Bone Dungeon (Elemental Dungeon #1) - A Dungeon Core LitRPG

by Jonathan Smidt

Oh yeah. Erin.

  He had forgotten about her during his little skeletal fight, and he could tell she was not amused with his happy emotions. Time to finish, before she got any ideas. Ryan could only imagine how Erin could torture him if she really wanted to.

  Guess I should hurry up.

  Ryan reabsorbed both skeletons and was pleasantly surprised to find he had unlocked two new variants of basic skeleton: skeletal archer and skeletal fighter, both at five points. It seemed that even though they had gained the skills to use weapons, they still only cost the basic cost of a skeleton.

  If Ryan had to guess, that went back to Erin’s belief that the God of Death wanted human skeletons to be used. Ryan, with only eighty-five mob points, wasn’t about to complain about cheap and efficient mobs.

  For Ryan’s first room, he summoned two skeletal fighters, leaving him with seventy-five remaining points. In the second room, he also summoned two skeletal fighters. He wanted adventurers to get used to them, so that the third room would come as a surprise. He had sixty-five mob points left.

  In the third room, which was the first room to have a bone pillar and one of the three keys, Ryan summoned two skeletal archers. He sent them each to one of the corners, facing the entrance adventurers would take. These skeletal archers should prove quite the surprise for adventurers and would make them a little warier for the rest of his dungeon. The other surprise for this room would be at his bone pillar with his other new mob.

  Grinning to himself, he summoned five of them. They were, after all, considered small beasts. He watched as the five bony forms, well, formed on the floor. They were long and slender, with small amounts of dark mana holding them together. In each of their mouths were two dangerous fangs.

  Ryan had to admit that finding the snake skeleton had excited him more than he expected. And now, as they slithered into the pile of bones, waiting to strike the first adventurer to reach for the key, he grinned even more. These were his sneaky snakes. He decided to call them sneks.

  Fifty points left.

  In the next room, Ryan assigned two skeletal archers and two skeletal fighters, costing him twenty points and leaving him with thirty left for his final room. He had decided to make the rooms increasingly harder as adventurers conducted their dive. He wanted to wear them down to their bones before they reached Buttercup.

  Ha. If only Erin had been around for that pun.

  The final room for his mobs – the room right before his boss room, and right after a trap room filled with bone spikes – was going to be the most difficult. He summoned two skeletal archers, two skeletal fighters, and ten sneks.

  He created a tunnel system that snaked through the room, allowing the sneks to pop up and attack from countless angles and areas. Hopefully, while adventurers focused on the human skeletons, his sneks could do some good damage.

  This way, maybe we can prevent some pointless deaths, too.

  Ryan purposefully made the room before his boss room the hardest. He had learned from Erin, and from his own observations, that the weaker adventurers gave him less experience when they died.

  As such, he wanted adventurers to be as strong as possible before they died. No need for pointless deaths of low-ranking adventurers; those didn’t gain him anything. And he needed to get stronger, because that necromancer still scared him.

  Because of this, Ryan wanted the room before the boss to do its best to scare the adventurers off. If they took too much damage before Buttercup’s room, hopefully they would turn back. That would allow them to continue to live, and dive, another day, which meant when they did face Buttercup, and likely failed, Ryan would benefit even more.

  He smiled at the thought and scanned his second floor one last time. It was ready.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Erin glared at him, rage flowing through their bond as she tapped her foot impatiently.

  “How am I supposed to get down there, bonehead?” she demanded.

  Ryan had let her back into the core room, excited to show her the second floor, but he had apparently forgotten one small detail. He hadn’t connected his core room to the second floor. In fact, he hadn’t connected the first floor to the second floor either. Oops.

  “Well, I, uh—“

  Think.

  “I wanted your suggestion for that part,” he said lamely.

  “Hmph.” Erin crossed her arms and stared at him. He knew she knew he was lying. But Ryan could also tell she was excited to see his second floor, making her more willing to let go of her anger to help him.

  “Well, hun?” he asked.

  Erin sighed and flew on top of him.

  “Most dungeons put a door or passage at the end of their first boss room that leads down into the start of their second level.”

  Oh, that made sense. Only one problem.

  “So, if the first room of my second floor is below the first room of the first floor—“

  “Seriously?” Erin let out an exasperated sigh. “This is why you should have let me help.”

  “I wanted to surprise you.” Ryan’s voice was quiet.

  He had been so proud, but now he realized he may have made a few mistakes. He was definitely still learning.

  “Well, create a tunnel that leads back underneath the first floor,” she said, “down to the start of the second floor.”

  She spoke as if it were easy. Well, technically, with his increased mana, it was. He had found, thanks to his new mana reserves, he could build and destroy things within his dungeon a lot faster than before. However, such a large tunnel would still take him some time.

  “And then?” Ryan asked.

  He mentally began clearing out a tunnel. He started it as rough and cavernous, but mentally began to improve upon it as he went. He wanted adventurers to feel they were transitioning from a rough cave to an underground castle. Looks mattered, after all.

  “And then you need to drop the core room down, so that it connects easily to the second boss room. Your core needs to always be connected in some way to each floor. Otherwise, you won’t get experience from the floor.”

  Really? That’s a thing?

  Ryan couldn’t believe she had never mentioned that important fact before. He would have hated to lose out on the potential experience his second floor would give him.

  “Well, thanks for letting me know now.” His tone betrayed a bit of his annoyance, earning him a slap from Erin.

  He deserved that. She was just trying to help him, even if she was rather forgetful when it came to the important facts. Ryan could only wonder what else she had forgotten.

  “Don’t give me attitude, especially after you locked me away from the core room for so long.”

  How long had it been? Ryan had a bad habit of losing track of time when he was doing things in his dungeon. How long had he been working on his second floor?

  “Sorry, hun,” Ryan said, a little regretfully. “But trust me, you’re going to love the new floor.”

  He was nearly done with the tunnel connecting the first floor to the second and had begun moving his core room lower in the dungeon. Unlike the rest of the dungeon, he found he was able to easily move his core room through the rock and stone that held his influence. Perhaps it was because the room contained his core and physical being?

  Regardless, as he finished connecting his two floors, he had also finished placing his core room behind Buttercup’s room. He connected a tiny, fairy-sized tunnel from the core room to Buttercup’s and straightened the tunnel connecting his core room to Steve’s room. No more twisting tunnels to annoy Erin.

  “Are you ready?” Erin was hovering now, wings fluttering quickly. Her anger was giving way to impatience and excitement.

  “Yes—“

  Erin let out a squeal of joy and shot towards the tunnel leading to Buttercup’s room.

  “Wait.” Ryan’s exclamation caused the fairy to pause. “Can you start at the start of the second floor? I want you to see it how adventurers will.”

  Erin sta
red at him for a moment before nodding

  “I suppose.” She looked with disgust at the tunnel leading towards Steve’s room. Ryan knew she really hated the snaking tunnel. Little did she know he had fixed it.

  “Well, get going.” He nudged her mentally, sending a burst of excitement through their bond, and with a sigh she took off.

  Ryan nearly broke out in laughter as he felt her mood shift from trepidation to excitement as she realized the tunnel was a straight shot now to Steve’s room. He couldn’t wait for her to see his second floor. And once she was done touring the second floor, he could finally open his dungeon again.

  Speaking of opening the dungeon...

  As Erin zipped through the door from Steve’s room, down the tunnel that led towards the second floor, Ryan realized he had forgotten to do one thing. He needed to assign loot to his new mobs. As Erin had told him, loot was one of the main reasons adventurers risked their lives in a dungeon.

  Let’s see what we can do here.

  His basic skeletons were technically Bronze mobs. However, since they cost five points, just like his ratbies, he assigned silver coins to them, as well as the occasional uncommon loot drop, such as the fine silk cloth and fine iron dagger. His sneks were one-point mobs, and as such, copper and common items.

  “Hey, Rin.” She was just about to reach the second floor, and Ryan’s voice made her pause.

  “Yes?”

  Her voice held a tinge of irritation, but Ryan decided to ignore that. He couldn’t be mad that she was excited to see his new floor.

  “For Buttercup, should we stick to rare item drops like Steve, or can we do ultra-rare?”

  “Hmmm. We need to stick with rare items still. Usually ultra-rare items aren’t dropped until Gold-level dungeons. Legendary items aren’t supposed to drop until a dungeon is Diamond level. Remember, if you start dropping too-good loot early on, you’re going to be swarmed by powerful adventurers who will walk all over you.”

  Ryan was once again reminded of why he shouldn’t have dropped that celestial feather.

  “Rare drops it is,” he said.

  Ryan began mentally assigning loot drops to Buttercup. While he needed to stick with rare items, because of Buttercup’s higher mob cost and difficulty, he increased the amount of gold or items it could drop. While Steve dropped one or two pieces of gold, or a single item, Buttercup could drop up to three items if the group was lucky, and had the ability to drop anywhere from five to fifteen gold. For good measure, he increased the amount of silver and copper coins his mobs could drop throughout the second floor. More risk, more reward.

  Erin was at the door to his second floor now, and having just finished his mob loot, Ryan was ready for her to begin exploring. The moment she gave him the okay, he would be able to open his dungeon again.

  And with his dungeon open, Ryan could begin gaining experience once again. Skeletal fight club was calling, and he needed to hit Silver Eight to get more mob points to start it back up.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  “Who are these people?’ Ryan asked.

  He had opened his dungeon during the night, raising his wolf skull mouth back from the ground, opening his maw once again. The moment he had, a dark form had walked from the shadows of the trees to look him over.

  Ryan grew tense for a moment, fearing it was the necromancer, until he recognized the figure as Rasha. The male glanced at Ryan’s entrance, his eyes seeming disinterested, before he simply vanished again.

  However, in the morning, a mass of people began to gather outside of Ryan’s dungeon. People Ryan didn’t know.

  “Who knows?” Erin replied. “But I hope they’re ready.”

  Erin was sitting atop his core, practically shaking with excitement. She had showered him with praise over his second floor, which had earned him forgiveness for locking her out of the core room. But now they both wanted adventurers to begin diving to see just how the second floor would play out.

  Ryan scanned the crowd, frustrated that he couldn’t pull up their information unless they entered his dungeon. He was looking for the familiar faces of adventurers he knew to be strong. He was looking for Blake and his team.

  “Ugh, where is he?” Ryan asked aloud.

  He noticed a few of the old teams milling about, but most of the people were new to him. What’s more, he couldn’t find Blake or any of his members.

  “Maybe they got bored of waiting?” Erin guessed.

  Since she had been asleep most of his dungeon building, and since Ryan had lost track of time, neither of them knew just how long the dungeon had been closed off for.

  “I wasn’t closed that long.”

  It couldn’t have been more than a week. Maybe two. Even though his second floor was much bigger than his first, his increased mana made the work much faster. However, he had no idea how much time he had wasted on interior design, and then of course mob building. Maybe three weeks, tops.

  “Well, it looks like Marcus is back. Maybe he will tell us something,” Erin suggested.

  The man in charge of the adventurers was making his way calmly through the crowds. He didn’t seem an impressive figure, but the way people moved out of his way made it clear he was important. As he stepped forward, he took a single step inside the dungeon, allowing Ryan to pull up information on the adventurer.

  “He’s Platinum?” Ryan was impressed.

  Marcus was a Platinum Two rogue with an air affinity. For a moment, Ryan wondered just how much experience Marcus would give him if the rogue fell in his dungeon. Then he remembered what Erin had said about Sean and knew even with his new Silver tier he wouldn’t be able to scratch the rogue.

  “Guess there is a reason he’s in charge.” Erin seemed a little less impressed. The only Platinum adventurer she had eyes for was Sean.

  For just a moment, Ryan felt his jealousy flare, and he had to stop himself from summoning a stalactite to drop on a skuirrel. He was working on his impulse control.

  “Wonder if he can keep the necromancer away,” Ryan mumbled.

  He knew the necromancer was Gold One; the man had said it himself. Marcus had to be more than a match for him. So where had Marcus been when the necromancer attacked? Ryan had taken precautions against a future attack, but if he knew Marcus was guarding him, it would make him feel a lot better.

  “Sasha seemed to have at least injured him.” The fairy had her arms around herself, holding back a slight shudder. The shadow of the necromancer still hung over them, a very real threat that pushed Ryan to grow stronger.

  “But she didn’t kill him.” Ryan would have noticed if the necromancer had died. For one, the experience gain would have been amazing, and for two, there would have been a body. No matter how strong Sasha was, she had failed to kill the necromancer. Meaning he was still out there, meaning Ryan was still in danger.

  “Well, we are more prepared now,” Erin said, “and he can’t take control of our mobs this time.”

  Unless, of course, he had become Platinum. If that was the case, Ryan was sure the next time the necromancer appeared, he would die. He didn’t like that fact.

  “Maybe you should focus on reaching Gold, just to be sure?” said Erin.

  “Don’t worry, hun, I’ve learned my lesson,” Ryan said. “These adventurers are in for a big surprise. As Marcus said, only the strong shall survive.”

  “That’s my dungeon.” Erin gave him a big hug, causing him to glow a little brighter. He really liked it when she called him hers. Ryan loved making her proud.

  “Looks like Marcus is about to speak.” Ryan’s words made Erin pull away, watching intently through Ryan’s core. They were both curious what the man would say.

  “I’m going to keep this short, as I’m sure most of you are eager to begin your dives.” Marcus’s voice was deep and strong, washing over the adventurers. “The dungeon has been closed off for almost a month.”

  “Whoops,” Ryan groaned as the adventurers cheered. “Guess I really lost track of time.”r />
  “You think?” Erin hit him lightly and laughed, but quickly grew silent as Marcus continued.

  “During that time, it is likely the dungeon transitioned to Silver.”

  More cheers.

  “As you know, when a dungeon transitions, a new floor appears.”

  Even more cheers. Marcus held up a hand, silencing the group.

  “Are you all going to let me speak? Or shall we stand out here all day?”

  Marcus’s tone was light, but by the way the crowd reacted, his threat must have been a serious one.

  “Thank you.” The rogue dropped his hand and continued. “Obviously, while we can inspect the ranks of your team before you enter the dungeon, we cannot dictate how far you go during your dive. That being said, I highly encourage teams that still have Bronze members to avoid beginning the second floor.”

  The mood around the crowd seemed to darken, and Ryan could just barely make out some murmuring.

  “If,” Marcus stared hard at the crowd, “you do not heed my warning, the Adventurers’ Guild will consider your deaths deserved, and I will personally be thanking the dungeon for clearing out weak fools who can’t follow my advice.”

  “Oh, he’s harsh,” Erin said in a hushed voice.

  “But he does have a point,” Ryan said.

  He secretly hoped the adventurers would listen. He didn’t want any Bronze fools dying; they hardly offered him much experience. The Silver adventurers, though, would help him level up quickly.

  “As such,” Marcus went on, “if you wish to heed my warning, I suggest teams embarking on the second floor are at least all Silver, preferably with a Gold member, or two high Silver members. The dungeon is going to be dangerous. It has likely developed new mobs to challenge you, and from my experience with dungeons, you can expect more traps than before.”

  “Uh, how predictable are we?” Ryan didn’t like that Marcus had essentially just pegged exactly what Ryan had done.

  “Well, fairies are all taught the same thing when it comes to dungeon development.” Erin was looking sheepish. “So, if Marcus has seen a lot of dungeons, there’s a good chance they all followed the book.”