by Paul Bellow
“Shame!” someone yelled.
Another person threw a rotten tomato that landed a foot in front of me.
“Don’t let them antagonize you,” Gloria said.
She was right. Once again, I thanked the game for my companion. I stopped at a few shops in the city, but none of them had anything of value. Frustrated, I continued to the other side of the city and the stairs leading down to the next level of the dungeon.
When I reached the edge of the city, I saw a dark tunnel leading out of the main cavern. Outside the cave entrance, I saw a couple stone statues of people in weird poses. What’s all this about? I wondered.
“These are the strangest sculptures I’ve ever seen,” I said.
Gloria laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
I glanced down at the unicorn. “What do you mean?”
“They’re not carved statues,” she said.
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “What are they?”
“People turned to stone, Alex.”
I frowned. She was right. Again.
“Crap,” I said, glancing into the cave. “Might be a cockatrice or a medusa. I’d prefer the former. Or maybe it’s a wizard with a wand or spell.”
“We should teleport down to the next level,” Gloria said. “It’s safer.”
“I’ve got a score to settle if it’s a cockatrice.”
“No, Alex,” Gloria said.
I ignored her and drank all the Potions of Cure Serious Wounds.
“Stay alert…” I stepped into the tunnel, sword drawn.
With each step, my heart beat faster. I expected a chicken-headed lizard to jump out at any moment. Better that than a medusa. If a medusa appeared, I’d teleport to safety.
“Gloria, be ready to teleport if needed.”
“Will do, Alex.”
I continued forward, following the twists and turns of the tunnel. Was I making yet another stupid mistake? If I could win, I could keep the cockatrice corpse as a weapon. With the power to turn enemies to stone, I’d be able to descend to the final level of the dungeon without any problems. I took another few steps. Something squawked further down the hall.
This is it. Be ready.
I rounded another corner and came face to face with the devious creature I hated above almost all others. The cockatrice squawked then ran forward. Before attacking up close, I sheathed my weapon and summoned a berserker via spell. The barbarian popped into existence then ran forward to attack the cockatrice. It turned to stone instantly.
With another wave of my hands, I cast Burning Axe of Ooze twice. The magical weapons floated toward the cockatrice, distracting it as I pulled my weapon. Gloria stayed behind me, casting a few simple buff spells on me as the cockatrice flew right between the magic axes and came at me, fast. I held my sword like a baseball bat, waiting for the perfect moment to swing. My weapon struck the cockatrice dead on.
Critical Hit!
Your slash DISMEMBERS the cockatrice for 199 damage.
Your slash MAIMS the cockatrice for 59 damage.
Your slash DEVASTATES the cockatrice for 42 damage.
Your slash DECIMATES the cockatrice for 32 damage.
The cockatrice has noticed you.
After another squawk, the creature retreated into the glowing magical axes floating behind it. It let out an unearthly scream. Overflowing with confidence, I attacked again.
Your slash MUTILATES the cockatrice for 99 damage.
Your slash MAIMS the cockatrice for 52 damage.
Your slash MUTILATES the cockatrice for 62 damage.
Your slash MAIMS the cockatrice for 53 damage.
The cockatrice is ready to flee.
It turned and flew down the tunnel.
“No, you don’t,” I shouted, running after it.
The burning axes followed me as I chased down the chicken-headed creature.
“Careful!” Gloria warned. “We’re running through this tunnel quickly. It might be a trap.”
I appreciated her concern, but I didn’t slow down. The cockatrice stopped and turned. As it raced toward me on the floor, I attacked.
Your slash DECIMATES the cockatrice for 39 damage.
Your slash MAIMS the cockatrice for 52 damage.
Your slash MAIMS the cockatrice for 52 damage.
Your slash MAULS the cockatrice for 24 damage.
The cockatrice is dead! (+40,000 xp)
Combat is Over!
You get +40,000 xp
You have [31,130,000/32,000,000] xp.
I triumphantly raised my sword in the air with one hand.
“Yes!” I shouted as Gloria walked up.
“Be careful,” I said. “You don’t want to get stoned.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to carry that around?” she asked. “What if we fall into a pit and it touches us?”
“You worry too much,” I said, putting away my sword.
Ever so carefully, I picked up the corpse while wearing my brand new Gauntlets of the Barbarian Oath. The dead, limp lizard with a chicken-head looked odd in my hand, but I didn’t care. Anything I touched with it would be instantly turned to stone.
“Let’s go,” I said, continuing forward.
A few hundred yards away, we found the stairs down to the next level at the end of the tunnel. I took them slowly—one at a time—to make sure I didn’t trip and fall. The cockatrice corpse could be a powerful weapon, but I needed to be careful. Gloria followed close behind, mumbling to herself about us needing to be smarter.
()xxxx[:::: Chapter 20 ::::>
Crafting in a Dungeon
You are on level 82 (-4100’)
You are a Level 80 Valkyrie.
I stopped at the end of the stairs and looked around. Another room with a variable number of exits and no items. I cast a map spell to make it easier on myself.
“Time to grind,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Gloria asked.
“Just keep going and don’t stop,” I answered.
She cocked her head to the side as she stared up at me.
“That’s what we usually do, isn’t it?”
I smiled, loving her naivety.
“Yeah, but now we’ll do it with less complaining.”
“I don’t think that’s possible, Alex.”
“Maybe not,” I said, reaching down to rub behind her ears. She closed her eyes, moaning in pleasure until I stopped rubbing.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s do this.”
We left the room and followed another hallway. Monsters came at us, but with the cockatrice corpse wielded, I stopped everything in my path, literally.
The Wombat is Dead!
You get the loot.
The Monster is Dead!
You get more things.
The repetition of the grind was real, my friends. I struggled to finish the roguelike.
One more level. Let me make the next upgrade, just one more skill level.
My confidence had grown as my Valkyrie descended farther than any other character I’d played in the roguelike. By the time I cleared the level, I’d gained another 900,000 experience points and leveled up again, gaining thirty-one health and five mana.
I thought about hanging around for more monsters to spawn, so I could get even more experience points. Gloria convinced me to keep moving. We needed to get to the bottom and defeat the Wizard of Yendro. I had to kill my friend Regina.
* * * * *
You are on level 83 (-4100’)
You are a Level 81 Valkyrie.
You kill the Winged Gargoyle.
You slay the Gnome King.
You overpower the Mind Flayer.
You tickle the Tengu to death.
You smite the Leprechaun King.
You defeat the Giant Mimic.
You take out the Giant Wumpus.
You get +750,000
You have [33,050,000/33,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+45 health
+7 mana
I methodically went from room to room, stoning everything in my path. The experience points added up as I occasionally found a good potion or three in a stash. I kept grinding. The deeper I delved into the dungeon, the slower I went. Dying at such a low level would be horrible. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to start over from the very beginning one more time.
“Here’s the stairs,” Gloria said as we entered yet another similar room. “Can we rest for a while?”
“Not yet. I want to keep moving. Just one more level…”
“That’s what you said last level,” she whined.
I ignored her and went down the stairs.
* * * * *
You are on level 84 (-4100’)
You are a Level 82 Valkyrie.
You kill the Fire Bat.
You slay the Grey Dragon.
You overpower the Mega Slime.
You defeat the Earth Elemental.
You take out the Water Elemental.
You kill the Titan x3
You get +1,050,000
You have [34,100,000/34,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+52 health
+3 mana
You get a Potion of Raise Level.
You get a Potion of Cure All Wounds (x3)
You get a Wand of Light [15/19] charges.
You get a Wand of Polymorph [??/32] charges.
You get 10,000 gp.
The notifications ran together as I kept plowing toward my goal. I immediately quaffed the Potion of Raise Level.
You feel more experienced!
You have [35,100,000/35,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+32 health
+2 mana
I grinned. Another level cleared.
I went down the stairs.
* * * * *
You are on level 85 (-4100’)
You are a Level 84 Valkyrie.
You kill the Water Troll.
You defeat the Umber Hulk.
You slay the Vlad the Vampire.
You take out the Wraith (x5)
You take out the Mummy (x10)
You get +1,050,000
You have [36,150,000/36,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+51 health
+11 mana
You get a Potion of Raise Level.
You get a Potion of Cure Light Wounds (x13)
You get a +10 Ring of Protection
You get 18,000 gp.
Finally. A string of luck.
I quaffed the Potion of Raise Level.
You feel experienced!
You have [37,150,000/37,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+34 health
+12 mana
I grew tired of the repetition, but I continued downward. Would I find the Wizard of Yendro at level one-hundred? Or would the dungeon just keep on going, endlessly creating new levels for me to explore before I messed up and died? I pushed the negative thought out of my mind as I kept grinding.
* * * * *
You are on level 86 (-4100’)
You are a Level 86 Valkyrie.
You kill the Minotaur King.
You defeat the Orange Naga.
You slay the Green Naga.
You overcome the Orc High Priest.
You take out Charles the Enforcer.
You get +1,150,000
You have [38,300,000/38,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+61 health
+14 mana
You get Potion of Cure All Wounds (x4).
You get (13) Loaves of Bread.
You get Oil of Blessing (x2).
You get Naga Armor (Rare, Glowing).
You get Crown of Rings – Each six spikes of the crown can “wear” a ring that will activate its powers.
Nice. I immediately put on every beneficial ring. My abilities and stats soared.
“Getting closer.” I glanced down at Gloria.
She looked up and smiled. “I have to admit, we’re doing great.”
“Don’t jinx it,” I said as we stood at the top of another staircase leading down. “Come on. Only three more levels until the next boss level.”
“If she’s down there,” Gloria said.
“She will be,” I said confidently as I cautiously moved down the stairs one at a time.
I needed to be careful with each and every single step if I wanted to survive. One small mistake, and I would have to start all over at the beginning. The thought terrified me, but I kept pushing it out of my mind, concentrating on the roguelike.
* * * * *
You are on level 87 (-4100’)
You are a Level 87 Valkyrie.
You kill Sharon Sasquatch.
You kill Cecil Sasquatch.
You kill Adolescent Sasquatch (x3).
You kill the Iron Golem.
You kill the Steel Golem.
You kill the Ear Wax Golem.
You kill Eric the Evil Elf Lord.
You kill the medusa.
You get +2,150,000
You have [40,450,000/39,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+58 health
+12 mana
You get medusa corpse.
You get tinning kit.
You get Potion of Gain Level.
You get Cape of Feather Falling.
You get the Staff of Time Stop (Rare).
You get a Wand of Digging [9/19] charges.
You get Elven Bow (+40%,+100,2d50)
You get Elven Arrows (x24)
You get 12,394 gp.
You get a banana.
You get royal jelly.
I stared down at the body of the medusa. Might as well put the new tinning kit to use. I didn’t want to eat her myself, but having some of her preserved flesh might come in handy. Gloria sat down to rest as I finished the grisly task. After it was done, I quaffed another orange, fizzy Potion of Gain Level to reward myself and prepare for the lower levels of the dungeon.
You feel experienced!
LEVEL UP!
+42 health
+17 mana
Time to finally finish this game.
Gloria at my side, I descended another fifty feet into the dungeon.
* * * * *
You are on level 88 (-4100’)
You are a Level 89 Valkyrie.
You hear a buzzing sound.
The Giant Killer Bee is dead! (x87)
Ellora the Queen Bee is dead!
Orcron the Mighty is dead!
Elite Orc Guard is dead! (x98)
Orcala the Mage is dead!
You get +2,050,000
You have [42,500,000/40,000,000] xp.
LEVEL UP!
+62 health
+16 mana
LEVEL UP!
+58 health
+11 mana
You get Wand of Fire and Fury with [2/12] charges.
You get Royal Jelly x49
I left the hives and plenty of bad memories behind as I descended to the next level.
Gloria followed, moodier than ever and still not talking to me.
Please let me finish this game.
* * * * *
You are on level 89 (-4450’)
You are a Level 91 Valkyrie.
My character level was higher than the dungeon level once again. This could be the one. A Valkyrie descending to the final level or killing the Wizard of Yendro before then. Could I maybe capture her instead?
I pushed all doubts aside and prepared myself for the big boss of level ninety of the dungeon. The next level would have the final named mob before I reached the Wizard of Yendro. After casting a full map spell, I checkout out the layout of the level. Most of it looked typical, but a square room on the upper left caught my attention.
“I think we have something special…”
“What is it?” Gloria asked.
I shook my head, lips pursed together.
“Not sure, but we should check it out,” I said. “Too small to be a zoo or temple. Maybe a
delicatessen?”
“We could always use more food.”
“Yeah…” I said as I dismissed the map then headed toward the mysterious square room on the other side of the level.
Gloria followed at my side. As we walked, I noticed the rooms and hallways were taller than normal.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said. “You say this is all a game. That scares me.”
“Don’t be afraid,” I said. “What will be, will be.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
I shushed her as I heard a clanging sound in the distance. Battle? No. Clang. Bang. What could it be? Bang. Bang. Clang. I crept forward, sword ready to do damage.
The noises got louder as we approached the unknown room on the map. In the final hallway leading to it, I caught a whiff of smoke in the air. We kept moving forward.
At the end of the hall was a door with a simple wooden sign nailed to it. The words “Arthur White, Blacksmith” had been carved into the thin slice of wood.
I glanced down at Gloria then knocked on the door. The metal clanging sound continued. I turned the handle and walked into a twenty-foot square room.
A gnome standing next to an anvil glanced over. His face scrunched up in disgust.
“What do you want?” he yelled.
“Are you selling anything?” I asked.
“Only the time and equipment to craft your own items,” he said.
I smiled, delighted at the idea.
“How much?” I asked, stepping into the room.
“Depends,” he said while holding a piece of molten steel with pincers. “What do you want?”
“Something special,” I said.
He thrust the glowing metal into a nearby bucket of water. Steam whooshed into the air, obscuring the muscle-bound man for a few moments.
