A/N: As the main reward for solving the Page riddle, Faquarl was offered the choice between Beach Cave, Underground Lake, and Glistening Grotto. They chose Glistening Grotto.
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Notifications: Off/On
Rori stared at the Setting. Keeping this Off had not prevented the system from notifying him of defeated delvers, nor of delvers that had defeated him. Most annoyingly importantly of all, it hadn't stopped the system from shouting at him about Actions that are not allowed. Spiting the system Avoiding annoyance Preventing pop-ups Diverting distractions during critical moments had been his original motivation.
Yep. Definitely that. Nothing else.
But that was clearly no reason to continue keeping Notifications Off. On the contrary, he suspected that notifications would lubricate the interface, helping him reduce or avoid future pain.
However, turning it On might make the world feel even more game-like, causing old habits to kick in and causing him to treat this even more like a game than he already is. And he doubted there were any amount of notifications that could have helped him during his fall into the Agonizing Abyss.
Then again, that might just be his heels-dug-in stubbornness talking. He had already written off his previous attempt as anomalous.
Alright, alright. I've convinced me.
Notifications: Off/On -> Off/On
BUT I'M WATCHING YOU! Now, BACK to the other decision I was procrastinating considering.
Select 'Watery Depths' Variant:
Ocean Trench
Seafloor Tunnels
Beach Cave
Underground Lake
Glistening Grotto
Rori had decided he should at least open up the 'watery depths' list again, just to make sure it was the same as last time. And opening it up meant he would have to pick one. He honestly should have done this sooner – right away, in fact, just in case five new variants appeared. He considered choosing 'Underground Lake' again for a similar reason, to see if it spawned him in the same place as the first time.
Hmm… maybe later. For now, repetition is boring and 'Beach Cave' sounds easy for people to find, so how about…
Confirm: 'Glistening Grotto'?
Confirm.
Finalizing SOP-ACRP…
Success!
Spawning Core ID: 0.0.931-48…
Would you like a spawning grace period? No/Yes
There was a circular timer, indicating that this decision needed to be made quickly, and Rori could guess what the default option would be.
YES!
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Within a cellar stuffed with shelves and schematics, upon a table topped with trinkets erratic, sat many a device of machine and magic. As well as Reginald Goodfellow – local gadget fanatic.
To the sound of ticking clocks and a hum of elation, tiny fingers tinkered with their latest creation, when an artifact alights in loud activation. "Goodness gracious!" said the startled soul, stumbling from his station.
"A dungeon? Nearby? Unless I'm a fool…" With a twist and a hop, he jumped back on his stool. Then, fingers deft, he examined his tool. At the edge of the glass, mana began to pool.
"Bless my soul! It's true! I must get my shoes! WELBY!! COME QUICK!!! WAKE UP FROM YOUR SNOOZE!!"
"I'm up! Is it ready? What is the news?"
"A dungeon has spawned! There's no time to lose!"
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In a wide chamber with shimmering walls, slicked wet with miniature waterfalls, a white crystal is lodged in pillars tall, with ethereal hum like siren's call.
Rori was given all of one second to himself before his solitude was interrupted.
Welcome to the Dungeon Core Initiation Sequence. If at any time you wish to exit the sequence, simply turn notifications off and back on again. Your duty as a dungeon core is to accumulate mana and level up. Mana will primarily be gained through delvers. The more delvers you attract, delay, and defeat, the more mana you will gather. But be careful! Delvers want nothing more than to take your mana. If you don't have enough to satisfy them, they might destroy you in the hopes of making up the difference. Your first goal is to protect yourself. To begin, open the Interface and switch to Assisted mode.
Rori soaked up every word. Unlike the cold and automated tones of the pop-ups, this 'initiation sequence' had vocal inflections. No doubt it was pre-recorded, but his lonely mind had been given something like a personal interaction, and it was like introducing a dry sponge to water.
Rori took a moment to look at the new additions to his HUD: a glowing outline around the 'Interface' word, and a circular timer right next to it. Description.
Grace Period.
Grants the 'Barred' Property to your dungeon.
Closed. Description.
Property: Barred
Causes your outside boundary to become impenetrable but not invisible to invaders.
Straightforward enough. Back. Now, why are you glowing, mister Interface? Why are YOU glowing, Assisted?
Mode: Manual/Assisted
The moment the he switched modes, the pre-recorded voice returned.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this menu. The Description key word can be used to explain the purpose of anything you see. When you are satisfied, open the Special section of Templates and select the Core Containment Cube.
Rooms: 0/1
Checkpoints: 0/1
Zones: 0/1
Mobs: 0/10
Available Mana: 1001
Mana Intake/Maintenance Ratio: 99%
Actions: Highlight | Description | Modify | Delete | Move | Place | …
Templates: Structure | Object | Special | Custom
Rori went straight to the glowing Special section. He found exactly one available option.
1_Core Containment Cube | 50% | …
Page: 1
Huh. Alright, Description.
The Core Containment Cube is an extremely sturdy cubical structure three stride wide, tall, and deep. It has one entrance, high integrity even when it is only temporary, and is invisible to invaders until it becomes occupied.
Rori did not quite feel like an idiot upon reading this. He was rather proud of himself, actually, for having figured out the solution to an exposed core by himself.
Select.
Now that you have selected the Core Containment Cube, try to use the various Actions upon it. It is currently highlighted. When you are finished, Set the core in a viable place.
Move.
Note that the structure is highlighted in red. This means that something is preventing it from being placed. Often this will be the result of colliding infrastructure, insufficient mana, or rules violation. In this case, you are violating the rule that the Core Containment Cube must be centered around a dungeon core, and may not be placed anywhere else in the dungeon.
Undo. Rotate.
Note that the structure is highlighted in red. This means yadda, yadda, yadda. In this case, you are violating the rule that the Core Containment Cube must connect to the Path to the Core. For more information about the Path to the Core-
Nah. Undo, Set.
You have Set a Template. This means that you are ready to Place or Affix the Template, assuming you have enough mana. The Place function will cause the template to yeah, yeah, whatever. How do I speed this along?
The part of Rori's brain that was starving for social interaction had quickly been overruled by the part of his brain that loathed repetition and the other part that abhorred answering machines. Right now, the words appeared on his screen as slowly as the pre-recorded voice spoke them.
Isn't there a keyword called 'Skip'? Aha! There sure is!
With the full message now on display, Rori skimmed through it, just in case there was any new info. Naturally, all the new info was down at the bottom.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
It is recommended that you Place the Core Containment Cube and then Affix it as soon as you have the available mana. If you affix it without placing it first, it might not be built by the time delvers yadda, yadda, yadda. When you are ready to move on, use the Back keyword to return to the main interface menu, then open the Rooms category of the Structure templates.
Rori didn't hesitate to go Back. With the Cube already Set, he could Place it at a moment's thought, but he didn't want to lower his I/M until his grace period was over. He might not even bother Place-ing it at all, although he might Affix it last minute if he wants to deplete a good chunk of his starting budget.
After all, the Glistening Grotto is similar to the Underground Lake in many ways. Most obviously, the stone spears holding his core could have been copy-pasted from the old location. But more importantly, the layout of the dungeon itself was almost identical. His core sat in the center of a cavernous room comprising most of his dungeon's available space, with a single entrance that might admit delvers. The key difference is motion and depth. Water is not sitting still in a single large lake. It's trickling into his core chamber from cracks in the stone ceiling, pooling in many places, and slowly flowing out again through leaks in the floor. The other main difference was the lack of a glowing bridge; here, only two diagonal staircase panels were needed for the Path to the Core.
But as far as dungeon design is concerned, that may as well be aesthetic when accounting for cheese. The single-entrance cavern was functionally identical to his first attempt, so he could adopt the same fundamental approach: use the entrance as a natural choke point. No need to waste mana building a wall around his core. The natural environment has done it for him.
Now, what else does the 'Initiation Sequence' have to say? Structures. Rooms.
The list was no different from all the other times he'd seen it.
Rooms are your best means of delaying and defeating delvers. At level 1, you are limited to 1 room, so choose wisely. When you have chosen a room, Place it along the Path to the Core.
With a glance to his remaining grace period – not even a fourth of the circular timer had passed – Rori took the time to look through the harmless rooms. Thanks to the existence of cheating cheaters who cheat, he's no longer confident in the Riddle Door. Unless he can become a cheating cheater who cheats himself, he's going to shelve that strategy for now.
In limbo he had spent a fair amount of time strategizing. He had decided to focus on the one thing he'd seen so far that is unique to Harmless dungeons, which are themselves unique enough to be 'priceless'. With any luck, the delvers of this world won't have an existing cheat-sheet on how to handle it, and with enough creativity, he might just be able to craft an unsolvable room. Or at least a surprisingly difficult one.
But it seems that's a long ways off, Rori thought as he looked through the harmless templates. Most of them seemed to have puzzle-like challenges with straightforward solutions. Unless Equalized impairs mind as well as muscle, it would only help in the obstacle rooms, like Monkey Business. Maybe there're other zones that are unique to Harmless dungeons?
A bit of fiddling with filtered searches showed that such zones did exist, but the rest were above the 'basic' level and prohibitively expensive.
Template: Structure | Object | Special | Custom
Objects: Bosses | Traps | Obstacles | Zones | Mobs | Economy | Custom | Saved
Filter: Harmless Exclusive
1_Basic Zone: Equalized | 1%/s3
2_Novice Zone: Minimized | 10%/s3
3_Apprentice Zone: Grounded | 100%/s3
4_Journeyman Zone: Humbled | 1000%/s3
5_Advanced Zone: Unshackled | 10000%/s3
6_Expert Zone: Unfettered | 100000%/s3
7_Veteran Zone: Uplifted | 1000000%/s3
8_Elite Zone: Amplified | 10000000%/s3
9_Master Zone: Empowered | 100000000%/s3
10_Sovereign Zone: Enshrined | 1000000000%/s3
Page: 1
I guess I should look through the ones I can afford. Minimized Description. Hm… just an upgraded Equalized. Back. Grounded Description. Nope, just an upgraded Minimized. It'd be nice to set all invader attributes to 1 and prevent all forms of flight, but the Faquarl family proved that I need something better. Back. Humbled Description. Ah, now THAT's interesting.
Journeyman Zone: Humbled (Harmless)
Exclusive to Harmless dungeons, this zone blocks all system-derived benefits that are unnecessary to an invader's ongoing health and/or survival. This includes attributes, spells, items, potions, enchantments, and ongoing ritual effects.
If I'm understanding this right, that would actually have prevented the aid spells. Shame it's beyond my budget. Unless… He glanced at his current I/M
Natural I/M: 99%
Adjusted I/M: 99%
Stored Mana: 1011
I never DID check to see if this would work. Economy. Mana Crystal. Affix.
At the cost of 10 mana from his starting budget, the tip of the stalactite holding his core upright became coated in crystal, taking on the exact same hue and luster, although not the same brightness. And when he checked his natural I/M…
Natural I/M: 100%
Adjusted I/M: 100%
Stored Mana: 1002
YES! It WOULD work. I just need… how much WOULD I need? Affix.
Natural I/M: 100%
Adjusted I/M: 101%
Stored Mana: 992
Oh, right. Can't go over 100% natural I/M. Darn. Well, THAT idea is a bust too, at least for anything that costs more than 200% I/M. But I still want the data.
For the sake of even numbers, Rori Placed his core containment cube with every intention to Delete it in a bit.
Natural I/M: 51%
Adjusted I/M: 51%
Stored Mana: 992
Affix, Affix, Affix. The crystal quickly creeped outward from his core, inching slightly down the pillar.
Natural I/M: 54%
Adjusted I/M: 54%
Stored Mana: 962
He did the mental math. At 1% natural I/M per crystal… he sighed. I just need a minimum of 800 more Mana Crystals to afford a single cubic stride of Humbled, assuming it lets me use my 'buffered' Natural I/M that way. Realistically, 1000 more Mana Crystals. Which would cost 10,000 mana. Which isn't happening anytime soon. Still…
On impulse Rori decided to go wild. Copy, Affix, Affix, Affix, Affix, Copy, Affix, Copy, Affix.
Natural I/M: 100%
Adjusted I/M: 150%
Stored Mana: 13
By highlighting and Affixing increasingly large crystal clusters – first in groups of five, then twenty-five, then fifty, he had a total of 100 core crystals and 0 mana left in his starting budget. The entirety of the stalagmite holding his core had been coated in crystal, and part of the stalactite above as well. Out of all the ways to get rid of his budget, this seemed like the best so far.
Even looking at it economically, affixing an ordinary boss room at level 1 would have cost 500 mana and reduced maintenance costs from 100% to around 5%. That's a little worse than using 5 mana to gain 1% I/M. In theory, that's almost twice as efficient as Mana Crystals. But in practice, fixed structures take too long to build, too long to change, too long to destroy, and every adjustment costs mana (not that he's even gotten the opportunity to try). Economy nodes are instant and can be destroyed at any time for a refund. Less efficient, more instant. And more flexible.
One last thing. Delete.
Natural I/M: 100%
Adjusted I/M: 199%
Stored Mana: 13
Rori glanced at his grace period. Not even halfway over. But still not nearly enough time to gather enough mana for level 2, even with his improved intake. He'd be lucky to reach 50 stored mana.
And no free attributes to assign either. I'm capped at one room, one zone, and ten mobs, i.e. one boss. So, let's see if I can create an Entrance of Doom!
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"When do you think it will be ready?"
"Any moment now. Just keep your hand steady-"
"Aha!" The dungeon's color shifted to white from gray.
"Quick! The danger level! What's it say, what's it say?"
"Harmless?" asked Welby Goodfellow, his hand on the entrance.
"Marvelous!" Reginald bellowed. "This is your chance!"
With a light shove he ushered his grandson past the threshold. And when he stepped inside himself, he was surprised to behold, a pit trap on the ground into which Welby had strolled, and a patch of ice at his feet, quite cold.
Pretty sure that confirms they're as blinded by the border as I am, Rori thought as he fetched the Descriptions of his delvers.
Names: Reginald Goodfellow, Welby Goodfellow
Levels: 19, 9
Species: Manlet
Class: Artificer (Uncommon), Commoner (Common)
Delver Count: 11
Really, Holy Word? Rude! Why call the sea monkeys 'Fishlings' if you won't even call these guys 'Halflings'?
"Hooo!" Reginald hissed. "What's this? Equalized? How unpleasant!"
"Grandfather?" Welby called. "A little help? I'm stuck!"
Curious to see how he would handle it, Rori watched the level 19 'Manlet' inch forward and peer down into the pit, which was full of sticky spider-webs. He hadn't cheaped out on the economy option THIS time!
"What a devious dungeon!" Reginald said as he retrieved a metal pole from his backpack, which he then extended down towards Welby.
Another magical hiking pole, Rori thought. I don't know why I thought it would be anything else. I guess it's standard practice.
The tip took the form of a sharp poker with a blade.
Well that's new.
"Apologies for the push, Welby!" He huffed at the effort of cutting the webbing. "I'll get you out in a jiff-EEE!" he slipped and fell, almost falling forward into the pit, but using the pole to hold himself steady at the last minute.
Be careful you idiot! Rori thought, his heart leaping into his throat as he watched the sharp poker nearly spear the helpless Manlet.
"Be careful, Grandfather! I think I prefer the soft end of a failure to the sharp end of a skewer."
At least I'm not the only one who cares.
"I know!" said Reginald as Welby eyed the bladed hiking pole. "I should get off this ice first. Don't want to fall, after all!" He stuck the pole firmly in the ground a bit to Welby's side, then took a few steps back, preparing to pole-vault. Just as Reginald left one patch of ice, another appeared at his destination. "Oof!" Reginald said as slipped from his feet and landed on his bum. If not for his grip on the pole, he would have slid straight into the next trap.
"Are you alright, grandfather?!"
"Oh-ho-HO!" came Reginald's reply. He leaned over the edge of the pit trap he'd just jumped. "Not four strides in and we were nearly defeated! This dungeon may not be dangerous, but it is downright dastardly. I think I'll have to get you out the hard way."
"If I'm honest, Grandfather," Welby said as he watched the bladed pole swipe at the webbing around him. "I think you're a bigger danger right now than the dungeon."
"Nonsense, nonsense!" Reginald made a particularly swift swipe, with a particularly forceful grunt. "It's perfectly harmless! Says so in the enchantment and everything. Now see if you can cut the rest of yourself free."
I'm beginning to like these two, Rori thought. If only there was a way I could… wait…
"Will do!" said Welby as he withdrew a dagger and started swiping at the webbing on his clothes, his backpack, and finally, his feet. After a few minutes of work, he finally shimmied up the pole to his grandfather's side. "It almost had me there," he said with a huff. "Low strength is quite the challenge."
"Ditto! So be careful going forward, or your throat will leap into your heart!"
"You said it wrong again."
Reginald waved an uncaring hand. "Yes, yes. I'm old and forgetful. No need to remind me. Wait, what were we discussing?"
Welby smiled and rolled his eyes. "We were discussing how to pass the next pit without our hearts leaping into our throats."
"Hm? Oh, that's simple." The metal pole shortened to its original length, then lengthened again when Reginald pointed it across the next pit, tapping the other side once. "There!"
Welby gave his grandfather a look. "What did that do?
"Nothing!" Reginald said with a smile. Without further ado, he vaulted to the other side, landing on solid magi-glass. "See? Genius!" He hefted the pole back to the other side with a shove.
"…I see," said Welby, grasping it and vaulting over.
As they both walked towards the first room, Reginald led them like a blind man with a cane, touching every tile with metal before trusting it with his own two feet. Once they reached the boss room, he stopped at the threshold, just like the elder fishling.
"In we go!" said Reginald. But just as he was about to tap it with his pole, the entire structure disappeared. Reginald stumbled a bit, eyes wide as he caught sight of the core straight ahead.
"Another trick?" asked Welby.
Reginald slowly nodded. "Very likely. We're still being Equalized."
The two inched their way into the main chamber, but what they saw surrounding the central structure caused their jaws to drop at the impossible sight.
Two arrows of magi-glass pointed at the core from either side. And in the empty space of the dungeon stood giant glowing letters of the same material.
HI GOOD FELLOWS. I'M RORI, THE CORE.