The majority of Varona's important buildings can be found around the fountain in the center of town. City Hall, The Mages Guild, The Academy of Dark Arts and The Towers of Torture are but a few that receive visitors on a regular basis.
Today, however, the plaza is almost empty and a queue can be found running down the High Street. It stretches as far as the eye can see and doesn't show any signs of dispersing soon.
The line of bodies starts at the oddly-shaped cottage that sits just off the main street. With an upper floor that's twice the size of the one below, every now and then a purple cloud of smoke is released from the chimney on the side of the building.
The owner of the extemely-popular business is rushing back and forth trying to sell her wares. She is also brewing up new batches at the same time as serving in an attempt to keep up with supply and demand. Even though her latest potion is a major hit, Lucinda isn't happy about her current situation. 'I should be allowed an assistant too,' she thinks. 'I'll ask Master later. It's not like I have time now.'
She looks out of the window as another customer leaves satisfied. The queue that has been lined-up outside, ever since this morning, hasn't dropped off once. 'Crap!' Dashing over to her cauldron Lucinda stirs the gaseous mixture carefully as her next customer, a young farmer, enters.
"Welcome to Lucinda's Liquids," she shouts over the store. "What can I do for you today?"
"Hi, mam. Do you have any of that energy drink left? It's all I've been hearing about since yesterday and I can't not try it myself after watching Seb work in his field." The young farmer, anxious and worried that it may already be sold out, tries his best to keep his smile.
"I absolutely do!" Lucinda beams confidence as she scoops up a small amount of the formula before placing it in an empty vial. She turns around with an orange potion in her hand and places it on the counter. "Before I let you purchase it, you have to listen to the warning and possible side effects first."
"The side effects are real?" He gasps, shock written all over his face.
"Unfortunately, yes. At the moment the energy drink offers a 400% boost to not only stamina, but strength aswell, and it lasts for 12 hours. So far it is the best potion I've ever created. The only problem though is that it has a 5% chance of turning you into a Goblin for 15 minutes." She grimaces at the end of her sentence and wonders if the animosity she's feeling toward the little green monsters stems from her Master.
"How does that even work? I've never heard of a potion that can turn someone into a goblin. Honestly thought old Seb was pulling my leg when he said it happened to his wife. Said he was mortified when she shrunk into a little-green demon, he was. Before she turned back that is. Then he laughed his old-ass off at her. Or so he said." Lucinda is lost for words as the man laughs heartily.
"... Er, OK? Would you still like to purchase Abi's Energy Drink after hearing the possible side-effects?" She gets straight back on topic like a seasoned merchant. She's sold more potions in these last two days than she has in the last few months and the way she handles her customers has also improved due to that fact.
"Aye! 5% you said, right? That's not a bad gamble against the other 95. Even if I lose, I'll jus' hide away for quarter of an hour."
"That you could and absolutely, my skills are never wrong. The likelihood of transformation is no higher than 5%.There is still a chance of it happening, so be warned."
"Can I take two?" His eyebrows rise up as he waits for her response with baited breath. "Of course. It's always good to have a spare."
"It's not for me. It's for my old lady. I want to see what she'd look like as a goblin." The farmer chuckles to himself and slaps his leg as Lucinda fills another vial and hands them over.
"That's... Also another way to use it, I suppose?" Debating the man's intentions, she takes payment and watches him leave. It's not like there's anything significantly evil in transforming your partner into a Goblin just to ridicule them.
'I hope it turns out to be the opposite. Then she can laugh at him. That would be funny,' she thinks as the door opens and the next customer walks in.
"Welcome to Lucinda's Liquids. What can I do for you today?" She beams a smile at the young man knowing full well what he wants. 'There won't be any breaks today. Maybe I should have an energy drink too.'
After that day, Goblin sightings in Varona became a more frequent occurrence. Much to the dissatisfaction of a certain person.
Dungeon Stories Volume 2
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Now that Hana and Mira are in charge of keeping Varona safe, I barely put any attention into watching the comings and goings of people crossing my borders. Unless they're got a certain amount of strength or malevolence that is.
For example, the man loitering in the alleyway across from Ali's has a corrupted soul, even if his gear gives off the impression of a well-seasoned adventurer. However, it isn't his strength that I noticed, but his aura. The evil emitting from him was more than enough to alert me of his presence.
Just as I was about to spend some points too. Hmm, Me, you're about to get a visitor, I think.
Through the eyes of Soul Guide, the well-armoured man's entire body is clotted in a deep red. Without a doubt the scummiest scum that ever did scum. His armour even looks a little dark now that I decide to take him seriously. However, as I'm pondering on who to send and what to do with him, Scumbag A makes the choice for me and dashes across the street. Faster than the eye can see and in full-plate armour, he barges into The Chef's restaurant.
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Of all the places to go...
Why did he choose Ali's?
Ali doesn't like to leave the dungeon's proximity, but in no way does that mean she's weak. The Rogue-turned-Chef should still be considered deadly, especially when it comes down to small, bladed weapons.
However, Scumbag A doesn't know that fact as he kicks the door of on his way in. He also doesn't know that a certain dungeon resident, one who has only just acquired a body, is not feeling the best that he can right now. He has eaten far too many sugary treats and is regretting the decision completely as the door booms open. The contents of his stomach threaten to erupt and Me pulls his first death stare at the intruder interrupting his inner turmoil.
I almost feel sorry for Scumbag A now. I was just thinking about eating him, but Me looks like he wants to blast him into oblivion. Mr Red-Soul couldn't look more petrified as he quivers like a leaf. More so, it would appear that the gravity seems to have increased as his body won't take that listen to his command to retreat. His eyes are looking a the exit, but that's as far as he gets.
It almost looks like time's slowed down. Not to Scumbag A's benefit, however. A dozen sous chef, all armed with differing sizes of kitchen knives, mallets, skewers, one of them even has a whisk, I'm not sure what she's going to do with that, burst out of the kitchen in slow motion.
His eyes go wide in horror as everyone seems to be aiming for a different vital part. One in particular that should never be aimed for. What... Is the only word his mind can produce before Scumbag A is disintegrated, along with the front half on Ali's and roof on the building across the street.
"What the hell, Me!? Why didn't you just let the girls take care of him?" Ali screams in a horror of her own, voicing my thoughts perfectly without even having been told too, the front of her establishment now non-existent as bricks drop to the floor here and there.
I was actually thinking about reformation when Me let off a power attack unlike anything I've ever seen. Not for Scumbag A mind you, he's already been erased by a flick of Me's finger, but the lesser-gone orange and yellow souls maybe. I was thinking about how we'd go about it.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't... Did I do that?" Me is more shocked than Ali and myself at the level of his own power. As a dungeon system bestowed with knowledge, no one knows more about the powerful creatures a dungeon can summon to aid itself on its quest to complete objective A and B. After his own accidental display, he's struggling to think if anything would be a match for him. He is an existence, in all rights, that shouldn't exist.
"Well... It's certainly not cool, but I suppose Abi can fix it. It's OK. I'm sure you didn't mean to. You have to be careful though, Me. You don't want to accidentally destroy Varona, do you?" She asks and his Core-coloured eyes meet hers.
"What!? No! I'm just... How did she even make me this powerful? It doesn't make sense." Me looks through his dungeon information log and finds out that I invested 10,000DP in order to strengthen his body. I also added the elemental properties that I was originally going to use to create a body for him afterwards. The multiplication of strength that he went through during his creation is unfathomable and his jaw drops open.
Not going to lie. I did the same thing. I didn't realise that I used so many points in the process, but afterwards... I certainly noticed when placing those benches. It's why I left Me alone and went for a lonely walk. So I could chat shit to myself openly and not in my head. Although, I'm surprised I haven't been called upon yet.
"Did you find out why you're so strong?" Ali asks after seeing Me's face turn white. Which is quite hard since he's already pretty pale. If he wasn't a System-created system, I'd think he might be coming down with something.
"Y-Yes. Although as usual it makes no sense because Abi is involved. The 10,000DP she used on me was multiplied by four." What? "Probably because of the tier bonus. That's understandable. What's not, is that number was then multiplied again by the amount of elemental blessings she gave me!" Well... Shit. Ali looks at Me blankly. She's not the best with figures surprisingly and rarely handles taking payment because she's got Sous Chefs A-to-Z to do that for her these days. "I'm sorry, Me. I don't understand what you're saying."
I, on the other hand, understand his math perfectly. Which means I didn't understand what I'd done in the first place at all! I was hoping he'd get a little boost to his stats but I was expecting a tier bonus and and elemental bonus. How strong does that actually make him then?
"Basically. It means that I'm the monster now. That's all. I didn't intend to attack that person yet so much energy was discharged. You're right, Ali. I will have to be careful" Staring at his hands, Me looks really serious. All I can think though is, that's his first serious face, cute.
I watch Me as he tries to come to terms with his own power, whiles still thinking about how reformation would work. There has got to be a better way than just eating everybody. I'm not against easy XP, but making them go through the reincarnation cycle means nothing if they're just going to be reborn again into the same scummy societies that are guaranteed to corrupt them again.
Some cities are overpopulated and there are a lot of people struggling out there. Those type of people, who are only trying to survive in this already fucked-up world, end up screwed over by The System's flawed logic. Stealing a loaf of bread to feed your starving family should not get you bumped up a colour on the soul scale. According to her shitty logic though, it does.
So when you think about it, how is killing people and sending them through the reincarnation cycle going to help anyone? Especially when they're spat back out into a similar situation to their prior one. Hell, if they were allowed to keep their memories they might try to take a different approach to life.
There are too many variables to think about when it comes to this skill and what it wants from me. Awkward-as-fuck doesn't do it justice and I need to try and raise the bar somehow.
The next time a lost soul enters Varona, I'm going to try to reform them instead. It makes more sense to correct their behaviours, instead of having to start them fresh. Even if I have to scare the hell out of them with Samantula to get them back to neutrality, I'll do it. Plus, having the start fresh is a much longer process and the years can't just be skipped.
There's also the green-to-purple souls to think about. I've already stated that I won't kill any one good, but again this fucking skill says that I should. So that they can ascend to somewhere I'm not allowed to know about?
Grr.
Already in a sour mood over dodgy descriptions and requirements, I teleport to the Shimmering Stable. A single one of these features can hold 100 horses and I have three of them. They're not why I'm here though. I'm hoping, against all hope, that this is going to be the time when the Hay Bale shines.
With no one around on the land out here, that means I don't need to use Divinity's Creation. Which is quite rare on it's own. There's normally always someone out here and I wonder what I did to earn this type of luck. Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I spend 1280DP on the solitary and rubbish feature's sixth upgrade.
It begins to shine and I can't help but feel the same excitement that always comes with upgrading. Even though I know I being optimistic, the fact that it hasn't changed ever since I placed it has been a plague on my mind, a knife in my heart and smear of embarrasment against my name.
The light recedes and the smile is washed off my face. What am I feeling right now? Humiliation? Disappointment? No. Rage.
"Fucking shitty System and your stupid shitty dungeon feature! Why won't you change!?"