Restoration complete

Floor Designated, New Feature: Mana Grass

Day 12

Wait, what? I remember letting go and my core falling apart. Where am I?

#####

#p.p#

#.R.#

#p.p#

##.######

#...#...#

#.oR.T..#

#...#R..#

######.##

#...#R..#

#.^.....#

#...#...#

#########

status Day 12, Mana: 9/24 Size: 49, Core: 8

Defenders: Rat, Giant Rat

Traps: Sleep gas

Features: Rebirth, Nest, Prison, Mana Grass

next floor progress: 21%

This looks like a new approach. I kind of sort of remember doing some of this stuff, but not really?

I guess I was sort of in a fugue or something.

I am sure I remember having different traps, and a lot more monsters, even if the details are pretty fuzzy.

I never considered adding on to the middle instead of the ends, but it does seem a lot safer that way. I also never tried adjusting designations of existing floors. That makes it a lot easier to put my core right where I want it.

Ok, I know more or less where I am and what is going on, but how did I come back? I am guessing that this 'rebirth' feature is how, but considering all of the bits and pieces that went missing when I shattered, I really do not think I want to be relying on that sort of thing. I am pretty sure that if I lost that rebirth feature I would either not come back, or I would only come back that one last time.

Now, moving forward, what does this Mana Grass do? Let's put some out and see.

I put it in the corner of the trap room, and it looks like it is covering a couple floor areas for a couple mana. Looks like it sort of glows a little bit, perhaps it works as a light source? Not sure why I would want that as my defenders seem to see just fine in the dark and holding a torch reduces the number of serious weapons attacking my defenders.

Speaking of defenders, I was terribly out-matched by those people wearing the circle with a lightning bolt through it. Also that giant magical hammer they had felt a little like when I try to spend more mana than I have, except instead of an unpleasantly tugging on my insides, it felt like it was ripping my insides out of me.

I should see if I can find a way to avoid that part of the dying if I can. Not that I want to die, but that part was by far the worst of it.

Too bad I already have an entrance, as they seemed to have problems finding me until I opened up to the world.

Then again, I have been open for far longer here than I was at the last place, so either I am farther away from outsiders, or not sending out defenders to make weapons makes me harder to find.

In any case, the current size and the floor progress agree that I just got my third new floor, so I have a lot of digging to do to get my next floor. My core and daily mana seem to agree that I lost some of that when I died as well. If that keeps going down when I die, then I may not have too many more opportunities even if I never lose rebirth.

I think I remember worrying about mana when I got the prison, sleep trap, and mana grass, so clearly gaining floors can do more than give me new defenders.

Perhaps taking prisoners gives some mana and not just killing people. That may be something to try with my next invader(if they do not have those white tabards with the lightning-ball on them at least).

Looks like I'll need just two more mana to finish the initial loop, then a third to close the old passage.

#####

#p.p#

#.R.#

#p.p#

##.######

#...#..,####

#.oR.T.,##.#

#...#R..##.#

######.###.#

#...#R..##.#

#.^........#

#...#...####

#########

status Day 12, Mana: 10/28 Size: 56, next floor progress: 58%

Hmm, looks like that grass gave me an extra mana today, which is nice.

May take up a fair bit of space, but I should be able to have enough grass to start each day with my mana full.

Not that I should put all my mana into that. Might be nice to put a bunch into it, but I can't neglect my defenses either.

Putting about half of may available mana feels responsible, so I'll finish the new loop, close the old passage, throw a new sleep trap in the exit from the stairs room, then add half a dozen areas of grass.

Intruder Detected

Really? I want nothing to do with intruders. I finally have a good way to get mana without them and they want to come and mess it all up?

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

At least there only seems to be one. Looks like another small one. I do not really need the mana for killing it right now, and that might be what brought the lightning-ball people, so perhaps I can scare it off?

Oh, it found the sleeping trap. I guess that works. And the jail-rat started moving? I was kind of wondering why I would want a rat guard with no prisoners, but if it is going to collect prisoners from the sleeping traps, that makes sense.

Intruder Detected

What again? Looks like three of them this time. There is no light coming down the stairs but it is not yet the next day, so early in the night.

Still no real weapons, but one of the larger invaders has a light source and the other has a heavy looking stick.

Looks like the sleep trap got the stick invader, but the slightly smaller invader ran in to grab the stick human and half-drag them out of the trap before the jail-rat could get there.

Now both non-stick invaders are helping the previous stick-invader out of my dungeon. Good to see them going away.

Day 13

That extra mana grass should have put me at thirteen mana for today, let's take a look at my bounty!

#####

#p.p#

#.R.#

#p.p#

##.######

#...#,,,####

#.oR.T.,...#

#...#R,,##.#

##########.#

#...#R..##.#

#.^.T......#

#...#,.,####

#########

status Day 13, Mana: 21/28 Size: 57, next floor progress: 63%, Prisoners 1/4

Wait, what? Either that grass gets much better the more you have, or having a prisoner has a major mana impact, what eight mana? That is as much as my normal daily mana without the grass or exit. Not as good as maxing out my mana for killing them, but clearly a good source of mana!

If I spent most of it on grass, I could start with max mana tomorrow, but I still have a long way to go for the next floor, so I'll stay balanced, ten new grass and the rest in expanding. Not enough to get the next floor today, but I should have plenty tomorrow.

Intruder Detected

Again? I guess more prisoners might be nice, but I don't need or want you. Just go away!

There are a lot of them this time, a few of them carrying lanterns or torches, but the rest carrying pitchforks, slings, or hoes. Probably not professionals like the people with the hammer, but a lot more of them for all that, and my defenses are not nearly as strong.

Then again the sleep traps do not need to be very strong, so let's see how they deal with those.

One of the hoe-wielders steps into the sleep trap and shuffles around a bit until it goes off, but it does not seem to have much effect. Possibly because of the cloth they are holding to their faces? Well, perhaps the giant rats can chase them off?

When the first rat approaches the one with the hoe, it gets hit with three stones, two to the head and one to the side. The stone to the side does not do much, but the two to the head make it stumble and shake its head while the hoe and a pair of pitchforks take it out.

That is not promising.

Then they do something strange, they go behind where the rat was, play around with the lights and then start doing something to my mana grass.

A few minutes later, they pick up a piece of the mana grass big enough to make a bed for a normal rat, and a few of them take it and leave.

The rest check the next rooms, turning around when they see the giant rat in the room before my core room.

Then they go back and start poking at the rest of the mana grass in the rooms out of sight of the rat. There are a few of the invaders who are being loud and vigorous in their discussion, but in the end they just go and lay in wait for the giant rat. I suppose I could order it to go and attack them, but if they decide to leave, that is fine by me.

A while later some of those that left come back with baskets and they start loading them up with chunks of my mana grass. This is unfortunate, because none of it has even paid for itself yet, but I suppose it is easier to give up that grass than to risk dying for good this time.

While the invaders are working on my grass, and they really do seem to want all of it, I manage to call my three remaining rats to my core and try to tell them to defend me and not attack unless invaders attack or get too close. I have no idea if it worked, but they are still staying close

Once they have harvested all of the grass in my first few rooms, they come around the corner and have guards on the passage between the room next to my core and the other room that still has grass in it. When they advance into the room next to my core, they find my second sleep trap, but it is no more effective than the first one was, and they have several invaders with pitchforks ready to attack the rats should they charge at them while they get the last of my mana grass.

Perhaps now that they can see that they have taken all of my grass they will leave me alone.

They finally start using their lights to look around my core room from the passage, keeping a close eye on my three remaining rats. There is another loud discussion and some of the pitch-fork holders slowly walk along the wall of my core room towards my jail with their pitch-forks pointed at my last few giant rats.

I am hoping that they will quickly see that I have no grass in my jail and leave, but no, there is a bunch of yelling and hitting each other when they enter my prison and the cell pops open, letting out my prisoner.

Must they take everything? I will not even be able to replace all the grass they took at this rate, and what if they come back and take my new grass?

When my former prisoner comes into my core room, it points and yells at my rats, grabbing the pitchfork from one of the others and throwing it at us.

The rats manage to chase all of them out of my dungeon, but at great cost, as only one of them lives long enough to limp back and resume guarding my core.

I did not even manage to kill any of them, which would have allowed me to replace my lost grass and defenders.

Intruder Detected

Again? It is dark out, so at least the day is almost over, and there are only five of them this time.

I guess they are coming back to see if they left me any of my grass so they can correct their mistake.

It is pretty obvious that there is no grass left in any of the rooms before my core, and they quickly approach my core room with my only remaining defender.

They try to throw stones at it from outside the core room, and when it goes to try and defend itself, it gets pinned to the ground by pitchforks from either side before getting its head bashed in by a hammer.

I am leery about the hammer, but it is nothing like the cursed thing that was painful to even look at. Instead it is a simple iron head with a wooden handle, more of a tool than a weapon, but clearly it can serve as both.

After checking my prison(again!) they come and make noises at my core, sort of like the noises they made at the other invaders previously, but I have neither the interest nor the ability to respond to them, so I just wait for them to go away.

Distracted by trying to determine what I should do with the next days mana, I do not even notice what they are doing until one of them raises the hammer above their head for another strike. Unlike the cursed hammer, I feel nothing, even though I can see cracks starting to form in my core.

Well, if I am going to need to start all over, at least they are not torturing me like the lightning-ball people did.

Final layout before invaders:

#####

#p.p#

#.R.#

#p.p#

##.##########

#...#,,,#,,,#

#.cR.T.,....#

#...#R,,##..#

##########.##

#...#R,,#,..#

#.^.T.......#

#...#,,,#,,,#

#############