Chapter 8

Jack rested his elbows in his knees and his face in his boney hands. Remaining in this pose for well over an hour as he thought long and hard about what he just saw.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck… fucking fucker…” Jack signed while rubbing his temples from stress.

Looking up, he checked the notification once again.

Notice!

You now have access upgrades option with use of the Upgrade Point system!

Upgrade Points

Upgrade points are points earned by completely quests, creating new items/loot, or defeating delvers/adventurers.

Completing Quests = Varies

Creating Item/Loot = 1 to 5

Defeating Delvers/Adventurers = 1 for defeating 50

Attention!

You have earned Upgrade Points!

You have defeated 37,697 people and used their life essence to awaken the dungeon core.

Due to your overwhelming triumph, you’re the amount of Upgrade Points received will be adjusted from 1 point for 50 to be 1 point for 10 for this one-time circumstance.

Upgrade Points Available:

3,769 Points available.

Dungeon Upgrade Option Menu

Current Available Upgrades

AREA OF CONTROL EXPANSION UPGRADES

1. Area Expansion [Repeatable] (Cost: 3 Points)

o Description: Expands the dungeon’s territory by an additional 200 feet in all directions.

o Effect: Increases the overall size and complexity of the dungeon, allowing for more rooms, traps, and mob placements.

2. Create Pocket Dimension (Cost: 200 Points)

o Description: Adds a hidden, alternate space within the dungeon that can house unique challenges, mobs, or treasures.

o Effect: This pocket dimension can only be accessed through specific portals within the dungeon, adding a layer of mystery and difficulty.

MOB UPGRADES

1. Constructed Guardians and Undead Construct Hybrids (Cost: 30 Points)

o Description: Unlock powerful constructs, including hybrids that combine undead and mechanical elements.

o Effect: Introduces mobs like Iron Golems, Clockwork Sentinels, and hybrid creations such as Skeletal Watchers, blending necromantic and mechanical components.

2. Restless Spirits (Cost: 10 Points)

o Description: Introduce ghostly apparitions that are bound to specific objects or areas within the dungeon.

o Effect: These spirits cause minor disturbances and psychological tension, unsettling adventurers without overwhelming power.

3. Reanimated Guardians (Cost: 20 Points)

o Description: Unlock a new type of mob that combines the resilience of the undead with the strength of constructs.

o Effect: Introduces mobs like Reanimated Sentinels or Bone-Bound Guardians, heavily armored and equipped with weapons, making them tough opponents.

AVATAR UPGRADES

1. Hardened Bones (Cost: 40 Points)

o Description: Strengthen the physical durability of the dungeon avatar.

o Effect: The avatar's bones are reinforced, making it more resistant to physical damage.

2. Arcane Knowledge (Cost: 120 Points)

o Description: Enhance the avatar’s magical abilities by deepening its knowledge of arcane arts.

o Effect: The avatar gains access to basic spells, such as magical barriers, minor illusions, or elemental bolts, adding tactical options.

3. Teleportation (Cost: 80 Points)

o Description: Allow the avatar to teleport to any part of the dungeon.

o Effect: The avatar can teleport to any location within the dungeon once every 3 hours, providing mobility and strategic flexibility.

4. Reinforced Frame (Cost: 40 Points)

o Description: Improve the physical structure of the avatar, making it more robust.

o Effect: The avatar’s frame is reinforced, increasing its overall health and resilience to damage.

DUNGEON ABILITIES

1. Adaptive Defenses (Cost: 40 Points)

o Description: The dungeon becomes more responsive to intruders who pose a direct threat to its core.

o Effect: When adventurers attempt to destroy the dungeon’s core or critical structures, the dungeon actively deploys mobs or alters the environment to defend itself.

2. Arcane Nexus (Cost: 90 Points)

o Description: Create a central focus for magical energy within the dungeon.

o Effect: Establishes a chamber or area where mana is concentrated, boosting the magical abilities of mobs and the avatar within that space.

3. Mana Circulation (Cost: 150 Points)

o Description: Improve the flow of magical energy throughout the dungeon, enhancing its overall functionality.

o Effect: The dungeon gains a network of mana conduits that circulate magical energy, improving the efficiency of mob summoning, trap activation, and other magical effects.

4. Illusionary Walls (Cost: 25 Points)

o Description: Introduce false walls and passages that can deceive adventurers.

o Effect: The dungeon can create illusionary walls or barriers that appear solid but are not, misleading adventurers and hiding traps, mobs, or secret areas.

LOOT UPGRADES

1. Alchemical Ingredients (Cost: 10 Points)

o Description: Introduce rare and valuable ingredients used for crafting potions, poisons, and other alchemical products.

o Effect: Adventurers can find various alchemical materials within the dungeon, making it a target for those seeking to craft powerful consumables.

2. Basic Enchanted Items (Cost: 40 Points)

o Description: Add simple enchanted items to the loot pool, such as weapons with minor elemental effects or trinkets that offer small bonuses.

o Effect: These items provide small, useful effects without being game-breaking, attracting low to mid-level adventurers.

3. Cursed Coins (Cost: 2 Points)

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

o Description: Introduce cursed currency to the dungeon's loot, which appears valuable but carries negative effects.

o Effect: Cursed coins can be found alongside normal loot but bring bad luck or minor curses to those who take them.

4. Mystical Components (Cost: 80 Points)

o Description: Add components used for crafting or upgrading magical items.

o Effect: These components are sought after by adventurers looking to enhance their gear, providing a steady flow of skilled adventurers into the dungeon.

5. Trapped Chests (Cost: 15 Points)

o Description: Some treasure chests within the dungeon are rigged with traps, adding danger to the rewards.

o Effect: Trapped chests provide valuable loot but trigger traps when opened, adding an extra layer of challenge and risk for treasure-seeking adventurers.

“Fuck me… this is something else…” Jack said after looking over the new information as well he started to understand the implications of what it meant.

There were advantages of different types of dungeons. He could understand that. Those advantages could factor for area, available resources, and people that were close by that the dungeon would need to attract. But that upgrade list…

That fact that he could buy those kinds of upgrades with points that are earned… for something like that to exist meant he was not the first sentient and sapient dungeon. There must be more self-aware dungeons out in the world besides him. The real question he had to ask himself now was if they were formed that way naturally, or if they were the souls of people that were chosen and bound to become a dungeon?

Jack didn’t like the implication of people being used like that. There were a lot of implications and too many questions with not nearly enough clues.

Relax Jack. He thought to himself. You aren’t trapped. You are free and you are in control. Now take control and find your answers.

Jack repeated the mantra to himself over and over until he felt the panic start to die down. He was free, he was in control, and he will get his answers. He just wouldn’t get them today. It’s not like was in any rush and he had to build himself up again first. Yes, his plan had not changed. He only gained an additional goal to aim for. A new problem to solve.

It was another ten minutes before he felt sure enough to take his next step. The original reason he planted the dungeon core in the first place.

Jack opened his dungeon core menu and brought up the loot drop system and focused on it. It took him a minute but he was eventually able to pull up more information on how it worked. According to the system, or whatever the hell it’s called, Jack found that the loot items were made with mana. Specifically in two ways, the first being a loot drop table set per mob type and he would have to adjust the probability of those items being dropped from that mod. Once the mob was slain, the loot item dropped would automatically be drop. The second method required the item summoned by the dungeon itself but then it would take mana to form it.

“Ooooh, that is cool as shit!” Jack said getting giddy with that bit of information. “So long as I got mana, I can get all the supplies I want. Alright, I can work with that. Guess I know which upgrade I’m going with first.”

Opening up the menu, Jack searched until he found the upgrade for Mana Circulation. After spending the points, Jack felt a sudden change in the air around him as it felt somehow richer. Taking a deep metaphorical breath and felt the mana coursing through him like cool spring water was washing over him on a hot day.

“Oh I can get used to that.” Jack declared feeling rather invigorated. “Let’s procrastinate a little more. Gods know I got plenty of upgrade points.”

Taking a look at the upgrade menu again, Jack inspected the area of control options and decided that the Area Expansion option was rather cheap, so why not?

Focusing on the options and when he was given the option to purchase it, he selected yes. In that moment, Jack felt his awareness of his surrounding expand beyond the building that he was in. Gaining a spatial awareness over everything outside the building. Everything within too hundred feet of the building felt like it was his or a part of him. Wanting to test his new sense of awareness further, Jack purchased the upgrade again, then again and again. Each time Jack felt his area of influence expand as it grew further and further out. He lost track of how many times he purchased that upgrade since he was too engrossed to realize just how much he was spending. With each use of the upgrade, he found his consciousness spread all the further, his awareness of everything in domain allowing him to see it all yet he didn’t feel his consciousness was being spread thin. He could sense and feel everything in his domain and had found quite a lot of magic items, bones, and some materials. From plants, metals, stones, and wood, he could sense it all.

Taking a moment to figure out the absorb item ability, Jack focused on each magic item and absorbed about half of them into the ground where he got a metal schematic for each one. Some were simplistic while others were complex, but each one was useful in its own way. When he absorbed a good number of the shallowly buried magic items, Jack opened the notice he received to see what the system was trying to tell him this time.

Attention!

You have spent 150 points on Mana Circulation.

Mana will now circulate and within your area of influence.

Allowing for a richer mana density and faster mana replenishment with in your area. Mana will be at its densest around the core of the dungeon.

You have spent 2,376 points on Area Expansion.

You have purchased this upgrade 792 times.

Your territory now extends to a 30-mile radius.

Upgrade Points Available:

1,243

“Woops.” Was all Jack could say as he read the new notification. Feeling rather embarrassed by the fact that he spent so many points in such a short order.

Letting his moment of embarrassment pass, Jack focused and felt out his lands that he just claimed. Allowing his awareness spread far and wide as he took quick note of as much as he could. Exploring thousands of squire miles without moving so much as an inch. Through this awareness, Jack found there was plenty of old farms not consumed by forests, old roads overgrown by grass and dirt, there were also tools buried in the earth along with other various goods. What got him excited though was that there were some gold coins that had been hidden under the old farm houses. Now gold could be very useful when he made arcane circuitry and enchantments. Especially if he mixed it with silver. While searching, he also found that some of the old farming fields had some crop plants like corn, wheat, potatoes, some yams here and there, and luckily some oilseeds as well.

After taking a moment to have samples of each absorbed with blueprints for each forming in his mind, Jack felt he could recreate anything and everything that he just absorbed.

“Alright Jack, you played around enough. Focus.” Jack said as he chided himself. “You were going to make some muscle and now you got the means to do it.”

Jack was just about to do that when a thought came to mind. His tower was likely the safest place in all of the ruins and Frizzy was going to coming back. Who was to say she would even know where to find him. Thinking of the damaged roads, the debris, and not to mention the crumbling buildings.

“Ok, first I’ll clear a path. Then I’ll make some muscle.” Jack sighed.

Taking a moment to think, Jack started by having the debris absorbed as well as some of the collapsed buildings. He had to do it in part since the he couldn’t just absorb anything that was too big since that would take a while.

Alright, so there are limits. Good to know.

It took Jack a while, but he was eventually able to clear the area around his old workshop and make path leading from it to his tower. With that done, Jack brought his focus back to his skeleton body where he was able sink back into himself before turning to look outside. It was then that he saw that it was dark outside. He knew he had been working for a while but he didn’t quite realize just how long he had been working. It also gave Jack another clue as to how being a dungeon worked. While his consciousness was fully focused on the dungeon he couldn’t really tell if it was day or night. His sense of time remained the same but it was hard to gage how much time passed unless he looked outside or at a time piece. Especially since he couldn’t feel physically tired anymore. With his consciousness back in his skeleton body, Jack found he could still feel and sense everything in his dungeon. It was distant and more like a sensation at the back of his mind.

Interesting... Jack thought to himself before shaking his head. Gods damn it Jack, focus. You keep distracting yourself. You can experiment later.

Jack turned to the work bench and the mini forge and set to work. Approaching it with confident strides as he held out his hand. Jack tried to will the loot drops to form in his hand as he approached it took a few tires to get the first one to form but he eventually got a small lump of iron to form in his hand. After he got the iron, he than formed a piece of purified bone. With two pieces of the raw materials, Jack repeated the process to make the Osteal Ferrum alloy once again.

Jack ground down the bone pieces and prepared the iron before fusing them. it was only seconds later before Jack had a new bar of Osteal Ferrum sitting on the work bench. With the alloy made, Jack absorbed it and got a mental blue print to recreate as he might need.

With the easy part done, Jack started to summon as much silver, gold and Osteal Ferrum until he had roughly two tons of the metals. With everything ready and eager to begin, Jack rubbed his hands together with an evil laugh before got to work.

For hours Jack worked on his project. Toiling away with each segment while inlaying them with threads of gold and silver mix. He used the silver and gold to make complex patterns into each piece he finished. Creating a circuit that seamlessly connected to the next. He worked throughout the night. His forge burning hot the whole time since didn’t need any sleep. Sure, he could have used some of his spells to speed up the process, but he wouldn’t have felt the same satisfaction. Besides, there was the chance that the spell would miss some nuance little detail either esthetically or in the flow of mana for the enchantment’s inlay. Something like that needed a delicate touch and once those inlays circuits were made, they set forever.

For days, Jack lost himself in his work. Allowing himself to feel immersed as he was able to make two legs, a torso and one and a half arms made. It wouldn’t be long now. It wouldn’t be long now. Once all the parts were made and connected, he’d have one hell of a bodyguard.

“Oh, oh baby.” Jack muttered over his soon to be body guard. “You are going to make demons starting pray to the gods.”

Jack was so focused on his bodyguard that he didn’t realize just how long he had been working when a rock came clattering across the floor from the terrace.

Looking up, Jack stopped his work to inspect the offending rock. It was then he heard the distant shouting from below that he peeked from over the edge of the terrace to see that Frizzy that it was Frizzy calling his name. The only thing was she was not alone. Somehow, he had been so focused on his work that he didn’t even notice over hundred and twenty gremlins had walked in and were now circling the clearing in front of the tower. Feeling embarrassed, Jack walked to the circular platform of his towner where the runes lit up. Ribbons of light to emerge around the platform before it started to lower him down. After the platform speeding up its decent, giving Jack a mild feeling like he was falling, the platform slow when it came close to the bottom. Landing into the slot in the floor before he heard the click of deadbolts moving to lock the platform in place. Before Jack could have a chance to step off platform, a section of the wall split to form a seam. That seam further split the wall to make a rectangle shape segment before it slid to hide itself into the wall.

With doorway made, Jack walked outside to see that Frizzy was jogging her way to him. Stopping a few paces from him with a bright yet apprehensive smile.

“Hello teacher.” Frizzy said while Jack looked down at her with his arms crossed and his head tilted to the side.

Many of the surrounding gremlins that saw him immediately took a few steps back. Giving him space while they stared at interest and suspicion. Since none of them were panicking, Jack guessed that Frizzy told the other gremlins of his existence and they tagged along. Most likely to see if whatever stories she told were true or not.

“Hey Frizzy.” Jack said in turn, making all the other gremlins who could hear him stare all the more intently. “Can’t help but notice that there are a lot more people here.”

Frizzy chuckled nervously at this. “Y.Yeah… they all saw my new arm. They thought it was amazing and asked how I got it. I told them an ancient made it for me.” she said while rubbing her left arm with her new hand. “Most of the tribe didn’t believe me when I told them how you saved me… but those of my clan came with me here. I… I hope that is ok teacher.”

Jack looked away from Frizzy to examine the gremlins that he could see. There was a lot of them but they were all small. It wasn’t like they would need all that much space. At their feet were all manner of sacks and small crates to carry their possessions. There were young and old alike, all of them tired, dirty and scared. A good number of them were also missing fingers are whole limbs. Thankfully though there were very few who were actually missing limbs.

“I don’t have any problems with it.” Jack said while still examining the surrounding gremlins. “They’ll need a place to stay and then there is the food problem.”

At this Frizzy perked up immediately with a big toothy smile.

By the gods she has teeth like a bear trap. Jack thought to himself.

“Don’t worry teacher! My clan brought lots of supplies to start setting up a settlement. All we need is some land to get started.” Frizzy said while taking a step closer. “We don’t need much space. Just enough land to build our homes and to start growing our gardens for food. Teacher, would you please let my clan live here so we might learn from you?” She asked, making her eyes as large as she could to try plea with him.

Oh, that is not fair. Jack groaned to himself. No one could say they could do puppy eye!

Jack was going let them stay and but was also going to warn him that everything in a thirty-mile radius was now a dungeon. Meaning that once mobs started to spawn, he couldn’t guarantee their safety if they moved in. Before Jack could say a word, a new message popped up in his vision.

Attention!

You have asked for residency with in your dungeon.

You have been asked by Frizzy to accept her clan as residents within your dungeon.

By accepting, all gremlins of the [Grayroot Clan] will be granted residence and will not need to fear any hostility from the mobs of the dungeon. All members of the [Grayroot Clan] would be able to live within the dungeon.

Benefits: You gain all the Gremlins of the [Grayroot Clan] as residents of your dungeon. They will be able to assist and work on behalf of your dungeon.

Cons: The [Grayroot Clan] would be your responsibility. They will need housing, clothing, food, and water. Failure to do so would mean the end of this clan of gremlins.

Do you accept?

Yes/No