Morgana: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.4)

by Iliev, Neven

  “Yeah, thought so. Figured I’d check anyway, you know?”

  “Oh, yeah, no harm in that. What was it you liked to say? Asking is free?”

  Carl’s smirk was practically audible from the other end of the line.

  “Hold on though, you can contract demons through dungeon cores?”

  “Uh, yeah? Isn’t that included in your Demonology Skill?”

  “No.”

  “Huh. Must need a higher Level… Anyway, there’s no problem with me telling you, since you do own a dungeon core. But, yeah, you can contract demons through that. There’s actually three ways of doing that. The first is through the Monster Spawner menu.”

  Boxxy curiously inspected the Dungeon Management screen in its head. The Monster Spawner had so many unappetizing options that it had neglected to notice that it could enlist demons as common dungeon dwellers. Having those treacherous and unruly beings wander around its lair didn’t seem like a good idea though, so it would pass on this one.

  “The second option is Guardian Assignment,” Carl continued explaining. “You can use that to hire rankers as mid-bosses or end-bosses, and you can more tightly control where they can go, what they can do, and how they behave when intruders show up.”

  Demons could only Rank Up once and only through special and largely mysterious circumstances. Doing so would give them tremendous power that dwarfed that of the common variety. For example, if one were to summon an archfiend and a regular fiend using the same amount of MP and make them fight one another, the archfiend would literally mop the floor with the fiend ten out of ten times. Even then, there was an even wider gap in power and ability between a random archfiend and Overlord Nagnamor himself, even though both were the same species.

  As was to be expected, however, such high-class minions were not available for hire through the summoning contract of a Warlock.

  “Lastly,” Carl declared, “you can have me arrange a special agreement that allows you to appoint ranker demons as dungeon masters.”

  “I see,” Boxxy responded. “I already have that position taken care of, but it’s good to know I have that option. Thanks, Carl.”

  “Hey, no problem, buddy. At least you bothered to ask. You would not believe how many mortals could’ve spared themselves some serious headaches if they just did that.”

  “Then why don’t they?”

  “Because people are idiots.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been noticing that as well.”

  “Anyway, you got anything else that needs taken care of?”

  “No, that’ll be all. At least until I can afford another familiar contract.”

  That moment was approaching soon, as Boxxy only needed to finish getting its Demonology Skill from Level 7 to Level 8.

  “Alrighty then. Bye for now.”

  *Click*

  Having concluded its interdimensional call, Boxxy turned its attention towards furnishing the dungeon. Fizzy had already set up her tinkering corner, which included a bunch of workstations, four large cupboards for materials and parts, an assortment of tools, as well as a large forge and anvil for smithing purposes. As for the shapeshifter, it turned its attention towards fortifying the place. It placed a bunch of spike and dart traps around the sewer entrance. Those would be enough to take care of any wandering creature or vagrant that stumbled onto this place by chance. They’d also activate whenever Fizzy used the passage, but her mithril hide would have no problems deflecting that level of damage. The dungeon core would maintain and re-arm the traps as needed, so Boxxy didn’t need to give them any special attention beyond the initial setup.

  The doppelganger wanted to build a few more things, but the dungeon core was rapidly running out of MP. Not to mention that the monster was running late and had places to be. It therefore decided to call it quits for the day and return to maintaining its public persona as an apprentice Ranger. The Job itself was more than just a cover, of course, as Boxxy legitimately thought it would be a great asset to its toolkit. Unlike that other Job its Cadaver Absorption picked up a few weeks ago, or the thoroughly useless Divine Attunement Skill it got off a Priest. Well, the former turned out to be a bit convenient in some unexpected ways, while the latter unlocked the advanced Faith (FTH) Attribute, so it did get some minor use out of them.

  The spider-chest leapt over to the edge of the plateau it stood on and clung onto the far wall. It used a combination of Terrain Sculpting and Dungeon Expansion to make a tunnel into the side of the tree that led straight to the outside. The narrow passage opened up into the side of the hylt tree’s trunk, with nothing immediately around it. The city of Azurvale stretched out underneath, dyed a vibrant shade of red by the setting sun. It would appear the monster’s new lair was at a much higher altitude than it had initially imagined.

  After getting its bearings and making sure to memorize this entrance’s position, Boxxy sealed the tunnel behind it, turning it into a very shallow cave that was still technically part of the dungeon. In the future, it would just need to enter this tight space and transport itself into the dungeon proper through Nexus Access. That way, even if this hole-in-the-tree was discovered, nobody could gain entry through it. Realizing that the rectangular hole it made in the side of the tree was clearly unnatural on its own, it decided to camouflage it with a special door courtesy of the Trap Construction module.

  Satisfied that its secret entrance was now complete, it changed its coloration to dark brown, matching the bark behind it, then climbed down the tree. On second thought, it might have to revise this entrance’s location as it felt exposed, but it was probably good enough for the time being. It passed by the tallest branch with people living on it, and kept going down until it reached a lonely, cheap-looking house built into the side of the hylt tree.

  Standing in front of the shack-like home, it actually found itself looking forward to getting some actual rest instead of pretending to sleep while working on its Meditation Skill. It had the effect of passively increasing its automatic MP recovery, so it was well worth the effort. Still, these past few days had been slightly more mentally draining than usual, so it decided to take its bi-weekly dose of sleep a bit earlier than usual. It quickly ducked behind the house and changed into its fabricated persona; the same one it had adopted ever since it first came to Azurvale. Once it was sure its form was complete, it opened its Storage and deftly took out some clothes and chainmail armor, and put it all on immediately. After making itself decent, it walked around the house while equipping a set of three high-grade magic rings it acquired on the way to the capital.

  [Your mass has been reduced by 40%.]

  [Your weight has been reduced by 40%.]

  [Your resistance to lightning has increased by 15%.]

  Satisfied with the array of plain-looking jewelry on its slender right hand, it started releasing lust-inducing pheromones, put on its ‘game face’ and opened the front door boldly.

  “Honey, I’m home!” it called out in a cheerful, feminine voice.

  “Welcome back, Keira,” Rowana answered with a wide smile.

  [General Information]

  Boxxy T. Morningwood

  Doppelganger (Juvenile), 5 months old

  Member of Hidden Arrow

  Level 13.44 Doppelganger

  Level 50.00 Mimic (MAX)

  Level 5.00 Cat (MAX)

  Level 38.35 Warlock

  Level 17.21 Artificer

  Level 14.61 Ranger

  3199/3199 HP (+11.7/sec)

  2544/2544 MP (+2.6/sec)

  [Attributes]

  STR 384, DEX 420, AGI 434, END 563, INT 494, WIS 363, LCK 186, MNT 288, CHR 166, PER 177, FTH 16

  [Mimic Skills]

  Assassination – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

  Storage – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

  Cadaver Absorption – Lvl 8.42

  Biomass – Lvl 11.23

  Natural Armor – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

  Metal Mimicry – Lvl 9.57

  Mend Flesh – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

 
Adaptive Defense – Lvl 5.34

  [Absorbed Skills]

  Acid Spray – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

  Divine Attunement – Lvl 4.10

  [Cat Skills]

  Feline Agility – Lvl 6.95

  [Doppelganger Skills]

  Mirror Image – Lvl 5.63

  Pheromone Control – Lvl 2.74

  [Warlock Skills]

  Summon Familiar – 10.00 (MAX)

  Power Overwhelming – Lvl 9.13

  Demonology – Lvl 7.83

  Crystallize Magic – Lvl 8.44

  Chant Reduction – Lvl 2.52

  Demonic Insight – Lvl 3.79

  [Artificer Skills]

  Clockwork Expertise – Lvl 5.54

  Explosives Handling – Lvl 3.72

  Deconstruction – Lvl 3.21

  [Ranger Skills]

  Tracking – Lvl 2.53

  Marksman – Lvl 3.51

  [Hero Skills]

  Chaotic Disposition – Lvl 1.00 (MAX)

  Agent of Chaos – Lvl 1.00 (MAX)

  Essence Concealment – Lvl 1.00 (MAX)

  [Other Skills]

  Shapeshift – Lvl 10.84

  Stealth – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

  Lockpick – Lvl 3.55

  Sword Mastery – Lvl 7.53

  Meditation – Lvl 4.41

  Projectile Mastery – Lvl 8.52

  Dagger Mastery – Lvl 10.00 (MAX)

  Ruin Mastery – Lvl 11.15

  Domination Mastery – Lvl 7.51

  Shield Mastery – Lvl 7.83

  Staff Mastery – Lvl 5.32

  Bow Mastery – Lvl 4.74

  [Spell and Martial Arts]

  Ruin Spells – Shadowbolt, Ebonfire, Frostbite, Dark Explosion, Shadowbind, Singularity, True Darkness, Massive Rejection

  Domination Spells – Mass Panic, Delirium, Dark Infusion, Mind Blast

  Other Spells – Implosion, Transfamiliar

  Marksman Arts – Power Shot, Guided Arrow, Multishot

  Interlude

  Good News Travels Slowly, Bad News Has Wings

  A group of three seasoned adventurers were having a little get together at a small pub. They just saw three rather invigorating fights earlier that afternoon, and their blood still boiled excitement, despite being of a rather advanced age. Which, as one might expect, made them rather rowdy.

  “Look! Ah’m tellin’ ye, ye cannae take down a cyclops just by aimin’ fer the eye!” Hilda insisted, slamming her fist into the table.

  “And I’m telling you, that teaching your students to ‘go for the dick’ will just get them flattened under its feet!” Faehorn argued.

  The dwarf warrior and the elven archer always seemed to find something to argue about. The topic of tonight’s heated discussion was what constituted ‘proper takedown procedures’ for a cyclops. The monster in question was a six-meter-tall, one-eyed mountain of muscle that would easily stomp any adventurer under Level 60 or so. Lichter, the seasoned Paladin trainer and the other elf in the group besides Faehorn, just watched and listened to the debate with a knowing smile on his face.

  The three of them had been working together for many years, and this sort of bickering was nothing new. The loud and muscular dwarf woman had been the party’s front-liner and preferred a direct ‘mace-to-face’ approach. The pointy-eared Ranger, on the other hand, insisted that discretion was the better part of valor and preferred more careful tactics. Lichter had acted as the group’s magical support and de-facto leader, meaning it was often his responsibility to put a stop to their quarreling and decide on a course of action. Once that had been settled, Hilda and Faehorn would put aside their differences and work together without question. At least until the next time they butted heads over their conflicting views and opinions.

  That was all in the past, though. The three aging veterans had collectively decided to retire from active adventuring more than a decade ago, and acted as teachers and mentors ever since. It was a far less stressful line of work, to say the least. However, Hilda and Faehorn’s habit of having heated arguments with one another had not died down in the slightest, despite the fact that they all had much more peaceful lives at this point.

  “As if! Ye just need to slice his cock off and he’ll be down fer the count!”

  Well, relatively peaceful.

  “Hilda,” Lichter said calmly.

  “Wot?!” she snapped back at him.

  “Please refrain from screaming about slicing cocks at the top of your lungs.”

  “Huh?! Oh. Right.”

  The dwarf had just realized they were in a public space, and that the other patrons were throwing curious glances their way. She gave the onlookers a curt, “Sorry ‘bout that,” before turning her attention back to the drink in her mug.

  “Honestly,” Paladin sighed, “I wish you’d consider your position already. How is that the behavior of a stonekin?”

  “I am a stonekin, so anythin’ I do is the behavior of a stonekin,” the dwarf argued indignantly. “Besides, it’s not like ye’re one to act all angel-y all the time yerself.”

  Though not immediately apparent, Hilda, Faehorn and Lichter were among the small number of enlightened that had reached Level 100 in a Job. This not only gave each of them powerful and unique Ultimate Skills, but also allowed them to Rank Up into a slightly higher state of being. Hilda, for instance, became a stonekin dwarf, while Faehorn was now a high elf. This had not only tremendously increased their innate strength, speed and endurance, but had also rejuvenated their bodies and nearly doubled their lifespans. Not to mention the special racial Skills that accompanied the transition.

  In short, though achieving a Rank Up as an enlightened being was significantly more difficult than as a monster, it was also far more impactful. Unlike monsters, the people of Terrania couldn’t choose what they would Rank Up into. Dwarves always became stonekin and elves always turned into high elves. Unless one happened to be like Lichter and earned their Rank Up through a Level 100 religious Job, such as Monk, Priest, or, in this man’s case, Paladin.

  Such enlightened would eschew their normal evolution to instead become angels, quasi-divine beings said to have been granted a tiny fragment of their chosen deity’s power. This manifested itself in a few ways, but the most obvious one was the Divine Flight Skill. This ability allowed its user to manifest a pair of gigantic, phantasmal, bird-like wings from their backs at will. These phantasmal limbs could be used to soar majestically and effortlessly through the air, though they constantly drained the angel’s MP while active. This was in exchange for whatever racial Skill one would normally obtain from their advanced race.

  However, even though angels were granted extended lifespans and heightened physical abilities of other enlightened rankers, they were still very much mortal and susceptible to dying of old age. It wouldn’t be until they somehow managed to Rank Up a second time and become archangels that they would obtain eternal youth, though they could still be slain in combat. This applied to all enlightened, not just those with religious inclinations. The third and final Rank Up was speculated to grant one true immortality, but those details were nothing more than the realm of legends, myths, rumors, and speculation.

  That idea seemed glorious and tempting at first glance, but few comprehended just how much violence, bloodshed, and loss one had to endure to reach such a summit. Hilda, Lichter, and Faehorn were all too familiar with the sacrifices required to reach their current state of being. Each of them had suffered more than a few mentally and emotionally scarring events over their long and storied careers. These were the type of horrors that chipped away at one’s soul until the only thing left of them was an empty, unfeeling husk. Assuming they survived, of course.

  This weariness had been the main reason why these three had hung up their adventuring backpacks in favor of teaching. Passing on their mountains of accumulated experience to future generations and seeing promising youngsters grow into capable adventurers had been, in essence, a form of therapy. It ‘recharged’ them, all
owed them to keep in touch with where they came from and reminded them of why they did the things they did.

  That said, this was all a temporary arrangement. Like any true adventurers, Hilda, Faehorn and Lichter were determined to grow even stronger and aim for that elusive second Rank Up. In order to do that, they had to find and kill creatures that were still worth XP to their secondary combat Jobs. The opportunity to do so would arrive within a few short years, and the three of them were already planning and preparing to challenge it, fully aware that this adventure was likely to be their last.

  But that was still a long ways away. For the moment, they were perfectly content to enjoy each other’s company for as long as these peaceful and laid-back times lasted.

  “… Think the Empire’s gonna be comin’ fer us?” Hilda asked with a grim look.

  Although a dwarf, she genuinely considered Azurvale and the Republic to be her home. The students and ‘those two pansies’ she shared a drink with were her family. If push came to shove, she’d defend them all without a second thought, regardless of who the enemy was.

  “It’s practically guaranteed,” Faehorn answered with a sigh. “A friend in the military had been analyzing the probability of a war with the Empire and how well we’d fare in it. She’s not supposed to talk about it, but she gave me some rather sound advice on the matter.”

  “Oh?” Lichter leaned in curiously. “Let’s hear it, then.”

  “She said to stock up on lubricant and burn medicine,” Faehorn grinned wryly, “because we’re about to get F’d up the A without the sweet talk.”

  Hilda gave a hearty laugh while the Paladin covered his face with his palms.

  “Seriously though,” the Ranger continued, “it’s been a long time coming. Those humans will always be like that. I mean, we all know Jennifer, right?”

  He was referring to the human Monk that had been a part of their troupe in their glory days, several decades ago. They had to eventually part ways with her years back due to how ruthless and merciless she was. She also lacked anything resembling a code of honor, making it a wonder she managed to remain a Disciple of War without being disowned by her patron deity.