Eternal Dungeon POV

I watched as the raiding party retreated back to the Town of New Beginnings after defeating the village. At first I was going to be angry that they decided to make another raid, but I thought better of it. I wanted people to start exploring my next floor anyways plus with the next floor being a raid floor it only made sense to allow a raid to unlock it. I decided that I’d let it pass and even make an exception so that raids could challenge Hokoto without penalty.

The only reason I even got mad at that other raiding party was because they were children throwing a tantrum. They just kept trying to brute force the northern region without ever checking the other ones and after dying over and over again they decided to throw more bodies at the problem! I mean seriously, that zone was designed as the final area for this section of the dungeon so of course it's going to be too hard!

Knowing what I was able to create in terms of equipment, as well as how clear I made the different sections for people who wanted to level. It meant that I had to scale the difficulty accordingly. Anyone challenging the northern or southern areas after beating either the third or fourth floor would have at least two pieces of class equipment and a minimum item quality of greater. So the areas needed to be more challenging to compensate.

I did a quick overview of my plans in my head.

Center of the floor was the town with a safezone. Surrounding it was the intro area of the floor, plains that slowly turned to shrublands and then forest. This section had all the level 11-19 monsters and was meant to help those below those levels increase their power for the other areas of the floor.

The West was designed with a level 20 cap on the monsters and a level 25 cap on bosses. This meant that a group going through this zone could easily level up from 19 to 25 provided they do the event and fight the boss.

The East had a level 30 cap on the monsters and a level 35 cap on the boss. It was also a much harder area as the village is difficult enough to be a proper raid. However that difficulty can be lowered by completing special quests in the region and by eliminating goblin parties that leave the village.

The South had a level 40 cap on the monsters and would have a level 45 cap on the boss. It would also be the area where I placed the entry to the fifth floor once I leveled up. I wanted to make some kind of marsh or swamp similar to the flooded woodland that surrounds the lake. However I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to take fire or water as my next affinity, something that would definitely affect my final floor choice.

The North would have a level 50 cap on the monsters and a level 55 cap on the boss. It would be the hardest area of the floor which was intentional since it would be the entryway for reaching the next section of the dungeon.

I had planned on making my first ten floors in sections of five with a Hub floor that connected to all the other floors of its section. I had only come up with this idea after making my first floor so I cut the first floor from the plan and left it as an intro floor and decided to make the first section floors two through five. My next section would contain floors six through ten with six being the central hub floor. I had other things I wanted to try out once I got past level ten.

With my plans reaffirmed in my head, I moved my attention to something that had been bothering me for a while. My dungeon aura. I knew it could expand so long as I gave it mana, but I didn’t realize the extent of this and now my aura had expanded -

Level increased to 5 (New Perks available)

What? What died? I would check later, the system was sidetracking me. I needed to stay focused on what I was doing. Although I should at least pick my perks . . . NO! Stay focused, do it later, it's fine. Right, my aura.

My dungeon aura had expanded above ground as well as below ground. I knew it could since during the beginning I had to use the parts of my aura extending above ground to find things to sight copy, however I didn’t realize it could grow to this extent. Without me even noticing my dungeon aura had completely surrounded the adventurers outpost and was currently brushing against the gates of a town several miles away.

System, is this normal? Help me out here. I feel a rush of knowledge as the relevant information is given to me. Interesting, I do vaguely remember something about that coming up before. Unlike a normal dungeon that would barely be able to extend its aura a mile above ground, a True dungeon could expand its aura limitlessly until it filled is alloted area of the planet. The area we were given was equal to the total area of the planet equally divided amongst all True Cores.

In other words, on my current planet in which only one other True Core existed we each got half the planet. My mind spun at the sheer scope of overseeing an area that large. System planets were big and from what I knew, they could even grow. A System world was able to physically increase in size at a slow rate based on its mana saturation.

In the future I could theoretically be overseeing hundreds of thousands of acres of land with my aura. I could also utilize the full scope of my abilities within my aura and my dungeon creatures were only limited by . . my . . aura . . . I guess I didn’t need to worry about the Spiritkin leaving the dungeon. So long as I kept growing my aura it would be fine. Although the locals would definitely start losing their shit if they learned a dungeon could freely send its mobs outside of it.

For now I simply did a quick cursory glance over the entire area covered by my aura and then dedicated a larger portion of my mana generation to increasing my aura. I wasn’t going to overly worry about things at the moment. However it would be nice to have the ability to send my creatures into the world if the need arose.

With that bit of strangeness resolved I turned my attention back to my level up. I was now level 5 which meant I got some more perks, in this case it was just a lesser perk and a greater perk. I used the lesser perk to increase the level of Enhanced Potency to six and now I had to decide on my greater perk.

Thanks to my fourth floor I knew the power of fire mana. It would be nice to have the potent affinity at the ready for my use. I could already think of several uses for fire mana and several experiments I wanted to perform. It was the affinity of energy and it had a small presence in the majority of confluence affinities I saw.

With all that being said, water would make the most sense for my next floor. I wanted to expand upon the wetland area and water affinity made the most sense for that. I had a strong suspicion that wyld and water mana would confluence into some kind of swamp affinity, although I couldn’t confirm it yet. Water was the affinity of liquids and could be used for far more than just water. I was curious if I could use water and earth affinity to create a liquid metal themed floor in the future.

I let my mind wander through dozens of possibilities and outcomes as I internally debated what affinity would be best to pick. I was tempted to ask my chosen for their opinions on the matter, however this was something I needed to decide for myself. While it would affect them since they shared affinities with me, it wouldn’t affect them all that much in the long run because I planned on getting all the affinities. I lost myself to thought as I mulled over my options

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Water. It had to be water. As much as I loved the fire affinity and what it could do, water was the right call. My next floor would be important and I wanted to do it right. I wanted it to fit the theme that I had already planned out and water would help the most for this. Fire would be nice, but I would only have to wait for one more level before I could get it so it wasn’t that bad of a loss. With my mind made up I made the selection.

Greater Perk: Water Affinity

Gain access to Water Affinity Mana and Water Magic

10% Increase in mana potency to all dungeon creatures and objects that use the Water affinity

15% Increase in experience gained to all creatures with a matching affinity while inside your dungeon.

Alright, now I guess I can get started on my fifth floor. Still I wonder what died to give me the level up. I should check my aura memory to see what happened, I’m curious as to what finally pushed me over the edge.

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Ava’s Own POV

I stared down at the bridge that led to a small cave on the opposite cliff face. Two streams of water flowing to either side of the opening which is adorned with carvings of Wyrms and humans locked into combat. The carvings were not kind to the humans. The Bridge would be the last stable one that we could cross, all the other bridges below showing signs of decay.

I knew from the map that after we beat the boss of The Lost Mines we would then enter the second half of this floor, the Wyrmscale Caverns. According to the information Z found, the caverns would be another jump in difficulty with higher levels and stronger variants. The difficulty of the first section is already worrying enough so we didn’t plan on going very far into the next one.

“Is everyone ready?” I asked for the final time as we prepared to cross the bridge into the boss room.

The silent nods of agreement were all I needed. I pulled up the party interface and made sure the display didn’t interfere too much with my vision. I wanted to be able to keep an eye on my allies health and mana during this fight and needed to start trying to utilize the party interface better. We were already struggling on this floor due to the difference in levels, so far we’ve been surviving thanks to our high rank skills and my increased mana regeneration thanks to the dungeon.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

That being said, the level difference meant that we were gaining levels faster than normal. We had all reached the twenties with Z being the furthest ahead thanks to his ability to fight separately in the enemies backline. What was most impressive was definitely Hal’s growth, he was the furthest behind due to the class up reset and the penalty from using a legacy. Despite all that he had managed to reach level 21 and had already paid off half the experience penalty.

I was confident that with all of our skill and level increases we would be capable of beating the boss no matter what it was, well so long as it wasn’t Legendary rank.

I pushed that negative thought away as we finished crossing the bridge and returned my focus to the task at hand. Hal and Lia crossed through the opening first, with the rest of us following in formation.

We entered into a large ovular room with a dozen floor to ceiling stone pillars holding up the ceiling, six on each side of the room. On the opposite side of the room from where we entered was a large arched entryway currently sealed by a metal portcullis. The room appeared to have been made by carving directly into the gray stone that made up this floor. Several sconces placed on the walls and pillars lit up the room with a strange green flame. In the center of the room was a large carpeted area covered in what appeared to be large bat furs.

There was a single large kobold sitting in the center on a cushion, arrayed around him were four other normal sized kobolds. The larger kobold had shiny gray metallic scales and wore a full set of plate mail armor lacking only a helmet. In his hands he held a large gavel and had a whip resting on his hip. It almost looked like he was holding court with the other kobolds, delivering some kind of verdict to the smallest kobold in the room while the others watched on impassively.

As soon as we entered the larger kobold noticed us and became enraged. He shouted something in their strange language and all the kobolds drew arms to face us. I checked the tags.

Kobold Overseer (Superior) Level 35

Kobold Guard (Greater) Level 30

Kobold Guard (Greater) Level 30

Kobold Guard (Greater) Level 30

Kobold Laborer (Greater) Level 27

The guard and laborer variants we had seen before, although the guards were rare at first they appeared more the lower we went. The Overseer was definitely the boss, his level alone being enough to confirm.

“Plan C!” I called out before Dual Casting Enhanced Lifeform on Hal and Lia. As soon as I had done that I began a Speed Chant for my next spell.

Hal and Lia rush forwards while Z moves to the side and vanishes into the shadows. Hal rushes the smaller kobolds, pulling their attention while Lia goes for the Boss. Even though Hal is our main tank, Lia is better equipped to deal with a single target. Meanwhile Jay has already started and finished his chant for Frost Grasp causing a creeping layer of ice to start climbing up the bosses legs and rooting him to the floor.

Lia clashes with the boss and a flurry of strikes is exchanged. Despite being partially immobilized by Jay’s spell the Boss still manages to keep up with Lia’s attack. The Kobold Overseer is able to maneuver his gavel and whip in a martial dance of wild feints and parries, his style is surprisingly defensive allowing him to hold up and strike back. The telltale glow of mana shows that the Boss is using some kind of skill or ability to enhance his combat ability. Despite all this Lia still manages to fend off the monster while also stopping it from breaking free from Jay’s spell.

Hal and Z engage with the smaller kobolds, utilizing a tactic in which Hal locks down an opponent long enough for Z to deliver a critical blow to it. They work in tandem disabling each kobold one after another so that they can’t regroup and perform a counter attack. After half a minute of combat the first Kobold Guard falls to one of Z’s strikes right as I finish my chant.

“Mass Entangle” I speak the trigger and roots burst forth from the stoney floor to wrap around all the kobolds, including the boss. As soon as my spell is cast Jay uses Mirror Cast causing an icey mimicry of my spell to further entrap our foes.

“BURN HIM!” I shout and our frontline unleash their strongest attacks onto the Boss.

Lia’s Radiant Slash combo along with her Sword of Light cleave into the kobolds flesh, aimed right for his neck. Z uses his innate ability Target Weakness along with his newly Superior Shadow Pierce and Dual Wield skills to drive two daggers through the armpit of the kobold and towards his heart. Hal leaps at the Boss and activates his Momentum and Strike the Iron skills to increase his inertia before activating Metal Manipulation to form his shield into a large spike which he hammers into the Boss's head.

All of the attacks land and I watch as an explosion of gore covers the room in blood and viscera. Jay uses a minor ice spell to keep himself from being covered in blood, I have no such spell and simply accept my fate. Our frontline looked genuinely surprised that the Boss died after that. I don’t blame them, I’m also surprised that it went down that easily.

Then again, our party specializes in locking down an opponent and eliminating them while they can’t respond. It makes sense that we were able to secure the victory that easily. Jay snaps everyone out of our stupor when he Rapid Casts Ice Bolts into the surviving kobolds who are still stuck in the entangle. We quickly engage and finish off the remaining kobolds after that.

“That was far easier than the previous three fights we had to do” Z says, uncaring that he’s provoking fate with those words.

“Maybe it’s just because he didn’t have the numbers? Their ability to work together seems like their best strength so it would make sense that the fights against dozens of kobolds would be harder than a small group of elites?” Jay says in a questioning tone.

“Maybe.” I respond still thinking about the situation “The real question is whether or not we should proceed into the next layer” I finish turning towards the rest of my party.

Everyone takes a moment to think about it, a silence filling the room as we contemplate.

“I think we should take a look” Z is the first to respond.

“We came all this way, I agree we should at least look” Lia says

After confirmation from Hal and Jay we all agree to at least investigate the next area to see how difficult it is.

“First we should take a break and rest up, no point in going into the next zone unprepared” I say

Everyone agrees, taking seats on the ground or roaming to look around the room. I myself open up my system to check the notifications I’ve received from the fight.

Your level has increased to 27

Your skill [Leadership] has advanced from Greater Level 10 to Superior Level 0. Reach Superior Rank with your Class to advance it further.

Your party has defeated the Kobold Overseer, Boss of The Lost Mines.

You have received 500 EC

You have received a Token of Progression

First Completion Reward: 20 chunks of Mithril Ore

Your Progression has been updated

I was due that Leadership upgrade and I’m glad the fight pushed me over, even though I didn’t really do much leading. Maybe it counted all the premade plans I came up with for different Boss variants? The reward for beating the boss wasn’t as impressive as the one for completing the Royal Woods Questline. But it is only the first boss of the floor, the real floor boss will be at the end. I don’t know what a Token of Progression is, but I guess we’ll find out when we get back to the town. The first completion reward is definitely worth it. Mithril is a high grade metal and, although common, is worth quite a bit of money. I don’t know how many twenty chunks is, but any amount of mithril is a good reward.

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We spent four hours recovering from the boss fight and during that time we learned that our rewards were placed directly into our inventories. Turns out a chunk of mithril is one pound of the ore which is worth about 100 gold pieces. We could get more from processing the ore ourselves, but it's usually not worth the effort.

“Ok everyone, let's move out. We’ll check the next layer and then return if we either reach The Drop Shaft or things get dicey.” I ordered.

Everyone gets into formation and we proceed to the now open archway in the back of the room. I didn’t notice it, but according to Jay the portcullis raised after we killed the Boss. We walk through a long stone tunnel before entering an intersection room similar to the previous layers.

Lia and Hal move to check both of the tunnels while the rest of us stay within support range of both of them. After a quick confirmation that nothing is immediately present in either tunnel we proceed down the left one. Hal is in front with Lia behind us, a formation we adapted just for these tight tunnels.

As we’re waiting in a bend waiting for Z to disarm a tripwire I hear a soft clicking sound. My attention snaps to the walls just in time to see dozens of holes open up all around us as spears fly out of them. Time slows for me as Will to Live is applied as a buff. I manage to Dual Cast healing on myself and Jay trusting the others to survive this surprise attack.

Hal and Lia manage to tank the blows with their hearty constitutions and Z dodges just enough so that nothing vital is hit. I start to cast more healing when my world suddenly becomes nothing but empty nothingness. I feel a slight sense of disorientation along with a pulling sensation

Notice: You have died

Notice: You are being revived, you will lose 20% of your total experience

The pulling sensation intensified before I felt a jolt and my body shot up into a sitting position. I was inside my room in our house on the second floor. I looked around confused for a moment while I processed everything that had happened. We had been ambushed on the sixth layer and were killed in a brutal trap. I died. Fuck. Wait, the others!

I bolted up and ran towards Lia’s room only for us to meet in the hallway. There was a short moment of both of us just staring at the other before I rushed her and both of us collapsed onto the floor crying. We had all died. Not almost died. We died. If it wasn’t for this dungeon being the way it was none of us would still be around. I spent several minutes with Lia while the others all wandered into our hallway and joined us in venting our emotions. Even Z cried, CRIED, Z never cries.

We spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other's company and processing what had happened. I don’t know how other people were able to just move on so quickly from it. We decided that we needed to level up more before challenging the third floor again, we also needed better equipment.

The kobolds had lured us in with an easy boss fight and then crushed us in a brutal trap. I resolved myself to never get overconfident again, I refused to make the same mistakes twice.