Chapter 24
By the time they made it to their destination, James’s mood had, to a small degree, improved. With the extra time to process everything, his mind, for better or worse, had compartmentalized everything, in an effort to make it feel less… overwhelming. There was a ton to do, but James couldn’t do it all on his own, nor did he need to. Everyone had tasks, and once those tasks were complete, only then, could they take additional steps forward. For now, his and Rue’s task was simple. Level up their dungeon and reach Tier 7.
Everything else didn’t matter, until that goal was accomplished. The cheers from adventurers and friendly greetings, as James and Rue walked through the Random Dungeon’s dungeon town, also didn’t hurt. The kind words, smiles, and eager attempts to get them to join in adventuring parties, helped fuel his desire to protect these people, and remind him that his decision was the right one.
“Nyx!” a loud voice called out his Avatar’s name as James and Rue stepped into the tavern. Called ‘Dicken’s Roost’, it was one of the most popular taverns in the dungeon town. It was also where The Knights Who Go Ni were currently relaxing. “Rue!” the voice continued to call out. It was Z, of course. “Come join us!” The elf lifted a tankard in their direction, and the rest of his party did likewise, all smiling and friendly. Even though James knew they’d just experienced a party wipe on his sixth floor, courtesy, according to Steve, of a When-Wolf ambush.
James smiled back at them, the motion still feeling somewhat strange in his current form. His ‘developer’ persona was in the body of an Archon. It came with a twisted, monstrous face, similar to a gargoyle. He’d been hoping, when he hit level 30, that he’d get wings through the race’s Primordial Manipulation aspect, part of why he’d picked the class. Instead, that bonus had triggered a delayed mutation. Promising at least 3 aspects to trigger at level 80. He and Rue were both currently level 79, the extra experience from the Siege battle on the fifth floor having pushed them close, yet not fully, to that mark.
“Don’t mind if we do.” Rue said allowed as she walked into the tavern, already motioning towards the barkeep for a drink. James watched her go for a moment, admiring her ‘developer’ Avatar. She’d picked Vampire as her race and was a Cleric of Blood. She wore robes crafted from Cyrus skin and Solar-Bear fur, that glowed with a strange energy, all courtesy of the fifth floor’s gear set. Atop her head, the Unique item drop she’d received during the Siege event, the sparking, crackling, Harbingers headpiece.
“We didn’t think we’d get to see the two of you again so soon,” Z stood and offered Rue a seat, speaking to the two of them as the reached the table. The other players were all glancing their way and chatting. Being ‘developers’ James and Rue’s names, visible above their avatars if someone focused, glowed differently. Of course, even without that, they’d made enough of a name for themselves that everyone knew who they were. Making fast friend with the Knights Who Go Ni, arguably the most famous adventuring group in all of DCO, had also improved James and Rue’s own notoriety.
“We’ve got a new dungeon feature we want to test out first hand,” James started, using the lie he and Rue had already discussed. “And we were actually hoping to run into you guys here. Steve mentioned this was one of your favorite spots to unwind.”
“Where is that spanker?” Oak asked, looking around the room for the ‘spanker’ that was Steve’s strange taunt utilizing tank class. The halfling developer avatar of course, was nowhere to be found. “I’d be more than happy to have him around again. It was nice not having to tank everything by myself. And I’m sure you guys already know all about the sixth floor.” He shuddered slightly, likely thinking about the swarming he’d gotten by the J-Kappa’s. “I would love to watch Steve tank that floor.”
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“He’s busy sadly,” James said as he sat down at the table. Everyone was sitting now, the game’s magic system having immediately summoned extra chairs for the newcomers. Arguably it made Z’s act of chivalry a moment ago pointless, as there was no need for him to give up his seat for Rue. Still, James knew Z, and he was just that good of a man. “But he sent his wishes.”
“He said he’d try to swing by before the end of this immersion cycle,” Rue added, as she sipped from a wooden mug. James watched for a moment, smiling slightly to himself as Rue’s fangs dripped the frothy liquid down her chin. She caught his gaze and licked the liquid away quickly.
“Well,” Z brought the attention back to him as he sat back, looking at the rest of his party, “you said you were looking for us right?” He smiled, and James couldn’t help but smile back, feeling the warmth of that look. If they were in one of the tabletop type immersion games, he’d swear Z had a 20 Charisma.
“That’s right,” James opened the menu option that existed at the tavern table, and quickly ordered a bit of food and a drink for himself, finding himself suddenly thirsty and famished. “We’re looking to do another run into the dungeon and could use some help if you’re all willing.”
“A chance to dive with Nyx the Inferno and Scarlet Ruby?” Z clapped his hands together, “we’d never pass up that offer.”
“Scarlet Ruby?” Rue asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Nyx the Inferno?” James said almost simultaneously.
“Those are the nicknames players have started assigning the two of you. Not sure who started them, but they’ve taken off pretty quickly.” Z looked around, “you two are minor celebrities after how well you two performed during the Siege.”
James shared a knowing look with Rue.
“Steve,” he said with a heavy sigh. Those names were definitely Steve names. Damnit Steve.
“Any way,” James cleared his throat as an adventurer dressed in tavern clothes brought him a steaming bowl of soup, a loaf of fresh bread, and a pint of… ice cold milk. Stress made for weird food choices, okay. “Have you guys heard about the new floor options for the first floor?”
“Git Gud Mode?” Z smiled, “Steve mentioned it to us when he was diving with us. Said there would be new variations of the floors soon. Told us they’d be listed as ‘hardcore’ floor variants.” Z looked at the others, “we glanced at them. Seems only the first floor is live. When you choose to dive into the dungeon it shows the two instances you can join for the first floor. The first is normal, the second has a glowing skull on it.”
“Yeah, that’s it.” James internally heavy sighed. Of course, Steve had mentioned that as well. The developer hadn’t liked being vetoed by his colleagues with regards to what to name the increased difficulty option. So, of course he’d spread the unofficial name amongst adventurers already. And if he could get the Knights to call it that, then the other players would follow along, and his name for it would become the ‘official’ name for the difficulty. If there was one thing Steve was good at, it was getting his way in the end, no matter how long it took. “We wanted to check it out, to see how it differs, and make sure everything runs smoothly connecting it to the other floors.”
James looked at Rue. “If you guys aren’t doing anything else, we’d appreciate your company for the dive, and then maybe we could keep climbing the Tower and push some levels,” for a moment, James’s excitement at the thought of diving the dungeon again as a player pushed his worries aside. The gamer in him wanted level 80, and even if he couldn’t purely focus on playing the game, hitting that level while putting in place the plan to get his dungeon to Tier 7, wasn’t something he’d complain about.
“Pretty sure we can do that,” Z looked at his guildmates, and they all offered him supporting nods. He looked back at James’s bowl and mug. “After you finish your…” he raised an eyebrow as he glanced from the red soup to the milk, “comfort food?” The Knights Who Go Ni, and Rue, started laughing at that.
James thanked all the gods in DCO that his gargoyle like face couldn’t blush, else he was certain he’d be as red as the tomato soup. Without saying anything else, he pulled apart his bread, perhaps a bit aggressively, and dunked it into the soup. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he took a bite, “it’s been a day.”