The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1)
Page 9
“I guess I can’t tell you. Hmm…well, I assume what you choose to do is your own choice and telling you what to do or what I think you should do would be akin to advice, which is a no-no in my profession. Oh well, not much I can do to get around that, but I will at least stick around for any other questions about your dungeon that you might have. It’s a bit above and beyond what I’m usually asked to do, but there’s nothing in my contract stating I can’t do it. Besides, I’m eager to see what you eventually choose to do.
“There is some more information I can give you that might interest you, and it is completely for informational purposes only and I am not suggesting a lick of advice with it. Just so you are aware, there are four nearby villages, one in each of the races’ lands; they each have different needs that—” Winxa started choking again, though this time it was so violent that she actually fell off the top of Sandra’s Core when she couldn’t breathe. Fortunately, the Dungeon Fairy was able to catch herself in the air before she hit the ground; a few seconds later, Winxa settled back down on the top of the Dungeon Core and held her hands up in defeat.
“Ok, ok – I get it, I get it. Sorry, Sandra, but I have a feeling if I try to skirt the rules again it could kill me. You’re on your own as far as that goes, but I will still be here as long as you need me to answer…dungeon construction and operation questions.”
Sandra couldn’t see the Dungeon Fairy’s face well from where she sat on top of her Core, but her voice sounded strained and defeated. It was another chunk of time before Winxa spoke again – sounding a little better in the process – as she described how the fight against the Territory Ants was going. Over the course of – Winxa later informed her it was 16 hours – her upgrade, Sandra had lost two-thirds of her construct force, but since she had increased it beforehand, she was still doing okay. Another few hours, however, would’ve seen more and more Ants coming through to threaten her Core.
Your Core has grown!
Current Size: 5
Mana Capacity increased!
Ambient Mana Absorption increased!
Raw Material Capacity increased!
New Constructs option!
New Monster Seed Schematic available!
Trap Construction Options unlocked!
Through your use of the intuitive Dungeon Core interface, you have also learned the Mundane Object Creation skill!
Through your use of the intuitive Dungeon Core interface, you have also learned the Monster Seed Origination Adaptability skill!
Core Selection Menu
Dungeon Classification:
Constructs
Core Size:
5
Available Mana:
3/160
Ambient Mana Absorption:
.16/hour
Available Raw Material (RM):
125/800
Convert Raw Material to Mana?
125 RM -- > 5 Mana
Current Dungeon Monsters:
31
Constructs Creation Options:
4 (2)
Monster Seed Schematics:
2 (2)
Current Traps:
0
Trap Construction Options:
All
Core-specific Skills:
2
Mundane Object Creation? Monster Seed Origination Adaptability? None of that made any sense to her, but that wasn’t important right now. She would look into everything she just received in a moment – including her new expanded awareness of her surroundings – but she wanted to make sure she was fully protected first.
Sandra’s Available Mana started to fill again from the deaths of the Ants and her Constructs funneling ambient Mana her way, and she ignored everything else as she rebuilt Animated Shears and Rolling Forces as soon as she accumulated enough of the precious resource. There were plenty of monster seeds that she had made before she upgraded available, at least, so in less than ten minutes she had almost doubled her current construct force. She breathed an imaginary breath of relief when she was no longer in danger of being overrun anytime soon.
So, what was that you were saying while I was upgrading my Core Size? I couldn’t really hear you all that well.
The Fairy looked shocked, and then angry, though at who Sandra couldn’t really tell. As Winxa looked ready to speak again, the Dungeon Core cut her off.
I’m just messing with you! Now, where do we begin…
Sandra wasn’t aware that Dungeon Fairies flapped their wings faster when they were angry – who knew?
Chapter 12
Fortunately, Winxa got over her anger fairly quickly, especially when Sandra was enthusiastic to start getting rid of her “pest” problem.
“First, you hit the threshold Core Size of 5, didn’t you? And you mentioned Mundane Object Creation and Monster Seed Origination Adaptability? I’ve never heard of those before, but that’s not surprising. Can you try to dig into them to see what they are in detail?”
I can try that, hold on.
Sandra wasn’t really scared of the Ants anymore since her forces had held up remarkably well after two-thirds of a day of fighting. With the reinforcements, she was happy to look into anything that would help eliminate her issue with volatile neighbors. She pulled up her Core Selection Menu and went down to the Core-specific Skills section, where she found the two new skills she had received. Fortunately, when she concentrated on each one, she was able to get a little more information on them – which she was thankful for, since trying to figure it out on her own didn’t always work well.
Mundane Object Creation
(Core-specific Skill)
Mundane Object Creation allows the Dungeon Core to create mundane objects such as furniture, tableware, writing instruments, and even tools. This skill does not allow for the creation of anything that requires moving parts or elemental energy, nor will it be able to create anything intending to be used as a weapon or protective armor. All Mundane Objects can only be created from dirt, stone, or any Monster Seed material. Mundane Objects can only be created when no invaders are present. Requirements: Mana and Raw Materials in a quantity specific to the Mundane Object being created. (Skills are permanent and remain even after a Classification change)
Monster Seed Origination Adaptability
(Core-specific Skill)
Monster Seed Origination Adaptability allows the Dungeon Core to adapt special techniques to create otherwise un-accessible Monster Seeds for use in either Dungeon Monster creation or otherwise. Monster Seeds can only be created when no invaders are present. Requirements: Unknown. (Skills are permanent and remain even after a Classification change)
As Sandra explained the two different skills to Winxa, she was slightly disappointed that they didn’t appear that useful in her current situation. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t excited for the future, as she thought the Mundane Object Creation skill would likely prove invaluable; however, as she couldn’t use either of her new skills, they were essentially useless right now.
Her notification also mentioned access to new Trap Construction Options, but she got another angry red warning notification saying she couldn’t make changes to her dungeon while there were invaders. Upgrading to Size 5 hasn’t seemed to give me anything I can use.
“Yes, it seems that way.” Winxa overheard Sandra’s internal comment and answered unnecessarily. “I’ve never heard of anything remotely like those two skills you received, though, so it will be interesting what you do with them later. And what does it mean about a Classification change? It’s impossible to change your Classification after it’s chosen—” the Dungeon Fairy stated but stopped when she looked over at Sandra again. “Never mind, you seem to thrive on doing the impossible, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Sorry, I thought I told you about that when I was choosing my Classification in the first place; it said while I wasn’t locked into whatever I chose, all my Mana and Dungeon Monsters would be utilized to help with the change.
“That’
s just crazy…but it makes sense. If you aren’t constrained by contract, you shouldn’t be locked into a Classification either. Hmm…” Winxa mused, before shaking her head and continuing. “Anyway, none of that helps you right now. If you don’t have skills or traps, and you can’t create a physical barrier, you don’t really have any other option other than bringing the fight to the source of your problem. You’re going to have to kill the Queen with one of your Dungeon Monsters.”
How? None of my Rolling Forces or Tiny Automatons could fit through a tunnel – even if they could get to them – and my Animated Shears will be destroyed within moments. My Clockwork Spiders might be able to climb up a wall, but they’ll be dismantled almost as quickly. I don’t have…
But she did have something she could use, once she thought about it. Now that her Core had been upgraded, she could hopefully afford to make it, too.
Constructs Creation Options
Name:
Mana Cost:
Clockwork Spider
5
Small Animated Shears
10
Tiny Automaton
20
Rolling Force
25
Segmented Centipede
100 (Seed Unavailable)
Articulated Clockwork Golem
150 (Seed Unavailable)
Not only could she afford – Mana-wise – to create the Segmented Centipede, but she also had enough to make an Articulated Clockwork Golem. Of course, it depended upon whether she had the right Monster Seeds.
Monster Seed Origination
Name:
Raw Material Cost:
Mana Cost:
Min. Mana:
Max. Mana:
Tiny Copper Orb
50
5
5
10
Small Copper Orb
100
10
5
25
Locked Seeds:
Unlock Requirements:
Mana Cost to Unlock:
Min. Mana:
Max. Mana:
Average Copper Orb
4 Small Copper Orbs
40
5
100
Large Copper Orb
2 Average Copper Orbs
80
5
200
Well, I can make some new Monsters, at least – so I’ll probably start there, Sandra thought resignedly. She hoped that one of her new creations could take care of the problem, because otherwise she was at a stalemate again.
“Go for it! There’s not really any other choice now,” the Dungeon Fairy told her. “Oh, and by the way, you can absorb your Monster Seeds for half the cost of Mana spent on them, as well as the full cost of the Raw Materials if you don’t want to wait.”
What?! That was information I could’ve used weeks ago, Winxa.
“Whoops, sorry – I thought I told you. I…was a little derelict in my teaching duties, unfortunately, and I apologize. It won’t happen again,” the Dungeon Fairy replied, looking sincerely apologetic.
You’re forgiven – but if you think of anything else that I should know, do try to tell me before it’s too late.
Winxa agreed whole-heartedly and Sandra absorbed a few of her Tiny Copper Orbs for their Mana; after waiting another minute or so for enough ambient Mana to be funneled from her existing Dungeon Monsters and Ant deaths, she was able to start unlocking more seeds.
New Monster Seed unlocked!
Average Copper Orb
Origination Raw Material Cost: 400
Origination Mana Cost: 40
Monster Min. Mana: 5
Monster Max. Mana: 100
New Monster Seed unlocked!
Large Copper Orb
Origination Raw Material Cost: 800
Origination Mana Cost: 80
Monster Min. Mana: 5
Monster Max. Mana: 200
In terms of relative size, her new Monster Seeds were massive compared to her original Tiny Copper Orb. Strangely enough, even though the Large Copper Orb was nearly the size of one of her Clockwork Spiders, Sandra could still use it to make one. She wasn’t sure how that worked, but the entire process of spawning her constructs in the first place was unusual.
A thought occurred to her when she looked at the different seeds she could make, so she asked Winxa. Will using different size seeds make any difference to my constructs?
“Nope. Even when you find other types of seeds, it does nothing to affect your Dungeon Monsters. You could use the most powerful seed in the world to create one of your tiny spiders, but it wouldn’t change anything about your construct at all. Though, that scenario isn’t likely to happen, as there are usually minimum Mana amounts on the seeds,” the Dungeon Fairy answered her.
Sandra had seen indeed seen that minimum on her menu, so what Winxa had said made sense. When she thought about what else the Fairy had said, she didn’t ever remember hearing from Heroes that the dungeon monsters were ever changed by the “loot” they carried, so Winxa was likely right.
After another couple of minutes of waiting for her Mana and Raw Materials to refill from the continued Territory Ant assault, she was finally able to construct her new monsters.
The Articulated Clockwork Golem was practically a giant in comparison to her other constructs. It was humanoid in appearance – similar to her Tiny Automaton – but instead of a head on top of its shoulders, it instead contained two “eyes” on the front of its chest. They were located nearly where the collarbone on a human would be, though they were about three times bigger than what she would consider “normal”.
Topping out at a whopping one foot tall, Sandra’s new Golem looked almost as wide, with its bulky torso and shoulders appearing like a large barrel on top of two stick-like legs with wide flat feet. Its arms were three times the width of its legs and had multiple joints along their length which allowed it to move its upper appendages in multiple directions. The arms also ended in two clamps, which would allow it to grasp something in its “hands”, which was helpful, but it also wouldn’t be doing anything intricate with them. Compared to the Tiny Automaton’s simple up and down movement restrictions, however, the relatively free movement of her Golem was extraordinary.
Her large construct was also covered in a very thin plate of an unknown metal, which enclosed the majority of its clockwork innards; it appeared to be the same pliable metal that most of her other monsters were made of, which meant that after enough abuse it could get damaged and fall apart just as quickly. It was an impressive addition to her arsenal of defenders, but it probably wouldn’t do anything to solve her immediate problem.
It was too big to fit inside the Ant tunnels, nor could it reach them. Sandra tried to see if it could dig its own way up to the Queen, but after only a minute of scraping at a nearby wall, her Golem had only managed to carve away about three inches of the dirt and stone – and managed to damage one of its claw-like hands in the process. She scrapped that idea and instead used it to smash and stomp any of the Ants that fell from the tunnels above.
Her Segmented Centipede, on the other hand, seemed like it was going to be the perfect solution. Only slightly bigger than the Territory Ants in terms of fitting through the tunnels, her new construct boasted a long, sinuous body that was made up of 25 separate “segments” with 4 legs on each part, giving it a total of a 100 legs. On the front part of the lead segment, Sandra could see a deadly looking set of double pincers perpendicular to each other, which allowed the Centipede to clamp down on anything in its path with gripping force. It looked like a large plus sign and would hopefully work extremely well slicing through the Ants with ease.
As Sandra was inspecting her new monster, she noticed that each segment slotted into the half-open backs of the one in front of it snugly. From what she could see, they all had pinchers like the lead segment, and were using them to grip onto something inside the spherical body of each part of the Centipede. After a little experimenta
tion, Sandra saw that it was able to move around with great dexterity and could contort itself into tight places. Although they worked as a whole to form the largely metal construct, each part of the Segmented Centipede was almost independent of each other – which meant that if one of them was destroyed, the rest could stay together to keep going.
The best part of her new Centipede, though, was the fact that it could mimic the way the Ants stuck to the ceiling and fit through the tunnels! While her existing monsters continued to dish out damage and devastate the incoming Territory Ants, Sandra accumulated enough resources to create three more of the Segmented Centipedes. When all four of her new constructs were ready to go, she sent them to the tunnels.
“Remember, you just need to kill the Queen – everything else will fall after she’s dead,” the Dungeon Fairy told her, after seeing how effective her new monsters would likely be.
Sandra felt a little sad when Winxa put it like that; as much as she wanted to deny that any of this was her fault, the fact that she did actually invade the Ants’ territory made her feel like the “evil” one in the situation. Although she didn’t want to wipe out the entire colony, there was no way she could stop them otherwise, and setting up some sort of peaceful negotiation seemed unlikely – the two sides of the conflict couldn’t even communicate with each other.