also helped that they left most of the bodies behind.
Generally, this type of group seemed to be composed mostly of low leveled adventurers. The group with the alchemist's apprentice was a prime example of this type. They weren't particularly strong, but they also took it slow and acted with some form of competence. I didn't mind this variety of adventurer.
The other type of group, however, I did mind. They were the ones who were after my core, and they were the opposites of the first kind in nearly every way. They tended to be filled with more powerful people who didn't specialize in combat, and it was clear that they didn't know what they were doing. They just threw themselves at my defenses as if everything would turn out fine for them. It did not. That was the second reason my mana was up to the task. Absorbing their bodies refilled my magic power significantly. I also gained some achievements for my trouble.
[Achievement: Dangerous
Description: 10 individuals have died to your Dungeon.
Reward: You have received 6,000 experience!]
[Achievement: Deathtrap
Description: The mortality rate of individuals entering your Dungeon has surpassed 50% with a minimum of 10 deaths.
Reward: All monsters gain +1% to all stats!]
[Achievement: Unsteady Terrain
Description: An individual in your Dungeon has died to the terrain.
Reward: You can modify your terrain to be more dangerous!]
[Achievement: Forceful Eviction
Description: 10 individuals have died in your Dungeon from physical attacks.
Reward: All monsters gain +1 to STR!]
[Achievement: Deadly Terrain
Description: 10 individuals have died in your Dungeon to the terrain.
Reward: You can modify your terrain to be more dangerous!]
I was thrilled with the second achievement's effect. Fabian, on the other hand, had a miniature panic attack when I got it. According to him, it didn't matter how good it was, it was something a Dungeon should never receive. I wasn't sure what bothered him more: the fact that enough people had aimed for my core for me to be able to receive it or his fear that the guild would retaliate. Either way, what was done was done. I had survived.
Having that many people die at my order didn't feel good, but I tried not to think about it any more than I had to. I knew they were after my life, and while every kill did bother me, I reassured myself with the knowledge that I was protecting those I cared about. In the end, I was glad I couldn't sleep anymore; I was sure my actions would have haunted my dreams if I still had any. For that reason, I did my best to take a step back from the situation and look at it analytically.
The deaths of that many people had fed the growth of my monsters and myself. The monster species present in the second room and some of my elites had gained a significant amount from the attacks. Experience flowed to all of us. I had reached level seven and was already nearing level eight. Vie and Pee had also come just as far, already reaching the same level as me. Even the first Horned Draco I had summoned, who had somehow managed to avoid dying so far, had reached that milestone. Sadly, my guard Trenti had not gotten the opportunity to acquire any additional experience of its own, too tied down serving as my last line of defense.
The gains didn't stop there either. While I may not have benefited from my new title for any of the aforementioned achievements, opting to instead have Summoned Hero active to boost the experience from the kills, I had gotten gotten it to trigger for one.
[You have gained 700 experience for acquiring a new achievement!]
[Achievement: Combat Ready
Description: One of your monsters has learned a combat skill.
Reward: The monster has gained 1 level in the combat skill!]
“Our queen.”
“Mother, we have done it!”
Vie and Pee had cheered, pure satisfaction emanating from them when they had finally learned the skill that granted the achievement. Having trained with the guard Trenti between invasions, they had managed to pick up not just one skill, but two.
[Skill: Spell Casting
Level: 1
Description: This skill affects the speed at which you can cast spells and your efficiency when doing so.]
[Skill: Evasion
Level: 2
Description: This skill affects your ability to move out of the way of incoming attacks.]
Soon after, the elite Horned Draco also learned Evasion, and the guard Trenti learned Spell Casting. It seemed that unawakened monsters didn't learn skills anywhere near as fast as awakened ones, but with practice, they were still improving. They steadily continued to grow stronger in the downtime between hostile groups of adventurers.
It wasn't only my elites improving either. With the perk I was awarded for reaching level seven, I had gained a powerful upgrade to my Bloodthorn Vines.
[Monster Upgrade: Vampiric Vines
Description: Bloodthorn Vines and their evolutions obtain the ability to heal from the blood that they consume.
Effect: Bloodthorn Vines and their evolutions gain the ability Blood Siphon.]
[Ability: Blood Siphon
Description: You can convert blood that you consume into health.
Effect: For every fluid ounce of blood consumed, you regain 1 health. For every point you have in (VIT), you regain an additional 0.01 health per fluid ounce.]
The ability had proven itself already. While the healing wasn't excessive, it was enough to repair minor injuries. Against a team like the scouts from the Adventurers Guild, it was unlikely to do much, but against the level fours through twelves that had been assaulting me, it was enough to keep them in the fight.
As I contemplated my advancements, it showed its usefulness once again. Another group was in my second room with the intent to make it to me. One man who wielded an axe sunk their weapon into a vine, nearly chopping it off. At the same time, another of the monster's vines had a different adventurer bound. With the blood being drained from them, the wound closed at a visible rate.
Infuriated by the sight, the adventurer went to attack again. Then, my elite Horned Draco struck. They flew back and were impaled by a freshly sharpened stalagmite, dying instantly.
[Your Horned Draco (Level 7) has killed a Beastkin Farmer (Level 5)! 600 experience gained.]
[Your Horned Draco (Level 7) has gained 500 experience!]
I found myself almost disappointed. The group attacking was on the weaker side. That meant no bonus experience from my monsters killing those with significantly higher levels than them, something I found to be a massive perk of me keeping my monsters at level one while enhancing their stats through other means.
Disinterested, I turned my attention back to what I had been doing before the group arrived. Whenever I had a free moment, I had been focusing on practicing with Monster Customization. I wasn't saving my changes, but by playing with the different options available to me, I was learning which modifications made the biggest impact and how to optimize them. By the time I finished, I wanted to be able to push my free adjustments as far as I could because, at the rate things were going, I felt like I would need whatever extra couple of stats I could get out of them sooner rather than later.
“I know things aren't looking too good,” Fabian spoke up, “but you really should take a break. You're pushing yourself way too hard. You've been working nonstop for days. You're not going to be able to keep it up for much longer at this rate.”
I have to, Fabe. I have to.
* * *
Gyle
I glared at the reports in front of me. They just kept getting worse, and worst of all, they made no sense.
“These can't be right,” I grumbled as I threw a small pile of papers back on the table.
“I wish they weren't,” Sirius responded from the other side.
“I'm going back in there! I'll get to the bottom of this myself.”
“You can't.”
“And, just why can't I?”
Reason had fled me. I was being driven only by my emotions and desperation. If I was in my right mind, I would have been disgusted with myself.
“You know perfectly well why you can't. Dungeons are known to grow faster the more danger they are exposed to. We are both over level fifty, the strongest individuals in this backwater part of the kingdom. It's the reason we recruit senior adventuring teams to scout out Dungeons for us. If we get involved, the Dungeon is likely to grow out of control.”
My anger flared.
“Just what part of these reports that you're shoving in my face imply the Dungeon is under anything approaching control? It has nothing but level one monsters, monsters that despite their level, can award experience to a level eighteen adventurer. Only adventurers make it in and out safe. They do so no matter how low their level is, yet high level civilians are flocking to it and dying en masse. There is no evidence that the Dungeon is past the first stage of its development, but with the number of missing people we have reports of, it should have easily reached that milestone by now. We need to figure out what is going on before it's too late!”
I was breathing heavily by the time I finished. I could feel everything slipping out of my control and I didn't know why. It made no sense to me. How was I supposed to do anything without proper information?
“Peter, I'm sorry to say this, but this Dungeon might be a lost cause.”
I slammed my fist on the table and shut my eyes tight. I needed this Dungeon. It was my last chance. Then, I sighed.
“At least let me have your group escort the boy. He isn't experienced enough to get a perfect read on it, but he should be able to get us some information.”
Sirius nodded.
“That's doable, but it might already be too late. It all depends on what the higher-ups say.”
“You've mentioned other Dungeons acting up. Are any of them comparable to this? If so, that could be a good starting point in figuring out what is going on here.”
“If it were that simple, the Adventurers Guild would have long since put a stop to this.”
“Still, it's better than doing nothing.”
“A lot of Dungeons are acting strange, but I've only heard of one other new one being comparably odd, even if it is in different ways. Admittedly, I've already taken it upon myself to look into it some. It's near Castallia. It was discovered at roughly the same time as ours, but that and its general strangeness aside, there aren't many similarities.”
“Thank you. I'll see what I can find.”
“Actually, there is something else I think you are better suited to look into. I'll do what I can to get information on that Dungeon if you will take care of another matter.”
“What is it?”
“Normally, when a Dungeon appears, some fools try their luck at it in hopes of making a fortune, but the number of people doing that here is as out of the ordinary as their deaths. Look into why that is, and I'll handle gathering the other intel.”
I nodded.
“I can do that.”
* * *
Loid
“Anything?” I asked my lieutenant.
“Nothing,” was her response.
I scratched my chin as I contemplated the implications. It wasn't surprising for civilians to die in a Dungeon, but for none of the people I had offered a heavy bounty to for information to make it out alive was strange. They weren't trained, and they didn't have combat classes, but they were easily of high enough levels to handle their own in a new Dungeon.
Had it only been the first group I sent, I wouldn't have been concerned. Had it also included the following two groups I had recruited for the task, I would have found it disconcerting, but it wouldn't have been anything too far outside of my expectations. For all five groups I sent to have gone missing without a trace, something had to be up.
“We'll get more information before anything else. First, we'll find and capture a civilian who has been inside. We'll interrogate them and get the barest minimum of intel. Afterward, we will go under cover for a few days. We'll see what rumors are going around. Then, and only then, we will make our delve. I refuse to go in blind, but one way or another, we are getting that core, and we're getting paid lavishly for it. For wealth and pleasure–”
“–we raise our tarnished blades!” my mercenary group finished our motto and let out a chorus of cheers.
Information was crucial to any assignment, but regardless of the details we would find, we were determined to crawl through hell itself for the right price, and for the amount of coin on offer, hell wasn't far out of the question. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered to us. We were the Tarnished Blades.
* * *
Albert Chorlus
“So, what do you say?”
My heart pounded rapidly, and I felt a slight tremor in the hand I had hidden in my pocket. I was risking my life by making this play, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I would not let that ancient relic of an alchemist steal all that I had built for myself. Even I couldn't recover it in the aftermath, I would not let him have it.
“Your offer is interesting, but why do we need you?”
It was a question I had prepared for. I had been working ever since the raid I had attempted failed. I traveled to nearby towns. I planted seeds in the hearts and minds of lowlifes and bums. I had lied, cajoled, and manipulated. I had acted swiftly, knowing time was of the essence, and now, it was time to see if the groundwork I had laid would pay off.
“Of course, your group could handle the task on your own, but not without losses. What I offer you is fodder. I have assembled a horde of fools who will clear the way with their lives. You and your men will do the heavy lifting still, sure, but with several dozen men having fought to the death to reach the prize they mistakenly believe can be theirs, all you will have to do is clean up the mess. All I ask for in return is a small charade. You attack the town and pretend to get driven off by me, and I won't ask for even a single copper of your prize.”
“Heh, I like you. Okay, fine. We're in.”
With that, the burly giant raised his war axe that was carved from the same material his group was named after, and he roared, “Men, pack your shit! The Troll Tusk Bandits are gonna make ourselves a small fortune.”
A shiver ran down my spine as the encampment of brigands around me loudly hooted, hollered, and howled their assent.
This was the only option left to me, I told myself, If anyone is to blame, it's that accursed old man.