The next few days there was a buzz of activity around the Dungeon. The idea of an impending void assault had everyone on edge and worked as an incredible motivator for everyone. I was especially on edge as I discovered a major issue with this world’s rendition of the menu system from the game. There was no way to add dungeon wide or floor wide modifiers to the dungeon. Back home I could have used the Real Money Shop to add permanent modifiers to a floor, or the dungeon itself. But that menu was, unsurprisingly, absent in this world.
One thing that I had been resolute in my attempt to figure out over the past few days had been how to make the portals more secure. Archives had rightfully pointed out after Arana left that if someone went mad because of the Void Entities, they would still have full access to the portals. This meant they could cause untold havoc across the entire dungeon. It had been quite a headache to figure out how to resolve that issue. But between Archives and several of Yrsha’s best sages, we had successfully altered the runes. Now the portal would only work if you had the correct Glyph and held no hostile intent towards the dungeon’s core or the dungeon itself. The latter had been the actual issue. The moment we just went with targeting hostility in a broad spectrum, the portal would refuse to work for those heading to the arenas. It wasn’t until Indella proposed just skipping inhabitants and just pointing the hostility detection towards the dungeon itself and the Core specifically that we made it work properly.
After that, I had been busy looking for other things to improve, and I had found one such place on the second floor. Since the second floor was not completely its own pocket dimension, but also a part of the underground, I took advantage of this to improve the Mushroom Forest. A quick survey by the Duergar revealed that there was an underground river running by near one of the outer walls of there. It was easy for me to spend a few points to expand the forest enough to change the flow, so the river ran through the Mushroom Forest. Then I added a Sawmill so that it would allow the Kobolds to process the giant fungi into planks and proper logs.
The planks were a pleasant bonus, but it was the logs that I wanted. With the sawmill up and running, the Kobolds could specialize into Woodworkers or Woodcarvers. The Woodcarvers could create various magical totems from the logs that the Woodworkers produced. Now, there was no way I could cover the entire dungeon with these totems, their range was too small for that. But I could use them to buff up the areas where everyone usually gathered. It had not taken long for some Kobolds to work the sawmill once I explained my reasoning for making it. Soon enough there was no less that a quartet of Woodcarvers that were busy creating totems. Hopefully, they would discover a totem that could help against the Madness effect of the Void Entities. According to Archives, they had a good chance of succeeding. However, Totem Magic was… finicky at the best of times and had a lot of trial and error going with it, so only time would tell.
Another side effect of the river was that more critters showed up, including many types of fish. This meant more variety in foodstuffs. This also had another potential bonus down the line. According to Archives, the river would work as an add-on for the entire room, allowing the Kobolds to learn how to become proficient swimmers. Even better, Newborn Kobolds might hatch as Aquatic Kobolds, a subspecies adapted to a life in and around water. Sure, that meant relatively little for now, since the Kobolds were not native to the dungeon, but a few years from now, who could say? Well, first we had to survive to see that. And I certainly intended to do so.
Another major change was the number of Duergar in the dungeon. I had literally doubled their number. And I had also expanded the mining operation. With the trade to Yrsha and the potential of trading with Caelyn, I had to keep up with demand. Not that it was that costly to expand it like this. With the constant income from the Arena adding a constant influx of points, putting my daily income down by another 120 didn’t really bother me. I was still in the positive income wise per day, and the Arena’s constant use meant I had a lot of points to spend. As a bonus, the constant fighting was showing results for both my Duergar Warriors and Yrsha’s Spirits.
Several of the Duergar Warriors and Spirits had over the course of the last few days undergone some changes in appearance and equipment use. Sure enough, a quick check revealed that they had changed to new classes. I had several Duergar Berserkers and Guardians and a few Tunnel Rangers, a class that specialized in using the Crossbow in combat. My biggest surprise, however, happened when Granite changed to the Ronin class. That had shocked pretty much everyone. Then again, he and Yunika, the fox spirit he had antagonized early on, had apparently gone from bitter rivals to more than just friends over the past few days. I suspected this might be why Granite became a Ronin. The confirmation of my theory came the next morning, when Yunika became a Berserker.
I didn’t know Yunika or Granite well enough to comment on this strange outcome. But then, there was the saying of “Love is Blind” so it wasn’t like it was impossible. Anyhow, these days you could hardly see Granite without Yunika happily hanging onto his arm, tails wagging up a storm. Considering her initial reaction to him, it scared me to think what Granite might have done to so entirely change her attitude. Well, the two seemed happy, and Granite became far less grating and gruff when Yunika was around, so overall it was an improvement. The very next day was the day Yndali finally returned to my dungeon.
I dissolved my form and moved to find Rael, Mordred, Erem and Eliandar, as they would probably want to meet their new boss. Because of this, it took about half an hour for everyone to get from their respective parts of the dungeon and to the end of my domain. Even with me guiding them through the Maze, there was just too much distance to cover. I should probably install a portal on the surface as well, now that it could differentiate between friends and foes. I suddenly had a stroke of genius about the portals I would have to discuss with Mordred later.
As we approached, one adventurer that was guarding the procession gave a grumbling “About damn time, you stupid beast.” A quick mental check-in with Rael gave me all the info I needed. Isarn Bellathan, a Minor Noble who had become an adventurer to gain more renown. He was a mediocre adventurer and thought himself better than everyone, according to Rael. How to deal with these types? By blatantly ignoring them. “Lady, no, Guildmaster Yndali, what a pleasant surprise. I apologize for the wait, as I figured the leaders of the adventurers that went with me to my Dungeon would like to meet their new superior.”
Yndali, who had been glaring at Isarn, gave a very slight smirk as she realized I was blatantly ignoring him. She purposefully waited a few seconds to respond, to bask in his entitled reaction. The effect was glorious. My polite greeting had caught him by surprise, and he was currently gaping like a fish out of water. Mmm, fish, I could really go for some of Lienru’s fish dishes. No, wait, focus! Ugh, I should not have skipped breakfast. Yndali broke into a wide smile as she finally responded. “The pleasure is mine, Lady Core. Rael, Mordred, Erem and Eliandar, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I do hope you will continue your terrific work, as I am certain you are of great help for our mutual friend here.”
Rael and the others nodded solemnly and responded politely before Yndali spoke again. “ As for the wait, I do not mind at all. It is a pleasant day today, even with the hint of winter in the air, and the prospect of a lucrative deal always gets me in a good mood. Oh, and I apologize for the outburst of my subordinate earlier. Alas, finding someone of the same sense of honor and respect as the ones who went with you are difficult, I fear. But don’t worry, I will make sure to properly chastise him… later.” Isarn’s expression turned from utter shock to one of complete dread. Likewise, the expression of every other Adventurer guarding Yndali turned almost… predatory. Isarn must have been a real thorn in the side of his fellow adventurers.
I nodded. “Well then, I suppose we should get things going, shouldn’t we? Mind if I look at the wares on offer?” Yndali gestured to the wagons parked just inside the borders of my domain, and I walked over to inspect them. As I approached the Adventurers manning them removed the coverings revealing the content. One was lumber, good old-fashioned oak, no complaints there. Sure, we got wood from Yrsha’s dungeon as well, but Oak still had other uses that other types of wood were less suited for. A quick calculation from Archives later and with a flourish, I took the Oak and replaced it with a generous helping of processed Starsilver.
“I am fully aware this is far too much for the wood, Guildmaster. But given the situation, I hope you will accept me overpaying for the first batch of wares. I sorely need these wares and so does Caelyn, of that I am certain.” Yndali was clearly still doing the calculations of just how much I had overpaid for the lumber as I spoke, and so I calmly informed her. “That amount of Starsilver is worth about 200 times that of the lumber, please put it to good use.” There was a sound of choking followed by coughing as one adventurer had almost drowned themselves on their drink. Yndali looked at the pile of metal and nodded slowly. “I will accept it for this first trade only, solely because you speak the truth. Caelyn is in a terrible state right now and could use all the help it can get. Thank you for your generosity.”
The next wagon contained several herbs and also a case of dead cores. I replaced the case of cores with gems and the herbs with healing potions of various types. As I explained what I had paid them with, I could see their shocked expression turning hopeful. I looked at Yndali. “I trust you will take measures to ensure these potions go where they will be most useful.” Yndali nodded. “The temple will receive most of them to deal with the sick and injured for free, at our insistence. We will then sell the rest at limited quanta per household at subsidized prices to ensure the wellbeing of the city itself.” I nodded as I walked to the final of the three wagons. This one had a box of papers, some more herbs and also liquids. Alchemical ingredients, most likely. There was also something that caught my eye almost instantly.
Carrots, Potatoes, Turnips, and Cabbage. I couldn’t help but genuinely smile. “Ah, Rael look, you finally have some additives to your food that are not Mushrooms or forest herbs.” Rael came over and nodded after seeing the crates, his smile widening as well. A quick swap later and the content of the cart was now more potions and a solid helping of various gemstones. “Remember, the next time you will receive market value for the content, so make sure that everyone is aware this is a onetime deal.” Yndali nodded. “I will make sure those who come to trade knows. I will have Micha here serve as the chief of the trading process.” She pointed at a new Sworn Blade sitting beside her, a replacement for Ezekiel, no doubt. Micha nodded silently. “I would do it myself, but my newfound duties will keep me bound to Caelyn for the foreseeable future. I would have entrusted Mandol with this, but he has taken the Oath of the Shadow and cannot leave my side. If you run into any problems, discuss it with Micha, she will pass it on to me.” I heard a gruff noise from Mandol, who also gave me a nod of acknowledgement as I looked at him. I then turned my attention to the newest one.
Micha and I locked eyes and looked at each other for a bit, I could sense extreme determination and a fair bit of respect from her. Micha would never even consider betraying Yndali, that was for sure. I could definitely work with her. “Sure, it would be my pleasure, I do hope we will get along, Micha.” Micha nodded silently in response to my words. So, she was not one for talking when it wasn’t a cause for it, eh? Well, that was fine. I glanced over at the other cloaked individual sitting next to Micah, Mandol, and Yndali while suppressing a smile. Arana might have the skills to disguise herself and remain anonymous among the Adventurers, but I could sense her presence easily enough. “Well then, Guildmaster, while I would have offered you a warm meal and a bit of rest, I am afraid I have a lot to accomplish today. Besides, you have a long trip back to Caelyn if you want to return before sunset and I would hate to delay your return. I wish you all a good day and I hope to see you again soon.” The sense of disappointment from Arana was palpable. No doubt she had hoped to get another helping of Lienru’s cooking.
Yndali having noticed my glance didn’t show any outward signs of having realized, but I could sense amusement from her as she responded. “Indeed, it’s a long way back to Caelyn. We might have to skip the usual lunch break if we want to be back before sunset, given how laden our carts are.” She turned and yelled orders at the adventurers and I turned around and led the others back towards the Dungeon. “This could turn quite profitable indeed.” I chuckled and couldn’t help but smile. Mordred looked at me. “From my standpoint, you just had a massive monetary loss.” I looked at him. “If I was planning on turning a profit, sure. However, I just received an entire crate of dead cores, and we got ingredients and alchemical mixtures that could help improve the potions we produce. And the box of papers are undoubtedly intelligence reports about potentially important happenings in the region.”
Mordred stopped for a moment as he heard about the contents of the different crates. “An entire crate of cores?” he finally asked, and I nodded in response. “I will have to be careful with how many I consume, the last thing I need is another bout of overflow. Especially with how the Void Entities could break through at any moment.” Mordred just chuckled helplessly. “Indeed, I hope you enjoy in moderation.” He responded before he looked at me again. “Mind if I read the intelligence reports?” I turned back to look at him. “I will drop off the crate for you once we get to the 2nd floor, you can take it from there.” He gave me a curt nod, and we continued through the maze in silence.
I lead them all inside the first floor, then stopped them. “Hang on guys, there is something I want to discuss with you. It’s about the portals…” As I finished explaining, the quartet looked a mix of intrigued, disgusted and terrified. Eliandar was slowly pacing as he considered the possibility I had mentioned. “If that works, it would be…” he shook his head as he interrupted himself. “It should be doable considering the knowledge we got from Lady Yrsha, right Mordred?” The Wizard nodded. “I agree, such a thing should indeed be possible, honestly I am aghast no one has thought about such a thing before.” I looked at the four of them. “Let’s get it built, then ask for volunteers among Yrsha’s spirits and the Duergar to test if it works. If it does, the sooner we practice this tactic the better.” The four concurred with my suggestion. If this worked, it would help with defenses on the first floor. Not that it would be likely to work against the Void Entities, as they seemed able to appear wherever they damned pleased. But even then, it was better than nothing.
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After dropping the crate off for Mordred, the next stop for me was the Kobold Village. The Alchemists would be more than happy to receive these new ingredients, and I also needed to drop off the lumber at the sawmill for processing. As always, Ssatassha was there to meet me in person, despite the new workload on her. She ran up to me as I materialized and seemed ecstatic when I deposited the crates of alchemical goods on the ground. “Many thanks Great One! Ssatassha are certain these will help the alchemists!” She called out and several nearby Kobolds dropped what they were doing and began unloading the crates at a frantic and well practiced pace. Watching them work was always a joy, so organized and efficient, not a single one of them lagging or shirking. In no time at all, the crates had gone from overflowing to empty. Although the crates had been bigger than the Kobolds themselves in height and nearly twice their length in width. It made it cumbersome and really heavy for a human, but the Kobolds hadn’t even bothered to move the things, realizing they could never do so.
I nodded down at Ssatassha. “I am certain they will make something useful from it. Your tribe never ceases to amaze me with your ingenuity and quick adaptation to my ideas.” Just as I was about to continue, another idea popped into my head. “Say Ssatassha, would oak logs be better than mushroom trunks for making the totems?” Ssatassha looked at me for a moment, confusion clear on her face until I took out one of the bigger Oak logs from storage. She looked at it with a thoughtful expression. “Ssatassha can’t say for sure, Great One, the carvers would know better.” I nodded and stashed the log again. “Maybe we should have a chat with them then?” I held out a paw and Ssatassha gleefully jumped on, then I flew off towards the Sawmill.
The Sawmill itself was an interesting structure whose appearance changed depending on the biome it was in. In the Mushroom Forest it looked old, creaky, and had a thick layer of fungi and moss growing on the outside on the grey, weathered wood planks. Despite this, the waterwheel and internal workings were pristine, and the mill was fully functional and as sturdy as a newly constructed one. A small team of Kobolds worked the mill, and they had split into several groups to do so. One group was moving the cut down mushroom stalks from a nearby cart to the saw. The second group was working the saw itself, and another small group was stacking the finished product. These groups seemed somewhat stronger than most Kobolds. No doubt the training of constantly lifting the logs and planks had given them some strength related skills and thus more developed muscles. Nearby, the Woodcarvers were busy carving logs into totems. They, too, had more defined muscles, but nowhere near as pronounced as on the mill workers.
I landed next to the Woodcarvers and greeted them, while Ssatassha jumped out of my paw. The group looked over at us as I took out the log once more and showed it to both groups. They immediately seemed enthusiastic about both creating planks and making some bigger totems from the oak logs as they studied them. The work leader in charge of the mill who had been looking over the biggest log looked over at us. “These seem great, thank you Great One, Ssaldu will put these to good use.” The little Kobold hit his own chest, then began barking orders at his fellows as they and Ssaldu himself eagerly finished up their current workloads. Then they changed over to the Oak logs and eagerly began working on them. Ssatassha seemed pretty pleased as she looked at her tribe members toiling away with a small tear in her eye. Her reaction was simple to understand. Less than a month ago they had all been on the verge of complete annihilation, and now they were prospering more than ever. I gave her a quiet nod and her head a small pat before I walked off, lost in thought. Ssatassha happily waved after me for a few seconds before she hurried back towards the village.
I would have to create a wood storage building once my points had recovered from the spending I had enacted over the past few days. That way I could just deposit the logs straight there rather than travel here myself to drop them off. I should probably also create a proper alchemy lab for the Kobolds as well, so I could do the same with the alchemical items. So many things to do, so little time. At the very least, I could actually afford these things now. And while I still wanted a better solution, the totems were still a boon. Besides, the oak ones would probably be of better quality than the fungi ones and thus have a better range. Sure, that didn’t address the primary problem of safeguarding the entire dungeon, however it was a start. Still, One Void Entity in the wrong place could do an absolutely massive amount of damage, and I had currently no way to actually stop that barring the totems. Well, since I couldn’t do anything about it, I would have to simply shelf that thought for now. I did not have the luxury of time to ponder things I could not change, after all.
I checked my current points. 75EP, 2TP, 23M and counting. As I watched, the points all went up by seven each. Guess another spirit had just lost their match in the Arena. It was by far the most profitable way to gain points I had outside of the wholesale slaughter of a party. Sure, it wasn’t like it was ticking up constantly, but this was by far better than I could ever hope for with adventurers. Getting a few points every few minutes was far better than getting them once every few days or even weeks, after all. The next stop on my to-do list was just a short walk away in the Adventurer Camp. As I arrived, I could see it was mostly empty, as it usually was this time of day.
Most of the different adventurers were busy elsewhere. Pavol was in the library, hell he hadn’t left it for almost two days, outside of meals. Apparently, he had built a rather cordial relationship with the Library’s spectral librarian by this point. He had been perusing the books for any information that might apply to dealing with the Void, but so far, there was nothing. Rael, Mordred and Erem had basically taken on supervisor roles and were helping as needed. Be it organizing, overseeing, or just keeping things running, they were lending their expertise where they felt we needed it. And they had probably gone straight back to that after the meeting. Indella had been busy outside of her training as well, though exactly what she was doing, I honestly didn’t know. When I asked she would clam up, and Archives was also being silent on the matter, only saying things along the line of
Eliandar and the rest of Nature Howlers recently began going on expeditions out of the Dungeon to collect resources to supplement what we now traded for. They basically brought back extra foodstuffs and herbs that we could not get easily through trade or in the dungeon itself. Say what you will about Shroomcow meat, there were only so many ways you could prep it before you craved something else, even with Lienru’s divine cooking skills. The last time they had returned with what seemed like a cross between an Elk and a Zebra, that they called an Ablitok. Apparently, it was a pretty common sight on the plains and a pretty decent meal if you had a skilled cook. When Lienru got her hands on it, there was no surprise that it turned from decent to absolutely perfect.
I suspected the group’s newfound love for hunting and foraging might be because of Arana mentioning Eliandar’s relatives. And sure, I didn’t know why he didn’t wish to return home, but if he wanted to stay, I would support him. Besides, I would rather have the Geomancer working with us to figure out a way to deal with the upcoming disaster. After all, it was better to have him here, doing that, than have him be at home, unable to do anything because of overprotective relatives.
I pushed that thought away as I finished stashing the crates away in a small alcove at the back of the camp that I had made earlier. They could find them there easily enough. Besides, there was the sign that Irontooth had set up proclaiming the alcove as Storage. Hmm, what to do next, I had a bunch of options. It tempted me to dig into the Cores, but it would be better to put that off until it was time to sleep. That way I could sleep through most of the pain should I accidentally cause an overflow. I could also return to helping Indella practice…
I dissolved my form and moved over to the Strider Hive. It had been a long time since I had done anything to the hive area itself. I still felt like there could be something I could do to improve things now. After all, I remembered what I had been told way back when, that adding features to the hive might yield interesting Subspecies. Now what could I test with?
Let’s see if we could find anything interesting. Hmm, Elemental crystals, sure that one I could do, I just had to expand the geode cavern, and that was possible… Expand the Geode Cavern? Wait, what would happen if I turned the connecting corridor into a part of the Geode Cavern itself?
I would be lucky if I saw one or two pop up in a few days. Well, with that set up, let’s see what else I could do. The Elemental crystals I had looked at earlier had been interesting. If I could get some elemental variants to show up, that would be great. However, I did not know whether the crystals would even do anything of the sort. Decorative items would alter the Hive itself, but whether that meant a Variant or Sub species might show up, that was another thing entirely. Well, there was someone I could ask about that. I materialized inside the Hive and walked over towards Talka. She eyed me as I approached. “Milady, is there something you desire of us?” she asked, as the hive echoed the question in dozens of different voices.
I nodded to her and sat down. “I wanted your advice, I was pondering what I might do to improve the hive even further. But since this would involve you and your Hive in the improvements, I figured it would be best to discuss the matter with you.” Talka looked at me for a while. Her mandibles working back and forth without a sound, as she was pondering my words. “Hmm, you mean to force out beneficial mutations in my children. Variants and Subspecies, as you call them.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. I nodded in response. It was the truth, after all. Talka looked around the hive. It was impossible for me to figure out what she was thinking, as her chitinous face and compound eyes betrayed no emotion at all.
As for her emotions, those were mixed with those of her entire hive. It was a pretty interesting feeling. The Hives “drones” were sentient and had wills of their own, but as long as Talka was alive, her will would override theirs for important decisions. This gave them the Mindless Skill, despite being able to act on their own should the need arise. It also had the side effect of having their own emotions echo through the hive mind Talka was a part of. Which made it impossible to tell which Strider was feeling what emotion unless you were a part of the hive mind yourself. Now dozens of feelings were of curiosity, intrigue, confusion, eagerness and even a little boredom were coming from all over the place as each feeling echoed through them all.
I calmly waited for the waves of emotion and echoing words of the hive to fade away. “This has to do with the creature that appeared in our midst earlier. To better combat these, we would need a specific mutation. We would need Crystals of Creation.” As she finished, I nodded slowly. “Give me a moment to see if I can get those.” Archives?
Device Name: Crystals of Creation
Device type: Exotic Decoration
Material Type: Crystal
Hardness: 40
HP: 200
Defense: 20
Evasion: -
Upkeep: -
Cost: 200TP per cluster. Special, 90% cost reduction, should the Dungeon have access to them by natural means.
These ancient crystals are of unknown origin that have several legends surrounding them. The most well-known legend about the Crystals of creation states that Rubolg used them to create the world after the war against the Void. Another states that Rubolg forged his axe from these crystals, and he used it to destroy the Void prior to creating the world. The Crystals of Creation hold a strange power within them. This power can cause spontaneous mutation within certain monster species, so take care if you find these crystals. There are unconfirmed records that state that the crystals naturally grow on some of the oldest Leviathans and Horrors that are still alive in this day and age.
I looked at the crystals, and saw that they had this silvery sheen to them, as if they composed of mercury or something along those lines. I couldn’t help but think that they felt… familiar somehow, I shook my head, I couldn’t recall where I had seen them before. Then there was also the mention of ancient leviathans. Latra decidedly fit that bill. To have an entire forest grow on your back like that, not to mention reach that size, would take uncountable millennia for sure. Maybe I could ask her about them?
Latra was actually not floating around when I arrived at the fourth floor. Rather, she was floating in the water, having a conversation with our brothers. As I neared, however, they ended their conversation before I could learn what they were talking about. Before I could even materialize, my brothers sank back beneath the waves without a sound, which was pretty impressive, considering how big they were. Not that it was any of my business anyhow. I hovered in front of Latra and smiled up at her. “Hello Sister, how are you?” Latra’s many eyes looked at me in their usual eternally patient manner, and I could sense her mind reach out to mine with a sense of calm and contentment. “Hello, little Sister, I am doing just fine, thank you for asking. However, I sense you are not here merely for pleasantries. Tell me, what is on your mind?” As always, her calm voice just washed over me and made me feel calm as well. I didn’t even realize how much stress I was feeling until Latra’s voice just forced it all away. That’s it, I should visit her more often, that was for sure.
Once I finished explaining the situation to Latra, she closed two of her eyes as I patiently waited for her reply. “I am sorry, Sister, I do not possess that which you seek, I fear you must have seen such a crystal elsewhere.” I nodded slowly, somewhat disappointed, but not overly surprised. Where had I seen such a crystal then? Latra blinked a few times before she spoke once more. “Why don’t you ask our many-tailed sibling? She sees much and knows even more. She might know where such Crystals might be.” That was actually a superb idea. “Thank you for the suggestion, Sis.” I flew up and gave her a hug. Well, more like pressed my cheek against hers, as she was too big to properly hug. Then I waved and headed for the third floor.
The portal there was practically pointed to Yrsha’s dungeon pretty much constantly. There was simply too much traffic to open and close the portal all the time. Though both of us had agreed that we would shut it if we needed it for any reason. As I looked at the portal, I paused for a moment. Archives, mind telling Indella I will visit Yrsha for a moment? I don’t want to cause any sudden discomfort considering the sudden sense of distance.