Chapter IV

Elran sensed Cabryn’s return. Elran returned his sight to where his core was in the second room from the entrance. Jaws was sitting under the Lipi Tree on top of his bedroll with a handful of Smoals flying around him or resting on him.

A bulky, green goblin with two backpacks on his back came confidently marching into the room with a wide, toothy smile. His clothes were tattered, revealing his muscled limbs. While not as tall as Jaws, he was wider.

The goblin marched right in front of the stalagmite and kneeled, in a familiar baritone, “Lord Elran, forgive me for my absence these past 3 days.” A gobbo came pattering into the room with a pack on its back, taking a spot behind Cabryn.

Welcome back, Cabryn. Your packs are full, and you have returned stronger. It seems your trip was very successful.

“Indeed it was,” Cabryn began to take the pack off of his back.

Three rooms behind us is the final room of the floor. Next to it I have made into a new room to house my core. You managed to get here right as I was finishing up what I could do with what I have.

“It does feel as if I am still outside. The changes are remarkable, Lord Elran.”

Jaws had finished stretching at this point, having stood when Cabryn entered the room, “Look at this strapping goblin! You must have had a rough time out there, and in a good way too.” Jaws gave Cabryn a friendly slap on the back, giving Cabryn a look over.

“Your advice was invaluable, I believe we should have what Lord Elran needs now,” Cabryn gave a friendly grasp onto Jaws’s shoulder.

Elran Switched his view into the new meeting room, collapsing the stalagmite he had been using into the earth in the room he had been in. In the new room was a simple stone pillar, the same stone as the walls of the dungeon. In front of his new pillar, Elran had raised a wide stone table from the ground since items were brought to him every now and then.

While waiting for Cabryn to enter the room, Elran reviewed his notification.

*Cabryn has learned Dungeon Scouting lvl 1. Cabryn has evolved into a goblin. Creation list updated. Cabryn has learned knife skills level 3. Cabryn has learned Tactics level 2.*

Elran quickly flipped to his monster list, seeing that he now had two creatures he could make; the gobbo and the goblin.

“Lord Elran, the dungeon has grown and changed wonderfully, while I was gone,” Cabryn said as he entered the room. “And this room is much more fitting than the previous for offerings.” His gobbo follower trailed behind him.

Elran checked his mental map, seeing that Jaws had stayed behind in the central room. Elran also noticed that the glow around the rooms was weaker than before. ‘Looks like the plant life and insects I added are using up the energy just like a trap would.’

Thank you, Cabryn. I am looking forward to what you have brought me.

Cabryn advanced to the wide table, laying his two packs on the end. Looking behind himself, he reached out and put the pack from the gobbo on the table. “My Lord, to begin, I will start by apologizing for having lost one of the gobbos you entrusted to me.” Reaching into the pack, Cabryn pulled out a bundle of fur with a wolf’s skull on top. “He has been avenged by my hand, and I have brought the gobbo’s heart back wrapped in the fur of the wolf that killed him, along with the wolf’s skull.” Cabryn gently laid the bundle on the table.

Elran absorbed the bundle, feeling his points get a slight bump. Elran was much happier to understand the wolf from the parts he had absorbed. Elran could now create a third creature to guard the dungeon. Thank you for returning the fallen home. Now, show me what you have brought from outside.

“Yes, my lord. Our first objective was the camp site the miners were using. There we found some items they had left behind. There I awoke to the dungeon scout skill and was able to tell between what we could use for new materials and what we already had.” Cabryn pulled out a bundle of canvas, “I believe this thicker fabric is something we can make use of,” and laid it on the table. “There was also this small hammer and hand ax,” Cabryn laid the tools next to the canvas. “They had some rations of dried meats and breads, so I brought a sampling that felt like it should be enough to gain.” Cabryn laid out the food on the table next.

Elran absorbed the items, feeling the patterns of the new items enter his list. ‘Learning new objects and materials, this satisfaction!’

Cabryn had laid out several new items on the table. Pointing at the first with his clawed hand, “We found various metals and minerals in their camp as well. I grabbed everything the Dungeon Scout skill reacted to as I held them.” Elran absorbed the materials, enjoying the influx of knowledge as Cabryn readied the next pack.

Cabryn laid out a collection of branches, leaves, roots, and sticks, “We collected as large of a variety of the local plants as we could. With my ability as low as it is, this is what I found.”

Elran quickly absorbed the new collection, Do not be worried about your performance. You have brought me many new materials to work with, along with a new creature I can use along with your impressive new evolution to goblin. I can create more goblins now.

Cabryn smiled wide, it reminded Elran of Jaws’s smiles. “You will be pleased with the last batch of items I have for you.” Cabryn pulled out two small and furry creatures, one scaled creature even smaller than the other two, some kind of sludge held in broad leaves and multiple colors, and a large bone.

Elran absorbed the last set. The larger of the two furry creatures was a Shaded Fox. The smaller was a Benning Hare. The goop in the leaves turned out to be several kinds of slimes. Elran could now make blue, red, and green slimes. The little scaled creature was a Turkey Lizard. The bone wasn't enough to unlock a creature, but Elran could feel a partial understanding that the bone came from a large creature, something strong.

“We ended up killing a number of slimes as we searched for plants and game. We were distracted with slimes when that wolf pounced.”

I can see that the loss of your subordinate troubles you. I can only tell you this. It is best to appreciate what you have while you have it. While it is important to grieve, do not forget what’s important and still around you.

Cabryn nodded his head, turned around, and hugged the gobbo tight to his chest, “Thank you, Lord Elran. I will learn from my mistakes and do better.”

*Cabryn has gained the rare skill Retinue. Cabryn has learned leadership level 2.*

The gobbo in Cabryn’s arms was surrounded by a sudden puff of a blue-ish gray mist, causing Cabryn to step back. The mist cleared and the gobbo had evolved to a full goblin, slightly taller than Cabryn, but much thinner.

“Beralt! You have evolved.” Cabryn grabbed the goblin back into his arms. “And with this new skill, I’ll be able to bring you back.” Cabryn took a breath to settle himself and turned back to Elran. “Lord Elran, I will only be able to take Beralt outside the dungeon with me now until I level my leadership more.”

Do not worry, Cabyn. I am pleased to see you so happy.

Cabyrn bowed his head, “thank you Lord Elran. Your advice lead me to this gift. My retinue will be stronger, although less numerous.”

Beralt bowed deeply to Elran, “thank you, my liege.”

“The good news is my retinue members will have a much higher access to my skills,” Cabryn said.

Maybe you two should go for another material run. See if you can’t find anything rare.

“That will be a great opportunity to test our team work.”

I will look forward to your results.

“Thank you, Lord Elran.” Cabryn and Beralt both bowed and left the room.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen that happen,” Jaws said, filling the silence, walking closer to where Elran floated in the middle of the room.

Evolution? Or was it the skill?

“I’ve never seen a skill cause an evolution, but not only have I not seen the skill, I’ve never seen any kind of servant have it’s own king of servant,” Jaws said, scratching at his chin, staring at the direction Cabryn had left.

Jealous, Jaws?

Jaws’s head twisted towards Elran, a little surprise showing on his face, but then he broke out into loud laughter, holding his stomach, “on the contrary, Lord Elran. I am happy for him. I am sure his new strength will be impressive.”

I am happy too, seeing Cabryn grow and succeed.

Elran turned his attention back to his dungeon. The smoals were thriving in the dungeon, maybe too much. The smalls had rapidly bred and filled the rooms. People exploring the caves would have trouble seeing through a room due to their numbers. Not that Jaws cared about the problem as he ran through the rooms with a smile on his face when they had become that thick in the air. Elran gained an instinctual knowledge of the small creatures he absorbed. The Turkey Lizards would be a good predator to keep their numbers in check.The foxes can eat the lizards and hares. Dungeon explorers can catch the foxes and jackrabbits too.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

While playing around with the creature spawns, Elran had noticed he could make the floor a random spawning area for a creature. He didn’t want to have to set lizards per room. For the nine rooms with smoals in them, six lizards would help trim the numbers. The Shaded Foxes would eat them too, though the foxes prefer meat. Alran added four foxes to spawn on the floor. The Benning Hares would be a good resource for the floor for their pelts and meat, so Elran set eight to spawn on the floor.

Now I just need to make some spots for metal to be mined. Maybe a spot to quarry stone would be a good idea too. Elran reviewed his list of materials.The metals available were copper, tin, iron, and silver. While Elran had granite, marble, sandstone, and limestone available. That prospector that had died in the first room had a few stone samples on him. Too bad there weren't more types of metals. Elran focused into a corner room near the entrance and cleared out the corner pointing away from the dungeon. I’ll put a spot for Wildings to quarry stone from here. Being closer to the exit should make it more convenient. Elran considered his four stone materials, wanting the four types to spawn in a cycle each day. Elran saw a large projection of rock filling up the entire section of room he had intended to use for the stone, but the image was red. Red means it can’t be placed. I should be able to overwrite things in the room, so I don’t think anything is blocking me. Elran tried moving the image around the room, like he had with the spike trap. The image wouldn’t flicker to blue.

It would be nice to have the sage’s help for this. Elran switched to his mental map of the dungeon and tried dragging the stone deposit all over the map. Getting annoyed, Elran dragged it around rapidly, hoping for a flash of blue somewhere.

The map looks different. Elran looked closely at the map then at the walls in the room. The glow on the walls in the map was very faint. Examining the walls, Elran could feel there wasn’t much energy in them.

‘Sage, I have a basic question about traps and how they draw on energy from the dungeon. Why is the ambient energy in the dungeon so low now?’

*I suppose I can answer that, though I can see the information helping your task. But the fundamental information you are asking about is basic towards dungeon creation. Basically, you yourself have run out of energy. Like traps, animals or other features that you add to the room, such as your faux night sky with stars, use up the dungeon energy. You may have forgotten that energy is provided by your core.

‘I had forgotten. There’s just so much going on.’

*Don’t be worried, you are a new core. You will adjust.*

‘Thank you, Sage.’ Elran pulled up the parchment to review his complexity upgrade, with the next level costing thirty points. Elran turned to his status page for the numerical value of his points. He could feel it wasn’t bad but looking at the numbers would help.

’326 points? That’s more than I was expecting.’ Elran reviewed his map, checking Jaws’s point income, which had slightly increased. The increase wasn’t enough to explain having more points than expected.

While idly pondering his points, Elran decided to do some more complexity increases, confirming to spend 30 points on his third increase. Seeing the fourth was 40 he rapidly confirmed that as well. The fifth jumped up to 100 points, but that was comfortably in the budget, so Elran confirmed that too with a mental shug.

An electric jolt hit Elran inside of his core, the sensation spiraling from about the middle of his center, spiraling outwards. ‘Maybe three upgrades in a row wasn’t a good idea..’ A strong pull on Elran shook his core, with what felt like unfolding on his surface but the opposite sensation pulling and folding inside his core. While not painful, the sensation of his insides folding while his outer layer unfolded caused Elran to inwardly squirm. The changes felt like they lasted for hours. ‘Three upgrades was too much.’

The folding sensations finally came to end and a pleasant chime filled the air. *Complexity increase completed. Core has evolved from a preciou stone to a gem. PPI increased. Point costs adjusted. Framework updated. Favor Increased. Dungeon Sense Improved. Creation options increased.*

With his senses clearing up, Elran noticed shouting, which was coming from the room his core was in and shifted his view over.

What’s going on?

“Lord Elran!” Cabryn and Jaws shouted.

Jaws spoke up first, “Your core evolution into a gem form is amazing. I have heard of core’s lucking into an early gem form before, but that was after a full year. Although, there was one that started in gem form. It was my master Ric’art.”

Elran looked to his core from his perspective floating in the middle of the room. The core was just about half the size of a goblin head at this point. The top was wide, with angles and surfaces catching and refracting the light, tapering down to a point on the bottom. His core slowly rotated in the hair, a soft silvery glow radiating outward.

Cabryn, you have returned? Was I out for long?

“I sensed a surge in the dungeon. As I had no idea what it was, I came running back to you as quickly as I could. Thankfully, I found Jaws celebrating here as your core was surrounded in a bright light.”

Jaws laughed, “while I have never seen a core evolve before, my instincts wouldn’t lie. I could tell something good was happening.”

My apologies for worrying you, Cabryn. I was just doing some upgrades. Cabryn bowed to Elran and left the room.

“Lord Elran, Cabryn is slo loyal to you. He reminds me of myself when I had been first bestowed.”

Cabryn puts in his best and is very earnest. I will treasure him.

“It’s too bad there are no towns or any population centers nearby. You make him into a wildling, he’d take over the town and run it for your benefit.” Jaws watched Cabryn leave, with his wide toothy smile.

I can bestow into Wildlings?

“Definitely, when you have enough of an understanding of a Wildling race, you can create them and bestow your servants into them.”

Wouldn’t Wildlings be the best type of dungeon defenders?

“They aren’t dungeon compatible. A complete floor needs creatures or spawns in it of some kind. While Wildlings produce the best points in their presence and their deaths, they interfere with dungeon functions. Creatures and traps could accidentally kill friendly Wildlings. They also disrupt a dungeon’s ability to build or create,” Jaws explained all this with his arms crossed.

Good to know for when we get Wildlings around again.

“Just keep building up as you have been. We’re pretty far out from everything here in the Sticks. So while you may face a lot less danger, your growth will be slower.”

I’ve heard you mention the Sticks before. What is it?

“On Terra, we are on the Aegis continent. A large central part of the continent had been the site of a battle between celestials. The air and ground were damaged. Magic mostly doesn’t function here, occasionally going wild. Neutral nations also avoid the sticks because they like the benefits of magic. Although it’s habitable, you’ll find towns or villages along the fringes. A side effect is dungeons are unable to expand into the sticks and dungeon creatures may get various conditions, often losing control of themselves.”

Is Cabryn safe out there?

Jaws laughed a little, looking down, “He is fine. In here there is no presence of the miasma from the battle and outside of your dungeon there are few traces. I warned him what to look for the first time he went out.”

Are you ok, Jaws? Didn’t you have to go through to reach me?

Jaws looked up towards Elran, “when I heard you, I ran towards you quickly. Fortunately, everything has worked out and we are both safe.”

Agreed. I am fortunate to have you here. With those increases I have now finished for my complexity, along with the extra power I can feel inside of myself from the evolution, I feel ready to finish up some designs for my first floor.

“You are doing great, Lord Elran. I’ll be enjoying all the Smoals in the central room before the animals you added balance things out,” Jaws turned and walked out to the boss room.

‘Time to build more dungeon.’ Elran returned to the corner room. Elran could feel the energy in the walls now. ‘Dungeon energy shouldn’t be a problem now.’ Elran brought up his image of the rotating stone spawn with a wave of relief as the image appeared blue in his sight and confirmed its placement.

Elran watched the outline fill in with his power. As the image filled, a small parchment note popped into view with details about the object. Currently the node was marble and by default would refill once a day. The type of stone would cycle equally once each day. ‘I need to find more types of stone so I can make it seven types, one for each day,’ Elran thought while laughing to himself.

Elran switched to the other corner by the entrance and molded a similar node of a large amount of stone to take up a large section of a room, but this one alternated between having veins of copper, tin, iron, and silver. Elran merged another pattern together that had veins of all four metal types. This node was smaller than his stone node, but Elran was able to adjust it to regrow every few hours as he connected the node to the room and the parchment appeared, allowing Elran to adjust the settings.

‘This seems like a lot of resources to me, now I just need to put the metal nodes in the other corners of the dungeon.’ Elran added a metal node to the corner rooms before the safe room.

Elran pulled up the dungeon interface. Something tickled at the corner of his mind. ‘This dungeon sense might be helpful if what I think is right.’ On the main parchment page, which Elran thought of like a table of contents, there was now a line for Quest Log. Elran selected the quest log and was able to review the divine quest:

Create a high resource ecosystem on the first floor of your dungeon

Create at least seven rooms

Create a safe room

The second and third lines were gray and light in color. ‘I made more than seven rooms. I was confident I had made the tenth room a safe zone, but seeing it gray like the seven room option must mean I did succeed. Didn’t Jaws mention a dungeon floor isn’t complete without monsters?’

Elran switched to his list of monster patterns he knew. ‘Gobbos, goblins, wolves, and slimes don’t feel like much.’ Thinking back to when he combined the grass patterns, Elran pulled up a gobbo and wolf pattern and moved them together. The outlines changed red as they met. Elran idly bounced the patterns apart and back together again, watching the outlines go from blue to red and mentally sighed. ‘It must be possible in some way. Wait!’ The pattern flashed brightly.

*Merge Complete. Please name your new creature. New goblinoid retains the pack loyalty and hunting tactics of wolves with the general body shape of a wolf.

Elran could see a pattern of a stocky, green haired gobin with a long snout. It’s slightly shorter than a goblin but with thicker, leaner muscles. ‘Looks like a Golflin to me. And it looks much stronger. Probably not a floor one creature. Looks like the success rate isn’t one hundred percent. At least I can retry merges.’ Elran tried repeating the experiment with the same two creatures. Elran bounced the wolf and goblin together long enough that he even started to notice he was taking up a lot of time, at least enough to feel bored. ‘I can retry it, but there is a time cost. Just a few more times.’ On the third bounce after that the patter flashed again.

*Merge Complete: Please name your new creature. New wolf is shrunk to around half the size of a wolf, becomes green, and loses its fur. Creature is less intelligent than a wolf.*

Elran could make out a small, green, hairless dog with a bit of a droopy face and wide-set eyes. ‘This one feels a lot less threatening than a wolf. These experiments will fill the time when I’m not building. I’ll call it a Golf.’

‘Let’s test out the limits on this,’ Elran. Elran made an image of a goblin and a Shaded Fox. As the images came together, they turned red. ‘If it fails with a red outline, I think it may work.’ Elran mashed the two images together, trying to see if he could flick them together back and forth more rapidly than before.

‘I feel like I need something a bit more… thematic for the first floor. Something that really ties it together. I want it to feel right. Especially since it has a look, scent, and is full of resources.’

Elran let the patterns mash together as he let his mind wander, ‘