Ultimately, I decided to reward the newly christened Bellona with the power we gained from the paladin, her rattish smile beaming before falling as soon as she understood the punishment. I think they called it something else officially in school, but I decided that her punishment for her recklessness would be the bane of all middle schoolers everywhere, the turkey run. It was an exercise that had a person run a mile back and forth for minutes, basically torture for stubborn children, but that alone wouldn't be enough, not with the natural stamina of the ratkin including the various benefits. No, I had the other rats fit some heavy armor and sandbags they dug out of the armory onto her, making her all but collapse after 30 minutes, driving home the point of not risking everything, herself, her underlings, the dungeon, on the notion that she needed to one v one every upstart that came along. That being said, I wasn't going only to punish her, she did get a few more rewards from around the dungeon like a special sword the clockworkers were able to cobble together from the cold steel, it wasn't the greatest, but it was suitable for its purpose.
Moving on, my next few tasks are very straightforward: choose a level four monster, build floor four, and ensure everything is in order before pushing on to level 5.
Greater Ratkin
The so-named 'greater' kin of standard ratkin, greater ratkin are superior in all physical and magical ways. Taller, stronger, smarter, and more competitive, these ratkin are a rarity in today's world outside dungeons.
Greater Ratkin will not tolerate other greater ratkin within the same room and will sabotage neighboring ones.
Skilled in crafting weapons.
Capable of using rust, insect, and plague magic.
Hates dwarves, and other greater ratkin.
Creation Cost:
90 Mana
2 lbs. of food per 24 hours.
Node cost:
250 mana
1 mana taken from production.
Creates: 1 individual
Iron Scale Kobolds (+)
The iron scale kobold is an uncommon variety of kobold known for its unusually tough hides and skill in metalworking. They are stronger than most kobolds but are typically found in fewer numbers.
Iron scales (+) are a horizontal improvement of [Greater Kobolds] and will have an adjusted price to match.
Skilled in general metalworking.
Capable of using low-level magic.
Gives access to draconic options in the future.
Creation Cost:
150 mana
3 lbs. of food per 24 hours.
Node Cost:
500 mana
6 mana taken from production.
Creates: 3 individuals
Rust Spirit
Rust spirits are formed when metal and machine magic begin to permeate an area, aiding those who interact with machinery regularly and playing cruel tricks on everyone else, these creatures are both boon and bane.
Spirits are 'free thinkers' and will do relatively as they please. Also capable of leaving the dungeon for a short period.
Can be used to study rust magic.
Capable of attracting similar non-dungeon spirits.
Gives access to spirit options in the future.
Creation Cost:
200 mana
No additional costs, elementals are self-sufficient.
Node Cost:
400 mana
2 mana taken from production.
Creates: 2 individuals
As has been the case for each level-up, a choice, three monsters, an upgrade to my rats, the upgrade to the kobolds I didn't take, and a spirit. The greater ratkin was an upgrade to my normal ones with the caveat that it would be best if I separated them by a few rooms, worst case entire floors. The kobolds seemed like the 'mechanical' version of the greater kobolds, trading in their trap usage for general metallurgy and tougher bodies, something that would be highly valuable despite the high price of a single node. But those two, while good, were essentially just upgrades (more or less) to what I have, the spirit though, that could lead somewhere. Part of the description mentions how they can aid others, specifically those who work with machines which were for obvious reasons an incredibly easy requirement to fulfill adding to the ratkin's existing potential for rust magic. Add to that it could mess with people like faeries from the stories and a couple of well-placed lights and I think we have the start of a really weird storybook.
Stolen novel; please report.
Still, it might be best if I talk with Arthur about it, the spirits are mentioned to curse people as well and so far, no one in range of my dungeon needs cursing, nonalive anyway.
But before I could so much as send a hound out, I could feel Arthur enter the dungeon, a sense I was still getting used to the feeling of. Unaccompanied by his usual groupies, he made a beeline for the merchant, placing down the water core I had given him.
"Trader, I need to speak with your master, it is an important matter."
His voice was just as confident as always but... there was an underlying anxiety to it like he trying to sound, but something was keeping him from being confident. Something I knew myself from years of a... less comfortable state of mind.
"My good lord awaits your words."
Weird wording.
"As your lord no doubt knows, we both face a growing problem in the kannorite cult, and while I regret that you had to face the traitor from our people, I must inform you that there may be more like it in the future."
Hmm
"My maker wishes to know if you mean that more paladins will be sent?"
"What? I do not doubt you or your master, but if the man you killed truly was a paladin, then little of this mountain would be left, perhaps you mean a cleric or even a priest?"
"No, my master is assured that he was a paladin, truly and welly."
He looked conflicted like the facts before him didn't match up correctly.
"If I may, how did this paladin act, what miracles did he commit?"
Miracles, an odd way of saying magic, but not really when I think about it, mostly that radiance and his power boost, which was as much as I had the merchant say.
"Truly then? Hmm, if you're certain they were a paladin then the transformation was forced, and this 'great light' you speak of means that he was only just beginning to turn into one."
Just starting, what the hell did that mean, was he supposed to be stronger?
"My master expresses his confusion."
"I understand, to put it simply, paladins are powerful, strong, smart, fast, intelligent, and wise, paladins are the greatest servants of a god, the living extension of divinity itself. But not just anyone can become one, to be a paladin you must be chosen, and then, over years and years, you are slowly and meticulously transformed into a weapon of unparalleled skill and power. If what your master says is true then the process was likely rushed, leading to the disconnect between him and his wretched god."
So, these paladins were super soldiers, and the one Bellona killed was just a rushed incomplete puppet. But if more could come then what does that mean for us?
"I am afraid there is little either of us could do, Kannor rarely creates paladins due to the pressure exerted by his rivals, especially Leighlash. But what we can do is something I wish to discuss with you, we have many paths that we can take."
Well, why not, couldn't hurt to hear him out, it'll be a start if nothing else.
"I have developed several plans that we could pursue, but all of them require our two parties to work and communicate much more often and openly than we have been so far. Would you be willing to hear me out?"
Fire away, bucko.
"Excellent, the plan I am most confident in at the moment is also by chance likely the craziest so far, you see, with noted exceptions, the sects hate each other more than anything, they barely tolerate each other at the best of times."
Hmm, go on.
"However, they do form truces in certain situations, the shared usage of a dungeon is one such situation. Now before you object, I must clarify, I am aiming to pin these sects into a stalemate, their dislike of each other and adherence to unspoken rules would be the primary force that would keep the peace. The downsides of this, are dangerous of course, just because the main kannorite sect is busy dealing with competitors doesn't mean that they can't dispatch one of the few paladins they do have to deal with us, an issue that we would rely on you for until I can convince my father to search for a warrior to match them."
Well, he was right about the crazy part, just because you invited a lion and bear doesn't mean that they'll keep the tiger off your back, and if his plan did backfire then we'd have to deal with potentially more than one paladin. There was also the tidbit where I could collect more power from this conflict but who knows? So true it had its merit, but I'm unsure if I was willing to take that risk, assuming I had a choice anyway. Let's let him continue before making any conclusions.
"My next idea was if we could pose you as being far more dangerous than they are willing to risk, a possibility in any dungeon no matter the age. What would happen is that it would give us enough space to properly prepare and deal with whoever they send, perhaps we could accelerate portions of our deal to empower your master?"
Also not bad, but it had the same essential issue, if the sect didn't take the bluff, then both of us could have a mountain slayer-level fighter breathing down their collective necks. But it would make things simpler, trick then kill, a simple plan that needed a lot to get started. Hm, I have a few ideas as to how I would 'bluff' the enemy, but I'll need to sit on it, my one-time legendary monsters, Astarion and Pandora, could be just what I need to make the plan work if I was willing to give up using it at a more pristine floor. Actually, floor five gave 20 rooms, the minimum needed to make the labyrinth with the only other issue being that it wouldn't be at full strength until MUCH later. Pandora didn't have that detriment, but I got little of her potential power from her description. Let's hear what else he's got to say.
"For my final plan, not that I don't have others, is that I propose that you create 'false' breaks, I trust you know what those are?"
...
"My master knows what that is but would like you to explain so that he knows if YOU know what it is."
"..."
...
"Very well, in essence, a break is when a dungeon can no longer tolerate intruders, releasing a massive wave to remove threats."
"My master was going to say the same thing."
He had this strange twitching with his eyebrows.
"Regardless, repeated dungeon breaks are a danger to even paladins, the surge of mana can drown out their connection to divinity enough to make them vulnerable and ultimately killable. While few know of your rapid growth if we properly spread the tales of repeated breaks from you then we could establish you as being too dangerous for paladins, hopefully reducing who if anyone comes at us."
Not bad, but expensive, and like the other two, if something goes wrong then we'll have to deal with unimpressed killers. Still, it's not without merit, a good reputation could do wonders for my safety and, and...
Honestly, was any of this planning actually necessary? I'm not saying we don't make a plan of course, but if these paladins are so dangerous then all we need to do is deal with the next one, kill them without the net of intrigue and plots, a true demonstration of strength against the almighty. It was a terrible idea I know, but I have the keys to that plan, and if I use them fast enough then I could do more than bluff, more than scheme, I could kill those who threatened me and use everyone else to grow my power. It was an almost uncharacteristically bloody idea, probably coming more from the dungeon side of me than the once-human I was, but I care little right now, a dungeon may be simply a generator, a factory, but I could, here and now, hone myself into a weapon, a true killer who knows when to strike without hesitation. It would mean forgoing the more friendly and cooperative approach I had going on, but if I made it out on the top then I might have all the time in the world to build a nice little sandbox for every greedy idiot out there, dungeons were meant to play the long game after all.
But would I do that, after all, I had to consider just what I wanted.