Hm?
Strange, I’ve lost connection with my hobgoblins, but I must’ve gotten into trouble then. They weren't around super long, but I was rather attached to them, and if nothing else they were a pain to make, despite being able to control pretty much everything I had to let nature take its course with their adaptation ability. Still, the proceedings that just unfolded were my present priority. Also, something to note was that I was having a damned time ‘feeling’ Helvina, it felt like two people in one but was unusually wispy in the ‘feeling’ like it wasn’t all there yet.
After the duo told me what happened, I was of two minds. They intended to use the water-generating sphere to create a water-based golem, something that if they could use it properly would become an invaluable asset to the fortress, and I agreed. The issue was that it would be allowing someone other than me such a tool, after all, it was designed to feed on the ambient mana I produced, becoming more dangerous the longer and deeper it was in the dungeon. On the other hand, it could be a major tool in the future, with incredible flexibility and battle utility. If I let them have it, after a few words, it could make both mine and Arthur's job easier seeing as he had a labor shortage, and with this, that problem could be eased some. But counter to that is if it somehow turned against us or me, seeing as there's no way to tell how difficult such a thing was.
"The master has some concerns over the... loyalty of such a thing."
The elfish girl, Lily, spoke up.
"Loyalty? Great dungeon, golems are always loyal to their creator?"
Hmm, not the right wording merchant.
"The master wishes to reiterate; can it be used by others?"
” O-oh, well, no, the control sigils are tied to Lily and myself, only by killing us will it work.”
Good, good, but also incredibly stupid.
Tying such a dangerous thing to themselves was a dangerous gamble, if they’re killed or worse then someone out there would have full control of an extremely dangerous golem. Perhaps I should keep an eye on them somehow?
” You needn’t worry good dungeon; we are more than capable of handling ourselves.”
Well, I wasn’t worried about some common thug taking you down, it was the powerhouses and sneaky ones I was concerned with. But to keep things calm between our groups, I would keep my concerns to myself.
“The master has decided on a suitable punishment.”
The two women looked at one another, Helvina looking a bit under the weather.
” Master wishes for compensation, magical things, and beasts are his desire.”
Edward stepped forward.
” I’m sure that my brother will accommodate your requests, however, as he will not be back for some time, I ask that you have patience dungeon, for now, I’ll leave this with you.”
He took out a short sword from his cloak and gave it to the merchant.
It was deep steel, and a pretty good blade at that.
” The master is thankful, and awaits future shipments, but is concerned that you will be without a weapon.”
” My thanks for his concern, but unnecessary, I have another weapon I use. Now, if that is all we shall take our leave.”
The three began to leave, and Helvina looked even more ill.
” One additional thing, the master has a question for the bedmate of lord Arthur.”
Ok, wow, I was definitely going to have to teach him appropriate language.
” O-oh, um apologies master.”
Sigh, just give them the question.
” W-well, ahem, the master would ask if you were sick at the moment, as he can sense there is much going on with your body.”
” Well, I have been sick for the past few days, but it's nothing time and care won’t handle, you needn’t worry over me good dungeon.”
Hmm
” The master reiterates that something is off with you, he senses two people in you, but he is unsure of what that means as one is, immaterial, I’m sorry but I cannot speak the concepts that my master is telling me.”
It wasn’t that complex, I think, I was mostly concerned that in a world of magic, something like a soul parasite was a thing. I mean what would cause a woman to have two souls….
Realization dawned on my crystal-dense brain.
Well, shit.
And shit indeed, given the increasingly pale face on her face, seems she came to the same conclusion as I.
” I-I-I, I think I need to speak with our lord then.”
Her voice was shaky, I take it that this wasn’t meant to happen, at least not under these set of conditions. A sentiment that was shared by the other two, Lilly looked somewhere between scandalous and worried while Edward had this conflicted look of anger, disappointment, and just a hint of excitement.
“We need to leave now apologies great dungeon, but we must go, now.”
I had my merchant wave them away, seems that things are going to get more complex, shit. I guess I'll have to get a gift or something for the shower, assuming they did that sort of thing in this world.
But I couldn’t really do anything about that, with my only team of hobgobs gone with Arthur, and based on the lack of feedback from their connection, they were likely dead. For now, I’ll try to make more, spawning another 30 on floor five, and giving them the simple order of getting stronger. I hoped that these would be able to withstand whatever problem Arthur and the others encountered out there, but that would mean I’d have to start investing Dp into this group. It wouldn’t be hard of course, I had plenty of Dp from the hibernation, so price wasn’t a concern, only that by investing in them so heavily I’d be slowing my progress towards the level six requirements.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
And speaking of them I looked them over.
Level 6 Requirements
Place 25 rooms (25/25)
Enable the internal creation of a tier-one exotic material (0/1)
Create a tier-two tinker monster (0/1)
Acquire 15 different monsters (14/15)
Purchase and use 'Lesser Land Subsummation' (0/1) (Optional)
What caught my eye the most, among the other eye-catching things, was the fact that it wanted me to make my own exotic stuff. Did this mean that I could automate tinker construction because that kicks open a damned cargo freighter of options and invention, I could go full mad scientist without worrying about losing too many resources. Another question was what exactly land subsummation was because I know the dictionary meaning of what that means, but I was rather lost on what it meant in this context. Also, what did optional mean for it?
Land subsummation allows for the dungeon to exert influence outside of the dungeon, not being entirely under its control but also allowing it to alter aspects to its desire.
Some level requirements will have optional objectives that will reward the dungeon if they are fulfilled.
Is there any overt benefit?
In the long run, it can cause special flora and fauna to be produced, alternatively, if the effect causes living things to wilt and die it can attract the elemental forces appropriate to the dungeon's theme.
So, nothing immediately then.
No.
Well, that sucks, and for the price of 750 it wasn't a cheap thing either, if I buy it then I'll need to plan according since I'm also considering other purchases which will likely take priority over an optional buy.
Sigh
Might as well move on then, what can you tell me about creating exotic materials then?
Exotic Material Creation:
Exotic materials are material items formed from precise mana-heavy conditions that allow various materials to reform into more different ones with additional properties.
This process is typically done in areas close to older dungeons or less traversed areas, however, the entire process can be accomplished by compressing mana into an object.
So, all I need to do is pack some mana into a pile of dirt and hope it works then?
Negative, the process is too precise for the core's level factoring in the core's intelligence, the dungeon will need to use a theme-interactive tool called a 'Tier 1 Exotic Catalyst'. This machine may be integrated with existing room spaces to generate various exotic materials daily.
The machine may be purchased from the store.
First of all, rude, second, that didn't sound bad at all. Getting exotic stuff on the daily would give me both the short and long-term ability to create tinkers, or even save up for some big killer robot. Pulling the store up, I found it, and by God was it expensive, 1000 whole ass DP, slightly under my total amount of 1200 after the six months and change. I'd still have enough for some minor things afterwards but most likely I wouldn't be able to afford the hobgoblin upgrades for a long while. Besides, what is a tier-one material anyway?
Tier One Examples: Catalytic Copper, Zenith Zinc, Blastite, Imbued stone, Imbued lumber, Imbued water, Assorted imbued flora.
Interesting, I haven't seen any of these, that I knew of, but if each of these could be used to make tinker stuff then it would be well worth it, and if nothing else I can sell it off to Arthur. Another thing actually, when I got deepsteel for the first time I got an upgrade option, is that the same for these?
Partially, if the dungeon receives any of these materials in sufficient amounts it will be granted a one-time upgrade. This rule applies to any exotic materials produced by the dungeon.
Interesting, very interesting, but also problematic. The catalyst could boost my overall performance massively and increase my odds of survival, but not only would it dampen my hobgoblin plans and any store-related ones, but it might paint a bigger target on my crystal back. Although it might not be a bad target, after all, the catalyst only works while I'm free, or so they'll be told.
Hmm
Before I go forward with it, I'll look over the upgrades and store stuff for the hobgoblins next.
Accelerated Evolution-750 DP Trades the hobgoblin's unique adaptation ability for the chance to create new hobgoblin species when enduring unsuitable conditions. Terraforming Spore Production-1500 Dp Removes their adaptation ability and replaces it with terraforming spores capable of transforming unsuitable environments into prime hobgoblin ones. Non-Magical Adaptation-250 Dp Allows better adaptation to non-magical phenomena. Magical Adaptation-300 DP Allows better adaptation to magical phenomena. The Hobgoblin King- 500 Dp Allows for the creation of a special hobgoblin king. They are what they eat- 500 Dp. Allows hobgoblins to consume biomass for the chance to absorb a unique physical trait originating from the consumed organism.
And from there the list just went on and on, some looked cosmetic more than anything, while others were definitely broken, for hobgobs that is. But what most of these were doing was better enabling the hobgoblin's unique ability and diversifying how it functioned. Even besides the magic and non-magic ones, there were several dozen that allowed me to outright improve their adaptation and another hundred assorted options that added one or two pieces to their existing kit. One thing that got me was how expensive they were, like seriously, I thought these were only tier-two monsters?!
Still, upgrades aside it did highlight the usefulness of the shop. It was an expensive tool but a tool it was, and with a steady stream of Dp, it would be wasteful to not at least consider using it every now and then. Actually, yeah, if Arthur was too slow with what I asked for I could easily just buy a gatcha roll on the monster option, I only needed one and it wasn't that expensive in the scheme of things. But looking back, even with my steady income, 1000 Dp was a lot to spend, and if I focused on level six then it would be a long while before I gathered enough for my super hob squad, which if I went with that route meant I would not only upgrade the hobs with what I decided on but that I'd also embrace the shop more often. This wasn't to say that I couldn't use the shop more often later on, but I doubt I'll keep it in mind once I'm busy getting more hobs prepared.
Sigh
I guess that puts a choice before me, I could pursue the next level and get a return on investment through the floor and options I would get, or I could upgrade my hobs and use the shop more often.