Her block of Bronze was still near the forge, mainly because Sandra hadn’t seen the need to absorb it yet; that, and it was almost like a symbol of her success in discovering a new Monster Seed material. But now, with the aid of her new Armored Sentinel, she was going to turn that symbol into her first actual crafting piece.
The block, though, was a little large for what she was intending. Therefore, she split the 4inX2inX2in chunk of bronze in half by eating away at it lengthwise, leaving two equal blocks that were now only an inch wide. Controlling her new Sentinel construct was much easier to get used to – mainly because it was even more humanoid than the Clockwork Golem – so she was easily able to use the tongs to grab the block of Bronze and placed the front half of it in the forge.
Based on how the Copper had completely melted at six flame jets, Sandra avoided activating that many and instead went for three. Based on her memories, she remembered that the Bronze alloy had a lower melting point than Copper because of the introduction of the Tin, and she didn’t want to melt the bar. She was hoping that the heat from three flame jets – half as many as she used to create the material in the first place – would just soften the metal up enough so that it could be shaped.
Her estimation was fairly accurate, and as soon as the Bronze was a nice soft-red color in the area closest to the flames, she pulled it out of the forge with her tongs and set it on her new anvil. Still holding the edge with her tongs, she grabbed her hammer and started to beat on the glowing hot bar of metal, steadily shaping it the best she could with her strikes. It was a little difficult to do because she couldn’t bend her construct’s wrist – only rotate it – but most of the pounding she had to do was a simple up and down motion. The rotating wrist came in handy when she needed to strike the opposite side of the bar, as all she needed to do was twist it and it flipped over effortlessly.
It took a few times in and out of the forge to complete the basic shape of the knife, which essentially was only tapered on one side, where it would be filed and sharpened later. The whole process was a lot more difficult than she thought it would be; while she had the knowledge of what needed to be done, she didn’t have the experience. She hadn’t realized how much of a difference it would make actually doing it herself rather than just watching; by the time she was done and considered that the forging process was as complete as it was going to be, she figured that she would need a lot of practice to get it looking the way it should.
Nevertheless, as the crudely shaped Bronze knife cooled, Sandra was proud of her creation. It wasn’t by any means great, but it was still progress. Her construct had worked fairly well, though some of the more advanced techniques she knew about required a bit more finesse than it was capable of. Regardless, the fact that she was only Core Size 7 and had access to the Armored Sentinel made her hopeful that an even better construct would be available in the future.
Filing and sharpening the knife didn’t work as great, as it required that finesse she was thinking about earlier. Simple adjustments to a wrist would’ve been enough to get an adequate edge on the weapon, but without that, all she was able to do was clean it up a little. The cutting edge was essentially blunt, the handle was a hammer-marked circular cylinder, and the tip was more a dull spike than a point, but it was her first crafting success.
Success might be a bit strong of a word, though, but it was at least recognizable as a knife.
As Sandra looked at it laid out on her anvil, a swelling of pride suffused her mind. I did it! I crafted my first weapon!
“Nice job, Sandra! Though, it does look a little…shall we say…crude. No offense, but I thought you were some sort of crafting master or something, by the way you spoke about it,” Winxa broke into the Dungeon Core’s reverie.
Honestly, Sandra forgot the Dungeon Fairy was even there while she had been working, as she had been so absorbed in her project that everything else essentially faded out around her. Thankfully, the partitioned part of her mind was still at work excavating the other tunnel…room now, actually. She must’ve been doing that longer than she thought; after looking at the extra Tiny and Small Bronze Orbs around her Core, she estimated that she had been crafting for at least a few hours.
Well, I have the knowledge, just not the experience. Plus, while this new construct’s hands work much better than the Golem’s clamps, it doesn’t really have full range of motion. I’m sure it’ll get better in the future.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disparage your efforts,” Winxa sincerely apologized. “I’m actually quite impressed with what your done so far. So…what’s your next plan?”
Sandra pretended to think about it for a few seconds, but she already knew exactly what she wanted to do. While physical crafting like blacksmithing was something she enjoyed learning about, the craft that held the dearest place in her heart was Enchanting. The way the different elements were combined together to affect the characteristics of everyday items was intoxicating; it was that kind of power that she had been looking forward to trying out herself, though she hadn’t had the chance to until now.
It was different from the way she infused things with Mana or Raw Materials like when she made the stone walls or even Dragon Glass. Enchanting was more subtle and followed rigid guidelines to set up the enchantment correctly on an object; her Dungeon Core method of forcing Mana into substances physically changed the material and not the properties of the object. It was a subtle difference, but it was also one that differentiated it from actual Enchanting.
Sandra knew she had access to all of the elements now through her abilities as a Dungeon Core, so she eagerly wanted to test them out. Picking out the easiest enchantment that she could think of, she concentrated on the knife and imagined a small stream of Earth forming on the blade, tracing out simple a simple Rune that would permanently strengthen the metal, while also making it flexible enough to bend instead of breaking when force was applied to it – up to a point. There were more complicated enchantments that would make any weapon or armor nearly indestructible, but this one wasn’t that powerful.
She waited for a few moments for the Earth elemental energy to appear, but nothing happened. Since Sandra had never actually accessed it before in her previous life, she didn’t know the exact feeling of manipulating the elements, but she had seen it done literally thousands of times; nevertheless, everything she tried to get it to manifest ended in failure. Giving up with Earth, she also tried every other element she could think of, and even all of them at the same time, but nothing worked.
What’s going on? Why isn’t this working?
“What are you trying to do?” Winxa asked worryingly.
Sandra told her what she was trying to do in a panicked voice. “Ah, I see. I think that there might be a misunderstanding,” the Dungeon Fairy said in a calming voice – though it didn’t really do much to calm the Dungeon Core’s mounting anxiety. “While you, as a Core, have access to all of the elements in terms of a Classification, you can’t actually manipulate the energy the same way living creatures and sentient races can. You have an entirely different resource to use: your Mana. The two are similar, but they are incompatible with each other.”
So that means I’ll never be able to Enchant anything?
Winxa thought about it for a few seconds before responding. “Well…I wouldn’t necessarily say that. Most living creatures can manipulate elemental energies, and Dungeon Monsters are no exception. If you were to use one to complete the enchantment, that might work.”
Sandra was all set to jump into her Sentinel again and try working through it, but she was cut off by the Fairy. “However, before you try using your constructs to do it, keep in mind that I said, ‘living’. While they are certainly lifelike, they don’t have the ability to manipulate elemental energies.”
Well, I guess I’ll need to decide whether or not to change my Classification sooner than I thought.
Chapter 18
Sandra wasn’t quite sure what to do about her dilemma.
While she wanted to be able to enchant things, she was growing rather fond of her constructs; if she were to change her Classification, she would lose access to monsters like her Sentinel and even her Animated Shears. The first one was very useful in crafting metals and handling hot materials, as it didn’t get tired and could marginally withstand the intense heat the small forge gave off. Of course, if it got too close to the enclosed oven, it would start to melt – like her poor Golem – but it was likely that it was more resistant than most other monsters to the high temperatures.
Her flying Animated Shears, on the other hand, were very useful in collecting ambient Mana from above the ground where her other constructs couldn’t reach. If she changed Classifications, there was no guarantee that there would be something available that could take its place. That wasn’t reason enough to delay changing her Classification, but it was definitely a factor in her decision.
“I understand, Sandra. I’ve never seen a Dungeon Core able to change their Classification before, so I’m unsure of the proper way to go about it,” Winxa told her in a weirdly monotone voice.
I’ll just play around with my Core Selection Menu and see what I can find.
There was no obvious, “Change my Classification” section on the main menu, so Sandra tried to mentally think about the process…and nothing happened. When that didn’t work, she started looking through every obvious option she had; skills, traps, seeds, monsters – they were all there, but she didn’t see anything extra that hinted at changing her Classification.
It was, of course, the last thing she tried that did the trick – and she felt a little ridiculous for not trying it first. She reconciled her ignorance with the fact that the Dungeon Classification: and Constructs sections didn’t appear as if she could dig further into them like the others. However, when she concentrated on them for more than a few moments, a Classification Menu popped up.
Classification Menu
Current Dungeon Classification:
Constructs
Elemental Proclivities:
All
Change Classification?
Warning: Changing your Classification will result in the elimination of any progress towards or achieved advanced Classifications. In addition, all accumulated Core Mana – as well as any non-permanent objects containing Mana or is fueled by it – will be sacrificed to fuel the change.
Accumulated Advancement Points:
14 AP
Available Advancement Options:
2
Current Advancements:
0
Sandra looked at the Classification Menu in confusion. While she knew that changing her classification would use all her accumulated Mana, she forgot about the mention of advanced Classifications. It wasn’t really important at the time when she was initially selecting her Classification, so it had slipped her mind. Now that she had seen the new menu, however, the existence of these “advancements” was brought to the forefront.
Winxa, what are these advancements? And why didn’t you tell me about these before?
Almost as if the Dungeon Fairy broke out from a spell, Winxa seemed to relax and a relieved sigh escaped her lips. “Phew, finally – I thought you’d never ask me about that. The Advancements are purchasable enhancements to your Core Classification that can range from increasing the innate strength and deadliness of your monsters, to adding additional Elemental Proclivities (not that you need that), to – and this might be the answer to your issue – incorporating monsters from different accessible Classifications. Not only that, but you’ll likely be able to advance your Constructs Classification to the point where you can create larger, more “advanced” monsters. You can even, with enough accumulated Advancement Points – hybridize your Core with multiple Classifications,” the Fairy spat out quickly, as if she couldn’t get it out fast enough.
Sandra was speechless for a moment as she took in what she was told. Is this a way to gain additional monsters? That doesn’t make sense – why didn’t you tell me about this before? Sandra asked, after realizing Winxa hadn’t answered her other question.
The Dungeon Fairy sighed again, though this time it sounded more like regret than relief. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you about it before this. It is an amendment to all Dungeon Fairies’ contracts now; we literally cannot mention it unless we are specifically asked about it,” Winxa said. Then she added, in a quieter voice, “And it’s all because of me…”
What? What do you mean? Again, none of that makes any sense.
“Do you remember when I told you I was the only one to teach a Dungeon Core that had four elements?” Sandra mentally indicated that she did. “Well, even though it was a long time ago, the repercussions of its rise to power is still felt today in the Dungeon Core community, even if most Cores don’t realize it.
“You see, centuries ago, us Dungeon Fairies were more enthusiastic about our jobs; as a result, we were inclined to share every little piece of information if it helped our charges make decisions on how to become more powerful. This included our knowledge of the Advancement system and how it could be used to significantly increase the power of a Dungeon Core. And it was this information that allowed Wester to almost destroy the Gnomish race.
“I was never quite sure why Wester wasn’t as addle-minded as the majority of the other Cores, but after hearing your story, I suspect it was because he had access to four of the major elements. Regardless of the reason, using the Advancements available to him, he was able to shrewdly use them to him to unlock monsters from a variety of different Classifications, though he never hybridized from his original Dragonling Classification.
“I won’t bore you with the details, but by the end of his reign of terror, Wester had advanced his original Classification to be able to create giant Dragons; with his proclivities with different elements, he was able to make various Elemental Dragons that laid waste to a good portion of the Gnomish landscape.”
And then the Elves, Dwarves, and Orcish peoples helped to destroy him? Sandra remembered the Fairy mentioning that weeks ago.
“Yes, because they knew if they didn’t act soon, they’d likely be next. After a bloody war that lasted of nearly a year of constant battles against massive dragons, the Creator put an amendment in the Dungeon Fairies’ contracts that forbid us from mentioning the Advancement system unless directly asked about it. The Creator also took out the knowledge of its existence from the Cores themselves, though if any of them did what you just did, they would still find it available. Fortunately, none of them could change their Classification before, so 99% of the dungeons in the world haven’t been curious enough to investigate its existence.”
Both were silent for a nearly a minute, before Sandra asked, Ok…I could understand that…a little, at least. But why didn’t the Creator just get rid of the Advancements if it led to such overwhelming devastation for one of the races?
Winxa looked at Sandra’s Core with an expression that said, “You should know the answer to that.” And, after a second’s contemplation, she did.
Ah…because that would be “destruction” and the Creator is all about “creating”. I get it.
“Absolutely. Now, I could explain the whole Advancement system in more detail, but it will be faster and easier if you take a look at it yourself. One thing I will tell you is that you won’t be able to fully utilize it until you are quite a bit bigger, but you’ll at least be able to see what is possible. I’ll be here if you have any other questions.”
Fair enough.
Sandra wanted to know exactly what these points were and how she had received 14 of them without even knowing it. She mentally selected the Accumulated Advancement Points, hoping that there would be a better explanation or breakdown.
Advancement Points (AP)
Source
Criteria
Point Value
Lifetime Earned Points
Lifetime Spent Points
Core Size
Receive AP u
pon Core Size upgrade (does not count for Core Size 1 nor upgrade stages)
1 per Core Size upgrade
6 AP
(6X Core Size Upgrades)
0 AP
Number of Rooms
Receive AP for each distinct dungeon room at least 4,000 cubic feet in size (20ftx20ftx10ft minimum)
1 AP per qualified room
3 AP
(2X Qualifying Rooms)
0 AP
Unique Dungeon Fixtures
Receive AP for each never-before-seen fixture in your dungeon
2 AP per fixture
2 AP
(1X Small Dragon Glass Forge)
0 AP
Creature Eradication
Eradicate sources of nearby creatures (i.e. lairs and spawning areas)
3 AP per eradication
3 AP
(1X Territory Ant Colony)
0 AP
Sentient Race Elimination
Eliminate members of sentient races
1 AP per 10 eliminations
0 AP
0 AP
?????
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
?????
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
?????
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
(?????) Denotes an unknown, unique Source of Advancement Points. Perform this unknown action to unlock more information.
And so there it was. Even though she hadn’t necessarily wanted to completely eradicate the Territory Ant Colony, she had earned 3 Advancement Points for that alone. She also received 1 AP per Core Size upgrade, which seemed easy in comparison to everything else. Though, when she thought about it, the difficulty in upgrading her Core later meant that those points would be hard to come by with that method.
The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1) Page 14