I finally learned the groups names, and by learned I meant I eavesdropped on their conversations as they were walking on the road.
Big guy wearing plate armor, and a bicorne? His name is Markus.
The Dark Elf ranger’s name is Najira.
The dwarf cleric’s name is Hazmir.
Man with the funky musket. His name is Greorjy.
Person wearing full plate, their name is Casmur, and they sound feminine, though I can’t confirm that due to the helmet.
Their mage’s name is Samarra, though from what I heard, he doesn’t really talk much.
But wait? Didn’t I hear their names when they first arrived earlier? Uhh well, I was too excited at the prospect of visitors, and wasn’t paying attention.
Right now they’re halfway to the floor, having just stopped a short distance away from the carriage with a missing wheel. As earlier, they pissed off two guard donkeys, one of whom kicked Greorjy on the thighs, which gave him nasty bruises.
Ok it was kind of funny seeing him walk up to one and getting kicked. Of course both were swiftly dealt with. I think I heard one of them talk about leveling up, the mage was it? What was his name again?
I see their tank, Markus was it? Cautiously approach the carriage with the worried farmer, crouched by the fallen wheel.
She turns and smiles, “Ah, excuse me, but fair gentleman, I appear to be in a bind. You see, a wheel fell off, and I don’t have the right tools to fix it.” The farmer explained, “Do you perhaps have something that could help me with this? A hammer would do the job.”
Markus blushed, “Oh uhh, I don’t have a hammer perse, but maybe my throwing axe should do the trick.” He says handing her the axe.
“Thank you kindly, now please hold the wheel as I hammer it in.” The farmer said as she gestured to the wheel.
“Yeah sure,” Markus said, taking hold of the fallen wheel, keeping it level with the axle. As the farmer began hammering it back in place.
It took ten-minutes, but eventually the wheel was back in place, and I earned twenty xp for Markus successfully solving the ‘puzzle’.
Nice!
I watched as the farmer waved as she dematerialized, getting more and more pixelated, and eventually disappearing alongside the carriage.
In Markus’s left hand a golden key and a small sack filled with five shillings, materialized. The rest of his party soon walked next to him.
“So, what did you get?” Casmur asked.
“I got a key, I’ll check the sack later.” Markus replied, “Anyway, let's keep a lookout for a door, on our way to the end.”
Casmur nodded, and the group continued down the road.
I quickly made my way to Ellen, who's currently setting up a roadblock by creating two cheval-de-frise, which are stakes laid down in an x formation, where I could count fifteen soldiers, ten Landwehr, eleven counting Ellen, the number also included the drummer and colour bearer holding the Prussian flag, and four National Guard.
“Ah, Fräulein Yokakko, what can I do for you?” Ellen greeted me.
“Do you have the second key?” I asked
Ellen shook her head, “Nein, Emile has it, currently she’s setting up a blockade at the floor two entrance.” Then her eyes became hyper focused on what was behind me. I turned around, and there they were, six adventurers.
“STAND IN FORMATION!” Ellen yelled at the top of her lungs, rushing everyone into a somewhat cohesive line, two ranks deep, as the drummer was playing beats. After the chaotic organization, both groups stood awkwardly, fifteen feet apart.
“Ellen, ask them why they’re here.” I instructed.
Ellen nodded, and asked. “For what purpose have you arrived?”
The group of six took glances at each other. Before Casmur stepped forward. “We have come from the nearby city of Vonesmy, and have come to check the dungeon.” She declared, “And if possible beat it. Will you give us the chance?”
Ellen looks at me, glances at me. “Tell them that anyone can attempt to beat my dungeon, IF they make it to the end. Err, something like that yeah.”
“Anyone can make an attempt, if you survive till the end.” Ellen paraphrased what I told her.
Casmur nodded, and soon the group of six ran forward as I heard Ellen shout a series of commands, followed by beats of the drum.
“Make Ready!” Soldiers from both ranks set their flintlocks from half-cock, to full-cock.
“Aim!” The soldiers aimed at the charging group.
Ellen unsheathed her saber, pointing it at the adventurers, “Fire!” I could hear the crackle of twelve guns fire.
I received a barrage of notifications.
Greorjy level 28 Gunner killed, 35 xp rewarded.
You leveled up!
You Unlocked four new themes:
Ocean
Desert
Tundra
Star Fort
I paused the notifications. I'll look at them later. Right now I’m currently invested in this fight, anyway as the smoke cleared, the remaining four, though looking worse, had closed the distance, as a result of the volley, both the Tank’s and Paladin’s shields had rendered useless and were discarded, but are otherwise unharmed. Hazmir didn't escape unscathed; he's on the ground, clutching his left leg and desperately attempting to heal the wound. Samarra, though managing to avoid major harm, did so only by casting a barrier, barely escaping unharmed.
“CHARGE!” I heard Ellen scream the order, which was followed by screaming and loud thumping of feet.
Casmur drew their sword. “Samarra cast fireball!”
Samarra looked panicked, “I don’t have enough mana!”
The first soldier to arrive was swiftly dealt with by Casmur, “Well cast something! We may be superior without the use of firearms, but this is soon going to be leveled out by sheer quantity.” They yelled.
I witnessed another soldier bayonet the fallen Hazmir, killing him instantly. Kick him while he’s down, why don’t cha. She was promptly defeated by Markus, after one singular stab. I’m assuming they’re level 1 with how easy they’re getting killed.
I see sparks emitting from Samarra’s hands, lightning bolts soon appearing in each one. He hurled them towards the soldier lagging behind, Which I counted three. All three immediately died as soon as lightning bolts hit.
All in all the charging soldiers were swiftly dealt with, Ellen fought valiantly but she was soon outnumbered.
“Is everybody alright?” Casmur asked.
Markus examines their surroundings, “Hazmir, Najira and Greorjy aren’t with us..
"They'll be waiting for us at the entrance. We have to keep moving," Casmur urged the remaining adventurers forward. “In the meantime steer clear from those firearms, even without the use of magic crystals in the manufacturing and firing, they’re just as deadly.” Casmur continued down the road, before stopping, turning to Markus and Samarra.
"They're the reason why a level 1 peasant can easily go toe to toe with a level 50 knight. Now granted, said peasant doesn’t miss, but the point still stands." Casmur remarked, glancing down at the ground. "And those same firearms are the reason I lost my position. Now I’m a Paladin, I do more good now than before at my old job." Continuing to walk, he was soon joined by the other two, with silence lingering in the air.
It took no more than ten minutes before the group was faced with Emile’s group. I counted seven guardswomen, including the drummer and the colour bearer carrying the French flag, well eight including Emile.”
What the National Guard had done was set up a line of fences for cover. Simple but effective for taking cover to reload.
Approaching Emile, who in turn noticed me. “Ah, madam, do you bring good news of Ellen’s victory?”
“Ehhh, no, but her unit did take out three of them.” I answered.
A soldier runs to Emile, “They’re here, they’re here!”
“Talk to you later, madame.” Emile said, drawing her pistol “In positions everyone!”
The eight guardswomen positioned themselves behind the fence, with the drummer and color bearer situated further back. From their vantage point, they observed the trio reaching the midpoint of the road, shortly after interacting with the farmer and her carriage.
I went back to check on the trio- and they activated the pitfall trap… ok to be fair, placing it at the midpoint wasn’t such a great idea. Yeah I’ll relocate it to the encampment’s entrance.
As the trio got closer and closer to the entrance, they began talking. let's listen in!
“Here.” Casmur said, handing a bottle with a blue liquid to Samarra, “This should be enough to cast fireball.”
Samarra nodded, taking the bottle and drank the bottle till it’s empty. Then the mage began channeling magic, until I saw a ball of orange continuously grow till they were the size of a watermelon.
My metaphorical eyes widened as the mage launched a ball of fire towards the makeshift defense line where Emile and her unit stood. The attack proved devastating, annihilating everyone in its path, and leaving nothing but fires in its wake.
Dang no wonder why mages in my sister’s campaign love to cast fireball, even when she asks me to DM her campaign, I see the devastation it causes, and I admit it kind of did intimidate me a little, it’s different when all you're doing is describing its effects versus actually seeing the devastation firsthand.
Well the path to my unfinished floor 2 is open, but they can’t open the core room if they don’t pick up the second key at the encampment.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
They’re about one-third of the way into my second floor, it's a bit bare-bones right now as the only other feature here is that tree puzzle I made, and I can’t find where the guerrillas are, I know they’re there and they’ve already sniped Samarra in the back of his head.
Yeah ever since that happened both Casmur and Markus are constantly on-edge, they’ve been looking around, checking every bush, every tree, even going so far as to walk at a slower pace. Now I know how Napoleon’s soldiers felt every time they went out to hunt down Spanish Partisans.
Both stopped walking. “This is ridiculous Casmur, we.” Markus was cut off from his speech when a loud crackle and a musket ball soon hit him in the back of his head. Falling down, his bicorne falling from out of his head.
Hey, on the bright side he got to keep the bicorne, that's gotta mean something right?
“SHOW YOURSELVES! YOU COWARDS!” Casmur yelled at the top of her lungs, brandishing her sword in every direction.
“Ah, but who’s got a full suit of armor, is it you? Or is it me?” A voice said behind them, I could tell it was Isabella messing with her.
Casmur turned behind her, only to find herself face to face with Isabella and two others from her guerrilla band. The trio simultaneously discharged their muskets at point-blank range, or in Isabella’s case, shooting her flintlock pistol.
Casmur collapsed to the ground, her armor saving her life but barely holding on. Her legs were on their last legs, quite literally. I observed Isabella crouching down to meet Casmur at eye level after reloading her pistol.
"When fighting an enemy ten times powerful than you. Then you must use every advantage," Isabella uttered, aiming her pistol at Casmur's head and promptly pulling the trigger, ending Casmur's life.
I think what Isabella did was completely unnecessary, but she’s right, guerrilla's use every advantage they get over the enemy.
Well better luck next time!
Now to see those notifications. As soon as I said that, I’m now bombarded with notifications.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Greorjy level 28 Gunner killed, 35 xp rewarded.
Hazmir level 25 Cleric killed, 35 xp rewarded.
Samarra level 27 Mage killed, 35 xp rewarded.
Markus level 32 Tank killed, 45 xp rewarded.
Casmur level 59 Paladin killed, 65 xp rewarded
You leveled up two times!
You Unlocked eight new themes:
Ocean
Desert
Tundra
Star Fort
Small Urban city, with forest
Countryside villages
Taiga
Mountain
Special Theme [Undead Outbreak] maximum of 1, and is only available for Small Urban City theme, Countryside villages, and Star Fort theme.
Six regiments unlocked:
French Old Guard
British 42nd Regiment of Foot(Black Watch)
Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1
Prussian Silesian Schuetzen
Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment
French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadiers
One new Individual Summon:
Nockgunner
New customization species for custom regiments:
Moon Elf
Dark Elf
Dwarf
Mana Regen increased to 10
Mana Capacity increased to 50
Floor capacity increased by 3
You have unlocked skill: Identify
Awesome! I'll definitely check out this 'Undead Outbreak' at somepoint in the future.
Status!
> Name: Amelia Yokakko
>
> Dungeon Name: Yokakko Dungeon (Temporary)
>
> Exp Req: 10/450
>
> Level 3
>
> Mana: 50/50
>
> Mana Regen: 10 per hour
>
> Floors: 2/8
>
> Traps: 1
>
> Puzzles: 2
>
> Titles: None
>
> Skills: Identify
Wait? Does this mean I’m no longer hemorrhaging mana? Oh who am I kidding I’m still gonna be down on mana, even if it's slightly higher. Ok time to see the new summons.
I hovered over to the Creatures tab.
> Creatures:
>
> Bear: 7 Mana
>
> Wolf Pack: 15 Mana
>
> Jaguar: 6 Mana
>
> Anaconda: 7 Mana
>
> Nockgunner: 10 Mana
>
> Militia
>
> Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana
>
> Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana
>
> British Fencibles: 15 Mana
>
> Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana
>
> French National Guard: 15 Mana
>
> Line Infantry
>
> British 42nd Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana
>
> Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1 25 Mana
>
> Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana
>
> Elite Infantry
>
> French Old Guard 650 Mana
>
> French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana
>
> Skirmisher
>
> Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana
>
> Irregular
>
> Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana (currently floor locked unless unlocked)
>
> (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won’t count for the creature capacity, however they won’t attack outsiders)
Wait, no, could it be? I unlocked the Old Guard! YIPPEE! They cost 650 Mana. Just like that, my excitement was thrown into the trash can, dumped into a garbage truck and incinerated in the landfill. Of course, it couldn't be THAT easy.
Maybe I should try creating a custom regiment? To keep my mind off of this, but I’ll try out the Identify skill first. “Hey Isabella, could I talk to you for a sec?”
A bush rustled nearby, and Isabella appeared, “I’m at your service.”
“I’m gonna see your stats, alright.” I said, as Isabella nodded.
Identify used on Isabella.
> Name: Isabella
>
> Level 2
>
> Dungeon Creature
>
> Class: Guerrilla
>
> STR: 17
>
> DEX: 25
>
> CON: 19
>
> INT: 18
>
> WIS: 17
>
> CHA: 15
Wow, level 2 and they managed to take down a level 59 Paladin. Guns really do balance the playing field as I heard Casmur state earlier.
“Thanks, you can go now Isabella, that's is all.” I said, as Isabella took a bow, before disappearing into the nearby foliage.
Ok time to create a custom regiment. System: how do you design creatures, what's the process?.
To design creatures, navigate to the subtab called ‘Design’ and from there you are only limited by your creativity and mana. Keep in mind the more intricate and complex a creature is, the more mana it’ll cost.
Oh it’s that simple. Right
Creatures->Design and I’m taken into an empty gray room much like my Core Room.
Alright, Let's create!
I’m presented with three options.
> Select a Base:
>
> Humanoid
>
> Monster
>
> Animal
Obviously Humanoid.
> Select a Species:
>
> Human
>
> Dark Elf
>
> Dwarf
>
> Moon Elf
First three, I already know, but the last option, which is the Moon Elves. I’ve never heard of them before. System: What are the Moon Elves? I want a basic description please!
Moon Elves are a race of elves who primarily inhabit the northern forest regions. Moon Elves have a deep connection to the moon, with some claiming they descended from the celestial body. Moon Elves stand tall and graceful, they have a slender physique and luminous, silver-hued skin that seems to reflect the soft glow of moonlight.
Ah I see, pick Moon Elf please.
An entirely gray model of a female elf figure t-posing appeared in the middle of the room, it's like seeing a gray stl model.
I got confused at first until I saw the word Moon Elf above the model. Next order of business, replacing her leather armor into something appropriate for this dungeon.
Now let's see, where would I find the uniforms? Aha! There it is.
> Create Regiment->Select Type
>
> Cavalry
>
> Artillery
>
> Line Infantry
>
> Elite Infantry
>
> Skirmisher
>
> Militia
I chose line infantry. The elf’s leather armor was immediately replaced with gray trousers and a gray
coat with lapels and cuffs. Replace the shako with a gray Austrian infantry kasket helmet.
Perfect! Now for the next part.
> Choose a Weapon:
>
> Prussian Potsdam Musket 1809
>
> Russian Musket 1805
>
> Charleville 1777 Corrigé IX
>
> Land Pattern Brown Bess
>
> Austrian Musket 1798
Why do I need to choose a musket? Isn’t that a bit redundant? Well I guess I have no choice, but to choose one if I want to continue. Ok then, I pick the Charleville Musket. The musket in question materialized, strapped on the Moon Elf’s left shoulder. Now one more category, which is to create a uniform color.
For the trousers, I’ll keep the gray, but I’ll darken it’s hue, for the coat I’m thinking that color has to match, or at least relate to the moon. I got it! The color will be orange, representing the fact that the celestial body is orange when it’s low in the horizon, and last, but certainly not least I’ll place the letters A and Y on the front of their kasket helmet.
The colors I’ve chosen are then applied to the uniforms, to add to that the t-posing Moon Elf now sports silver skin and deep yellow eyes, and also on the front of their kasket helmet, now has an A and Y etched onto them. All I have to do now is name the regiment, but should I call them? Oh, I know! They’ll be called 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment.
Creature creation complete. Calculating Mana Cost… Calculating… calculation complete, adding unit to existing roster.
Sweet! Checking the creatures tab right now.
> Creatures:
>
> Bear: 7 Mana
>
> Wolf Pack: 15 Mana
>
> Jaguar: 6 Mana
>
> Anaconda: 7 Mana
>
> Nockgunner: 10 Mana
>
> Militia
>
> Prussian Landwehr: 15 Mana
>
> Austrian Landwehr: 15 Mana
>
> British Fencibles: 15 Mana
>
> Russian Opolcheniye: 15 Mana
>
> French National Guard: 15 Mana
>
> Line Infantry
>
> British 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot (Black Watch) 35 Mana
>
> Austrian Infantry Regiment NR.1, 25 Mana
>
> Bavarian 5th Line Infantry Regiment 25 Mana
>
> Yokakko 1st Dungeon Infantry Regiment 45 Mana
>
> Elite Infantry
>
> French Old Guard 650 Mana
>
> French/Polish Vistula Legion Grenadier 50 Mana
>
> Skirmisher
>
> Prussian Silesian Schuetzen 25 Mana
>
> Irregular
>
> Spanish Guerrillas: 20 Mana (currently floor locked unless unlocked)
>
> (Non Hostile, passive, or domesticated creatures such as pigs, sheep, and chickens are free of charge and won’t count for the creature capacity, however they won’t attack outsiders)
I most likely will not summon them just yet. Anyways how capacity does floor two have again? I forgot.
> Floors-> Floor 2
>
> Theme: Forest
>
> Capacity: 15/64
Yeah, I’ve got plenty of room.
Hovering over the Black Watch Regiment, their description read: After the Jacobite Uprising of 1715 the British Government had no resources nor the manpower to keep a standing army in the Scottish Highlands, and were thus forced to recruit from local Scottish populations to maintain order, this however proved unsuccessful in deterring crime. The regiment started out as a militia from ten Independent Highland Companies known commonly as the “Black Watch'' although this nickname may have come as a result of how they were dressed. They recruited from local clans.
In 1739 all ten companies were consolidated into the 43rd Highland Regiment of Foot. The regiment was renumbered 42nd after Oglethorpe’s Regiment of Foot was disbanded, and in 1751 the regiment was formally titled 42nd Highland Regiment of Foot, the regiment was then honored with the name Royal Highland Regiment.
Whoah, wasn’t expecting a brief history lesson in the description, granted it skips over a lot of things, like how the regiment was the first of three Highland regiments to fight in the Americas.
Summon the Black Watch regiment please!
A unit of 13 women appeared. Their uniforms include a red coat with dark blue lapels and cuffs, paired with a dark green checkered tartan kilt extending just above the knee. Completing the ensemble are diced red and white kilt hose secured with a tie reaching just below the knee, worn over a pair of buckle leather shoes. Topping it off, they don feather bonnets on their heads. The officer, who is wearing gray trousers instead of a kilt. She introduced herself to me, and I named her Marley.
Oh the extra person is a Bagpiper, I’ll ask her to play some music for me later.
I also summoned a Nockgunner, and she’s dressed in a horizontally striped blue and white button-up shirt, complemented by a red scarf tied around her neck. Completing the ensemble are white trousers, topped off with a tan top hat.
“So, Annabelle, that gun won’t break your shoulders right?” I asked while simultaneously naming her.
She shrugs, “I don’t know, I guess we’ll see.” Annabelle said smiling.
Huh ok. I wonder how those six are doing now?
———————————————————————————————————————————————
“Ughhh, this headache is the worst.” Casmur complained, clutching their or rather her head, now without her helmet. She is revealed to have dark-silver hair and dark-blue eyes.
Greorjy winced, massaging his left thigh. “Yeah, you said it. This is by far the worst phantom pain I’ve received from a dungeon in ages, and I’ve been to a lot.”
“Let's just get back and report our findings to the Guildmaster.” Najira interjected, “Was anyone able to take one of those guns?”
“Ah well, I grabbed one as a souvenir.” Greorjy answered, smirking as he presented the musket. “If I can figure out the mechanism, or what’s used to fire these, I’ll be permanently switching to this one.”
It took the group longer to reach the Vonesmy Guildhall and into Guildmaster Andreas’s office.
"Ah, welcome back," Andreas greeted, motioning for each member to take a seat. "Judging from the expressions on your faces, it was a TPK. No need to tell me. Now, I need to know what we're up against inside the dungeon." All six grimaced at the mention of the term "total party kill."
“I think it’s best if Greorjy showed you.” Casmur said, as Greorjy stood up handing the musket to Andreas.
Andreas grabbed the musket, inspecting it from every angle “Interesting.”
“Yeah, I saw the dungeon creatures fire these, without using Magic Crystals, as for how, and what ammunition is used? That I do not know. So far the only problem I see is the smoke that comes after each shot.” Greorjy said, but little did all six know at the time that Casmur held the ammunition, dumped its contents and threw the lead ball.
“Another thing that’s peculiar is that all of the dungeon creatures are human, specifically all women.” Casmur acknowledged, “Which to my knowledge has been the only dungeon to have humans as creatures.”
Greorjy. "I see, I need to report this to the Grand Council," he remarked, returning the musket to Greorjy. As he stood up to leave, Andreas noticed the peculiar hat that Markus was wearing. "I must say, Markus, where did you get that hat?"
“Ah, this hat?” Markus started, as he took off his hat. “I looted this from one of the dungeon creatures, personally speaking I think it looks good.”
Andreas nodded before walking out, the other six soon followed afterward.