Her voice was deep – but surprisingly feminine – as she shouted loudly in order to be heard over the din of battle raging all around, “Hand over the Dungeon Core and we’ll kill you quickly. If you don’t, we’ll kill each and every one of you slowly until we get what we want. No negotiation.” That was it, short and to the point.
This was the hardest part of this whole plan – even knowing what was coming, all his fellow guild members were standing resolutely in the face of overwhelming odds. He held up a medium sized crate for all to see and said, “I don’t think so – you’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.” I’ve always wanted to say that, he thought, just before Justice gave the order to charge. She led from the front, confident in her abilities and higher level as she aimed straight for De4th.
What followed was a massacre – his guild just didn’t have the levels or the gear to stand up to them for long. The bonus from the Dungeon Core was the only thing that kept them alive long enough to trigger the next step in the plan. After Justice charged, De4th immediately ran with the crate visible to everyone and made his way to the outskirts of the guild battles still ongoing throughout the clearing. Shouting, “Divine Truth is trying to steal back the Dungeon Core,” over and over, he managed to gain the attention of many of the greedy players who until then had been fighting each other.
He was able to stay just ahead of Justice due to her heavy armor and made it back to the middle of the clearing as he watched nearly half of all the players follow him and Justice. His last stand was impressive – as he dodged attacks from Justice for almost a minute, he was cut down from behind by someone else from Divine Truth and dropped the crate on the ground. As he lay on the ground, bleeding out and staring up at his attackers, he saw out of the corner of his eye a player unstealth and attempt to grab the crate before he was cut down as well.
From there, swarms of players barreled into the center of the clearing, trying for a shot at obtaining the Core before Divine Truth could reacquire it. Although they were more numerous – and a higher level – than most of the guilds here, the members of Divine Truth could not hold up under the onslaught of players. One-by-one they fell until the tide of players surrounded the core leadership of the guild. These were the elite, the crème de la crème so to speak, of Divine Truth and wouldn’t be put down easily. They worked well as a group and fought off their attackers, taking many of them with them as they fell.
Finally, only Justice was left facing almost 100 players by herself and she was hurt with multiple wounds across her body. As De4th watched from the ground as the last of his health points ran out, he saw the other guild leader pick up the crate and attempt to run through a small gap in the players – only to be quickly cut down as she neared them. The last thing he saw was the remaining players piling on top of the crate like it was a fumbled football.
A screen popped up saying, YOU HAVE DIED, and he woke up in his FIPOD minutes later with a smile on his face.
Chapter 9
Devin could hear the sounds of a battle behind him as he worked his way slowly through the trees, maintaining his Stealth in order to stay unnoticed. He could sense the two Rangers – Strang3r and Gahbriyelle – following behind him, stealthed and moving silently as well. They were about an hour out from the dungeon at their current pace and fortunately hadn’t seen any players nearby for almost 15 minutes. They were lucky so far and the only ones they had seen had been lower-level players hunting in the forest, blissfully unaware of what was taking place back in the clearing.
The trio had left the main group shortly before they arrived at the meeting place and had headed straight for the dungeon while maintaining Stealth the entire way. Strang3r and Gahbriyelle were along to help Devin in case he ran into pockets of players he couldn’t avoid. So far, they weren’t needed, and he was hoping that it stayed that way.
He thought about what was happening back in the clearing – about the sacrifices his new friends were making to help get the Core back where it belongs. When De4th unveiled his plan, Devin wasn’t at first confident that it would work. I thought there was no way that all of the guilds would end up attacking each other – it appears I was wrong. All their work, which Devin couldn’t really participate in since he couldn’t logoff or access the forums, was all for the simple act of a distraction. Although “simple” couldn’t accurately describe the complexity of the misdirection caused by the members of Reckless. It was a masterful deception and now Devin had to do his part. He patted his chest where the Dungeon Core was hidden and thought, I gotta get this baby home now.
Over the next hour, they were fortunate not to run into any major opposition. As they approached the immediate vicinity of the dungeon, they did run into two higher-level casters in their 60’s that were waiting around for something. Sneaking in to position, the two Rangers pelted them with arrows as soon as they were in range and took them out quickly. None of them were sure if they were there to stop them, but they weren’t going to take any chances.
At 100 feet from the dungeon, Devin got impatient and couldn’t wait anymore. He unstealthed so that he could run for the entrance – which then seemed entirely too far away as he saw a player aiming a bow at him near the dungeon. He instinctively rolled forward as an arrow flew a bare inch above his head and flinched when he heard a bow string thrum from behind him. He looked up and saw his attacker with an arrow sprouting from his chest, followed by another one less than a second later. His companions had come to his rescue once again and he watched – as he could now tell by looking closer – the Divine Truth Archer slump to the ground. He turned to his saviors and waved thanks before sprinting again for the entrance.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, he felt the weight of the Dungeon Core disappear from inside his shirt. Patting his shirt in reflex, he immediately started freaking out when he couldn’t find it. It was only as he saw that he had a prompt waiting for him that he calmed down.
Congratulations DUMB!
You have reacquired and returned the Dungeon Core to the dungeon! It has been automatically returned to the Guardian Room.
Because of your perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, some benefits have now been granted to you and your dungeon:
- The dungeon may now earn experience again and the Dungeon Level will increase accordingly
- All Dungeon Level benefits are now activated and implemented
These include: Buildings
NPC’s
Dungeon Territory Expansion
- All resources gathered since the theft of the Dungeon Core are maintained
- Most restrictions lifted for the DUMB during the retrieval of the Dungeon Core are now made permanent
These include: Travel restrictions are eliminated
Communication and trade between the DUMB and testers is permitted – outside communication is still restricted
The DUMB may join parties, raids, and even guilds of testers which will benefit from the Dungeon Core bonuses
- All Guardians currently unlocked are now available for use
These benefits also come with some new challenges:
- Every 72 hours the time allowed to retrieve the Dungeon Core if it is stolen is reduced by 5 days
Retrieval time will not drop below 5 days
- The level cap on the strongest floor will increase by 5 every 48 hours
The timer and level cap increase will reset whenever a new floor is created
I did it! Oh yeah, oh yeah! Devin did a spastic-looking dance that looked like he was having a seizure, but he didn’t care. He had gotten the Core back and saved them from certain death at the hands of the system. As he looked over the prompt, he realized that his elation might be short-lived. The Dungeon Core was only as safe as the dungeon containing it and they had failed last time. With these new challenges, they would have to work increasingly harder to ensure their livelihood was secure. Just as he was thinking these things, he was interrupted by a voice.
“Devin!!!! Oh m
y god, you did it!!!! How did you do it?!?! We’re saved!!! I could just kiss you right now!” Silence rang out after that statement from Krista, as Devin assumed she thought about what she had just said.
Trying not to make what should be a joyous occasion more uncomfortable, he started telling her about what he had gone through over the few weeks. She was understandably astonished when he told her about his dealings with the Reckless guild, including his revelation about their status as Dungeon and DUMB. When he told her how the guild was intent on retrieving and helping to return the Core to the dungeon, she seemed skeptical – which was understandable. He himself was skeptical at first but they had come through when he thought the whole game world was against him. She said that she would give them the benefit of the doubt since Devin did make it back safe with the Dungeon Core.
“I’m so glad you’re back, Devin! I thought you had abandoned me after you didn’t come back as a respawn and you were gone so long I was despairing of ever seeing you again. I’m sorry for what I said before you left and I’m sorry for doubting that you could get the Dungeon Core back – it was wrong of me to accuse you like that. I was just so distraught over losing the Core that I wasn’t thinking straight – neither of us was. Can you ever forgive me?” Krista pleaded.
Devin found that he had mixed emotions over the whole thing. On one hand, he was still angry at her for doubting and accusing him falsely of things he had no control over. On the other, he still loved Krista and felt bad for her thinking that he had abandoned her after they had such a fight. Overall, however, he felt that he wasn’t quite yet ready to forgive her yet. He didn’t even have any proof yet of not having anything to do with Violette’s breakdown – as soon as he did, it would hopefully clear the tension between them and things could go back to the way things were before.
He told her all of that – without repeating that he loved her – and she seemed only slightly mollified by his reasoning. He brought up bringing back Violette, now that the Guardians were accessible again, so that they could both question her about what had happened. Krista adamantly refused, stating that the crazy bitch was still too unstable to guard the Core against any intruders. They needed a Guardian that they could count on to be a guardian, one that they didn’t have to worry about being a liability instead of an asset.
Devin felt that when they were able to talk to Violette and figure out what happened then she would be able to do her job again successfully. His arguments were in vain, however, because Krista still refused, and she was the one ultimately in charge of the dungeon. She decided to place the new Guardian that she had acquired at Dungeon Level 10 in the Guardian Room until they could make a new floor. Then they could bring Violette back as a mini-boss just before the new Guardian Room so that even if she was still unstable she wouldn’t be the only thing protecting the Dungeon Core.
Devin reluctantly agreed and asked Krista to respawn him in the staging room just outside the Guardian Room. Since he figured he would change it soon when he found out what he needed to do next, he quickly selected Orc Defender as his race and class. He was anxious to see this new Guardian that their survival would depend on.
When he was ready, he spawned in the staging room and made his way to the Guardian Room door. He entered the doorway, not really having any idea what he was expecting since Krista had made no mention of the new Guardian before this. He walked two steps in and stopped. And stared, disgusted. And then he looked up…and up…and up some more.
“What the fu—”
Chapter 10
Krista was overjoyed to get the Dungeon Core back after its absence. In the time that Devin had been away, the anger and confusion she felt toward him when had faded away into oblivion as she lost herself in a depressive state. Her “consciousness” floated free and she only intermittently focused on the dungeon long enough to peer in on some player groups making their way through the dungeon. She only watched them for a minute or so before she retreated to the safety of her unfocused mind.
It was only when she got a system prompt that she was pulled from her stupor long enough to read it. As soon as she read the first line about the Dungeon Core being returned, she felt her mind wake up and start working again. It was like her “brain” got a shot of adrenaline, everything that happened over the last couple of months crashing down on her in a massive download. By the time she finished reading the prompt and gathering her thoughts, she had focused on the entrance and saw Devin standing there. He looked just the same as he had when he left so long ago, if a little more ragged and worn down.
After she greeted him, she belatedly realized she told him that she wanted to kiss him. She mentally blushed and thought about it – remembering what he had said before he left earlier. She had thought about it a lot in between bouts of depressive fugue states. She still wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about him and his feelings toward her. Fortunately, Devin prevented her from having to say any more as he explained what had happened to him after he had left.
Krista was actually a little jealous – not for all of the “adventures” he had, but jealous of all of the friends that he had made. She was the one who usually spent all of her time adventuring with him and she felt left out. They would usually have other party members in other games, but the core of the group was always the two of them. Even in the dungeon, they still worked together to accomplish what they needed to. With the addition of this “Reckless” guild, it felt like she was losing him. However, he was back now, and Krista was determined to keep him around as long as possible.
She could understand his reasons for not forgiving her – she did say some not-so-nice things before he left. But she couldn’t countenance bringing Violette back to talk to her yet. She wasn’t going to trust her to protect them now when she had already failed at it once. When Devin reluctantly agreed to hold off bringing Violette back, she brought up the Guardian Menu to see what her other option was.
Guardians
Current number of guardians:
2
Guardians:
Violette (Spirit Witch)
Bruce (Undead Abomination)
Place guardian
0 rp
Bruce? What kind of name is that for an Undead Abomination? Figuring anything was better than their last Guardian, she placed it just inside the door of the Guardian Room. As it appeared, she was as unprepared for the result as she was when she had first seen Violette – this was definitely not what she had expected. She had to move back her viewpoint to take it all in.
Standing 40 feet tall, the Undead Abomination was a giant, rotting mass of flesh that disgusted Krista as soon as she looked at it. From what she could see, it had numerous eyes and mouths located in seemingly random locations all over its body. She also counted 17 giant arms and 10 legs supporting the ovoid-shaped abomination. The skin was an unhealthy corpse-grey and dark purple color as if it were an enormous bruise. If she could smell, Krista was sure that the stench alone might be enough to kill someone.
As she finished taking it all in, she noticed Devin entering the doorway and stopping a couple of steps into the room. His vision looked all the way up the monstrosity and started to say something when he inhaled. Instantly, he dropped to his knees, woozy from the odor emanating from the Undead Abomination. Krista watched him drag himself back out the doorway into the staging room.
She moved her viewpoint and waited until he had recovered enough to talk. “How do you like our new Guardian?” Krista couldn’t keep the humor from her voice.
“Ha ha. What the hell is that thing? I can’t even get close to it without wanting to throw up from the sight and smell of it,” Devin asked.
“He’s an Undead Abomination and apparently his name is Bruce. Since I can’t smell, let me see if I can talk to him and get him to guard the Dungeon Core.” As she went to shift her viewpoint, she couldn’t help but tease Devin just a little, “I wouldn’t advise copping a feel on this one.”
Krista went back to the Guardian Room a
nd moved her viewpoint to just in front of the massive mound of flesh. “Can you understand me?” She wasn’t expecting anything coherent, so was startled when every single mouth answered her at the same time – which was quite unsettling to say the least. Especially because the tone of the voice was high-pitched, happy, and juvenile – all at the same time. He’s as happy and cheery as Violette was – if not more.
“Hi! How are you? Are you my new master? It’s so nice to be here! Where am I? This place looks sooo neat! Did you do the decorating here? I love all the different levels to that temple back there – it’s so cute! My name’s Bruce – what’s yours? You’ve got a lovely voice! Are you the only one here? I’m hungry – I like to eat things! Is there a mirror around here? I want to make myself presentable if we have any guests later.”
On and on it went for what Krista could have sworn was an eternity – but was more like five minutes. She couldn’t get a word in edgewise and when “Bruce” finally wound down she didn’t even know what to say. Confused at the dichotomy of its appearance and personality, Krista had to take a step back and collect her scattered thoughts.
When she reasoned that she had her thoughts in order, she told Bruce about the dungeon, the Dungeon Core, and his job to protect it. He seemed receptive to what she had told him and to cut off any more rambling conversations she asked him what he needed as far as a Guardian Room went.
Dungeon Guild Page 6
