Vee rocked back and forth on his hands and gazed through the viewing crystal on his desk. Down below in the dungeon, Neil battled a trio of skeleton knights in the so-called ‘Jack-in-the-floors’ room. It earned its name from the fact that the tiles themselves slid in and out of view, creating gaps and makeshift pits that could cause an adventurer to lose their balance. But that wasn’t all! In addition to the tripping hazard created by the shifting floor, there were also monsters hidden in random places around the room, ready to pop up and join the fight with the help of a well-timed [Ectoplasmic Surge].
There was no denying the fact that the gimmick worked. In a fair fight, Vee was certain that the [Heavy Handed Swordsman] would have dispatched the skeletons in an instant, even if he’d faced two or three times the number of minions. However, with his footing uncertain and constantly shifting, the adventurer struggled to avoid the clumsy thrusts of the skeleton knights. If Vee had stronger minions to put in the room, he suspected that Neil would have been overwhelmed the same way most adventurers from Oar’s Crest had been. The lancers would have been perfect for such a task, but they were vulnerable to the floor as well and sadly ended up being little more than easy targets.
Vee’s plans to introduce a new type of ghost specifically designed for the room – with the ability to stick to walls or the ceiling – were still progressing, albeit slowly. His improved skill with sigilmancy was useful, but he still struggled coming up with the proper sequences of orders to create things like jumping and grappling.
He’d figure it out in time, though; he just had to stick with it and keep improving until he could whip up any sort of ghost he needed in a moment like Rortenferry had been able to.
[Ambition +1]
Neil ducked beneath a knight’s stabbing attack, and brought his sword around in a surprisingly quick strike. The impact sent the creature – and, weirdly – the adventurer into the air, where he defied physics to perform a fancy series of sword blows that were all accompanied by firework-like explosions.
When the sequence ended, the poor skeleton knight shattered, its bones flying all across the room. To Vee’s surprise, the nearest knight immediately dropped its weapon and hurried over to collect its fallen comrade’s skull. It cradled the skull like a precious treasure as Neil bounded over and struck it down, falling strategically so that its own skull landed next to the first one.
The third skeleton kept its weapon, but charged recklessly at Neil and was swiftly hacked to pieces. However, it too fell in a way that its skull rolled over to its fellows. A purplish tendril of light flickered between the skulls a few times, and then a tiny white halo - representing a proc of [Lesser Rebuild] – appeared above each skull in turn.
“That’s another full revive,” Reginald said, his voice making it obvious that the [Core Spirit] was impressed. “I wonder how they’re managing to do that. [Lesser Rebuild] is only a fifteen percent chance to proc. Still, it’s definitely making our lives easier, eh? We haven’t had to replace a single skeleton lately.”
That was true, and certainly welcome from an expense management perspective, but Vee couldn’t help but think it was rather unsettling too.
He rubbed his chin, thinking it over. The skeletons had gone out of their way to make sure that their skulls were together. Was that some sort of tactic for improving the odds of a [Lesser Rebuild] proc? He couldn’t imagine such a thing was likely, but he didn’t exactly have much else to go on.
Another thing to ask the [Necromancer] about when they arrived.
He looked back down to watch Neil’s run, and saw the adventurer spinning through a mob of ghosts and elementals in a tightly packed hallway. There were supposed to be traps activating too, but Reginald still hadn’t regained enough levels to properly power them. Even without the full experience though, Vee thought the hallway did what it was supposed to quite well. The [Heavy Handed Swordsman] couldn’t advance without taking some hits, and Vee grinned as a ghost managed to land a good blow that drove the adventurer back a few steps.
“Well, I don’t think he’s going to be doing a no-hit run anytime soon,” Vee said, leaning back with smug satisfaction.
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Twenty-five minutes later, Neil came up to the office. He wasn’t drenched in sweat, but there was a sheen on his forehead and his breath was slightly ragged. He was grinning, and he held out his hand to Vee as soon as he walked into the room.
“That’s a much better layout,” he said after an expletive-ridden greeting. “I felt like I was in a real silver-tier dungeon. Now I really think you were sandbagging those first runs you had us do.”
Vee laughed and hurried to shake his head. “I wasn’t. Promise. We were only able to make so many improvements because of the feedback we got from you and the rest of your party. We would have been in a lot of trouble with it.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Neil said. “But you have to give yourself some credit too, Vee. Most [Dungeon Masters] we come across are so full of themselves that they wouldn’t ever dream of asking lowly adventurers like us for advice, let alone taking it into account so quickly. I’ll tell the rest of my party that the changes are worth running again, and the rest of them will probably do their second quiet run in the coming days. Is that alright with you?”
Vee said that it was, and a few minutes of pleasant conversation later, Neil went ahead and left.
Since the dungeon was already ready for the day’s runs, Vee found that he had a smattering of free time before he was needed back in the office. After grabbing a snack from the lobby, Vee headed to his workshop and started cranking out more ghosts. He pulled on the levers and twisted the knobs of the various machines, smiling at the steady stream of ghosts filling his workshop. He had the rhythm of the work now, and since he was still feeling good when he finished his second batch of ten, he decided to go ahead and give [Mold Ectoplasm] a try.
Grabbing a few cubes of refined ectoplasm and a few cubes of super refined ectoplasm, Vee sat down on his chair and activated the exploratory skill. A small bolt of orangish lightning shot out of his finger and faded almost instantly.
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Hmm. It wasn’t as intuitive as [Advanced Ectoplasmic Refining]. Darn. He’d have to actually check the skill description in his soul’s mirror. Closing his eyes, Vee did so.
[Exploratory Mold Ectoplasm] - (Active) Send a bolt of will at ectoplasm to convert it into liquid. Usage of shaping vessel recommended.
Frowning, Vee looked around the workshop for a cup or something else that could serve as a vessel. He found a small box, put one of the ectoplasm cubes into it, and tried the skill again. The ectoplasm turned to liquid for a moment, and when Vee picked up the box and gave it an experimental swirl he found that it splashed back and forth. Not particularly fast, mind you, but still.
Putting the rest of the ectoplasm into the box, Vee went ahead and used the skill again and again until it was all liquified. It was surprisingly draining, and Vee felt a slight tinge of nausea when he finally set the box down. Unsure of how long it would take for the ectoplasm to firm back up into something solid, the [Dungeon Master] set the box down on the floor a safe distance away from all of his machines – he dared not court disaster by setting it atop one of the machines, as had been his first instinct – and tidied up a few things before heading back to the office.
The best way to use [Mold Ectoplasm] wasn’t immediately clear to the [Ghost Maestro], but he was sure that he’d think of something given enough time. Maybe something with the dunpla figures? He’d have to bring it up with Brice and see what the [Toy Maker] thought.
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“I think I can power a few more traps,” Reginald said when Vee walked in. “I just got another level, and feel like I have some energy that can be put to use.”
“Oh?” Vee said, sitting down at his console and looking over at the various switches that were all fixed in the ‘off’ position. “That’s good. What do you recommend we try first?”
“Go ahead and try the [Ice Wall] in the fifth room on the third floor. If that works, that’s my choice, since it’ll make the shooting gallery in that room a lot more potent. As it is right now, adventurers are able to just run across the platforms and reach the deactivation button.”
Vee squinted at the labels he’d hastily affixed to the console, thinking that it would probably be a good idea to make them a little clearer, and flipped the switch in question. It glowed for a second, but didn’t stay lit, and the [Dungeon Master] deactivated it.
“Crud. I guess I don’t have as much energy as I thought,” Reginald said. “Why don’t you try the sloping platform trap in the room right before the stairs to the second floor.”
That one worked, so Vee reactivated the trap in question – which spun all the platforms so that they were vertical – and pulled the day’s adventurer forms over to get a better look. Plenty of familiar faces, but also a few newcomers he didn’t recognize.
Marking four applications for prospective uses of [Boost Drops], Vee leaned back in his chair and waited.
He checked in on Alforde, who was rehearsing some sort of tag team attack with Shadowforde down in his arena. Frowning, Vee activated the crystal that would let him talk to his friend and said, “Adventurers are coming in buddy, time to get serious, eh?”
The armorsoul stopped mid-swing and held his gauntlet up toward the ceiling. “Understood, Vee. Thanks!”
Alforde dismissed his Reflection, then walked over to his new harness and slowly strapped himself inside. He didn’t touch the winch that would pull him up to the ceiling for a more dramatic entrance, but made sure that everything was ready to go in case it ended up being necessary.
Vee still wasn’t sold on the whole idea, but Alforde had begged for a cooler way to start a fight than just kind of awkwardly standing at the far side of his platform, and the drop plan was easier and cheaper to implement than the breakable tomb of ice that’d been the armorsoul’s first suggestion.
With the harness fastened, Alforde sat down, set Slammy down beside him, and took out his book. He started reading, and Vee’s attention was pulled back to the dungeon, where a cheeky [Ranger] was using [Daggerang] to great effect.
“I wonder if anyone will make it down to Alforde today,” Vee said, pulling a lever that sent a rain of elementals into the room with the adventurer, neutering her preferred skill.
“Hopefully,” Reginald said. “Otherwise he’s going to start getting crabby. If he didn’t have those one on ones after we close up for the day, I think he’d already be complaining that the dungeon is too hard and he doesn’t have enough to do.”
“Yeah,” Vee said with a laugh. “That’s true.”
The [Ranger] was overwhelmed by a charging skeleton lancer, and ended her run before reaching the second floor. Twirling his pen in his fingers, Vee reset the dungeon, and the rest of the day passed with pleasant busy-ness.
Later that night, when they got back to the boarding house, they saw a strange man lurking outside. He was pale, and dressed in an inexplicably loud suit – it was covered in tropical fruits, skulls, and butterflies. Long black hair framed his face, and his eyes burned with a strange, sickly intensity.
“Are you Vee Vales?” the man said, hurrying over.
“I am,” the [Dungeon Master] said. “Who are you?”
“Winslow Halburg. I’m a [Necromancer]. I’m here to take a look at your skeletons.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Reginald said. “You’re just in time, creepster.”
“Ignore the hat,” Vee said, tweaking his hat’s brim and putting on an aggressively friendly smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Winslow looked at Reginald and cocked an eyebrow. He shook Vee’s hand somewhat awkwardly, and then followed the trio inside at Alforde’s invitation.
Main Character Sheets:
Vee Vales
Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 32
Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 23
Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 6
Might: 15
Wit: 39
Faith: 26
Adventurousness: 7
Ambition: 16 (+1)
Plotting: 19
Charisma: 16
Devious Mind: 27
Leadership: 22
Guts: 14
Intimidating Presence: 11
Citizenship: 23
Public Relations: 8
Determination: 5
Persuasiveness: 5
Bargaining: 3
Patience: 2
Competitive Spirit: 1
Pragmatism: 1
<3<3 Infatuation <3<3
Alforde Armorsoul:
Primary Class: Hammer Specialist (Self), Level 5
Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 18
Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 18
Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 11
Might: 58
Wit: 15
Faith: 28 (-1)
Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9
Endurance: 31
Intimidating Presence: 14
Heart of a Champion: 14
Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 9
Vigilance: 11 (+1)
Vanity: 2
Reginald:
Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ??? (+1)
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Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 42 (+1)
Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 20
Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 11
Additional Class: Hyperthymesiac (Self), Level 5
Might: 1
Wit: 37
Faith: 17
Ambition: 28
Greed: 24
Deceptiveness: 27
Manipulativeness: 42
$#&*!@!!: !!!
Loyalty: 46
Patience: 11
Irritability: 24
Remorsefulness: 17
Expository Prowess: 23
#%$Pragmatism*#$: @#61$5
Hop@#!! @#$@!@#
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#4^5#*&_!+++#(@$#
Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 9