CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One

by Antony W. F. Chow

  Sin toyed with Yozka's small nipples between her fingers, eliciting a surprised gasp from the human. The dark elf finally released Yozka's mouth and directed her tongue to her partner's aureolas. She bit each tit playfully, eliciting another gasp from her partner.

  While Sin's mouth was directed at Yozka's breasts, her hands focused on parting the human's thighs, which were defiantly pressed together. After the dark elf started stroking her partner's lower lips, she coaxed Yozka into spreading her legs wide open.

  Sin took advantage of this implicit invitation and immediately dropped to her knees. The dark elf buried her face into the soft mound and inhaled the strong, delicious scent. Unable to resist the sweet nectar before her, Sin started licking and kissing Yozka's honey pot, eliciting another groan from the human's lips.

  The wicked dark elf pushed a finger into her partner's pussy. As her finger navigated through the resistance of Yozka's inner flesh, Sin kissed and licked her partner's most sensitive spot.

  Suddenly, Yozka was struck by an overload of pleasure and climaxed. She pressed her head against the dungeon core as drool started accumulating on her lower lip. Without realizing, Yozka had smeared her saliva all over the diamond-like core. When the human witch finally stopped shaking, she was embraced by her partner.

  Yiozka's knees gave out and she allowed the dark elf to guide her body to the ground before their master.

  Sin nestled her face in Yozka's neck while wrapping her arms and legs around her partner. Sin looked up at the illusion of Markos and their eyes met. "Good night, Master Markos," the dark elf whispered and then closed her eyes.

  "Dang, that girl has a fearsome sexual appetite," Jessica remarked when the dark elf started snoring lightly some time later.

  Yes, she does, Markos agreed. The dark elf would have been highly sought after as an adult performer in his old world.

  "You're going to keep her for your harem."

  The dungeon core remained silent. After all, Jessica's observation was correct. Markos definitely felt Sin was a keeper. For the first time since he reincarnated as a dungeon core, he no longer missed his old life because he realized that he was living an ideal life now.

  He could watch and feel sexual encounters through the Hivemind, whether it was a boy-girl encounter or girl-girl encounter. He was surprised to find himself enjoying Sin's performance in front of him. Perhaps it was her way of trying to convince him of her usefulness. If so, she had succeeded wildly.

  Chapter 45

  Solo Run

  Tita played her grumpy self in front of her friends and they knew better than to talk to her. Instead, the party members wisely allowed her to have her own space. She easily climbed a tree and rested on a large branch. The thief was angry and humiliated by her own mental weakness.

  Tita regarded herself as the best thief in the Adventurer's Guild. For her to practically beg Ouwanda to drop the dungeon exploration mission and return to the surface was the ultimate humiliation!

  She understood that her friends were kindhearted and did not blame her. But nonetheless, this was a stain on her Thief's Code of Honor! And the only way to remove this stain was to return to the dungeon for a solo run.

  While it had been some time since Tita entered a dungeon by herself, it was her professional opinion that she needed to tackle Markos' dungeon solo. The thief had done many solo runs in the past and she was fully aware of the risks involved. For example, she had no trouble dealing with a Giant Ant if she encountered one inside a tunnel. But if the ant called for reinforcements, then she would be hardpressed to survive a fight with a large group of them.

  The only way to survive as a solo dungeon explorer was to make a speed run, or to get through a dungeon floor ASAP. Even if she encounters an enemy, Tita will flee and hope that she will outrun her pursuers.

  Of course, there was also a possibility that she will chain a mob train after her, meaning that she ends up pulling more enemies to pursue her. In that case, it will become a matter of luck whether she could find a place to run to and hide from the monsters. But then again, due to her small size, the halfling could squeeze into tight spaces that her companions could not.

  With her decision made, Tita waited until her companions retired in the house for the night. Of course, there will be a night watch on duty. She will have to wait until Zefina's turn in order to sneak off. The reason was that Visrow had superior hearing and this made it difficult for Tita to climb down the tree and sneak away. Aabroa could detect the presence of Life as a druid. Ouwanda had a finely tuned warrior's instinct and the party leader often knew what Tita will do before she did it.

  Zefina, on the other hand, had the least awareness of her surroundings. Thus, Tita could sneak off easily while Zefina was on watch. Luckily, Zefina was given the first turn in the night watch rotation. The thief immediately jumped to another tree and eventually moved far enough from the cottages before climbing down.

  Blessed with an excellent memory, the thief quickly retraced her steps and, soon, returned to the entrance of the dungeon. However, to her chagrin, the opening was blocked off!

  Tita kicked at the wall to confirm the blockage wasn't simply an illusion. The pain in her toes confirmed that it was real. "Ow!" she winced and tried to shake off the pain by flexing her toes.

  Tita decided to try another tactic. "Master Markos, I want to challenge your dungeon again. You may think it's stupid for me to come here by myself. But I think a solo run is the best way to beat your defenses. Please let me enter." The thief bowed toward the wall.

  *Rumble* The wall suddenly dropped. When the halfling raised her head, she saw a ghost standing at the opening. It was a plain looking man who was only a head or so taller than her! His clothing was strange and foreign looking. However, the man had a weird grin on his face and his hands were rubbing together. His eyes were sharp and he seemed to be licking her entire body with his sight.

  What a lecherous man, the halfling thought to herself. Tita feared what the dungeon core had in store for her if she ended up becoming his slave.

  "I am Markos Turloch. My servants are resting right now and I will observe your solo run personally. I promise I will not interfere until you decide to give up again."

  Tita was surprised to hear the words. In order to create sound, the dungeon core must have access to the Air Element. In other words, he had access to two elements!

  "Thank you," the thief bowed deeply to the ghost. She walked past him and entered the cavern. The opening immediately slammed shut behind her, trapping her inside the dungeon.

  Steeling her nerves, the adventurer lighted her lantern and walked through the cavern. She quickly reached the corridor which was filled with traps. She stared at the ground and found the first tripwire. Her gaze followed the wire to the wall and she saw the telltale sign of metal shining off the rays of light from the lantern. With this, Tita suspected that the locations of the traps had not changed at all.

  The halfling removed her boots and placed them in her backpack. She entered the corridor while barefoot. Stepping over the tripwire slowly, she felt for the presence of a pressure plate under her toes. When she felt none, she put her body's weight down and continued moving forward while stepping only on her toes.

  "What a strange way of walking," Jessica remarked while observing the adventurer.

  "It's actually brilliant," Markos replied. "Tita is relying on all her senses to attack my dungeon, including her sense of touch. She is taking tentative steps and if she feels a shift on the floor, she will use her superior agility to jump back and avoid the trap beneath her," he explained.

  "I see," the dungeon helper nodded.

  Despite this strange way of walking, the thief was able to avoid all the tripwires in the corridor. When she reached the second cavern, she knelt down on the ground and took out a small brush. She started clearing a path in front of her. When the brush revealed a hidden pressure plate, Tita carefully wiped aside the dust to reveal the full location of the plate on the gro
und. In the end, she discovered six pressure plates and avoided all the plates in her chosen route through the large cavern.

  When Tita reached the staircase at the end of the first floor, she sat down and took a small break.

  "Mind if I join you?" the dungeon keeper asked.

  "Suit yourself," the halfling replied between bites of her snack, an apple.

  "Why did you enter the dungeon alone?"

  "I couldn't sleep. I was so angry with myself for quitting that I decided to challenge myself to enter solo," Tita answered honestly.

  "But you didn't tell your party before leaving, did you?"

  "Nope. If I did, they would have stopped me. Besides, if I make it back to the cottage before dawn, no one will be the wiser," the thief grinned.

  "My, how confident you are!"

  "Or crazy!" Tita stood up and walked over to the treasure chest. She took out her lock picking tools and patiently picked the lock. When the lid opened, she counted out 500 gold coins.

  Tita turned toward the observer. "Thank you!" the halfling said in appreciation as she shoved the precious coins into her sack. When she was finished emptying the chest, she took the staircase and entered the second floor.

  The next floor was one long path with the cheap trick of a dense fog and air vents which tried to blow people off the path and to their doom. With her high agility, Tita was able to rush through the path by timing her movement to the release of the hot air. When the thief reached the other side, she turned around and struck a victory pose for her observer.

  "Hoho! I do think she's getting too full of herself!" Jessica complained aloud.

  Markos chuckled. But the next floor will be the real challenge, right? After all, I did ask you to overhaul it.

  The helper turned visibly pale. "I simplified the maze."

  Huh?

  "It was originally three miles long and the maze so hard that Tita quit halfway through. Therefore, I took pity on her and simplified the maze in anticipation of her next attempt," Jessica explained.

  So Tita's going to waltz through the floor then?

  "Well, not exactly. Before, there were no minions inside. This time, I added a Minotaur."

  What! The dungeon core used his life sense to locate the creature. He then used Analyze to examine the monster. He whistled at the status of the Minotaur: it had 1,000 Health and 100 Strength. Its battle ax can inflict 500 Damage on a critical hit! How is she going to fight a Minotaur by herself?

  Jessica waved her hand dismissively. "Thieves are supposed to be lucky, aren't they? I doubt Tita will even encounter the guardian of the maze."

  Markos was not convinced. However, it was too late for him to change the dungeon floor because Tita was already there.

  Chapter 46

  Breakthrough

  When the halfling arrived on the third floor, she immediately took a break. She sat next to the stairs and ate another piece of fruit. The solo adventure had been picture perfect so far. Without being concerned for her companions, Tita was able to move through the first two floors of the dungeon quickly. She was doubtful that even one hour had passed.

  However, this next floor will be a challenge. After all, it was one big maze. The saving grace, though, was that there were no wandering monsters on this floor. Otherwise, she will have to run away and hope she won't end up in a dead end.

  Tita rose to her bare feet and entered the corridor. Even though there were no traps in the previous run through of this floor, the thief was cautious and checked for traps. As expected, none was to be found.

  When the explorer reached the first intersection, she received a big surprise: it did NOT end in three paths! Instead, there were two paths. In other words, the labyrinth had been changed!

  Tita became furious and immediately turned around. "Why did you change the maze?" she demanded to know.

  The ghostly visage of Markos held up his hand to placate her. "My assistant felt guilty that you quit yesterday. She thought the floor was too hard and decided to simplify it."

  "UGH!" Tita kicked the ghost in the leg but her foot simply passed through the illusion. "CHANGE. IT. BACK. RIGHT. NOW!" She demanded through gritted teeth.

  Yikes! The dungeon core became terrified. "Um, I'm sorry but I can't change it."

  "Why not?" Tita shot daggers at him.

  "I don't remember how the floor was laid out previously. I left the dungeon building to my helper. I just provided the resources. Jessica did all the work," Markos replied.

  The thief stomped her foot on the ground. "Please make her visible to me."

  The dungeon keeper snapped his finger and used Air Work to create an illusion to make Jessica visible and audible to Tita. Good luck!

  Gee, thanks! The faery thought back. Jessica decided to use her trump card: her cuteness! When the dungeon helper became visible, she fluttered in front of Tita and curtsied. "My name is Jessica and I'm Markos' dungeon helper. I am honored to meet a brave adventurer like yourself."

  "Cut the crap! You can revert the floor back to the way it was, can't you?" Tita demanded. She was immune to the charm offensive.

  Jessica shook her head. "As my master said, we don't keep copies of the layout we used. I don't remember what this floor was like previously."

  "Useless! You are absolutely useless as a dungeon helper! If I die on this floor, I swear I'm going to haunt you both for all eternity!" Tita shouted while thrusting a finger at the faery's face.

  Markos became angry at her behavior. He used Air Work to create air pressure and flicked his finger at the halfling's forehead. "You can yell at me all you want. But I will not allow you to verbally abuse my helper," he warned.

  The halfling touched the spot where he had flicked at her. "Fine! I wasted enough time with you. I will beat this floor! Just you wait!" Tita chose the right path and started walking through the corridor. Despite her anger, the thief did not permit her emotions to dictate her movement. Instead, she channeled her anger constructively and turned it into a laser-like focus on her surroundings.

  Tita pulled the grappling hook out of her backpack and tied it to a rope. She swung the hook to the top of the wall and climbed up. After she retrieved her equipment, the halfling looked at the placement of the walls and discovered that the labyrinth had indeed been completely altered. Using her superior sense of balance, the thief walked along the walls and wandered until she discovered the stairs.

  But before she could reach the exit, the Minotaur noticed her! It immediately stomped toward her.

  The thief dropped from the wall and returned to the ground. She used her sneak ability to tiptoe away from the Minotaur and trailed behind it silently.

  At the same time, she kept the location of the stairs inside her mental map. When the guardian of the maze moved away from the exit, Tita quickly approached the stairs.

  She saw the wooden chest next to the staircase but decided it wasn't worth trying to pick open and risk having the Minotaur return.

  Before she left the third floor, Tita turned around and looked directly at the ghostly image of Markos. She defiantly raised her middle finger at him and then took the stairs.

  "Wow, does she have an ax to grind with you!" Jessica said. The dungeon faery was absolutely shocked at the thief's outrageous behavior. "You know, we could punish her on the next floor by adding more monsters," she suggested.

  Not necessary, Markos thought. She has spunk. I like that. He laughed.

  The faery gave him a look of disapproval. "Master, you sure have strange taste in women."

  The ghost shrugged. What can I say? My reincarnation has stripped away my humanity and my sensibilities may have been warped as a result. Anyway, let's continue observing Tita. The ghost of Markos flew down the stairs to follow the daring thief.

  Chapter 47

  Fourth Floor

  When Tita reached the fourth floor, her eyes widened in surprise. Unlike the desolate floor above, this floor felt like home!

  The place was full of plants. The flo
or was covered with grass, which felt soft and comfortable under her bare feet. The air smelled of flowers and life! The halfling was almost lulled into relaxing.

  Suddenly, Tita smacked her cheeks with her palms! SMACK! "Put yourself together, Tita!" she said to herself. Her eyes became alert again and the dungeon explorer walked slowly and cautiously. She saw that she was in a large cavern full of plants.

  However, Tita was not fooled. She noticed the man-eater plants hidden among other plants. Her mind started marking their locations; they were traps just like the first floor of the dungeon except that these traps were alive.

  Once Tita finished her complete, visual examination of the cavern, she realized that there was only one exit out of the cavern. The halfling carefully charted a course away from the man-eater plants. The course involved hugging the walls of the cavern tightly. There were also vines that she could use to swing across the floor but Tita wanted to save those as an alternative means of crossing the dangerous room.

  Tita decided to walk along the right side of the room because there were fewer plants. However, approximately a third into her route, a giant beetle appeared! It had a dark brown shell covering its entire body. A sharp horn stuck out of its head. The beetle scurried with its legs and tried to ram its horn into her chest!

  However, the halfling quickly dodged, avoiding the attack! When she turned around, Tita saw that the horn was stuck in the wall and the beetle was unable to pull it out. She immediately ran along the wall and left the horned beetle behind. She was able to reach the exit without encountering another beetle.

  The exit led to a corridor which eventually diverged into three tunnels. Mindful of the deviousness of the dungeon keeper, Tita peered into each tunnel without stepping inside. Her goal was to figure out what traps were in store for her and which tunnel was the least risky for her to enter. Due to her familiarity with plants, the halfling was able to recognize them: poison ivy, kava, and wolfsbane.

  With growing annoyance, the dungeon explorer turned around and glared at the ghost of Markos. She pointed at each tunnel and identified the danger aloud: "poison ivy, kava, and wolfsbane." Tita sat down in the corridor and put on her boots. She could not continue walking barefoot anymore. On the other hand, it was unlikely there were any large beetles hidden inside the plants.