“Whew. That was too close,” Ivy said breathlessly as the last of the soldiers started to leave.
“We got lucky with [Untiring Legions].” Evelyn responded, unable to keep the self-recrimination from her voice. “We need to be better, now that they know our tricks they won’t be caught out again.”
“Even if we needed a bit of luck to get there, we did stop them; and if it wasn’t for the work put in ahead of time to injure and whittle down their numbers, that little bit of luck wouldn’t have done much.” Ivy spoke unusually seriously but with her usual earnestness. “It’s fine to want to improve but don’t beat yourself up when you did a good job. I don’t know what level that Ranger and Sergeant were but I’m guessing they’d blitz through most level 2 dungeons. Take. The. Win.” The last words were each punctuated by a poke in the chest.
“You’re really determined about this aren’t you?”
“Damn straight.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow at the unusual statement.
“…Yes” Ivy clarified a little sheepishly. “I don’t believe in letting people beat themselves up when I think they did a good job. Life’s too short and too full of challenges to do that.” While her posture slumped in a way that showed her nervousness, Evelyn could see the gleam of conviction in her gaze.
“You know… I think I understand now, why, out of all things, you were made a [Dungeon Guide]. I’ve seen a perturbing amount of people wait until someone is dead to give them any endorsement. I like your way much better.” Evelyn knew it took a lot to surprise much less impress her - a trait she inherited from her parents - but nevertheless the young woman before her had done that. So, as she finished speaking, she wrapped Ivy in a quick hug.
The wholesome moment was broken as the last invader stepped out of the dungeon and a notification popped into existence in front of Evelyn. Ivy quickly adjusted to get a look with an excited squeal.
Congratulations you have successfully repelled 10 delvers.
You have obtained the following:
Stone tipped arrow schematic
Goose feather, poplar and flint
Steel Dagger schematic
Steel and leather schematics
9403 Mana
[Identify] skill unlocked – Dungeon can now see levels and classes of delvers
[Bash] skill unlocked
[Slice] 50% progress
[Jab] 50% progress
[Power shot] 50% progress
[Precision shot] 35% progress
[Flare](Fire) 35% progress
[Quick Toss] 25% progress
[Danger sense] 20% progress
[Field Medicine] 14% progress
[Shield Reinforcement] 12% progress
[Wind’s Edge - Knives](Wind) 8% progress
[Bulwark] 5% progress
[Burden Reduction](Metal) 4% progress
[Drill Sergeant] 1% progress
“That’s a lot of stuff, although most of the skills just have progress,” Ivy muttered from beside her. “Still wish people shouted skill names in this world when they used them.”
“Apart from children showing off, people occasionally do if they need to coordinate with those around them, but unless you have a good reason, why would you? Especially in a combat situation. If anything, people are more likely to shout something wrong to throw off their opponents than give them information,” Evelyn explained. “That’s not even considering passive skills.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Ivy acknowledged with a nod, “It would just be cool to know when someone is using a skill...”
“I take it the percentage of progress with skills is based on how advanced they are?” Evelyn refocused them on the matter at hand.
“Yeah that, level and how often they are used. How did you know?” Ivy turned to her with curiosity.
“Remember what I said about children shouting skill names, can you guess what some of the fundamental skills for a lot of combat classes are?” Evelyn smiled as she saw the look of realisation dawn on Ivy’s face.
“[Bash], [Slice], [Jab] and [Power Shot] I’m guessing. Maybe [Precision Shot]?”
“Precisely,” Evelyn confirmed encouragingly. “I have little knowledge of most martial skills, but I am at least familiar with those, though they are fairly self-explanatory.”
“Well then, shall we put the one we have to use for a boss? Or do you want a second floor more like the first?” Ivy gestured as if weighing each option on each hand. “I think we’ve done what we can for the first floor for the moment.”
“I suppose so,” Evelyn acknowledged with some regret.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you ladies are continuing to press forward,” a masculine voice echoed from behind them. “While your first floor is impressive there was… concern you might become fixated on it.” Evelyn spun to see a boyish figure who seemed to choose his words with a gravity seldom found in youth.
“And may I ask who you are?” Evelyn asked the casually dressed child in front of her as Ivy stiffened beside her.
“Ahh, surely Ivy has spoken of me,” his hand went to his heart as if wounded, “you can think of me as your… supervisor I believe I said.” He seemed to almost pluck the word out of the air.
“Yeah, he’s the one who sealed some of my memories and emotions and sent me to you,” Ivy said with tightly controlled emotions.
“And hasn’t that worked out well? I think it was rather inspired personally,” he gloated with a casualness that grated.
“I was rather hoping for a name, I am Evelyn of Timberhollow, how should I address you?” Evelyn pressed, fingernails biting into her palm as she tried to walk the line between fear and fury with propriety. Until she knew what this… entity was capable of she knew she should avoid open hostility. A polite façade was usually more effective against those who liked throwing their weight around anyway.
“Hmm pushy aren’t you,” the smile slipping from his face for a moment as the warmth in the room seemed to flee, but no sooner was it gone than it returned. “Well, I suppose supervisor would be a little formal, and I do detest formality, so you may call me Div.” His wide grin suggested trouble but Evelyn chose to ignore the obvious needling as she kept her face a mask of neutrality.
“Very well Div, what brings you to our humble dungeon and can you confirm you speak for The Three?”
“I speak for the gods.” He responded a touch too quickly for Evelyn’s liking, “And as to why I’m here, well, I wouldn’t be a very good supervisor if I didn’t check in now and then.” He held up a finger before he continued, and Evelyn felt like her whole respiratory system was suddenly paralysed, preventing her from interjecting once more. “Now you’ve done good work on this first level. The boulder is a little excessive but as you noted, now that it’s no longer a surprise it should be less dangerous.” He started pacing, legislating in time with his brisk gait, “But now you must build more. You have quality, now you need quantity. You need more to keep yourselves safe, but we can’t have you just murdering everyone who enters your first floor. However, I also have a gift to help you. Just know that once you dedicate a floor, changing it would be regarded… poorly.” He clapped as he turned to look at them once more, “Questions? No. Excellent. I’ll be on my way then. You’re close to level 3 by the way.”
Both Evelyn and Ivy started gasping as the boy disappeared.
Ivy spoke first between gasps, “You know… I’m beginning to think… that Div… is a bit of a dick.”
“While I would never use that term… I agree.”
You may now dedicate each floor to a god when complete and receive a boon for that floor in return.
First Floor dedication options:
Deity
Domain
Boon
Madan
Darkness, Shadow & Stealth
Light sources will be dimmed to half their usual brightness while within the floor.
Semyaza
Training, Preparedness & Toil
Delvers who complete the floor get the [Training] skill. Progress on all skills used on this floor are doubled (applied retroactively for dungeon).
Kalaziel
Earth & Stone
Stalactites have a small chance of falling when someone passes below them and all minions on this floor gain [Weighted Toss] skill at max level.
Naaririel
Horror & Nightmares
Delvers injured on this floor have nightmares of the dungeon while recuperating. Dungeon gains access to [Orc Zombie] creature template.
Evelyn straightened as her breathing returned to normal while looking through the new box that had appeared, the reassuring presence of Ivy beside her doing likewise.
“Well, these seem neat at least, but uh… don’t take this the wrong way… why are there four of them?”
“Why not...?” Evelyn asked her uncertainly, wracking her mind to understand what the issue could be as Ivy’s confusion was evident. “Is there something with your [Guide] intuition telling you that’s wrong?”
“No. It’s just ever since I’ve got here people have been swearing by The Three, so I sort of assumed there would be, you know, three of them.” Ivy said exasperated. Her tone reminding Evelyn of the month she’d lasted training as a maid when her parents kept giving her conflicting instructions.
As the memories and understanding of Ivy’s misinterpretation washed over her, she couldn’t help but chuckle, though she swiftly mastered herself. It would not do to laugh at the girl’s expense.
“Ah, there are three major gods; The Warrior, The Lover and The Seeker. Collectively referred to as The Three. There are also countless minor gods who are much less widely worshipped and many of whom we’ve likely lost records of when their places of worship fell.”
“OK, I can follow that, so these are minor gods who are offering their blessing. Why aren’t they as widely… Actually, I guess why wouldn’t you worship a major god over a minor one…” Ivy rubbed her furrowed forehead as she continued thinking out loud.
“While proper veneration of the major gods is considered more important, the domains of the major gods are also considered broader. A priest could give you a better explanation of this, but largely it’s considered anything you do will fall into the domain of at least one of The Three.” Evelyn paused for a breath as she tried to channel Father Kieran. “The Warrior encompasses not just fighting but conflict in general and preparations or training for such. Likewise, The Lover encompasses all harmonious social interactions and the many ways living things can coexist together. Finally, The Seeker’s area is innovation, improvement and discovery; the [Blacksmith] who seeks to improve their craft, the [Ranger] who blazes new trails through unknown territory, the mortician who teaches herself necromancy without a formal tutor.”
Silence was heavy in the air as Evelyn considered how to elaborate while a look of realisation crossed Ivy’s face. Even if she wasn’t doing justice to the topic the way a priest would, Ivy at least seemed to be understanding it was important to her, and that might have to be enough for now.
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With a small smile Evelyn continued with more tenderness and less fervour, “I did look into the minor gods somewhat but failed to find one of undeath or necromancy. However, such records may have been either lost or censored.”
“If there are as many as it sounds like, I’d imagine there is one.” Ivy said cautiously before brightening and continuing enthusiastically, “Maybe we’ll be able to get a blessing from them for a lower floor if we keep the theme up!”
The young woman truly seemed irrepressibly upbeat, but Evelyn was finding she didn’t dislike that.
“We’ll see. My goal used to be to reach level 100 as a [necromancer] because the stories were that in the past, when people reached higher levels, those who reached 100 ascended and became the minor gods.” Evelyn couldn’t resist and added teasingly, “I wonder if that’s true for dungeons too?”
“One way to find out!” Ivy stated confidently with an exuberant grin.
“Indeed. I think we may have gotten a little side tracked, lets choose a blessing then build a boss.”
“Sure thing. Madan’s sounds minor but would probably do more than I’m giving it credit for, at the very least it would probably force people to bring more torches. It strikes me as something that might be better to catch people unprepared with on a later floor though, rather than the precedent we want to set at the very beginning.”
“Fair, I suppose I should explain that the [training] skill is one that helps you level your other skills faster. It’s something a lot of people starting out try to get but it’s difficult, even when you have someone with some kind of instruction skill and almost impossible without.” Ivy winced and Evelyn realised some of her frustration must have slipped through despite her best efforts. “At higher levels the general wisdom is that having an additional skill to use is more important but who can say exactly when that is. Incidentally, I’d assume that [drill sergeant] skill is an instruction skill, which should give you some idea of how rare they are.”
“Well, that certainly sounds valuable, and while giving delvers a skill is somewhat counter intuitive from the point of view of staying safe, for training up the combatants of Timberhollow and being a dungeon they want to keep around, it seems very useful. Since it’s guaranteed to anyone who completes the first floor it’s bound to become obvious fairly quickly. That’s before we even get to the other part, which now that I’m thinking about, since it says applies retroactively to the dungeon, probably applies to delvers there too.” Ivy said pointing to the relevant line. “Long term, we probably will get the skills anyway but in the short term they could be very useful, particularly for boss building. I’ve got an inkling there might be something more for the skills but I think that’s something locked away until we hit a higher level.”
“Interesting. You mentioned with Madan’s blessing thinking about what kind of precedent we want to set, I think Semyaza’s frames the dungeon in the light I hope Timberhollow comes to see it in.”
“Good point! Assuming the [Weighted Toss] skill does what I’d expect and adds weight to a thrown object, Kalaziel’s blessing seems to do quite a bit to make the first floor more dangerous. I feel like having a risk of falling stalactites is almost required when they are present in a dungeon, and while you trimmed one of them so it would fall if knocked or if there was a loud enough sound, I think the fact it nearly hit someone last time was mostly luck honestly. No offence,” Ivy quickly added as Evelyn nodded in agreement. “I’m not sure if more danger is actually what we need though or if it would just mean they’d get a group of higher levelled people to go in.”
“While I am loathe to pander to Div’s wishes he did seem reluctant for us to make things more dangerous…”
“We don’t need to listen to that asshat; besides he gave us the options!”
“He is clearly dangerous to us so I would not openly antagonise him!” Evelyn responded sharply. “Though as you said, he suggested it was his choice to give us these options so he can hardly complain if we choose it… but truthfully I don’t think I want to make the first floor more lethal at this point.”
“OK, sure we can put that at the bottom of the list for now. Actually, can we put Naaririel’s at the bottom? I mean we should probably get zombies eventually and… Damn it! I feel like there’s something at later levels again; but those nightmares sound horrible. I don’t think that’s what you want to be known for.”
“Agreed. Zombies, while not without uses, are also quite unpleasant. I prefer skeletons in general when the option is available.”
“So, Madan’s more subtle effect which might be better longer term, or Semyaza’s which has a more instant benefit and is probably more benefit to Timberhollow?”
“When you put it like that it’s not much of a choice at all really,” Evelyn said as she confidently chose Semyaza’s blessing.
A wave of silvery light washed through the first floor from a new altar that appeared by the entrance. Teleporting there with a quick burst of intent, ignoring the new skill notifications for now, Evelyn could see a silver offering bowl inset on the top and beautiful silver filigree down the sides showing an androgenous figure running an assault course, packing a bag, sharpening an axe and many more activities.
“It’s gorgeous, I just hope no one tries to steal the silver,” Ivy commented from beside her.
“Who would dare?!” Evelyn responded shocked, “It’s clearly sacred.”
“Sorry, I keep forgetting different world, different rules. Do the gods just smite people for stuff like that here?”
“No, but no one would be so blatantly disrespectful.” Evelyn responded with absolute confidence.
“OK… Either way it’s not really our problem.” Ivy said as she teleported them back to beside the two spear wielders on the second floor. “What are you thinking for the boss?”
Accepting the obvious change of subject, though Ivy sounded oddly unconvinced, Evelyn walked round the corner that obscured the core and explained, “I want to make use of the bower boar skeleton but part of the danger of the boar comes from the vines on its back which require life energy produced by the boar to live. Unfortunately, undead are harmed by life energy so we need to provide an acceptable substitute but I’m hoping that means if this works the vines might shield the boar skeleton from life attuned attacks.”
“The creatures reset with the dungeon every hour so we don’t need to worry about wear and tear too much, but other than fertile soil I’m not sure what we’ve got that would support the vines.”
“Symbology is often important in magic, and in gaining the schematics to a number of living things we should have access to something intrinsically associated with life; blood.”
“I like the sound of this, an arena of blood-soaked soil would be incredibly metal. Maybe have them drop down into it so if you commit to fighting the boss it’s hard to leave. But then again, I guess archers could use that… Leave it with me, you build the boss room and I’ll work on an entrance that doesn’t let people cheese it.”
“Cheese…?” Evelyn wondered but seeing Ivy already engrossed in her thoughts said, “Very well.”
----------------------------------------
A short while later and a considerable amount of mana less, Ivy was squelching towards Evelyn in the circular arena below where they previously stood. Mud reached their ankles and blood to mid shin, filling the air with an oppressive coppery scent. It was truly unpleasant to walk in and the entrance Ivy had made was fiendish in the best possible way, utilising a mechanical knowledge Evelyn hadn’t known the girl possessed. When Ivy had first spoken to her of the concept of bosses she’d been somewhat unimpressed, used to relying on quantity of skeletons used strategically when confrontation was necessary. Now though, having made this arena, seen the entrance Ivy crafted and ready to spend what mana remained on a single entity upgraded with all the levels and skills she could muster, Evelyn understood.
Bosses were terrifying. The kind of unique encounter that killed some, broke others and let those who succeed earn not just levels but new skills.
“I like what you’ve done with it, definitely a boss room people will remember. It’s what, about 20 meters diameter?”
“Thank you. About that, the blood was more costly than expected but I’m pleased with how it turned out.” Evelyn replied as a grin that made her feel childish spread across her face, “Shall we build the boss all our hard work has led to?”
“Let’s.” An equally large grin on Ivy’s face as Evelyn brought up the relevant options.
Current mana: 8022/20,000
Mana Regen: 20/hour
Summon from template
Bower Boar skeleton
Bower Boar skeleton with Boar vines
Abilities
[Level up Creature]
[Level up Skill]
Add common skill
Add uncommon skill
Evelyn suddenly became aware of sweat running down her back as she realised there wasn’t an example for this, some socially accepted and time-tested method she could fall back on; and unlike her necromantic experiments, simply not being caught wasn’t a viable outcome. They had to get this right.
“OK, I’m thinking we start at the beginning, summon the creature and work out what level we want to take it to, then we can work out skills from there. Sound good?”
“Yes, let’s do that.” Evelyn grabbed the structured approach as if it were a lifeboat in stormy seas and with that intent a skeletal boar wreathed in vines appeared before the duo.
“Nice, we’re probably going to be doing quite a few level ups and they’ll increase in cost each level so let’s start off fairly slow. I’m thinking we shouldn’t go much over half our remaining mana for now, skills are cheaper but there are more of them, and we can always spend more mana but we can’t unspend it,” Ivy explained, as if it was only natural someone’s mind would work like that.
“I think I mostly follow; level 13 seems like it would be reasonably dangerous to most of the soldiers from the last delve and skills will help.”
Evelyn extended her will towards the creature and it began to pulse with a greyish/purple glow and to Evelyn’s pleasure, slowly grow with each pulse. Just as she thought the process was nearly finished it suddenly stopped, an unexpected blue box appearing before her causing her to jerk backwards in surprise. As her heart began its gradual return to its usual rhythm rather than the sharp staccato threatening to burst from her chest, she read the surprise notification.
Congratulations level 12 skeletal bower boar with boar vines may transform into a rare creature. Do you wish to transform into one of the rare creatures below?
Creature
Description
Skeletal Dire Bower Boar
Dire Bower boars are significantly larger and more dangerous than their regular cousins, their skeletons follow this trend. The increased number of bower vines provide significant camouflage for the skeletal form in a forest environment while siphoning energy from nearby life effects as sustenance. Is vulnerable to purity effects.
Zombie Dire Bower Boar
The zombified version of the rare forest danger, its rotting flesh moves slower than when it was alive but allows the creature to ignore blows that would slay its living form. If exposed to life magic its vines cannibalise the creature and burst forth violently, endangering all who are close. Is vulnerable to fire or purity effects.
“That was disconcerting but it has provided an excellent opportunity. What are your thoughts Ivy?”
“I feel like you always ask my thoughts before giving your own, although I guess I am the [guide] so that sort of makes sense. Firstly, I’m pretty sure if we go with either of these options it’s going to go back to the floor level of 2 again but…” Ivy held up a hand to forestall interruption and from the way her brows drew together, give a beat to consider something, “…I think we should still upgrade. I didn’t want to say anything before since we didn’t have a much better option, but a boar skeleton has a lot less bulk than an actual boar, and while it got a little bigger levelling up, I wasn’t sure how effective the [momentum] skill and stuff were going to be…” Ivy admitted sheepishly. “I’m pretty sure either dire boar option will be quite a bit bigger but you’re probably better at knowing whether to go zombie or skeleton.”
“Dire bower boars do appear in the woods from time to time and while I have to allow for a certain amount of… exaggeration from those boasting of their encounters, they are supposed to be significantly larger than this,” Evelyn said as she gestured to the still glowing boar skeleton that reached about her elbow. “While the shielding effect on the skeleton was exactly what I was hoping for, the camouflage would be wasted, and as you noted a large part of the creature’s dangerousness is its momentum. I think the zombie is the answer in this case, though that truly will make this boss fight unpleasant, as well as retrieving the mana stone afterwards.”
“I am curious about what the life magic reaction is like, although that might mean the boss has 3 ways it can be killed which isn’t great.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that; fire is a known answer to zombies but the smoke produced is incredibly unpleasant. Purity effects would be an issue either way and will likely be an issue for all our creatures, but as a rare, advanced element, usually reserved for servants of the gods or the system, it is a risk we can hopefully afford to deal with later. Similarly, most undead are vulnerable to life effects in exchange for resisting death effects, but if we can surprise them here with a violent reaction then they may be less inclined to use them unreservedly in the future,” Evelyn explained as she chose the zombie.
The glowing intensified and grew until it formed a boar shape as tall as Ivy then it dispersed as motes of light, leaving the mass of rotting flesh with vines not just atop it but running though it in the shape of a massive undead boar which made Evelyn realise the young bravos she’d overheard may not have been exaggerating as much as she assumed. That thought was instantly washed away by the pungent scent of rotting flesh. Evelyn noted with clinical detachment while Ivy retched that the zombie seemed to come with some of its own carrion insects as a small beetle burst from its pale, gelatinous flesh.
Another exertion of will had her and a slowly recovering Ivy standing about 10 meters away where the pervasive coppery scent of blood that seemed to stick at the back of her throat masked the less pleasant odour of what she confirmed was a level 2 zombie. Deciding to give Ivy some more time to recover from the smells she’d grown inured to over the years, Evelyn tried to probe if her skill could tell her if the cost to level the creature was higher now that it had upgraded or lower since it was lower level.
“Are you trying to see level up costs?” Ivy asked, still looking a little green, “The next one will cost less than expected since it’s back to level 2 again but the costs seem to ramp up quite quickly for rare creatures…”
“Not all levels are created equal,” Evelyn recited the childhood lesson by rote. Seeing Ivy’s intrigued look she explained, “It’s a lesson everyone learns sooner or later, the simple version is that skills and either class or type of monster can matter more than levels. A level 5 [novice swordsman] would beat a level 10 [baker] in a fight, despite the higher level and the [baker] being the more advanced class since one is suited for combat and the other isn’t. Of course, the reverse would be true if it came to baking bread. Similarly, I have no idea if even a level 90 skeleton could beat a level 1 dragon, the difference in the quality of the base creature is just too great. Thankfully now we’ve increased the quality of the base creature it can afford to be somewhat lower level. Let’s go with 7 for now.”
The creature rapidly pulsed purple as it grew about another foot in all directions as it meandered slowly through the swampy terrain seemingly unhindered.
“Let’s look at skills then, give me a moment and I’ll see if I can…” Ivy trailed off as she seemed to be tapping at things only she could see in the air, “There! I went ahead and picked only the ones that could be added to the boar and separated them by rarity. I wanted to try and make it as clear as possible.”
Current mana: 1877/20,000
Mana Regen: 20/hour
Cost to add common skill: 40
Cost to add common skill and increase to level 7: 80
Applicable common skill list: [Bash], [Slice], [Jab], [Charge]
Cost to add uncommon skill: 70
Cost to add uncommon skill and increase to level 7: 140
Applicable uncommon skill list: [Momentum], [Flourishing grasp]
Cost to add all available skills levelled to level 7: 900
“Give me another moment actually…” Ivy muttered distractedly, “Thought so. The total cost to level the creature and all skills to level 8 is 1790 mana. Though I’m not sure how useful [jab] will be, those tusks are impressive but I figure the danger will be from a charge rather than jabbing with them.”
“Just having an extra skill can be useful at lower levels, makes it less likely they’re all on cooldown when you need one. Also, sometimes skills aren’t as niche as they seem or you find yourself in that niche, better to have it than an empty skill slot. Besides the cost is also fairly minor, it’s not like the saving would let us level the creature again I assume?”
“Definitely not. Now that you mention it, bosses with a wider move pool do tend to be tougher. Only one last thing to decide on then, what are we going to call them? Every good boss needs a name.”
The conviction of Ivy’s words amused Evelyn, but as the glow of the final changes faded, she admitted, “That would seem fitting. Would there be a famous boar from your world with an appropriate name?”
“Hmm, lets see… the ones from the Greek myths that I can remember were all ‘the something boar’,” Ivy raised her hand briefly from her chin to form air quotes, “Not quite what we’re looking for… There are a few in Norse myths but I can’t remember their names… Maybe something Arthurian?... Twrch!” Seeing Evelyn’s curious look Ivy explained, “Arthur was supposed to be a great warrior king and one of the legends involved slaying a mighty boar by chasing it into the sea. It’s been quite a while since I heard the story but I remember seeing a sculpture of Twrch when I was younger…” Ivy’s voice trailed off, “I think I was with my family at the time but Div’s damn mental block won’t even let me picture them…”
Seeing her companion becoming morose Evelyn commented softly, “It’s a fine name,” as she laid a comforting hand on Ivy’s shoulder. Knowing the girl’s tendency to bounce back Evelyn added more enthusiastically, “And now our first boss is complete!”
Evelyn barely had time to see the smile return to Ivy’s face before the flood of notifications began.