The Dungeon Fairy: Two Choices: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 2)

by Jonathan Brooks

  All very true; it’s one of the reasons why even the most powerful of Dungeon Cores are susceptible to being destroyed, because there are some Raiders that are specifically geared towards mitigating the damage caused by traps. Just like these “Merchants” were…but do you know what they weren’t enchanted against?

  “I’m assuming you’re going to say Life-based traps? That makes sense, though – because there isn’t any reason to. It would interfere with the spells that their Healer classes use, after all.”

  Shale was absolutely correct. Life-based traps were unique in the fact that they weren’t designed to kill things; they instead were designed to promote life, obviously. They worked much better and faster at healing people than her Healing Paralysis Enchantment Trap – and didn’t paralyze them in the process – and could practically bring a person back from the brink of death. Life traps could also cure poisoned, diseased, or otherwise debilitated states unlike anything other than the most powerful Healing and Cure Potions available as rewards.

  But Life-based traps could also promote the strengthening and growth of living things. Placed in one of her rooms up above, a trap could trigger and strengthen the bark of a tree so much (for a limited time) that it would be impossible to chop down. It could also cause a wildflower to grow large enough that it could fill an entire room, or harden the fronds of a fern so that each leaf was as strong and stiff as a hardened piece of steel. It worked for her environmental objects because – though they were originally created from her Dungeon Force – they were essentially alive and relatively permanent the moment they were fully formed. Her Dungeon Force helped to keep them stable at the point they were at and helped to regrow them if they were removed, but they mimicked living plants, nonetheless.

  The same couldn’t be said for her creatures. While they appeared and acted alive, they were solely temporary constructs made from Dungeon Force. Therefore, the Life traps wouldn’t work on enhancing them like they would with any other living thing; this was one of the reasons that Life-based traps weren’t very popular, because there was very little benefit to the Dungeon Core for using them.

  What they were used for was enhancing Raiders that delved through a dungeon. That might seem counterintuitive, but they were usually used in conjunction with other types of traps. Need a little boost in your Physical attributes to make a long jump to a faraway platform? Life-based traps can provide that for a limited time. Need some more Fire Resistance so that you can make it through a hallway filled with flames? A Life-based trap could help with that, too.

  The point of those little boosts was to convince the Raiders to progress further, to give them a false sense of their own abilities that they might not otherwise have. In most cases, the duration of these boosts were just barely long enough for the delving individuals to succeed in navigating their way through the next trap; hesitate, and the boost would disappear before they succeeded in their endeavor. It was a sneaky way to potentially gain easy Raider deaths while still being entirely legitimate.

  You’ve seen my concentrated Enchantment Traps with their intensity, right?

  “Of course. What does that have to do with—oh. Oooohhhh…I never thought about that. We weren’t ever taught that they could be used in such a way.” Shale went from looking extremely confused to filled with wonder in less than 2 seconds.

  Let’s just say that I went above and beyond with my training, and my research into this was fairly extensive. It was the only thing I could think of that might not already have a counter.

  “Smart. Very smart – and very, very sneaky. Who would believe that becoming stronger would be a bad thing?”

  That was a bit of an understatement. Typically, Life traps that were used in conjunction with other types of traps were set to a low intensity; they increased the Physical attributes, Resistance, or even Magical ability of the Raiders delving through by very small increments. For one, it could get expensive Dungeon Force-wise to place them if the duration lasted for more than a few seconds (especially if Cores didn’t specialize in Life-based traps, which very few did); secondly, it probably wasn’t smart to power-up a Raider too much in your dungeon, even if it were only for a few seconds. It was hard to estimate what those delving through a dungeon would do with such a boost.

  There was a little-known side-effect of these boosts, however. It was one which was not generally made known to Dungeon Assistants or Cores because it was against the rules; no one guarded against it for the same reason Shale stated before: Life-based Resistance lessened the healing-spell effectiveness of Healers. Causing Raiders to have to be prepared to resist Life-based anything was highly unfair; therefore, the practice of using it as a weapon was, if not buried, then not taught at all at DAPS. You could work it out, though, if you really studied what Life-based traps actually did, instead of passing it off as relatively useless like most of the other Assistants that passed through the school.

  “That’s right. We’re going to give them a boost so powerful that they’ll be able to practically lift a mountain…right before their body explodes from the drastic stresses and changes it’ll go through.”

  “I like the way you think, Tacca. I think those teachers of ours could learn a thing or two from you.”

  If a Dungeon Core could blush, she’d be pure red.

  Chapter 19

  The placement of her new traps was quite easy. They were contained in a field not unlike her Enchantment-based traps, so they were essentially invisible to most Raiders; those with the ability to detect and even disarm traps could probably sense them, and those two Bonded Hill Dwarves would certainly be able to see them, but otherwise they should be virtually undetectable. Their basic nature was amazingly simple, as well, as they mimicked the size, shape, and general feel of her powerful Enchantment traps in her primary defensive room near her Core.

  Strength Boost Life Trap

  The Strength Boost Life Trap can be placed on any surface and is triggered by proximity. Any living being passing through the activation range will experience a boost in their Physical attributes – determined by the strength of the trap – for a limited duration of time. Beneficiaries blessed by the Strength Boost Life Trap cannot retrigger additional Strength Boost Life Traps until the duration has expired. All traps can be disabled with high enough Disarm Trap skills.

  Cost: 1300 DF (-60% Life Specialization)

  Replacement Cost: 325 (-75% off current cost/Life Specialization)

  Creation Time: 6.5 Hours

  Disarm Trap Resistance: 21

  Activation Range: 1.0ft X 1.0ft X 1.0ft

  Trigger Proximity: 0.2 ft

  Physical Attributes Increase: 2000.0%

  Duration: 5.0 seconds

  Resistance Category: Life

  Special Effects: Causes a temporary increase in the physical size and strength of the beneficiaries’ muscles

  It cost more to place than even her most powerful Enchantment-based traps, which meant she had to be a little more careful while expending that much DF. She gradually started replacing some of the least-powerful defenses inside of the room, which consisted primarily of her Projectile and Explosive-based traps, taking nearly a day between each one when she had enough Dungeon Force. Even having one or two inside the room made her feel so much better, because now she was nearly positive that she had something there that could stop just about anything that tried to come after her. Tension and hyper-awareness, which she had not even been aware that she had been suffering from since the previous attack, started to slowly melt away as more of the traps were added into her defense.

  “Hey – it looks like you’ve got some friends at the entrance.” Shale’s words interrupted her concentration while she was just finishing up the placement of her newest trap; fortunately, she was incapable of “jumping” at the sudden disturbance, so she was able to place it exactly where she wanted it before turning her attention far above.

  They’re back! Why haven’t they been back already? Thinking back at everything
she realized that it had actually been just under 5 weeks since her Bonded Hill Dwarves had been there with their new group; she wasn’t sure why they had waited that long, since they had the ability to cut in line once a week. She thought that it might be because they appeared to be wearing a little bit better-quality armor this time, though not nearly as high of quality or as expensive as the ones the Merchants were wearing; then again, anything that wasn’t ragged leather and threadbare cloth was a step up. They were still wielding the weapons they had the last time, though.

  “You’ve no doubt heard that this dungeon has been changing things around. I’m not sure how good your prior knowledge is going to be now, Sterge.” The Gnome Scout led the way, looking for the two Root Foxes that had been near the entrance last time – but failing to find them. Tacca knew that she had moved them inside the nearest foliage lining the path leading to the next room, just to shake it up a little bit. “Especially as word has it that the traps are starting to move from their previous locations, as well.”

  That was also true. With the new month, Tacca had started shifting the traps in her upper dungeon from their previous locations, along with continuing the practice of moving her creatures around. They were minor shifts, such as moving them to the right or left a foot from where it was previously, and only her Enchantment-based ones at the moment; she hadn’t changed the nature of them yet, just the placement. The Soil-covered Pit Traps were going to be next, though she was giving the groups of Raiders time to adjust to the changes that were happening already before she did that. Well, that, and they were much more expensive to move as they cost more DF to place, and most of her DF was being consumed in improving her defenses down near her Core.

  “Yes, well…we will just have to see. Perhaps I’ll surprise you.” Basically, from what Tacca could tell, the Hill Dwarf Fighter, who she now knew was named Sterge, was going to “cheat” using the Dungeon Sight Ability to find all the changes. She was perfectly fine with that, as she still didn’t want them to die.

  Shale, on the other hand, was ecstatic as he watched Sterge use the Ability. “Wow – I can see that! Is that what you see all of the time?”

  Eh…pretty much. Does it look all red?

  “Er…yes? Different shades of red, but red, nonetheless.”

  I see things in multiple colors depending on what it is, such as traps and creatures, but it’s the same general idea.

  “This would be nice to be able to see things like this all the time,” her Dungeon Assistant remarked a bit wistfully.

  Perhaps one day you will; you know as much as I do that Dungeon Fairies and their Bonded Cores tend to develop certain Abilities over time – so maybe this will be one. I can already share my screens with you because of my increase in Assistant Rank; I’m excited to see what will happen when you Rank up as well.

  Neither of them said anything more than that, because they were too busy watching the group easily making their way through the dungeon – despite all the changes. The Dungeon Sight Ability was definitely showing its worth now, as Sterge the Hill Dwarf Fighter easily pinpointed where everything was.

  “How? How are you doing this?” the Elf asked suspiciously after the third time he described exactly where one of the traps was located, even though it was on the opposite side of the room where it had been the last time they were there.

  Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do—

  “Uh, well, you see, well—”

  “What Sterge is trying to say is that we developed a sort of…connection…with this dungeon during our initial visit a few months ago,” the Hill Dwarf Caster finished for him. “He can sense where all of the dangers are when he’s in the same room, and can pinpoint them quite accurately.”

  The others were all silent as they stared at Sterge, who appeared highly uncomfortable. Finally, the Elf turned to the Caster and asked, “Wait—you said ‘we’. Does that mean you can do this too, Gwenda?”

  Gwenda. A name to a face now.

  The Hill Dwarf barely hesitated before answering. “Yes, I have this same ‘connection’. And please, don’t mention it to anyone else, as it could cause some issues.”

  “Is this part of the reason you wanted us to wait more than a month to come back? So that no one would look at you both two closely and find out about this ‘connection’ – like how we aren’t supposed to mention the poetic message that was left for us last time?”

  At least now I know why they waited so long—uh oh! I hope he didn’t hear—

  Unfortunately, her Dungeon Assistant was listening to every word. “What message is she talking about, Tacca? What did you do?” Shale asked mentally, through his Bond with her Core.

  There was no getting around it now; she had to tell him the truth. As she explained what she did and why she did it, he actually took it better than she had thought he would.

  “Good for you.”

  Wait—what? I thought you would disapprove.

  “You did what you had to do, Tacca. This was a matter of your life on the line, and communicating with them – which I know you did before this – was just another way of defending yourself. What those Core-killers did when they came in here was not justified in any way, and letting those that seem to be in charge of the area outside of your dungeon know what was going on was not only smart, but imperative.”

  You…know about that?

  “Not until you just confirmed it right now, but I suspected. I’m sure you did it for a reason, just as you did this, but I wish you had told me. I can’t help you if I’m going to be surprised by sudden revelations like this in the future.”

  Tacca felt a little ashamed of keeping her activities from Shale, and though he seemed like he wasn’t overly mad, she still felt like she disappointed him for some reason.

  No more secrets. I promise I’ll tell you if I do anything like that in the future, as long as you don’t argue with me too much.

  Even though she technically couldn’t see him because he was currently invisible, she could feel that Shale was smiling. “How about you tell me before you do something like that, and you have a deal.”

  That wasn’t too hard of a deal to agree to.

  Nothing of note happened with Sterge and Gwenda’s group – it’s good not having to think of them as the Hill Dwarf Fighter and Caster anymore – though she did figuratively wince when they mentioned the Power Boost +50% passive Ability they had. None of the new group seemed to be surprised by that after the other revelations; instead, they only remarked that they thought it was strange that they had gained so much “Power” (which she knew was the equivalent to a Fairy’s Experience) compared to other new groups.

  By the end of their delve, the Elven Fighter, Human Healer, and Gnome Scout achieved an increase in their Raider Level – bringing them to Level 3 like Sterge and Gwenda. The two Hill Dwarves said that they were just shy of getting to Raider Level 4, which was impressive; there had been one group of repeat Raiders that had managed to wiggle their way into 3 delves already (which she was sure was going to be more common soon), and they had just reached Level 3 by the end of their third delve – at least, that was what she gathered from the conversation and celebration after their battle in the Boss Room she witnessed.

  After they left, things went back to normal – or as normal as running a dungeon where groups of Raiders delved through the rooms she had designed was concerned. In addition to moving creatures and traps around, after a few weeks she started to move trees, ferns, and other environmental objects to different places within their respective rooms. She even added or subtracted some from various rooms, just to keep up with the variety, depending on what she felt like doing and what was going to work best with her other defenses.

  For the most part, the response was overwhelmingly positive. The Raiders who delved through were excited about the differences, even though they weren’t major changes – like rearranging what was in each room or replacing each creature with something else entirely. Tacca thought that having t
o wait for weeks or over a month before getting a chance to delve through her dungeon, just to do the exact same thing as last time, meant that any bit of change was welcome. The success didn’t mean that she would start altering everything and changing the rooms around, though; there was a limit of what she considered to be “allowed” by the people visiting her dungeon, and doing something like that was probably past that limit. Especially when she considered that she still had a “beginner” dungeon that was suitable for those just starting out – any major changes could mean more deaths than could normally be accounted for.

  Regardless, things were looking up for Tacca – and she didn’t normally like to think that way, because it was almost inevitable that something bad would happen. This time, luckily, nothing significant happened all month, even though she halfway expected it. She wasn’t prepared to say that perhaps her luck was changing and things in the future were all going to be positive, but it was a nice change.

  Congratulations, Tacca GloomLily!

  You have reached Core Improvement Level: 10

  Current CIP Countdown: 553/1700 in 30 days

  Core Improvement Points earned: 1400 (1400)

  Special Characteristic Points earned: 25 (200)

  Tacca didn’t have to cheat in the least for her Core Improvement Points this month, mainly because she didn’t have that pesky negative Special Characteristic reducing the Points she earned holding her back. While she didn’t really earn much of anything extra due to “Raider Presence” in her dungeon – which, because of their lower strength, wasn’t more than the 1 CIP per hour she was getting before – the main difference really occurred in what she earned from Raider Deaths.