Cameron
[Monster Upgrade: Hardened Vines
Description: Bloodthorn Vines and their evolutions have their vines coated with a hardened external layer, increasing their resilience.
Effect: Bloodthorn Vines and their evolutions gain the ability Bark Skin.]
That would have been a good upgrade. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.
[Monster Upgrade: Constricting Snakes
Description: All snake monsters obtain the ability to constrict around enemies, damaging them by an amount based on (STR) and at the cost of stamina.
Effect: Every species of snake monster gets the ability Constrict.]
That ability sounded like it would have been great for Vie and Pee. More importantly, it applied to a wide range of monsters that would fit with my fake theme. It wasn't the most essential ability to have, but it still pained me as I was forced to overlook it, the last choice magically drawing my attention.
[Monster Upgrade: Dragon of Greed
Description: Adraugon gains power from his hoard.
Effect: Adraugon gains the ability Dragon's Greed.]
[Ability: Dragon's Greed
Description: Your hoard is innately bound to you, allowing you to draw power from it.
Effect: Depending on the contents of your hoard, you gain additional power.]
The choice wasn't mine to make. As soon as I saw the third option, it was as though it selected itself. I almost regretted that part of the deal. It wasn't that I was particularly against upgrading the newly awakened miniature dragon. My problem was that I had lost out on the other options.
Worse yet, I didn't like the vagueness of the upgrade in particular. It only offered additional power without elaborating on what that power was. I glanced to Adraugon's status to see if there were any changes. I was disappointed. Whatever bonuses the ability offered, Adraugon's hoard didn't qualify for them. It wasn't too surprising since said hoard consisted of only a single copper coin, two once that thought entered my head and I was compelled by our pact to summon another.
With a mental sigh, I didn't even bother trying to look at my own status until I was sure my part of the bargain was held up. I didn't enjoy the feeling of having my free will magically ripped away from me, after all. Plus, there was also the matter of me not wanting my attention to be torn from the potentially serious matter at hand. With that in mind, I moved to deal with the impending distractions.
[Experience to next level: 71,312 / 64,000
Level up?
Yes / No]
The strange erroneous achievement I had gotten for taming my own dragon, as laughable of a stretch as that designation was, had given me enough experience to level up a second time. I switched my focus to environments and selected yes.
[Please select a perk.]
[Environment: Grassland
Description: You can incorporate aspects of a grassland into your Dungeon.
Effect: Allows you to summon and modify soil and certain types of vegetation. Any vegetation you summon subsists off of mana alone.]
I'm getting to your upgrades, so hold on, I said before the Horned Draco could interrupt me again to make more demands.
My words elicited a grumble, but the near death experience from my alterations seemed to have worn the miniature dragon out some. He didn't make any immediately objections, so I turned my attention toward Fabian.
This option seems redundant. Is there anything I'm missing?
“Not much. It's a common option and one of the more lacking ones.”
Got it. Next.
I brought up the second choice, and found myself feeling a mixture of disgust and intrigue.
[Environment: Bog
Description: You can incorporate aspects of a bog into your Dungeon.
Effect: Allows you to summon and modify peat, water, gasses, and some types of vegetation. Any vegetation you summon subsists off of mana alone.]
It didn't seem like an overly powerful upgrade, but I could see myself making it work. The entire reason I chose to unlock a new environment was because of the tactical advantages it would provide, and as messy and disgusting I imagined a bog to be, it was something I could work with. After all, there were plenty of ways to capitalize on what the choice would give me, so I made note of it and moved on to my last option.
[Item: Abustine Silver Coin
Cost: 10 (5) MP
Description: A silver coin used in the Abustine Kingdom.]
The third option was easy to rule out. It wasn't that better coins weren't useful, especially since they could synergize with my newly awakened monster's abilities. The thing was, I figured it wouldn't be too long until I unlocked them through absorption anyway. As far as I was concerned, it would have been a waste of a perk. I dismissed the two choices that I didn't like and unlocked the bog.
With that done, I moved on to investing all of the promised DP into Adraugon. Since his cost was reduced by the same achievement that awakened him and made him a pain to deal with, the points I had to spend on him went an absurdly long way.
I owed him fourteen Dungeon Points, but after the modifiers, if I spent all of that on using Monster Customization on him, which I planned to, it meant he would benefit from the equivalent of thirty-six DP. As much as I was annoyed to be forced to invest so heavily in him, the rational part of my mind couldn't help but to think about how good of a deal it was, or it would have been, had he not had nearly nonexistent stats to begin with.
The choice of how to spend the points was more difficult than I'd expected. I had only been significantly investing in his speed up until then, but with him cementing himself as a more permanent resident of my Dungeon, I had to look at what would benefit him the most in the long run. Overspecialization was powerful in the immediate future. My successful defenses proved that, but with time, I feared it would make him an easy target. He needed more versatility.
With that thought process, I made less modifications that increased AGI and DEX. Instead, I opted to cover his weaknesses some. I focused on raising his STR so that he could fight even when his ability was on cooldown, END to raise his maximum stamina, and SOUL to do the same thing for his mana capacity. I also put a lesser emphasis on increasing his VIT and COM, ensuring he could recover mana and stamina enough that his increased capacities didn't go to waste. That last decision might have been made in part because I hoped that a higher composure would calm the little menace down some, but I sure wouldn't tell him that.
My objectives set, I made my changes. I threw points into his soul, mostly into the mana infused into it, and I reinforced his body. I hit a wall while doing that. From the looks of it, I had to enhance a body part to a certain degree before I could shove more mana into it. With that in mind, I empowered his claws and enhanced several other parts of his body to give him a better spread of useful stats. By the time I was done, I still had a handful of DP left to spend.
I was tempted to spend some points on increasing his MIND. It would have been nice for him to at least be able to speak properly, but I, worried it would make him harder to deal with, decided to go another route and try something a bit different.
Inspired by the modifications I made to the Bloodthorn Vines and the Horned Draco's previous upgrades, I went for something that could help it to steer better while airborne: a couple of extra flaps to its back legs. I was a bit worried about it causing drag, but my hope was that it would help the lizard to change direction mid-flight and better control where it sent things flying. With that done, I dumped the last four points into imbuing said wings along with the others with mana. Satisfied, I looked over the results.
[Cost: 5 → 19 DP]
[Stamina: 25 → 75 (85)]
[Mana: 160 → 360 (380)]
[Stats: FORT 0 (2), VIT 2 → 6 (8), STR 6 → 18 (21), END 5 → 15 (17), SOUL 16 → 36 (38), MIND 4 (6), WILL 4 → 12 (14), COM 2 → 10 (12), DEX 30 → 38 (42), AGI 42 → 60 (62)]
[Waiting for Adraugon to accept or deny proposed Monster Customization.]
“No!”
[Adraugon has denied the Monster Customization.]
I was stunned into silence for a few long moments before I managed to force my brain to move.
Why?
“Stats bad. Is lifespring stone playing trick?”
I have no clue what you're talking about. That's a gain of ninety-eight stat points, enough to nearly double stats.
“Many stats good! Stats bad.”
You don't want stats?
“Lifespring stone stupid. Me want stats, many stats. Your stats bad, many wasted.”
You don't like the spread?
“No!”
Why not?
I couldn't understand the little monster's thought process. The changes I came up with were great as far I could tell.
Maybe I should have included some MIND stats.
“No! MIND bad, useless.”
I hadn't meant for him to pick up on that thought. Luckily, his lack of MIND stats seemed to be enough for him to not catch the insult.
I raised the stats you were lacking in, specifically the ones that are useful to you. Do you want to run out of stamina after a minute or two of fighting? Do you want to be helpless if you're caught with nowhere to run?
“Not problem if fast.”
You are fast, but is that all you want be?
I changed the way I was going about this.
“What mean?”
Dragon's are supposed to be strong, indomitable in every way, aren't they?
“Yes.”
Don't you want to be a strong dragon?
“I am a dragon!”
I said a strong dragon.
At my words, the little terror paused. A moment or two passed in silence before he spoke again, “I still want be fast.”
You are, and you'll get faster. With your stat growth, though, this is the only way you won't be lacking in every other regard.
He squinted his little eyes at me. I didn't even need the bond to feel the anger radiating from him.
“Fine. Give power.”
[Waiting for Adraugon to accept or deny proposed Monster Customization.]
I offered him the changes again, and this time, he accepted. He then stalked off, using none of the speed I knew he had available to him.
Well, that was frustrating.
“You handled him well,” Fabian, who I had somehow forgotten was still there, chimed in.
It didn't feel like it.
“Trust me, you did. It isn't unheard of for a Dungeon Core to end up dying because of bad relations with a broken bond.”
Why didn't you warn me that was a possibility?
“Even if all of the conditions are met, something that's not exactly a common occurrence, a bond breaking like that is exceptionally rare. There have been attempts to intentionally get one that have failed for seemingly no reason. Generally, they are treated as more of a natural disaster rather than something that can be accounted for.”
I sighed internally. It was what it was, and as annoying as the brat seemed, I had more pressing concerns.
Hey, what do you make of this?
I sent him the error-filled notifications that I had received.
“That's … I don't actually know what to make it.”
His answer only served to make me feel even more uneasy. Him not knowing meant this wasn't a normal thing.
Okay, then what about this?
[Mana: 45/260 (261)]
[Stats: FORT 0, VIT 0, STR 0, END 0, SOUL 0 (1), MIND 0, WILL 0, COM 0, DEX 0 (1), AGI 0 (3)]
“What am I looking at? Which monster is this, and what did you do to it?”
Those are my stats. That Dragon Tamer achievement added them to my status.
“Dungeon Cores don't have stats.”
Well, I do, apparently. So, why can't I move despite having AGI and DEX, and why does the point in SOUL only give me one extra mana instead of ten?
“You're a Dungeon Core. How exactly do you expect to move?”
Isn't this world full of magic and wonder?
“Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that you're a lump of crystal.”
Great.
I had almost gotten my hopes up. Being what effectively boiled down to a disembodied perspective was limiting in many ways, yet I had come to realize it was freeing in many others. Still, the idea of moving on my own again was an enticing dream, one that would have never come true for me in my old world. The disappointment hit hard.
“What am I not understanding from your emotions?”
Ah, it's nothing.
“You know you can talk to me, right?”
I gave another mental sigh.
I haven't really told you anything about my old life, have I?
“No, you haven't. I didn't want to bring it up since getting dragged here was such a sore spot for you.”
I was crippled, Fabe. Worse, I was kind of wasting my life away. I was alive, but I sure wasn't living. I just kind of got my hopes up at the prospect of having DEX and AGI. Can we change the subject?
My fairy's response was a mixtures of surprise and fumbled sentences that didn't get past the first couple of words. Eventually, he took a deep breath and, without any hesitation, launched into a different explanation.
“So, Dungeons work on a different scale of magic compared to monsters and mortals. Ten of their mana only equals one of yours. That's why you only got one more, which you shouldn't have been able to in the first place.”
No guesses on what was up with the achievement?
“My best guess is that, since there is a Dungeon Dragon Tamer achievement and a mortal Dragon Tamer achievement with similar requirements and since you used to be a mortal, there was something weird there. The System rarely throws out errors, but when it does, it's usually believed to be caused by something that was never intended to happen. Soul Cores, what you are, aren't exactly natural, so that's probably the reason? I wouldn't worry too much about it.”
Intended by who?
“Excuse me?”
You said never intended. Never intended by who?
“The System, of course.”
Never mind.
I was getting nowhere with that line of questioning, so I moved on. I had a hoard room to dig after all.
“Um, Cameron?”
Yes?
“Just know that you can talk to me whenever, okay?”
Mm.