Barry is down on the eighth floor of the dungeon doing what he does best. Ploughing away. Even though he isn't the master's main source of income anymore, the Mythril Golem still contributes in anyway he can. Recently, he's been having some strange ideas.
For example, even the Stone Golems are useless at digging, Barry was mortified when he saw them in action, but what they are good for is carrying. The perfect delivery system for Barry's goods. They're effecient, don't complain and, best of all, they can work 24hours a day, 7 days a week, and then whatever then next one is that comes after that.
Not only has he found himself a free, no-sustenance needed, workforce, but Barry has made the best maze ever seen by anyone anywhere in the history of everything. Or so he believes. It's that good, three of the Stone Golems he sent inside are still missing. Although, they should have been back by now. Unless they've fell in one of the many traps he installed.
The maze twists and turns as tunnels lead up and down, backwards and forwards, here, there, nowhere and everywhere. The only place they don't lead, is back to the dungeon. The third floor of the master's dungeon holds the only entrance to Barry's.
That's not for a lack of trying and is one the stranger things the Mythril Golem's come across recently. The master's dungeon is right there, just outside his entrance on the third floor. A carved out circle shows and leads to the corridor his entrance is attached too. Attached to being the perfect word as beside the hole that looks out of his system, is a tunnel.
Nothing out of the ordinary there. Just a tunnel. One that leads straight forward. There is also one to the right of the entrance/exit, alongside another seven, all running straight forward. What Barry can't wrap his head around, is that his tunnels are running directly through the master's.
Yet, when he sticks his head out, his tunnels don't seem to exist. Only a single corridor leads up to the bend and the entrance to Barry's cave system is the only feature in sight. No half dozen tunnels running through each other and nothing else of note.
Only, his side says a different thing entirely. With all those tunnels running straight forward, it would suggest the master's dungeon isn't there at all. It's confusing. Too confusing for Barry to wrap his mythril brain around.
Instead, he decides to continue with his dungeon. As a Golem, not a dungeon Core, Barry has no idea what he's really doing. Every now and then he'll go through the magical portal to his master's home and have a wander around. Taking inspiration and a few Golems here and there.
His master can make more and, aslong as he doesn't take that other named Golem, he should be fine. Hence the Golem workforce and eight floors deep. He even went up two-floors and entrances to the maze can be found everywhere.
What Barry doesn't realise, or in fact know, is that each floor has a set number of rooms that it must hold in order to fulfil The System's requirements. Not that he's creating a proper dungeon and what he doesn't know hasn't stopped him before. Carving an archway, Barry proceeds to hollow out a staircase and works his way down step by gruelling step. At where he thinks the ninth floor would be, he stops. He's gotten used to spacing out the floors and is pretty positive in his estimation. He's further down than his master so, even if he could tunnel into her, it's not like he can check.
'Break time,' he thinks. The master told Barry to rest whenever he felt like it and ever since finding the magma bath, that's where the Golem spends his downtime. Scraping his mythril frame through the man-sized archway, he heads up the dungeon.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, Barry takes one of the tunnels to his own private room. There's only one feature inside, but that is all the Golem needs. Knowing he's put the effort in makes his relaxation that much better as he steps into the molten liquid and lies back.
As one family member takes a load off, another one finds themselves pent up and pissed off. Inside the Pleasure Palace, Veris is causing a mess as she frantically searches for something.
"Where the fuck is my paddle!?" If she was any louder, the citizens outside the dungeon would know about her missing tool.
"Who used it last? Was it you, C? It was, wasn't it?" She rages at the newly promoted Assassin who has only just returned.
"It was, but that was a yesterday and it was you who actually used it if you remember?" Not taking the blame, Sweet C thrusts accountability of the missing object back on its rightful owner. At her words Veris throws more objects about the room as a sadness wells up inside of her.
"Fuck! What did I do with it? The boss will be pissed if I have to ask her to make me a new one. She didn't even like that one!" As the waterworks begin, the pressure released the from dungeon's boss brings all the Assassins to their knees. "I swear on the Core, whoever has my paddle is going to get it"
"Get what? The paddle?" C giggles from the floor, hoping to be on the receiving end of Veris' frustration.
"It's not fucking funny, C!" A, B and D's, sigh, shake their heads and begin the search for Veris' missing paddle.
Dungeon Stories Volume 2
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After Me disappeared to enjoy some of Ali's tasty food, Lucky Bastard, I set off to do what dungeons do best. Upgrade. Well, I'm not sure about other Cores, but im pretty sure I'm pretty sure my dungeon is rocking it on the upgrade front.
Saying that, my good mood has just soured because of all the places I could have teleported to, I find myself back at the Hay Bale.
Why?
I don't know. Frustration begets frustration if you need a reason. Anyway, after forking over the required DP, alongside a few choice words for The System, the annoyingly-useless feature actually starts to grows!
Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me and that might be the case. A brief flash from the light of creation was all the feature got before it stopped expanding. Worse yet, that was all that happened. There was no morphing, altering, additions, or anything else worth noting.
As usual, the excitement that gets crushed after every attempt returns with a vengance. Only this time it's tenfold because something was actually happening.
I cant help but sigh as I pull up its status.
Finally.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Finally!
The description has finally decided to start playing ball, but, as always it's ridiculously stupid in its own right.
The Bale Of Fortune:
Any animal fed this Hay has their stamina increased 400% (Permanent)
Any animal fed this Hay will be able to walk on water (Permanent)
Any trade deals negotiated in, or with, your city will be 50% more beneficial
Adventurers that offer a prayer to the Bale of Fortune before departing will be blessed with bountiful luck and a 75% increase in spoils
The Lord of Hay may grant wishes to the pure of heart
Unique Skill:
Immortality
Rewards:
Bale of Infinity 5DP
256 XP
See?
Ridiculous.
Don't even get me started on how the Hay Bale is now Immortal. I don't understand how that even works?
I mean, yeah. What a kick-ass skill.
Obviously.
However, It would be much better if it was owned by one of my family members and not an inanimate object.
Even without Immorality, the Hay Bale's description is a plethora of buffs. So why is it that I feel so annoyed?
Where the fuck have these upgrades been and why have they taken so long to finally show up? Who the hell is the Lord of the Hay? Why can't I assign anyone to this stupid feature? And what the hell is an Infinite Bale?
Endless fucking questions and unpredictable fucking features!
What was I thinking when I said I was rocking these upgrades?
The only thing rocking round here is my sanity still.
How is this stupid feature so good, but so infuriating at the same time? How is that even possible? It would be like Ali making the best-looking dessert ever, but it tasting like Lobe shit. Not that I know what Lobe shit tastes like, but it just wouldn't happen. So how has this?
I know I say it all the time, and that I shouldn't be complaining over the extremely-sweet buffs it provides, but isn't that what life is meant to be about? Or is the pursuit of knowledge just how humans live? Learn, grow, teach, record. Being a Dungeon Core is more of an exacerbating existence if anything. Since I dont play like normal dungeons do, there's no precendent for what I'm doing so everything is confusing as hell.
There are that many buffs on the Bale of Fortune, I can only assume they're from previous upgrades that I'm only just now receiving. For reasons beyond my level of comprehension, The System has decided to finally let my frustrating feature undergo a change. Not that it shouldn't have already done so long ago, if the standards of my city are anything to go by.
Upgrading and evolution go hand-in-hand and this pile of, what I'm now starting to hope isn't useless, hay has been a stubborn bastard. The Bale of Fortune better be damn well worth its cost.
Fingers crossed.
Inside the stable, I summon one of the Infinite Bales into a horse pen. The animal is startled until it realises that it was only food that disturbed its rest. With every bite, however, the small bundle of hay never changes. When the horse pulls away, the location it ate from fills in as though it was never missing in the first place.
Infinite Bale. Fair enough. Does exactly what it says on the Hay.
There's a first for everything.
Summoning another 99, I place one in each pen and the rest around the Bale of Fortune. The awkward feature has been solitary for far too long and even though there's no need for the extra bales, the semi-circle stack they form around it pleases me immensely.
It's about damn time it's changed!
It didn't really change if you did it like...
Don't ruin, Me.
Please. I need this.
In fact, how can you see what I'm doing?
My eyes are closed.
Oh, and that's supposed to make sense how?
I don't know, but you asked.
Whatever, that's a you thing and I could do without right now.
Even though it isn't a categorising egotist, or a maniacal dungeon-absorbing elf, it's still a heavy weight lifted off my shoulders. I remember when Katrina laughed at the small yet-expensive feature and I made that stupid vow that it would be the best piece of Hay she'd even seen. Well, wait till I see her later.
Smug as fuck can't even describe how I'm going to act.
Giggling to myself, I realise everything seems to be going right for me. Not that I want to jinx it, or set off any flags, but shit is good right now!
The self-sufficiency of my city is near enough at 100%. Other than a bit more gold that I'm yet to drop in our treasury everything is controlled by the people. As soon as I've finished donating the amount Deputy Mayor Sacha requested, commerce will commence properly in Varona. Right now, most things are free and people give whatever they can as a gesture of goodwill. It's also good for Soul Guide as a steady stream of greens populating the streets mean they're all living well and reflects a happy life.
I'm pretty sure the city council already pays wages to the working citizens. And they can buy specialised goods here and there with their money, so I'm not sure why we haven't already started. Sacha seem to know her stuff and her shit is that together, she could probably run this place on her own.
We're lucky to have her.
Mayor Kana benefitting the most.
With what's left of today's DP, I'll use it to finish off her requests as well as a few of our less-than competent Mayor's. Small purchases barely make a dent in my daily pool anymore so requests like benches and greenery can be bought on unoccupied land and transported to where it needs to go. Upgrades on the other hand take much longer due to the restrictive nature of Divinity's Creation.
"I wish that skill would level up! I've had it for who knows how long now and it's still level one. Level One! What's a Core gotta do to get some help around here?" Answering my question, the Bale of Fortune glows yellow.
Divinity's Creation has reached Level MAX:
Create Create Create
Unbound to the limitations placed upon your soul you are one with the Power of Creation
No Dungeon Core has ever obtained a System-owned skill before let alone raised one to heights unseen even by the gods
With this your powers may earn the ire of the gods
Creation is no longer restricted due to local populace
Creations can be altered at no extra cost
Oh... My... Shit!
Is today my birthday? Seriously!
There's got to be a limit to how much luck one Core can have in a day, right?
As if on cue, the presence of Domination enters the boundaries of my city. Not complete domination, or even a mild version of the act, but just the feeling. It's not the un-fledged apprentice that's still with Katrina either. This time, a second, fully-qualified Categoriser, has come knocking.
Fortunately, the strength of his will is nothing compared to Elric's. Or it could be due to being a higher level than I was when that insane bastard attacked Katrina, but I don't want to put too much faith in myself yet. My family, however, have all my trust and after a quick message, Prince Sillybollocks appears far to quickly as he hasn't even taken the time to get dressed.
"What the hell, Light? Clothes!" Embarrassed, and also slightly envious of Sophie after seeing the Assassin's abs, a quick shout at the lady killer is all it takes for clothing to appear on his body.
"If it was that easy, then next time don't arrive half naked!" I can't help but chastise him, "That's not the point though. See that guy?" I point at the man dressed all in white. Catergorisers could easily pass as priests if people were ignorant to their profession. The Assassin nods and a jeweled dagger appears in his hand. It's my first time seeing Light's weapon since he advanced in tier. As per, I'm wibbly-wobbly jelly.
The blade is slightly curved and there's an ominous-green tint to the metal. Maybe a poison attribute? The handle and grip are embedded in that many jewels that it looks hard to hold, but the weapon seems to fit perfectly into his hand. Light notices me staring and a smile spreads across his face.
"What do you think, Master? This will be the first time I've used it?" I can't deny the quality of his weapon, even if it is smaller than everyone else's. No puns intended, but that's not what I called him for.
I should really update those rules soon.
"Have you been following Noir around lately? Did I say I wanted him dead? No. What is with you lot assuming that I want everyone dead all the time? Unless it's Ali, there's usually a weapon being thrown about," I sigh. "Yes. Your dagger is beautiful, Light. Now put it away. The first thing I want you to do is talk to him." I know that sounds like a repeat of the last time a Categoriser turned up, but Light was only a low level Vagabond back then. Now that I'm decked out in Assassin's this should go completely different.
If not, I'll Divinity's Presence the shit out of him.