Several minutes after Miner was debriefed.
[Builder has returned]
As Builder walked in, he pulled a Mana rope connected to a Chest carved from a boulder, which levitated on a thick horizontal stone disc. I had seen a billionaire promoting something similar to this on social media. He had called it the Anti-Gravity shopping cart. However, this looked more like a Hovering Chest to me.
During his exploration, the Builder had already figured out how to create the Mana Trendril Limbs and wasn't surprised to see the other Golems had also discovered it.
"I'm done with my part!" Builder announced.
"Where did you get that Hover Chest?" I made Warrior's body point at the thing Builder was pulling.
"Hover Chest? That's a good name! I brought it down from the vault above us." Builder.
"On the 9th level? There was nothing but poison gas and an acid pool." Miner interrupted.
"You were in a rush to locate a stone deposit. However, I decided to stay back and explore the area and discovered a false wall that led to a massive vault. Although most of it was empty, 5,000 stones were piled at the center. Five blueprints were hidden underneath them along with three Mana Crystals." Builder explained.
The Builder Golem opened the top of the Hover Chest and pulled out its contents. He placed them in front of Warrior to inspect. Through his eyes, I noticed the numbers didn't add up.
"One Mana Crystal and one thousand stones are missing," I pointed out as I studied the interface, which detailed the items in front of me and their quantity.
"The blueprints for the Hover Chest were among the designs. I used some materials to construct it and then brought everything down here after mapping the Dungeon. This thing has ten storage slots. Regardless of what you store inside, it doesn't add any weight. Pull the Mana rope to move the Hover Chest to make it move." Builder explained.
I pulled the Mana Rope attached to the Hover Chest, which floated around like a Balloon. I placed the contents back in it and tried it again, but no additional weight or resistance was added.
"We should make more of these Hover Chests to store and transport resources throughout the Dungeon. My Lord can reserve his personal storage space for precious items." Miner suggested.
"For now, one will do. Let's inspect the other blueprints," I instruct.
Four notification screens with their details appeared over the blueprints.
[Blueprint Scroll: Magical Furnace
The furnace is specifically designed to convert various ores into their corresponding ingots. With its remarkable efficiency, it can smelt ores of any complexity or rarity within seconds, thanks to its powerful energy source. It is an ideal choice for those who deal with a wide range of ores and need to process them quickly.
But that's not all this furnace is capable of. It can also extract metal from complex or finished items deposited into it. Even if an item is made of various materials, you can still extract the metal from it using this furnace. However, this process destroys the nonmetal components of the item, leaving only the metal behind.
In short, this furnace is a true marvel of engineering and magical technology. Its ability to smelt ores of any complexity or rarity with incredible speed and its metal-extraction capability make it an invaluable tool for anyone who needs to process ores and extract metals efficiently.
Construction Cost: 10000 Stones, 1000 Mana Crystals, 100 Fire Elemental Cores, and 10 Iron Ingots.
It requires an individual with the Class of Smith to activate it.
Requires an individual with the Class of Builder to construct it]
"AI! What are Fire Elemental Cores, and where can I get them?" I ask.
[You can obtain them from the Cores fused to the bodies of a Fire Elemental Beast. I do not know where to find them]
"I see. Anyway, do we have any ore deposits in this Dungeon?" I ask Miner.
"I found Iron on the 6th level, Silver on the 7th level, and Gold on the 8th level. There were other interesting rock deposits, but I was focused on finding the stone deposit and Mana Crystals," said the Miner.
"Ingots will be required for building structures or equipment. Getting the Fire Elemental Cores would be a wise investment," the Builder commented.
"We can still create Ingots with a normal furnace even without a Smith Golem or spending Mana Crystals." Miner suggested.
"I agree with Miner. However, spending 1000 Mana Crystals on this seems excessive. Let's hold off on building the Magical Furnace until we have the Mana Crystals to spare and can obtain a Golem Smith." I replied before checking the next one.
[Blueprint Scroll: Anti Elemental Magic & Spirit Rune Array
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
A large Rune pentagram array must be carefully drawn on the ground to perform a mystical ritual around the Dungeon Core. Drawing the pentagram requires great precision and attention to detail, as even the slightest deviation can have disastrous consequences. However, a Rune Smith can create this easily.
Each node must absorb the required Elemental Cores to activate the barrier. The array will create an impenetrable shield that can block all ten types of Elemental attacks. It can even repel the Spirit creatures of any rank.
Construction Cost: 1000 Earth Elemental Cores, 1000 Fire Elemental Cores, 1000 Water Elemental Cores, 1000 Wind Elemental Cores, 1000 Lightning Elemental Cores, 1000 Holy Elemental Cores, 1000 Shadow Elemental Cores, 1000 Metal Elemental Cores, 1000 Ice Elemental Cores, 1000 Blood Elemental Cores
Requires an individual with the Class of Rune Smith]
"Damn! 10000 Elemental Cores to create this force field? It doesn't even protect me from physical attacks. I think we can skip this one," I reason.
"Price be damned! My Lord's Core is the most precious treasure in this Dungeon! Even if this array doesn't protect you from physical attacks, we Golems will be your physical barrier." Miner declared.
"But the AI said they are harvested from Elemental Beasts. Finding, killing, and collecting the 10000 Cores in this list will take a long time!" I countered.
"No matter how long or how many lives it takes, we must build this for you!" Builder countered.
[I agree with Miner and Builder]
"Alright! We will make this one a priority project. Though I doubt those creatures will wander into the Dungeon in that many numbers, we must send Golems to search for them. Now let's move on to the next one," I instruct.
[Blueprint Scroll: Elemental Mana Cannon
This Cannon is an ancient weapon that strikes fear into the hearts of Dragons. The Cannon's power comes from the spirit of a skilled Gunner, which animates the weapon and enables it to aim at targets and reload itself automatically.
The Cannon has a total range of 10000 meters! Its most devastating attack combines Ice, Fire, Metal, and Lightning that can wound a Giant or a Dragon.
Construction Cost: 100000 Iron Ingots, 10000 Silver Ingots, 1000 Gold Ingots, 100 Platinum Ingots, 10 Mithril Ingots, 100 Metal Elemental Cores, 100 Fire Elemental Cores, 100 Ice Elemental Cores, 100 Lightning Elemental Cores, and 1 Gunner Soul.
Requires 100 Mana Crystals to fire 1 Single elemental round
Requires 200 Mana Crystals to fire 1 Dual elemental round
Requires 300 Mana Crystals to fire 1 Triple elemental round
Requires 400 Mana Crystals to fire 1 Quatriple elemental round
Requires an individual with the Class of Smith to construct it]
Even though I don't know much about this world. I am sure all those precious metal ingots and Mana Crystals won't be easy to acquire.
"I will put this in the 'In my dreams' folder for now," I grumbled, but my heart wanted it so bad.
"My Lord is wise." Miner said while nodding his head.
"Too bad," Builder said as he stroked the cannon blueprint.
I skipped over the Hover Chest blueprint to check the last blueprint.
[Blueprint Scroll: Monster Breeding Farm
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you forced different Monster species to mate?
The Breeding Farm answers that question for you. Get Monsters of the opposite Gender from distinct species to enter the farm and wait a day. You will receive ten eggs that combine the best or worst features of the parents. The hatchlings will automatically be soul-bound to the owner of the Breeding Farm.
Construction Cost: 10000 Wood, 10000 Stone, 100 Mana Crystals and 1 Breeder Soul
Requires an individual with the Class of Builder to construct it]
Finally! Something close to my budget.
"I can create an army of non-Golem monsters with this!" I announce.
"Does breeding dogs, cats, cows, and chickens count as a Soul of Breeder?" Builder asked.
[I will need the literature on souls to give a proper answer]
"Even if we build the Breeding Farm, capturing the Monsters alive would still be challenging. Moreover, we would have to arrange to feed the parents and their offspring. I suggest we wait until more Golems are available before taking further steps," Miner advised.
"Sorry about that. I got ahead of myself. I'll store these blueprints in my personal storage space. Now, let's focus on our main task of learning about the Dungeon. Builder, could you please create a map of the Dungeon for me?" I politely request.
Builder nodded and then went to the pile of stones from the Hover Chest to arrange them on the ground like a map. He created an upside-down pyramid with the Inner sanctum at the bottom tip.
[Level 1
Features: Claypit, River, Grassland & Large Animal population
Radius: 10 KM
Level 2
Features: Stone Quarry, Sandpit, Dense Forest of Oak & Pin Trees
Radius: 9 KM
Level 3
Features: Copper Deposit, Salt rock deposit, Savanah
Radius: 8 KM
Level 4
Features: Granite Deposit, Marble Deposit, Jungle
Radius: 7 KM
Level 5
Features: Red Sandstone Deposit, Limestone Deposit, Desert Dunes
Radius: 6 KM
Level 6
Features: Iron ore, Coal Deposit, Alpine hills
Radius: 5 KM
Level 7
Features: Silver ore Deposit, Frozen Tundra
Radius: 4 KM
Level 8
Features: Gold ore Deposit, Lava rivers
Radius: 3 KM
Level 9
Features: Hidden Vault, Cavern filled with poisonous gas, and a pool of acid
Radius: 2 KM
Level 10
Features: Inner sanctum of Golem Core Lord and his Dungeon Core
Radius: 1 KM]
The Builder Golem added stones at opposite points on each level. These gates connect the different levels of the Dungeon and must be crossed by explorers and raiders to reach the next gate leading further down.
"The sheer size of it is massive! How did you two explore every level within two hours?" I asked Miner and Builder.
"As minions serving the Lord of the Dungeon, the Gates allow us to select the desired level without crossing through each one," explained Miner.
"So, it is similar to an elevator?" I asked.
"I don't know what that is, but if it takes you to the level you want to go, then yes," Build replied.
"I spent most of my time mining at the Second level after finding a deposit of stones.," the Miner explained.
"After creating the Hover Chest, I used my cartography skills to assess the radius and terrain of each level. However, I did not map in detail after I discovered a method for you to view it all from here." Builder explained.
"Really? How?" I ask.
Builder went back to the Hover Chest and pulled 9 Obsidian orbs. He placed them in a circle around my Dungeon core.
"What are these things?" I ask Builder, but the AI answers.
[These are called 'Dungeon Level Orbs']
"I have never heard of that term in any game. AI! Can you explain?" I asked the AI.
[The orbs surrounding you are connected to a twin in every level of the Dungeon. If you absorb these orbs, their twins will allow you to see all levels of the Dungeon from here]