For as long as I can remember, I´ve been living in my home city with Mom and Dad. We lead a humble life, the three of us. My parents are former members of a successful Adventurer Party, I believe they called themselves ´Cross Fangs´. Mom and Dad always tell me tales of their adventures before I go to bed: Tales of exploring unknown lands, tales of discovering long-lost treasurers, tales of fleeing from horrible disasters and winning impossible battles. And, of course, tales of how they fell in love with each other, which can get a little annoying, but oh well. Because every day we spend a lot of time together, and everything we do is always fun and makes me laugh a lot. And I like laughing, I like laughing because Mom and Dad will always smile with me.
Today especially is a wonderful day, because it´s my sixth birthday. Mom and Dad said they have a lot of work to do and would be coming home late, but I know they are just out to prepare for my celebration. They will be back very soon, because they do that every year.
I pretended to be sad when they left this morning, I hope the face that I secretly practiced in front of the mirror managed to fool them. I want to let them think that I don´t know what they´re up to, because I love seeing how happy they are when they successfully surprise me. Still, they are really late today. I feel this annoying feeling building up in my stomach, it´s always there when I can´t wait any longer.
I wonder when they will come back?
--
It appears I fell asleep while waiting for Mom and Dad´s return, I know because I woke up sitting at our dinner table. The sun has begun to set some time ago and the birds all went to sleep already, but I´m still alone at home. I sneeze because it´s a little cold, but what bothers me more is that Mom and Dad missed my birthday. It makes me a little angry, but more so sad.
I stand up and go to my room where I find the drawing I prepared for when they would return: The three of us standing on a green grassland with the sun shining, smiles on our faces and a big `I love you´ written in the middle.
I know it´s my birthday, but I wanted to give them a present too.
I crawl onto my chair that´s still a little too big for me and pout while looking at the painting. ´I don´t want to be alone anymore. When will they come back?´ I think
After a while, I hear knocking on our front door. Instantly I jump down from my chair and run through our home, almost tripping on my way to the entrance:
"Mama Papa, you´re late! Where were you?" I yell while opening the door, but the people standing there aren´t Mom and Dad. I slam the door shut and take a few steps away from the entrance. Who are they? Evil people who steal your things and hurt you?
"Ah, sorry. We didn´t mean to scare you," a soft voice says from outside "Are you e̷̬͙̓̒i̶̺͆̋n̷͇̋̿ḿ̴̹l̴̛̠͗a̵̛͖͌ě̴̘́d?"
"H-How do you know my name?!" I ask. This is scary, I´m scared. I don´t know them. Why are they here?
"My name is A̵l̷i̷c̸e̸ and I´m here with my two companions, A̸n̷d̸r̵e̴w̵ and C̶i̷d̷. We are knights who are protecting this city and its people. So you don´t have to be scared of us, okay?"
"O-Ok..." I answer, but in truth I´m still scared. I won´t open the door, I don´t trust her, what if she´s lying? It seems that the woman outside notices my hesitation because I can hear her quietly sigh
"Your parents´ names are [Redacted] and [Redacted], right? And they didn´t come home today, did they? I want to talk with you about that, would you please let me in?"
She knows. She knows what I want to know. I´m still a bit afraid, but more than that I want to know. I want to know where Mom and Dad are, so I slowly open the door. Outside, I see a woman in silver armor that shimmers in the moonlight with two guys by her side. I look up at them and feel my heart beating out of my chest, although I´m fairly sure it doesn´t show on my face.
"Can we come in?" the woman asks in the same soft voice she used before. I nod and open the door a little more. Once the three unfamiliar people stand in my home, I ask them the question that´s been haunting me the entire time
"Where are Mo– my parents? You said you know where they are, tell me!"
I see a difficult-to-describe expression on the woman´s face. The two knights who stand behind her avert their gazes. What is this? Why do I have this sudden bad feeling in my stomach? I don´t like this... I see the woman taking a deep breath
"Your parents... You love them very much, don´t you?" she asks
What a stupid question, it´s so stupid that it irritates me. The next thing I know, it´s as if a bubble inside me burst
"I love them the most in the world! That´s why I wanted to spend today with them! But they didn´t come home, even though it´s my birthday!" I can feel something warm flowing down my face "I wanted today to be with them, but now I don´t even care about that anymore. I just want to see Mama and Papa..." I say while wiping my eyes with my hands. The woman gets on one knee and hugs me. I´m certain her metal armor would be uncomfortable if I took notice of it at the time.
"I´m... so sorry," is all she says
-- -- --
“This should be it”
Indeed, this is it. This is the Dungeon Vienessa was looking for. A small, inconspicuous, narrow cave entrance that seemingly leads to nothing but a dank dead-end. Yet, all the fun is waiting right there, beneath the ground.
Formerly this cave was a well-known mine filled with 10 floors of precious metals, though some years ago it transformed into a Dungeon and is now filled with 10 floors of juicy experience points. With the metals intact, it´s a treasure island for every miner and yet they abandoned it due to the many dangers that appeared with the settlement of a Residue Core.
Hm? What is a Residue Core, you wonder? Or not? I see you´re in a weird mood as of right now. Anyways, let me run you through a few Dungeon fundamentals real quick:
The functioning of Dungeons is simple: All of them start out as small defenseless caves, but by absorbing Residue Mana they´re able to grow into full-fledged adult Dungeons. Residue Mana, contradictory to its name, is Mana in its purest form that leaks from every living being in minuscule amounts. Dungeons want that really really bad.
The rule of thumb is: The more physical strain creatures are put on, the more Residue Mana they release. In other words, a single |Skill| activated, a single magic cast, and the Dungeon happily feasts.
Now, the catch is, why would anybody go to an empty cave just to fight there? Hmm, what to do?
Idea: Compress some Residue Mana into Magic Crystals, or in other words artificially create monsters. Inscribe their core so they´re aggressive, but neither leave the Dungeon nor go as far as to kill one another. Monsters then battle and create Residue Mana. As long as they don´t die, they will far outvalue their initial price
´Brilliant,´ is what some Dungeons thought
From this point onward they have all begun to convert into farmers and milk their cows for Residue Mana every day, or maybe not cows but Minotaurs would fit better here?
So, what is a Residue Core and what does it have to do with all this?
A Residue Core, in a sense, is an anomaly which consists of vast amounts of Residue Mana that has been compressed into a single compound, into a Core.
Say, for instance, a war has taken place with the bloodshed of a thousand lives and now all this pure Mana is flying around in the air with nowhere to go. Normally it would just dissipate with time, but there are exceptions. I think you get by now where I´m coming from: The birth of a Residue Core can take place.
This Core then flies around until it settles in one place like a parasite. There it releases its energy, most commonly by spawning monsters, until it has expended all accumulated Residue Mana. Can take years, or decades, it depends on how potent the Core is
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
And there you have it.
--
´Let´s get in there´
As Vienessa enters the cave she´s reminded of the place where she used to live with her Goblin family. She walks along the rocky walls until she reaches a sealed hole in the floor. ´Danger´ is what´s written on it. The girl raises an eyebrow before smashing it open without giving it another thought
A whirlwind of iridescent lights floods out from beneath and hits her in the face, though she´s already used to it from her previous Dungeon experiences. She looks down and sees that she can´t quite see the ground. Though there´s an old, worn ladder attached that apparently leads somewhere. She looks between the ground and ladder a few times, then shrugs her shoulders and jumps down. With her violent landing, the entire place slightly shakes.
The inner Dungeon glitters and shines everywhere: The Mana in the air, the rocks that are probably filled with valuable minerals, the condensed water dripping from the ceiling in even rhythms.
She walks down the only available path while imagining what kinds of monsters she´ll find here. Maybe Golems? No, probably Kobolds who love this shiny stuff? Unintentionally her step quickens as a grin forms on her face.
It´s been too long since she ´relieved´ her nature as a Demon, she can´t wait. And fortunately for her, she doesn´t need to as a monster appears in front of her. They look at each other, blinking a few times
“What the heck even are you? A lizard?” Vienessa eventually says
A lizard indeed, a big and ugly one at that. The monster licks its right eye with its tongue and stands up on two legs. Its arms hang down, almost touching the floor with its sharp talons
Species Lizard Kindred – LV: 61 Stats
HP
MP
346/346
77/77 Vitality 117 Strength
----------------------------------------
Intelligence 181
----------------------------------------
55 Endurance 152 Agility 210
Skills
Characteristic
2
Active [X Claw] Passive [Tarnished Scales]
----------------------------------------
X Claw
Skill
Type: Characteristic Active Explanation: A high-damage double attack executed with claws.
Tarnished Scales
Skill
Type: Characteristic Passive Explanation:
Scales of the tainted. Slightly increases Defense. Gain movement proficiency while in water.
“Hmm” Vienessa puts a finger to her mouth “You´re not as strong as I wanted you to be… I guess I won´t be getting much exp–
The monster screeches and dashes at the girl. Vienessa easily side-steps and sees how the lizard double-strikes the air with its claws.
“That´s all your |Skill| does? Yikes,” she grimaces and rams her own claws into its chest. The lizard struggles for a bit, apparently not really understanding what just happened, then just stops moving. The lifeless monster’s body drops to the ground, only its Core remains clasped in Vienessa´s hand.
“As easy as that”
She puts the Magic Crystal into her bag
[Enemy at least 40 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x4
*2152 Exp gained*
´Huh, that’s actually better than I thought. I don´t have to use much of my Mana and it´s not exhausting at all. I could fight them all day without resting. Let´s just hope they´re not as scarce as the Minotaurs were because–
Once again she´s interrupted by three more lizards walk down the corridor ahead
[Lizard Kindred: LV: 64]
[Lizard Kindred: LV: 58]
[Lizard Kindred: LV: 67]
Vienessa is already behind them. She swings her arm and beheads the highest Leveled among the three in one fell motion, then clutches the heads of the other two and crashes them into the ground. Not letting go, she then lifts them and simultaneously smashes through their rear skulls with her claws, one hand for each monster.
[Enemy at least 40 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x4
*2232 Exp gained*
[Enemy at least 40 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x4
*2144 Exp gained*
[Enemy at least 40 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x4
*2016 Exp gained*
Her eyes sparkle
Vienessa is pleased, very so. Although slaying weaker opponents isn´t that much fun, the gain in Experience Points is excellent. She has first-hand experience with that.
With only these two encounters, the girl knew that she wouldn´t leave this place until having wiped clear the entire first floor. She remembers the promise she´d made with Madeleine to meet up at their house by tomorrow evening. It meant that she had a reason to get this done as fast as possible, to rush for all these Experience Points she would be getting here.
A wicked smile appears on the Demon´s face at that thought
--
~Level UP: 17 → Level 18~
[Fixed Stats gained]
15 |Stat Points| have been gained for free distribution
Vienessa dearly missed these words
The whole day had passed since she started and only now had she amounted enough for a Level up. Well, there weren´t as many enemies as she hoped there to be. Still a lot, but not as many as she´d hoped. Because of that, she almost completed another of her objectives by now: Wipe out the whole first floor, and she was sure there were only a few more places left for her to explore on the first floor. She already found a passage down that´ll lead her to the second floor, but she decided to hold on to the idea to descend as she knew she wouldn´t be able to stop herself once she did
´It´s tempting, so tempting… but I must not!´
Another thing the girl had hoped for would be some variety in enemies, but at one point accepted the reality of only running into lizards. Speaking of which, there are some more ahead. Yeah, right there in the front