Cameron
A few days passed with me doing little aside from shaping stone. It was tedious, but I was getting the results I wanted. The task was also made significantly easier thanks to my lack of uninvited guests.
At long last, I was done. I was sure that I would need to modify it countless times as I moved forward, but I was satisfied with my work for the time being. There was little in the way of practical additions left for me to work on.
[DP: 0 / 60]
With the purchase of two Trentis, I had reduced my Dungeon Points to zero. There was something satisfying about that.
Now what?
I had thought I would be able to enjoy some down time without anyone bothering me, but once my Dungeon was how I wanted it, I wasn't left with much else to do. I didn't even have anyone to talk to since I had refused to bond with my fairy, and he had left for the Fey Realm to search for useful information before things got so crazy he might not have the time to.
I felt a rush of excitement and glanced over at the Trenti that served as my personal guard. He was the one I decided to give a staff to. I put him in a new room I had hollowed out for my core. He was supposed to protect me if anything went wrong, but I currently had him smashing sticks with a rock. It wasn't glamorous work, but it was an efficient use of his time.
While I was limited in what I could personally create, my monsters weren't. It was true that they couldn't shape stone and monster organs with their minds like I could, but unlike me, they could build and craft, and my Trenti's hard work had finally been rewarded.
[Achievement gained: Monster Craftsmanship!]
Fabian had told me about this achievement ahead of time. He didn't think it was good, but even if only in the short-term, it was useful.
[Achievement: Monster Craftsmanship
Description: One of your monsters has learned a crafting skill.
Reward: The monster has gained 1 level in the crafting skill!]
[Skill: Woodworking
Level: 2
Description: This skill allows you to efficiently carve wood with precision.]
I watched my monster carefully as it stopped smacking the stick aimlessly. It stared at the rock for a moment. Then, it flipped it over in its hand and started scraping the stick with it. The change was both instant and drastic.
Nice. Now, if only I could learn skills.
That thought brought my mood down. I had been shaping stone continuously for days on end, but sadly, there was no stone shaping skill, or at least, there wasn't one that Dungeon Cores could learn. That was because Dungeon Cores inherently couldn't learn skills. That wouldn't be too bad on its own, but there was one thing in particular that had been rubbing salt in that wound ever since I arrived in this dreamland.
[Ability: (Unique) Heroic Adaptability
Description: You are undaunted, and your resolve is unwavering. You can adapt to any situation, and you benefit from an accelerated learning speed.
Effect: Your willpower is reinforced with Heroic power, and your skill growth rate is increased by +50%.]
Since I was a Dungeon Core, I couldn't take advantage of the second half of that effect. I also couldn't take advantage of the first half of it for the same reason. Dungeons didn't have attributes like people and monsters did. I had no WILL stat to be reinforced. To make it worse, according to my title, my Heroic Ability was supposed to suit me. What was with that?
It didn't provide me with a single usable effect, yet the System had the audacity to insist that it suited me. I got that it was given to me with the assumption that I'd be human, probably, but what really fed into my growing resentment for the System wasn't the lack an effect. It was the fact that, even if it did work properly, the skill still would have been about as far from suitable for me as possible. I was not adaptable. I was not undaunted, my will not unwavering. When life had knocked me down, I had stayed down. Adaptable was the last thing I was.
My distraction, something I had been looking forward to, had sent my mood spiraling downward instead of lifting it, so I left my Trenti to his work to do what I did best: throw myself into meaningless tasks. It was my preferred coping mechanism.
Without anything more pressing to take care of, I started beautifying my new home. The task was easier said then done. A damp and dreary cave remained just that no matter how much you pushed the stone around, and I didn't have any better method of working on it.
I wasn't sure how much time passed. The sun was out when I started, and it was still out when I was interrupted, so it couldn't have been too long, probably. From the time I got trapped in that void till now, one thing had become abundantly clear: I couldn't accurately estimate time if my life depended on it. I had given up trying, so I just accepted that some amount of time had passed before I heard voices from outside my cave. Silently lamenting that I hadn't been able to do more than shape the entryway, I mentally commanded my monsters to get ready and braced myself.
I couldn't shift my vision any further than my entrance, so I watched from there as three figures approached. To my surprise, I knew one of them, and the other two looked vaguely familiar. The skinny human of the group was wearing some fancy gray robes and carrying a silver staff with what looked to be a large emerald affixed to the tip.
Isn't that the wizard guy's apprentice?
I was fully aware the person I was referring to wasn't a wizard, but there was no way I was letting Fabian convince me to stop calling him that. It just felt right.
“Remember,” the individual in question told his two companions, “there are Shadow Vipers hiding in here. Be ready for a strike from anywhere.”
“I got it,” the young man with animal ears and a tail responded as he took point.
According to what Fabian had told me, he and the girl next to him with similar features were called beastkin in this world. Beastkin shared features with various animals, but aside from a general canine look, I couldn't tell for sure what type the two were.
I kind of regret not choosing Analyst now.
Analyst was a trait that allowed a Dungeon Core to see the statuses of individuals in their Dungeon, and it was a trait my fairy had tried to convince me to take. He hadn't succeeded.
The three formed into a small line before entering through my newly carved stone arch. It looked much nicer than the crack in the hill had, especially with its decorative and meaningless squiggly lines, but they didn't stop to admire it. The sole girl of the group took the middle position, and the apprentice took rear.
As they began their descent into my Dungeon, the apprentice produced a glowing jar from his bag and held it up with one hand to light their way. It wasn't flashlight strong, but it did the job.
Is he using that because it's dangerous to use fire underground, or is it because something like that is common for alchemists?
I didn't have anyone to answer my questions, so I continued watching.
“Do these carvings mean anything?” the girl who was wrapped in a green cloak and carrying a bow asked as she placed a hand to the wall during their descent down my new short staircase.
The apprentice who was at the rear visibly jumped at her words as he sputtered, “Pro-probably not. Dungeons sometimes form designs on flat surfaces, but they're entirely decorative.”
“Yeah?” the male beastkin armed with a spear butted in, “Just how many Dungeons have you been in?”
“Uh, just … just this one.”
“Ugh, stop teasing him Dan, and focus. You're supposed to be our vanguard,” the girl chided the one leading their group as she rolled her eyes.
The beastkin I now knew to be named Dan gave a large shrug as he continued walking, completely unfazed. The apprentice's face, on the other hand, went beet red.
I examined them closer, wondering why the girl looked familiar despite me never having seen her before. Then, it dawned on me. Her lightly freckled face, tannish brown hair, amber eyes, and sharp nose, I had seen them before. She was the spitting image of the young girl who found me alongside the orc boy, only a little older.
Sisters maybe?
I pushed those thoughts out of my mind along how similar the male beastkin of the group looked to them. It was interesting, but I was more concerned with what was about to happen.
As soon as they finished descending my stairs, they readied themselves. I had modified the main room of the Dungeon significantly, and from the look of amazement on their mage's face, it hadn't gone unnoticed.
Before, the first room of the cave was maybe twice the size of a living room and almost round in shape, but only if you squinted hard. Now, it was longer and formed something of a, “T” shape. The entrance was at the bottom. At the top of the, “T” and to the left, there was a sloping path upward where a Trenti stood next to a giant, round boulder with a stick. In the opposite direction, I had dug a pit ten feet deep. On the other side of that pit, I placed an entrance small enough that a person would have to crawl through it. My core was hidden on the other side of that tunnel.
From the stairway, they could see my first Trenti standing in the center of the room. As soon as he saw it, the apprentice went from looking around with awe to doing the same with concern. From the way his eyes darted from the ceiling, to the crevices around them, and back, it looked like my rock trap and Shadow Viper had left an impression. I felt some satisfaction at that.
As the group braced themselves for a fight, the Trenti began charging toward them with its stick. The group's archer nocked an arrow, but before she could fire, a strike from the other one's spear hit the little monster in the face.
Ouch. That has to hurt.
The Trenti had a bad gash ripped open across its face, but it was still alive. After taking the hit, it dropped its stick and raised its hand toward its attacker. Just then, the girl fired her arrow. It flew straight past the monster, but she didn't miss her mark. On the other side of the room, I had ordered my second Trenti to join the fray. It had barely rounded the corner before it took an arrow to chest.
She, with the deftness of someone who was clearly well-practiced, rapidly nocked and landed another shot to its body before the closer monster managed to let out its Spore Wave. It hit all three of them.
The apprentice stumbled back, dropping his jar in the process. The girl missed her next shot as the magical spores sent jolts of pain through her body. Dan, well, he just kept stabbing. The Trenti went down fast, but it did manage to fire another Spore Wave before it fell. This time, the attack only managed to hit hit their melee fighter. A moment later, I got a notification.
[Your Trenti (Level 1) was slain! 3 experience gained.]
Only three?
When I made my Dungeon selections, Fabian did use the fact that higher leveled monsters would reward both their killers and me with more experience, but I didn't realize how little experience a level one monster gave
Suddenly, his insistence that my choices were bad makes more sense.
I was soon shaken from my distracted state when the situation in front of me got dire. The other Trenti had closed in enough to land a Spore Blast of its own. A moment later it took one final arrow to the face and fell dead, but the damage was already done.
[Your Trenti (Level 1) was slain! 3 experience gained.]
The spear wielder had taken the first Spore Wave without flinching. He had also pushed through the second well enough. The third staggered him. The bite from the Shadow Viper that followed took him off his feet.
He's not going to die, right?
I was genuinely concerned. I didn't exactly trust the alchemist's apprentice, but I had nothing against these people. I wanted to avoid killing them unless I absolutely had to, and even then, I still wouldn't want to.
Fear building up within me, I braced myself for the incoming guilt and regret. Then, the apprentice leaped forward. He threw a bottle at the snake. It exploded on impact.
[Your Shadow Viper (Level 1) was slain! 2 experience gained.]
Then, green light flowed from the apprentice's staff and into the writhing Dan. Afterward, he practically threw himself on top of the guy to shove a vial of something down his throat.
Slowly, the spear wielder's erratic movements calmed. The girl crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder before asking, “Daniel, are you okay?”
“Yeah, don't worry about me, sis. Just make sure nothing else ambushes us. And, Lawrence–”
The apparent healer of the group's face went white as he scrambled off of his companion and asked, “Y-yes?”
“I take back every bad thing I've ever said about you. You saved my life. Thanks.”
“Uh, right,” he answered dumbly as he extended a hand to help his downed friend to his feet.
The trio hesitantly looked around. That was it for the monsters in the room, though. I still had my strongest two tucked away, but I sure wasn't going to send either of them after the group, especially not after watching that.
“I'm fine to walk on my own, but I don't think I'm carrying those things back to town. Think you two can manage it?” the injured member of the group asked.
“Yeah, my master only needs one of each, so I can handle the Trenti. Autumn, can you carry the Shadow Viper?”
“Yeah, it's no sweat. I'll get the other goblin wannabe too. My strength is high enough.”
After that, they collected the corpses and made a swift exit. I was relieved both that the one didn't die and that they didn't insist on trying to mess with my core. That second part was a welcome change of pace.
With the trio gone, I started summoning my monsters again. I also absorbed the glowing liquid Lawrence had spilled.
[You have absorbed 8 units of Light Magic Infused Water! Absorb 12 more units to unlock this item.]
Nice!
I had a few ideas I could put in place if I could get some more of that water.