“I’m full of good ideas all the time,” Breck retorted. “I still have a lot of essence from those adventurers. I’m going to absorb the rest of my creatures and remake them with loot and command patterns added in. This should take a little time and my full attention. I’m going to stress this for what feels like the thousandth time. Please interrupt me if something happens or if I’m taking too long.”
After stating his warning, Breck got to work. He started by killing and reabsorbing all of his creations. He frowned at the loss of essence. The essence loss per creature was minimal, since they were all made from his own energy, but they quickly began adding up. Breck’s frown deepened when he realized how much essence he had lost on Sting, his boss monster. Sting was a beginner nine ranked mob and took a massive amount of Breck’s essence pool to create. Because he was a boss, Breck added several silver coins to Sting’s loot drops. He also created a new command pattern just for him. It was similar to the other creatures, but he removed the group dynamics and added instructions on how to use its venom.
He didn’t stop the changes there. Wanting to be more of a progression dungeon, he changed the spiders in the second room. He made them slightly smaller, closer to the size of the beetles, and dropped them a rank to beginner four. He kept the spiders in the room before Sting at beginner five, but added several copper coins to each of them. He wasn’t sure how much a copper or silver coin was worth in this world, so he just went with what felt right to him. He could always adjust it in the future.
When he had finished changing and recreating all the creatures in his dungeon, he took a deep mental breath. He was exhausted and his essence reserves were running low. Creating new patterns used a ton of essence, not to mention the essence it took to attach and pay for all the loot he was now creating. Even though he didn’t have to sleep, he was contemplating taking a nap. Could I even nap? I do feel tired. But I think that's just from a lack of essence. Jeeves interrupted Breck’s inner monologue by begging for his attention.
“Sir. Sir. Can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I can hear you. Hey, Jeeves. I finished making all the creatures and even gave them all some different instructions and loot. I think we're ready for some new people.”
“That’s good, Sir, because I detected a group of people inside your influence. I can’t see how many or what ranks they are, their life auras are blocking my sight again, but I wanted to make you aware,” Jeeves commented.
I really have to find a way to give him vision of people. He may be annoying but I can always use another pair of eyes. “Thanks, Jeeves. Let me take a look.” Breck scanned his influence and immediately found the intruders. It was another group of four again, this time all male. They had a similar setup as the first party. There was someone in robes with a staff, one had heavier armor with a sword and shield combo, and the remaining two were wearing lighter armor wielding plain looking short swords. One of the men in lighter armor had a large pack on his back, much like the younger women from the first group.
Breck grinned before turning his attention back to Jeeves. “It’s another group of four, Jeeves. Looks like it's time for round two!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
More Adventurers
“I thought Thao said the dungeon was in the swamplands. I don’t see anything out here.” The man wearing heavy armor spoke as he turned his head from side to side in search of the Boneless Dungeon.
“She said it looked like a spiky cave mouth with nothing connected to it. Just keep your eyes open. It may be a hidden entrance,” another member responded.
Note to self. Make my entrance more visible, Breck thought as he put the finishing touches on his rooms and examined the newcomers. “Hey, Jeeves. I think the girl warned this group about us. They’re all at beginner rank six.”
Jeeves perked up. “This will make an excellent test then. They must have heard how strong you were and sent a more experienced group. Be prepared to jump in if your monsters need assistance.” Breck mentally nodded and returned his attention to the adventurers.
“Hey, Rick. I think I found it.” The mage called out and pointed toward Breck’s entrance. The entire party unsheathed their weapons and approached cautiously. As they reached the staircase, the mage reached out to grab the tooth Breck had shaped, but the man named Rick snatched his arm.
“Are you stupid or something?” The mage looked at him quizzically. “Thao said their shielder died from resting against the cave entrance. Greg, did you seriously already forget?” Rick pointed to the wall Greg was about to grab. Although not easily seen, upon closer examination the pair of men could make out thin lines of venom running through the make-shift teeth.
“Thanks Rick.” Greg backed away.
Rick, the heavy-armor wearer, nodded and moved inside with his party in tow. When he reached the last few steps, he stopped and held up a hand. The rest of his group stopped with him and waited for orders. “Thao’s group didn’t make it past this next room. If her recap of the events is to be trusted, there are some sort of large bugs in this room.”
“Bugs? They were all killed by bugs?” the sword wielder with the pack questioned.
Rick sighed. “Did any of you pay attention to her when she warned the town?” He paused, looked at the blank stares from his group and shook his head. “Yes, Austin. Her group was killed by dog-sized bugs. Their teeth were strong enough to go through their armor and snap their bones. They swarmed Thao’s mage and ripped him into pieces. Do you want to get ripped into pieces? I know I don’t. So why don’t you listen up and pay attention?” Rick looked at each of his group members. They were now all giving him their undivided attention, and Austin’s face had turned red from embarrassment. “Ok. I’ll go first, but I want all of you to form up behind me. Greg, you're right behind me, then Austin and Bill can pull up the rear. Are you guys ready?” His group all nodded, so he pressed on.
“Ok, Jeeves. They’re coming in now. I’m going to hold off commanding the beetles. I want to see how they handle themselves with the new command pattern,” Breck called out.
“I can hardly contain myself, Sir. I wish I could see your magnificent work. Make sure to watch everything so you can share it with me later.”
Breck frowned. I feel bad for him. I really need to focus on giving him some vision down here. Still don’t really have a good plan for that, but I should be getting some essence soon to experiment with.
Rick entered the dark room and called out for light. Austin grabbed a torch and ignited it. Light filled the room as everyone clenched their weapons tightly. “Everyone get ready.” The group slowly advanced. When they reached the middle of the room, they stopped. “Anyone see anything?” Rick looked around but everyone was shaking their heads.
“Maybe it's not a dungeon. Maybe it was just a nest of creatures or something and Thao’s group scared them off?” Greg suggested.
Rick turned around and stared dumbstruck at Greg. “Really? You think the tooth entrance to this place and the perfectly formed staircase leading down were naturally formed? Is that what you're really suggesting right now?”
“Don’t have to be a dick, Rick. I’m just trying to think aloud, all right!?” Greg shoved him.
Rick stumbled back a few feet but quickly recovered. If he wasn’t caught off guard, Breck wasn’t sure a shove from the frail looking mage could have moved him.
“What are they doing, Sir? How are the beetles faring?” Jeeves questioned.
“They’re just… arguing. The two sword wielders are trying to break up a fight between the mage and the heavy armored one. Guys, respect the dungeon.” Breck shook his mental head.
“Even with increased mental capabilities, I still don’t understand humans.” Jeeves joined in, shaking his mental head.
Breck smiled. “Looks like the beetles are making their move.”
Two of the six beetles scurried toward Rick. Unfortunately for them, Rick noticed their approach. He spun around and thrust his sword toward the closest one
. To both Rick’s and Breck’s surprise, it changed directions as Rick’s sword swung downward, narrowly avoiding the strike. The second beetle lunged upward to bite Rick’s chest while the first distracted him. Acting quickly, Rick pulled his shield to his chest and deflected the attack. He thrust his shield arm forward, sending the beetle ricocheting across the room.
The first beetle took this opportunity to bite down on Rick’s leg. Without the reinforced iron teeth, it wasn’t strong enough to pierce Rick’s heavy armor. But what the beetle lacked in piercing power, it made up for in sheer strength. The single attack was strong enough to bend the metal around Rick’s leg. His face scrunched up as piercing pain shot through his leg. Frantically kicking was proving ineffective in removing the bug, so he thrust his sword down, cutting it in half.
“Rick! We need you!” Austin screamed from behind.
Rick spun on his heel and saw three more beetles pouncing on Austin while a fourth beetle occupied the other light-armored swordsmen. “Dammit!” Rick muttered and shot forward. “Greg, some help here!”
Greg pointed his staff at a beetle and moved his free hand in a series of symbols. A blue light started pulling from the surrounding area and collected in his palm. He fed the light into his staff, which glowed to match. With a single thrust, a jet of hot water shot out and collided with one beetle attacking Austin. The beetle’s shell cracked and broke apart from the pressure. Breck knew the water was hot when steam poured out from the melting flesh under the beetle’s carapace.
“Now that's interesting,” Breck commented as the beetle melted away. Years of decomposition happening in a matter of seconds when he absorbed the dead beetle’s essence. After just a moment, any trace of the creature was gone. When he completed his task, something else surprised him. A single copper coin appeared on the ground where the beetle had been only moments before. “Ohhh… that’s neat.” Jeeves sent the image of a question mark to Breck. “Sorry, I keep forgetting you can’t see what's going on. The robed man conjured a jet of hot water out of thin air and shot it at a beetle. If that wasn’t interesting enough for you, it appears my loot constellation worked. A copper coin appeared when the beetle died. Remind me later to work out a way to have the coin’s creation pull from the beetle’s essence after it dies. It should save me some essence cost upfront.”
Jeeves nodded. “Yes, Sir. I have added it to the list.”
“The list?”
“Yes. Currently on the list you want to find a way to help me see, find more patterns, fix your entrance, and have loot pull from a dead monster’s personal essence.”
“I knew I kept you around for a reason,” Breck laughed.
“What’s happening now?”
Breck returned his full attention to the fight. The group had killed another two beetles while he was distracted with Jeeves. Man, they move fast. “Sorry, Jeeves. I have to focus now.” Breck absorbed the essence of the additional two dead beetles and watched a coin appear from both of them. He frowned when he saw the group had taken no additional damage. They even anticipated the first beetle attacking Greg from behind. Within just another few minutes, the fight was over.
Panting and looking around the room, Rick called out to his group. “Does anyone see any more or did we get them all?”
“I think that's all of them. I can’t sense any other living essence around us.” Greg relaxed and lowered his arms.
Rick walked over to where one beetle had died and picked up the copper coin left behind. “There’s a copper coin here.”
“Here too!” Austin called out as he found an identical coin. Soon the entire group collected the six copper coins left behind and brought them all to Rick.
“Six copper, one per creature. That's pretty good loot gentleman. How is everyone? Anything to report?” Rick examined himself for damage. “I have a bruise on my leg and I think the lower part of my armor is ruined but no serious damage.” The rest of the group reported on their minor cuts and bruises, but none of them had taken significant damage.
“I think we should cultivate. I need a recharge, badly. I used up almost all of my essence in the fight.” Greg was sitting as he spoke. He got in the lotus position and began gathering essence. “You take the first watch, fearless leader.”
Rick nodded at the two swordsmen and they joined Greg. “I’m going to go check out the rest of the room and make sure we’re not missing anything. Then I’ll explore the hallway to see what's next. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Don’t go too far incase something attacks,” Austin spoke up with concern.
“I won’t. Besides, I think we're safe here. There seems to be only two ways into the room. That one,” he pointed to the staircase leading outside, "and that one,” he pointed to the hallway that led to the spiders. “We know that leads outside, so the only place an enemy could come from is where I’ll be. Besides, it's well lit now.“
Austin had dropped several additional torches during the fight. The room wasn’t completely round, however, so there were some sections they still couldn’t see. Rick went to explore those first before heading to the hallway. He found nothing other than some rocks, weeds, and empty space. Deciding his party was relatively safe where they were, he edged closer to the unexplored area.
“It looks like three of them are gathering essence and one is exploring my next hallway,” Breck explained.
“If they are absorbing essence, why aren’t you?” Jeeves questioned.
“What do you mean? There’s nothing for me to absorb. I already absorbed all my beetles and I can’t absorb the humans while their life auras protect them.”
Jeeves gestured toward the bulk of adventurers in the beetle chamber. “If they are absorbing essence, you should be able to absorb whatever they are getting rid of.” When Jeeves didn’t get a response, he continued his explanation. “They’re absorbing the ambient essence in the room in an attempt to refine it and boost their rank. I’m sure I explained what happens when you refine and compact your essence. You create…”
Breck thought for a moment, but the answer eventually came to him. “Corruption?” he said without confidence.
“Exactly. Living things don’t like corruption, it doesn’t mix well with their insides. Instead of keeping it in, they remove it when they cultivate, or absorb essence,” Jeeves explained.
“And how does this help me?”
“Where are they sending the corruption? They’re sending it into the room around them. Remember how I explained dungeons and humans having a good relationship? Well, this is a big part of it. Dungeons give adventurers a place to absorb a lot of raw essence, and you get the corruption left behind. Plus, if they die, you get all their personal essence. I think the whole system is more weighted in your favor and that's another reason dungeons are encouraged to leave loot behind.”
Breck nodded slowly. “Ok, I think I get it. But I still have to fill that room full of my essence again. Those adventurers are pigs and they’re eating it all up!”
“I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that,” Jeeves exclaimed.
“Oh. Why’s that?”
“I can’t see the adventurers while they’re alive but I can see that one.” Jeeves pointed at Rick who had ventured forward on his own. “It looks like he cut the spiderwebs in the hallway with his sword and triggered your trap.”
Breck moved his attention to Rick. The adventurer was stuck in an action post, his sword swinging downward. His head was cocked upward, examining something. When Breck got a closer look, he noticed what happened. Rick’s face was completely melted down to the bone. His eyes were nothing more than a mushy white liquid, pooling in their sockets. His armor was surprisingly intact, but his flesh was gone. It looks like adding a lot of corruption to the venom turned it into an acid… Awesome!
Screams of horror echoed throughout his depths when Rick’s party turned the corner and caught their first look at their leader. “RIIIIICK!” Greg shouted. He ran forward and grabbed his dead friend. He
recoiled in pain when some acid flung from Rick’s corpse and landed on his arm. “What the hell is this!?” Austin ran forward and washed the wound with a healing potion before pulling the group back to the first room.
They should have gathered what they wanted because I’m about to eat it all! Breck absorbed everything in Rick’s vicinity. His body, personal essence, armor, the coins from the beetles he picked up, his weapons, and even the cobwebs. While the party debated if they should continue on without their leader, Breck reset the trap and filled it with the pattern for his potent acid.
“I’m not sure going on is a great idea. We don’t have anyone for the front lines,” Greg said worryingly.
“Pssh. I’ll take up the front,” Austin commented. “The beetles weren’t hard to kill, and each of them dropped a copper coin! And they were just the beginning of the dungeon! It's fair to say that we could get multiple copper in the next room.” Breck mentally nodded, but the group couldn’t see. “We need to keep going and get some loot. We can donate part of it to Rick’s wife. Without him, she’ll be on the streets. You don’t want that, do you?” Greg shook his head. “Exactly! Come on, guys. The traps appear to be the only dangerous thing in here. Let’s just take it slow and by the time we make it back to town, we’ll be rich!”
They all cheered, and Breck just grinned. “Greed. Greed is absolute in every world. It destroyed my Earth, and it looks like it's about to destroy them.” He readied his spiders and waited for his next meal.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Spiders
“Where did he go!?” Bob was frantically searching for any trace of Rick in the hallway.
“If the loot didn’t confirm it, this definitely does. We're in a dungeon, Bob. Dungeons absorb everything in them. Now calm the hell down and help search for traps,” Austin scolded. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my face melted.” Austin stretched his arm out as far as he could and poked every stone on the ground with his sword. He was sweating bullets and his hand was shaking so much that his pokes sounded more like clatters.
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