"It's cold inside this cave" Phinehas Phoenix thought as he looked over the map.
It did not have to be a desert, but at my age, I want to be at least in a Savanna to warm these old bones.
Looking over the map, he could at least be happy with his progress.
The dungeon seemingly coming back from the dead was just the break they needed.
And as 'luck' would have it, there was even no need to call for a meeting of the five. If fighting for survival, and pushing our youngest into a dungeon for a fighting chance could be called luck.
They would have met at the continental crossroads today anyway, and his son and a few of his best retainers would be able to get them here in no time at all.
With all five of us here, we would be able to form an understanding.
Looking over the map, he agreed with the notes of his [scribe].
The tunnels around the core might look different with those white things growing on the walls, but in essence they are nearly the same.
Just a network of tunnels around the core, nothing classified as 'insidious' in it.
Only a final strech left to the core. Those few among the scouts with [dark vision] and [Far sight] can even see it.
As I looked in the cores direction, a memory of the last dungeon surge made me shiver.
I would not make that same mistake again. The permanent guard was a must, no plague would enter my village again.
Looking at the vibrant, sharp, unmovable and disgustingly cold energy sources,
a smile came to my face.
"Guards, bring the box and the [carpenter], today we push for the core!"
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"I'm boxed in" David thought.
Looking over the [Scribe]'s own map he could see a mass of winding tunnels.
Starting from the dungeon entrance it was going all around his core towards his main tunnel.
Even if the map did not show any info about what lay past the main tunnel, he knew his side of the map. In short, It was closed off space without an exit.
Opening the tunnel to the left led to a room with had a small mountain of ant eggs.
Most had long opended long before he arrived, and the few tiny white ants that came out of it posed no real threat to him at this point.
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Clearing out the eggs, he was left with a chamber that looked a bit like the town (guardian spirit)'s chapel. The marble stone and drifting smoke from the small font had the same feeling to it.
Even if the smoke looked gray and a lot less dense, I'm not going to piss off a spirit.
Definitely not one I don't know anything about. The [Priest] says it takes a long time to establish a 'understanding' with it.
Even if I could not read the system message, the fact that the system gave me a promt all but confimed that suspission.
Layline (Spirit font)
An inactive (Spirit font)
Through the five and energy, spirit is given form.
(火 + 氣) * (水 + 氣) * (木 + 氣) * (金 + 氣) * (土 + 氣) = 神
This font is part of the dungeon.
It's spirit ripped apart and drifting in the land.
With no solution found in the left tunnel, I went over the last tunnel again.
That last tunnel, the one behind me looked like it had the solution.
Opening up that tunnel, I had soon found a winding path down to an empty cavern below him.
The huge open space looked inviting, the small hills in them offering a lot of extra space between himself and the extermination squad.
The creatures in there did NOT look as inviting.
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A commotion at his main tunnel brought David's concentration back to the siege.
My death squad arrived again!
Amelia's brother led and reunited the 5 old monsters at the map.
I might still be a little bit hung up about the last time they cut me in half ...
Maybe if I managed to take out those darned rats I could expand/flee in to the open cavern below.
Any distance between me & those 5 would be appreciated!
But let's be real ... for now, with half my army keeping an eye on siege, I was not getting anywhere.
Listening in on the five again, I caught the end of their discussion.
"Guards, bring the box and the [Carpenter], today we push for the core!"
Wait, what?!!
Without any delay, the last stretch to my core was burning.