“Maybe you can just close it off for now, because you really don’t need it.”
Shale was probably right, but Tacca felt as if it was a waste – it was a room she created to use, after all. What to do, what to do? She thought about putting a Healing Paralysis trap inside, sort of a safe room that Raiders could backtrack and visit if they needed it, but vetoed that quickly as it would be quite inefficient and a waste of time.
Then she figured it could be used as a display of some kind, where she could show off her burgeoning artistic prowess with a variety of pretty metals and gemstones set into the walls, giving it a look that would wow and amaze. She quite liked the job she had done with her Core Room with all of the gold ore and gems, and thought it might be fun to play with that a little more.
“Yeah, and then you’d have hordes of people rushing in here to destroy it and then steal it all away.”
Tacca couldn’t refute that, sadly.
She was about to simply close it off, leaving it unused, but a quick look at her available Control Limit gave her an idea. How about I give them a little taste of what’s to come? A practice room, if you will.
“What do you mean? Practice against what?”
Against the creatures I have inside of my new section. That way, they could have an idea of what they are up against without it being too dangerous.
She was waiting for Shale to say it was a bad idea, because it just wasn’t what dungeons did, but he surprised her with a head tilt. “I’ve never really thought of that before, but I can see it working out pretty well. Since your goal isn’t really for them to die, rather to spend as much time as they can within your dungeon, it does two things; keeps them here even longer, while also giving them a leg up on what they will be fighting against. I like it.”
Therefore, the practice rooms were born. She divided the room up into 6 different portions separated by a simple stone barrier, easily accessed by a central corridor, and then she placed Level 1 creatures inside those portions, representing everything they would see inside. Most sectioned-off portions had 2 or 3 different creatures, including those with their “synergy” partners. They would be dangerous only to those who shouldn’t even be in that section of her dungeon, and provided a glimpse into what they could expect going forth.
With that, she was done. Or as done as she could be at the moment.
That didn’t mean she could just take a figurative step back and relax, though; managing the new section, making sure everything was operating properly, ensuring that the creatures and traps she had placed were balanced for their intended Raider Levels, was a whole new process. Then there was the initial assessment of her changes, which took a little time for the Raiders to figure out, but after a day they had figured it out.
This time, from both the reinitialization of groups of Raiders running through her dungeon and her recent changes, there weren’t any powerful teams to actually assess her dungeon for difficulty and to map it out. From conversations overheard just outside of her entrances, as well as Shale literally eavesdropping on those in the village, she gathered that nearly anyone over Raider Level 30 or so was absent. Which meant – hopefully – that they were up north, dealing with the situation that was gradually becoming a major problem.
Therefore, the groups of Raiders had to discover what lay ahead on their own, without someone to hold their hands. This meant that there were some unnecessary deaths within the first week as information was gained from those exploring her new section, and later when she divided it up into 2 difficulties, but the casualties were generally from people Tacca thought would’ve perished even if they had warning. She had discovered that there was a look to them that heralded either incompetence or an inability to work well within a group setting, and these Raiders were typically the ones to come up short when it came to survival. Occasionally, their incompetence got others killed along with themselves, which only enforced the assertion that they needed to be eliminated.
Tacca wasn’t always so cold when it came to Raider deaths, but the recent invasion of her dungeon by powerful beings – who were now ravaging other parts of the continent – showed her that the relationship between Dungeon Cores and Raiders was more important than she knew. They helped each other improve, to get stronger – and they needed that strength in order to survive against this mysterious threat. Whether or not she would ever know why they had attacked in the first place was still up in the air, but Tacca knew that she had to do her part to help nurture those Raiders that would be needed in the future.
If only to act as a buffer between her dungeon and those monstrous people; she’d rather not have to deal with them and potentially have her Core destroyed…again.
After two full weeks since the Raiders’ return, with subtle changes here and there throughout both of her dungeon sections, Tacca finally had a handle on everything. The incoming delvers had finally adjusted to the new layout with different difficulties, and the “practice” room was a big hit – especially with newer or lower-Level groups braving her new section for the first time. Information passed on from other Raiders was invaluable, of course, but actually seeing and fighting the new creatures she provided was something else entirely.
“No one seems to be curious about the diversity in your dungeon, which I was sure they would be,” Shale said after some time watching and listening to the Raider groups come through. “Your original dungeon could be explained because they were technically all the same kind of creatures, but now you have big cats of different kinds, Gnolls, Kitsune, Harpies, and even a Werewolf!”
Tacca thought it strange at first, as well, but she figured it was due to inexperience more than anything. To new Raiders that haven’t delved through many dungeons, they probably don’t know that anything is strange about my own. To them, this could be the norm, and not every other dungeon.
“Good point,” he conceded.
By that point, Tacca had started to automate things to the point where she could perform the tasks she needed to, while freeing up some of her concentration. She started moving around creatures and traps within the second section’s rooms like she did with the first, and the results got some grumbles like they had originally, but everyone seemed to take it in stride. By the end of the first month, things were running smoothly enough that she wanted to start looking into expanding again. She had already started on some new rooms in a new section, of course, but it had stalled when the crowds had begun showing up.
She suddenly missed her 1-month countdown for her Core Improvement Point accounting, because she had already amassed quite a bit in the last month – and she was going to have to wait another 11 months before any of it was “counted”. Then again, she had been spoiled by the shortened countdown, and it was the only reason she had expanded and accomplished as much as she had.
Core Improvement Point Awards
Type
Variable Conditions
Potential CIP
Current
Rooms Constructed
Size
1 – 50
153
Traps Installed
Complexity
1 – 20
1892
Monsters Created
Levels
1 – 20
796
Rewards Placed
Valuation
1 – 50
865
Raider Presence
Time
1 – 5
1380
Raider Deaths
Quality
100 – 10000
6650
It wasn’t as many Points as she had obtained from killing those invaders, but it was still quite significant. A little more than 5,000 CIPs had been gained from the ill-advised incursion by Marvus and his thieves, though she had added quite a bit from other things she had created. For one, the additional creatures she had placed in the second section to separate it into two areas with different difficulties counted towards the total, as well as the Rewa
rds that went with them. Another major addition were the traps she replaced in her defensive room, which were much stronger than they were before, as a result of what had happened with that group, as well.
Going forth, however, whatever changes she made to her dungeon would only really contribute to the Rooms Constructed and Traps Installed categories. The reason for this was the simple fact that she had already hit her Control Limit, so either she had to increase it by purchasing more with her earned CIPs, or by eliminating some creatures from her dungeon to free up some of that Limit. If she did that, then the Points she had accumulated already for their creation (and the Rewards assigned to them) would be subtracted, since they didn’t exist anymore. It was what made her monthly countdown so helpful, because she could change things around every month and gain masses of Points that way, but with her yearly countdown she was a bit more restricted.
In fact, if it wasn’t for Raider Presence adding up, she wouldn’t be adding much more than what she had already. Raider Deaths had nearly dried up after the first 2 weeks, so that there might be one every few days; as her dungeon layout and difficulty was better understood over time, there would be fewer and fewer Raiders dying in her dungeon – which was perfectly fine with Tacca. She was making it up with their presence alone, which was adding up quickly. At an average of 22 hours per day in her dungeon, she normally would’ve accumulated around 660 Points in a month when there were groups of 5 Raiders delving through; with essentially 2 dungeons open at the same time, the amount doubled!
All of those things were just some of the reasons that other Dungeon Cores took so many years, decades, and centuries to increase their Core Improvement Level, especially the higher the Level they obtained. First, they didn’t have the same system of rotating out groups through the exit traps she had developed, to maximize Raider Presence; second, they weren’t necessarily as busy as her dungeon (which had groups delving through at all times of the day and night); lastly, while their countdowns for their first 20 CI Levels was only a year, it jumped to 5 years for the next 20, then 50 years for the next 20, and finally 500 years for any Cores Level 61 and over. Dungeon Assistant Ranks mirrored this as well, which was why it was going to take Shale 50 years before he could Rank up again.
She really wanted to expand again, in order to open up a whole new section that could potentially cater to Raiders of higher Levels. The problem, other than her Control Limit being maxed out, was that the constant use of Dungeon Force to regularly replace creatures and traps that were being triggered or Disarmed through both sections was draining most of what she regenerated. Even with Shale supplying Force through his Energy Transmutation ability, turning his Fairy Mana into something she could use, she wouldn’t be able to sustain an entire third section.
There has to be something I can do, though. Yes, I can increase my Maximum Dungeon Force and its regeneration, as well as upping my Control Limit using my CIPs – but will that be enough?
She technically had 5,400 Points to spend, which would allow her to increase all of those attributes a little bit. Ideally, that would be the way to go, but was that what she wanted?
Core Improvements
Available Core Improvement Points (CIP)
5400
11736 in 323 days
Improvement Name
Value
Cost (CIP)
Maximum Dungeon Force Increase
+500 DF
2000
Dungeon Force Regeneration Increase
+10 DF per minute
1500
Control Limit Increase
+300
1800
Select Additional Creature
1
550
Select Additional Creature Variant
1
25
Select Additional Trap Specialization
1
600
Select Additional Environment Access
1
800
Reward Tier Increase
1
1200
Convert CIPs to SCPs
1 SCP
36
Alternatively, she could convert them to Special Characteristic Points, but that would only give her 150 more to add to her 25 she earned from reaching CI Level 21. 175 SCPs would be useful, though she didn’t think it would be of enough use to make a difference for the future. Tacca had some vague plans, of course, but those all hinged on being able to both create and maintain them; therefore, all she had really done was create a few small rooms and one massive space that was approximately a 500-foot-wide cube. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with it yet, but she had been gradually expanding it over the last few weeks when she had some spare Dungeon Force.
“I’m not sure of the best solution here, to be honest. What you should do is eliminate one of the difficulties in your second section, thereby freeing up what you used to essentially create two different dungeons there.”
He had a point, but…. That would feel like taking a step back, and I think it’s working out so far, even if it does consume a lot of my resources. I’ll have to think about it.
Shale just shrugged. “Up to you, really. I think the Raiders would get used to the change if you were to open up a whole new section for them to delve through.”
That was true, but in order to arrange all of that, she would have to shut down at least her second section for a day or two to make those changes. The changeover would require a shift in the creatures and traps there, as well making sure everything was balanced again; then there was the introduction of the third section once she built it, which would take a while to fully stock once she freed up the necessary Control Limit.
Communication with the Raiders was a bit difficult, however. Since Sterge and Gwenda’s visit over a month ago, they hadn’t stepped inside of her dungeon. The crowds surging into the small village – now town-like in size – weren’t getting any smaller, which obviously made their work in organizing everything even more important; in fact, the influx of people migrating to the south practically exploded. It didn’t take long to figure out why.
Chapter 14
An evacuation was underway in the north, one that Malachite wished he could participate in. The last month had been a little better than the previous half a year, with only another dozen Cores being destroyed in that time, but the fact that they were still being shattered was a point of contention in the Council chambers.
“No! I know of no way to move the Cores that are still in the conflict zone, so there isn’t any point in even talking about it.” Head Instructor Lapis had been dismissive of the thought, especially after he got what he wanted already.
His charges, the Dungeon Assistant Fairies that were assigned to every Core in the upper third of the continent of Abenlure, had all been removed from their dungeons; some hadn’t wanted to leave and needed to be ordered to, which the Council Leader could understand, because they had been Bonded to their Cores for centuries in some cases. Despite their reluctance, they left and had their Bonds dissolved either by the Core or back at the DPRC shortly thereafter.
However, that still left Malachite’s “charges”: the Dungeon Cores themselves. While the Council placed Dungeon Assistants with their Cores, ultimately their job was to regulate the dungeons that dotted the world; sometimes that meant “culling” some that didn’t want to conform to the rules, but in the end it was all towards a singular goal.
In effect, it was to keep them all alive so that they could maintain the balance of primordial energy in the world. Abandoning the Cores in the north to their fates was certainly counter to what he and the Council – and all Fairy-kind – strove to control. It was encouraging – and confusing – that the rate at which the Cores were being destroyed had fallen once their Dungeon Assistants had been removed…but it was still happening, nonetheless. There had to be something they could do about it, and unfortunately that probably meant taking a risk.
“Lapis, the discussion isn
’t over.” The Head Instructor had been in the middle of flying away – obviously intent on finishing up the reassignment of Assistants, now that they had so many without a Core – but he turned back at Malachite’s tone.
“What is there to talk about? We can’t help them, so there’s no reason to—”
“And if there was a way to help them? What about then?”
The Head Instructor stopped talking but his mouth remained open in mid-speech, his eyes searching Malachite’s for some sort of answer. “What are you implying?”
This was it, the moment he had been dreading – because it would put the Council Leader at great risk. “I’m implying that there might be a way to move the Dungeon Cores away from their locations.”
“How? That’s impossible,” Lapis stated firmly. “They are tied to specific points where the upwelling of energy is the strongest. In short, they cannot be moved.”
Malachite hesitated, before forging ahead. “All true—normally. But I think I have a way to move them.” He took a deep breath, nervous about admitting this next part for some reason. “I received something else in addition to being able to speak with Tacca’s new Dungeon Core form when she Bonded with me.”
“Received something? What are you talking about?”
Malachite pulled up his Dungeon Assistant Information, seeing the ability on the list that had been unlocked when Tacca Bonded with him – the process of which he was still a bit confused about. “Over 5,000 years ago, after I became a Supreme-Rank Dungeon Assistant, I received a ‘Locked’ ability that I could never figure out what it was or what it did. Nothing and no one could tell me how to unlock it, so I had completely forgotten about it. However, after the Bonding with Tacca, it seemed as though she had somehow unlocked it into something called ‘Core Translocation’. What it does is a little muddled, as I can’t get a clear picture of what exactly it will do. What I can tell you, though, is that it might be the only way to move one of the Cores that are in the path of destruction left behind by these mysterious six-armed people.”
The Dungeon Fairy: Three Lives: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 3) Page 13