Lily looked around nervously in the dim light of the glowstone. She had advanced maybe three steps from the entrance, and the atmosphere of the dungeon was grating on her. She knew very little about dungeons, having grown up as a peasant. She did know that dungeons had monsters that adventurers must kill. She slid her father’s knife out of her belt. She had used this knife countless times before, helping Dane butcher carcasses, so it wasn’t as if she was completely clueless about how to use it. However, knowing that her life might depend on it now, she couldn’t help but notice how awkwardly it fit into her hand. She tried to adjust it to a more natural hold, imagining how she would use it on a monster. Still, she was uncomfortably aware that she had no idea what she was doing.
Walking into the darkness in the dim light of the glowstone, she compared it to going hunting with her father. They would walk out and stalk their prey. Lily shivered. Why did it feel like she was the prey now? So much darkness, so much she couldn’t see. And something was watching. The primal knowledge filled her, ratcheting up the tension in her body even further. Something was stalking her. She was sure of it.
She took another squelching step forward in the muddy corridor and gave a small yelp as her foot slid on a sudden incline, dropping to a knee as her balance was drawn off centre. Fear spiked through and she snapped her mouth shut. Did something hear her? Had she drawn it to her location? Then she really screamed as a horde of creatures ran over her, up her body and into her clothes. She slapped at herself as she frantically slid, squelched, and crawled her way back to the well-lit entrance.
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Agnetha beheld the bedraggled creature charging out of the corridor, smacking at her own body. As Lily came to a stop in front of her, Agnetha raised an eyebrow.
“What happened?” she asked.
Lily gasped and looked fearfully at the corridor behind them. It was empty. No sign of pursuit.
“I slipped and fell, and then a thousand insects attacked me.”
“Attacked you? I see no injuries anywhere on you. A bunch of mud, yes, but no wounds.”
“I…” Lily paused. “It did happen. Some of them are on me, even now.”
“Mmmm, so let’s take a moment and look at these bugs. Can you find any that are still on you?”
Lily shuddered. Her skin still crawled as if there were a thousand. Hesitantly, she started feeling over her clothes, shaking out some folds of material. One bug fell out and started skittering away. Lily dived down and slammed her hands down over it. Still shuddering she scooped it up, hoping fervently that whatever it was, it wouldn’t bite. And that it wasn’t poisonous. Its little legs tickled her hands as it ran around inside her hold, trying to squeeze out between her fingers and she tightened her grip. “Got it!”
“Now, we need to activate your ability to identify unknown creatures like we discussed at the village. Remember, the way to do it is to really concentrate on the creature, with the intent of seeing what it is. Are you ready?”
Lily nodded, then opened her hands slightly, grabbing the thing by its hind legs as it tried to run off. Then she frowned, “It just looks like a normal cockroach, Agnetha.” Then she yelped as Agnetha’s cane whacked across her calves, almost dropping the cockroach in her surprise.
“Did I ask what it looked like to you? Focus Lily, what does Identify say?”
Frowning Lily looked at the cockroach again, this time really studying it, squinting her eyes as she tried to focus in more detail on it. Nothing happened. Frowning she renewed her focus, creating a feeling of questioning almost. “What are you?” she whispered, tensing as she concentrated on the feeling of inquiry. A question about the nature of the creature. Finally, a hazy notification lit up, becoming more solid as it intensified.
Cockroach
The name of the creature was followed by a second notification.
New skill unlocked: Identify 1/20
“I did it! And yes, it is a cockroach. Wait, why did I need to unlock this skill? I had no problems seeing Baron Canewhold’s status the other night?”
“Because it is not the same. The skill you used to see Baron Canewhold’s status, is a very basic variant of Identify that almost all people possess. And to forestall your next question, no. It is not included in your class skills list, because one, it is not specific to your class, and two, it is such a basic skill by nature. To include it would mean all other basic skills like walking, talking, eating, and sleeping would have to be included as well. You would never get to the end of your skill list!”
“But Identify is class-specific?”
“Yes, indeed. And since it is applicable to your class, it is included in your list of class skills. As it upgrades, you will gradually be able to access more and more information on whatever you use it.”
Agnetha absentmindedly thumped her cane on the dungeon floor, and then continued, “About these cockroaches. Just now you said that they were still on you.”
Lily gasped and felt awkwardly around her clothes again, while hanging on to the cockroach in her hands. For all she hopped around and shook out her clothes, there were no more. Confused, she looked at the dungeon floor, and then the walls and even the ceiling, trying to see if they were skittering around or hiding out.
“So? Where are the rest?” Agnetha pushed.
“I don’t know,” Lily replied. “Maybe they ran back into the dungeon while I was practising Identify?”
“Oh? Well, I suppose that’s possible. But you still have to finish this dungeon experience by eliminating them all. Why don’t you start with this little one in your hands?”
Lily needed no further invitation to drop the cockroach and crush it underfoot. Crushing it resulted in another notification.
Experience counter activated.
Unique rewards available at every milestone.
Progress to Milestone 1
1/250 EXP
“And?” Agnetha queried.
“My experience counter just activated,” Lily answered.
“Good! Now get back into that dungeon and find the rest of the cockroaches that assaulted you. And don’t come back without your knife and my glowstone.”
Lily gasped and looked at her empty hands. Yes, she did lose both the knife and the glowstone. What kind of adventurer was she?
The shame did not prevent her from noticing something in Agnetha’s expression though. There was a glint in her eye. She knew something about this dungeon, and she wasn’t telling Lily. A new notification lit up in Lily’s view, confirming her intuition.
New skill unlocked: Observation 1/20
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
She opened her mouth to question Agnetha, and noticed another, different look on Agnetha’s face. She snapped her mouth shut and turned around to head back into the corridor. This time into total darkness.
Skill increase: Observation +2
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In her hidey-hole at the back of the corridor Claire was split between observing the two groups - Lily and Agnetha inside her dungeon, and Layne and Tamrin still on the outside. Splitting her focus was tiring, and it was giving her a headache. On the other hand, the five-point gain in SSV from Lily’s increasing skills went a long way in soothing Claire’s agitation.
New adventurer skill gained.
2 SSV received
Adventurer skill increase
3 SSV received
Which reminded her of something. Now, what was it again? Claire sluggishly rummaged around her mind for the memory. Oh yes. The answer to her question felt frustratingly obvious, but she just couldn’t wrap her mind around it right then. So, she asked Rick instead.
Hey Rick, how does gaining skill share from adventurers work?
From where he was invisibly hovering, Rick whispered to her, “Gaining skill share from adventurer encounters is relatively straightforward. While adventurers are in your territory, you gain two skill share value points every time an adventurer gains a new class skill, one skill share point for every class skill increase, and five skill share points every time an adventurer levels up.”
Claire’s core bobbed slightly up and down behind the camouflage screen she had erected, as she nodded. Then she refocused on the adventurers. Lily was cautiously heading back deeper into the hallway, while Agnetha lingered by the entrance. Layne and Tamrin were edging up to the entrance aperture as well, ready for action. Then Claire gasped.
Rick! What happens if Layne and Tamrin enter while Agnetha and Lily are still inside?
“I don’t know. Usually, it depends on what the different adventuring groups’ relationships with each other are. They can ignore each other, team up together, or even ambush, fight or kill each other.”
Claire considered.
Wouldn’t it be better to limit the groups to one at a time?
“Some dungeons do regulate admission by closing the dungeon entrance while a group is diving. At the highest core levels it also becomes possible to create multiple dungeon iterations, so that different groups can run the dungeon simultaneously - each having their own separate dungeon experience in parallel dungeon-created space-time dimensions. Most dungeons at your level, however, will simply let the adventurer groups manage the dungeon runs by themselves. The reason is that in low-level dungeons there is very little incentive for a bunch of groups to gang up on a dungeon, the constructs and rewards being at such a low level. If too many adventurers attempt a dungeon at once, there simply isn’t enough for everything to go around. Similarly, adventurers know to give a dungeon at least a couple of hours between each run, so that it can replenish and reset. I wouldn’t worry about it at this point if I were you.”
Claire slowly thought over each of the points Rick had brought up.
So, experienced adventurers will know not to enter a low-level dungeon while another group is currently inside?
“Yes.”
Because it will dilute the value of the rewards they receive?
“Yes.”
And Layne and Tamrin are experienced adventurers?
“Yes, we know that from their class information we saw when they were here on the beach yesterday.”
Wow, that was yesterday, wasn’t it? It feels like weeks ago with everything we’ve been up to. Then Claire lightly shook herself, forcefully bringing her diluted focus back to the present. She really looked forward to having her core stats at more normal levels. Hopefully soon… And then she caught her own thoughts again, once more trying to focus.
So, why are Layne and Tamrin entering my dungeon, when they know that another group is already inside?
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Bent over, Layne and Tamrin climbed through the entrance and cautiously looked around. They did not see Agnetha melding into the background right beside the entrance wall, as they peered into the darkness. Deeper into the corridor, there was a slight illumination, causing shadows to dance around in portentous patterns.
“They are definitely in here,” Layne whispered to Tamrin. “Let’s leave. We can rest outside, and chat to them when they exit. Learn about their experience.”
“No, this is too much of an opportunity. Let them exhaust the dungeon constructs while we are also inside. It will make it easier for us to get to the core and remove it.”
Layne’s hand unconsciously drifted down to the hilt of his sword. Catching the movement, he forced his arm to relax by his side. Tamrin’s blind focus was just so overwhelming. Tamrin was so overwhelming. This felt wrong, and he wanted out. Not out of the dungeon, mind you. Being here with the dungeon felt right. But away from Tamrin, away from being boxed in.
Glancing at his face, Tamrin noticed the look he had and turned towards him with a sigh. Before she could speak, however, there was the sound of panicked footsteps running straight towards them. Adventurer training taking over, they both pulled out their weapons and readied themselves for combat. Layne took the forward position with his gladius and heater shield at the ready, protecting Tamrin who stood ready at his back to throw her knives.
They both tensed as the thudding approached, climaxing in the appearance of a muddy, dishevelled girl with hair sticking out in all directions. Tamrin flinched as the girl came to a stop in a spray of mud, the girl’s hands covering her mouth looking desperately from side to side. Her shoulders shook as her body heaved, then she dashed past them to the wall and vomited.
Advancing forward, Layne stayed at the ready, scanning the dark hallway for any threats that may follow. Ignoring the girl, Tamrin moved in step with Layne for support. The corridor stayed empty. They watched and waited. Nothing.
“Hey Tamrin, please check on the girl,” Layne asked in a low voice, staying alert.
“No. We don’t know if this tunnel is safe yet,” she murmured back.
“Will you please just do as I ask for once?” Layne sighed.
Dropping her guard, Tamrin turned to face him.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You know very well what I mean. Now will you please just check on the girl since you’re no longer backing me up in this formation anyway?”
“No. I will not and why don’t you use your words for once and tell me what you mean? Don’t think I don’t see your sighs when we’re together. Was I not supposed to notice how you’ve been avoiding my company recently? Or what a chore being with me suddenly appears to be.”
“Tamrin, for the love of the creator, not now! We’re in a dungeon!”
“And I don’t care. Do you think us being at odds will make us function any better as the team we’re supposed to be?”
Finally, Layne abandoned his defensive posture, looking around for the girl. If he and Tamrin were going to fight, he’d at least prefer some privacy. The girl was nowhere to be seen. It was just an empty entrance, with him and Tamrin standing at the mouth of the hallway that snaked away into the dark. For all that, he could not shake the feeling that someone, or something, was watching.
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Character sheet summary at the end of Chapter 12
Claire
Type: Life-Mind
Level: 1
Integrity: 64%
Processing speed: 28%
Functional capacity: 32%
Progress to next level
-680/250 LF Performance provision
643/500 Dungeon Investment, consisting of:
498/≥125 LF
145/≥125 ME
21/250 Skill Share Value
Core defence enabled
Cutting thorn barrier
5 LF to initiate
Continuous drain of 10 LF per day
Resources available
Biomass: 9
Mental energy: 5
Raw material: 486
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Lily Hunter
Rogue Level 1
Progress to Milestone 1
1/250 EXP
First-tier skills
Basic herbalism 2/20
Deception 2/20
New: Identify 1/20
Lock picking 5/20
New: Observation +2 → 3/20
Petty theft 1/20
Pick-pocketing 4/20
Quick thinking 2/20
Sneaking 8/20
Sleight of hand 2/20
Second-tier skills
Spying 0/50
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Lily’s tab (Yes, Agnetha is counting.)
x1 donkey
x1 glowstone
10% of Lily’s profit
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