Rori re-aligned his boss room so that the entrance node connected directly to the foyer of the dungeon.
No more cheese for YOU, my devious delvers!
In all honesty, he should have seen it coming. He's watched enough speedruns to know that people will find ways to cut corners if they're dedicated to the task. Different communities have different terms for it. "Cheese" in platformers, "lateral thinking" in puzzles, "shortcuts" in racing games, and "skips" in speedruns. They are the unintended work-arounds to difficult challenges, and the greatest shame of prideful challenge-crafters. Rori barely had any time before those fishlings arrived, but he still felt like he should have done better from the start.
But, better late than never. Once the boss-room was relocated to the entrance passageway, i.e. lodged somewhat in solid stone instead of suspended mid-air by temporary platforms, it began flashing green, indicating the possibility of permanence. He did not turn the boss room into a fixed template. That little gremlin had taken 500 mana from his starting balance, and he wanted to save the rest.
Mana, he thought, the keyword triggering a segment of his interface.
Stored Mana: 600/100
Mana Until Next Level: 100/100
Natural Intake/Maintenance Ratio: -1%
Adjusted Intake/Maintenance Ratio: -1%
On the plus side, he'd learned a lot about what he can and can't do.
I CAN adjust my dungeon on the fly, maybe add rooms that specific delvers might be weak to, but I CAN'T gaslight my delvers by changing places they've already been. Not until they leave the dungeon entirely.
He also learned a lot about what he should and shouldn't do.
I SHOULDN'T underestimate my delvers, and I SHOULD try to have at least 500 stored mana on hand at all times, just in case.
While he'd been helpless, the system had helpfully informed him that he was above the '500 mana threshold'. Otherwise Grrrmrgrl would have probably been presented with a different set of options: destroy the core, or leave empty-handed.
He shuddered at how close he had come, how lucky he was, but most of all, how disgusting that mouth had been.
I need to improve the level of my game, he thought. And by that I don't just mean that I need to… Level Up.
Confirm: Level up 1->2?
Yes.
He felt… empty. But also stronger.
And with no effort or ability on my part, the baby's boomstick has become bigger, he thought. I wish 'economy' was more viable.
A quick glance at the basic economy objects…* had been slightly disappointing. He could pay 10 mana to spawn a 'Basic Mana Bulb' that would improve his storage capacity by 1, meaning he could spend 100 mana to increase his capacity by 10. Or he could spend 100 mana to 'level up'. Along with all the other benefits that leveling would likely bring, it would increase his capacity by… well, he hadn't known in advance, but he had guessed it would be more than 10.
Mana.
Stored Mana: 500/200
Mana Until Next Level: 0/200
Natural Intake/Maintenance Ratio: 0%
Adjusted Intake/Maintenance Ratio: 0%
And his guess had been right. Looks like it went up by a full 100. Plus his I/M had improved, by the looks of things. Now he just needs-
"MRRRRRMMMMMGRGLRRR!"
-to deal with more delvers. Great. Once again, barbarians are at the gates.
Okay, crunch time. Interface. His eyes flicked to the top to see if leveling had also increased room capacity.
Mode: Manual/Assisted
Rooms: 1/2
Checkpoints: 0/1
Zones: 1/2
Mobs: 10/20
Available Mana: 500
Natural Intake/Maintenance Ratio: 0%
Good. Templates. Structures. Rooms. Option 1.
He didn't even bother to see what boss it contained, he just aligned its entrance with the first boss room's exit.
Of all the possibilities he pictured himself perpetrating as a 'Harmless' dungeon, a boss rush wasn't one of them. In limbo, he had envisioned enthralling his intruders with obstacles and entertainment. But needs must. He needs quick and dirty protection, so he must go with the simplest selection.
At 100% I/M a pop – wait, make that 99%, looks like it's lower now – boss rooms are as simple as it gets. Theoretically, he can have 2 temporary boss rooms at a time, if he's willing to go down to the maximum limit of negative 100% I/M. Well, negative 98% at the reduced cost. -99% if you include the amount he's being forced to spend on the bridge leading to the core.
He aligned the new boss room's entrance with the exit of the old one, gave a brief glance to his mana- and nearly did a double-take. While his 'Natural I/M' hovered at 0%, his 'Adjusted I/M' was over 1000%. And it was rising- not steadily, but in chunks of between 50% and 80% I/M, every time another fishling entered the dungeon.
Okay, I now see why dungeons want to attract delvers.
With that much extra mana, he decided to place his new boss room right away, lowering his 'Natural I/M' to -79%. He now felt like he was running a marathon with an unlimited source of carbs to fuel his feet. The latest addition to his dungeon had lowered his Adjusted I/M by the same amount – an amount that was growing increasingly negligible as the number grew larger and larger.
Is there even a limit to the number of delvers that can occupy my dungeon?
They stopped trickling in eventually, but he wasn't sure if that was a limit of some kind or just the total number of fishlings in the group.
The new arrivals meandered about the dungeon entrance, advancing cautiously unlike the previous four. It was beginning to get crowded in the space before the first boss room. Despite all the pushing and scratching from behind, those at the front were unwilling to enter the glowing, artificial structure filled with dancing dusty lights and a see-through, man-sized mushroom with a stalk as thick as a tree trunk.
There was an argument that involved more biting and clawing than talking, followed by a nearly unanimous agreement. A small, nervous, trembling little fishling by the name of 'Nrgl' was shoved forward onto the glowing flat-thing. Nrgl's first response was to cower on the ground for a while, going no deeper into the room. Especially not near the lumpy, stumpy mushroom in the middle. Its second response was to caress the glowing ground, clearly marveling at something. Its third response was to start hopping around in excitement.
This caused two of its fellows to hesitantly follow. They, too, started hopping around after feeling the floor. This opened the floodgates for the rest.
Once ten had entered the room, however, a tall wall of mist manifested from nowhere, cutting off and repelling all remaining fishlings like a sideways trampoline.
I guess there IS some kind of limit after all.
The ten fishlings inside didn't seem to notice the mist, nor did they seem to hear the cries from their tribespeople. They just kept hopping and flopping around, trying to catch the bigger specks of glowing dust in the room and gurgling in what might have been joy. But as the minutes dragged on, their movements slowed. They began to yawn and fall to the floor, like children tuckered out by too much tussling. One by one, they fell asleep.
After the last fishling stopped moving, the central mushroom stirred. Short and stubby limbs unfolded underneath the umbrella-like cap. Black, beady eyes blinked open. A toothless, tongueless mouth gave a tiny yawn. Where before the mushroom's 'trunk' had been lumpy and wrinkled, now it was smooth. The lumps had become limbs, the wrinkles had opened into orifices.
With a peaceful smile and a slow yet steady gait, the mushroom walked over to one of the fallen fishlings. As gently and softly as a caring mother, it picked up Nrgl and brought it towards ten tall, transparent tubes lining the walls – the 'ejection pads'. The Snoozing Shroom placed Nrgl into a tube, slid the cylindrical glass back in place, then started walking towards another fishling.
Okay, they're back to being cute again.
Despite the noisy clamoring outside the first boss room, Rori felt he finally has a bit of breathing room.
He checked his Mana.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Stored Mana: 700/200
Mana Until Next Level: 200/200
Natural Intake/Maintenance Ratio: -79%
Adjusted Intake/Maintenance Ratio: 1311%
Wow, already full? Why didn't you tell me? Level up!
Confirm: Lev-
Yes.
The moment he leveled up, however, he felt the sensation of trespass once again. A single new trespasser, to be exact, although it felt… bigger. Heavier. Like it carried the weight of ten fishlings instead of one. His attention was automatically drawn to this new delver. It was not physically bigger than the others – in fact, it was a bit smaller. But it walked at a measured pace, unlike the wild frenzy that characterized its kin. And when others of its own kind spotted it, they stopped what they were doing (i.e. beating up their sistren because they couldn't get to the fun place anymore) and instead tried to get the new arrival's attention. Only without any biting or scratching, just 'talking'. Loud and wild talking, to be sure, but nothing violent.
Description, Rori thought.
Name: Mrrrrrgrmrl
Level: 13
Species: Fishling
Class: Elder (Uncommon)
Delver Count: 10
For a while, the 'elder' stood still and listened to its kin. On the other side of the mist wall, the Snoozing Shroom sequestered the second slumbering fishling to its tube.
Okay, change of plans, thought Rori. The starting allowance will serve as my 500 mana buffer for now. I need to stop this guy from getting to my core. Mana not stolen is mana earned, after all. My biggest priority is to get stronger without leveling up.
The Elder had entered the moment he leveled up. If the two events are connected, he doesn't want to level up and have to deal with even more elders.
Alright, I guess it's time to check these out. Attributes.
Power: 3
Control: 3
Fortitude: 3
Manacle: 3
Management: 3
Appeal: 3
Free Attributes: 2
Uuuuggggh! More mechanics that I don't have time to explore. Settings. Preferred Language: S++.
It was the most straightforward and succinct language out of all the ones he knew, and it often cut to the underlying mechanics in a way that the other languages didn't. Ignoring the wonky way this language affected the rest of the interface, Rori focused on the six items that could only be the Attributes: Pwr=3|Ctl=3|Ftd=3|Mcl=3|Mng=3|Apl=3
He pulled up their descriptions.
Set.RoomCapacity(Pwr) //Primary Power Function
Set.ControlCapacity(Ctl) //Primary Control Function
Set.TemplateIntegrity(Ftd) //Primary Fortitude Function
Set.ZoneCapacity(Mnc) //Primary Manacle Function
Set.MobCapacity(10*Mng) //Primary Management Function
Set.ManaCapacity(100*Apl) //Primary Appeal Function
Oooookaaaay… I think I figured out what happened. Preferred Language: The Holy Word. Mob Capacity.
Mob Capacity, not to be confused with mob limit, is the maximum cumulative strength of mobs allowed in a dungeon. Mob Capacity and Delver Capacity share the same value, unless affected by other modifiers. Increases with Management.
Rori didn't bother fetching the 'Delver Capacity' description. But he did bother with…
Mob Limit. Description.
Mob Limit, not to be confused with mob capacity, is the maximum cumulative strength of mobs allowed to claim an area as their territory. The default mob and delver limits of any given template are rarely the same outside of boss or mob rooms, and even then they can vary.
I guess that explains the wall of mist.
Now that he'd gotten a brief overview of the Attributes, he did some rapid-fire planning.
On the plus side, my goal of 500 stored mana is a button tap away. Two points in Appeal and I'm there. Alternatively, level up twice. But even if I had the mana for it, leveling would also increase my 'Management', which would increase my delver capacity, which would mean more fishlings.
He looked up at the Elder who was still listening patiently, and at the mushroom who was on the fourth fishling.
My current bottleneck is my I/M ratio, not my various 'capacities'. Unless Attributes affect more than their 'primary functions', they aren't the answer to my immediate problems. I'm already below capacity in every category as it stands. I need to focus on my defenses. So I should probably see what my second boss room contains.
Highlight. Description.
Basic Zone Obstacle Boss: Crystal Cube
Properties: Path to the Core, Harmless, Economy
This crystalline structure is resistant to most forms of damage that can be inflicted at the basic level. It steadily drains the magic of nearby delvers. Should they reach a critical mana threshold or time out before conquering the cube, they will be ejected from the dungeon.
Okay, so it's an economy boss. That explains why it didn’t bring his natural I/M ratio all the way down to -99%. But according to the description of economy items, that also makes it 'lower performing' than normal bosses. The 'greedy' play, as it were.
It's just my luck that I was given the weakest type of boss.
He checked his shroom room to see how much time he had left. The magic mush was still on the sixth sleeper.
I'll fix my boss situation in just a second. First I need to make absolutely sure I've understood this correctly. Rooms. Chambers. Option 1.
He aligned a third boss room at the exit of the second. It was flashing red even before he placed it, despite the viable placements of the entry and exit nodes. Place.
He felt something like a punch to the gut as a pop-up appeared. Action not allowed!
Away! Back where you came from! Hmm… come to think of it, is there a way for me to get these foul beasts to say WHY an action is not allowed? That might earn them a couple seconds of mercy to rethink their life choices before being banished to oblivion where they belong.
He glanced through his settings, seeing two primary suspects: the 'notifications' option that he had turned off as soon as he learned about it, and the 'flavor text'.
Let's try the only thing I can possibly try. Yep, I see no other options, just this one. Flavor Text: Off/On -> Off/On. Now to get another boss room and… place.
Another intangible gut-punch, and another pop-up. Action not allowed! I/M ratio too low!
Congratulations, abomination. You've earned a two-second stay of execution. BACK!
Unfortunately, that meant he had understood the constraints perfectly. The adjusted I/M was there to show him his gains, while the natural I/M served as a limiter. He can't spam a bunch of temporary structures just because a bunch of delvers are boosting his intake.
Okay, now that I know the problem, I've got a few options. I could increase my natural Intake rate, which I have no clue how to do other than maybe leveling up, or I could reduce my maintenance costs, which I have SOME clue how to do. Fixed templates, here I come.
Unfortunately, nearly half of his I/M limit is currently locked in an 'occupied' template containing seven fishlings resting in pods, two snoozing on the ground, and one taking a slumber under the umbrage of a lumbering mushroom's umbrella cap.
Most of his remaining I/M is responsible for his only other line of defense, but he'll be changing that shortly. Conversion from temporary to fixed will drastically reduce maintenance costs and free up his I/M. Despite the Crystal Cube boss room being adjacent to the 'occupied' Snoozing Shroom room, it wasn't 'occupied' itself, so he wasn't barred from adjusting it. But when he went to try, there were three problems with 'conversion'.
Fixed templates, here I don't come.
Problem 1: It would kill his buffer. It would take nearly 400 mana to convert into a fixed template, and even taking what was left of his starting allowance into account, his current natural max is 300. Problem 2: Even if he increases his appeal and gets enough non-buffer mana to convert it, or if he decides to YOLO and nuke his allowance, fixed templates have 'build time' that he can't afford to spare right now. Problem 3: 'Structural soundness' is a requirement for conversion. Based on the brief blurb about it, that means fixed structures have to adhere to something like realistic engineering principles, as opposed to the wild impossibilities inherent to temporary structures. And unlike the shroom room he jammed into the entrance corridor, his second one is suspended mid-air, supported only by other temporary structures – a big no-no for templates you want to affix.
Well, that's out.
If he wants to make any adjustments that would matter in the next 5 minutes, he either needs to modify the home stretch of his Path to the Core, replace his second boss room with something else, or make a last-minute adjustment to it that doesn't involve affixation.
Structures. Rooms.
1_Basic Boss Room (Randomized): 98% | …
2_Basic Mob Room (Randomized): 32% | …
3_Basic Trap Room (Randomized): 32% | …
4_…
Chambers, Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,…
Rori gave a mental frown. He wasn't keen on picking the first option over and over until he saw a boss he liked. He also wasn't keen on going to page 2 or beyond with all these extra room types clogging the search function. He needed to narrow the field.
Uh… Boss Rooms?
That worked to filter out the non-boss chambers. There was now a long list of greyed-out items, locked to dungeons more murderous than he.
Harmless Boss Rooms?
That also worked, filtering out all the unavailable boss rooms.
One immediately shot to the top of his list when he saw it, though it appeared at the bottom of the actual (and admittedly short) set of options.
Basic Obstacle Trap Boss: Riddle Door (Harmless)
This creature is immune to all forms of damage that can be inflicted at lower levels, forcing even strong delvers to play its game of riddles in order to proceed.
A talking door? Yes, please!
He overlapped the Riddle Mimic boss room with the Crystal Cube boss room. Both were temporary structures, both were the same size, and he had enough spare I/M, so they could be swapped at will.
Rori glanced up. The Snoozing Shroom was sitting itself down in the center of its room and yawning. The boss had finished fetching the final fishling. All ten were taking snoozes in tubes.
Alright, let's see how smart the rest of them are. If they can even beat the shroom. And once they're gone, I might finally have someone to talk to. Place.
__________________________________
A/N: Chapter Fin. Cut descriptions:
*Economy items glanced at by Rori.
Templates: Rooms | Objects | Special | Custom
Objects: Bosses | Traps | Obstacles | Zones | Mobs | Economy | Custom | Saved
1_Basic Economy Object (Randomized) | …
2_Basic Economy Boss (Randomized) | …
3_Basic Economy Trap (Randomized) | …
4_Basic Economy Obstacle (Randomized) | …
5_Basic Economy Zone (Randomized) | …
6_Basic Economy Mob (Randomized) | …
7_Basic Economy Node (Randomized) | …
8_Basic Core Crystal | …
9_Basic Mana Antenna | …
10_Basic Mana Bulb | …
Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, …
Economy – Templates with this property cost less to maintain, convert, and repair/restore than their non-economy counterparts. Bosses, traps, obstacles, zones, and mobs with the 'economy' property tend to return greater rewards from stalled or defeated delvers, but often perform worse than their non-economy counterparts.
Economy Nodes – Serving no other purpose than economy, these templates must be fixed, but they are unique in that they have almost instantaneous build time, and instead of costing mana to be maintained or removed, they refund some mana instead. Sought after by delvers, these objects can neither provide their benefits to nor be refunded by the dungeon core while in the 'harvested' or 'destroyed' state.
'Harvested' – A property unique to economy nodes. Economy nodes that have been harvested require mana to restore, although this amount is much less than the repair cost if the structure is destroyed entirely.
Basic Core Crystal – Cover a fixed dungeon structure in a layer of crystal, improving mana intake rate. Must be adjacent to the core, or to other core crystals.
Basic Mana Antenna – One of the few fixed templates that can be affixed to temporary ones. Reduces maintenance costs of other templates.
Basic Mana Bulb – Spawn a squishy bulb that increases mana storage space. Mana that enters added storage space will occupy the bulb and be lost if the bulb is harvested.